Arizona and Sonora, Mexico - 11/25/98 to 11/30/98

We arrived in Phoenix, Arizona at around noon on 11/25/98. Originally we planned on renting an economy car from Budget, but when they told us they had a Ford Aspire for us, I asked if they had something with a bit more pick up. Ruben over heard the another guy at the counter renting a Subaru Outback, and asked about that. We decided to rent one too - it was only $54 more for the week. It was a good thing too.  From Phoenix we drove south to Tucson. We stopped in at his Tio (Uncle) Jose's house. Jose and Anne have a darling 20 month old daughter, Teresa, who can count to 10 in English and in Spanish. She was great to play with. We had dinner at a great Mexican restaurant with them, Jose's older son, Francisco (but his friends call him Paco), and Ruben's other Tio, Jorge. Both of these uncles are on his mom's side of the family.  We stayed the night in a motel in Tucson. The next morning was Thanksgiving and I got a chance to call my son Matthew. It turns out he was with his dad and paternal grandparents about 25 miles south of us in Green Valley. It just felt good to know he was close.

At this checkpoint there are supposedly 4 steps you have to do. The first step was to get the declaration form, which is what we had done at the border. It was a good thing too, because the line for that step was huge. So then we had to go get copies of all the important paper work. We found the second line, and it wasn't too bad at all. They even took US currency, and only charged us $.25 per copy. We spoke to another US citizen in line who was from Salt Lake City. He wasn't quite sure what he was doing, but then neither were we. He was travelling to Costa Rica to live for his retirement.

Once we had made the copies we looked for the 3rd step. A ha! They are trying to mess with our minds - there is no 3rd step. So we got on line to pay for our permit that allows us to drive in the state of Sonora. After a 10 minute or so wait, we handed the woman in the booth all the copies of all our papers. The fact that this was a rental car threw her a bit. She couldn't find all of the information she needed on the rental car contract, so I had to run back to the car and write everything down (mostly she was missing the VIN). After ALL of that was done, we got back into the car, stuck the permit on the windshield, and drove through the checkpoint, only to have to talk to a customs agent again. He asked us what we were carrying, and Ruben replied "Clothes and Food" ("Ropa y comida"). The agent asked us "why so many clothes," and Ruben replied "because we don't want to wash anything." The agent laughed and let us through.

Ruben was very relieved that he had gotten us through the customs ritual by himself...without an uncle or a parent doing it for him. The other nice thing was that we made it through without the "mordida" (little bite), or a little bribe that they ask many travellers. Ruben's cousins from LAwere asked for a mordida and were given a hard time when they wouldn't pay it. Basically they had to empty out all of their luggage for four adults and three kids.

We continued south on the main road from the check point. At one point we saw an ostrich farm - ostriches must do fairly well in that climate because there was also a farm up near Phoenix. We drove through Magdalena - a very pretty little town that looked like it had a lot going on. We didn't stop on the way down, which is disappointing because we didn't get a chance to stop on the way back.

Now I had been a little nervous about the trip, mostly because I had no idea where we were going, nor was there any map I could get to find out. I could find where Santa Ana and Magdalena was, but not where the ranch, or even the nearest town (Trincheras) was. When I asked Ruben if I should go to AAA to get a map of Sonora, he said we didn't need one, that we'd just go out the back end Santa Ana and he'd know where to turn. Oooooookay......

We got to Santa Ana around 1pm, and I was getting nauseous from hunger. So we stopped at the Hotel Elba for some lunch. Ruben told me what he wanted (Camarones, or shrimp, rancheros), and ran back to the car. The waiter took that precise moment to come ask if we were ready to order. So I did it. All myself. I also ordered two glasses of Horchata - a rice drink that Ruben and I love, but can't find up in Seattle that often - and some guacamole and chips. Lunch was very, very good, and at the end we ordered some Coca Cola because we know how good it tastes down there, probably because they use sugar instead of corn syrup.  From there we went on a little tour of Santa Ana...mostly because Ruben couldn't quite find the famed road to the ranch. He was only off by one or two streets, so we did finally find it, and headed out. About 10Km down the road we hit a small town called El Claro. We made a right (mostly because the straight road ended). Well the road to the right turns into a dirt road, and just past the school yard we made a left, and continued down the road for about 20-30 Km. This road, by the way, is a "highway" out to the water (the bay between Sonora and Baja, Mexico)

At one point Ruben started laughing about a trail of corn that had been left by a truck he saw going the other direction. Not being able to pass this up, we picked up what corn we could find along the way (about 5 ears). I figured at least the animals would be able to eat it. Then at some point Ruben paused his driving and pointed out the river bed we had to cross. When we came up on the other side he said "Welcome to Rubania." This is because our dear friend Qate keeps saying "If Ruben was a country, he'd be Rubania."
 

