Worst day of travelling so far!!!!
Trip Start
Nov 29, 2007
1
95
115
Trip End
Jun 24, 2008
Palenque,
Central Mexico and Gulf Coast,
Mexico
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Our
day started at 3.30am as we were being picked up from outside our hotel
for the bus to Palenque (Mexico) at 4.30am. Travelling from Flores to
Palenque is quite a common route for gringos, so there was no reason
for any problems.
However, my instincts were already on red alert
when a taxi pulled up for us outside our hotel. Nothing strange about
that I hear you say, but the strange thing was that there was another
couple going to exactly the same place and the taxi driver said their
bus would be arriving at 4.50am and would not allow them to come with
us.
Also at this point the taxi driver took our ticket (which was
supposed to be getting us through another country) and I said to Epi we
need that, but we never got it back!
We were taken to the local bus station where the guy who had sold us the ticket told us to get on the bus.
He
walked us on the bus and told us someone would be waiting for us and it
would be OK. When we asked about our tickets he said we would get them
from someone soon.
We had not even left the town before I had
realised that we had been stitched up good. We were the only gringos on
this chicken bus and no one had our tickets, we had paid 210 Q to get a
chicken bus. (normal cost 20Q)
I don't have a problem with the
chicken bus bit - although it was the most uncomfortable journey I have
ever taken in my life. The problem came when we arrived in a tiny town
to be told we had to get off as we now had to take a boat across to
Mexico. Of course no one was there to meet us and we now were expected
to pay to get a boat across to the border and we had spent all of our
money we we thought we had a ticket all the way to Palenque. There were
no phones, ATMīs, Police - no one to help us. Although the guy had very
cleverly taken the only bit of proof we had anyway, so how we would
have explained it to the police I don't know.
We look back now and
feel so stupid to have been so naive, but we have maybe become a little
too trusting over our last 5 months and someone took advantage of that.
We
had to change some of our American dollars (always carry dollars or
something that it easy to change with you when you travel!) so we got
across the river and then we had to pay for the bus to take us to
Palenque, the ironic thing being that this was actually the gringo bus
that we had already paid for!!!!
Fortunately for us the Mexicans
were not trying to rip us off as much as the Guatemalans, so the whole
mistake only cost us 20$ US, but we were so mad. The sleaze bag that
sold us the tickets in the first place and met us at the bus station
had no front teeth, but Epi really wanted to go all the way back and
knock the rest of then out for him. I have to say that at that point in
time I did too, but for what? We were just stupid gringos with too much
money as far as they are concerned and they would have denied selling
us the ticket in the first place. As well as that I had no desire to go
back to Guatemala, now or ever!!!!
So we got to Palenque at
about1.30pm and found a great hotel, with are a live Toucan in it. I
don't believe in keeping birds in cages, it is so cruel. It is such a
beautiful bird and it looks so sad in its cage. I had not seen the bird
before we had parted with our money, otherwise I think I might have
changed hotel. But the hotel is great and Palenque is a nice place and
much cheaper than we had been expecting.
Later that day, our day
got worse! I had my card taken by an ATM machine the day before and
when we went to retrieve it, it was not there!!! I had reported it
stolen, but the bank had told me to check my account and report
anything that we had not taken out. When I checked my bank account
whoever took my card had completely cleared me out. I am now a thousand
pounds overdrawn.
