April 27th- Acapulco to Puerto Escondido, Mexico

On the drive from Acapulco to Puerto Escondido, we were stopped at our first military checkpoint. We have passed through them all along Mexico, but they have always waived us through. This time they pulled us over and asked to look through our vehicle. Greg was very friendly to them, and so they started talking with us and were very nice. They had the adults get out while they casually looked in the car, pushing on seat cushions and knocking on door panels. (We later learned that they look for drugs and weapons at these stops).

They didn’t require the children to get out, but as they told us to get back in, one of them saw Kyah as she was hanging over the back seat trying to show off. He asked Greg and me, “La nina, quien es?” (“The girl, who’s is she?) “She’s mine,” Greg replied in Spanish. “Tiene documentos?” (Do you have documents?) We did, in easy access, so we quickly showed him her birth certificate and adoption papers. He then let us go.

I still have never felt afraid or threatened, because I know that God is watching over us and when we are carried in his arms, all things will work to our benefit.

We arrived in Puerto Esconidio early evening, found our way to the main beach and picked out a good hotel, the Arcoiris, which had a beautiful garden that reminded us of El Rancho back in Mazatlan. We checked in and had dinner at their upstairs restaurant, then went for a swim in the pool.

After a very warm and humid night with no air conditioning in our hotel, we went to the beach to play and then ate breakfast at a beach restaurant that had hammocks we rocked in while waiting. The best part about breakfast is the fresh squeezed orange juice. They don’t give you juice out of a carton, you watch them squeeze it- it is so good!!

We really liked Escondidio, it was a very laid back surfer town (a lot of surfers come from all over the world) and we considered staying for church the next day, but decided that we wanted to get closer to Costa Rica, so we left mid afternoon to get closer to the Guatemalan border. Along the way we stopped in some town at a “grocery” store for some food (if you go to a local restaurant to eat, it takes took long. The locals don’t do “fast food,” so if there is no McDonalds, we go to the grocery store). It reminded me more of a MacFrugal’s or a dollar store, but it had a small produce and meat section in the back. There was no air conditioning in the store and the temperature was 101 degrees F.

I was walking around sweating, carrying Aaliyah who is wearing only a diaper. In the “produce” section, there is a very pleasant looking Senor, who lights up when he sees Aaliyah. He begins talking to her, and then asks me how old she is. “Ohh, muchisima grande para 4 meses.” (She is very big for 4 months!) He was so very warm and friendly, he could have been my own grandfather. He then began blessing her saying, (in Spanish) “May God bless you to live to be 100 years old and to have health and blessings and every good thing.” It was beautiful.

We later saw him at the front of the store, where he saw the rest of our children, including Kyah, and he raved and praised them all, how beautiful they were and what a lovely family. He was a wonderful man.

We grabbed some ice cream before we left (the weather was sooo hot!), and then drove to Juchitan (Hoo-chee-tawn) where we stayed for the night at the Hotel Santo Domingo, a very bare wall, bare bulb, but clean and nice hotel. They had a fun pool and children’s playground, which looked like it had been long forgotten, but would be really nice with some care. They also had air conditioning, which was much appreciated!

Livin’ the Dream!

4/27/2007 : view on map : permalink : add a comment