Hobobiker.com Podcast

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Note: After Guatemala we didn't carry a computer, and editing the podcasts was just too much of an effort, so we kind of let it drop. Sorry!

Hobobiker.com Podcast #1 - Tim Malloch on his way north

Tim and his BOB trailer heading into Copper Canyon
Tim and his BOB trailer heading into Copper Canyon (View on flickr)

Here's our first podcast, with Tim Malloch of www.pushonnorth.com. We met Tim in Guachochi, Chihuahua, Mexico and spent a delightful day riding to a Copper Canyon overlook.


17:37 minutes (6.05 MB)

Podcast #2 - Our visit with Josefina and Dionisio

Josefina and Dionisio and the Family in Balleza
Josefina and Dionisio and the Family in Balleza (View on flickr)

We were taken in a adopted in a most wonderful way by Josefina and Dionisio in Balleza, Chihuahua. Here's Nancy's description of how they took us in, taught us to make tamales, and in general just showed what wonderful people they are.


13:10 minutes (4.52 MB)

Podcast #3: Cultural Week in Zacatecas

Zacatecas from above - on the hill 'La Bufa'
Zacatecas from above - on the hill "La Bufa" (View on flickr)

We spent a week or 10 days in Zacatecas - arriving from multiple weeks of rural Mexico it was quite a wakeup call. This is a classy city - beautiful, like you'd just arrived in an old European city - Nancy likens it to Florence, Italy, and I think that's probably reasonable. We talk about the cultural events we got to see, including concerts, folk music, folk dance, and about the beautiful city of Zacatecas itself, including its history and appearance.


17:20 minutes (5.96 MB)

Podcast #4: Swiss Bike Tourists Philippe and Miriam on the banks of the Yukon River

Dinner with Philippe and Miriam - new friends who rode from Ushuaia
Dinner with Philippe and Miriam - new friends who rode from Ushuaia (View on flickr)




Yes, this is a little bit out of order, but we recorded this in late June, 2006, with Philippe and Miriam on the banks of the Yukon River just outside of Dawson City, Yukon Territory, Canada. We always wanted you to hear it, and now we have the technology, so here they are!

Philippe and Miriam are now home, establishing their new lives in their architect careers. But you can see their website with the complete story of their trip.



15:05 minutes (8 MB)

Hobobiker Podcast #5: Juchitan Oaxaca



Zocalo in Juchitan
Zocalo in Juchitan (View on flickr)

(Click the "play" icon above to listen to the podcast. Or go to the podcast page for instructions on how to use Itunes or another Podcast-listening tool.)


There we were sitting in the Zocalo (the main plaza) in the seaside town of Juchitan, Oaxaca, and we thought - we could record some of this for you. So we describe here what we saw and heard that night. We talk about the marimbas playing and how the "food court" works, and the rental-electric cars for the kids. It was a nice evening in the plaza.


10:12 minutes (9.34 MB)

Hobobiker Podcast #6 - Indigenous Healers in San Juan Chamula

San Juan Chamula church
San Juan Chamula church (View on flickr)

Here's the story of our visit to the Chiapas village of San Juan Chamula, where the church hasn't had a mass in 40 years, and it's used exclusively for the village's purposes. The main figure in the church is Saint John the Baptist, not Jesus, and the business inside is about indigenous healers, not about church services. The priests are allowed inside rarely, and only for baptisms.



We also bring you up to date on where we are and why we're not in Guatemala yet (We've been studying Spanish in the lovely city of San Cristóbal de las Casas, probably our last major stop in Mexico.)


17:19 minutes (15.86 MB)

Bike Tourist Podcast Interview



We were recently interviewed on the Bike Tourist Podcast and Gabriel said we could post the file here. Enjoy!

If you don't already subscribe to Gabriel's excellent podcast, sign up! biketourist.podomatic.com.




76:25 minutes (52.54 MB)

Podcast: What we're doing in Guatemala

Tagged:  •    •  


Clara Ajsoc and her family
Clara Ajsoc and her family (View on flickr)
We thought we'd explain to you what we're doing in Guatemala and tell you some of the stories of the women we've interviewed for Friendship Bridge and Kiva.org. We spend most of our time going out to little villages and meeting wonderful women who have started their own little "microbusinesses" using Friendship Bridge loans. The picture is of Clara Ajsoc, the wonderful woman we mention who raised her cow and started a milk and cheese business.


22:05 minutes (8 MB)

Podcast: Friendship Bridge Women of Nebaj

maria brito bernal near Nebaj
maria brito bernal near Nebaj (View on flickr)

We remember so very many women and have so many stories to tell from our time in Guatemala - we thought we'd just tell a few stories. Read on for lots of pictures and a slideshow of the women.

Maria Brito

To get to Maria Brito's house, we rode our bikes just up into the skirts of the valley where Nebaj is. As you leave the city (or town, really) you end up right away in green cornfields with people's houses scattered among them. Before long, you get to the end of the electricity lines, and well beyond the paved road, and end up on a muddy track headed up the hill. That's where Maria's house is. When we first met her, we thought "Oh, she's pretty poor" because she lived in a shack that she herself would not consider a house, with no electricity and with the water spigot across the road (at least she had one). But like many of the women we met, her dignity and friendliness transformed her right before our eyes from someone to be pitied into a woman to be honored, repected, and treasured.


42:58 minutes (8 MB)

Podcast: Interview with Scot Domergue, our riding buddy in Guatemala



Scot riding around Lake Amatitlan with his Bike Friday Pocket Llama
Scot riding around Lake Amatitlan with his Bike Friday Pocket Llama (View on flickr)

After corresponding on the internet for quite some time, we finally got to meet. Scot had ridden down to Guatemala from his start in Zihuatenejo, Mexico, and was studying Spanish in Quetzaltenango. He rode over to Antigua to meet us and we rode together for several delightful days before Scot had to return to get ready for his flight back to the U.S.

One thing we wanted to have Scot talk about and forgot: Look at how light his load is. He's carrying less than half of what we carry, and still has a tent and sleeping bag (but no stove or cooking utensils). We're tremendously impressed and inspired and sure would like to learn from him. Stay tuned!



16:09 minutes (5.94 MB)