As a general rule of travel, I always try to arrive in a new place during daylight, to give myself time to locate a hotel and check-in before the sun goes down and any night danger/craziness commences. As luck would therefore have it, the first place I arrive in total darkness in my two months of travelling so far is Chihuahua in Mexico. Chihuahua, home of Ciudade De Juarez, the most dangerous city on earth.
Its 23:00 and pitch black outside as the train pulls in at the station. Worse still, the word 'error' spells itself out eerily through the front window of my train carriage, suggesting to me that I may have made a large mistake.
Even when I realise I am only seeing part of the insignia for 'Ferrocarril Chihuahua al Pacífico', the train company I am travelling on, I do not feel particularly comforted. A moustachioed train security guard walks down the aisle with a serious look on his face and a semi-automatic assault rifle gripped in both hands. A full moon threatens me from the night sky outside.
As soon as I step off the train I sense danger lurking around every corner, even though I am walking in a straight line in an open space and there are no corners to speak of nearby. Dodging imaginery bullets and avoiding eye contact with local Mexicans that probably aren't even looking at me, I march as confidently as I can muster with the extra-weight in my underpants through the train station to find a taxi to take me to the nearest hotel.
I hope I do not die tonight.
Prologue: I didn't die tonight. (however, there are still 17 minutes until midnight)
