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Wonderful People

Name WP Datesort icon Body
Martin the Schoolteacher 19 February 2007 Martin is the school master in the tiny town of Guasima south of Guaymas. We needed a place to sleep and he let us sleep in a classroom in the school, where all the kids were fascinated with us. And they invited us to dinner (marvellous). We learned lots.
Martin 22 February 2007 We were late finding a place to stay, and didn't find one in the village of Pueblo Yaqui, so went out of town a little ways. We stopped and asked Martin, and he kindly set us up with a place for our tent. And he gave us a nice breakfast cooked on his outdoor fire in the morning.
Maria Ramona Aragon Barrerra 4 March 2007 We stoppped late in the day just to et a refresco, but were asking about where to spend the night. Maria said "anybody will let you stay at their place". But she fixed us up some food too, and we dawdled, and we asked to stay there. They took marvelous care of us in the tiny dusty village of El Carrizal.
Leba Shaw and Roger Lewis 4 March 2007 Leba is a gringa living near Alamos, and an extremely experienced bike tourist. Nancy broke her kickstand just as we were arriving at her place, and Leba offered to take us back into town, where we cannibalized the kickstand off of one of their bikes... It's still working a few days later at least. THANKS Leba and Roger!
Efrén Perez and family 9 March 2007

Efrén and family turned out to be some of the most impressive people we've met on the trip. Humirá is right before the really big climb out of the second canyon out of Creel, and we got there about 4:30, knowing we had about 25K and more than 2000 feet of climbing ahead of us. We stopped to chat with a farmer out working *with his whole family* on clearing trimmed wood from their apple orchard. When we decided to bail for the night we rode back and asked them if we could stay at their place. That's how we met Efrén. We helped with the wood-hauling until dusk, and then set up the tent. They fed us beautiful blue corn tortillas in the evening (we got to see the whole process).

Anyway, you might want to meet Efrén and his wife Lola some time. They live in a tiny two room house with no electricity or running water, but struck us as some of the most integral people we've ever met. It was amazing to see the girls studying by the little car-battery-driven light (on Friday night) and talking with Efrén about what their life is like and such. Although they're what we would consider quite poor in resources, they are community leaders - the day we left they had organized a community-wide highway trash pickup. And Lola is a community health worker.

Efrén would someday like to organize a foundation that could somehow channel help to the people who have even less than he does, especially Tarahumara but also the very poor mestizos. He invited us to come back after our trip and help set it up.
Candelario Viniegra 10 March 2007 I met Candelario on my 2003 trip to Copper Canyon. He was then teaching in a tiny school in a remote village (not reachable by car) and we chatted and hiked a bit in the afternoon. We've kept in touch, and visited and stayed with them where he teaches now, in Samachique. He took us out to see his favorite caves and treated us to a wonderful evening of delightful hospitality. Thanks, Candelario!
Josefina Tarin, Dionisio Villalobos and family 17 March 2007 Josefina and Dionisio took us into their home off the streets of Balleza after dark with no reason at all except their exceptional kindness. Then they made us stay for Sunday rest day. They fed us and housed us and taught us how to make tamales. Some of our favorite people of all time. Thanks!
Jean-Guy Fournier and the crew 19 March 2007 Jean-Guy and Lucille and Claude and Madeleine took us down to Batopilas in their truck. They didn't have much spare room, but they gave us the best seats in the truck for the incredible descent from Samachique to Batopilas. It was a delightful way to see the countryside and so much nicer than the bus - we were able to stop many times for pictures, and we have new friends. Thanks!
Luis Fernando Cardenas Landeros of the Ferretera del Centro, Durango, Mexico 29 March 2007 We walked into this hardware store, and Luis helped us with gluing a GPS case back together. He just did the job, no questions. Helped as well as he could. Was friendly and helpful. And then he wouldn't even let us pay *anything* for it. THANKS, Luis.
Andrei Montero and Dulce Montiel 22 April 2007 Andrei and Dulce (the Cyclonauts, or ciclonautas) did our trip from Queretaro to Tierra del Fuego starting in 1998, with hardly any resources. We were inspired by their trip and spent a delightful day seeing Queretaro and going to the hot springs with them. We'll try to post their story on the site...

You can read their entire story here
Javier Fuentes and Gema Lugo 24 April 2007 Javier stopped us on the road to ask about the trip and then invited us home! We spent a delightful evening with them chatting about everything there is to chat about. They took us out to an ancient aqueduct and we walked on it and speculated about its past. And they arranged a dental appointment for Nancy! People like this continue to be the most important part of our trip.
Analilia Quintanar Romero 25 April 2007 Analilia is a dentist, and cleaned Nancy's teeth. Not only did she fit Nancy in (with no notice) on her day off, but then she wouldn't even accept payment. Thanks Analilia!
Elders in La Reforma 30 May 2007 We got to the top of the last hill before the coast at dusk, just barely made it. The folks in the village were all ready for us and set us up with a wonderful situation in their meeting room, and one of the kids even took us to his grandmother's house so we could take a shower (splashing wellwater on ourselves). There was no running water in this village, and their wells barely could support the village, at this late time leading into the rainy season.
Santiago at Rizo de Oro 5 June 2007 We arrived at the top of the mountains at the village of Rizo de Oro near the end of the day. We asked if there was some place we could stay, and Santiago arranged for us to stay in the Alcoholics Anonymous rooms. He opened the bathrooms for us. It was really a treat. Very kind village.
Hector 21 July 2007 We were riding along a questionable cutoff road that we had asked about, but weren't sure about. Hector was riding with us on his way home, and was worried about us, since there had been an assault in the area we were going in recent weeks. He accompanied us to the next village, where a police escort took charge of us.
Police Escort from Pueblo Nuevo 21 July 2007 Juan and his partner noticed us along the back road we were riding and decided we needed an escort, since there had been a recent problem on that isolated stretch. They gave us a police escort all the way to where the road met the highway!
Raisa Dubón, her dad Noé, Rina and Gaby 21 July 2007 Raisa and Noe took us in as we were looking for hospitality in the small town of Santa Maria. There was none. But Raisa, who is a student of English, came up to us and asked in English if we'd like to stay at her house. They took us home and treated us like kings. It was Noe's 54th birthday and we got to share in the party. THANKS!
Raisa Dubón, her dad Noé, Rina and Gaby 21 July 2007 Raisa and Noe took us in as we were looking for hospitality in the small town of Santa Maria. There was none. But Raisa, who is a student of English, came up to us and asked in English if we'd like to stay at her house. They took us home and treated us like kings. It was Noe's 54th birthday and we got to share in the party. THANKS!