Up early and on the road in a light drizzle……Sabinas is not that large but with the lack of signs we had difficulty finding our way out of town….this would not be the last for the day. We followed 57 S to Saltillo and encountered our 1st toll….35 pesos…..just beyond the toll was a series of roadside dinners…….we went in and pointed at the things cooking as we were lost with the menu ……..worked out…we left happy.
SHORT WHILE LATER ANOTHER TOLL……35 pesos…..again we are lost but in luck the good looking toll agent looks at my map and points to our location and gives me directions in English…she notes my astonishment and says she is American. Onward into the town of El Potosi which we missed in the pouring rain and had to turn back. Now this town could be out of an early western movie except it had some broken pavement and had been in neglect for some time….like years….potholes you could lose a bike in….run down buildings…dogs and horses everywhere. The people friendly and all wanting to pint us in a different direction. We must have been the 1st Gringos ever to enter this place which was well off the hwy as it seemed people were coming out on the street from buildings we thought where abandoned to see these two misfits. Regret not having taken some pics there…..this is the real Mexico. Back out to hwy 57; our map is wrong as the turn we need is # 58 hwy which is 15 k further down but you need to take # 60 which is 58 how is that for confusion. The early part of the road is under construction and a barrier is up on our side….detour is in to oncoming traffic…which we don’t meet….its rough and we are happy when we are able to get back to blacktop but watch out….traffic heading our way and though we are on pavement a second layer must have been applied Friday just down the road….they cleaned the hopper where they stopped paving and left it our lane…its a foot high…shit to late to break …swerve into oncoming traffic splitting lanes…no one hurt we made it……..short time later we come to the end of the nice wide two lane and at an S curve our lane ends with a barrier…we again swerve into the left lane which is not wide enough for two vehicles …..the left lane is 2 feet below us……we get through in time to meet a tractor trailer…..we are lucky but that’s the way things are here…expect the unexpected.
Tonight after riding, in rain and fog a paved road that has as many twist and S curves as the Dragon….but with a cliff drop on one side and no guard rails, we stopped in a mountain town called Iturbide. This village is gorgeous and when we asked for directions to a hotel we found it closed….a lady walking down the street saw us try the door and she raced back up the hill and the proprieter came down and opened the hotel allowing us to park in the lobby. Beautiful place, we are the only tenants……our current route is towards Veracruz on the Gulf Course.
Mountain roadside vendor who gave us name of hotel…….it just amazes me how friendly and helpful every person has been….I have never encountered so many happy people in my life as here in Mexico.
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