My
First-time to Mexico
My first time driving
into Mexico was and became a frightening experience for me and my family. Frightening
because we didn’t know where we were going and someplace where we had never
been before.The
first thing we did was stop to get car insurance before we headed down the road
because of the clause that prevents coverage by your own insurance company
while in Mexico. The insurance was cheap and the card had to be shown to cops
if asked for.
The
country is so big and undeveloped it was a challenge finding my way around. This
was before visas and passports were required to check in the borderlands and
more like the era around mid-1980. The political situation was unlike it was
today. There was less of a drug trade or war awareness and the mood was
pro-American at that time so you were greeted by friendly people rather than
antagonistic individuals.
Leaving
the United States at the border check point in Juarez we headed down a two lane
highway identified as highway 45. This highway started off as being paved
blacktop but quickly turned into a soft sanded unpaved sandy path traveled by
cars and busses but also large commercial trucks exceeding the posted speed
limit by at least twice in my estimation.
It
was a long and winding road crossing many mountain peaks and beautiful pristine
scenery for anyone who had never traveled that way before. The mountains were
filled with oak and pine trees similar to the mountains of Southern Arizona. The
road took us between low desert areas to the high plains up to the mountains
back down to the desert floor. The landscape changed from mountainous to desert
several times and kept us interested in the views along the way.
The
trip took over 6 hours and the ride was dusty and hot. We stopped for
refreshments once on a roadside fruit stand and kept going to beat the
daylight. Traveling this road at dark would be difficult and we had no plans to
travel at night.
Headed
for this very small town somewhere in the Chihuahua province we took our truck
to pick up some hand-made bedroom furniture we were told about from my daughter
in law who lived in a sleepy hollow called Namiquipa. To the best of our
knowledge there were less than 1000 people living in this town and many of them
were hard working village people who depended on their own efforts to make a
living. It appeared to be a town of
peasantry and hard workers. Historically, these people were very familiar with
land grabs, political conflicts and war as the town was situated in the midst
of all these events.
A
very old Franciscan monk town established in the latter years of the 18th
Century the people there were quite friendly and helpful. The little village
was built on an elevation of over 6,000 feet above sea level and the climate was
pleasantly warm in the summer time and frigidly cold in the winter.
We
didn’t know the history of this little town but soon found out it had been
nicknamed “the cradle of the revolution” as it was a place where several
revolutions were born in Mexican politics. We were even told that General
Pershing had fought Pancho Villa nearby and that the historical value of this
town was immensely important to Mexico’s revolutionary war stories.
We
came in from highway 15 a rural road poorly maintained. We passed several
police vehicles but we were never stopped or questioned about our business in this
part of the country. It was safe to say we didn’t fit the profile for drug
runners and the language was never a barrier as my daughter in law was native
and knew many of the folks we met along the way.
No
traffic lights but plenty of “Alto” signs but traffic was so light at times, I wondered
why there were any stop signs posted at all except to trap you for not
stopping. The town had a dirt road main street with a town square in the middle
with a traditional half circle concrete gazebo right in the middle of the park
with concrete pillars.
The
downtown area were made of a few merchant stores and that was where the
furniture store was located. Most were made of adobe clay but we did see a few
that were framed and modernized for the current styles in the USA. We saw more restaurants
in this historical town than any other vendor and it even had a movie theater.
We
had planned to eat at several for dinner, breakfast and maybe lunch the next
day. There were antique statues on different areas of the grassy park.It
has a religious feeling and you could tell the faith had deep impact on its
residence. Walking down the main street were greeted by musicians asking for
donations. Not really a tourist type of town they seemed to have the capabilities
to throw a good feast here and I was told they do have fiestas plenty for those
that live here.
The town itself seemed to be lost between the
past and the present as the lifestyle was very relaxed and the town didn’t seem
to have any sense of urgency when doing business. Attitudes were friendly and
food was plentiful.
Here
within the immediate proximity, there appeared to be a feeling of contentment
and the fact many owned their own land made living here more comfortable than
many in the cities. There were no large land owners running the place or pace.
Just pleasantly nice people who tipped their hats when you passed or waved at
you for a friendly greeting
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