Day Nine...What A Day!

Day nine...wow, what a day!
Everything started out amazing. We left the hotel in McAllen, Texas by 7:20am - 20 minutes behind what we had targeted, but not bad. We entered Mexico without having to show our passports or any of the papers we had so carefully completed the other day. We were so worried that we would have a hard time, but it was no trouble at all. Thank you, Lord!
The first part of our drive was also without incident. The roads were great, the traffic was light and the scenery was wonderful. Tommy - the other man in my life - lead us through all of the twists and turns without any trouble (Tommy is our TomTom GPS). We have really come to like Tommy and speak to him along our way rather regularly. If someone were to listen in, they would begin to wonder as to the status of our sanity!
Anyway, as the day progressed, the roads narrowed and became just like what we were accustom to in Guatemala. Rocky was having a blast. We had originally thought we would drive from McAllen, Texas to Tampico, Mexico, but we arrived in Tampico at 2:30, so we thought we would push through to Tuxpam. No problem - 3 more hours and plenty of daylight left...right? We were feeling so encouraged and confident. The border was no problem, the roads were no problem, even our Spanish was working effectively. Wow, could it get any better?
Well, 2 hours into our 3 hour extention, the traffic started to get yucky. The road was narrow and it was tough to pass, so everyone was going slow. Add to that the numerous and seemingly pointless speedbumps, and it was pretty tough to get above 60 km/hr. Rocky was constantly shiftin up and down, up and down. Then, suddenly, the clutch started acting up. Rocky would push it in to shift gears and it wouldn't release. He had to reach down and pull it out with his hand. Oh no!!!!
As we looked up, we saw on our right a mechanic shop - a lean-to with some cars half pulled apart - so we pulled in. The three mechanics all started working away and pulling things off of the car! After about 45 minutes, the main mechanic said he had to go check to see if he could find two new pieces - something in the clutch pump. He hopped in his car and drove off, leaving us standing there, watching the time tick away.
15 minutes later he returned and said he needed 720 pesos to pay for the new parts and he had to hurry because the shop was closing. We hadn't had a chance to get to a bank yet and only had the pesos I took out in Kamloops. I scrounged together all we had, gave it to Rocky, and he got in the car with the mechanic and drove away to get the parts we needed, leaving Hope and I behind with the car. Two and a half hours later we paid him 300 pesos for his labour and pulled out to complete our journey to Tuxpam. The entire bill was under $100...and, it was almost exactly the amount of pesos we had!
Although we didn't see this later part of the day as a blessing at first, hindsight is truly 20/20. At the very moment the clutch stopped working there was a mechanic shop on the side of the otherwise deserted road. Then, in the middle of nowhere, the mechanic can find parts for a '98 Nissan Pathfinder! Another miracle! We had enough pesos on hand to pay for the part and the labour. Incredible!
Well, now it was 8:30pm and we really didn't have any choice but to continue in the dark as there were no real towns in between where we were and Tuxpam. So, off we went. Driving in the dark - the one thing all the guide books say not to do! When we arrived in Tuxpam, there were two ways to get into town. We chose the wrong way - surprise! By now it is 9:30pm, we haven't had any supper and we are all very tired and a little edgy. We tried three times to get directions, but what was so clear to those willing to help us, was "claro con chocolate" to us (clear as chocolate)! So, we finally flagged down a taxi and paid him to lead us to the nearest North American style hotel. He took us to the Holiday Inn. It was so fancy from the outside I was worried how much it was going to cost. I told Rocky that we were going to stay no matter the cost because we couldn't go any further - he wasn't sure he agreed. When I went in to book a room, I was shocked! The room and breakfast for three for $87! Thank you, Lord!
Day nine had its ups and downs, but through it all, we felt the hand of the Lord guiding and directing us and we truly feel so blessed!
Karren, Rocky and Hope