Saturday

I bought my ticket today Chihuahua to El Fuerte – It’s not the entire route but all but the last part (which is less scenic and it will be getting dark) and I will get done at a reasonable hour. The train leaves at 6am and I need to be there at 5:30. The ticket guy was insistent that I be there on time and he insisted that I see the time (very politely – he could never get a job at greyhound) and I realized I’m on the wrong time. Apparently between Nogales and here the time changed – good thing I know.

The train cost 1708 Pesos which is about $125 US – pricey but I have wanted to do this for 3 years. If I had more time I would take 2 or 3 days and get off in other villages on the route and explore a bit more.

I went to bed late (apparently an hour later than I realized) and got up at 9am (local time) well refreshed. I was the only one in my dorm so I wasn’t disturbed. I will get to bed early tonight. I just had a tasty breakfast on my way to the center to explore and relax. I will hopefully post this from there.

Good news, my body survived the food I put in it yesterday. In the early afternoon yesterday we stopped at the bus station for ½ hour in some small town and I had some sort of food in a tortilla. Ground beef with lettuce (or cabbage) and hot sauce – tasty but uncooked veggies are a no no. I ate 1½ of them and said a prayer to the gods of diarrhea asking for a mulligan on this one. Then last night my hamburger had lettuce (I scraped a good portion but not all of it off) and the meat was undercooked – a recipe for disaster if there ever was one – there is mulligan number 2. Not sure how many I get but I had been in Mexico for less than 30 hours and had used up 2 of them. I need to be more careful or I’ll spend a day of my precious time sitting on a toilet.

I’ve been walking around for 2 hours. The downtown is bustling but there seems to be very few cafes and restaurants. There is a literally unlimited supply of boutiques catering to the women and quite a few boot shops. Apparently Chihuahua is the place to buy those cowboy boots you always wanted – I’ll pass.

The elevation is 4,770 feet and its hot. The thing is when you are out of the sun its very comfortable. I need to find a bar with an outside patio and umbrellas to pass the afternoon in – not sure I’ll find them here.

Still haven’t found wifi (I’m in my second café) but I have an idea – near hear there is a hotel that has an unsecured connection and it must be near here as I’m picking it up – just 2 weak to use. In fact I have lost it but the hotel is a few blocks up the street and if there is a café nearby I might be able to connect.

Didn't find a place but walked down to zona rosa where by all indications its the place to be after I'm asleep but on my way back (one street over) I found a place to eat and have a few beers. Continuining on my way back to the hostal I found a cafe with wifi and can post.

May write a tad more later