MeXscape

Well, just about everything in our marvelous new neighborhood is convenient, but in this case I am talking about the mechanic. We finally went and met them properly yesterday, by having our brake pads replaced.

There is no law in Mexico requiring that any motorist carry insurance. There is no penalty if you get pulled over and cannot provide proof of financial responsibility. However, if you get into an accident, and it is decided that you are at fault, and you do not have insurance, then you are going to Mexican jail, and there you will stay until all the damages and medical bills are paid by someone on your behalf.

If you are going to drive into Mexico, there is one very important thing you need to know: how to get gas. Unless you are from Oregon or New Jersey, you are probably used to pumping your own gas. Here in Mexico, your gas is always pumped for you, which means you need to be able to tell the gas station attendant what kind of gas you want and how much.

Driving in Mexico is like every freak-you-out, what-are-they-thinking, this-will-never-happen-in-real-life simulation you had to sit through in Driver's Ed. Remember sitting in your little faux car with steering wheel, pedals, turn signals, and side-view mirrors driving along with the movie on the screen while crazy pedestrians stepped out in front of you without looking, people opened car doors at random, children chased balls into the street and 50% of drivers ran stop signs? The machine always spat out a score at the end. I always did miserably. Thank God I'm better at it in real life.

If you drive in Mexico, it doesn't take you long to discover your first tope. You'll know you've found one when your car suddenly jumps and lurches, which may be accompanied by a scraping noise. The translation for tope is speed bump, but that is way to narrow a term to describe what a tope really is.