I’ve been in Mexico for a couple weeks and I have some observations that I’d like to write down before I forget them.
The people here are not afraid to make eye contact. As a foreigner in a strange country, this can be a little disconcerting. When I first arrived and noticed how locals would stare at me I didn’t quite know what to do with the attention. It was easy to feel intimidated. However, I soon realized that the stares were due to a combination of different attitudes towards personal space as well as simple curiosity towards the tall gringo on the strange motorcycle. I found that if I return the look and smile, I’m almost always rewarded with a friendly grin.
Along those same lines – I am tall. As in: really, really tall. In fact, I don’t think I’ve met a local yet who came within 3 inches of my height. Most people seem to be almost a full foot shorter than me, and I’m sure that this is a contributing factor to the number of looks that I get. I’ve had several groups of young girls ask me how tall I am, and when I tell them that I’m 193cm (6’4″), they gasp and giggle.
Pedestrians are crazy. As far as I can tell, crosswalks are rare, and most people will cross the street anytime and anywhere. Thankfully they usually defer to vehicles, but they seem to have the timing down such that they’ll pause only long enough to allow for about a 2 foot gap between themselves and the passing vehicle. Images of smacking some poor child in the head with one of my panniers flash through my mind each time.
People are extremely friendly if you give them the chance to show it. Everybody wants to know where I’m from, what kind of motorcycle I’m riding, where I’m going, how long it will take, how tall I am, etc. I always try to speak Spanish with everyone, and so far people have been very helpful with explaining words I am unfamiliar with and repeating themselves when I don’t understand. Some even switch to English as soon as they realized that I’m from the States.
Most of the food I’ve had so far hasn’t been all that spicy. However, if the menu says that something is “picante”, beware – it’s probably far spicier than you’re used to. I may be a bit of a wuss when it comes to spicy things, though.
Runny, drinkable yogurt is much more popular than the thick yogurt I’m used to. It’s very tasty!
Emissions don’t seem to be regulated at all. If they are, then a whole lot of people are completely ignoring the regulations by driving vehicles that exude the thickest, foulest-smelling smoke possible. Seriously – at least 1 in 15 cars (possibly more like 1 in 10) do this. Riding behind them on a motorcycle with no barrier between your nose and the exhaust fumes is not pleasant.
Internet access is easy to come by. So far only a few hotels I’ve asked haven’t had it, and each time the next one did. However, the throughput and reliability has been highly variable.
That’s about all that I can think of right now. I’m sure I’ll come up with more as I continue traveling!
