All we knew was that we were heading to Acapulco. We set off without any money, any direction and not speaking the language. Some call is courageous, other stupid! I think we still don’t really know what we got ourselves into. It’s been a journey of a life time with a team I’m willing to go around the world with.
From Guatemala we took a shuttle bus to San Christobal, Mexico. (This was the last money we were to spend) Upon our arrival we off loaded out bags, just to reload a few seconds later. In typical Yellow style we realised that there’s no time like the present and at least the shuttle driver would have a general direction to send us in. He reluctantly agreed to take us to a spot outside town while assuring us that we won’t get a lift, we however bravely set forth and stuck to our “keep walking” motto. God was faithful and we soon got a lift to the next town, 3 rides later we were hanging around a gas station without any eager truck drivers. Our plan to hitch hike through the night failed and we spent it sound asleep in a storeroom after Wesley surprised us with a Bar One all the way from Brakpan that we shared for supper.
Day 2 will be known as the cross country drive day. With empty stomachs but high spirits we again set off to Acapulco. We hitched a ride to a petrol station out of town and here met Alfonso. Alfonso explained to us that we’re planning on the wrong route and we should be taking the more scenic coastal route. He could take us to 200km from the west coast but only after he’d finish his business in Coatzacoalcos, a town on the east coast. With Wesley jam packed between two Mexicans in front and the rest of us catching some weird tans on the back we drove to the Gulf of Mexico and back. We spent 10hours in the blazing sun on top of our bags while Wes enjoyed the privileges of a fair skin and air con! At least we got a decent meal and safe place to stay the night.
On the morning of day 3 Alfonso dropped us at a petrol station, and we were off again. Day 3 proofing to be even more eventful than the previous two days. It took us 10 hours and 7 rides to get to Salina Cruz, the first coastal town from where were to take the scenic route to Acapulco. Though most of these rides were pretty straight forward, hop on, hop off stuff we did catch one & ldquo;gangster” ride. Now, we cannot with certainty say, but we suspect that we got in a car with gang members. They were very polite and even took us for lunch, a welcome relief for our empty stomachs! Things got strange after our meal... At first they said they’d take us to the next town, then that we should get another lift, as we were about to leave they changed their minds and said we should get back in the car. Yes, no, yes no, yes, no.... They decided to give us the ride and in the process used us as an excuse to get through a road block. After they left us we got a few more rides to complete the 7 and were left on a corner in Salina Cruz. Just as we decided to head on out of town on foot, when Omar stopped next to us.
We squeezed into the car, the 5 of us, and the 4 of them and all of our bags into a double cab. It was quite a sight! Before we could really get to grips with what was happening we were on our way with a place to stay the night. We headed to the beach where Margot borrowed a surf board and caught her first wave in months. We had supper, went to a karaoke bar and Wesley even had the privilege on accompanying Omar to a local Discotheque to dance the night away! The next day we slept in, by mistake, and when we realised JR, Omar’s friend, left with the truck decided to stay another night. We had a fun filled day consisting of breakfast, cleaning the room, going to the beach, singing, dancing and to conclude the evening a late 2am supper at a local street cafe. It was a crazy two days we won’t ever forget! Omar managed to steal our hearts and we continue to pray for him and his family daily. We managed to explain some of God’s great mercy and love with him, he is now a Bible richer and we prayed with him.
That Omar was sent our way with a very divine purpose is no question and that God’s been faithful every day is no secret. We might have gone to bed hungry once or twice, but we had a safe place to stay and got meals before we went insane with hunger. We’ve travelled through what is supposedly a very dangerous country without as much as hitting a toe against a rock. This was only until day 5, can you imagine what we’ve experienced since?