Batopilas 15/09/2010

The Road to Batopilas

We were on the road by 9.00am for an expected 5hr (140kms, first 60oddkms on tar and the rest on metal ) drive down the Copper Canon . With us was 2 other Mexician couples (one couple our age the other young , our driver was Martine) . Approx 35kms into our trip and the Van shit itself (dropped a piston as in the photo ) so with that we were for the next 2 hrs, towed, pulled, push and carted on the back of a pick up to the turn off to Batopilas . Where we waited for a new van to arrive from Creel .

When we were final back on the road 2hrs late we finally hit the road to hell 64kms of some of the worst, roughest, and most dangerous road I have ever been on . We were so happy that we took the advice of the people who advised us not to go on the En Moto , as there had been a lot of rain and the washouts were just about undriveable in the 4 wheel drive van we were in (if it had been in NZ no way would we be on the road ) . It was not only the washouts but the entire top of the road had been wash off , leaving only rocks some the size of footballs sticking up . Anyway after 7 hrs we make Batopilas , and we were buggered from being thrown around like a couple of rag dolls for 3 hrs in an oven, as the temp had risin to about 40degs in the van which had no air con and we are only doing about 5 kms hr.

When we got to town it was quite remarkable , after such a shit road and to find such a beautiful little village . It was established 300years ago when silver was descoverd there , they only stopped mining 2 years ago . There is approx 1500 people there and there main income now is tourisium .

The only problem with going down there is that you have to come back up and we not looking foward to that the next day , but we made it the next day and so the Batoplias experiance is over . Not quite as I had planned it , but for the best in the end, as if we had of taken the bike down I would have had doubts that we would have made it in one piece , so alls good and now we are off to Parral approx 370kms .

The food so far

Well the first nite we are in Casa Grandie we ordered a meal,and they bought out before the meal some chips and sauces to start with . So I into it with no caution , a spoon full of this and 2 off that and a hand full of chips , so you can imagine the results . My bloody teeth started to melt and my tongue just about suffered 3 deg burns , I had 3 beers before I even started to get my feeling back in my mouth . Now I eat with a lot more caution and ask the waiter" is this hot or what" (with a lot of hand waving ). With every meal we get refried beans , so for breakfast it is eggs and refried beans , lunch is Tacos and refried beans and Dinner is Tortllias or Borrittos and refried beans .

So our bowl movements are very regular to the point that I have to stop and rush behind the bushes out on the road . But the best thing is that it all costs bugger all, I would say about half to three quarters cheaper than the States , so bring on those refried beans.

The people are very friend and we havent been shot yet (as our American friends said we would ). The language barrier is a big problem but we laugh a lot and they do to, as we try to get things across but in the end we work it out . With all having a lot of fun in the process .

Photos

1 400 year old Cathedral about 7 kms passed Batopilas

2 Batopilas

3 Our Hotel very nice and quite old .

4 5 6 The road to hell

7 The van shitting itself

8 Before the turn off to Batopilas

Casa Grandes/Cuauhtemoc/Creel

The ride from Casa Grandes to Cuauhtemoc was as pretty as we have seen , we climbed some mountians and crossed some of the most beautiful valleys you could see .There were vast open plains being mosty cattle country , the roads were empty of cars with a few very large trucks on very narrow roads . About 50kms before Cuauhtemoc we passed through the vast farms of the Mennonites , they are a religous sect (not unlike the Amish of Americia ). They moved to Mexico from German via Canada back in the 1920s and have not mixed or intermarried with the Mexicians and don't speak Spanish and are very Germanic looking .

Cuauhtemoc

Cuauhtemoc was not what you would call a good looking city, the Hotel we stayed at had bed bugs (not good for a good nites sleep , thank god we had sleeping bag liners to sleep in . But for $17 a nite what else can you expect I suspose . There was a celebration going on in the Plaza , so we had a good nite people watching and there were some characters, we had a lot of fun watching .

Creel

The road to Creel was another great ride again few cars and great scenery , it is completely the opposite of the scenery that we expected . Beautiful farm land and great riding mountian roads, the roads in general were very good but not that wide and a little lumpy .

Creel is not very big but very interesting and a little bit touristy, but bugger all tourists . The Hotel we are in ( called Casa Margarita) is very clean and comes complete with Dinner and breakfast for $24 a nite a real bargin .

