MORDIDA

Well, it's happened. I've run afoul of the Law. Happened sometime last week while we were out of communications and we were headed down to the village to "hook up" on the internet. Heading in on the carreterra, you hit the edges of the village, then several stoplights. The problem is that many (actually, most) of the village streets are one-way. There are arrows posted on the side of buildings on most corners, in some cases not as visible as one might like. Yeah, so I turned right to go toward the lake (and into the village proper) and both of us immediately recognized that we were on a one-way street, headed the wrong way! No reverse possible-- all streets are very narrow and usually have vehicles parked. It's so narrow in places that we open the windows and fold the mirrors in-- but I digress. So, there we are, headed south on a northbound one-way street, going "oh-oh." At the first intersection, I turned (the correct way) to escape-- but not soon enough. A short "whoooop" on the siren and there's the Policia, pulling me over.

"Senor, did you realize that you were going the wrong way on a one-way street?" (I'm cleaning up the English a bit here, but, in fact, his English was quite good.)

"Si, we realized as soon as we turned, but could not reverse."

"Senor, you know it is very dangerous to go the wrong way on a one-way street?"

"Si, that's why we turned off at first opportunity."

"Senor, your papers, please?"

One of the things all the forums tell you is to be sure to have a copy of all vehicle-related papers in the car at all times. Fortunately, Betty reads all the forums. So, we turned over the envelope with a copy of the title, registration (US and Mexican), insurance, etc., as well as my license. Officer takes all this and walks all the way around the car, checking the license plate, windshield sticker, etc. While he's doing this, Betty and I are discussing the subject of "mordida," "the bite," which is the informal way of handling these things down here.

"Senor, it seems that all of your papers are in order, but I must issue you a ticket for driving the wrong way on a one-way street."

"Si, I understand."

"Senor, you will have to go into Chapala within 10 days to pay this ticket."

"Si, I understand. How much will the ticket cost?" I think Betty was doing some of this in Spanish.

"480 pesos, Senor." (Nearly $50!)

"So much!"

"Si, it is very dangerous to drive the wrong way on a one-way street, Senor."

"Can we pay the ticket now and not have to go into Chapala?" (Getting the picture?)

"Si, Senor, if you wish."

The atmosphere shifts. So I hand the Officer a 500 Peso bill.

"Senor, I have no change." Big surprise, as if 20 pesos is going to make a difference at this point.

"No problema."

Result-- "Senor, I will make sure that no record of your offense appears in Chapala, so as not to place your driving privileges in jeopardy in the future. Please be more careful in driving within the village."

"Si, muchas gracias."

And my lack of criminal record is retained!

Footnote: In relaying all of this to some of our friends, it appears that 480P is not out of line for this type of offense. But, by appearing personally in Chapala, it seems that one can usually get fines cut in half. Lesson learned: we probably could have offered him 200P and gotten away with it. Oh, well..... next time.