Airstream Maelstrom

by Ron McCluskey

This vacationer in Mexico certainly did not mean to destroy an entire Pemex gas station.

While staying in Villahermosa, we frequently went to La Venta to see the giant Olmec heads and wildlife there. (I'll get to the airstream story in a minute.)

There were wild monkeys in the trees. We never saw monkeys ouside of a park. But here, you could watch them.

There were large termite nests on some of the trees. These had tunnels build on the trunk of the tree and then along the ground. If you broke open one of these tunnels, you could watch the termites scurrying around and then repairing the tunnel.

Another insect that was fascinating was the leaf cutter ants. These tiny creatures could completely strip a tree of leaves in a night. They took them back to their nests to grow a fungus on them. They then dined on the fungus.

Following a trail of these once I was amazed to find that the opening of the hole was large enough to roll a golf ball into. Quite a change from the ant nests I was used to seeing back home.

There were also many butterflies and birds to watch.

On one trip, we were surprised to find a group of about 30 Airstream trailers with Americans sitting in lawn chairs in front of them. One couple called us over and had us sit down and visit with them.

While enjoying a cold soft drink that they offered us, they told us the story of the Airstream Maelstrom.

One of their group had pulled into a Pemex station. He had forgotten to turn off the pilot light to the oven in the Airstream.

The Pemex gas stations (the only brand available) commonly had enough fuel spilled on the ground to make it slippery to walk. You could smell them a mile away.

It was easy to understand why there was so much fuel around. The hoses were often substandard with the nozzles not shutting off automatically. Also, the drivers would rock their cars back and forth to jostle air bubbles out of the gas tanks and then put the last little bit in. They would often put in just a little too much.

Unfortunately for this gentleman, his pilot light set the station on fire. He was able to pull his Airstream forward enough to put it out, but the station was a complete loss.

Even though he had purchased Sanborn insurance (your insurance from home does not work in Mexico), he was put in prison pending an investigation.

The insurance adjuster showed up and started working out a deal with the station owner and police. However, this man was getting scared that he would not get out. So, he agreed to give the station owner a check for $10,000.

The station owner came back to the jail the next morning claiming that he could not cash the check. So, he was going to press charges.

At this point the Airstream owner panicked and had his bank wire $10,000 down to the station owner.

The people hosting our visit said that he did not get his check back, so there was a possibility that he was actually out $20,000.

There are a few lessons to be learned here. First, extra care is needed on Mexican roads. The other drivers are erratic at best and there are frequent animals on the road.

Care at gas stations is especially needed as the fire danger there is much higher than you are used to.

Finally, Sanborn insurance is a highly reputable firm and they will take care of you. There was no reason for this gentleman to panic. However, if you have seen the inside of a Mexican jail, you probably would have a lot of sympathy for his anxiety.

Following our sympathetic hearing of this sad story, we had to reply with the story of 25 Mexican babies.

The gentleman hosting us said, She probably just coughed.

Ron's family has traveled to all the continents except Antarctica for volunteer work and vacations. Read more about their unusual experiences at I Love Travel Vacations and I Love Mexican Vacations.