March 10, 2008
Day 5 On our way to Tampico
We were up early today and had some time to walk around the block before boarding the bus. We saw several vendors out already serving breakfast from their streetside tables. We have enjoyed our time here in Mexico City so much. We are in what is called the Pink Zone and it is very safe to walk around at night. Each night we have done that, gone out to eat, enjoyed just walking around, shopping and observing the cultural differences between our two countries. The people are very friendly. The language barrier is there but can be overcome. Many of the Mexican people we spoke with knew about as much English and we know Spanish…almost none. But they want so much to help and go out of their way to figure out what we want.

Our trip today to Tampico, which is on the Gulf of Mexico, is to be a beautiful drive. The highway travels through the …mountain range. It is also a rain forest. Much produce is raised in the mountains here: coffee, fruit trees, coconut trees, corn and bananas. The crops are planted all the way up the mountain sides with no terraces. In the valleys we see feed lots and many cattle ranches.