Getting "There"

One of the big differences living in Guanajuato for us is how we get "there". In Milwaukee, most of the time we hopped into the car (or motorcycle) and drove. Of course we walked to the things that were close, and tried to use the places that were close more often, but we were usually driving every day.

Things are very different here. As Kent was helping me navigate the school registration process, we were in a cab, and he said to me, "So, you guys decided not to get a car while you are down here?" I laughed a little and asked him where he thought we would keep it? He laughed, "very good point!" Our callejon is not even drivable, let alone have room for a garage!

Rico arriving at our door.

For anyone driving, be it a bus or cab we have discovered that our home is really Teatro Cervantes.

Teatro Cervantes

Ask Kent. One of his first nights here he decided to stay out later on his own. I jokingly wrote our address, 39 Tecolote on his leg so he could find his way back. Kent found out that no matter how many people he showed the address to, no one knew where it was (although I think he liked showing off his bare leg to people!) He did eventually make it back, but had I written Teatro Cervantes he would have made it right away.

Cabs here are extremely easy to use. You hardly have to wait more than a couple of minutes before one goes by, and 30 or 40 pesos will get you anywhere in town. So far Rico and I have discovered that some rides can be much, much more expensive. Rico's first cab ride in Mexico was a hard lesson. We hopped a cab from the airport in Guadalajara to go to the bus station after our red eye into the country. It was a chaotic scene when we got to the bus station. It was 7 in the morning, all the boys had fallen asleep on the cab ride, and we had all of our belongs packed in the cab.

Our whole world

We woke up the boys, hauled everything out of the cab found a place on the floor in the bus station, and started getting bus tickets. That was when Rico discovered "My PSP is in the cab!!!" Obviously a little too late.  Well, lesson learned, check the cab/bus/train/plane/horse for your belongs before you leave. Not 4 days later I was feeling exactly like Rico "My phone is in the cab!!!" I guess the lesson wasn't quite learned.

Buses are even cheaper than cabs, 5 pesos, but a little more tricky to learn. Each bus has the neighborhoods it goes through written on its windshield. If you know the stop you want, and what neighborhood it is in, you are good to go. If not you can ask the bus driver, and he will tell you. However, sometimes you find out that your definition of Centro and the bus drivers definition of Centro can be vastly different.

Each mistake is one more step in learning our way around town, and makes it easier and easier the next time. I like to think of them as little adventures wrapped in our big adventure. Now to figure out how to sell it to the boys that way when I hear them say "aren't we going the wrong way!?!"