I had read and been told a number of times to get out of the border town between Mexico and the US and once twenty or thirty kilometres into Mexico it was much safer. I rode through the border town of Ojinaga and decided on the Route 16 that had no tolls. I wasn’t really sure of the distance to Chihuahua city but I had been told that the toll roads add up and I was keen to get on a smaller road. It was already getting late in the afternoon and I assumed there would be some small towns along the way so off I went, found my way to the 16 and headed into the hills. I posted some photos earlier.
I connected with a couple on couch-surfing.com I contacted them by email and arranged to get there on Sunday afternoon. After my time at the border, it appeared to be less likely that I would arrive in Chihuahua city by then. My US phone credit had expired, I had no Pesos, it was Sunday afternoon so I was unable to contact them again.
The road continued on and I rose further into another range and as I got higher the sun became lower. The land was sparsely vegetated dry desert and the last of the sun’s rays were throwing shadows and shading on the slopes of the hills. I wound around bends to the right and the left, thoroughly enjoying the ride and there was no other traffic on the road, making it more special. However the light was fading and I still did not know how far I had to go to get to Chihuahua. I rode through several more ridges and valleys and finally I came to some habitation in the form of a scattering of houses and a petrol station.
I needed to fuel up so I stopped and met some people, one of whom could speak English. He told me that it was only forty-five minutes to Chihuahua and if needed there was a closer town called Aldama, with hotels, but he suggested going on to Chihuahua.
I took the advice but probably should have asked about accommodation nearby because ten minutes up the road was a sign saying 100kms to Aldama and 140kms to Chihuahua. By the time I reached Aldama there was still enough light to find my way to one of the hotels, commonly known as a ‘love’ motel.
For $15 it was a bargain and had a comfortable bed, shower and no smoke detector, so I was able to light my stove inside, boil some water and have dinner. Ziggy had a carport with a heavy vinyl curtain to give her privacy.
I had heard about these motels as a good cheap way to have secure parking for the bike. The TV had five channels, four of which were snowy, poor reception channels and the fifth was clear as anything…porn!
Without Internet, I had no hope of contacting Antonio so I turned in straight after eating and slept my first night in Mexico.
The next morning was clear, chilly with blue skies. I only had forty kilometres to Chihuahua so once organized I rode west with the sun on my back. Troy from Texas had told me that every town has a centre plaza and it is a good strategy to ride into the centre where one could find banking, food, accommodation and more. I rode into the centre and missed the square and became caught up on some one way streets. I finally just stopped to look at maps and the only parking space was actually a taxi zone.
A taxi driver walked up to me and I prepared to be told to move. Juan Antonio's face broke into a big smile.
‘Hello, where are your from?’
‘Australia. You speak English.’
‘Ah yes. From Australia. That’s great, what are you doing here?’
‘Travelling. I’ve just started a three year trip around the world.’
‘Around the world! All the way! How long have you been in Chihuahua?’
‘I just arrived and I need to find some coffee, Internet and a bank.’
Juan Antonio showed me to a café not ten metres away, the 7.21 Café, and had a few words with the woman serving. She turned to me and asked in English what I wanted to drink and eat. She made the best cappuccino I had had since Australia.
Hubby hogged the camera lens though
Over the next three hours I found longer-term parking, ate, banked, bought a SIM card for my phone and did larger and larger circles away from the café to orient myself. Chihuahua isn’t a large city so it was easy to not get lost, and I found the main square! It is a modern city which seemed as western as anything in the US, but a bit Spanish as well.
I phoned Antonio and explained what had happened and a couple of hours later he was able to get away from work and meet me in the city. I followed him home, only about fifteen minutes in traffic and met his wife Norelise.
I spent three nights with them and on the second night a number of their friends come over for a
and barbeque, nothing foreign in that, and we kicked on till 4am.
Much of the conversation was in Spanish and I was given the odd interpretation, but this was good for me to get my ear into the language.
On my last day I was invited over to Norelise’s parents where I met them and her younger sister and they put on a huge lunch and they all fussed over me. Her mum Leticia was as excited as Norelise when she saw the bike later. Leticia said I was not just from another continent but from another world and called me an alien!
The next morning I said farewell and headed towards the area north of the Copper Canyon to see the sights of the area. It was the perfect start to my time in Mexico and I’m still humbled at the welcome and generosity I received from Antonio and Norelise.
I had a call out of the blue from a journalist who wanted to do a magazine interview with me. Luis worked for a lifestyle magazine and was a friend of the people from 7.21 Café, so when he read about me on Facebook he made contact.
We met about twenty-five kilometres north of Chihuahua city at a major toll station just after midday. We spoke for about an hour or so and then he said he wanted to do some filming of me riding. Another hour was spent on the bike up and down the highway with him hanging out of the car with his camera. We stopped for some lunch almost back in the outskirts of Chihuahua and another friend of his turned up, and he wanted to take some photos. We went back to the tolling station and they took all sorts of shots of me riding in different situations, even involving the toll booth officials who waived my toll (15 Pesos). After nearly five hours they said they had finished and I rode north along the highway. Unfortunately it was late in the afternoon and my destination I was told was two hours away, so I decided just to drive on until I found a motel.
Luis promised to get in contact with some photos and video and I hope he does.
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