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The real road to Real de Catorce

michaellmcc

New member
The plan: See Real de Catorce by a roundabout journey, starting in McAllen, via Reynosa – Santiago – Galeana - Real de Catorce - La Florida – Huasteca Biosphere Preserve - Ciudad Victoria – Reynosa – McAllen. Travel by highway, byway, farm road, mountain road. Climb mountains, see waterfalls, enjoy the country and its people, see the sights.

The reality: It was a dark and stormy night. And day. Several, in fact. Dark and stormy nights and days. The rain fell in torrents, except when it was replaced by dense ground-level clouds…some say fog...through which we rode, in the Sierra Madre Oriental. The bouncing headlights belonged to the bikes that struggled against the wet roads, clouds, and darkness. Yet it was in sunny Old Mexico that our adventure took place.

I’m not one to do the “PAYE” approach to a ride report, i.e., struggle with poor or slow internet and try to post the story and photos as it’s unfolding. I prefer instead to summarize after the fact, in photo, movie, and song, so this is a couple of weeks after returning to the USA. I’m not sayin’ anyone’s interested or anything like that. But if they were, interested in Old Mexico, they could read on. A band of roving riders on motorcycles, where they went and what they saw. The battles they fought. The bandidos they dodged. Down in Old Mexico. Roughing it. Unarmed. No military escort. Equipped with little more than the basics – cash, credit cards, and some pretty expensive motorcycles (that they sure didn’t want to break). We’re talking down in Old Mexico.

We crossed the border at McAllen. While we saw plenty of water on the trip, probably the deepest water we rode through was in a low spot in Reynosa. I know it rained a lot, but in this low spot it was really deep, and really smelly… Then, after clearing the border and just getting rolling south of town, the worst fears of every John and Jane Doe in the good ol' USA were realized: Would-be, dare I say, bogus, Federales brought us to a halt and demanded a payoff. Little did they know, but the GoPro was running, and I captured it on film:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqomZQMZQCQ

After our ordeal, on to Santiago, meaning Nuevo Leon, south of Monterrey, not one of the other thousand or so "Santiagos" in the Spanish speaking world. The Las Palomas Hotel was very good, they let us park in the dry basement, and they had a nice fireplace in the sitting room. On the way to Santiago, I think we crossed some mountains, ascending through clouds, topping out above, then descending and doing the curves alongside a lake. But I could be wrong. Lots of rain and wet roads and a fogged-up face shield, which was a recurring problem, meant that I can’t be sure.

Day Two we rode up and down the mountains again, visited a nice waterfall park, and traversed from Santiago to Galeana, via the road less traveled. We stayed in a nice little hotel. No complaints, and great to be able to get “somewhat” drier, relatively speaking.

The objective on Day Three was our titular destination, Real de Catorce, a colonial mining town that was founded in the 18th Century, and that sits high in the mountains. After about twenty miles and a several thousand foot climb on a cobblestone road, in the dark, then through a 2-mile tunnel, which was not nearly as dark as the road up the mountain, we arrived in Real. And the darkness up the mountain was dark, despite the two new blinding LED lights on the front of the “JD” (see explanation below). Up the cobblestone streets to our hotel. When I looked at Google Earth it didn't tell me the streets in the town would be so steep.

So the first three days of our trip were Wet Wet Wet - not the 80’s pop group, but the weather, the roads, the riders.

We stayed two nights in Real, allowing one day to walk around the town, between showers. The next riding day was Rough, Rough, Rough. A lot of off-road miles, winding in and up and down the mountains between Real and a small “resort” at La Florida. All conditions - gravel, rocks, big rocks, mud, etc. I'm grateful for the new, water cooled R1200JD, as in "John Deere" (even though I didn't get the optional green & yellow paint job). I just chugged along, last in the group, which is my usual place. The former MX riders on the lighter bikes like to go fast. When they fall off, they get up, lift the bike, take off again. Not possible with the JD, at least not for me, so I try like the devil to avoid falling.

Part of the group continued to seek "dirt". Now common sense would say there is no dirt, only mud, after so much rain. Two forays onto the antithesis of blacktop, “browntop”, resulted in turning back both times. Others stuck to the pavement, and there were still plenty of places to ride and things to see. And get to the spa at a more reasonable hour.

We stayed a night at the Spa La Florida near Jaumave, in little brick cabanas with thatched roofs. They more or less kept the cold in and the water out. More or less. But as usual, they treated us very nicely and we enjoyed a brief respite at the spa, including massages, and a wonderful dinner that began with micheladas and margaritas, and finished with a wonderful chocolate dessert. Roughing it.

Next stop was a modern inn in Gomez Farias. Two nights. Dry out. See more mountains in a biosphere preserve. Eat well. Then, head for Ciudad Victoria and the aging Hacienda Santa Engracia. Again, nice people and good food, but not a lot of hot water. After a night there, shoot up the highway to Reynosa and cross back to McAllen.
Everyone was eager, thankful, and quite emotional about crossing back into the USA. Where we all know it's safe.:nod

So the highs and lows - but there weren’t really any lows – of a great trip:

There were occasional visits, but no run-ins, with state police, army, and Federales.

No bandidos - other than the friendly ones. Most heinous crime we experienced was being short-changed at a gas station.

No one had a serious accident – not counting falling over in the mud. Only one bike broke (no, it wasn’t a BMW).

Food was excellent and plentiful. Carta Blanca, Tecate, and Dos Equis proliferated, and the waiters always understood “una mas margarita, por favor”. Contrary to the song by Brooks & Dunn, the chips and salsa were never gone.

Montezuma didn’t show.

Hotels ranged from fabulous – the Renaissance in McAllen, Las Palomas in Santiago, Cumbres Inn in Gomez Farias - to fair. Blankets were plentiful, so beds were warm. Couldn’t always say the same for the “hot” water in a couple of them.

The greatest danger I faced was a continually fogged-up face shield, wet inside and out, when riding in the cold rain in the mountains. Trying to see and ride and navigate, while regularly attempting to wipe it off with a wet glove, meant I might have missed a few sights, but thank goodness I didn’t miss any of the curves.

Artistic license means this little movie may or may not represent the real story. But it’s my story and I’m sticking to it. As always, much better in Imax or full screen, in your author’s opinion, and with your speakers turned up: https://vimeo.com/123232298
 
I like your style! This one really warmed my heart. Give my best to Don Chuy. Sorry he missed it.
Suerte, Pancho
 
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