Monday, September 05, 2005

Topes from hell


It is the strangest phenomenon; Mexico is littered with speed bumps (or topes.) In lieu of anything else resembling speed control, topes pop up where you least suspect them and are rarely marked or even painted. Sometimes they consist of smaller bumps every foot or so for twenty yards or more. They occur on exit ramps off the highway, after lights, on deserted roads, and on the fast routes into town. How ridiculous is it to take the fast route into work in the morning only to have to maneouver over four topes in a four block section?

There are several methods to managing topes; some go slowly, some just keep on driving at the same speed, some drive right around them onto the sidewalk at which pedestrians don't even blink an eye, others, like us, try their best to take them slowly, but have missed seeing several in time and now are sheepishly taking their truck into the shop to get "that horrible sound when we go over bumps" checked out. Oops. Thank goodness there's a Nissan dealership here. You should have seen the look of concentration on Mom's face as she tried to dredge up the Spanish word for shocks!

On the brighter side we have almost signed a contract on a new house for a year's lease. It is a gorgeous thing up a steep cobblestone road perched high on the cliff above the bay of Zihuatanejo. We will be within walking distance of the centro and is also a much shorter commute for Rob. The bay beneath the road is where the boats come in with their catch in the mornings. Chola and Pillo are in for some interesting morning walks! We plan to move on the 14th of October.

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