Mandi and Ricardo Take to the Skies

By the time we finished our breakfast at Vips (the Mexican Denny's, but healthier and with wi-fi), the skies were overcast and stormy-looking again. Dammit!

We were sick to DEATH of Tapachula and Vips and the No-Tell Motel, which had by this time become a total nightmare of roof leaks and busted hot water pipes. No time to go into the details here, but we were ready to blow that joint for sure.

We had been on our way to Lake Atitlan in Guatemala, where we planned to spend a week at Ricardo's cabin. But poor Guatemala has been devastated by first the multiple eruptions of Pacaya and then the torrential rains, flooding, and deadly mudslides from Tropical Storm Agatha. The entire country has been declared a disaster area and more than 80 have died. Airports and roads and bridges are closed and/or washed away. We are just so thankful that we were delayed in Mexico and weren't already at Atitlan when the storm hit.

We made the decision to head for the mountains in our little rental car. Did I mention it is called "The Attitude?" Yep, made by Dodge - a surefire winner of a car, no doubt. Well, until we get way up in the mountains on a Sunday and all the tire shops are closed, that is. But I'll get to that.

Our intel had the trip from Tapachula to Tuxtla Gutierrez lasting anywhere from 4.5 to 6 hours. hahahahaa! SEVEN hours later, we are only at Comitán de Domínguez, which is a bit more than halfway. To be fair, we did have the above-mentioned and photographically documented mishap with the 'Tude. Further, the havoc wreaked by Tropical Storm Agatha left the winding mountain roads nearly impassable at times with rocks and huge boulders strewn about. Here are some shots from along the way:

As you can see from this shot, we did well to opt out of flying. The cloud cover and the haze / fog was oppressive. Because of the rocks and debris, the road was essentially one-way for kilometers and kilometers. At one point, we had to leave the road entirely to keep going up the pass.