Out of Juarez!

Yes, we have left!

Today, after our appointment, we were running around helping Osiel’s family, getting our tickets out of Ciudad Juarez, and saying goodbye to the families. On the way from the consulate, where we were picking up some forms for Osiel, Ruben‘s van broke down. We were at a stop light, and when Ruben tried to accelerate, the van started shaking wildly and did not go anywhere. Everyone was honking and driving around us. Then a man behind us used his truck to push the van. After pushing the van in neutral a short distance, he hooked the van up to his truck with a rusty chain. He then pulled the van through the city for about 15 minutes while Ruben, Osiel, Emma, and I were all riding in the van. Every so often, the van would start to shake again. We went through intersections, sharp curves, and even up some pretty steep hills. We were only going about 10 miles an hour, but the passing traffic was going much faster, as it was one of the main avenues of Ciudad Juarez. It was a pretty nerve-racking experience, and we were tense the whole time, sure that it was one of the most dangerous things we could be doing. The man pulled us all the way to Ruben’s house, and his daughter then drove us to the airport.

Of course, by that time we were already 15 minutes late to check-in. The man who checked us in told us to go as fast as we could through the airport. Luckily we both had running shoes, because she sprinted up escalators and through our belongings into the boxes at security. We checked in at the gate 20 minutes before the flight left, but we did make it.

We are now in Guadalajara, at the bus station’s waiting room. We have three and a half hours until our bus leaves at 2:45 am, 12:45 am in California. There is free internet and purified water, uncomfortable chairs, and disgusting food. But we are safe. We took a taxi from the airport, which would have been a decent price had we paid in pesos, but we only had American money left, and the taxi office used a horrible exchange rate, so it ended up being expensive. The driver was very friendly, a wild driver, and also a complete rip off. He dropped us off at the arrival side of the station, so we had to high-tail it across a rather large parking lot to get to the departure side. We arrived safe and sound, yet vowing to never take a taxi again unless absolutely necessary.

We will be arriving in Barra de Navidad around 9 am, or 7 am in California. We will then take a ten minute bus ride to Melaque, where Betine, the man who cares for Joelle’s house, will pick us up. He will drive us to La Manzanilla, about ten minutes away. Finally, we will have arrived at Joelle’s house in La Manzanilla, where is looks like we will be until mid-October.

Beach, here we come!

-Jose