Back in Texas

Sunday, Mar. 13 (Part II)

I went back out about 3:30. I stopped at a cyber cafe and was glad to see that yesterday's effort had posted to the blog. I posted another update before leaving.

As soon as I walked out, I was approached by a beggar. He was only the first of about five of them today. It is not as easy to pass as a native here as it was in South America. But I believe that there are more beggars here and that the number of incidents is greater because of that, too.

I walked to Alameda Park, but it, too, was overrun with people. I returned to a small plaza near my hotel. I sat and read.

I went to another small place by my hotel for an early evening snack. I ordered five tacos al carbon. They were mini-tacos. The meat had first been cooked on an upright rotating spit like those used for shawarmas. It was sliced off and cooked again on a griddle with tomatoes and onions. I was given a red salsa and lime slices to flavor the tacos. The marinade on the meat gave them a slightly sweet taste, so I salted them, too. They were a perfect light dinner.

I walked to Wal-Mart thinking I might buy something sweet there. It was more crowded than the parks! I just returned to the room for the night.

Walking: 18,447 steps (15,529 aerobic steps), 647 calories, 12.17 km (7.3 miles)

Monday, Mar. 14

I awoke early and decided to rush so I could get to San Miguel before lunch. I was glad to see it was dry. Clouds had been forming when I returned to the hotel last night.

I left the hotel at 6:35, arrived at the bus terminal at 7:10, and was able to catch a bus leaving for San Miguel at 7:20! I had expected the subway to be an easy ride that early, but it was crowded with people who must have had to be at work at 7:00. I was also surprised that they inspected my carry-on luggage for the bus and gave me a pat down body search. That hadn't been done anywhere else I took buses, although I seem to recall that my bags were scanned somewhere.

The bus was not nearly the quality of the buses in South America. It was an old bus without a toilet. The upholstery smelled of smoke. And of course, there was no TV, no blankets, no pillows, no food service, and no on-board coffee and purified water--all things that are fairly standard in South America where I have been traveling.

We got to San Miguel at 11:30. I got off the bus at a traffic circle I recognized as being not too far from Pegasos B&B that Vivian runs. That allowed me to walk there. If I had stayed on the bus until we got to the terminal, it would have taken me further and further away and I would have had to take a taxi.

A block from Pegasos, I stopped at a small restaurant where Wes and I ate in August. I had pork with green salsa. It came with rice, beans, zucchini, and tortillas. It was delicious.

Vivian greeted me and put me in a room. She repeated that I was welcome to stay until Thursday and return with her tour group. I told her I was tired and ready to go home. I bought a ticket for the bus tonight and told her we could just leave my luggage behind the counter. She insisted that I take the room so I could nap, watch TV, etc.

First, I went to town. I found a barber shop and got my hair cut. Then I sat on the square and read. I finished Devil in the White City (3 stars out of 4) on the bus this morning, so I started reading Three Junes by Julia Glass.

There were clouds and thunder around 4:30, so Ireturned to the room and watched TV. At 5:30, after a brief heavy rainfall had occurred, I ate a ham torta at a nearby shop. It is now 6:45 and the bus will arrive at any moment for our 7:00 p.m. departure for Texas.

Walking: 14,887 steps (7976 aerobic steps), 546 calories, 9.79 km (6 miles)

Tuesday, Mar. 15

It was a long, tiring bus trip. We stopped in Dolores Hidalgo and also in San Luis Potosi to pick up more passengers. The only vacant seat on the bus was the one beside me, and I bet that Vivian told them not to sell that seat so that I would be more comfortable. If so, it was very kind and generous of her.

Each of those stops to pick up passengers ate up time. Then we went through Monterrey so we could drop of people at the U.S. consulate there (presumably for getting paperwork done before they could travel further northward. Anyway, going through, rather than around, Monterrey ate up more time. We also went through Nuevo Laredo to a drop-off point rather than going directly to the bridge. Crossing an international bridge took a lot of time, too. Most Mexicans had visas or green cards, but a few had to stand in line to get visitor's permits. Furthermore, all the luggage plus the bus had to be x-rayed before we could reload and depart. They have a new van with and up-and-over arm that moves down the line of buses x-raying them to see if there is anything (drugs, explosives, illegal plants, etc.) hidden. Then we had another stop in Cotulla to buy gasoline, and it takes quite a while to fill a bus tank that will run for 14 hours before needing a refill! We finally arrived in San Antonio at 12:15 p.m.--17 hours after departing San Miguel.

San Antonio is not a normal stop for the bus. They just pull off the expressway, let passengers off, and then pull back onto the expressway when someone is coming here. They do this at one particular ramp that is easy for them to use. It is in the south side of town where most Mexicans coming to San Antonio on this bus would be staying or living. Vivian had arranged for a friend of the bus driver to be there to pick me up and drive me downtown where it would be easy for me to catch a bus heading further northward to where I live. I was surprised to find it rather cold here. I was traveling with summer clothing. I had only a thin windbreaker over my shortslieve shirt I was wearing. It was better than nothing, though. I managed to arrive at the condo at 1:15 and immediately turned on the heat.

It has been a nice 3 months of traveling, but I was ready to be home. Of course, there are the memories of the loss of Arne this past year associated with being home, but there are also the comforts of having a wider variety of clothes to wear, being able to do laundry easily, having as much time as I want on the computer, etc. And there are the things that NEED to be done--preparing my paperwork for income tax reporting, continuing to organize and improve the condo, etc.

I will be hear about 5 months. In mid-August, I set out on the next part of my trip this year. I will go to San Francisco for 3 days, to Korea for about 5 days, to Bangkok for about 6 days, to Myanmar (Burma) for a month, and then head to Kerala in India to volunteer for the rest of the year at St. Joseph's Academy. I won't be making blog entries again (except maybe a combined spending update for this past part of the trip) until August when I leave again. Those of you who like to follow my travels should put a note on your calendars to start checking the blog again in late August. By then, there should be an entry or two.