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After all the preparations, we were happy to finally pull away from the Pemex station into the crowded traffic of Mexico City. Even at 10 PM on a Thursday night, many of the roads were clogged with traffic, and as is typical on the roads in Mexican cities, the lane markings mean little. If four cars will fit abreast on a road marked for two lanes, the drivers make it a four-lane road. In fits and starts we made our way along, and we assumed we were headed for the highway. Instead of turning onto larger and larger thoroughfares as we expected, we seemed to be finding streets that were narrower and narrower. Finally, as it became apparent that we were headed into the barrio instead of toward the highway, we came to a stop. I was able to comprehend just enough of the driver's explanation to understand that we were at his house, where he wanted to run inside for a few minutes to shave and change clothes. When he left us waiting in the van on the street, deep in Mexico City, my wife really thought I had finally done us in. Who's to say this driver doesn't plan to simply rob us and leave us abandoned or dead? I spent the few minutes while we waited reassuring my wife and son that we would be fine, though it certainly was a leap of faith at the time. Moments later, our driver returned to the van, and I was encouraged by the sight of him bringing a blanket and pillow from his home, presumably with our son's comfort in mind. He introduced us to his wife who waved goodbye from the door of their home.
We turned back onto the busy streets of Mexico City and headed for the highway. With the slow traffic and the sheer size of Mexico City, it took more than an hour to finally reach the main highway outside the city. Still nervous about our situation, we called our family at home via cellphone, letting them know that we'd last been seen on a van provided by AeroMexico, headed for the Leon/Guanajuato airport.
Our actual destination for the night was a hotel in central Guanajuato, which is said to be a $33 cab fare from the Leon/Guanajuato airport. When I asked the driver if there would be cabs available at the early morning hour when we would arrive, he recommended instead that he drive us to our destination, and we could pay him instead. I heartily agreed and now we were no longer headed to the airport at all. I was thrilled to have one less thing to worry about tonight. Now we just needed to arrive in one piece. Our driver told us that the drive would take about 3 and a half hours, but I was having trouble understanding whether our new destination was closer or further than the airport. I wished I had looked a little closer at the maps of the area now. While I had my guidebook in my bags, there was no light in the van to see it, so I just gave up that line of thought.
Once we passed our first toll booth and entered the Mexican autopista, our speed increased dramatically. On the still-narrow lanes of the Mexican toll highway, we passed truck after truck pulling the double trailers that are no longer permitted in the US for safety reasons. Time after time we'd squeeze by these huge monsters of the road with little room to spare between our side mirror and the speeding trucks. Climbing over the mountains surrounding Mexico City and descending the other side, the road weaved around the mountain passes, and we zoomed along, wondering about our safety.
So it went for a couple of hours. Occasionally, I'd practice my Spanish with the driver, asking about the area, his family, and telling him about our vacation plans. Jan and Matthew napped on and off, as the night stretched longer and longer.
As the road signs passed, we saw plenty of references to the city of Queretaro, but none mentioning Guanajuato. I figured that maybe we would see Guanajuato signs after we reached Queretaro, but this was just another thing to add worry to our adventure. The road stretched on and on, and then, in the black Mexican night, the rain started. An intense downpour made the winding road look as deadly as the guidebooks had described, and our level of tension was cranked up again. Fortunately, after maybe half an hour of passing trucks on the wet road, the rain subsided, and we had survived another threat.
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