Copper Canyon Travel
Brief Trip to Puerto Topolobampo, Mexico
I was not quite prepared for my encounter with taxista Jose de Jesus Acosta Rocha. The story begins with me encountering a line of about 8 taxis near the cathedral pictured on the previous page. I negotiated a trip to the beach and to Walmart with two drivers who were sitting on a park bench at the head of the line. The cost would be $20.
To my surprise, they put me in Jesus's taxi. He was actually at the head of the line and next in line for a fare. The problem was that Jesus had not been party to that conversation since he had been sitting in his car. He was just told I wanted to go to the beach and then to Walmart. So after we pulled away from the curb and drove a couple of blocks I thought it would be wise to verify the price with him.
When he heard twenty dollars he immediately pulled the cab over to the side of the street and asked me to repeat myself. When I repeated the $20 figure, his eyebrows shot up. He smiled and asked me if I had any idea how far the beach was from Los Mochis? I admited I did not but thought it was fairly close. He shook his head from side to side, "no cerca, la playa es 30 kilometros!", he said with an air of incredulity and a small laugh, raising his hand in make the point. He then unleashed a barrage of rapid fire Spanish that pretty much said if I thought any taxi driver in Los Mochis was going to take me that far, drive me back, then wait for me to do my shopping at Walmart, and then take me back to my hotel that I was out of my mind---no matter what those locos said back there. (I am certain I understood him perfectly.) He could not have been more adamant, but I really liked his open friendly way of dealing with the situation. There
was not a trace of hostility or skuldrudgery in his demeanor. He was simply dealing with me the way any decent person would deal with an impaired person who wanted something which could not be given, firmly but with kindness. He said he wanted $30 and offered to take me back to the park if I could not pay $30. I said, "Ok, el parque, por favor."
He had pulled back into the street to return me to where he had found me. When we stopped at a red light, I told him I would give him 20 pesos for his trouble and the ride back to the park. Seeing I was not going to budge, he lowered his head, thought a moment, then slowly shook it affirmatively before he opened his eyes. It was really killing him to accept $20. "Dolores," he said emphatically, "no pesos!"
We had a deal, and off we went to Puerto Topolobampo.
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