The Quiet Ripple Defines The Pond

After my exertions driving over from Batopilas, I luxuriate.

Luis and Teresa’s garden is on the bank of the Urique River, which abounds in small trout, black headed vultures and great blue herons hang around the banks. The garden is full of beautiful flowers, fruit and cacti.

Teresa cooks me breakfast and dinner over a wood fire. She squeezes liters of fresh passion fruit and grapefruit juice. She washes and presses my rancid clothes, whilst Luis cleans my truck. I did not ask – they suggested.

Anyway feeling unco happy, Luis takes me to see Pepe the welder. He fixes up my exhaust pipe no problem but for some reason disconnects the negative battery lead.

Things go badly wrong. Disconnecting the lead upsets the engine computer. Upset? She is enraged!

The motor starts with difficulty but cuts out at low revs. It will not idle. Oh dear. With my usual optimism I feel it will be alright in the morning; strangely it is not. I suppose electronic systems do not just get better by themselves. Hmmm? Urique is the wrong place to get your engine computer control system reset.

What next?

Almost exactly 2 years ago I spent some delightful days in Urique.https://thequietripple.com/2019/01/15/eureka/ They were as pleasurable as the journey to get there had been terrifying! https://thequietripple.com/2019/01/14/road-to-ruin/

There are 2 roads out of Urique, the main one that I came in on and another mountain road over to Batopilas. I intended to take that road but the recent heavy rain had made it very muddy, slippery and generally muy, muy, peligroso. I chicken and take the road I came in on, which is only peligroso.

Finding myself in Batopilas, I feel honor bound to take the mountain road to Urique.

Folks in Batopilas tell me that it will take about 4 hours. Behind the town there is a sheer rock cliff that must be 1000 meters high. I see no way that you can drive up something like that .

Every thing starts well and the noble Tacoma, in 4 wheel drive and low ratios, grinds up to the bottom of the cliff. Then the exhaust pipe falls off. I notice this because of loud clattering and much enhanced engine noise. Oh dear.

I manage to rig it again using a bit of string and a USB cable. This works fine for about 10 minutes then more crashing and loud engine noise. I refine my USB cable set up and change string. Remarkably, this stay strong until I eventually get to  Urique many hours later.

Batopilas used to be center of silver mining and the produce was carried out on mules. This mule track has been widened  a bit to allow one way motor traffic. It is about  4 meters wide, on one side is a dizzying drop and on  the other is the rock face. I try to stay in the middle.

Up and up we go and the most beautiful views unfold. Hundreds of kilometers of mountains and valleys stretch away to infinity. Everything is going swimmingly. My impression was that when you reached the top, you gently worked your way down to Urique. Not really.  

The track goes on and on; up more steep climbs and down vertiginous descents. Of course there are no signs and I try to ignore junctions. I  keep to the road that looks like the most travelled. I meet nobody and I am racked with doubt. Am I going in the right direction? Every time the track starts downhill I convince myself that this must be the final descent into Urique, only to have to labor up another very steep incline in 2 gear of low ratios. During the whole trip I only used 2nd and 3rd gears always in low ratios and never exceeded 10 mph. Crash, bang, lurch, shudder, shake, rock and er roll. It is hard going.

I do not want to give the wrong impression, the trip, although very nerve-wracking, is glorious!  The mountains, the canyons, the sky, the isolation ! This is the real thing. I am lost in Mexico in a 4WD truck. What more could you want?

After about 5 hours, two boys appear from nowhere, first people I have seen. I point down the track, “Urique?” They look at each other hunch their shoulders and say, “Si.”  “Quanto kilometros?”  They look at each other again and one says ten in Spanish.

I am heartened even though I realize they have no idea where Urique is, let alone how far away.

I start a particularly clenching descent. Going down is much worse as each time you go around a hairpin, the front of the truck is right over the  void and the tires only feet from the edge.

My courage is rewarded by the occasional small farm and the lower we go, the more signs of human activity. I realize we are finally heading down towards the Urique river. I get to Luis and Teresa’s camp site, I mean garden, after nearly 7 hours on the road. I am beat. They remember me and look after me like a long lost relative.

On the wood fire, Teresa cooks me big chiles stuffed with cheese,  there are refried beans, rice. To drink, she gives me liters of passion fruit juice that she has squeezed from fruit from the garden.  This is followed by peaches, from the garden, with syrup. One of the best meals.

This is an epic journey. Everyone should do it.  Hats off to the remarkable Tacoma, her 4 wheel drive, her low ratios. Luis says we can get the exhaust fixed mañana. All is well.

I reach the Mexican border with trepidation. Do I have the right Covid papers? Do I need a recent PCR test? Will they find the guns and drugs?

In fact you just drive through. There is a place where you have to slow down and a machine takes a photo of your truck. Suddenly you find yourself in the insane traffic and loud music of Cuidad Juarez!

