Mexico
i celebrated New Years Eve in Austin, Texas, holding a roman candle and screaming at the top of my lungs as five shots fired into the sky, joined by many others in an orgy of light.
the next day we drove into Mexico. apparently, we didn´t even need passports to get in, just $3 and we´re acroos the border. coming back, however, is another story.
driving in Mexico sucks balls, or, from another perspective, is the most excitement i´ve had in quite a while. imagine cars passing each other going 70 miles per hour on these two lane highways, sometimes with the median barely visible, sometimes barely missing oncoming traffic. on top of that, there´s potholes everywhere, of all shapes and sizes. the major highways also go through all these little towns, guarded by two or three killer speed bumps that rock the shit out of my car. i have no choice but to slow down and stop to avoid those miniature earthquakes.
after two days of driving, going through Monterrey, Tampico, and Veracruz, we finally got our asses down to Las Choapas. it´s a sweet little town with an amusement park in the middle of it - roller coasters, bumper cars and everything, and there´s no tourists besides international hipsters here for the Gathering. we met up with the Rainbow Family right after we got into town. we got invited to a feast where we were welcomed into town by the mayor, or El Presidente, as he is called. i played a Bob Dylan song for them. afterwards there was an info session.
the Gathering is just 3 hours out of town on a country road. unfortunately it´s located on a flood plain, and we´re still in the rainy season. the whole place got flooded two days before we got here. the conditions are pretty harsh - ticks, tarantulas, flooded shitters, lots of people getting sick, the bridge is out, and abuot 60 people from all over the world stranded in the middle of the jungle. on the bright side, the rain seemed to have calmed down a bit and there´s a boat that can get us there.
some people had enough, they´re skipping town. however, we met up with a kid froim Canada named Shelby who wants to go back to the Gathering and help out. we´re gonna bring in some supples. reinforcement is on the way.
and so our brave travelers forge ahead into the unknown. until next time, folks.
the next day we drove into Mexico. apparently, we didn´t even need passports to get in, just $3 and we´re acroos the border. coming back, however, is another story.
driving in Mexico sucks balls, or, from another perspective, is the most excitement i´ve had in quite a while. imagine cars passing each other going 70 miles per hour on these two lane highways, sometimes with the median barely visible, sometimes barely missing oncoming traffic. on top of that, there´s potholes everywhere, of all shapes and sizes. the major highways also go through all these little towns, guarded by two or three killer speed bumps that rock the shit out of my car. i have no choice but to slow down and stop to avoid those miniature earthquakes.
after two days of driving, going through Monterrey, Tampico, and Veracruz, we finally got our asses down to Las Choapas. it´s a sweet little town with an amusement park in the middle of it - roller coasters, bumper cars and everything, and there´s no tourists besides international hipsters here for the Gathering. we met up with the Rainbow Family right after we got into town. we got invited to a feast where we were welcomed into town by the mayor, or El Presidente, as he is called. i played a Bob Dylan song for them. afterwards there was an info session.
the Gathering is just 3 hours out of town on a country road. unfortunately it´s located on a flood plain, and we´re still in the rainy season. the whole place got flooded two days before we got here. the conditions are pretty harsh - ticks, tarantulas, flooded shitters, lots of people getting sick, the bridge is out, and abuot 60 people from all over the world stranded in the middle of the jungle. on the bright side, the rain seemed to have calmed down a bit and there´s a boat that can get us there.
some people had enough, they´re skipping town. however, we met up with a kid froim Canada named Shelby who wants to go back to the Gathering and help out. we´re gonna bring in some supples. reinforcement is on the way.
and so our brave travelers forge ahead into the unknown. until next time, folks.