I packed my bags last night, got a reasonable night’s sleep and said goodbye to Angie and her mom in the kitchen at breakfast time.
I can’t remember Mom’s name, but we had a couple nice visits during the six nights I stayed in her house. Today she was cooking a pot of Mexican food to take in to their store in el centro to feed the family and other workers because seven days a week is too expensive to bring food in from other cooks. She and Angie both said Sunday was a busy day at the store, and they don’t cook on Sundays, so mom was back at it this morning. She gave me fruit and pastry from her leftovers yesterday for my journey.
I went out to the street with my bags and waited for a taxi to drive by. I always get nervous - should I have called ahead? But I know taxis are common and my wait was only about five minutes. I had an enjoyable taxi ride of about 10 minutes to the bus station with a taxista who did not speak English but complimented me on my Spanish.
The comfy bus ride took about four hours with traffic. I knitted the whole way, so did not really appreciate the scenery, but I noted farmland and California-like rolling hills and small mountains along the way until we got close to the city when I saw some really huge housing tracts on the outskirts that looked like the homogenous developments we build in the US only bigger and more identical.
Once I got really close I turned on my phone and listened to a voice message Claudia had sent me - a gentle reminder about being a smart traveler:
1. Don’t be a flashy American tourist ( I took off my jewelry which is not flashy to begin with).
2. Be aware of your surroundings when walking, and if you need to look at your phone, stop and sit in a place you feel safe rather than walk while looking - cellphones are valuable and easily snatched. This one will be hard for me since I am basically glued to my phone and use it for navigation.
3. DO NOT take a taxi from the street unless you get it at a Taxi Seguro stand where the price is preset and the drivers are regulated. She told me how to get a taxi at the bus station and this info was greatly appreciated and follow to the letter.
I was excited, but nervous when we pulled in to the station. Every where I’ve been so far felt completely safe ( except for Cancun itself, but there I was with family and not self-directing.) Now I’m in a big city, and wondering if I’ve made the right choice.
The bus station was huge,
but I found the Taxi Seguro stand easily and bought my ticket.
As soon as I got in the taxi, I received a message through my AirBNB app from Diana, my next lady of the house….”Hola Denise, todo bien?” I replied “espero que si, acabo de entro en un taxi” and gave her the taxi number. Traffic was heavy on the freeway and city streets - just like home during rush hour and busy times in general). Twenty minutes or so later, my Spanish-speaking-only taxi driver stopped in front of who knows where at the address I gave him and when I got out I was greeted by a friendly face asking “are you Denise?” It was Sergio, husband to Diana. Boy was I relieved!
We went inside where Diana was preparing the main meal of the day. We are together at the table with their daughter and played the “get to know you” game with me speaking as much Spanish as possible, but I am familiar with this line of conversation, and did most of the talking.
Diana is a landscape designer and has clients for whom she designs and creates in home plant life.
Sergio is a retired teacher, translator and writer. He is very helpful with conversation.
My room is upstairs, on the third floor at the top of a crazy steep iron staircase.
which I access from inside their house on the second floor through the door to the outside
The terraza outside my door is small, but bright, open to the sky with a view of the neigh buildings and functions as their laundry room and garden.
The room is small, but bright and pleasant.
Home sweet home for the next eight nights!
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