Mexico 8; Orizaba; No Way Jose

Three things that bring me to life are mountains, food, and good music; in that order. It didn't take much for SC to convince me to join him on his journey to Mt.Orizaba, the tallest mtn. in Mexico and the 3rd tallest in N. America (not to mention he has excellent taste and food ordering skills and the fact thet he listens to the Red Hot Chili Peppers every morning). Another thing about SC is he makes friends wherever he goes. This social butterfly makes a point of asking and remembering every waitress and bus drivers name; he genuinely likes their company and wants them to feel valued. We left every place with new friends and a lot of pictures. My sidekick wasn't half bad.

We spent a few days walking around, lazing about and going on important missions to find someone to take the layers of mud out of my clothes (aka a laundromat) and coco horchata. I didn't realize how much I operate on Japanese time until we were on Latin time. My patience had been tested AND tested but when we missed the bus going to the mountain (my last chance to go...I thought), I lost it. By lost it I mean I walked off and told him I'd meet him later. Take that! One thing about SC is it is nearly impossible to stay mad at him. All was well and good with team Ranaren by the time dinner rolled around (besides him being very confused).
The next day, we made yet another attempt to see this legacy of a mountain. Along the way, we realized it wasn't possible due to time constraints (I needed to go to Mexico City that day) and visibility limitations so we decided to make the best of our day and walk around the small town we were dropped off at before we headed back. As we were taking in the scenery, I started playing with a couple of kids blowing bubbles with tubes on the side of the road. One thing led to another and before we knew it we were sitting on their family's couch as they served us horchata, fruit and tamales. As we left the kids gave us each hand made art. One even tried to give me their egg with hair on it....oh the small treasures in life. In the end, even Everest couldn't compare with the love that family showed us.