I love maps and am pretty good at compass directions. When we go on trips I get to be navigator. Except for this trip. No maps, no grid streets (except downtown), no directional signs, nothing. Lucky for us there were three co-workers that had already been there for over a month who had learned how to get places the hard way. I have to say it was hilarious to see men having to rely on landmarks for directions! “Turn right at the business with the funny name; now left at the circle statue; no, the other left!; make a u-turn at the grocery store,” etc.
Despite all the bad reports coming out of Mexico, the most dangerous thing we encountered were the city buses. No kidding! Honestly, the entire transportation system was dangerous; people making left-hand turns from the right lane, stop lights that really didn’t mean stop, motorcycles speeding in between cars (the pizza delivery motorcycles were the worst!), and the dreaded six-way intersections. And you know it is bad when the pedestrian crosswalk sign man breaks out into a run when there’s five seconds left before the light changes.
One thing we saw a lot were people selling things at traffic intersections. In the picture below we were near a gas station and they would come out and start washing your windshield. At other intersections around town we saw people selling newspapers, flowers, and souvenirs to name a few. The Mexican Indian women were frequently selling things on the corners, usually with large colorful skirts and babies strapped to their back.
I got to drive us to work twice during the trip. What an adventure! The good part about driving to work in the morning was that it was 6:45 AM, and the streets were pretty empty. There are, however, speed bumps. These are not normal speed bumps; they are large, in inconvenient areas (areas where it would be easy to speed), and will destroy your car if you go too fast. Consequently, there is not a need for many traffic cops.
