Tequila Oil: Getting Lost in Mexico

by Hugh Thomson

An account of Hugh Thomson's first wild adventure in Mexico at the age of 18 illustrates why it ignited his love for Latin America, and is then followed by his subsequent exploration 30 years later of the country, its people, and its history. Revealing a much more dangerous side of Mexico than that seen by package vacationers, this book takes the reader from the badlands of Chihuahua to the forests of the Yucatan. It ends deep in the Mexican jungle, face to face with one the most enigmatic and least understood cultures on the planet—the Maya—with a sense of humility at how little we still know about the pre-Columbian past. Similar to  The Motorcycle Diaries , by throwing himself on the kindness, hospitality, and mercy of the Mexicans he met (or crashed into), Hugh was given an unusual and peculiarly vulnerable insight into Mexico. He returns many years later with a deeper understanding and the ability to explore the deep roots of pre-Columbian culture within Mexican life and to appreciate how much archaeologists have revealed about the Maya and the Aztecs in just the last few years.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Biography, History

224 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2009

About the author

Hugh Thomson believes strongly that the world is not as explored as we like to suppose.

He writes about the wilder corners of the planet, from the edges of Peru to the Himalayas, looking for Inca ruins and lost cultures. Geographical commented that 'he is a writer who explores and not an explorer who writes.'

For 'The Green Road into the Trees', he returned to Britain to write about his own country. It won the inaugural Wainwright Prize for Best Nature and Travel Writing. 'An immensely enjoyable book: curious, articulate, intellectually playful and savagely candid.' Spectator.

For the successful sequel, 'One Man and a Mule', he decided to have ‘a South American adventure in England’ by taking a mule as a pack animal across the north of the country.

His most recent book is his first novel - ‘Viva Byron!’ - which imagines what might have happened if the poet had not died an early death in Greece - but instead lived - and then some! - by going to South America with the great last love of his life, Countess Teresa Guiccioli, to help Simon Bolivar liberate it from the Spanish. "Hugh Thomson is a mesmerising storyteller." Sara Wheeler.

His previous books include: 'The White Rock', 'Nanda Devi' and 'Cochineal Red: Travels through Ancient Peru' (all Weidenfeld & Nicolson), and he has collected some of his favourite places in the lavishly illustrated '50 Wonders of the World'.

In 2009 he wrote 'Tequila Oil', a memoir about getting lost in Mexico when he was eighteen and, in the words of the Alice Cooper song, 'didn't know what he wanted'. It was serialised by BBC R4 as 'Book of the Week'.

"Delightful, celebratory and honest....In a way 'Tequila Oil' is the first installment of his now-complete trilogy, his 'Cochineal Red' and 'The White Rock' being two of the finest books on Latin America of recent years." (Rory MacLean, The Guardian)

See www.thewhiterock.co.uk for more, including his blog and events at which he is speaking.

Reviews

[Linda Whiting · Rating 4 out of 5]

Atmospheric road trip story. I wanted to read this as I was also meandering through Mexico in 1979 but by bus rather than Oldsmobile 98. My trip was a lot less wild but it still felt very adventurous, especially in 1979 - we really were lost in Mexico in those days pre mobile phones and internet. My parents received a postcard every three weeks if they were lucky.. I remember many of the things he mentioned - mezcal, mole, mariachis.. and places he visited. I liked the way the description of his travels was interspersed with historical facts about Mexico and examples of fiction set in Mexico written by British authors .

[Sophy H · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hugh Thomson triumphs again with his honest, self-deprecating, humourous reflection on his travels as an 18 year old through South America in a beast of a car he plans to sell in Belize at the end of the trip!

Things go wrong, things go right, there is tequila, chillies, rum, girls, gangs, dodgy officials!

I really liked this book and enjoyed the little asides about South American ancient history and culture.

Well recommended.

