Road to Tapachula

My ride to Tapachula, a Guatemalan border town six hours if driving like a maniac from Tuxtla, was more exciting than desired.

We left at midnight and although we attempted to sleep, we were only able to nod on and off. At one point, I opened my eyes only to see an overturned truck with its wheels still spinning on the side of the road. It was easier to keep the eyes closed.

The ride through the mountains was insane. I think my dad would have freaked out if he'd witnessed the driving of my co-worker Sirley's husband. He's an educated, business owner who wasn't trying to be crazy – this is typical driving in Mexico.

During one eye-opener, most likely due to a sudden jerk of the wheel or a slamming of the brakes, Heather commented, “If he falls asleep, the driving will actually improve!”

After a fun-filled weekend, we topped it off by watching Sirley’s family strap the luggage on the roof of a vehicle that would shortly be doing 80 mph (the speedometer was in mph, but the signs were in kph…we believe this was unknown to the driver) through dangerous mountain passes.

Heather made a comment that it was similar to what would happen if you allowed "teenagers to live their own lives with no parent supervision" and I about wet my pants at the absolute accuracy of her statement!

Instead of the mature adults in the group saying, no that's not a very good idea, they're right in there handing you plastic and twine. I would have bet money that the bags wouldn’t last ten minutes atop the roof of a maniac-driven car passing people while blindly driving up hills, smashing over bumps, violently shaking from side to side due to alignment issues (I can only guess) and slamming on the breaks when you notice a speed bump on the road used to slow people down!

I’ve never seen anything like it and this is after driving in India. Although crazy in India, I felt as if there were actual rules, although much different than in the States, that everybody followed. Yes, the trucks carrying a load too large for even two trucks their size to handle were troublesome (and often overturned), but the individuals driving on the road seemed to have a yield program and assumed all cars would be driving on any and all parts of the road.

Here in Mexico, it’s everyone for themselves and the vehicles aren’t always in the best condition, so you feel completely out of control when the pedal is floored and the driver is stiff-armed at 10 and 2, swerving to and fro. After six hours, his arms must be sore!

**Side Note: On our way back from Playa Linda beach in Tapachula, driving in a minivan with Sirley behind the wheel and her grandma in the back seat, she began RACING her husband who was driving another vehicle with her 3 year-old nephew as a passenger – no car seat or seat belt. I was glad my sunglasses were hiding my bug eyes and nobody could speak English because Heather and I exchanged a few comments during our side by side drag race on a one lane road. This was without even alcohol as an excuse, not that it’s an acceptable one, but can you imagine when you throw a few Coronas in these people?!