Comings and goings

If I could take a luxury Mexican bus back to Baltimore this weekend, instead of an airplane, I would do it. I've come to love Mexico's intercity buses. They're cheap, fast and comfortable. They provide a stunning view of the country through large, tinted windows, and the best serve free sandwiches and drinks.

I can detect only one downside: the B-grade American movies that are played at a blaringly loud volume, which makes little sense because the movies are in English. Most of the passengers are presumably reading the subtitles to figure out what's going on.

I'm in Acapulco now, and on the five-hour bus ride here, we watched X-Men 2 and Extreme Ops -- loud, curious choices for a bus ride through Mexico.

Before this trip, when I told people that Acapulco was on my itinerary, they rolled their eyes, as if I was treating this as a big vacation. But if I was going on vacation, Acapulco is the last place I would come. Mexico City, with its cool, dry climate, abundant parks and delightful sidewalk cafes, is more my speed. Acapulco is hot, humid and noisy.

It does have to recommend it, though, the amazing cliff divers of La Quebrada -- a group of men who dive from a cliff at dizzying heights (30 meters or more) into a narrow cove. I paid $3.50 to watch eight of them dive last night as the sun set over the Pacific behind them. Stupidly, I forgot my camera, but the scene was so amazing that I'm returning tonight, and I'll be well-equipped.

My hotel here is $20 a night, but without air-conditioning. Sitting in the courtyard yesterday, sweating through some Alice Munro, an elderly European lady told me I could have an air-conditioned room for $5 more. I leapt at the offer, of course. I asked the lady, Nadia, how long she was staying at the hotel. "As long as the sea is good, I'll be here," she said. "When the sea turns, I'm leaving."

I had no idea what she meant, nor did I understand how she could be an invalid, as she claimed. I didn't think invalids walked 20 minutes to the beach twice a day for swims in the ocean.

My purpose here has been to arrange a trip about 200km south of Acapulco, to a small town where I think there's an interesting story involving dancers. I leave tomorrow for a couple days of reporting in this town, Cerro de las Tablas, then rush back to Mexico City for my flight home Saturday evening. That is, unless a new bus route to Baltimore opens by then.