[Expedition leader Nick Baggarly channels the Aztecs at the top of the Temple of the Sun at Teotihuacan, Mexico.]

Journal by Colin McAuliffe

Friday was a crazy day. We’d spent ALL of Thursday, I mean like 16 hours of it, driving from Tequila to Mexico City, where we promptly got horribly lost. Finally, at 3am, we pulled into an interesting motel in Teotihuacan, where in the morning we would see the famous pre-Aztec ruins. Morning came, and with the morn also came my good Mexican friend Rebekka, who I originally met in Tulum on my last Mexican Journey.

The pyramids were cool. Old, huge, and imposing, and stained with the blood of a million sacrifices (though the detail about the sacrifices could just be a legend). We spent a few leisurely hours wandering amongst them, enjoying all they had to offer, and we shot some good video footage for our program. When we were done, we all hopped back in the cars and Rebekka guided us through the madness that is Mexico City. There was only one small snag: We didn’t know that if you had a license plate that ended in 9 or 0 it was illegal to drive in Mexico City on Fridays. This is all part of a program to cut down on urban traffic and pollution. So there we are, sitting on the side of the road while some of us ran into a computer store to pick up some doodads we needed, when who rocks up, but the fuzz, or the policia as they are called here.

The two cops initially told us we had to pay six hundred dollars and leave our cars with them over night. Of course there was no way that was going to happen so we started exploring other options. Neil started his “we’re good guys, we’re raising money for Parkinson’s Disease” schpiel. At the same time, Rebekka was turning on the “I’m an innocent, beautiful girl, please don’t do this to us” charm. Eventually, the officer said something along the lines of “Well, maybe you could help me out with a soda” -- which in laypersons terms means “Bribe me please”. Apparently there are many different levels of bribery, and asking for a soda is the least. Asking for beer is the next step up, and your really in trouble if the cop says anything about helping pay for his kids college. So, this “soda” cost us ten dollars, and we were free to leave. After the fact, our other Mexican travel buddy Cristina informed us that the usual going rate for a “soda” is more like thirty dollars. This made a fair amount of sense because when Rebekka smoothly handed the policeman the hundred peso note he said, “Well, I could really use three sodas” She just said no, we don’t have that money and we left the scene of the crime. So Rebekka facilitated our first bribe of the trip, and I’m glad she had he honor.

After the whole bribing thing was done, we headed on to Cuernavaca, where Rebekka had a condo-type place where we could all stay. Once again, there was a slight snag when our beastly vehicles could not fit through the gate, so we went through a little rigamorole finding some parking around the corner. Once situated, we hiked up the hill to Rebekka’s place to relax. The original plan was for the whole crew to go out and party like rock stars in some swanky Mexican clubs, however, the exhaustion factor kicked in, and of the crew, only the three amigos, Adam, Neil and I, headed out for some fun. Of course Rebekka and Christina were with us.

We got to the club and we went through the usual waiting at the door until the guy you know comes out and says you’re cool thing, and during that time I realized that I might as well test out my new persona “El Gringo Loco”. The place was packed full of middle-class Mexicans, dancing their kulas off to an interesting blend of American and Latin pop. I hung out for a while and met some of Rebekka’s friends and then wandered off for a while. I was repeatedly stopped and asked various questions in Spanish that, because of the insanely loud music, and my only OK Spanish, I completely didn’t comprehend. So I just pretended to understand.

Mexican Girl: blah blah blahblah blah?

Colin: Si

MG: blahblah?

C: Si!

MG: Bla?

C: Si Bueno

At this point I would just shrug and say “Soy el gringo loco” which means, I’m the crazy white guy. After a couple of gringo locos the free drinks started rolling in. I spent the rest of the night dancing (not very well) with various Mexican chicas and having a blast.

It felt really good to get out of those cars for a while and do some socializing. Getting up the next morning at seven was a little rough, but I somehow managed. We all said goodbye to Rebekka -- and I felt bad for leaving her place such a wreck -- but the team was waiting so I couldn’t stay around to help her clean. It was great to see her, hopefully next time we meet up we’ll have a chance to hang out for a little while longer in a less hectic setting.

Rock on from Mexico,
El Gringo Loco

Colin@drivearoundtheworld.com

Logbook for November 21st
Start: Teotihuacan, Mexico
Finish: Cuernavaca, Mexico
Mileage: 98

Help support our cause: Drive Around the World aims to raise money for Parkinson’s Disease research by taking four certified pre-owned Land Rover Discoverys around the globe following lines of longitude. Readers are encouraged to pledge small amounts of money per expedition-mile via a pledge form that can be found on our Parkinson’s page by clicking here. Everyone making a pledge of $10 or more to raise money for the Parkinson’s Institute will be put in a raffle to win an expedition-style Land Rover.