Bienvenido a Mexico

Ahhh...we finally made it. After six days of climbing in Indian Creek, we left with a van full of red sand, new scars on our hands, and great anticipation of our next destination. Leah and I were hardly prepared for the next leg of our journey, three days of driving, sleeping just off the interstate, and eating whatever we could find at local gas stations or restaraunts. We noticed a major temperature increase in these two days and the landscape began to change into cacti and many different species of trees and plants we have never seen before. We decided to cross the US/Mexican border in the morning to give ourselves more than enough time to deal with logistics and headaches in another language. We crossed a bridge in Laredo, Texas, breifly talked to some border patrol people in broken spanish and geared ourselves for the "real" border crossing. Twenty minutes later while driving down narrow one ways, listening to street music and looking around, we realized, "hey are we in Mexico?" It turns our we were, no tourist visas, no vehicle registration, no passport requests, hmm.... We turned around to seek out all of these things ourselves a little confused. An hour later, we were back on the road to Potrero Chico.

Just outside of Monterrey, Mexico we started our drive towards the high mountains of Potrero, pointed out to me by a friendly gas station attendant. "Look towards the mountains you are going to visit"as he pointed to the limestone peaks with a sparkle in his eye. A couple of hours and a few u turns later we pulled into the campground. To our great surprise we had the entire canyon to ourselves and four other American climbers for the next three days. The first day was a bit of an awakening to the new style of climbing, no more secure hand jams and placing your own protection whenever you feel insecure. Sharp limestone holds, huecos and pockets that you can sometimes stick your entire arm into and critters like millipedes, spiders and snakes that join you on the walls. However after a few days of getting used to the rock, I realize that the major thing to focus on is the language barrier. My portuguese is very rusty and although it has been handy a few of times, for the most part the Mexicans just smile and apologize that they do not understand. I feel the familiar insecurity of not being able to connect on a simple level through basic communication.

Leah is planning her flight back to Canada on the 23rd and I have come to the realization that I will be alone, without my favourite chica and climbing partner. Soon the rock chapter of the trip will come to a close and the coast will draw the Previa closer. The surfboard has been biding her time on the roof rack through the desert, soon she'll be greeted with those familiar salty waves.