Nicole and Ingrid had hoped to spend Xmas-night in a picturesque, small
Mexican village. but it turned out differently. They had bad luck with their
bikes, twice to be more precisely. They had to hurry to find themselves a place
for the night ! For a moment there they agreed to sleep in a police cell.
What was supposed to be a nice, quiet trip on the Mexican roads, turned out into
a day full of bad luck. The trailer of the car in front of them got loose and
came towards them. Panic ! They drove into the roadside. Ingrid's wheel
completely got twisted which caused hours of delay. Somewhat later, fate hit
them again. Nicole bumped onto a parked car :
result : broken brakes and chaine. The two had to puzzle for hours to get their
bikes back on the road again. What a blessing that we followed a 3-week course
at Van Campenhout's, a bike-mecanic. We made it and fixed our bikes !
When they finally arrived in Revolucion, a small village, everyone was at the
Xmas table. The village looked so desolate and there wasn't a room left in the
hotels. They were down and discouraged by the two accidents they had. So, they
knocked on the police officer's door and asked if they could spent the night
there. We saw a small police cell, it looked warm and comfortable. We asked the
officer if we could spent the night in there. He laughed and assured us that it
wouldn't be long before the cell would be crowded.
In no time you will have to share the cell with at least 10 drunken men, he
said. He eventually offered us a place at his mother's. Lupa was her name, a
very old women with a heart of gold. The only thing she had left was a tortilla
with beans. As desert we got a tortilla with chocolate.
After the Xmas mass, there came an end to the peace and quiet ! At five in the
morning Xmas songs were sung and Lupa pulled us out of our beds to joint her to
church to celebrate Xmas.
When afterwards Lupa started about the high-mass, we literally escaped from the
house.....