The mist began to melt away as the sun peaked over the Sierra Occidentals and flooded the RV Park in Cd. Victoria with the light of a newborn day.

The Canadian traveler was ready to move on, deeper into Mexico, but which way to go, out to Tampico and drive the Gulf south to Vera Cruz? Jack pondered his options as he prepared his ‘desayuno’ of eggs, peppers, beans and a tortilla. Ah! Who cares about the beans, he thought, I am traveling alone?

Another look at the map and he spotted San Miguel de Allende, and gazing closer he followed the route through the mountains and across the plain heading deeper into the country and closer to Mexico City, the largest city in the Americas. With his camper van packed up, the gas and the water tanks full, he checked the oil and tires and the decision was made!

He had heard so much about the culture and heritage in San Miguel it was time to see for himself, the city that was so well known that it attracted visitors from around the world.

It only took a short while to get out of Cd. Victoria and begin climbing into the mountains. The spine of Mexico is incredibly mountainous with steep climbs up and over mountain passes and then perilous descents with the road clinging to sidehills, high above rock strewn and cactus covered canyons.

The vistas were incredible but too much sightseeing is a dangerous thing to do as the road is narrow with very tight corners, but with little traffic the feeling of being alone in this ancient and colourful land was incredible.

That’s when he saw the truck coming around the corner on his side of the road, swerving to the very precipice on the gravel edge, he felt more than saw the big rig sweep by and all that was left when he regained control were a few feathers floating in the air from the load of chickens the trucker had been carrying.

Somewhat unsettled Jack drove for a while until he found a small pullout where stopped to admire the countryside. From this vantage point the road stretched out in nearly a straight line crossing the valley below to the next mountain range farther to the southeast. Other than the highway itself there was no sign of mankind; just the shadows of the mountains, the desert foliage and the ever present vultures spiraling on the thermals.

In his imagination he could see the land as it was before there was a highway, the indigenous peoples who had inhabited this rugged land for centuries, living as they had done for generations.

He climbed back in the van, the sun was high and little mirages of lakes shimmered on the highway. Jack, lost in his thoughts and dreams of this historic land, could see approaching a large freight truck and he also spotted a Mexican riding a burro near the side the road. What a contradiction of time and space, he thought; a modern vehicle and a man on his burro traveling in the typical mode of his ancestors.

As he drove closer he could see the serape covering the rider’s shoulders and the sombrero shading his eyes — such a contrast between the new and the old and that was when he realized the caballero was talking on a cell phone as he rode though this ancient land!

Barry Brown-John/Special to e-KNOW

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