OK! So let me give you guys a rundown of this wild trip through Mexico - basically there are 3 or 4 things that really had an impact on our experience:
- Tati was the only one driving our vehicle the whole time (* since Marconi really only knew her, he wanted her to be the one to drive, and because it was her car we were towing*)
-We were driving a white 15 passenger van TOWING OUR CAR! the whole way! Neither one of us had ever towed anything in our lives
-At each stop, we would park, sleep in our cars for about 2-4 hours, then get back on the road .... with only one driver, this was a HUGE detail as I watched Tati unravel. By the third night we were both examples of delirium at its finest.
-The BIG KICKER is that Marconi was in front of us, and was driving a big yellow school bus packed with stuff, and it would NOT GO OVER 45 MPH!!!
Alright, so here is the story from bottom to top of the trip.
First off, in Belize EVERYTHING is imported because they have hardly any resources of their own. Because of this, there is a pretty big and successful industry of people paying people like Marconi to fly to the states, buy a car or bus or van etc and drive it down. Because everything is imported, everything is WAY more expensive. . . you can see why people would be driving through Mexico regularly for this sort of thing. . . for themselves or others.
The team of guys and vehicles we had included: Marconi and Uncle Lloyd in front driving a yellow school bus towing a jeep cherokee, Tati and I in a 15 passenger van towing her Chevy Impala, and then behind us were Marconi's cousins Nigel and Nicolai who were closer to Tati and my age, and they were driving another 15 passenger van, towing an astro van.
This is Sunday night - everyone looks a little beat esp Marconi lol
The first 60 miles in Mexico is supposed to be the most dangerous, and after the first 300 it is way easier *or so they say. We crossed into Mexico, stopped at a restaurant, and there were a few groups of caravans that wanted to travel together. Because it is the Cartel family/gang that rob, mug, kill and do all the stuff to people, that travelers want to avoid, there is a business that some of the Cartels run sometimes where they offer to lead caravans through the first 60 miles. So 2 of them found us and offered there services and Marconi was confident in them, and so they got on Marconi's bus (he was in the lead) and stayed with us through the first area. Not a single thing happened out of the ordinary! Tati even learned how to drive the van and tow rather quickly!
Because of the length and lack of sleep on the trip, the days sort of blur together, but what I know is that the country was BEAUTIFUL -I posted lots of pictures under the Mexico Tab- and even a youtube video of our delirium :) don't judge. I would definitely make the trip again if there was more sleep involved and if we were again in a caravan and with people who know the route.
After the first 100 miles, Tati and I forgot we were in any sort of dangerous territory, and just had a blast. We had so much fun just talking about life and dreams and this trip. We laughed more than I have laughed in a very long time. After our trip through Mexico I told her that I feel like I have lived more life in the past week than I had in the past year. Being gross and dirty and exhausted and being in messy committed relationships - living life outside of comfort and plans - I would rather sweat and be hot and feel refreshment all the more from being clean, and be tired from working, thinking and laughing and sleep so well and just feel all the more alive and refreshed afterwards.
Of course by day three, we are both exhausted - - I'm feeling guilty for falling asleep while Tati is chained to the steering wheel - hahaha
We ran into a few different Americans too! Most were couples retiring who had bought land in Belize and were moving their stuff down. One of the couples made the trip through Mexico into a 10 day trip, and they all laughed talking about how EVERYONE in the U.S is so terrified with the stories that are told and even exaggerated on the news - but how easy and beautiful and harmless their trips through have always been.
In Mexico, as far as I could tell, what it comes down to is that people want your stuff. People will beg for it. People will steal it. There are the federal police who are legitimate and looking for drugs; they have the grenade launchers, the big trucks, dogs, guns and all of that - but they are the good guys - then there are the military police who are the police who ask for a bribes. Most of the time they want to take or ask for your flashlights and men's sunglasses. After talking to everyone Mexican, Belizean, American, and more people in the mix from other countries traveling through - I get the strong impression that no one really wants to harm you. They just want your money or your stuff. So the trick is to basically not look obvious. It also helped that we could not speak Spanish - there were even official people doing checkpoints at the border who would stick their head in the van and say "Teeps?" . . .and we would laugh and say, "sorry we dont know what you are saying" LOL! obviously they were asking for a tip . . . um sorry guy, not happening.
There was a point where Marconi pulled the bus over to stretch, and so we parked behind him, and little did we know, but the tar on the road was really soft and the tires sunk right into it! luckily our car was able to drive out of it, but the bus got stuck. We had to hail a semi to come and pull us out! 
The funniest part was that once the bus was back on the road, we were behind it, and the huge long thick chain that the semi pulled the bus with, somehow it fell off the bus and as we were driving we saw it fall on the road . . . so it took us a few seconds to realize we need to stop and go get it, so since the road was soft, Tati couldnt stop the car, so I got out, jogged about 1/4 mile to the chain, then wrapped it around my arms and neck (this thing probably weighed over 60 pounds) and I was trying to hard to run with it on me and catch up back to our van - but tati was still moving away from me! Like at the same speed I was running, so it was very frustrating, but still pretty funny, and finally I was able to get in and catch my breath!!! Definitely a good work out
Check out our ridiculous delirious radioshow we made, and dont judge us! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvG7rhQpgS0&context=C3e1a72aADOEgsToPDskKVq_15HAvXphHrzPLLMmNk
*and I just figured out how to make it so that people can become members of my blog, and that way they can comment and get updates for when I put up a new post!*
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