to read - Jaltemba Bay Life

THE SPITTERI was returning from San Pancho toGuayabitos along Mexico Highway 200 when Ipassed a man squatting alongside the roadway.His back was to me and his hands were wrappedaround his legs. His clothes, arms, and headwere dirty and as black as soot. He lookedemaciated, abandoned, and without a prayer orhope in this world. I wanted to stop, but the roadhad no shoulder, so I kept going. I sensed hewas one of our forgotten souls wandering in theland of the living — a person whose mindtraveled in another dimension.Several days later I was returning from PuertoVallarta and traveling the same route. Highway200 is a narrow, two-lane highway, and a majorconnector from Puerto Vallarta to Guadalajara.Along this section of the road there are manyhills and sharp curves that create dangerous —deadly — driving terrain. The area is pepperedwith crosses and memorials to those who werekilled in violent, sudden car accidents. Largetrucks continually travel this route bringing lifeand commerce to the region. But the heavyvolume of commercial trucks often results in aslow procession of cars behind these lumberingvehicles as they struggle to negotiate the uphillclimb. The drivers of many small trucks, highpoweredbusses, and cars are often impatient inthese situations; it is not unusual to see a bus orcar pull out from behind a slow truck and cross adouble yellow line in order to overtake the truckas it negotiates an uphill blind curve. On thisjourney I had the misfortune of being about eightcar lengths behind a slow truck. Meandering