The windmill (actually taken from the house on Saturday - when it was rainy out)

A view of the bull pens from the arena stands. The rancher's house.

From the gate it's still another kilometer or two to get to the house. You can see the windmill from that point, but that's the only indication that there is anything down the road. Eventually on the left I stared to see pens for animals, and the arena where they test the bulls. Ruben turned left into the driveway (if you could call it that) and we went up past the horse and cow stalls, the windmill, and the rancher's little house. When we pulled up to the main house we saw Ruben's cousin Larry sitting on the porch and reading. It a moment for Larry to figure out who we were, but then he smiled and waved.
 

The house is beautiful, but quite rustic. Water is heated on the stove (for washing dishes), or in 4 foot high hot water tanks by lighting a fire underneath. The stove and the refridgerator are powered by tanks of propane. There is no trash collection - all trash has to be burned (which means there is a lot of trash floating around the country side, the only negative to the landscape). Tio Adrian has recently installed solar panels for power, a satelite dish, and a cellular phone charged by his truck's battery. Oh, the only electricity running to the place is to the pumps out in the fields. Shows you where the priorities are.

Before I go on, I will explain who the cast of characters are. Ruben and I were visiting Ruben's Uncle Adrian and Aunt Ana Rosa on his dad's side. Adrian owns this ranch and another one where he raised bulls for the bull fights. His aunt and uncle have four children, listed in no particular order:

• Ana (aka Chachi), married to Larry with one child Little Larry who is almost 6 and in 1st grade
• Elsa (aka Lulu), married to Jesse with two kids Alexander (5) and Phillip (3)
• Marie, married to Mario with twin boys, Daniel and Dominque, and
• Adrian (aka Chacho), a MD married to Alice, with two kids, Lauren and .

We arrived around 3pm, and Ruben showed me around. The first room you enter is the dining room with a HUGE, gorgeous wooden table that can seat around 20 people (apparently there had been 30 people at the ranch for the Tientas the week before). To the right is the kitchen, and straight ahead is Beto's bedroom. There is also a very stinky bathroom back there, and another bedroom where Elsa and Jesse stayed. To the left is a small room with a table where Adrian does his work, and a bar. I should mention that there are pictures of bull and posters for bull fights in most of these back rooms. Further down that side of the house there is another small room that I recognized immediately. Ruben has a picture of his dad that was taken by Chacho about 15 days before his dad died. I had Ruben sit in the chair like his dad and took this picture. The only differnce is that 10 years ago the picture of the bull was not there, and there wasn't a TV to the right. Ruben looks a lot like his dad when his dad was the same age.  Beyond this little sitting room is two more bedrooms - Adrian and Ana Rosa's, and Ana and Larry's, and a newer, non-stinky bathroom. When we first showed up the three kids were taking a shower together. They were filthy top to bottom. It was really very cute.

Then we took a small drive down to see the bull pens. Here is a picture of Ruben with his uncle Adrian by the bulls, and Ruben and Adrian driving back in the Subaru.
  Shortly after that, it turned dark, we had "Thanksgiving" dinner consisting of ham, rice, salad and rolls. Earlier in the day the kids had been dismayed to hear that we were not having turkey for dinner, so they set their minds on chasing down the turkeys on the ranch and catching one for dinner. Apparently it was quite a funny sight. Dinner was eaten mostly in the dark because the solar panels weren't working quite right.

We wound up sleeping in Beto's room in his full sized bed. Needless to say we were a little squished. To top it off, the bed was VERY squeeky. If we moved or flinched the slightest, we'd squeak. I'm a light sleeper so I wound up waking up every time either of us moved.
 

