A Typical Day In May Or Several
How Does An Article About Living In A House In A Small Village Apply to RVing Mexico?
By David Eidell (08/2009)
A Foreword: I must give credit to Tom Gonser for asking the “You can’t see the forest for the trees” question after he reviewed the story for the first time. One of my weaknesses is a fault familiar to computer software wizards; who create programs that they are sure is simple and intuitive – only to discover that the general public is overwhelmed by complexities and an initial feeling of: “I don’t need all this; what the heck were they thinking of? Later on, after you got a feel for the software, you gradually expand your experience and knowledge of how to best use the product to suit your own particular needs and wishes. Pretty soon you graduate to a level where you are convinced that the program is really neat and you really like it.
A surprisingly large percentage of RVers who manage to drift further south than the nearest snowbird havens, soon yearn to experience “The Real Mexico”. Bi-lingual waiters and store personnel tend to adopt customs and attitudes of visitors – this is reassuring at first to a newbie but to try your Spanish out on such a person only to have them answer in English gets a bit discouraging. I run shrieking from a tourist zone business where when I try paying in Mexican pesos the clerk panics, yells “Damn!” and reaches for a calculator.
To create your own experience that is unique like A Typical Day In May Or Several isn’t difficult: While traveling if you get a “Geez – this place is wonderful, I wonder if…” you can create your own universe with very little effort. With very little or no Spanish but wide smiles your inquisitiveness will induce an atmosphere that will most certainly bring about someone (before long) who is bilingual and can translate your questions:
- Don’t rush things! Mexicans love to beat around the bush at least twice before getting on to the subject matter.
- Use a line like “We were wondering if there is a way, somehow to find a place to park our RV and stay for awhile? This is especially effective way to go about asking when dealing with the possibility of parking near a small store or rural restaurant. Be prepared to pay some kind of a fee, a restaurant may ask for as little as dining there once per day.
- A common scenario is for the locals to search for a small unused house (sometimes a hovel) and ask for a very modest rent. This is a perfect way to connect to water, electricity and sewer and have at least a modest structure (and maybe a tree or two for shade).
- Like the new complex computer program mentioned earlier take your first days using little bites. Sit under your awning and watch the world go by. Inquisitive children will certainly show up and unlike adult Mexicans they have no inhibitions at all about approaching and attempting conversation. If I catch a small child who is unknown to me prowling about and fondling equipment or possessions I ask them to be seated and this conveys a simple yet strong message. Mexico is no different than the rest of the world; children who misbehave can be dispatched with nary a word. Raise your arm, look them in the eye and point toward the street.
- I always keep in mind that my RV is a rolling home – if I decide that I really don’t like the area, I’ll pull up stakes and move on. Sooner rather than later you’ll find the “Perfect Spot”. I have (too many) decades of experience and know that moving on does not equal rushing. More than a few times I decided to hit-the-trail after spending a night being serenading by village dogs. Or there may be too much dust or mosquitoes, or any number of intangibles that will influence my decision of whether to stay or not. A mistake however is created when you spend several days and then decide to move-on because the search for a perfect hookup site seems to have fizzled. Your new friends may have the perfect spot located but must wait for the land owner to return from Guadalajara to make arrangements. In matters similar to these most Mexicans are more patient than we are – unless some really pressing detail interferes with your perception of “The Perfect Spot” I’d give things a week or so to gel.
- I rate Mexico as being valuable on a ratio of eighty / twenty when it comes to judging value of Mexicans themselves versus other things like beaches, the weather, etc. An overwhelming number of RV “explorers” would remember being invited to a wedding a hundred times longer (and a heck of a lot more fondly) than spending a day on the beach. Indeed the transition from appreciating the environment to appreciating the Mexicans is a large measure of the success of your transition from tourist to wizened traveler.
- Out of hundreds perhaps as many as a thousand tourists that I have chatted with, the most ecstatic, ebullient, and emotional stories were of personal experiences with the Mexicans. This does not involve a Yes/No choice! You can fall in love with physical Mexico and emotionally bond with Mexicans at the same time – baked Alaska after prime rib so to speak. RVers who attain this level are never satisfied going back to living in a walled-In RV Park!
- It would not be uncommon to find a tiny house or palm frond restaurant which would serve as a source of umbilical connection to your RV for a hundred or so dollars a month. I always opt for the best value when faced with a choice. And don’t worry about not finding a place! If not here, then there, or there! Most rural Mexicans are at first perplexed then merely curious then grow to be appreciative when faced with the idea of trying something new (sound familiar?). The possibility of gaining a little work out of the arrangement only serves to sweeten the pot if for nothing more than doing the wash or raking the yard.
- Everything these days seems to have an exclusion clause and here’s mine: Some areas of Mexico are safer than others just like in the United States. Generally rural areas have far less crime than large cities. Camping on Pacific coast beaches is safe if there is a nearby house or restaurant with the owners living on-site. I would be loathe to leave an unwatched-over RV - but neighbors will help. Hosting guests is an art form in Mexico, but I would hesitate to rent a place in Mexico’s wild & rural mountain areas that have a reputation for being dope-growing areas. Common sense dictates that law enforcement would be overly curious about anyone camping in the sticks uncommonly close to marijuana or opium fields.
- Mexico isn’t a gigantic troop of boy scouts – there are cranky drivers, indifferent salespersons, drunks, and mischievous brats. Turn your emotional sensitivity meter down a notch; you’ll soon gain an appreciation of when it is perfectly appropriate to make an obscene gesture at an offending driver and then smile afterward.
The experiences that I write about are not meant to be interpreted as being similar to those of a Mexican living in Mexico. They show how warm and sensitive “foreign” friends can be – many times your new friends have never had much if any contact with an outsider. Dozens and dozens of “customers” at Flores de Las Peñas RV Camp meant to spend a single night – more than a score stayed for a month or longer and several RVers have made friends with Brenda, Jesus and the girls, and plan long visits even though the RV park is gone. Brenda has become somewhat of an addict of visiting visitors from the USA and Canada.
Merely stating “The Mexicans are friendly” or “You’ll feel welcome south of the border” just doesn’t work for many readers – we are a curious folk and require concrete examples to base our perceptions upon. A Typical Day In May Or Several, takes you right to the heart of The Real Mexico!
Que le Vaya Bien! (MAY YOU TRAVEL WELL!)
David Eidell
+++See also: David's response to my very first questions after reading the full text of the downloadable item below: things like "where is your village located?"; and "what's the poplulation"? David provides valuable added background here.
[Ed Note: The link below will download the complete pictorial review written by David. It is more than 50 pages in length, containing numerous photos that illustrate his story as it unfolds. The document is written in MS Word, and the file size is approximately 7.5 megs, so you will want to have a high speed connection when you download it. We found it nothing short of fascinating!]
Download File: A Typical Day in May, or Several