I had mentioned to Martha that I wanted to visit her dad in Reynosa and if she would go along with me since I no longer feel comfortable driving by myself in Reynosa with all the military that is set up because of all the drug related killings in broad daylight.
She called and said if our plans to go to the beach were still on and I told her they were off due to the rain and so she said if I would go with her and her husband earlier than planned as they had another engagement also in Reynosa they were going to.
I told her that was fine and around 12:30 headed to Hidalgo to park my truck so we could leave with them to Reynosa. It had been 3 years since I'd been to the valley but longer than that since I'd driven into Mexico through Hidalgo - as I always use the Pharr International bridge that is more of a clear cut drive through the back roads.
Everything is so changed, I would have definitely been a lost woman which would not have been good. After going through what seemed like a maze with overpasses and a ton of cars going in all directions with pedestrians crossing literally at their own risk, we finally arrived at el Senor Pancho's house.
It was really sad for me to see how bad (physically) he is doing. He is so thin and looks so frail and moves somewhat slow. He seemed to be in good spirits though, which was comforting - nothing like a positive attitude when it seems like everything around you is falling apart.
We spoke for a while and I attempted to get some pictures of him and Sydney together but my kid was not budging - she was in a foul mood from the moment we left and continued to act that way.
The whole purpose for Martha visiting her dad was to take him some medication he needed to take - so she along with her dad, her husband, Ruth and Liz walked to the pharmacy behind his house so that he could get his needed injection.
I volunteered to stay behind with the girls (Gabby, Abby, Rebecca and Sydney) since trying to cross La Calle 20 is a sure set up for getting run over. On top of that it seemed like the brief break from the rain was not permanent.
As I guessed it, about 10 minutes after they left, the rain came a pouring with a vengeance. The girls and I just sat out there enjoying the rain. At times all the girls piled up in the hammock that el Senor Pancho has set up on his enclosed cement porch and that was a ton of fun - that thing can definitely hold some weight.
About 20 minutes after they were gone, the house phone rings and Abby picks up and she is like Elisa, it's my mom. I come to the phone and Martha is telling me how they are stuck at the pharmacy waiting for the rain to let up so that they can come back. She mentioned that Juan, her husband, was going to try and catch a taxi back so that he could pick up the truck and pick them up.
We hung up and 5 minutes later, I see a taxi pull up and out they come. Liz came out first and right as she did, a huge deal of water fell directly on top of her from one of the pipes that are built into the roof of houses over there to drain the water.
That was so funny...they all looked like soaked duckies - even though I'm sure the feeling was not pleasant, they too were laughing which made it even funnier.
We said our good byes to Frank's dad and headed back towards the USA. That would prove to be not an easy feat.
On our way back, Juan decided to make a pit stop for some food at "El Pollo Loco," which is one of my all-time favorites in Reynosa. They basically sell grilled chicken but it has this particular flavor and they sell the best "hot" sauce to go along with it too!
We walked in and it seemed like all of God's creation was there as there was absolutely nowhere to sit - some people finally started getting up and down we sat - since we were all very hungry.
Juan ordered what turned out to be about 1 1/2 chickens (whole), and by the time we were all said and done, the only thing left was bones.....nothing but bones....it was pretty amazing but we were hungry.
On we went along our merry way, avoiding getting hit by a greyhound bus looking charter thing that was not able to stop but by a miracle did right before it hit us. Whew! That was a close call.
Then Juan proceeded to take the road he normally does to head back towards the bridge crossing and low and behold because of all the non stop rain, the bridge had been closed by the transitos (local police) because of flooding and if you didn't believe it, all you had to do was look and see several cars just stuck - basically going nowhere.
He gathers he can find a different route all the while dodging cars that won't stop and people too and hitting some bumps (bad ones) along the way. After hitting one of those, Gabby, one of the girls, I think she is 12, made the following comment, "Ay, creo que ya se me acomodo el pollo," which basically translates to ,"whew, I think my chicken finally settled down (in her stomach)." That was hilarious, being that she was riding in the front, that just goes to tell you how nerve wracking it was to see things close up - I was of course glad I was in the back seat and didn't care to have my eyes fixated on the road - even to avoid my car sickness that I get - I'd rather deal with that than a heart attack.
We finally make our way to the bridge crossing and see how different again the set up is. What looked to be a sure hour or so wait, turned out to be only about 15 minutes even with dodging the peddlers that according to the posted signs are PROHIBITED. Do they care, obviously not, all they want is for you to take back a little piece of Mexico before you cross back.
Personally, I'd had enough and all I wanted was to be back in Donna - as strange as even that was!
We finally made it home - went back to Weslaco to do some more damage shopping then called it a night again - vowing to make our trip to Las Flores on Sunday morning - RAIN OR SHINE!
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