In the morning we woke up, had breakfast and went for a drive on the dusty roads of the property. Adrian was having a well pump down by the "milpa" (pasture land) moved and he needed to check on how things were going. While we were down there, we saw a set of pig pens, with a mama pig and her piglets. There were some small piglets in the pen with mom, and then some larger (probably 1 year old) pigs running around outside. The kids thought these free range pigs were great and wanted to pet them. So they chased them around. It was really quite funny, and unfortunately none of us had a camera on us, so we missed the photo opportunity. The guys got put to work guiding the pump as it was lifted out of the ground.  After we got back, the subaru was covered in dust. Ruben grabbed a picture with me and Alexander at the back of the car, and Elsa standing towards the front of the car (further back in the picture).  Around lunch time Else, Jesse, Phillip, Ruben and I drove back up the road to Santa Ana, then south on the main highway to Llano. Llano is a small town with a Pemex (the government run gas stations), a grocery store, and a closed down bar called "Aqui me quedo" (the proprietor died recently). It was once a town of about 4000 people, now there are around 950 who live there. This is where Ruben's dad and uncle (and family) grew up. Elsa wanted to visit her father's old house, and Ruben wanted to visit the bar and his dad's grave.

The town is very run down at this point, and the old house is no exception. After their granfather died, the house was sold or donated to a school. The desks and chairs are still in one of the rooms. But since then, they don't know what happened to it. There appeared to be some squatters living in a back room of the house. It was sad to see the kids with dirt on their face and no shoes walking around on the streets where there was glass. Ruben told me that the house used to be very well cared for, and had fruit trees in back. It was nothing like that now. 

Our final stop in Llano was Ruben's dad's grave. Big Ruben died on February 28, 1988 - 10.5 years ago. It's a tradition to buy a 6-pack of Coors (Big Ruben's favorite), open a can for dad and leave it as the Eternal Coors, and drink one yourself. Jesse and Elsa also drank a beer. Not being a beer drinker, I at least took a sip. Phillip mostly thought it was amusing to climb around on the concrete. The engraving on the grave has his name, birth date, date of death and "Dios guarda tu alma y guardamos en nuestros corazones" (God guards your soul and we guard you in our hearts).

When we got back, we found out that the kids (who had been pestering to do this all morning) finally got a chance to ride a horse. Ruben's aunt took a ride when the were done, and wound up getting thrown from the horse and into a bush, hitting her head and her hip. Apparently, Ana Rosa is an experienced rider and does not like to trot, so she got the horse going at a gallop. But the reigns were not quite on right, and when she tried to slow the horse down, it wound up turning, so she was afraid to pull too hard. Unfortunately she still got thrown.

Most of the rest of the day was spent determining how badly she was hurt (they didn't know if her hip was dislocated or broken) , and figuring out how to get her back to LA for treatment. The Ana, Larry, Elsa and Jesse were thinking of driving back on Saturday, and asked us to go back early too. They figured they could take out the back seat of their Suburban, lay Ana Rosa down in the back, and use the back seat of our car for the other people who could now no longer fit. This would get Ana Rosa and Adrian to Tucson or Phoenix where they could get a flight.

There was another interesting story from that day. Ruben started up a fire for hot water so I could take a shower. When he told me it was warm enough, I went into the bathroom, and started the water. The closest faucet had a 'C' on it, so I reached for the far one. Then I waited for the water to heat up. And I waited. And I waited. Finally, thinking it was a touch warmer (and figuring I wouldn't have to take another shower there again) I got in and just dealt with it. It was so cold I just leaned my head over to wash my hair, and quickly washed the dust off my body. Then I reached for the faucet to turn it off. That's when I said to myself:

"That's not an 'H'. That's an 'F'."

The lightbulb had gone on. And the woman with a Clue finally caught one herself. The 'F' stands for "frio" or cold. The 'C' stands for "calor" or "caliente" - HOT! I turned on the other faucet and beautifully warm water came streaming out. I could not stop giggling at my silliness. Ruben walked in and I told him the story. So now our new phrase is "That's not an 'H'...." The whole family really got a kick out of the story when I told them....

By morning Ana Rosa could sit up in bed, so the plan changed. Elsa and Jesse left with Larry and all of the kids, and Ana stayed to help with her mom. The plan was for us to get them to Tucson or Phoenix, and they would fly back from there. We figure we could lean the front seat back and she'd be fairly comfortable. Saturday was also very cloudy, and the phone stopped working. I had thought it was a satelite phone and didn't question it, thinking the signal couldn't get through the clouds. Most of the day was spent waiting for the signal to clear up. In the mean while I watched doggie theatre.

At around 6pm, Adrian tried the phone again. I asked him if he was having problems because it was a satelite phone. He said it was cellular, and I told him that I was getting a better signal on my phone now that it was cloudy (I could get a signal, but I couldn't seem to dial out - I couldn't figure out how to get to the states using the Mexican Cellular phone system). I suggested he move the phone to the outside, which he did and it worked fine. He was able to call a friend, Arturo, in Tucson to have him call around for flights. Unfortunately nothing was available for either Sunday or Monday. I then suggested that we drive her in the Subaru to the US and that Adrian rent a van to drive back to LA with her laying in the back. That night he also called Chacho who made arrangments for a hospital in LA and an orthopedic surgeon to look at her when they got into town.

