Ciudad Hidalgo-A Reflection

Back in San Cristobal it is hard not to look back at our long trip to Ciudad Hidalgo, the Mexican border city with Guatemala, as anything but frustrating. Starting on Wednesday morning with Anna suffering from abdominal cramps (they way she was reacting I was worried), the day did not go right. JHo and I got to the agencia aduanal to meet with the driver and el camion, and right off the bat I saw that only 3 people could fit in the truck. I guess it was a good thing then that Anna couldn't come-as they say, everything happens for a reason.

For the first hour of the ride to the border I sat in the back of the camion, which lacked a roof so I sat on a tarp staring into the predawn sky-it was beautiful, but cold! As I was abuot to fall asleep, I felt the truck stop and Fernando call to me to come in the truck because Juan the chofer saw rain clouds up ahead. I agreed, reluctant to give up the open space but also looking not to get wet on a <6> hour drive. So I agreed and sat uncomfortably in the truck with Fernando, the driver, and JHo with the shift knob in between her legs to allow enough room for hte four of us. All the while, a metal bar kept on wedging on my crack, smashing into my coccyx with every tope (road bump), and there were many! The first chance I got I hopped back in the trailer and tried to sleep. All the while I was dealing with GI issues-very uncomfortable.

By the time we got to Ciudad Hidalgo, it was nearly 4pm (11 hours on the road) and the change in climate hit us hard. In the cabin of the truck, Fernando, Juan and I were all perfusely sweating (I swapped with JHo after lunch) due to heat and humidity. After a month in the highlands, I got used to the mild, dry climate. As we entered the city, the camion began to stall every 2 minutes, a sign of things to follow.

We finally arrived to the agencia aduanal to meet Rodolfo (the Helps Intl-Mexico representative) and Romeo (administrador aduanal). We were also met with bad news- the stoves would not be ready until 9am the next day. I guess there was an issue with the payment not coming in on time. So we had no other option but to stay at a hospedaje and play the waiting game. The rest of the day was spent at the internet cafe and at a comedor, the only resemblance of a restaurant anywhere near where we were in Hidalgo. Expecting to leave the followign day by 9am, we went to sleep early, by 9pm, or at least I should say I tried to. Don Juan the driver snored THE WHOLE night and I couldn´t get anything more than 1 hour of rest without waking up. Considering I was up, I am surprised I didnt notice all of the bugs biting my arms, legs and other exposed parts of my body...

The next morning we were greated with even more bad news-the stoves were still not ready and probably would not be until 5pm that day sue to the caravan on trucks trying to cross the border from Guatemala to buy the cheaper Mexican gas. Frustration, frustration, but what could we do? We were powerless in the situation. So yet another day went to waste at the internet cafe and yet another day of telling the families in the communities that they would have to wait for their stoves. After shooting the breeze for most of the day we finally got to the wherehouse where we began to transfer the stoves from a trailer to the truck and the rest to storage in the wherehouse. All the while, JHo was asleep after taking Benadryl for her amazingly swollen ankle she had in reaction to a spider bite. Poor girl.

By 1030pm we were on our way back to San Cristobal with Rodolfo, while Fernando decided to accompany Juan in the camion. We made a quick stop at diner and rest stop at 2am til 3am, and hit the road again. The whole time I was in and out of consciousness, and I guess Rodolfo was too since he later told us that he fell asleep on the road, forcing him to find a rest stop. I guess the 500ml of Coke on top of coffee didn't help!

We got to San Cris by 930am to find Anna, who looked excited to see us (I guess she was dying of boredom here at Junax) telling us that Fernando just called telling her that the chatarra...I mean truck...broke down not far passed the border. Wow, I thought to myself. How many more issues can possibly arise from this situation? We quickly went to the transport agency to talk to the boss, Belisario, who none of us could barely understand, to try to resolve the situation. He told us that it will all be fine and that the truck would come and he would keep us in the know. Pretty reassuring. But later on in the day Fernando called us telling us that they were on the way to San Cris and hope to be in the community by 6am tomorrow morning. I hope so. We plan on leaving SC at 5am to meet them at that time. I am optimistic no other issues will arise. I can´t wait for the families to finally get their stoves.