WestWords
By Marvin West
His Bio

One Month in Mexico

Ben and Debs Blench, brave Brits in their 30s, threw away their jobs, sold their car, subleased their Amsterdam apartment and set off to see the world. They allocated one year for this unusual adventure, one month to look and live in Mexico.

This far-out dream (or madcap scheme) was hatched, researched, planned, adjusted and explained. Relatives and friends contributed colorful opinions, ranging from "how very brave" to "you guys are nuts."

In some ways, the journey was carefully scripted. The Blenches developed a budget. They got a head start on jumping through hoops and unraveling red tape. They determined exactly how much bug spray and how many spare Ziplock bags could fit into their backpacks.

In other ways, the trip was loosely designed with lots of built-in elastic. They might go here or there or somewhere else. They might stay an hour or a week.

The flight plan was London to Havana to Cancun to Cook Islands to Fiji to New Zealand to Australia, then Lombok to Hanoi, India to Mumbai and goodness knows where else. The United States was a northbound bus trip.

Compared to Cuba, Mexico made a wonderful first impression. Good food. Hospitality. Hot showers.

"Mexican food is 1000 per cent better than the Cuban crap," said Ben. "But, there were other problems."

Under cover of darkness, Debs fell victim to Cancun bed bugs.

"The hotel manager wasn't particularly concerned. So, we got the hell out and went to Isla Mujeres, a gorgeous little island."

There the Blenches discovered sunburn.

On to Merida, Campeche and Chiapas -- for fun or danger, depending on which waiter you believed. They did not take Mayan ruins lightly: "Spectacular, truly awesome."

The Blenches went to San Juan Chamula, not far from San Cristobal, and were introduced to old-fashioned Mayan practices. It seems the villagers follow some Catholic tradition but mostly pick and chose religious tidbits. Ben says they drink Coca Cola to expel bad spirits through burping. They believe cameras steal your soul. Polygamy is okay for men only, and so is drinking lots of rum and killing chickens in church rituals.

Debs was impressed by the Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City. She found it inspirational. Both commented on the Mexican relationship with death, very different from their European "fear and loathing."

Debs loved fiestas and piñatas. Both enjoyed the Lucha Libre at the Coliseo in Mexico City. They said wrestling is cheap fun.

"It was hilarious! We especially enjoyed the bit where the three good guys dived through the ropes to smash into the heavy-metal bad guys. Take that! All sorts of controversy and amusement erupted, culminating in two fighters being stretchered off, and the Blue Panther being unmasked. We shouted ourselves hoarse."

Debs cried when she saw babies in the mummy museum in Guanajuato. Ben said the displays were "gruesome but great."

Bad bus ride from Guadalajara to Zacatecas: one blown tire created a delay of an hour and a half. The driver borrowed Ben's cell phone to use as a flashlight.

"It got wet, and now numbers 1, 2 and 3 don't work. Or the joystick. Or the left soft-key."

In Zacatecas, the Blenches missed the mock battle recreating the triumphs of the Christians over the Muslims. It was raining buckets. The couple also missed out on the train through Copper Canyon -- on their fourth wedding anniversary. The canyon was going to be the Mexico main event.

"The tropical storm wiped out the transportation infrastructure in and around Los Mochis. We waded water more than ankle deep to get a bus toward Los Angeles."

Another bad ride: The bus was stopped seven times on the way to the border, three for health inspections and four by police, one full drugs search, including dismantling the clock at the front of the bus.

"One group was fishing for bribes. They gave up when they got to us. They could see we were paupers."

Surprises?

"We didn't know much about Mexico except what we had seen in films," said Ben. "We thought 'like America but a bit Spanish.' Wrong! It's a beautiful country. Poorer than we expected. We were delighted by the warmth and friendliness, especially the patience with our laughable attempts at Spanish."

The Blenches chuckled at their discovery that Mexico is not all bandits on horseback, shooting into the air. The whole country is not leaning against a cactus, sound asleep, sombrero pulled down to shade the eyes.

Politics and turmoil?

"We didn't see much. . .

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(Marvin West, mostly retired after just 42 years with Scripps Howard newspapers, is senior partner in an international communications consulting company. This column is from his forthcoming book, "Mexico? What you doing in Mexico?" He invites )

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