Latin America Collection

So after a two hour mechanical delay, we hit the road again. Just a couple
of miles south of Matehuala we came to a road sign that interested me very
much. It read, "Tropic of Cancer - 23 Degrees 20 Minutes North Lattitude".
That is the point over which the sun travels farthest north on June 20 - 21st
of every year, and is the official start of summer in the Northern Hemisphere.
At noon on that date, your shadow will be directly under you at that point.
Also, as you drive south, your shadow will he south of you on that date.
In the United States your shadow always falls to the north of you.

By this time it had started to rain, and we were in the rain until early
the next morning. As we drove along this very good road, we noticed
there were little road-side shelters made with four poles, one at each corner,
about three or four feet high, that held the roof. Covering the tops of each
shelter was cardboard, plastic or sometimes a piece of corrugated iron to
keep the rain off of the one to four occupants huddled together. To protect
them from the blustery winds, was sometimes more cardboard, a piece of
cloth, a piece of plastic, some twigs woven together, and sometimes, nothing
at all. They usually had a small fire burning right in front, and they would
be crowded together for warmth.

Strung along the roadside in front of their shelters were different kinds
of wares for sale. Some pottery, many snake skins, and even a small bird
cage made from twigs or bamboo, with some sort of birds in them. All of
this was in an area of no trees and with only scrub brush to gather for their
fires.

The vegetation in this area was very desert-like, with tall plants that
resembled the "yucca" plants of the Mojave Desert of California.

A very interesting thing that we noticed for the first time in this area,
was the fences that were around the little mud-adobe houses alongside of
the road. They were made of straight post-shaped cactus about three or
four feet tall, planted right up against each other to form a solid barrier of
sharp thorns. I could see where they would turn away any potential
intruder.

Another thing we saw throughout Mexico, was what appeared to be
small graves or shrines along the roadside. Some were very simple not big
enough to be a grave as one sees in a cemetery. Others were simple crosses,
while still others were elaborate mausoleum-type structures not more than
a foot or two square. A few had the replica of Christ, while others had a
replica of Mother Mary inside. They were all visible from the road. In one
instance there were six of these little "graves" side by side, alongside the
road. We wondered if they were perhaps, a memorial for people who were
killed along the road. Later, this was confirmed that it was, indeed, a
memorial for that reason.

It was about 5:00 p.m. when we arrived in San Luis Potosí, which
derived its origin as a mining town. It is still a mining town, but has grown
into a rail center and quite an industrial city. It also had the largest group
of motels of any city we encountered on our trip.

We had selected the Cactus Motel from our AAA book, which had
quoted rates from $29.00 to $35.00 for the night. They were asking $75.00,
so we brought out the book and showed them that it said $29.00 to $35.00.
We settled for a $35.00 room for the night. It appears they all work the same
pattern --ask for $75.00, and take what the book says if you confront them.
If you plan to stay in any of the hotels listed in another chapter, be sure to
take the book in with you. It may save you much more than its cost.

It was an excellent motel with a very nice restaurant and even a night
club. We passed on that. We had originally planned to go to Querétaro--
two hours further down the road--but our mechanical troubles changed
our mind.

We found a Pemex station next door, so I serviced the car and replenished
our supply of ice from its mini-mart. We also stocked-up on bottled water
and lunch items for the next day, plus some breakfast goodies. We planned
to hit the road at 5:00 a.m.