Out of the Blue - Where in the he77 am I?

 Hola Amigos!

You may, or may not have noticed my absence yesterday. We were so surprised at the state of the toll roads that we made great distance. However, we knew we would not make it to the next city and decided we were ok with staying in a little town, on the coast. After all, it was on IOverlander and had several hotels with ratings.....

With have certainly witnessed a magnitude of hotel varieties on this trip, from midrange, posh, creepy,  to Auto Hotels. How entertaining it has been. If one gives enough thought to Auto Hotel, you can begin to configure what purpose they may serve. It is a gated  hotel, with your own private garage! The door to your room is found inside of your garage. Certainly you would imagine this was the perfect answer for weary travellers, who wish to secure their vehicle and items.... SORT OF. I was mystified why there would be a lonely condom by the hand soap. Also, the red decorum and chrome fixtures, how very new age. Then my husband solved the mystery.....provocative billboards, advertising discreet auto hotels. Turns out the auto hotels are more about Netflix & chill than security for gals like Dolly.  We stayed at Auto Hotel Frances, I don't know who Frances is, but she likes red. Also, given the demure size of soap on the counter, by the condom, I would say she was more about wrapping than washing. Our friends spent last night at Auto Hotel California, not going to lie, I was curious as heck. 

Last night our hotel was the only decent option, in a town that was cringy, at best. The staff were nice but once we got settled, I realized there was no cell service, the wifi was down and shortly after dinner, the power went out. It was at that precise moment I wondered where the he77 am I and why? Once Steph determined the sheets were clean by using our power pack flashlight from the car, I proceeded to take a little tablet to help me sleep (thank you Salome & Isabella) and curled up in my clothes, for the night. 

At 6:30 am we were packed up and on the road. It was a beautiful sunrise and the drive was great. 

We made our way back out to the toll road and headed for coffee. Today, Shell saved the day. Their coffee was definitely not as good as OXXO but there was a lady selling warm pastries in the parking lot, so that made up for it.  Did I get gringo'd, of course, but was it worth the $4, you ask.... absolutely.

Another interesting adventure here, in Mexico, is the driving patterns. The white line indicates as much importance, if not more than the yellow! You drive to the right, basically on the shoulder so that others may pass you. This can happen in any direction, at almost any time. That means it is not unusual to have a semi in the centre, passing another semi that is on the shoulder, while you are on your shoulder. That's correct, 3 lanes of traffic on a 2 lane road. Also, hazard lights and blinkers are used more than I have ever witnessed anywhere else in the world. There is literally a symphony of flashing lights and horns while driving down the highway, yet it is all fairly organized. 

 

The Gulf was windy but so beautiful yesterday, on our drive through. 

We have been enjoying the views and Doomie has really pulled her weight. The food has been amazing and the people have been lovely. There have been some interesting looks when we go through the checkpoints. Today, on our way through a National Guard checkpoint, the man came to the window of our truck and looked quite shocked to see gringos driving a Honduran plated vehicle. He asked if we spoke Spanish and chuckled when we said "POCO" - a bit.  He spoke excellent English and quickly verified our passports before sending us on our way. Big Poppy speaks much better Spanish than I, but between the 2 of us we are managing ok. I would think it may be difficult to have no Spanish linguistics and traverse this country, but thousands of people do it each year. It seems to alter the interaction when you make an attempt to greet and ask in Spanish. If all is lost I simply smile and say "Lo siento, mi Español es muy malo" - I am sorry, my Spanish is very bad. That usually gets a giggle or a smile and the transaction goes on. Sometimes, I get lucky and they speak English at that point. 

We are settled in for the night, in a nice hotel (no, it is not an auto hotel) and looking at another early morning. 

If you are looking for us, we are chilling out. 

Until tomorrow, 

Gigi

P.S. this blog post does not go in the book for the grand babies. They can find out the meaning of Auto Hotel some other way.