Mexican Hospitality and Friendship

Posted by Fin on 30 December 2009

There are two options for cyclists on Mexican roads: A. The 'libre' single lane roads with no shoulder to cycle in, more commercial traffic yet plenty of little villages and towns to stock up on food and water and, B. Motorways/Freeways with very few services to resupply but with safe shoulder to cycle in. After being forced off the road by passing semi trucks twice in the last three days on the libre, and witnessing the aftermath of a head on collision an hour or so before us, we decided to test out the freeway from the coast into the mountains to Zamora.

It proved to be pretty dull riding, but safe riding. We ran out of water a few times and food supplies ran low but we got to our destination in one peice! While the cycling wasn't providing us with much inspiration, every night on the road we encountered the most incredible hospitality and generosity from the locals.

Riding off the highway into a small hamlet, we asked the first person we came across if he knew of anywhere we could camp...a field, patch of grass...anything. He told us to follow him through the village...we had no idea where we were going and we were expecting a corner of a field at best. Within minutes we were being introduced to his whole family and being instructed where to set up our tents (under a huge old satellite dish disguised as a palm tree in the garden!).

Alfredo seemed impressed that we had cycled all the way from Alaska and wanted to help us. He then showed us his bike and told us a year ago he cycled 300km in 26 hours on it. The fact he had ridden this far on his rusty old bike put our achievement to shame. His old bike had two punctures, a rusty chain and weighed a ton. Alex and I spent the next hour servicing his bike, oiling the chain and fixing his punctures. After that we were treated like part of the family. We were served a wonderful plate of papaya (with salt and chilli) and then steamed tomales, corn flour parcels stuffed with pork and vegetables - Delicious! Alfredo then climbed up a ladder in his garden and handed us a fresh papaya for the journey in the morning.

The following morning, I woke to find I also had a puncture. The family kindly helped me fix my puncture and then invited Alex and I in for a hearty breakfast of fabulous roast pork, tacos, eggs and beans. A evening before we had been complete strangers off the road asking for a place to camp...now we felt like family. Life can be amazing when you step outside your comfort zone and push yourself into the unknown - such a rewarding experience and we are finding here in Mexico it is the people and places we come across, rather than the cycling that is providing us with the memories.

Alex and I took down the family's address to add to the 30 other wonderful families who have helped us on our way - the quarterly post card sending ritual is mounting!

Between us Alex and I have had about 20 punctures so far in Mexico - we have had to resupply on patches and tubes. There is alot of debris on the roads, mainly bits of wire that are causing the problems. After another 3 flats that morning we finally pulled into Zamora, a bustling colonial town in the heart of the mountains of Michoacan. We had no idea where to stay so looked up the tourist office, where we found Farid and Francisco, two students doing volunteer work during the vacation from the University of Guadelajara. They sorted us out with a very cheap motel, then  showed us great places to visit and routes through the mountains to take by bike. We liked the guys alot and arranged to meet Farid and Francisco for tacos and cervezas later. We had a great night with the guys, who took us on a tour of Zamora by night...bars, sights and festivities! Thanks guys - we will miss you!

18 comments. Tags: Fin, . Location: Zamora, Mexico