We were to have tomorrow off and then go down to Batopilas (the bottom of the Copper Canon ). But we had been told by another Biker (Dr Artoro Macias from Chihuahuas he was riding a BMW) , he stopped us just before Cuauthemoc to ask us where we were going, and if he could help us in anyway and offered us contacts on the way through South America . This is just the kind of help and people we have been running into on the trip so far , just so helpful . Anyway he advised us not to take the bike down to Batopilas (64kms down the Canon all Gravel) because they have had a lot of rain and the road is very badly washed out and that we are to loaded up with weight to go down there . With this in mind I asked some of the locals what they thought and they said the same "Road no good for En Moto to much rain , no good", but I still had it in my head to go . Until we were offered a trip down in a van for $120 including 1 nite accommadation . So we just said bugger it for $120 , why take the risk and damage the bike if the road is as bad as they say . And maybe we will enjoy it a lot more , and also met some other tourists to boot .

So tomorrow we are off to Batopilas

Photos

1/2 On the road to Casa Grandes , Casa Grandes

3/4 On the Road to Cuauhtemoc ,Cuauhtemoec

5. A town on the way to Creel , San Juanito

6/7 Creel and our Hotel Casa Margarita

Tucson/ Tombstone/Bisbee/ Mexicio 11/09/2010

Having had the Bike serviced in Tucson we were off , not that early as we only had 115kms to travel to Tombstone . But not long out off Tucson we were held up for approx 1 hrs on the motorway (a Motorbike cop pulled out in front of a truck , luckly he was not hurt bad ) , then on to Prima Air Musuem . It covers 80acres and has over 300 planes , we had a tour which lasted approx 1hr, it was very interesting but hot and after it had finished we were glad to be back on the bike .

Next to Tombstone (Cowboy Town ) . Tombstone was a mining town (silver) back in the 1800s , they took over $86million worth out of the mine (Imagine what that would be in todays money , Billions ) . It had a population of over 10,000 , mosty miners and a lot of Lawless Cowboys like the McLaurys and Clantons of the OK Coarl fame . The Earp Bros and Doc Hoilday made it famous on the 26th October 1881 with a 30 second gun fight , which saw 3 guys dead and three were wounded . (Morgan Earp died of his wounds after being shot in the back playing pool ).

Tombstone is a theme town being kept like it was back in the1880s , with people wandering around dressed up in period clothes , even the mailman was on a horse dressed up like a Cowboy . We also spent about an hour wondering around Boot Hill Grave Yard, there are over 250 Graves again very intersting .

Next it was off to Bisbee just inside to Boarder , this little town also is of Cowboy fame and rich in history as well as a hugh coppermine just on the out skirts of town .

Here we stayed at the "The Inn at Castle Rock " (as in the photo) a real characater building , we just rode pass and said thats where we will stay . And to top it off it is owned by a Kiwi (Chris Brown from Auckland ) so that was a real treat to top off a wonderful stay .

Mexico

Early morning start to the boarder at Naco , we were the only people there so it went quickly and we were riding off into Mexico , first stop Nuevo Casa Granda . A great ride and great weather , we were stopped at 3 Army Check points on the way but not held up at just waved on . They were searching trucks and the like for drugs i suspose , we are staying in a nice Motel in Casa Granda and tomorrow are off to Cuauhtemoc and then on to Creel

Photos

1 A road in Mexico with flowers down both sides

2 The Inn At Castle Rock Bisbee , Highly recommended for a great place to stay

3 / 4 Tombstone Arizona

5 / 6 Grave s at Boot Hill Tombstone

7/ 8 Us at Pima Air Museum Tucson

Vegas/ Jerome/ Tucson Arizona

LasVegas

4 days was 4 days to long in Vegas , not my kind of city . Well I suppose it was not to bad but the heat was a killer , 108degF day and night (it is like a giant night store heater , during the day it heats up all that concrete and at night lets it go ) . Everyone just seems to wonder around from one Hotel/Casino to the next , and they are hugh (yeah and some of the people as well ) . A Hotel Casino can take up a whole block which can be (what seems like) a mile by a mile or 1.6 kms x1.6kms and be 4 storeys high . The Venetian as in the photo has a Canal System on the second floor with Gondoles taking people for rides just like in Venice . The worst thing about them is that they allow smoking in them , and not being smokers we just notice the smell ,but in saying that ,the higher end ones seem to have better air cons and the smell is not so noticeable .

