There and Back Again: Day Two

Day Two

March 2, 2010

El Paso, Texas  to  Austin, Texas

10.5 hours of driving time

629 miles

1 state

Texas, Texas, Texas. Damn this state is huge.

We started our day still in El Paso, Texas, where we decided that fuck it, Mexico is only a short walk across the bridge, why not add it to our list of destinations we can cross off our bucket list? So we hit up an ATM, parked for $3, and took a hike across the border into the most violent city outside of a warzone, Cuidad Juarez (though we didn't know this at the time... lesson to be learned: google/wiki places before you go there, though it does take a way from the excitement).

Under Bestie's suggestion, we took a cab tour through the city, hitting all the hotspots including the bullfighting arena, the Cathedral, the monument of Juarez himself, and the market, where our tour guide/cab driver took us to his friend's liquor store where we were allowed to sample the tequila before we bought it. It was here I drank a worm.

While driving around, we noticed a ton of armed military patrolling the streets... like something you'd see in Iraq, or the bad parts of Africa. Not going to lie, it freaked us out a little bit. As did the catcalling we received everywhere we stopped. Oh, to be white/black females in Mexico.

After our short tour, we quickly headed back across the border (which our hotel desk clerk suggested we do), where we got stuck waiting at customs with all the Mexicans since Hither's a Zimbabwe native without a US passport. And the US citizen line was so short, too... Upon entering, the customs guy asked me why we were in Mexico, and after my reply of "just checking it out," he looked at me and strongly encouraged against doing so again. This, and the armed guards patrolling the streets, made us wiki the city. Whoops. But we lived through it, and what the hell is a roadtrip for if not living dangerously?

Following our excursion in Mexico, we hit the road again, with the destination of Austin. And what a long, boring day it was. The day was spent sans music for about 90%, fitting to the desolation of the journey. Hither slept on and off, and so I learned what it would've been like to make the drive alone. Quiet.

With a speed limit of 80mph, we had no more trouble with the cops, and sped through the empty, barren roads. The gas tank was filled frequently, as there weren't too many stops along I-10... maybe one an hour, and even then, there was hardly anything there.

But we made it to Austin, exhausted but excited about checking out the city the next day.

photo credit me, and for all photos, click here