The next morning, Sunday, we packed up, closed down the house and left. Adrian had called for an ambulance to take Ana Rosa out. They came in a very nice, new one and loaded her on a gurney. Quite frankly, I was suprised they could find the place. We followed the ambulance out down the dirt road. They were going slow, and avoiding all of the bumps and bad parts of the road. When they came close to El Claro, they turned on the lights, which made me pretty nervous, I thought something had changed in her condition. Turns out they probably just had to put it on when they hit the more populated areas.

We stopped at the ambulance bay when we got to Santa Ana. They transferred her to a smaller, older ambulance for the trip to the border. They could take the older ambulance across the border, but they would have had to take it directly to a hospital in Nogales - something Adrian didn't want to do. Chacho had also arranged for a physician to take a look at her while we were there. He thought he was going to have to set a bone in a cast, but that wasn't required. Still, he gave her a sedative patch that helped her through the rough ride home. We continued northward, and as I said before, we were not able to stop at Magdalena, which was a bummer.

We drove back up through the check point - they were able to blast through, but we had to stop and return our pass. They scraped it off, and we caught up with the ambulance at the Pemex. The driver told us to put on our flashers and to keep up with them. This became very important as we hit Nogales and they turned on the siren. When they cut through the intersections, so did we. When cars pulled over for them, we passed to, although sometimes those same cars would cut in too soon and almost hit us. This got even worse when we hit the line for the border. Some drivers were outright nasty! There was a large old ford truck that wound up cutting us totally off from the ambulance. Fortunately that truck turned off out of the way right afterwards. Just before the border, we all pulled off to the left, and they pulled her out of the ambulance. (I can only hope that the people who were giving us a hard time about following the ambulance felt really guilty when they saw us unloading her) With some difficulty, we got her into the front seat of the car with the seat layed back. Ana sat behind her, Adrian sat behind Ruben (who was driving), and I (with my long legs) got squished in the middle. The border guards asked us only what our citizenship was and where we were going. They brushed us right through. I have never had such an easy time crossing the border.

Just over the line, we made a left and headed towards route 19 - the highway to Tucson.  On our right was a McDonald's ... only in the Southwest would you see a sign like this...

We drove to Tucson and to the house of Arturo, who wasn't there. We waited for 1.5 hours for him to arrive - he was supposed to have found Adrian a car. He never showed. Finally we got back into the car and drove to Phoenix, arriving around 7pm. We knew that they were not going to be able to drive to LA that night, so we started to look for a hotel near the airport, figuring they could easily rent a car one-way from there in the morning. Noone really wanted to make a decision on where to stay. Finally Ruben just decided to go to the Hyatt, where he figured they would have a wheelchair. He was right. They also had hot running water (I bought bubble bath and took a nice hot bath after dinner), a workout room, and room service (I used room service for the first time late that night for pecan pie and hot chocolate).... Once we had her in the wheelchair, we were able to take her to dinner, instead of her ordering room service. Dinner was good, but by the end of it, she was looking very grey and tired.

The next morning Ana Rosa was able to get up and actually wash herself up. It was then that she saw the bruises on her body for the first time (before that she had not seen herself in a mirror). She showed me how extensive they were on her torso. Fortunately it looked like most of it was healing well.

Adrian called another friend who could get them a car for the trip. They stayed in the hotel until 1pm, but we left at noon to do a little sight seeing. From the hotel we drove northeast and visited Paradise Valley, drove to Talesin (Frank Lloyd Wrights place) but didn't take the tour for $14 per person (way too high if you ask me), and downtown Scottsdale. Then we called Ruben's family friend Carlos Salazar. We visited with him and his parents (who were up from Magdalena for a week) for a few hours before grabbing a bite to eat and catching the plane home.

Postscript

The irony of the whole trip was this: Apparently shortly after we left Carlos's house, his father (Ruben Salazar) was leaning down to pick up a cigarrette butt and fell over.  He broke his hip and he required emergency surgery. So while we spent days getting Ana Rosa to the states and she was "relatively" fine, Ruben Salazar wound up with the problem we thought she had.  When I heard that, I felt like we were carrying around a terrible curse for broken bones...So far, noone we know in Seattle has broken a hip bone yet though