Just sitting here surfing through the newsgroups.. hmmm.. Too damned cold and ugly to be out and about.. On another forum, there are inumerable tales of the horrors in our southern neighbor, Mexico.. i.e. poverty, backward standards of living, police corruption and abuse.. etc. etc. Having travelled extensively in that country over a great number of years, I've got one more little "horror story" to add to that mix.. Just recently returned from a motorcycle trip down there.. We'd crossed into the state of Sinaloa from the south and were heading north to Mazatlan.. Needing gasolene .. we exited into a little town called Esquinapas.. Esquinapas is a small town mostly made up with fishermen who ply their trade in the Gulf of California.. Famous for the excellent and large shrimp that abound in those waters.. It's also a sprawling and scattered community that is very easy to get lost in.. Our search for a Pemex gasolene facility was getting desperate and I finally pulled up next to a Transito police office who was chatting with two motorcycle patrolmen.. Their directions to the nearest Pemex were confusing to say the least.. One of the motorcops correctly and astutely observed that I was at a loss and his decision was vocal.. "sigueme" (follow me).. The two motorcops mounted their bikes and were off to the races, with us in pursuit.. We trailed those guys through residential streets, some of which were not much more than allies.. I am talking narrow and winding.. In just a matter of minutes and a couple of miles of turns and some unsurfaced streets, we were parked beside the pumps at a gasolene station.. The two mexican cops waited patiently while we got our gas transactions completed and offered to try and locate an old time friend of mine who lives there.. I couldn't remember my friend's last name so we decided to abort that effort.. I offered to pay them for being so considerate with us, and of course they refused to accept my money.. A cold drink is the best I could do to repay them for their courtesy and kindness in helping strangers in their city.. When we'd finished our little visit with those extremely polite police officers, they escorted us back to the highway again, and cheerily waved goodbye to us as we went on our way.. The respect and courtesy they'd shown us, as well as their willingness to escort us through their interesting and quaint little town, was notable.. I can recount many, many "horror stories" of this kind .. that I've personally exper- ienced over the years that I've travelled in Mexico.. Although I've also seen some pretty horrific events take place, sometimes I wonder if the ones involved in those events might have brought their experience on themselves.. Could be that mutual respect and courtesy might be the key .. do you think ? Regards Bill Walker
