Don’t automatically trust Google Maps
First day after arrival in México I decided to go to the Plaza Aluminio. In this shopping center is a bank. We didn’t have groceries but the shopping center had a bank and a grocery store ( I had no phone service, insufficient Spanish, less than $70 in pesos, and it was a Friday).
Google maps showed only a 2 mi walk on paved and dirt roads including a railroad track to cross. Having drawn the map in my notebook, away I went. After a quarter mile I went from pavement to dirt. In another 400 meters I’m sharing the mud road with dogs, a couple of motorcycles, three buses, and a truck. Where my dirt road is supposed to continue North is jungle without trail and the road goes West.
I follow the road(I have plenty of time and it’s just a little detour.) After a while I’m back on pavement amongst apartment complexes that look identical. Please realize there aren’t any street name markers and there are many roundabouts (traffic circles). Several streets ended at an apartment complex gate.
I knew roughly where I was but didn’t know how to get out and don’t have enough language to find out. I finally get back to familiar territory but can’t just go back home because I don’t know if the bank is open on Saturday. I walk another 1 ½ miles and get a taxi.
But wait, there’s more! The bank wouldn’t exchange my money, I needed to go to a Casa de Cambio in the center of town! The Casa de Cambio only accepts cash and I didn’t have much, I wanted it to come out of my bank account. I walked and prayed finally deciding to get what few groceries I could and we would ride out the weekend, then I would go to the money changers and figure things out after that.
As I head toward the checkout line, I see ——— ATMs!!! Now armed with Mexican Pesos, I buy more groceries, get a taxi and head home. It only took about 5 hours (most of it in the sun) and 5 or 6 miles of walking. Oh yeah, we went on the overpass above the “railroad tracks”, it was a major stockyard with 7 parallel tracks and fenced on both sides.
Nope, can’t trust Google Maps but you can definitely trust our Savior.