Adventures on the Road

The Nissan truck spent Friday at the mechanics preparing for our drive to Mexico City, and by Saturday it had new tires, an oil change and new brakes. With the electricity out in Zacango since Friday afternoon, we decided to leave Saturday night instead of Sunday morning. We also reasoned that if we left in the evening, we would have all day Sunday to relax before our Visa obligations on Monday. We secured the few boxes of kitchen items and desk for my eventual new apartment in Mexico City, allowing enough room for the three Friesen-Pankratz children and Hizee’s two month old dog, Little Man, to sleep on the five to six hour night drive. By 7pm we were on the road.

Within a half hour the children were comfortably sleeping in a Dramamine induced state, with Little Man snuggled in between them. The furniture and boxes groaned at every bump, but thankfully remained securely fastened. And thanks to the miracles of science and medicine, we navigated the mountains and curves without one incidence of sickness.

By 10pm we were nearing Cuernavaca. After a quick food break, we were back on the road for the home stretch of the trip. We all commented on how great the traffic was. At 11:00pm going on midnight, there isn’t much traffic on the roads. Having paid our last toll of the trip, we pulled out of the toll booth. Within five minutes of leaving the toll booth, we hear a police siren and see the flashing lights behind out. The flashing lights were not unusual as that is the standard operating procedure of the police; however, we got the message that we should pull over when the police with megaphone hanging out the window yelled, “Más adelante” (Just ahead…pull over).

There was plenty of speculating in the truck as to what our violation was. Were we speeding? Are we not allowed to haul furniture? Are all our documents up to date? We pulled over, and Bruce gets out of the car to talk with the police woman who is also out of the vehicle. They are standing looking at the back of the truck, when I open the door, hoping that my Spanish can be of some use to Bruce.

The problem: No working taillights – none. Well, it was time to negotiate. I explained how surprised we were as the truck was just in the shop all day on Friday. I emphasized that we were part of non-profit, Mennonite Central Committee, and had meetings in the city. A giggle almost escaped me as the police officer nodded knowingly at the mention of our organization. By this time the kids were out of the truck along with Little Man for a stretch break, and Little Man was a definite hit with the officer.

After some more discussion, the officer told us that it was really dangerous for us, especially with little kids. Someone could drive into us because we had no taillights and were driving so slowly. I about joked that we would simply drive faster, but I thought it unwise to press my luck. I assured her that we would be very careful and get this taken care of right away. And with our lone left hazard light weakly flashing, we were on our way again.