Autumnal wanderings through the Sierra Madre Occidental

After five days in Nuevo Casas Grandes, four with no cycling at all, I finally tore myself away from family Caraveo to continue my journey south.

The ensuing days saw me crossing back and forth over the Sierra Madre Occidental which stretches from Northern Mexico down to the border with Guatemala. Cool days with the occasional spot of rain made for pleasant riding conditions and it felt good to be back in the saddle, making progress. I stayed with a priest, Padre Gabriel, in Buenaventura. What a cool guy! It was great to see him give a highly entertaining service to the local Oaxaca community, migrant workers from the poorer south of Mexico, and enjoy a nightcap of a couple of chilled tequilas with him. This is the church next to his home.

The next day I powered on through the mountains, rising up above 8000 ft for the first time in weeks. Rusty I suppose from a few days rest I developed nagging pains in my left knee and right thigh, my first concerns of injury on the whole trip. Since then they've sorted themselves out with the help of some intensive stretching sessions but a salutary reminder that I'm not superman and, like my bike, I need to pay a bit of attention to myself to remain a well oiled machine.

Continuing south to La Junta I had the pleasure of staying with Joel and his lovely family. I really hit it off with Joel and chatting with him in Spanish was understanding 90% of what he was saying (I think!). Real sense of progress happening on the language front. Here we are standing in front of his ice cream shop, Tutti Frutti.

I gladly accepted Joel's offer to stay on a day with the family and we travelled to the state capital, also named Chihuahua, to attend a fiesta. Enormous fun to spend the afternoon talking in a mixture of Spanish and English (eldest child, Crystal, speaks good English) about Mexican and British culture dispelling a few myths and stereotypes.

 

Like me, this hummingbird is a delicate creature on a southward trajectory for the winter and our paths crossed in las Barrancas del Cobre. Heading back into the mountains again, I had a wonderful ride up to and beyond Creel deep into the heart of the Copper Canyons. One of my best days riding of the trip, with the bit between my teeth, I managed to cover 96 miles with a height gain of over 7000 ft across an undulating day. Mercifully, not a twinge of complaint from my legs and I made it to my destination just before the heavens opened for the evening.

The Copper Canyons are something of a place of pilgrimage for me having read 'Born To Run', an intriguing mix of writing about running and anthropology based on the Tarahumara people who live in the valleys of the Copper Canyons. Though this picture hints at a level of progress with corrugated iron roofs and solar panels, the Tarahumara lead a simple life, materialism an alien concept to them. Subsistence farmers -  maize, goat herding etc - they barely deal in money and many of them barely speak Spanish.

Carlos and Veyra kindly hosted me at the Copper Canyons and helped me to find the best hiking trails through the deep valleys. Each step of the way my hosts are putting me in contact with friends further  ahead on my route and this is proving to be a great way to travel. It gives me the opportunity to get to know local people and access their local knowledge, it gives me constant practice of Spanish, and helps with the budget as hotels are my greatest expense. Travelling alone it also keeps loneliness at bay! My good friend Adam Rowe, as he drove me to the airport to see me off from England, advised me to stay in hotels once in a while to give myself a break and pamper myself. Two and a half months  in I've stayed in hotels three times; I hope this doesn't disappoint him.