By Julie Etra

8:45 – 9:30 AM, February 9, 2017

Rene and I positioned ourselves on the curb in front of Elektra, at the intersection of Boulevards Benito Juarez and Chahue, notebooks in hand. We counted all vehicles, coming from all four directions, passing through the traffic light. We divided them in two categories: (1) non-commercial passenger vehicles—sedans, SUVs, pick-ups, vans, etc., excluding commercial vans (e.g., airport, hotel, tours), and (2) taxis.

Why did we do this? NOT out of boredom, but simple curiosity. There are taxis, taxis, and more taxis, everywhere in Huatulco. For a couple of years or so, I have wondered about the ratio of taxis to passenger vehicles in this busy burg. So after I recruited Rene, we agreed on a date, time, and a busy intersection, and set off, unconcerned about statistical validity.

Bets? Guess? I guessed 20% taxis, friends guessed 25%. Not even close.

We counted 346 passenger vehicles and 352 taxis, about a 50:50 ratio.