I’ve written before about my struggles with culture shock when moving to Cancun, but since I’ve reached the final stage I rarely get too frustrated with the Mexican culture. Most things I’ve been able to embrace or simply laugh off.
Saturday morning, however, I went through one of my rare yet enraging Mexico culture shock moments. I’m not sure if it had to do with the fact that I’d just spent 9 days in the luxury of the USA, or maybe the situation really was bad. Dunno.
Jorge and I don’t own a car, so we always use public transportation. Normally this works just fine because Cancun has excellent and cheap buses and taxis, plus the ADO buses can easily take us to any nearby cities. Things only get difficult when it comes to traveling to a more remote area. Saturday morning, we were traveling to Chabihau, the tiny fishing village in Yucatan where Jorge’s mom grew up. Normally we catch a ride in Jorge’s parents’ car, but they had gone to Chabihau on Thursday. Our only option was to take the air-conditioned ADO bus to Merida, then catch one of the taxi vans to Chabihau.
My personal hell went something like this:
5:15 am: Our ADO bus leaves Cancun.
9:30 am: The bus arrives in Merida (I slept the whole way, miraculously). We immediately grab a taxi to take us to the taxi van station. (Merida has a street block filled with garages offering vans that take you to the smaller towns outside the city.) Jorge quickly finds the garage for the taxi vans to Chabihau, which also take other passengers to towns along the same route.
10:10 am: We’re told (as expected) by a ticket lady sitting at a rickety school desk that the 13-person van would leave at 10:30 am. If it fills up earlier, it will leave earlier. Jorge and I are happy to wait 20 minutes or less.
The garage we wait in is filthy, but we sit on the wobbly wood bench and joke around together for awhile to pass the time. Jorge goes to the neighboring store for a torta while I watch a little bit of one of Mexico’s strange but hilarious talk shows. Not so bad.
10:45 am: We begin to wonder why the van hasn’t left yet. Jorge goes back up to the lady at the tiny ticket desk and calmly asks what the situation is. The lady answers, “The driver went to the corner. He’ll be back in a few minutes.”
I ask Jorge, “What does it mean that he went to ‘the corner’? I don’t think it means the store because there’s a store right here.”
Jorge replies, “In Yucatan, ‘the corner’ could mean a lot of things.”
And that’s when the culture shock hits me.
I want to scream at the lady at the desk that they should have set times for van departures and stick to them. That the driver should know he has a dozen people waiting for him on a very uncomfortable wood bench. That my butt is numb from 5 hours of sitting. That this would never happen in the US. What is “the corner” and how far away is it? For the love of God could somebody please powerwash whatever disgusting substance is covering the walls and ceiling?
But I stay quiet.
10:46 am: I take my book out of my purse because somehow the plot of Game of Thrones is more calming than the thoughts going through my head at the moment.
11:05 am: Jorge steps back over to the lady at the desk for an update. I don’t even look and just keep my nose buried in my book. Breathe.
Jorge returns to my spot on the bench. “She looked at her notepad and said that she misspoke. The van leaves at 11:30, not 10:30.”
I give poor, innocent Jorge the glare of death. I go back to my book.
11:07 am: A group of 10 people makes their way to one of the vans. “Is that us?” I ask excitedly.
Jorge goes to ask if our van was being called, and comes back to tell me it wasn’t our van. Back to the book.
11:09 am: Jorge informs me that it actually IS our van. We’re the last 2 people on, so Jorge takes a front seat and I squeeze into the seatbelt-less back seat between 2 businessmen and a small boy who spends the entirety of the 45 minute van ride talking to an imaginary friend in the van window.
I want a car.
I found your culture shock story funny… if you only know what I go through to go my husband’s home in Durango Mexico. You just need to get over it and be glad that you arrive safely. For instance on one trip back we had to get back to Monterrey, Nuevo Leon from Durango. Well there is a daily “ruta” or “ride”… which is really a toss of a coin if it is going to run that day. So alas no ruta that day and so after my sister in law went looking for someone to get us a ride.. no one could as husbands were working etc etc.. so when I thought all was lost… who drives up to make a delivery… the tortilla delivery guy. My cunada asked him if he could drive us to the bus station which is about a 2 hr drive through the sierra madre and not a paved road.. but pure cliff hanger roads like those trucker shows on discovery channel on tv. Well he said yes.. we would pay him for his service.. so I sat in front with him.. my hubby in back with our luggage and boxes of hot tortillas… so what did I do? I charged for the tortillas and loved it!! My hubby didn’t know the weight of kilos .. so turns out he was giving customers more for their money.. hahaha.. then we rode those winding roads speeding and my hubby holding for dear life… and we finally made it to the bus station to go back to Torreon.. to Monterrey and another bus to San Antonio TX and back to Chicago… and I loved the experience! As a matter of fact.. first time I went to Durango… driving thru the Sierra Madre at night.. no lights.. was I afraid? Hell no.. it was an adventure to me.. when we came across these gates.. to open.. I would jump off the truck (since I was sitting on door side) and open them.. I remember my hubby’s cousin telling my hubby… now that’s a true woman who is not afraid and doesn’t get put off by this.. my hubby was beaming with pride.. LOL.. to me it was fun. and that is just ONE story… so chill out and go with the flow…
That is a GREAT story! I think I would have been frustrated at first, but thrilled about the tortilla truck ride. So cool.
Sounds like a very frustrating trip. My top three ADO, traveling through Mexican small town necessities were, toilet paper, magazines and a friend to keep me company.
I loooooove ADO! And yes, I always carry a pack of tissues with me EVERYWHERE in Mexico. I use them more than I like to admit haha Finding a public restroom with toilet paper while traveling in Mexico is a rare, rare thing.
Plus my book and my husband’s company kept me from exploding.
Great story! That’s what I call ‘on Mexican time’ Hope the ride home was better!
Yes, we rode home with my in-laws. MUCH better.
Hi Laura,
Even though I’m Mexican, I totally understand what you went through. For some strange reason I do take time very serious and when stuff like this happens to me it makes me so mad. But then again I can’t change people.
Was Chabihau fun?
Thanks for sharing!
Chabihau was great! I’ll post pics in a few days
my husband and friend took ADO from Cancun to Play del Carmen and the bus was wonderful. Great ride and clean bus. Had a coupon for buy one get one. Could not nor would not rent a car to go to playa. Too many opportunities for police to stop and ask for donations If you know what I mean.
Anyway Mexico is always an adventure!!!!
Yes, the ADO bus is amazing. We use it all the time, especially to get to Playa. (And it’s always on time!!!)
I feel your pain. Most of the time it’s my husband complaining about life in Brazil, but once in awhile man do I get mad over a situation that I know does NOT need to be complicated, yet it is because it’s Brazil….ahhhh!
Ohmygosh this would have driven (excuse the pun) me insane! Firstly, that the place was dirty- just wash it for god sake! Secondly – that the driver can just wander off to literally anywhere with no idea of when he’ll return. And thirdly- people getting stuff wrong ONE JOB- just to tell you the CORRECT TIME- how hard can it be! xx
That would make me want a car as well but the driving down there can be kind of crazy from what I remember!! lol
Hola Laura!
He estado en situaciones parecidas, pero en Austria! Aqui te va un dicho mexicano: En todos lados se cuecen habas. Cualquiera diria, como?! vives en Europa!? No puede ser, pero detalles como estos pasan en tooodo el mundo! Mucha paciencia