No one spoke to me, asked me for my passport, asked for my car insurance etc.

I drive south on the smallest roads I can find. Mexico is very big, the views are even more amazing than the U.S.

One thing I have noticed about small Mexican towns is that they have very, very, few road signs. You drive in but driving out is a different matter and you usually end up with the crows and vultures at the town dump. Having toured the town of Buenaventura a few times I see some road signs. Hooray, but actually boo because lurking behind a big cable and stuff are traffic lights.

I start to cross but a guy is also pulling out from the right and hoots. I stop and wave apologies. There is a rap on my window and there, magically, is a policeman.

He smiles, takes my driving license and invites me to the police station that is conveniently placed by the junction.

The office is full of other criminals who greet me with grins and “Buenos tardes.”

The policeman is very young, maybe 21. He is very polite. He pulls out his cell phone and thanks to Google Translate, which incidentally has completely changed the nature of travel, he shows me the screen. “You disobeyed Red Light signal. Fine 1500 pesos.”

One thing I have learned is never argue with police, custom officers and the like. They always win.

I give him the cash, there is no receipt. I leave. The criminals grin. The whole incident took 15 minutes.

At first I am colonially miffed – such corruption, disgraceful etc. Then I reflect on getting a ticket a ticket in most countries, maybe court appearance and eventual payment of fine, maybe 3 months of hassle. I am miffed no longer. I hope the young man buys his señorita a beautiful gift.

I drive south through wonderful mountains and plains.

I camp at the Cascada de Cusarare.

This is on the edge of the Copper Canyon where the Tamahumara people live. The women wear brilliant, coats of many colors.

I camp by the river. It is ideal; gentle river and friendly horses.

I then head for Batopilas, a tiny town at the bottom of a gorge that is apparently deeper than the Grand Canyon. The road down the sheer rock face of the canyon is truly scary.

One good thing about Covid is that there are no foreign tourists anywhere, except me.

The town is beautiful.

It is Sunday morning. The church bells ring, the mass is well attended and it sounds as if a woman is leading the rite. I am too shy to stare in.

Tomorrow, I attempt the mountain road to Urique, where I went a couple of years ago. https://thequietripple.com/2019/01/14/road-to-ruin/

The road, dirt, to Urique goes right over the mountain and everyone agrees that it is ‘muy peligroso’

Oh well, I suppose I have to do it. I am constantly reminded that due to my advanced age, that I will not have the chance again.

I think the Apache must have been great birdwatchers. Their Bosque is outstanding.

I have been here before but it did not work out very well, https://thequietripple.com/2019/01/07/the-apache-curse/

This time the weather is perfect. I stay in a campsite about 5 miles from the reserve. It has flat ground, tables and little noise. It is however extremely cold. Thank God my heater is working in the camper otherwise I would have been found Scott-like. The mornings are tough as without gloves it its impossible to operate, yet with gloves, it is impossible to make coffee due to clumsiness.

I take photos of birds.

I stay for 3 wonderful days. Tomorrow, I negotiate the Mexican border. I hope they let me in!

Have I bitten off more than I can chew? Probably.

I have set off for epic birdwatching trip and am now near the New Mexico/ Mexico border. The plan is spend time here, then drive down through Mexico to San Blas in Nayarit, subsequently drive back across Mexico to shoot out into Texas. I then birdwatch in Corpus Christi before heading off to Charlotte NC to scrounge off Ben. Then drive back to San Francisco.

Seems like a good idea but whether the truck and I have the resilience remains to be seen.

I set off but after a few blocks I realize that I cannot make this trip and turn back home. I have forgotten my passport.

I surge down to Southern California to pick up remnants of Route 66.

I love driving down U.S. back roads. The space is incredible, nothing but desert, scrub an d huge blue skies for hours.

Anyway, you get the idea and after 5 days of semi roughing it I check in to a Motel in Socorro. I need a shower and an internet connection.

So I am now clean and ready for the next stage which is obsessive birdwatching.

Happy New Year everybody!

I got my booster shot today. Very easy! You get the shot in a pharmacy. You book an appointment online and just wander in.

Very different from the huge gymnasium where I had my first jabs in Okinawa.

I checked in and waited for 5 minutes. A very small Russian lady, who is probably a lot older than me, leads me to a sort of storage room and jabs me.

Everyone is very sweet and helpful and it is all free. I wonder if the vaccination process may start U.S. crazies wondering if having a health service might be a good thing.

James and Diane spent the New Year holidays in the truck and camper, snuffling around the coastal forest somewhere near Mendocino. They found kilos of mushrooms. What you see above is only a small sample. James is an expert mushroomer. Beef and mushroom pie tonight!

Happy holidays everyone!

Off we go to spend Xmas Day at Point Reyes. This has become a bit of a tradition. https://thequietripple.com/2019/12/28/wool/

It is very Scottish weather-wise. It is cold, wet, windy, grey to dark. James is an excellent companion as he revels in bad weather as does Diane, which is more surprising as she’s a Californian girl.

