Road Rash Chronicles

As we left the race track on our final day in Tuxtla, saying goodbye to the marathoners and our newly found friends from the Yucatan, was done with a sense of both sadness and anticipation. It had been a great 2 weeks up to that point. The teams had come together, we trained hard, we raced hard and most importantly we supported each other hard. Leaving that environment wasn’t going to be a joy by any means but for some of us, discovering and creating a new environment held just as much excitement.

After spending about 3 hours searching and calling around the city to find a rental car, we managed to organize ourselves and our luggage in preparation for the 1 hour drive to San Cristobal. After a small detour in the wrong direction (thx to yours truly) we watched the sun slowly fade on the horizon as we headed up into the mountains surrounding Tuxtla. The ride was mostly uneventful once you finally decided to put your life in Ray’s hands and sign the waiver over death and grave injury. And that decision needed to be made almost immediately. I am not saying that Ray is a crazy mutha fuc*ing speed demon on acid with a lead foot, but he ain’t no Sunday driver either.

About 3/4 of the way to San Cristobal, we began to noticed in the far distance that parts of the mountains were on fire. Not a forest fire as you would imagine but just a thin line of flames. Within minutes however, we quickly noticed that this "line" of fire seemed to stretch for miles and miles on the surrounding hills. It was truly a sight to be seen. Beautiful really. It was like watching hundreds of snakes of bright orange fire and light endlessly curl around the mountains. Kim and I had planned on taking pictures but we quickly realized that there would be no point as it was pitch black outside. Little did we know we would have a better chance in mere minutes. As Ray continued up the slopes of the mountain, traffic was beginning to slow down. Within seconds we knew why. Our mountain was on fire!! Not only that, the flames were shooting across the road...the road we were on! The flames were not crossing the road from flat to flat as you probably would imagine. They were coming from above and falling down onto the cars. You could only imagine our anxiety at that point. The last thing we thought about were taking photos. We were more worried about crossing the spitting wall of flame. But with stunt driver skills, the Jaguar (Ray) pulled us through. It was a bit unnerving however because we didn’t know what lay on the other side of the flame. The roads were notoriously curvy and who knows, there could have been more cars on the other side of the smoke and flame. Thankfully there was not. So with our lives saved from the fiery slopes of hell, we continued on our way. It was not long after when we pulled into town.

Kim had read about a cute little hotel run by Americans that was recommended in her travel book but once we found it and took a look around we decided against it. It was beautiful for sure. More like a courtyard sanctuary you would see in a movie but for us, the price was a bit steep. Compared to Tuxtla, it was like moving from sleeping in a card board box up to the Penthouse suite of Donald Trumps apt. when in fact, we were more interested in a Holiday Inn kinda place. It wasn’t long until we found a place and settled in. 3 beds, hot water, a toilet seat....good enough for me!

San Cristobal

The three of us knew almost immediately that San Cristobal was what we had been looking and waiting for since arriving in Mexico. Imagine a place that combines the perfect ratio of quiet mountain town , aged tourism, cobble stone streets, open air markets and pinch or two of pot. While none of us smoked, the hippy feel of the town kept everything in perspective. It was as if the hippies kept the place in check. They made sure it didn’t get too touristy. We folded into the lifestyle pretty quickly and found ourselves walking everywhere and taking advantage of the local street markets, coffee shops and little restaurants. It was heaven.

Agua Azul

One early morning, we took the car and made the 3 hour trip to Agua Azul on the recommendation of Ursula and Sergio. The drive was ridiculous and is almost impossible to explain if you haven’t experienced it yourself. The roads are about 5 feet wide and there is never a straight line for more than 5 feet. Navigating up and down the mountains without much food or water for 3 hours was a frightening scenario. So much so that Kim and I nervously watched Ray slowly transform into the Jaguar in front of our eyes. By the time we had reached our first check in point for the water park, Jaguar was in full force. Although the travel book warned that there were two tolls, one from the villagers and one from the park itself, Jaguar had decided that tolls were irrelevant. As small children (at first) knocked on our windows asking for pesos, Ray stayed focused and continued to drive as if the children were invisible....or dispensable. Either one would apply. An adult finally showed up and began pounding on the window, which only angered the Jaguar and put the fear of vengeance upon Kim and I. As the poor man was asking for the pesos, Jaguar attacked and had the man dangling by the throat within seconds. As blood dripped slowly from the neck of his fresh kill.....okay so that part didn’t happen but still, you had to be there. Jaguar’s attack might not have been physical but let me assure you that the growl of a Jaguar is just as bad as it’s bite. Needless to say, we paid the fare and made it the rest of the way safely.

The fates seemed to be paying attention to Ray’s little show of power and decided to torture him with the antics of a 7 year old. Upon parking in the lot to the park Ray was mauled by a 7 year old wanting "protection" money for the car. And this kid was persistent. He must have walked with us for a good 5 minutes almost threatening us that he couldn’t protect the car unless we paid up. Quite hilarious if not a bit scary as well. At one point I was certain that Ray was going to "bo-flex" this poor kid into a tree. Now that would have been funny.

The park was beautiful but was packed full of people. We walked around for a while and took a quick dip but we didn't stay long.  There were just too many people.

Our final nights in San Cristobal were relaxed and some of the best nights in the 3 weeks. We shopped, we drank, we ate and we walked and walked. Not to mention watching the sky open up one afternoon in a spectacular display of rain and light.

Upon our return to Tuxtla, argh, I had asked a favor of Ray and Kim which they were more than willing to fufill. As I didn’t get a chance to skate more than a few minutes on the Tuxtla track because of my Montezuma’s revenge, I wanted to return to the park and skate for about an hour before we had to prepare for our departure. Specifically, I wanted to get my time trial done so that I could have a semi-official time tracked. More for me than anyone else. When we arrived, the Chiapas junior team was there already practicing. Momentarily I was worried that we wouldn’t be able to skate but with a few words and hand signals, the coach was nice enough to let us skate with them. The kids were really excited to see us and for the next hour it was a joy to be able to hang out with them and race them around the track. It was the perfect ending! Full circle kind of moment for me. Of course I towered over these kids but that didn’t matter. They were just as happy to be screaming Canada as I was yelling Chiapas! As time ran out, we said our goodbyes, I thanked the coach and packed up to leave the track that final time. Although I won’t miss the city of Tuxtla, I will miss the track and the kids. They made the city almost bearable. Almost.

When looking back on the whole trip, I think the best parts however, was sitting down in quiet environments and getting to know the two amazing people I had spent so much time with in the past weeks. To me, our adventures together were worth more than the value of the trip itself. I can’t even describe how many times we were holding our stomachs and laughing to tears. Kim’s sarcasm and silver tongued personality, not to mention her ability to "play along" without cracking a smile combined with her unique vulnerability, quickly had her nicknamed the Minx. Fun to play with, coy and gentle to pet but has a bite you won’t soon forget. And Jaguar. Well, Kim and I got to see and experience a side of Ray that I can only imagine very few people get to benefit from. And that is a shame because it is a side that truly showcases his strengths and compassion. Separately, each are forces to be reckoned with, together they are a force of nature that I was deeply grateful to experience.

And there you have it.  I hope you have enjoyed my story.  Hopefully the adventures of Minx, Jaguar and Pantera will continue sooner than later.  Stay tuned.