by Charles Miller

Nestled between pine-forested hills in the southernmost part of the Mexican state of Nuevo Leon is the oh so appropriately named pueblo of La Escondida (Hidden). Before there was a four-lane expressway all the way from near San Miguel to the Texas border I would sometimes drive that less-trafficked, more leisurely route. It was almost a hundred miles of mountains and pretty countryside uninterrupted by a single filling station.

If you needed gas, there was a tienda in La Escondita with “Coca Cola, Gasolina Magna y Nova” painted on the facade, but no gas pump. Go inside to the front counter to ask, and they would happily hand you a funnel, then go to the back of the store and bring your gas in a bucket. Through the 1980s and 90s I enjoyed taking that route, especially when traveling in the company of someone who had never been to La Escondida. That store was not the same after they installed a gas pump out front. Gone was the wide grin of the proprietor as he handed over a bucket to my astonished friend.

Even today there are large swaths of northern Mexico still blissfully rural. These areas have more gas pumps today than 30 years ago, but a lot of areas lack cell phone coverage. They are places where people may have land-line phones and satellite-based internet but they live happily untethered to smart phones. This beautiful countryside with its lack of ubiquitous cell phone coverage was to play a part in my latest adventure.

One of my relatives was born in such a rural part of the state of San Luis Potosi, 20 minutes off of the last paved road, longer by horseback. It was not to that specific pueblo, but I went on a short trip last week to visit family who live in a similarly-situated spot with no cell phones.

Too late I tried without success to let a friend back in San Miguel know that I would not return in time for our breakfast scheduled for Saturday morning. It was my fault that this did not occur to me until I was inside the Faraday cage with no internet and no bars on my cell phone. I was to learn later that a message I left using a borrowed land-line phone did not get through. But I am getting ahead of myself.

Anyway, after a peaceful, quiet Friday, it was time to start the trip back to San Miguel, which I did from the nearest bus station. A short way down the road my cell phone rang. It was someone identifying themselves as a police officer and wanting to know my whereabouts. Then my Mexican neighbor Rosie’s voice came on the line: “I told them you were gone to visit your family in San Luis, but I’m not sure they believe it." I understood that the police were probably standing outside my door with my neighbor.

It seems that my other friend sort of panicked when I did not show up for our breakfast date that morning and also my cell phone did not answer when he called. So, he reported to the police that I was missing.

On the phone I tried to assure the officer, who got back on the line, that I was okay and on a bus that would have me back in SMA that night. Apparently, that was not good enough because another officer called me back a short while later wanting more details: where I had been, the name and number for my relative, etc.

Perhaps that did not check out because the officer called back wanting me to send a video proving I was not being held against my will. On a bus with no access to the internet, that proved difficult, so I said I would see what I could do when the bus reached the station at cuidad San Luis Potosi. Once there, even though I could send text messages and still pictures, videos would not go through. While stopped I handed over my phone and asked one of the two bus drivers to explain to the police where I was and where we were going. The police took down his information. I then got a text telling me to check in when I arrived in Queretaro. But this was not to be.

The bus drivers, having been informed that the main highway to Queretaro was closed due to an accident, took off on a detour into another cell phone dark zone. So once again I disappeared off the grid. On the slower backroads, through El Rosario to San Felipe then to Dolores Hidalgo my cell phone mostly had no bars. My fellow passengers were similarly frequently checking their phones and trying unsuccessfully to let loved ones know where they were.

By the time the bus was back in cell phone range the police were no doubt wondering why I went radio-silent, again. No doubt more than ever they wanted a video of me proving I had not been kidnapped.

If you've been following this itinerary, you know the next city on the way to Queretaro is San Miguel. I can assure you that by this point the bus drivers were glad to be rid of me, eagerly depositing me on the side of the Libramiento only blocks away from where I live.

I was glad to shorten my trip by hours, not having to go all the way to Queretaro and then backtrack to San Miguel. It was only after the bus disappeared from view that I realized the driver had told the police I was safe on his bus, so I do not know what, if anything, happened when they arrived in Queretaro without me onboard.

Back home, my neighbor Rosie and I spent some time texting and sending photos until we got a message back from the police saying they could close the investigation into my disappearance.

I regret the bother that my missed communications caused my friends and the authorities. I have the greatest respect and appreciation for the professionalism of San Miguel's finest. Their dedication to duty and their unwavering commitment in my case was exemplary, as are all the sacrifices they make every day to keep us safe. Thank you to all our law enforcement officers for the work you do!

Be sure that next time, I'll make my phone calls before I go wandering through Mexico's wide-open spaces.

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Charles Miller is a freelance computer consultant with decades of IT experience and a Texan with a lifetime love for Mexico. The opinions expressed are his own. He may be contacted at 415-101-8528 or email FAQ8 (at) SMAguru.com.

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