From the Metropolis to the Jungle

Mexico has a surprisingly diverse landscape. When we pictured Mexico, Adam and I both pictured lush jungles. Until today, we hadn't seen anything resembling a jungle. Yes today, we finally felt like we entered the Mexico that lived in our heads.
The beginning of our trip, saw an arid desert, then we got to the beach at Mazatlan, then we saw huge pine trees in and around Mexico city. It was so crazy, you would have thought that you were in British Columbia. We saw a snow covered mountain in the distance just yesterday, and today we are in the heat!!! We even bought some freshly squeezed pineapple juice from the side of the road. It was really cold and refreshing and a little gross, when I discovered a dead bug floating in the bottom. Yes, I couldn't finish the dregs of the juice. Call me Princess if you like.

So, tonight we are staying in Tuxtla Guiterrez. It is the capital of the State of Chiapas, home of the anti-Mexican Zapatista rebels. We are in the heart of downtown, once again. We try to stay on the outskirts so that we can avoid overheating Ole Tink, but it NEVER, ever works out the way we plan it. Try as we might. We do plan though, really.
After our last blog, we had to brave Mexico City. We got up really early in the morning, again. For those of you who have ever lived with me, you know that getting up early is not my forte, but luckily I just didn't sleep at all. There was a high school band staying at the hotel, playing their horns in the middle of the night and having a great time. The band noise combined with the extremely loud dance music coming from god-knows-where (I didn't get up to investigate, just prayed that it would go away), made for a sleepless night. I was out of bed before Adam.
We had an unexpectedly easy trip through Mexico city. We have uploaded a little video to show you some of what we saw at the worst point of the drive. After that, it was pretty smooth sailing. Mexico City is actually really nice to look at. We were going pretty slowly, so we got to enjoy some of the nice, wide tree-lined streets.
Then we went straight up!! Tink is an old van, and the big climbs we have encountered in Mexico have been pretty slow going for us, but we have been (knock on wood) getting to our destinations each day. The climb into and out of Mexico city valley reaches approximately 3000m above sea level. More than twice as high as Roger's pass!! All vehicles pass us on the way up because our maximum speed is 52-64 km/hr but many vehicles overheat and we end up passing them when they stop to let their engine cool down.
Speaking of destinations, ours was Cordoba yesterday. We stayed at a motel that gave you the option of paying for a four hour or a full nights stay. We opted for the latter. I still haven't figured out why there was an option for four hours. I think it is a secret rendez-vous place for the lovers of Cordoba, who knows. Here's the thing, it was incredible!
It had a private parking garage right under our room. Our own, giant hot tub that was more like a pool for Maia, with a retractable roof. Yes, a retractable roof. It also had radio music wired into the bathroom. It was spotless, huge, and really cheap. It felt a little surreal because when I asked them if there was a place to wash clothes nearby, they did it for us instead.
You would have thought we would stay longer in a place like that, but we are really getting itchy to get to Nicaragua. Maia's getting a little tired of all of the days in the van, and we would really like to get settled soon too. So, we just kept going.
Tomorrow we cross the border into Guatemala. We plan on staying at Quetzltenango ...apparently referred to as "Xela". I'm not sure why, but I'm sure we'll find out.
Oh, yeah and one more thing abount Mexico. It is not as dangerous or as corrupt as we had been lead to believe. In fact we have only been pulled over twice; once by the city police and once by the military. Both times, no bribes were requested (or offered for that matter) and we were wished well and on our way in a matter of minutes. I think having kids in the back really helps.
I have uploaded a video of Naomi talking to me, as well as the abovementioned Mexico City gridlock.
Can't upload any pics tonight. I am not sure why, but we will try again next time.
Love you all very much! Keep on realxing mom and dad. You guys deserve it!