DISCLAIMER: I want to start with the fact that we have been extremely safe during the time of Covid. We have essentially been in lock down since March 2020. We wear masks, we sanitize, we socially distance. But, as with other families around the world, we have faced critical issues that have forced us to assess the risk of travel against the risk of dropping everything for a loved one in need. The details are not mine to share so I'll leave it at that. I ask that you trust me, I wouldn't be travelling under regular conditions during a pandemic.
As we completed another long day of driving, the city of Puebla, only an hour and a half left away, tantalized us with an end near in sight. Suddenly the free for all of crisscrossing traffic narrowed into tight straight lines and we found ourselves in stand still traffic. Walled in by semi-trucks we sat for hours, discouraged and frustrated we saw no way out. The accident 8 miles up the road (a couple semi-trucks having tipped over, a mess, but didn't seem to have serious injuries) would take many more hours to clear and we started to survey our supplies for a probable night in the car. Out of the stillness, a truck in the lane up ahead, sandwiched in, began twisting and turning in its confines, threatening to crush its own bumpers against the bohemith vehicles surrounding it. Then suddenly, the small sized truck reversed skirting a semi-truck, narrowly escaping the steep concrete crevasse that ran along the highway, past a cop and then up onto the grassy hill beside us. We watched in awe, what was this psycho doing?!? Local men standing at the top of the hill, presumably to ascertain any progress with the accident up ahead, began working with shovels to create a makeshift bridge and helped heave the truck over this off-road obstacle course and then... he was gone. Jealousy must have hit more than just us because soon other trucks were squeezing their way awkwardly through spaces that caused us to gasp. Where were they going?!?! Were we crazy enough to follow?
The answer to that last question seemed to be a shaky yes. As the car behind us readied himself for the tango to free his car, he yelled out the window for us to follow. Elated at the idea of freedom Jesse threw the car into reverse, my daughter and I quickly voicing our concerns, we we found ourselves, in our small VW Jetta, riding over enormous ditches and piles of dirt down into fields of wheat and corn. We trailed behind the other crazy people driving through these crops along what can only be assumed to be ancient tractor tracks. We emerged onto a small road that wove its way through tiny towns and back on our way to our destination. Even for people that grew up off-roading in the hills of Taos, NM, this was exhilarating. Perhaps simply because the breath of being freed from a certain terrible night in our car was avoided. Maybe it was the idea of being in a different country and feeling like this was certainly not a legal way to find a new route. Any which way, we knew the adventure had for sure begun.
Puebla itself proved to be charming. We stayed in the old part of the city, a block from the central plaza and church, in a fantastic two story little apartment style hotel that tended to our every need. We wandered under the mandarin colored lights, ate moles in every color of the rainbow and sipped delicious Mexican wine.
The slow nature of Mexican culture is deeply soothing to our raw USA lives. And it isn't that Mexico is loose on covid, they are incredibly on top of it actually. Temperatures are taken before you are allowed to sit in an outdoor cafe that is setup on the sidewalk. Your hands are sanitized and everything is wiped down before and after you touch it. EVERYONE is wearing masks and while the social distancing appears to be less, it is based on familiar pods of people with stores/ restaurants/ hotels limiting numbers, and keeping seats separated. It feels very safe, it is beautiful, the people are amazing and we are grateful to be here.
So why are we here? People really want to know, and as the disclaimer states, I can't get into all the details, but I will share my personal issues. I was officially diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and the pain is effecting my daily existence. Several years ago I battled a brain tumor via a disease called "cushings" which I have healed from, but will have to be monitored for forever. Having an autoimmune disease now seems horribly unfair and my depression has spiked. My daughter has also needed support as she has struggled with depression and as the spiral of our family seemed to plummet, we needed to get creative and quickly. My RA is severe and I am on strong drugs to combat progression, but due to cushings, we have had to be creative since I can't take things that would interfere with that. And, when I return home, we will combat the RA with a hard hit of chemo treatments for 3-6 months. Yes I did make the choice to come to Mexico during a pandemic, during a scary diagnosis and during political unrest, and yes, it was absolutely the right choice.
And so, another type of healing has begun; one of great food, warm breezes and breathtakingly beautiful culture. Join us in raising a glass as Dia de Los Muertos starts and remember, no matter how bad things get to open some wine and Wine First!
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