A New Religion

Its been a week and about 300 kilometers since Zacatecas. I have been riding through Mexico like a fly trying to find its way out of a glass box (and by this I mean confused and zig-zagging quite a bit, in case my metaphors are a bit off). The road to Aguascalientes was similar to the road from Durango to Zacatecas, although I started passing through towns a bit more frequently. There was the desert, and some cactus, and some desert ranches with some cows, then some crops, then an industrial zone, then the city. Once again, I passed through a military checkpoint, where all of the guards walked over to me with their 3 ft. long automatic rifles in hand, crowded around me, and laughed as I told them them details of my journey. Ignoring the trucks passing by which were headed north, surely loaded with illegal immigrants and tons of fresh cocaine and marijuana, trying to make it across the border, they all thought me quite brave and quite crazy for taking this trip. I apologize in advance for any contributions my distraction may have caused for any trouble that advances north towards the U.S. border.
The morning before I arrived in Aguascalientes, I woke up and was playing guitar on an old stone wall in the cactus filled ranch I had camped in. From the bushes come a herd of cattle, who upon seeing me, immediately freeze. As the rest of the group crowded together to protect the youngens, the two bravest headed towards me, testing the waters. Not knowing whether to run or stay put, I decided to continue with the riff I was playing. The cows did not like my song. They bolt in the direction from which they had come, one getting stuck on a vicious looking cactus. I cringed as the cow wrestled to free itself from the spiny plant, and as it finally did.
Aguascalientes was nothing to write home about, so I didn't, until now. Notable incidents were the hosts I stayed with there. Mane (with an accent on the 'e' - an occupational therapist originally from Argentina), lives with her boyfriend Andres (a web designer originally from Veracruz, Mexico) in a little place about seven blocks from the central plaza. Very nice people, they invited me into their home for the night, and invited their friend Evelina, a flamenco singer originally from Argentina, to join us for conversation over a few beers around the dining room table. I found it very difficult trying to explain how I make my own beer in Spanish, but nonetheless enjoyed all the pleasant conversation and the interesting Argentinian dialect. In the morning, Mane presented me with the gift of a small bag of yerba mate and a bombilla with which I can drink it. I now can get my morning fix off of mateine, and not the caffeine with which I have grown accustomed. Among other things talked about, we discussed the route I would take, and we all decided it would be best for me to head east towards San Luis Potosi. As I head east from San Luis I will have to cross the Sierra Madres Oriental, which will put me in tropical land, closer to the gulf of mexico, and enveloped in more indigenous culture and natural beauty. Sounds good to me. Lets do it.
The two day ride from Aguascalientes to San Luis Potosi took me northeast on a very gradual climb through some mesas and valleys until I came to a river, damned to form a lake. I was impressed with how clean the water looked, as I have become quite used to the filthy sludge that most creeks and rivers look like in Mexico. To say the least, I was quite refreshed. I followed the now trickle of a river into San Luis Potosi, which again boasted beautiful cathedrals and old colonial buildings surrounding central plazas and city parks bustling with people moving in and out of restaurants, cafes, electronics stores, clothes stores, and one stop quicky markets. Here I waited until dusk came, at which point I rode the 2km to meet a friend of my sister from San Francisco.
Braulio, originally from Mexico City (D.F. -distrito federal - as most Mexicans call it here), got his phD in the U.S. in Biophysics and has returned to his home country, unlike many others who study abroad, to investigate the movement of neurotransmitters along nerve cells. It was fun to dork out with a fellow scientist for a little while and talk deep, hidden biology. I was able to go with him to the newly built institute here in San Luis Potosi while he worked on writing for a grant and I wondered around the building and read about the upcoming sights of my journey in a book that he lent me about the Ruta Huasteca (more to come on this area soon...).
Afterwards, we met up with the owner of Braulio's house (who lives and works in Oakland, CA, but was in town visiting his sick mother), Ray, and Ray's nephew Lalo at the San Luis Potosi (brown and navy blue jerserys) and Cruz Azul (white and blue - one of Mexico City's 3 professional soccer teams) soccer game. The stadium seemed small and simple. Made of concrete, it was only two main levels. Of these levels, which circumnavigated the entire stadium, you could get tickets for Cabecero (the heads, at the north or south ends, behind the goals), or Sol Numerados (the sides, where depending on when you arrived, you could get fantastic sideline seats, or not as good, a bit higher). The tickets were 100 pesos for Sol Numerado and 60 for Cabecero, and they were sold out of Sol, so we had to get Cabecero. Ray and Lalo already had Sol tickets, and though the plan was to sneak us two spare Sol tickets so we could join them on the sidelines, this didn't happen until ten minutes before the game ended. The lines to get into the stadium extended into streets and parking lots int the surrounding neighborhoods, and kids tried to bum change as you bought your ticket so they could get a piece of the action as well. After getting inside, we walked up a ramp to the north head end and stood at the top, on a deck that walked around the whole stadium, with checkpoints at the sides which you could not pass without a Sol ticket. The crowd was a bit tamer than I expected. A large cheering section at the north end belted out song after song, led by some horns and drums, and standing, moved their arms to the beat back and forth the ENTIRE game. Vendors walked by with buckets of beer and cardboard boxes with bags of churros, chips and hot sauce, and bowls of peanuts and hotsauce. Instead of pigeons flying in the lights above, there were bats, neurotically chasing insects, and there was no announcers voice or loud music blasting from any loud speakers. In fact, there no was no scoreboard either. For a pro game in a country where this sport is religion, the whole show seemed incredibly down to earth. With no timeouts for commercial breaks and an incredibly weak halftime show, the two 45 minute haves went incredibly quick. As far as the game went, San Luis lost 2 - 1, their only goal coming late in the 2nd half when unfortunately we had finally met up with Ray and Lalo and were making our way down to the second row. Those two seemed to be having a much more livelier time, with beer and chips smothered in sauce flowing pretty steadily.
After the game, we waited around till the crowd cleared and caught a taxi to Lalo's mom's house. Lalo's two older brothers were there with their wives and several small children, as well as his pregnant wife, mom, and dad. The mom fed us tacos with beans, beef, chorizo, cheese, salsa, and sauteed onions, and showed me how to officially make a Michelada (ice, salt, lime, soy sauce, horseradish, and your beer of choice). I learned here at the table that you can tell who is the big eater by the way he holds his taco (pinky up, plate in hand directly below - a little dainty if you ask me), as well as the difference between tequila and mezqual, and aguardiente. Of course I was obliged to try them all. They were fascinated by my trip and thought me a bit crazy to be planning the route east, although they all agreed it will be the prettiest, and much safer than going through Michoacan and Guerrero. After supper we sat in the living room and listened to Lalo's older brother sing and play songs on the guitar. I, of course, forgot all the words to every song I could have played for them. Lalo, the youngest brother, made jokes throughout the night, and his parents happily enjoyed their children, grandchildren, and guests, providing whatever snacks and refills were needed. I felt warm, welcome, and as the night wore on, very tired, so we returned home close to 2:30am and I fell quickly asleep. Today I plan to head east toward Ciudad Valles and to greener sights.
I posted some new pictures...


Tidbits....
I pass by the occasional dead animal on the road. These include foxes, dogs, coyotes, rabbits, cats, skunks, and even cows. You can tell that its coming from the stench that precedes it.
I bought a small guitar in Zacatecas. Small and lightweight, it fits nicely into a case that rides on my bike without very much hinderance at all. It is nice being able to put chords to the songs I write in my head all day long while pedaling through Mexico.