On the Hidalgo trail

A past-time in Mexico which I referred to in my very first post is the documentation of all things Hidalgo. Well, I've just about got as far as working out that he was one of the heroes of Mexican independence in 1810. By the way, the 1066 And All That version of Mexican history only really has two dates after Cortes' arrival in Mexico in 1519: 1810 for independence and 1910 for the beginning of the Mexican Revolution.

Anyway, yesterday we were briefly in the state of Hidalgo, and also the delegation of Hidalgo (equivalent to a borough of Mexico City). But last month I hit the jackpot. I saw two Hidalgo schools, a Hidalgo village and the mecca of all things Hidalgo: Hidalgo city. We were in Hidalgo City, literally.

And Hidalgo City is the subject of this blog.

Once we got past the signs welcoming us to Ciudad Hidalgo, it dawned on me that people called the place Suichate, which is actually the name of the river that runs alongside it, and which forms part of the Guatemala border. And Suichate is a strange place. "There are no friendships here" announced the driver of the bicycle taxi as he took me, Sofia and Gus' friend Claudia to the hotel where Claudia worked. It was a bit of an omen, in the style of "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly".

I was coming along for the ride and would stay with Claudia's boss while the girls were going clothes shopping at a super cheap place just across the border in Guatemala. I couldn't go because my papers weren't yet sorted out and so I couldn't cross and re-enter Mexico.

At that stage, little did I realise that I would be the only one of us that afternoon who wouldn't have their bottom on an inflated inner tyre. It was an afternoon of surprises. I made my way into the inner sanctum of the hotel, past a number of remarkably strong security features to a room like an overgrown child's bedroom, with a wall size vivarium containing three iguanas, and wide screen telly. I happily played Play Station FIFA 2007 with my host in this surreal environment. My host then said that they closed the border at 5pm and it was then 6.30pm. I then had a mild panic which lasted all of five minutes because by that time the girls were back.

And what a story they had to tell. Instead of crossing at the border they paid 15 pesos and went over on an inner tyre of a tractor, see the picture to the right. Sofia said that it was distinctly dodgy, and with her extensive experience in working in towns on or close to the USA border, she said the vibe was very much more sinister. The pilot of the "raft" was pissed, and there was constant mention of guns, shooting and killing. Contraband was in evidence everywhere. Apparently there was a scene when a telly arial fell into the river. If I had know I really would have been worried, but as they say ignorance is bliss. Since the event I heard various horror stories of Tecún Umán (the Guatemalan town on the other side) and was very relieved that Sof was OK. See this link for a story of the death of illegal immigrants crossing at Suichate. As I heard the story of the inner tyres I glanced over to my companion, who had been sitting uncomfortably on the sofa as we played Play Station all afternoon. Yes he too had been sitting on an inner tube, for his haemarrhoids...