The Tunnels of Guanajuato

Two years ago I had one of the most traumatic experiences of my life.

It involved our first voyage to the city of Guanajuato, the capital of the state with the same name. Guanajuato is a beautifully colorful and photogenic historic mining town.

And it has tunnels. Numerous dark, underground, winding tunnels. Some of the tunnels come to a fork in the road. Rarely did a fork have a sign. Or maybe it would have a sign saying "Centro" with an arrow pointing in each direction.

On this fateful day we were also battling overheating. And traffic. Imagine yourself in a race car after a long day of hard racing, you've lost your place in the route book, you are stuck in traffic, and you are in a seemingly un-ending maze of dark, exhaust-filled tunnels.

"This is it!" I thought. We're going to die, right here. The locals aren't going to care. They are just going to push the car to the side, our skulls are going to be part of these earth and stone walls. We're never going to see the light of day again. Maybe we'll wander the cavernous wasteland like Smeagol in Lord of the Rings.

We had flashes of hope - a motorcycle cop! He'll lead us out! We followed him for a while and while yes, we emerged into the daylight, we were no where near the finish arch. Back into the tunnels. After 2 hours (2 hours really seems like an eternity when you are high on exhaust fumes, your piloto lost his patience an hour and a half ago, and you can't see the route through tear-soaked eyes), thanks be to the sweet baby Jesus, we FINALLY made it out of the tunnels and close to the finish line. We were so late that I had to go find the officials to turn in my time card and chip - they were having a much better time than I. They were already a few drinks of tequila in. There I was, a blubbering white girl who couldn't navigate her way out of a paper bag that day. I'm sure they still laugh about it.

Fast forward to 2012 - race officials release the official route for the 25th anniversary of La Carrera Panamericana. My eyes skip down the list of cities and there I see it - Guanajuato. My heart skips a beat and panic sets in. No, I think, I can't do that again! I still have nightmares of being lost deep in the labyrinth of those beautiful hills.

My game plan is different this time. It must be or else a homicide might be committed in that dark underground jungle. Dad and I are prepared. I had a flashlight ready, never lifted my eyes from the route book, and we stuck close with a few race cars in front of us. When dad would say, "Wow, look at that!" I had to resist and look only at my odometer and follow closely the directions which would lead us out and to salvation that would be a celebratory tequila in the zocolo.

Thankfully, our trip through the tunnels was MUCH more successful than 2011. No crying, no cussing, no overheating, no panic attacks. Just two happy gringos and a shot of tequila to celebrate.

We did get some in-car footage of the tunnels. I will admit, Guanajuato is quite charming when you don't have to navigate. Please enjoy:


And now 2013. You guessed it - Guanajuato is again on our list of destinations. Night 5. I will be looking forward to the cheese, aka tequila, at the end of the rat maze.