Anyway Ruth won $12.00 on the pokes so she was happy and that was the extent of our gambling . We did go to 2 shows , the first was a varity show called "Vegas" which was very good and we enjoyed it very much . The second was a live concert by the Doobie Brothers and again very enjoyable (we old Rockerrrs as well as Bikerrrs) .

We were sucked in with our accommodation , we rang from the Information Center for a Room Rate at the Treasure Island Resort right in the Strip (we were told they had the best deal ). It worked out at $85.00 a nite over 4 nites , so we were happy with that and were in with a grin . BUT BUT all is not as it seems in the city of bull shit as we were to find out . They had a fee over and above the Room Rate called a Resort Fee for $22.75 per nite, which we were not told ( I'm pissed ) and they smiled when they gave me my bill (still with only the room rate as agreed ) . It was not until I checked on my Credit Card a/c that it all came out (but I did have a sniff before I went to settle up and was primed for action , but the bill was at the agreed rate ). But the problem now is it is to late to cancel the payment , we have been sucked by the best . When I complained the lady said that it is normal and that it is on all the web sites , so beware . This is not over yet I will keep you posted (arseholes).

Vegas to Jerome

The road from Vegas to Jerome was at most just on a Interstate so just boring as can be , we cover the 430kms(approx) by 2.30pm (we were on the road by 7.30am ) and it was not that hot probable only around 95 deg F (we getting used to the hot weather now) . As we got closer to Jerome it cooled down as Jerome is up on the side of a hill . The road in is very popular with my Bikerrr Mates (you can see in the Photo Da V Strom hangin out with his Harley Mates ) as there are 125 corners in 12 Miles (I know this as they sell tee shirts in Jerome with this on ) . We were told to go to Jerome by a good friend of ours Jenny White from San Fancisco . Back in 1973 she went there because it had been abandoned by a Copper Mining Company and all the houses were left empty . Well a Hippie community started up and the word got round and Hippies started arriving from all over (including Jenny ). So the town was reborn and today it is quite a place to go for a day trip , I guess from people around the area . We stayed in the old Conner Hotel (Jenny wanted me to take a Photo of the bar as it was quite a meeting place back then ). The little town is full of Art Shops and Restaurants and nick nacks shops and has a great outlook over the valley below .

Jerome to Sedona to Tucson

We were told to visit Sedona as it is reputed to be the most beautiful town in America and it would be hard to refute that (there are heaps more places with better views , but as an all over package it is very very pretty ) . It was approx 60kms out of our way but worth the trip .

Again the road to Tucson was pretty similar to the road to Jerome (just desert and hot ) . We are here in Tucson for 2 days to get a new tyre and a service for da Strom , then on to Tombstone for a shoot out at the OK Corral and then on to probably Douglas and Mexico .

Apart from the odd drama which only adds to the adventure we are havin a great time and lovin ever minute .

Just a couple of observations about the USA

The people are very very friendly , polite (even on the roads) and helpful people , the county is very clean and for where i have been largely Graffiti free (even the trains have no Graffiti on them , unlike home )

And the Real Biggie , this is the only country in the world that I have been to (and we have been to a lot of them ) that I enjoy going to a public toilet (in fact I look forward to going to them ) . No matter whether it is a Porto Loo , a long drop, or a road side Toilet they are exceptionally clean and they don't smell , not one of them . I'm going to ring up the NZ government and get them to send over a envoy to investage this phenomenon . Not one had crap written all over the walls (I mean real crap), no writings about who ever was the biggest hore in town etc . In fact I wanted to take a book in and read for awhile ( not a blood chance anywhere else in the world , you are lucky if you can even sit because some dirty bugger has crapped all over the seat . And in NZ you got to be out real quick not only because of the smell but the bloody Mozzies are bitting your arse before you get your pants down (mosty long drops or porto loos).

So bloody good on you America . We loved being here and will come back, not only for the Public Toilets but to enjoy your company .

Because what makes a great country , the people within .

Photos

1. Vegas

2. In side the Venetian Vegas , that is on the second floor not outside

3. The Bar at Jerome ( for Jenny , I could just see her there with her red velvet dress and a flower in her hair )

4. Da V Strom hangin out with his Harley Mates outside the Conner in Jerome

5. The Conner Jerome

6. Not far from Tucson having lunch at a road side stop . Notice Ruth having a great time in the heat, it was so hot that we hardy had to boil the water for a cuppa .