It's now 28 months that I've been traveling the world hitchhiking. My goal- circumnavigate the Earth by spending hardly a dime on transportation. So far, I'm accomplishing that goal... but not without crazy days from the people I meet on the open road. As you can imagine, getting a ride in 923 different vehicles has allowed me not only to meet a lot of nice people, but also get closer to the odd, the strange and the bizarre folk of this insane planet we all call home. This is just one of the many "xtreme" encounters I've had:

Mexico, June 2009

I am realizing a dream- I'm going to arrive in Mexico City by hitchhiking. Mexico City, or also known as DF (Distrito Federal, or Federal District in Spanish), is the biggest city on Earth with more than 20 million people. Today, I'm in the city of Puebla and I estimate that hitchhiking shouldn't be so difficult since I am already situated about 150 kilometers from the Mexican capital. Furthermore, traveling in Central America has been relatively easy thus far.

As usual, I exit the city by local transportation. Once on the edge of Puebla, I began walking towards the highway and stuck my thumb out, the international sign for hitching. I must say, after so much time on the road, my hand muscles have almost molded permanently in this position! It's a common gesture that I know well now since I started traveling in October, 2007.

Hitchhiking seems to work pretty easy today. Indeed, I already see a car slowing down and stopping in front of me. Maybe this is my ride to Mexico City? My dream is getting closer, I will finally reach my destination! I ran to the car and jumped in. However, being driven by emotion, I forgot one thing- look at the driver first. This is one utterly important thing any hitcher must do to increase his chances of survival because God knows there's some crazy people out there.

Safety has been a big concern for me. I have never been attacked or robbed by any of my drivers. Saying that, I know that I am an easy target, so I am trying to keep myself secure by using common sense. Usually, I always look at the driver before getting in. Today, however, I was just too excited and forgot about this important rule.

Well, what I would have seen, if I had look closely, was a... how can I say this nicely... sketchy looking driver. I know these kinds of drivers, I already had six or seven on this journey so far. I learned to deal with them but it is always delicate and, at times, a horrifying situation.

Indeed, after a few minutes, my driver started to orientate the subject of conversation towards his main interest of the moment. I tried to talk as much as I can to prevent him from saying anything, but it is difficult to make a monologue for thirty minutes without stopping.
Finally, my driver, who looks like a 50 year old bum, places his grimy right palm on my knee while making me the offer, the same offer I knew this freak was going to propose since stepping into his beat up, broken down vehicle: “I want to have sex with you!”

Really man? Fortunately, I had luck on my side. This stupid dumb ass chose to offer me his ape-like body just when we were hitting a pay toll. When he finally slowed down to pay, I quickly opened the door and jumped off the car without responding to his kind request.

Well, believe me or not, that was just the beginning of the day.

Of course this wasn't your normal outing, meaning this pay toll just had to be different. Indeed, at this exact toll, a cellphone company decided to organize a huge promotion for one of its products. This is the first time I've seen such an occurrence in more than two years traveling.

Imagine this scene: have half a dozen people trying to stop cars in the exact same spot I was supposed to hitchhike.

This would be humorous if they weren't wearing the exact same clothes that I was at the moment: bright blue T-shirts, blue jeans and the same blue caps!!!

So here's the deal: I am stuck with six or seven other people trying to stop oncoming traffic, with the same exact clothes on, and I have absolutely no way to make the drivers notice that I am not selling anything! This was seriously going to damper my dream of victoriously strolling into Mexico City.

Somehow, after a long time in Mexican standards (which translates to several hours), a truck passed by and I actually grabbed his attention by yelling through his open window. Lo-in-behold, this man was going to Mexico City! "Yes, I made it! I will realize my dream in few minutes!" I shouted to myself. "This whole crazy ordeal with the psycho molester and ridiculous cell phone promoters is finally over!"

At 30 kilometers from Mexico City, my driver received a call from what seems to be the transport company he worked for. The phone call went like this:

-Transport Company: “Hello Driver”

-Driver: “Hello TC”

-TC: "Are you OK?”

-D: "Yes, and you?”

-TC: "Do you realize that you left without taking the loads?”

Yes! No joke. My driver forgot his supply. As unbelievable as it sounds, I just jumped into a truck with a man who forgot to fill the back with whatever he was getting paid to deliver. At that moment in time, he was going to Mexico City to deliver absolutely nothing!!!

So, my truck driver pulled over on the highway and dropped me at 30 kilometers of the Distrito Federal.

Me, well, I started to walk toward the massive wall of buildings in the midst of a smoggy sunset. A blanket of black pollution lined the clouds in the horizon over the desert highway, intensifying the mood of sorrow that I was feeling at that moment. Just me, the road, my bag and one hell of a crazy day.

Needless to say, I finally made it to Mexico City. But that's a whole different story in itself.

Check out more pics and stories from my two years hitchhiking the world at:  http://www.tour-du-monde-autostop.fr/