At the end of day one I had made my way South from Arizona into Mexicos Sonora state. I made pretty good distance and found a camping spot on an unused block of land with an open gate (unusual down here) near the outskirts of the city of Hermosillo. There was nothing I wanted to see there but its effectively the start of a windy road that I want to ride along.
Next day I was up early and on the road by 8am... feeling a bit tired but good.
First order of business was to find my way through the city and onto the main road leading East... Not too much of a problem, but itll be my first day of playing in Mexican city traffic...
Its different from US city traffic!
Traffic in a US or Canadian city can be just as hectic as in a developing world city (and I class Mexico in that category) but it has a very different "flavour". In the developed world cities, the traffic is definitely far more organized but is also far more uniform. You dont get the same variety of road users, and when it gets hectic, it also gets very "uptight".
In a developing world city there is a huge variety of different sorts of traffic all sharing the same roads. Its far harder to navigate "on the fly" because the signage is no where near as well thought out... Those traffic engineers really do know what they are doing most of the time :)
But the compensating factor for this is that even though the traffic is more disorganized, the drivers are much more used to dealing with "inconsistencies" which is to say that they are "used to it" and the whole culture is more "relaxed"... So, you dont get the same "uptight" feel here... Well, not unless you bring it with you... which is a common problem for we drivers from the developed world and certainly in the first few days after arrival :)
But, not for me today :) I am feeling happy and relaxed and I find my way through traffic without issue, so the next order of bussines is to fuel up, lube the chain, and have a bite to eat...
Easy fixed. After a half hour stop Ive had a about a half litre of "electrolyte" drink and a large iced coffee... No food that I liked the look of, so thatll have to do for breakfast :)
The bike is good, and off I go.
Im riding along through the country for about an hour and a half and its mostly straight roads through scrub land. But its really green... This is Sonora and its pretty much desert... Clearly it has been raining in the last few weeks. there is lots of green grass on the road side, and that also means the lots of people have their livestock out on the roads to get the feed... I have to be really carefull to watch for these "mobile obstacles"!
But today this is no problem... Im really "in the groove" it seems. Riding the bike is taking very little effort today... My thoughts are very busy running around on all sorts of toppics (not least of which is the idea of getting a bunch of the parts that I had made to modify my bike, and selling them to other people on the internet...I think they would sell!). But my "busy" thoughts are not detracting from my "road attention"... Im right on the ball with reaction times and awareness... Like I said, really in the groove.
After about 140Km there is a military road block (police/military... seems all the same thing here at the moment) and I ride up to them slowly but no one seems to signal anything, so I just ride slowly on through and on down the highway....
But it seems they did actually want me to stop because about five minutes later there is a police pickup catching up behind me with his lights on.
I usually slow down at these road checks but I try to avoid eye contact and stopping if I can since it means I will have people going through my stuff and the hastle of unpacking and repacking, and there is always the potential for "less forthright" people to try and take advantage of me. This is the first time Ive had them come after me though, so we'll just see what happens next :)
I promptly pull over and two guys in fatigues with M16 automatics get out of the truck and approach me cautiously from behind and different directions with their guns at the ready!... Fair enough I guess given the amount of drug related violence in this area at present.
Im friendly and open and dont make any sudden or hidden moves with my hands... They move in closer and take their hands off their guns so I figure the "interaction" is headed in the right direction. I make my appologies for not stopping, and we settle into the usual questions...
Where from, Where too, Whats in the boxes, Can we have a look... etc. They have a poke around and its all OK.
Then there are the expected questions about the bike... How big is the engine, how much does it cost (these guys are not stupid and big bikes are not uncommon in Mexico, so the other questions of how fast and how many gears etc are omitted).
Then the conversation heads in a bit of a new direction and I dont have to fake my lack of understanding (My spannish is quite weak) but they are asking about my finances and if I have cash - A little yes, but mostly I use ATM machines and a credit card.... and then about food and water - a little yes, but just enough for if I break down. ... No, apparently they are talking about their food and water.... ahhh I get it; They are saying they dont get enough money to buy good food and water and stuff... They are working towards hitting me up for a bribe...
But I have answered the other questions well, and my bike looks beat up and I have not shaved in a week (and Im pretty sure I smell bad), and my Spanish is clearly not up to snuff... I keep on smiling and being positive and up the "I dont understand" quotient... and it seems to work. The guy who is quieter has a few words with the more "insistent" one and the conversation fairly quickly comes to an end and I let go "on my way" :)
On I ride, and now the road heads into the mountains and gets very windy. Its still a good road though. But I cant go fast at all. There has indeed been quite a bit of rain and a lot in the last few days it seems because there is lots and lots of loose rock on the road. When the road gets windy its because its in very steep country, and pretty much every cutting on every corner has been "letting go", so there is lots of rubble to negotiate.
Im not talking dozens here, Im litterally talking hundreds of rock slides... Mostly small, but some quite large. Even when the rocks have been cleared off the road, there is still lots of loose dirt left that will easily have the bike on its side with a moment of negligence from me... I go carefully :)
It goes on for a few hours!
I dont get above about 70Kmh and Im constantly "rowing the boat" with the bike handle bars. But again, its not that much work and my mind is busy both with my internal musings and taking in the road and the scenery... Im having a good time.
It really is mostly desert here... The Cactus plants are not designed for the rain it seems and they too are "letting go" there are several of them that have fallen off the hill sides onto the road.
After a few hours, the country gets flatter again, and I stop for a drink and some food... slim pickings again, so after about a fifteen minute break, I am riding again.
I pass through the odd small settlement; I "dance" with the dog from the previous post, I pass a house that isnt just pink, its PINK! and have a bit of a chat with the guy there. I ride on and the road gets curvey again. Theres lots more rock fall to. The road climbs from 600m ASAL to about 2700m ASL and Im in clouds and through a pass and down a few hundred metres on the other side. Then I reach the road junction where I came through here two years ago.
Last time I took this "side road as a shortcut ( There is a paved route but its longer). Last time it was really hard going with the road all covered in fresh gravel of a huge size (5-15cm chunks) that was very loose! I stop and think about it and chat with some other travelers who are stopped and having a smoke etc. The road is better now but still has lots of road work...
Its now 4pm and last time this road took me four hours... Hmmm
I decide to give it a go again...
True enough, the road has more pavement and a good chunk of the dirt section has at least been used by other traffic and the gravel is not so loose, but there is still a good distance of the unpleasant stuff too.
It takes me two hours to get through it and its just on dark when I arrive at Creel.
Good thing I have been here before and know where the tourist part of town is and where at least one cheaper hotel is located.
I go straigfht there and check my self in.
They have space in the small dorm - good and cheap...
They have firm beds with fresh crisp sheets - Nice! ...
The shower even has real hot water and its so hot I have to use cold! - Great! :)
Its 6pm and I started at 8am. I only had about one hour of "not riding" in that time!
Im tired but far from exhausted :) I have been remarkably relaxed the whole day. The largest issue that my body has (appart from the unsurprising sore butt!) is that my knees are very sore and stiff... They are the reason I no longer hike or climb mountains much... they were "damaged" years ago and I had to have most of the meniscus removed a few years back.
On the whole the day was good... No, actually, it wasd Great :))
Tomorrow I will take a rest day in Creel.
Now for a shower and some food.