We intend to have a slap up oysters and fish lunch in one of the many restaurants that line Tomales Bay. No good; all closed.

No worries; we head for Point Reyes. Diane has brought some dry bread and cheese and we envisage a less than sumptuous, convict themed, Xmas lunch.

Everything is closed except for the Inverness Store. The lady makes us fantastic sandwiches, Avocado and shrimp for James, Club for Diane and I get a Reuben. Forget your turkey and stuff these sandwiches were the best!

Point Reyes is deserted apart from us and nature things. Bull Elephant Seals have started to show up on the beaches.

You can walk right up to them if you so wish. They do not seem to be concerned by our proximity.

Filled with fresh air, we drive back to San Francisco. An elaborate Xmas dinner is planned but none of us can face cooking. A slice of cheese, a glass of red wine and early to bed! Probably my most abstemious Xmas ever.

I have written before about snugness and cosiness, I crave both. I can’t get it in Okinawa, they just don’t sell it.

West Highland winters are long, wet, cold and dark. For thousands of years my ancestors hunched around peat fires, wrapped in wool plaids as the rain pounded on the turf roof and the westerly gales howled around the walls of whatever cabin they had been able to erect. No point going outside as there is nothing to do anyway. The fields are waterlogged and the beasts that have survived the autumn slaughter are snuggling around the peat fire too.

A need to return to this semi hibernation is strong in me. So thanks ancient Gods for the cold, wet, windy weather that has enveloped San Francisco.

I lie on my sofa in front of the wonderful gas fire for days. I read excellent novels and plan routes around Mexico. It is so cosy, so snug, I am so happy.

I occasionally go for a breath of fresh air.

I used to work with Brad at SLAC. He rightly chucked in the Science Communication stuff for a real job. He now makes vodka, gin and absinthe.

Buy as much Farallon Gin, Vodka or Absinthe as you can afford. It is an investment.

Before the Scottish weather arrived, we were blessed with sun and warmth. The Panhandle Park, just across the road, was full of activity.

Soon be Christmas! What to eat?

So, I intend to make a Homeric birdwatching trip to the middle of Mexico, then back across Mexico to pop out somewhere in Texas. Next, I will negotiate the Southern states to pop out in North Carolina to visit Ben. Finally, drive across country back to San Francisco.

My only worry about this trip is truck suspension. Poor little Tacoma is carrying a lot of weight. I have already fitted airbags to boost the suspension but I do not trust them. They sometimes blow or leak. I used to have a Range Rover that had air bags for suspension – useless. https://thequietripple.com/2012/08/24/v8/

The idea of an air bag singular, or airbags plural, blowing on some lonesome trail in a gulch somewhere in the mountains of Guadalajara is disquieting.

I decide to install an extra leaf in the rear springs. This will take the weight off the air bags and generally stiffen the rear suspension.

I go to A-1 Springs in Oakland. You should go there too.

I drop off the truck at 08:00 and ask Ruben, the owner, where I can get breakfast. He says he doesn’t know anywhere close by and when I show him a diner not too far away on Google Maps, he says ominously,”You don’t want to go there.”

I protest that it will be OK. It can only be a 20 minute walk and I have lots of time. ” No man, you can’t walk down there, I’ll give you a ride.”

He does and I have the best breakfast.

I am the only non African American anywhere to be seen but everyone is very sweet to me; probably because I am an old timer.

I have time to kill and so I go to the Oakland Zoo. I love zoos and the one in Oakland is excellent. Go there! It is on the side of a mountain and has incredible views over the huge animal enclosures across the bay to San Franciso.

Around lunchtime I get a call from Ruben; the truck is done!

Great day! Truck rock solid, best breakfast, lots of animals and driving over the Bay Bridge always thrills me.

Well not really; the animals that we go to look for are correctly called Californian Sea Otters but to me they look more like beavers than otters.

James and I prepare little; boat, Minn Kota, bedding, camera with big lens. We head down towards Elkhorn Slough.

Our luck is of course excellent and we find a launching slip, quite a long way up the estuary, that is the ideal place to spend the night. https://www.google.com/maps/place/Elkhorn+Slough/@36.8188011,-121.7878393,13.23z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x808e042d372ed89f:0x51eaddce6f585aac!8m2!3d36.8325072!4d-121.765131

It is Thanksgiving, but we have no food, having assumed that we could find a restaurant. Big mistake, all restaurants are closed. We stumble across a Tacos van in nearby Castroville.

The food is excellent and we have a memorable Thanksgiving dinner in the camper, low on turkey but high on tacos, nachos and burritos.

It is a beautiful morning as we glide out into the slough. Hundreds of pelicans and terns are diving all around us. The electric motor makes no noise and we go vey slowly.

Memorable Thanksgiving!