Que sera, sera, what will be, will be.

Friday, January 2, 2009


As I lay awake at 3 am, listening to the roosters, I can’t help thinking: “Why did this happen, what did we do wrong. Is it safe for us to travel these long distance so far away from home?”
But then I recall the e-mail I received from my friend Gill just a few days ago. How she left the house to go to work and while crossing the highway, she got hit by another vehicle. This tells me that anything can happen no matter where you are. Ramiro is an excellent driver and has driven many miles without any incidents.
We have also heard many people over the past months, telling us about incidents in some of the cities we will be visiting or have been. But at home we continue to hear about gang related shootings on Whyte Avenue or in Millwoods area. So it just a matter of being at the wrong place at the wrong time.
We know everyone is concerned about us and hate to see something happen, but we can stay at home, where we think we are safe and grow old without experience anything. We like adventure and like to explore new places and we have faith that we are in good hands.
I know that everything happens for a reason and I like to believe that this may have saved us from something more serious.
Now I will need to be strong and support Ramiro who will have to deal with the repairs and the rest of the driving. I also need to stay positive and get it in my head that we will be safe and will enjoy the rest of our trip.

Last night I was not able to take any pictures. It just did not feel right, but this morning, the first thing I do is take pictures of the damage. Really, nothing major, mostly fiberglass damage and a broken light and mirror. It looked a lot worse at first than it is.

The park attendant walks over and takes Ramiro to someone who can do repairs. They return in 15 minutes and make an assessment. Just as Ramiro had suggested: Weld the mirror and fix the fiberglass. The guy leaves to get his tools and returns with a helper. Nice to see someone who still makes house calls.

It’s very muggy outside. The barometric pressure is low and makes my head and eyes feel so heavy. I know that by noon the air will clear and the sun will appear, as is usually the case at the coast.
I walk around a bit and it does not take me long to discover that we are the only campers here in this run down place. On one hand, some company may have been nice, but on the other hand, there is work to be done and too many onlookers may be too distracting for Ramiro who is doing his part.
I stay inside for a while. There’s a cool breeze coming through the windows. I spend the morning writing, cleaning and swatting flies, hundreds of them. I am guilty of mass murder with our electronic fly swatter. I’m actually getting pretty good at it after a while.
It’s too bad there is no internet here. This would be a great opportunity to send some e-mails and make Skype calls. Perhaps it’s better that everyone hears about it once we are back on our way again and this incident is behind us.

There’s not much I can do. I walk around the RV park several times and dare to go outside the gate and turn into one of the streets. We seem to be in a rather poor area of the city. After lunch I sit in the sun for a while, while Ramiro washes the RV when he is not able to help the guys with their fiberglass artwork.
I can’t stay in the sun too long so decide to clean until there is nothing left to be cleaned. I organize papers and plan our route for tomorrow.
We are not able to go anywhere today and explore the area, but then Los Mochis is only known to tourists for its major coastal terminus of the Chihuahua al Pacifico Railway, which travels across the rugged Sierra Madre Occidental to Chihuahua via the spectacular Barranca del Cobre region. The Copper Canyon is much more impressive than the Grande Canyon. We had talked about taking the two day train trip through this amazing canyon but decide that this may not be a good idea considering our situation at this point. We’ll save it for another time when we hopefully have my brother Fred and Annemieke as our travel companions.

Another rig pulls in. We’re no longer alone. We learn that this RV park is mainly for people who travel the Copper Canyon train and this is not the busy season. IN another week or so it start getting busier.

It’s warm inside and I turn the Airconditioner on. The breaker can’t handle it, I think it’s only 20 amps. We pretty well need 30 to run it. So I open all windows and let the fresh breeze come in. It’s 24 degrees outside. Not bad for January I would say.
I bring drinks and snacks to the guys as they continue to work all day. They are making progress. When I check again at four o’clock, I see the mirror back in place and then the lights. Next is the hood which seems to be more of a challenge as it was ripped right off the frame.
It’s already dark by the time they are done. We pay the bill. Total cost 2900 Pesos. Not that bad and they did a pretty decent job. Let’s hope everything will hold up.

Our cash, however is starting to shrink and we may have to go to the bank soon to replenish. Or, I may have to get a job here in Mexico, because the spending goes way too fast.

Ramiro finishes washing the RV and put all his tools away before we eat and turn in for the night. It may have been a tiring day for him, but I must admit that in one way I enjoyed my lazy pace and staying on the ground for a day rather than sitting still while we drive all day. We have two more full days of driving ahead of us, each about 400 km and then our final day, less than 150 k before we reach Cofradia.