Mexico called and said it missed me.
My friend MotoHank asked me come along with him on a short 3 day trip to Real de Catorce with a couple of other riders. Hank and the others had to get back quickly to San Antonio, but I decided I'd stay a bit longer and return by myself.
Leaving DFW, I headed south to Austin for lunch with a MotoBro, then on to San Antonio where I hung out with a few of Hank’s riding buddies at La Tuna before ending up in Dilley for some shuteye. The next day at Hank's shop I had the bittersweet surprise of seeing my old 1998 R1100GS Anniversary with its new owner from San Antonio. Since I was planning to ride from Alaska to the tip of South America, I’d decided a newer moto would be the ticket and had purchased a slightly used BMW R1200GSA. It felt a bit strange to see my bike rolling in with a different rider after all the years of adventures, but Saul turned out the be the perfect new owner. This would be the first trip of any substance on my new-to-me R1200GSA. I was looking forward to getting some real road and terrain time on it, having ridden it only in the DFW area where I'm camped temporarily.
My new baby…
Sunday morning we all met at Hank’s shop, flew down I-35 and hit Nuevo Laredo for Immigration and Vehicle Importation paperwork. Sunday is a good day to travel since the immigration lines are minimal at the border and traffic is a little less in Monterrey.
Our goal was the magic little village of Real De Catorce, a long day’s ride from Laredo if one pushes it, however our plan was to spend the night south of Monterrey in Santiago and then cut across the Sierra Madre mountains the next day to Real.
We throttled out of the border town by 10-ish for our destination, Santiago, a beautiful and peaceful town a little south of Monterrey. Dodging and lane splitting in Monterrey is always fun, but there was no traffic and we moved through easily.
The square in Santiago was in full swing when we arrived late in the afternoon, with live music playing, families and children filling the park. The church overlooking the center had services going with a street festival on the flagstone road adjacent. Sitting in the plaza, I was struck by the wholesomeness of the scene - families laughing and playing, lovers holding hands on park benches, elderly couples dressed up and strolling slowly. It is a rich experience and one I wish I could see in the United States.
After getting checked into the lodgings, we explored the street market and wandered the little town, climbing the elevated viewing plaza that overlooks the valley to one side and the town on the other.
As the day waned, we found a small restaurant for a meal and then continued wandering the streets.
My three riding partners for this excursion…
Hank, aka “MotoHank”, BMW mechanic, photographer and world traveller
Larry, landscape architect…
Patrick, graphic designer and world moto traveller
By the time we’d finished our meal it was getting dark and we hung out on the plaza to catch the evening entertainment and sights.
The fresh mountain air and a gentle midnight rain sang sweet lullabies through the open windows of the hotel that evening.