...The Sweaty South...

Last week, Paul and I and some of our friends embarked on a journey that would take us about 400 kilometers south in our country. We borrowed a car so we wouldn't have to take the train for 5 hours, then the bus for a few more. We were stoked and totally ready for our journey. We braced ourselves for the 8 hour road trip we were expecting, loaded the first of many CD's into the player, and drove on - less than prepared for the things that were about to happen on our 'vacation.'

We drove through the Big City near us, picked up a couple more passengers, and got back on the AutoRoute (Interstate equivalent). We immediately encountered a traffic jam - darn! We sat in this traffic jam for about an hour before making it through to the gas station that was our first destination to meet our convoy. While filling up with gas, we noticed that the car was acting strange: no power steering, the gauges were stuck in place, the AC was no longer blowing...uh-oh. We pulled over and lifted the hood just in time to see the radiator begin leaking....

Needless to say, the life our this car was over for now. We were stuck at this gas station for about 4 hours before we were rescued by a replacement car from some other, very sweet people we know, once again saving us from the train/bus experience. Off we went again, a little more tired, a little hot but ready to keep going. We had already been away from the house since 7:00 AM - it was now 2:00 and we had only traveled about an hour south.

The rest of the drive was long. There was no CD player so we spent much of the time in silence or listening to our iPod's individually. About halfway down in our country, the AutoRoute stops - it's not finished yet. We were then forced to drive on a small 2-lane highway...and it was getting dark. Now, normally this wouldn't be a big deal except that here, the drivers don't really heed the 'rules' of the road: Passing as they wished, passing 6 cars in a row, passing on the shoulder when the other lane was full. It was very stressful to say the least. There were also these huge, loaded trucks of hay and other things. This one to the right was particularly large. At one point, it got WAY too close to a bus, barely clearing it by inches. We were sure they were going to collide.

But, we finally arrived at our destination at 11:30PM - a mere 16 hours after we left our homes. We were exhausted.

Our hotel was pretty nice and it was just a few minutes drive from the house where we would have some meetings. We were tired the first day but perked up the second. Then it happened - someone turned on the furnace outside. The winds from the desert changed and it was blazing hot outside. For the rest of the week, the highs were above 115F with one day soaring to 122 degrees! We've never been so hot in our lives (A gentle reminder: Air conditioning only exists in the swanky parts of town like the shopping center and of course, McDonalds!). The temps at night only got down to 105 or 110. The consensus was that it hadn't been this hot since 1984!!!

During the day, it was mostly too hot to enjoy the beach. I did go one day to walk through the ocean - it felt like I was taking a bath with the heater on - but it was beautiful! We also went up to the top of that hill you see in the background of the beach picture. From there, it was a gorgeous view of the entire city. 

On the third night of our weeklong stay, the electricity went out at our hotel, leaving us to brave the night heats without fan-power for 2 nights before we finally had to change hotels. 

It wasn't until the last night of our stay that the temperatures dropped below 100, leaving us all with a very welcome shiver :) That night, I went to the beach with some friends and learned to surf! This town is all about their beautiful beach. People stay there late into the night, enjoying the sandy beach and calming ocean by the glow of stadium lights that line the perimeter. 

We took the scenic route home, avoiding the scary road we entered on. Apart from the ocean we saw, the terrain looked a lot like our home state of New Mexico! There weren't any bluffs but what do you think? I felt like I was driving from home to college as we drove home! Weird...

To top it all off, everyone we vacationed with - including ourselves - got some sort of stomach bug that we are still experiencing a week later - yuck! But, all in all, it was a good week - memorable at the very least. We may find ourselves back in this beach town...maybe...in a few years when we've forgotten how hot we were...and I'll venture to guess it will be in the dead of winter when the furnace is much more appreciated!