We have been stuck in San Luis Potosi for four days. We were very happy to start our journey again. We were finally heading south again. On the way, we took a little break to see the Tembleque Aqueduct. The water transfer system was 45 km / 28 miles long and was designed by Father Francisco de Tembleque, a Franciscan missionary in New Spain. System constructed in second half of the 16^th century collected water from the slopes of the volcano. The water system passed mostly at the ground level, but also went underground and passed over ravines and valleys. Along the way, side branches supplied the surrounding villages with water.

After lunch overlooking the aqueduct, we took the toll highway again. Along the way, we encountered road repairs and traffic jams that slowed down our progress. The sunset was approaching. Still in the mountains, we decided that before sunset we should stop for a moment at a small roadside parking. There were no other cars there. I jumped out of the Jeep to refill our water bottles. Literally out of nowhere, three guys appeared next to me. Their faces were covered with triangular bandana masks, like wild west bandits. One of them showed me his gun and said "dinero" which means money. The other two proudly held metal pipes. At that moment, Eva was in the car, but both doors on her side were wide open. One of the intruders was interested in checking the interior at the rear of the vehicle. I was nearby, pushed the man and closed the door from the outside. While inside, Eva slammed the locks. A struggle began. The robbers were shouting at me trying to open the door. I was still outside on the passenger side and yelled to Eva to give me a wallet. She lowered the window a little and handed it to me. Time to run away, I thought. With my wallet high above my head so that it was clearly visible, I slowly walked to the front of the car, shouting "dinero, dinero." The guy with the gun pointed at me was on my heels. At this point, another robber hit the side window with a pipe. The passenger's front door glass shattered completely, but it did not come apart as he expected. He hit it again with a full force. The window glass next to Eva was broken into small pieces, but it still protected her, remaining in place. The attack failed. In this very second, I threw my wallet high in the air. The robber beside me looked up, following the flight of the money he was here to steal. Taking advantage of his inattention, I jumped into the driver's seat. The engine was on and we set off at a brisk pace. In the mirror I saw robbers hiding in the bushes.

The entire incident lasted less than a minute. I was devastated. We have spent so much time in Mexico before without such a bad experience. We both knew, we were very lucky, it could have ended up much worse than a broken window. I must admit that I considered the possibility of such an event in Central America or elsewhere. This is why I prepared an empty spare wallet for such an occasion. It was the one Eva gave me. I think it helped distract the bandits. Second, I have made some vehicle security modifications. The shattered glass of the door did not fall apart after the impact as it was covered with a protective film that held it in one piece. This undoubtedly prevented Eva from being hit with the metal pipe in the face.

What to do next was the major question next morning. So far, luck has not been on our side. Previously a broken car, now a failed armed robbery. The bad things happened one after the other. I was worried about my wife and wanted to go home. It was Eva who decided that we should continue this trip to Panama. "The good experiences and adventures ahead will make bad memories fade out," she said, "if we turn back now, we will never get rid of this fear." We found a car glass shop in nearby Córdoba, Veracruz. During the three days spent at a beautiful and secluded place surrounded by mountains, we recovered a little bit. When the glass was replaced, we were ready to go.