[Łukasz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zupełnie jakbym czytał o sobie w tym dziwnym, meksykańskim świecie. Może dlatego tak mi się spodobała "Tequila Oil". Chociaż przyznaję, że Hugh mocno na przypale tam pojechał, a stwierdzenie "co za typ" cisnęło się na myśl wielokrotnie, to nawet mu kibicowałem. Ale przynajmniej mógł sobie darować obnoszenie się ze swoimi muzycznymi upodobaniami.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this after his account, The White Rock, which shares with Tequila Oil a first half set in his youth--here, Mexico 1979 at the age of 18, and a follow-up thirty-odd years later, returning to Latin America to pursue his archeological investigations. It's more casually told in the initial section, as befits his punk-lite, English kid on the make characteristics. He tries to drive a '72 Olds through Mexico into Belize to make a dubious profit and to outwit the customs police. It's entertaining, and a lighter read than the following part. As with White Rock, he contrasts his earlier views of a foreign place with how it and he have changed, better or worse. As I happen to be his exact contemporary, I couldn't help but compare where I was that year--in his homeland--while he drove across my native country, and south from its Texas border. Thomson is again insightful about how travel books, in this case those of Greene, Lawrence, Huxley, Lowry, and Waugh, influence one's own anticipations and reflections.

[Sophia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jolly travelogue that details the author's journey through Mexico back in 1979 and a return visit to Belize many years later.
I enjoyed reading Thomson's escapades and the Latin American history interspersed between tales of meeting new people, casual work and occasional car accidents. It was pretty easy to breeze through but slightly disjointed given the fact that the author doesn't really begin with the standard travel book intro of why he decided to travel to Mexico, and the ending chapters aren't that illuminating. Still, a good read in my opinion, and given that the book was published about 30 years after the initial journey, Hugh Thomson has a remarkable memory for detailing the trip.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

hilarious in parts, a great story but not sure it told me much more about Mexico than i knew

[Yvan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Could have skipped the last chapter and finish when selling the car and returning to Europe

[quietdust · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the writer's adventures in 1979 more. It is the exact travel peak that most of us quest, yet cannot get. He drove through the mountainous terrain in the north, got in a small ranch, and wandered on the horse for a while. He got in trouble with police and cars, yet always someone showed up and offered help along the way. He climbed the volcano, lived in the suite of a luxury golf club where the previous president resided, soaked in mezcal and tequila.....30 years later, after he went back to Mexico, things got bland, partly because of aging, partly because of the ubiquitous development and standardization. Perhaps if someone wanna have a similarly free and wild experience, he/she could only try Africa nowadays.

Standardization is great, standardization is awful.

Also, this book gives me the right amount of historical information about Mexico, no more, no less. Glad I read it before traveling to Mexico. Guess I don't need more books.

[Christopher Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

"...we were not drinking the usual tequila. When I’d asked for one, the barman had spat on the sawdust floor, alarmingly close to my feet: ‘ ¿Tequila? ¡Para maricones! ¡Y mariachis! Puro mezcal de Oaxaca.’ He produced a bottle that far from being pure looked cloudy, but not so cloudy that I could miss the large worm floating at the bottom. Nor was it the tourist type of worm they put in a novelty bottle either, but a fleshy, decomposing, honest-to-god cactus-fed worm. I surrendered and asked for a glass of the stuff. ‘We don’t sell it por el vaso, by the glass,’ said the barman in disgust. ‘Es por botella, it’s by the bottle.’ He slammed one down on the table." 🇲🇽

[Bill Leach · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author travels to Mexico and on to Belize as a young man, visiting various towns, getting drunk and taking drugs. In contrast, the last two chapters relate his experiences visiting Belize 30 years later. Mildly interesting, but outside of a little history the book provides few interesting observations.

Tequila Oil is a double tequila with tomato juice to which is added a tablespoon of habanero chili sauce and black Maggi sauce (characterized as an aromatic version of HP sauce) sufficient to turn the drink black.

