Around The World In 80 Waves

Adios Mexico, and also to North America, because I will be moving into Central America when I cross the border into Guatemala.

I have mixed feelings about my time in Mexico, a country which I underestimated in so many ways before arriving

Firstly I have to say the size of it, the long side I have driven down/around is at least twice as long as the Pacific coast of the mainland USA and the roads are nowhere near as good.

It is only the breath taking scenery down the whole of the coast which has kept me sane on my driving marathon.

How I ever thought I would drive it in a short time period I will never know, but a valuable lesson has been learnt for the rest of the trip too.

Secondly the people who have only been fantastic with me. If I had listened to any of the great many nay-sayers from around the world telling me not to go into Mexico I would not have been rescued by women in pyjamas, been given free meals by several strangers, had an overhaul of my car for £15, or had a fuzzy night with vague recollections of salsa dancing, dry ice, buckets of beer and great company with complete strangers.

To the nay-sayers, don’t knock it until you have tried it, both the UK and the USA have far too many of their own citizens looting, stealing, doing drugs and killing one another to be looking down their noses at their Mexican cousins just because the same issues occur here. (Even if that might actually be the case due to the physical difference in height!) Based on the Mexican people alone I would certainly come back. The only nation that has gone down in my estimation while here, is Australia as a result of the couple leaving me stranded in the desert.

Other pluses have been my oustanding moustache disguise, Lisa’s birthday surf trip,  no angry fish, stroking the nose of a newborn baby whale, the best backhand waves I have ever surfed, all the wildlife and having a laugh with so many people, both locals and foreignors.

However as with even the shortest surf trip to your local break it is always about the waves you catch, and in a country which boasts some of the all time legendary righthand point breaks I have distinctly blanked to catch any of them. There are  many reasons for this:

1. Driver error
2. The weather – there really hasn’t been that much swell in the last few weeks, and when there has it has also been extremely windy
3. The time of the year – most beaches are epic in the summer due to the storms in the South Pacific
4. The pace at which I have been covering this huge country has meant must-see breaks have had to be dropped from the menu, or have just not been seen until it made no sense to turn around.
5. I shouldn’t have dithered so much north of the border about crossing it, and allowed myself more time here.

Despite the good surf I have scored I have only added 4 waves to my tally whilst here for nearly three weeks, and have spent far too much time staring at a steering wheel (Lisa might argue otherwise!) with nowhere near enough at the ocean horizon.

Consequently I do feel a little short changed, so when I stop for a while in Guatemala I am going to have a rethink about how I go about things from here because I didn’t hang up my business suit for a year just to drive around the world. With my record with motor vehicles it isn’t a good idea.

However I must also add that if I never see another Mexican speed bump in my life, most likely as I go airborne off it due to no advanced warning, it will be too soon!!!