Things in Mexico can be a bit...difficult. We had a long drawn out morning trying to get a cell phone, the things we take for granted in the States. After 3 hours and 2 trips back to the cell phone place they got us hooked up. We then proceeded to begin our weekend trip: To Cuernavaca, a city to the south of Mexico, the "land of eternal spring": Sounds good to me! Our route was: Metro south to the southern bus station, then bus it to Cuernavaca. The bus stations are right outside the Metro stations and the buses are inexpensive, clean, and show movies. Before getting on the bus, I saw the metal detector. That would not have made me flinch had I not had a knife in my right pocket. I thought I was clever and smoothly slipped it into my backpack
"close call!" I thought. We stood in line for the bus, and they were searching bags. I began to remember my mom's warning "In Mexico, you are guilty until proven innocent. I have seen a lot of gringas rot in a Mexican jail for nothing. Be careful!" I began to pray. The guy saw the jump rope on the outside of my bag, asked if it was a jump rope, profiled me and barely swept his hand inside my backpack, inches from my shank. Next time, I'm putting it in my camera case. Maybe I don't even need it...
Speaking of arms. There are police and military everywhere. Not just like your average humvee with some GIs playing poker and trading stories of their girls back home. Like big trucks with 4 guys with guns perched up pointed at everything with legs. And when I say guns, I mean heavy automatic weapons. So apparently I can't have a knife, but I have seen more guns than Charlton Heston in the past 48 hours. Oh yeah, drugs are decriminalized too! So I can't have a knife, but I can have up to 4 grams of cocaine. Fun stuff! (I'm kidding mom)
It's time to explore Cuernavaca.
Yeah, the police presence is crazy... I wonder what the source of funding is for all the guns n' ammo...
ReplyDeletepictures, I want pictures!
ReplyDeleteIMHO:
carrying a weapon marries you to the pathology of violence, objectifying people as "threats" instead of individuals. maybe the net positive of not carrying a weapon would outweigh the small (probably almost immeasurable) chance that not only would you find yourself in a life or death situation, but having a weapon on you would decrease rather than increase your chances of being harmed. bring the knife when you might need it for anything other than feeling stabby, like camping or other outdoors stuff.
as far as the police go, and in other situations as well, sometimes it's to your benefit to act like a tourist and sometimes it isn't. Example: in Puerto Vallarta, I saw a police officer walking the streets late at night. I felt like I didn't belong, and he could shake me down for $, so I ducked into an internet cafe (literally stared me down from outside the window). But then on the bus ride back to TJ, the military was searching my bags and I chatted them up. I wanted them to know that I was just a stupid american because I didn't want any trouble.
travelling is super fun, again let me say that i'm super jealous. talk to as many people as you can, collect all those stories!
Hi,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy your writing. It is sharp, insightful, eloquent, and you keep the narrative going. And something tells me you arent even breaking a literary sweat. I am looking forward to reading all about your journeys.
What a great idea to keep an online journal...
See ya later