From Chaos to Credence
Logan
Driving through and around Mexico City proved itself a stressful experience and surely the most misguided detour we've taken. The third encounter and bribe with the police was the last straw. We all had different thoughts about how the situations should have been handled, and the explosive argument that followed was the most tense and discordant of the trip thus far. After pulling over simply to get off the road, fearing any further confrontations, things came to a head. We got out of the car and agreed to take ten minutes. We still wanted to see the pyramids at Teotihuacan. The site still lay within the state of Mexico, the capital of Mexican police corruption and our seemingly inescapable purgatory at the time.
We needed a place to sleep and settled on Tepeji del Río, seeking nothing more than peace and sanity, and a beer. The spare tire fell off the roof again. We found the nearest bar, spirits at an all-time low. A few Negro Modelos and some free salsa led to a waiter who assured us a safe, police-free route to the pyramids. Then another stranger, seeing the map, turned out to be a motorcycle-tour enthusiast. He mapped the entirety of our route to Cancún. He was Manolo, owner of the restaurant, a cattle ranch, and a luxury hotel down the road.
Where did we plan to sleep? Wherever we found ourselves come bedtime. He asked his sister if the hotel had a room. We were given a complimentary night in the penthouse of La Posada del Río. A domed, Sistine ceiling, a bar, a shower the size of a walk-in closet. Fit for kings. Certainly not three young vagabonds. We showered separately, mind you, and slept soundly.
In the morning Manolo invited us to breakfast with his family. Eggs, mangos, toast, cereal, salsas, and hours on the importance of family. His mother said she would pray for us, and gave us a tiny statuette of the Virgin of Guadalupe.
It was difficult to leave. Within hours we were sleeping in front of a police station, next to a gas station, tents ablaze in the headlights and the crescent moon. The pyramids, faintly visible, awaited us.