Travelling

Well it has become a regular occurence for us to compare our expriences within Mexico with that of Venezuela. Usually it is all the differences that suprise us. It has been easier for all of us to enter a country that speaks spanish and pick up our spanish where we left off. We are not nearly as frustrated as we were in Venezuela but still we have a lot to improve on. We are good at getting basic needs met and Andy has been amazing at getting us all around the country. He checks the map regularly and plots daily routes for us. We follow him wherever he says and he hasn´t really led us wrong. Now that I am here I just love letting the suggestions of others or feelings of the day move us to the next place. Again Andy and I marvel at how are differences compliment each other, I was determined again on leaving this year and travelling and I had to inspire and motivate him that this was the right thing to do, now that he is here he loves discovering new places and leads us to them with ease!

we first arrived to Monterrey and stayed one night at a very dirty pasada (hotel). I refer to my "sleep" that night as "meditation on discomfort." The room was stale with smoke and clung to everything in the room. We saw those bugs that are common in cities and the fan seemed to be only loosely hanging from the wall. It was loudly creeking and shaking and zarha didnt feel comfortble sleeping with it on. we left it on anyway because the air was so bad, the bed was hard and we worried about touching the bedding. As I contemplated the beginning of another traveling stunt on the low budget plan and how I dragged my family out of our comfortable beds and familar tastes of home, I actually had a ting of guilt. yes for all those that know me, be suprised, that is a rarely display emotion on my character. I woke from the last pieces of sleep I was able to achieve and was ready to graciously take any morning crankiness and complaints that came my way. The first words Andy said to me was "you really are my adventure woman" and I asked if he was mad at me. He was genuinely suprised I asked that and responded with "this is amazing you inspired this to happen and we are doing it!"
That meditation on discomfort was replaced shortly after with the¨"Meditation of gratitude" for all we were experiencing and how quickly life can ossilate between those poles.

we had been trying to decide whether to spend time the next day really exploring the city or heading to caves in a small town outside the city. I knew after that restless nights sleep the caves were a must. Zarha was eager to do the caves so we only briefly explored the city center of Monterrey and an art museum with lots of work by Diago Rivera. Honestly we are happier out of cities, and generally we all agree on that.

Monterrey, overall (just not our hotel) was a very clean and beautiful city. It had some water fountains that reminded me of Spain and we never saw those old style cathedrals and architecture in Venezulea. Mexico has plenty thanks to the colonizing Spainards. The most noticable difference has been the friendliness of the people here. We realize more intensly now as we compare Mexico to Venezuela, how edgy people in Venezuela were, how on edge we were and how we NEEDED to be on the alert at all times in Venezuela. Here we rarely get approached by people not even taxi drivers come up to us as we leave the bus terminal. We feel much safer and less stressed. Possibly not until we hit Mexico city on our way out of Mexico will we know that edgy dangerous, loud and over polluted city life. People still smoke way too much indoors here for my liking and the American dollar just does not buy what it used to. Especially not how far the dollar lasted in Venezuela, but we can find cheap food. Lodging is expensive and bus costs are killing us! We had no idea how quickly that would add up with the 3 of us and we are only one quarter into our traveling distance. Gas prices here are not at 3 cents a gallon as it was in venezuela its almost the same price as the states.

we are determined to make the dough last even if we have to settle in one place longer and not travel as much.