driving in mexico – The Official Blog Of Scot McKay

Ten Days In Mexico [Part Five]

Near The U.S. Border At Nuevo Laredo, Tamps.

We rolled into Monterrey, Nuevo Leon around 1:30 am. We didn’t get to sleep until 6:00.

Wild partying? Hardly.

It simply took that long to get a hotel.

The first two places we checked were packed to the gills. It turned out that the largest IT convention of the entire year happened to be taking place that weekend, and every hotel in the southern part of town was booked solid.

Suffice it to say the IT company hadn’t reserved my room in advance. This made perfect sense since I don’t work for any of them anymore.

Logically speaking, we decided to head to the northern part of town for more options.

Now, if you’ll recall, we’ve already discussed how “logic” and “Mexico” are two concepts that don’t mesh particularly well.

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Ten Days In Mexico [Part Four]

Emily’s uncle Manuel lives in the urban equivalent of the Batcave–or is that “Gruta De Murcielagos“?

Either way, it’s impressive.

All that’s visible from the city street (if Delicias classifies as a “city”) is a simple garage door. Once it opens automatically, you drive down a hallway paved with Mexican tile that’s at least as long as a football field.

At the end is a massive sanctuary with walls on all sides of at least 75 feet high, and naturally lit from above. You feel as if you’ve entered into the domain of some villain from an upcoming James Bond flick.

Finding the “secret entrance” to the home itself, we were met by Emily’s aunt Petra, who had decorated the decidedly unique home traditionally. She fed us well and showed us our room, which was easily the most comfortable and well-equipped guest room either of us had seen since…ever.

None of us remember hitting the pillow that night.

The next morning, daylight revealed swingsets, a trampoline and enough high-end barbecue gear to make Bobby Flay jealous.

So if Manuel had designs on taking over the world as the next Bond villain, at least he was going to do so in a “family friendly” manner.

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Ten Days In Mexico [Part Three]

In The Middle Of The Mexican 'Outback', Basically

No sooner than I had crossed the intersection I was compelled to slam on the brakes and throw the “Short Bus” into reverse.

Honestly, I had simply proceeded forward from the stop sign normally, as any red-blooded driver would have in a similar situation. Really.

But as it turns out, the Mexican Department Of Transportation (or whatever they call it) has a warped sense of humor.

And no question. Most traffic patterns in Mexico tend to assume that every vehicle that passes through is piloted by a local citizen who knows better by now than to assume anything…like, for example, that the street in front of you is NOT a “one way” street–headed in the OPPOSITE direction.

Well you know what happens when you assume. Some guy from Texas hits town and causes mayhem in the streets.

Sure enough, I was about to have “SEAT” tattooed on my forehead and Emily a “Chevy” symbol tattooed on hers had my reflexes not kicked in.

Who knew? Certainly there weren’t any SIGNS to inform us that what seemed perfectly logical was flat-out ridiculous to suppose.

Fortunately, there was a guy standing on the street corner to whistle at us…after I was already burning rubber in reverse.

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Ten Days In Mexico [Part One]

Welcome to the first of a multi-part series chronicling the hijinks, escapades and even life-shaking epiphanies experienced on our recent adventure driving into the heart of Mexico. Fair warning…this series isn’t completely focused on dating and seduction advice, but if you read on you’re sure to find plenty of highly applicable information nonetheless. Most of all, I hope you enjoy this series as a quick break from your busy day and from the serious business of life…Cheers.

After A Fair Share Of Paperwork Hassles, It's Wide-Open Road Ahead

“Quieres whisky?”

The tuxedo-clad Mexican waiter catches me off guard.

“Absolutamente“, I answer solemnly but resolutely.

We’re now at the reception after Emily’s cousin’s wedding that, in the unforgettable words of Yogi Berra, “made this day necessary”.

Actually, it’s what inspired the entire trip.

And since we were already through what we had imagined to be the most brutal part of the journey by the time we made it to Ciudad Juarez anyway, we figured we’d do the “deep dive” and say hola to Emily’s relatives further south.

And believe me, the whisky was sounding really good by the time it was offered up.

You see, the previous thirty hours or so had been something else.

For starters, the drive from San Antonio to El Paso is notorious. Let’s just say that the first thing you see when you hit I-10 in San Antonio is a sign that says “El Paso — 538”.

When I say there is nothing in between that sign and the one that says “Welcome To El Paso, Home Of Some Pretty Good Carnitas Tacos”, I’m including the town of Fort Stockton, TX.

Continue reading “Ten Days In Mexico [Part One]”