Postcards from Mexico

Veracruz: My Continental flight from Houston to Veracruz’s small airport landed on time and immigration entry and security checks were speedy and straightforward. We headed straight out to Xalapa, the state capital of Veracruz, which is a smooth 65-mile drive along a major toll road.

Veracruz is a university town with its own historic symphony orchestra and the second largest anthropological museum in Mexico. The name is interesting as it became associated with the famed Jalapeño pepper. There’s plenty to see and the surrounding countryside offers white water rafting, two major historic Mayan ruins—El Tejin and Zempoala.

Close by is a beautiful drive through coffee and sugar plantations to an eco-tourist camp offering Class 3 and 4 white water rafting along the Rio Pescado. I overnighted there, sleeping out in their comfortable riverside tents, waking up to bird song and the flow of the river. The Mexico Verde company put safety first and all rafters are provided with helmets, life vests and each raft is steered by a knowledgeable guide through choice runs along one of the prettiest rivers that I have rafted. The real season begins in May and runs to September, but even this time of year the water is warm.

Downtown at the editor’s office of Xalapa’s daily paper we talked about the recent elections. “Politics is a body counting sport. First you register, then you vote, and like Chicago, you vote many times,” he told me. I asked if it was like Cook County where even dead bodies vote. When it comes to the average Mexican’s perception of America only two things matter: the war in Iraq and the Wall—both have created extremely negative images. Put simply, the first is interpreted as Americans are imperialism and the second, that they don’t like Mexicans. He concluded that in the week following the inauguration of President Felipe Calderon the situation had calmed down and his country was now ready to move forward. At the time the current issue related to the re-election of presidents and Calderon’s conservative National Action Party, or PAN, would support this and he would almost certainly sign it into law if it passes through Congress.

There is much evidence of a thriving middle class where such images of American imports from Domino’s Pizza to Sam’s Club define the cityscape. Add to that Costco, Wal-Mart and Home Depot and you could almost be living in Marin.

Once outside the city one returns to agricultural Mexico. This time of year the cane cutters with their machetes are very much in action and whether it’s a banana plantation or a coffee grove agricultural Mexico still remains the classic picture of the country depicted in movies and travel books.

Driving both through the city and then out into the countryside was the best way to experience the difference between middle class urban life and the various agricultural activities. My driver, Marin resident Peter Katcoff, navigated the roads with the skills of a Nascar racer, surprising me, himself and perhaps most important, other Mexican drivers, avoding potholes and processions in the feast days preceded Christmas. The national feast of the Virgin of Guadaloupe is celebrated in every village and town and these move at different paces, adding to congestion at unexpected places.

Here are Pete’s 6 golden rules on driving through Mexico:
1. Take a toll road as opposed to a libre road; 2. Expect the same street to change name many times; 3. Disregard kilometer distances, usually inaccurate; 4. Anticipate speed bumps every 20 meters (Spanish word is ‘topes’); 5. Assume roads have major potholes; 6. Remember for Mexicans a red traffic light is just a reminder to slow down.

When I reflect back on my journey I associate my memory of easygoing fun-loving encounters where a different concept of time brings its own sense of serenity. With Christmas just a few days away even the small houses are fully decorated with Nativity scenes, Santa Claus, and strangely enough, Frosty the Snowman. In a city like Veracruz on many evenings in front of the Palacio Municipal you’ll find couples dancing and a variety of music from marimba to mariachi in full swing. On a warm December evening it is easy to be transported to a different time and place, and it is a coffee-producing region, sip a cafe con leche that rivals anything you’d find in Starbucks.

Peter Robinson, editor of San Francisco Books & Travel, keeps us informed about happenings around the bay. For details of his travel writing workshop reach him at 415.381.6671 or sanfranlit@aol.com