First week in Mexico

Posted by Fin on 17 December 2009

I was glad to get the border crossing out the way as we arrived safely into Chihuahua, Northern Mexico. The Mexican chapter could now truly start. Alex and I spent a day exploring the city and trying to adjust to the new culture and language but there was a constant air of anxiety within us the first few days. For me the indicator was loss of appetite and worry. We had grown very accustomed to the relative ease of bike touring in the US and Canada. The routine coffee stops at gas stations, the kind and generous people in RVs and cars, the regular city breaks and stays with old friends. Now we were entering the unknown and for me the major barrier was the language.

'Hablo un poco de Espanol' and 'Viajamos de Alaska a Panama en biyclette' are about as good as it gets so far..I can just about order a burrito too but I've been cursing myself for choosing to listen to thumping techo to get me up those mountains in the USA rather than my Spanish audio mp3 files.

All of our research a year ago had pointed to the 'Barranca de Cobre' (Copper Canyon railway) as being a 'must see' in the north of Mexico so we had planned to do take the train ride west from interior northern Mexico towards the Pacific coast without missing out on many ‘cycle miles’ south.. But when we arrived into Chihuahua we heard rumours that we may not be allowed to take our bike on the famous train. At the station we were promptly told, 'No bikes on the train'. After a little pleading and explanation that we had travelled all the way from Alaska, the conductor agreed to make a call to enquire. He came back ten minutes later saying they would make an exception just this once but the bikes had to be in a box and we would not be allowed to make any stopovers...This was a real shame as the main reason for doing the train ride was to make an overnight stop in Divisaderio to see the canyon.

So we had no option but to go all the way through without stopping to see any of the sights. The train ride itself for me was a bit of an anti climax after the incredible scenes of Yosemite and the Grand Canyon. This was probably due to our meagre budgets as we could only afford the 'segunda class' so our slow train didn't get to the most beautiful scenic parts until after dark. At the end of a long 12 hour train ride west we arrived in El Feurte, a cool little town in the hills of Northern Mexico, where we spent the night ready to start riding south towards the coast the next day.

I could not relax in those first few days. I wanted to get rid of the anxiety that had built up as a result of all the fear spreading that had been preached to us….terrible roads, crazy reckless drivers, robberies and muggings… and get the bike built and some miles under our belts. So of course as soon as we had done 10 miles and were still alive all the weight began to lift. It’s so stupid really, why do we worry about these things? Someone told me a great saying once, “99% of things we worry about never happen – so stop worrying and get on and enjoy the ride, life is too short to sit in your box all day”.

At the end of the first day it started to get dark but there was no where on the side of the highway to camp. The surrounding land was all bordered by agricultural irrigation channels making it impossible to cross and camp in the fields. Finally we came across a little turn off and an old tin and wooden house. As we approached a small car pulled in from the highway. The mother and daughter looked at us inquisitively and surprised. This was the moment I had been dreading….I was going to have to put my pigeon Spanish into use for the first time. Yet again, I should not have worried – incredible kindness and hospitality exists in Mexico too….Two minutes later, having explained who we were and what we were doing, we were setting up our tents in the back yard. Venus, the mother spent a a good ten minutes racking the leaves to make the place tidy for us and then an hour in the kitchen making us dinner (refried beans and tacos stuffed with goodness). The young daughter spent the whole evening with us, teaching us and correcting our Spanish. It felt great to be safe and sound in such a friendly environment on our first night wild camping in Mexico. Things only got better the next morning as the family insisted we be sent off with eggs and beans in our bellies. With a full stomach, I realised my anxiety had gone 

24 comments. Tags: Fin, . Location: Mazatlan, Mexico