As they leave, night falls and the headlights of the car are broken. They keep driving and the headlights come back on. Stan is still high and they all take their shirts off as they roll into the heat of a jungle town named Limon.
They try to sleep on a dirt road, but it is too hot and there are bugs everywhere. A policeman comes by and asks if they are sleeping and then moves on. Sal stays awake all night, witnessing the sunrise and hearing the clatter of horse hooves. They leave town and fill up at a gas station down the road. Bugs continue to cling to them. They drive through the night over mountains and past many Native Americans. On the ledge of a mountain, they see a little girl. Dean wishes he had something to give her. Older women try to sell them crystals and a child grabs Dean's arm.
He shows her his watch and trades it for a piece of crystal. They leave and reach the last plateau.
"The end of our journey impended. Great fields stretched on both sides of us; a noble wind blew across the occasional immense tree groves and over old missions turning salmon pink in the late sun. The clouds were close and huge and rose."Part 4, Chapter 6, pg. 300
They enter the city at dusk and there is a terrible noise because there are no mufflers on the cars. The city is chaotic with people selling all sorts of goods, open sewers, and run-down alleys. Sal gets a fever and dysentery. He goes a little crazy while Dean gets his divorce papers from Camille finalized. Dean longs to return to Inez in New York. "I didn't know who he was anymore, and he knew this, and sympathized, and pulled the blanket over my shoulders." Part 4, Chapter 6, pg. 302 says Sal as Dean leaves for New York. When he gets better he realizes that he is frustrated with Dean but tries to forgive him. Stan and Sal stay in Mexico for a while.