[Vari Lemur · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are were in your late teens at the end of the 70s and ever wondered what it was like to travel this part of the world at the time, then this is your must read. For everyone else just slightly interested in a good travel book, this one‘s for you. One of the best I have ever read, one of the few I will keep to pass on to somebody who needs to read it at the time. Well done 👍 Thanks Mr Thomson

[Nadezhda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Light and enjoyable book about authors travel in Mexico at the age of 18 and then again 30 years later.
Simple, honest and unpretentious.
Absolutely loved how he incorporates historical facts and references to other literature about Mexico in the narrative.
However, the writing is a bit uneven; the book coming along as almost unfinished in places.

[Barbora · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think the second part of the book, in which Thomson returns te Belize 30 years after his original journey, was an unnecessary and somewhat boring addition to an otherwise great and adventure-filled story.

[Alex Ventisei · Rating 4 out of 5]

I need to do some travelling.

[Sarah-Lee Richardson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed the first half. Would have loved to have lived in CDMX (DF) then!

[John M · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book very much. The bulk of it tells the tale of the author's stint in Mexico as an 18 year old out on a mission: to see the country and to sell the Oldsmobile he is riding in. Written in a deceptively easy style you can imagine having a few drinks and just happily listening to Thomson tell his tales. The latter part of the book sees him return to Belize somewhat older and wiser and, it has to be said, sadder. The melancholy air of these last pages maybe reflects his marriage break-up as much as his revised opinion of the Mayan civilisation and it probably led to me docking a mark in rating it but don't be put off - this is a book that you can relax to while being made to think a bit. Not bad!

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun read. I love travel books and this one I will gladly add to my list of favourites. Its the tale of the author when he had turned 18 with the grand scheme to buy a Cadilac in Texas and drive it to sell inCentral America for "big bucks". Grand scheme and very naive man. makes for a good yarn. Lots of relatively stupid things that come across with a good sense of humour as the author looks back. This was in the seventies and it would be a different story now. driving across the dessert, the illegal drugs grown under the guise of logging and climbing a volcano covered in snow all makes one laugh.

[Eli · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read it in 2 days, good fun and quite insightful at times. I found the structure of the book a little bit distracting, with not much background given on the author and some of the content lacks a clear flow. I agree with a previous comment, the middle aged ending was a bit melancholic and sad after the optimistic adventure and exuberance of the authors youth, but reflects tellingly on our journey through life.

[Gary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hugh Thomson picks up the journey he made to Mexico when he was about 18, in an old Oldsmobile boat of a car. I love the the people and books he references to enhance his adventures. When he returns as a middle-aged man to Belize and Mexico to reflect on his current life and past makes this not only an exciting travel book but a progression and comment on life's transitions.

[Leah L Mills · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not one to read travelogues, but this one was so worth the gamble!
It offered an amazing insight into a land I have not even considered visiting. It was incredibly vivid- the food had me hungry at irrational times of the day- and Thomson's voice really comes across throughout the narrative.
Informative yet deeply personal and humorous. I WILL be picking this book up again some time!

[Arch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant travelogue of a journey through Central America in two parts, separated by 30 years. The first part appealed a lot more to me than the second, particularly with the foibles of the car to contend with, but the return visit rounded off the journey well.

[Laura (Reading is a Doing Word) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. The "then" part was nostalgic, amusing and engaging,with just enough historical comment to whet your appetite for further reading. The "now" section was more reflective and not quite as amusing but still interesting. All in all a very informative and enjoyable read.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I liked the idea of this book more than the actual read itself. It held promise that never really delivered and the style of writing was disjointed. That said there was enough content and humour to keep me reading until the end.

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really entertaining travel memoir. And it's making me want to learn Spanish again.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyable travel book. Makes you want to just jump on a car and drive.

[Andie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nicely written history/travel combo, especially if you're interested in Mexico.

[Tomasz Skórski · Rating 2 out of 5]

Od biedy można przeczytać, ale ani to nadmiernie ciekawa, wnicambitna, ani wyrafinowana lektura. Nie polecam.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't really relate to the many Punk and Reggae references and as a result, for me personally, the book felt a lot less satisfying than his other works

[Dakota · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy read, but not as entertaining as I hoped.

[Patricia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Was just alright!! I enjoyed the historical information about Mexico and Central America