Haven’t posted in a bit because I was in Yelapa, a tiny village south of Puerto Vallarta – and only accessible by boat. When I returned to Vallarta a tree trimmer had cut the internet line which was for some inexplicable reason strung through the bramble behind the condo. It only took two days to repair though.

There was some bad news out of Monterrey Mexico today, so I thought I’d use my media power to balance it out with a positive story about my police incident that occurred last year in the Yucatan town of Valladolid.

This was my second time in Valladolid, and again we stayed at the “Maria de la Luz” hotel, located in right on the Zocalo, (town square,) with simple, modest rooms but a lush courtyard, good restaurant and close to everything.

My Mom, Caleb and I had arrived in the evening after visiting the ruins of Tulum and Coba. We were entering Valladolid via the back roads south of town, (not highway 180,) and I got completely turned around and lost. When I finally located the Zocalo we found two of the four streets closed to construction and repaving, including the entrance to the hotel’s underground garage.

Tired and sweaty, we circled around the one way streets a few more times before finding a prime parking spot in front of the church, across the plaza from the “Luz” – pictured here.

We freshened up, had a nice dinner and crashed early after a long day of wandering around ruins in the sun. After sleeping in we set out to visit Cenote Dzinup and El Balam, before leisurely driving back to Playa del Carmen via old highway 180.

Before departing I was walking my Mom’s overnight bag to the car, and from halfway across the plaza I saw three police officers milling about my car. One appeared to be checking out the license plate while the others leaned against another car. I let out an audible “shit” and hurried over, trying to recall if there were meters, (never seen before in Mexico,) or if I had needed to pay to park or whatever.

Not sure what to say I simply blurted out “Buen dia, esto es mi coche – todo bien?” The three looked taken aback and said No, No — and they actually looked embarrassed for leaning against my dusty rental car.

After a couple seconds I realized they were simply hanging out, and had no intentions of ticketing my car or doing anything else that would seriously ruin my day.

The one leaning against the trunk stepped out of the way and gestured me over, then helped lift my Mom’s bag into the trunk.

They asked where we were visiting from, and I explained this was my second trip to the Yucatan and was taking my Mom on an overnight trip inland. We continued our conversation in half English half Spanish and I told them how fond I was of that part of the Yucatan region.

One of the other officers told me his sister lived in Phoenix, and their family was considering a move to Colorado, specifically Aurora for a job.

I locked up the car and chatted a bit more with another, then turned around and saw that he had his sister on the cell phone and put me on with her to answer questions about Denver.

So in true Mexican fashion, the simple task of walking a suitcase out to my car ended up taking 20 minutes, and I met four friendly locals in the process.

I returned a few minutes later with Caleb and my Mom, and they said all and wished us a good day.

Unfortunately I didn’t have my camera or else you would see a group photo here. I couldn’t ask for a better incident with “La Policia.”