Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Current Location - Oaxaca, Southern Mexico

Stevie and I limped into Oaxaca this afternoon. We are feeling very road worn right now. Since we left Acapulco 5 days ago we've driven nothing but winding mountain roads at an average of 25 mph. That was our top speed when we weren't following a semi truck doing around 10 mph. Every few hours we'd be flagged into a narco military checkpoint where we'd pretty much experience the same routine each time. Stevie and kiki would get out of the van and 2 or 3 hombres holding large automatic weapons and wearing full fatigues in 95 degree temperature would proceed to ask all kinds of questions about Kiki. What kind of dog is it? Is it a girl or a boy? Does it bite? Is it an american dog? One of the soldiers would join me in the van to supposedly search for drugs and guns, but instead he'd just point at things and ask me questions. Is this a picture of your family? Are those surfboards? Do you like living in a van? Is that a refrigerator? After a while he'd climb out and wave us through. I can't imagine how all the drugs make it to the US.

So here we are in Oaxaca and we're feeling really lucky. We got totally set up at a beautiful bed and breakfast hacienda. Its the perfect place for us to unwind, and the people who own it are REALLY nice. The woman is the sister of my aunts best friend's brother-in-law. Which brings me to an important question: If you have a friend, family member, neighbor, or distant acquaintance who may have or know of any good connections between here and the tip of south america, please let us know. Good contacts make Sprinter Life so good sometimes! Just send us an email. Seriously. We're begging. Get out that year book and pick up the phone!

We plan to hang here for a couple days to straighten ourselves out. We discovered that our refrigerator isn't working, which is a major blow. We're going to try and find someone here who can fix it. We also want to get the Sprinter serviced as this will probably be the last good place to do so until we hit Costa Rica in a couple months. We're feeling pretty far south right now. We an see Central American on the horizon. That's the quick update. We're safe. We've showered. And we're happy. TREE




8 comments:

mamatuyas said...

Debby just called me and told me she received an email from Valentina's family in Oaxaca that you made it there. Good. I've heard Oaxaca is amazing. Are you going to visit Monte Alban? (Two thousand years ago center of Mixtec/Zapotec culture). Can't wait to hear your insights! My heart is happy you all are safe. Blessings.

Alexis said...

Phils old roommate Andreas has an old college buddy who lives in coasta rica and his family lives in Colombia. I'll figure out a way for you guys to touch base. Xoxo

Anonymous said...

kiki is so world famous

Timothy Iller said...

Wow!

Can't wait to get on the road myself. The wind is pretty crazy eh? Our bus is about 11 feet high. Hope it will do okay. It's inspirational to know others are on the road, adventuring south. Keep it up and be safe!

Melissa said...

hey my family friend is Bob Bitchin who is the ultimate authority on boating,i emailed him to find out if he or anyone he knows will be in you area. i will let you know what i find out.

Stevie said...

Thanks Alex and Melissa for looking into possible new friends for us on our journey! So far our best experiences have been through some sort of connection of a loved one. Muah!

corrin said...

One of my dearest friends from high school was the former Defence Minister for Colombia. I can put you guys in touch if he is still in the country (he splits time between Bogota and England). Will you be going to Colombia?

Stevie, Tree, and Soleil said...

We will be going to Columbia, and we would be super appreciative if we could meet up with your friend. We have heard so many wonderful things about Columbia. I'd love to pick a local's brain about where to go, what to see, what to not see, etc...Thanks so much Corrin!

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