Southern Mexico

We managed to skirt by most of the Dia de La Virgen de Guadalupe traffic by use of the Arco Norte tollway. It was our most expensive toll road yet, but well worth the time saved. There were buses and cars all decorated with tinsel and shrines to the Virgen but we were far away from most of the celebration. We made it to the flying site near Puebla just before sunset but the wind was blowing the wrong direction. The launch is above a small town and the sounds of fireworks and music drift up the hill towards the takeoff and the big yellow church on the hill. By the time we made our way down the hill the sun was setting and we got a bit lost trying to find a way back on to the freeway to go look for camping. 

While searching around we stopped to ask directions from a little abuelita. Her son Rolando came out and started chatting and eventually invited us to camp in front of his house. Three generations live on a piece of land together at the base of the hill. We were welcomed by the incredibly generous family and stayed up late talking and drinking Nescafe. Rolando had worked in the US and was well travelled in the states. He was the only family member who spoke any English. Cade got the chance to practice his Spanish as we chatted into the night and Rolando showed us all the things they grow on their land. He knew what every plant on the property was and tried to get us to take beans, flower bulbs, and even a banana tree with us. They grow their own corn, beans, chillies, vegetables, bananas, peaches, herbs, pigs, turkeys, and chickens. 

In the morning we made them coffee and were treated to an amazing meal made by Rolando’s sister Amada. It was concocted entirely of ingredients from their land—fresh hot tortillas filled with refried black beans, spicy green salsa, mole, etc. They helped us chalk up the van a bit and we smiled in awe of people that have very little by American standards, and yet want to give you everything they own. We tried our best to get them to come tandem flying to no avail, but they were keen to come watch. Maybe next time. 

We went up that afternoon for a sweet glass off. We got to try out our new Delta 2 and Alpina 2 and fell in love! The view was amazing, with gorgeous clouds, a steamy volcano, green fields below and a gorgeous sunset.

In the meantime, we randomly ran into Charly Esqueda and crew and he invited us to park near his house behind the church in Chipilo, a town heavily influenced by Italian immigrants nearby with great cheese, coffee, and bread. He offered us a shower— apparently we needed one:) and some tandem work the next day. He even cooked us breakfast in the morning—some of the best chilaquiles we have ever tasted. He is a talented chef as well as a paragliding/ motoring instructor! We had a fun thermaling flight under building clouds. Becca flew a little XC to Chipilo and got a bird’s eye view of the van at Charly’s place and Cade had his first flight on his fresh Magnum 2.

 After flying we headed towards another flying site near Orizaba—the highly recommended Fortin de las Flores. We got delayed overnight because of an auto accident on the way. The highway is a windy mountain path around volcanoes and through some very persistent fog. They have permanent lighting on the road similar to runway lights because it is so foggy all the time. When an accident happens they close down the whole section of road. We were able to continue on in the morning—we woke up to a dawn view of the Pico de Orizaba and then dove into the fog. It was a stunning sunrise drive. The mist turned into rain as we approached Fortin so instead of waiting it out and trying to fly, we continued to drive South as we had many more miles to cover. It seems to be that every we go we want to spend more time and see more things. Fortin has been added to our long list of places we need to return to. 

After an overnight stop at a gorgeous beach in Chiapas we were ready for an early start and our second border crossing. Rok was happy to see the ocean again. We watched a beautiful sunset and ate a lovely home cooked meal. We drank a couple cervezas as the full moon rose, and helped our new Abuelo friend Angel with a few English phrases. He returned the favor by trying to help Cade learn to roll his r’s……rrrrrrrrrrrr……rrrrrrrrrrrrrr…. rrrrrr.

It was hard to believe that we had left the ocean in California less than 10 days earlier and had already covered many thousands of miles of coastline. This time we left it knowing that it wouldn’t be until after the new year until we would see it again. We are headed into the Guatemalan highlands for the first extended layover of our trip!

The border crossing was hectic and disorganized, but after more than a few hours of waiting they eventually let us through— Rok, trailer, chalk van, horns and all. We found another impromptu campsite in front of a generous Guatemalan’s house on the altiplano after a stunning sunset full of green sloped volcanoes, misty clouds, and colorful houses. Our journey through Mexico was incredible and we can’t wait to get back, we are hoping to take our time on the return trip and enjoy it even more. We are excited to see how Guatemala and the rest of the Central American countries compare.