Monterrey, Mexico

Forgot to mention that in the Zacatecas cathedral there was a display with fetuses in various states of gestation. The journey from Zacatecas to Saltillo was uneventful, with one minor checkpoint in Zacatecas which we were waved through, and one major checkpoint just past the Coahuila state line where a soldier came aboard and looked around. In front of the bus for a long way was a pickup truck with a bunch of kids in the back who kept signaling the driver of the bus to honk the horn, and he kept doing it. Saltillo is in Coahuila state and they had a lot of propaganda all around about wonderful their state is. One sign at the bus station read: “Con seguro y sin mordida, pasas por Coahuila” – “With security and without bribes you can pass through Coahuila.” We got into a cab and asked to be taken to a certain hotel, and the driver looked at us funny and was confused, then explained that that hotel was right across the street. Whoops. Saltillo was pretty nice, and the people were very friendly as well. They don’t seem to get a lot of tourists. The cathedral had another somewhat emo Jesus, but this one really focused on a serious quantity of blood gushing out of the wound on his chest. Since Christmas here lasts officially until at least January 6, the decorations are still up. Apparently, however, in reality they get taken down some time in February usually. Although all Mexican cities decorate for Christmas, Saltillo way over did it. It looked like they went to the mall, bought multiple quantities of EVERY tacky decoration there was, and saturated the city with yuletide cheer. There was a huge fake Christmas tree with equally huge fake decorations, and fake ice rink with foam figures of children ice skating. This made me laugh because the fake children all had blond hair and blue eyes. Over a year ago Eddy and I met the two hottest Mexican chicks we had ever seen in Querétaro. They were from Coahuila. The talent is definitely here, and exceeds Guadalajara, the city to which I had previously given the gold medal. This morning in Saltillo we went next door to a restaurant to have breakfast, and I ordered the huevos a la mexicana. After ordering I thought for a second that maybe I should be scared for ordering something like that, but it was good. Washing down an extremely spicy breakfast with scalding hot coffee is something I do a lot in Mexico. We then took a bus to Monterrey and are staying in a very nice hotel, but it is weird. This hotel has no sign on it saying that it is a hotel, and the halls inside are like a maze. To get to our room you have to go to the floor above it, then down a small flight of stairs to an area of the floor below that is inaccessible from the main staircase. Then there is a massive courtyard that is completely hidden. Our room is very nice but has no window, greatly adding to the creepiness. We are now in a nearby internet café, where each computer is located inside its own huge office with a door that can be closed and locked. Now this is the way an internet café should be. I have realized that I still have a lot of preparations to do before leaving for Cairo on January 9, so I booked a seat on the same flight as Danielle on Tuesday.