Now or Never!: THANK GOODNESS FOR THE B**** IN THE BOX

We left our convenience store “campsite” and headed for Zacatecas where we would have full hook-up—water, electricity and sewer. It was not exactly what we expected. Indeed, we had water and electricity and the possibility of dumping our gray and black water tanks.

However, the “campsite” was in a hotel parking lot next to a busy highway and close to railroad tracks. It did not conform to our idea of a campsite. Still, it was a safe place to stay and designated for RV’s. The hotel itself is a very nice place, modeled on Middle Eastern architecture.

After a reasonably good night’s sleep, our “Sleep Number” mattress suddenly went soft. We took off all the bedding and pumped it up to discover that it had sprung a leak. Sunday morning! In a strange city where my command of the language is rudimentary. Thank goodness for Google Maps and GPS. We found our way to Autozone where we bought a couple of inner tube repair kits. Sadly, that didn’t work and the mattress continued to leak. GPS to the rescue. This time to Walmart at the busiest time of day on the busiest day of the week. After standing in the check-out line for ages, we were the happy owners of a new air mattress.

Our trips to Autozone and Walmart took us through large swaths of the city. This was especially true when we asked Google maps to take us back to our “campsite” at the Hotel Baruk. How were we to know that there are two Hotel Baruks in the city. Naturally, the “bitch in the box” took us to the wrong one.

Zacatecas is an old city completely swallowed up by a modern one. Magnificent Mexican baroque cathedrals are incorporated into the structure of more modern buildings. The facades of the cathedrals literally covered with ornate carvings that remind me of the temples at Kajuraho, India (without the “loving couples”).

Colorful streets are filled with shops and run-down neighborhoods. The space above the streets is filled with a spider’s web of electric, phone and cable wires. There doesn’t seem to be any kind of building code down here.

The city is located between two lofty bluffs that are connected by a cable car. Due to high winds, it was not running when we were there. We still had some great views of the city from one of its departure points.

We were greeted in Aguascalientes at the Hotel Medrano. Another parking lot “campsite!” This time it was curbside at a park like square filled with various kinds of fruits and flowers.

Pomegranate Flower

Electricity and water were available at some of the sites. It was located far from the busy streets and there were no trains. However, we went around the square and set up “camp” on the third side. The street on the fourth side was completely blocked with tour buses. There could be no exit from the “campground” until the buses departed. We were obliged to stay an extra day.

Aguascalientes, like Zacatecas, is an old city surrounded by a newer one. It is smaller and the people seem a bit more laid back. When walking in Zacatecas, we always felt that there was someone behind us on the narrow sidewalk who wanted to walk faster than us. The pace of life in Aguascalientes seemed a bit slower. The parks and public places were filled with people visiting each other or just sitting.

Mexico’s fascination with death is celebrated at the National Museum of Death. It is filled with photographs of dead people, men, women and children; famous people like Pancho Villa; bandits in front of firing squads.

There are hundreds of objets d’art depicting skeletons, monsters, Satan and death in various forms. There are macabre toys like skeleton baby dolls, doll houses and miniature ferris wheels filled with skeletons. Like museums elsewhere, they get school kids involved by giving them the opportunity to contribute to their own exhibit.