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.

Deep canyon views, big rock spires, narrow windy roads, lots of giant potholes, and topes! topes! topes!

Creel is an old mining town up in the mountains above 7000ft. The actual town center is a bit smaller than Jackson but its surrounding areas are filled with native communities tucked around every corner.

We awoke to an unexpected heavy frost but it warmed up fast. After a quick walk through town for some fresh juice and a little info on the area we headed for a look into Barranca Del Cobre, The Copper Canyon. What we thought would be a 10 minute drive turned into an hour of "its got to be right around the next corner" until we found ourselves at Divisadero, a very small village perched right on the edge of a gorge bigger than the Grand Canyon. The view, like that of its smaller American brother from another mother, is hard to put in to words. Even the widest angle lens can't begin to capture the feeling of insignificance that it bestows upon you. When looking at something that immense and complicated I can't help feeling like a little ant in such an enormous landscape.

We had heard about a tram nearby and wanted to find it for novelty's sake. While only 2 kilometers from Divisadero, following the signs for "Teleférico" led us down what we would consider a 4 wheel drive track in the states. The narrow pothole-laden, dirt and mud trail through some trees slowed us to a crawl at times and had us wondering if we would be able to get the trailer turned around anywhere. Just as we were going to turn back because there couldn't possibly be a tram down this "road", the trees parted and The Adventure Center came into view. The tram that leads into the bottom of the canyon is the backbone of this new complex in the middle of nowhere. It has hiking, mountain biking, atv rentals, and one of the biggest zip line treks in the world. It was crazy to see the modern tram dock surrounded by the familiar bungee trampolines and rock wall in such a remote place. It even had mini golf.

We made the drive back toward Creel and went looking for a place called San Ignacio de Arareko. It is similar to Goblin Valley with lots of different types of hoodoos . Its really cool because a native Tarahumara village is mixed throughout the valleys unique features. We went for walk up one of the canyons called "Valley of the Monks"; formerly known as (and I'm not joking) "Valley of the Erect Penises." It was a nice quiet place with little pastures and small dwellings mixed among the grazing livestock and beautiful rock formations. We couldn't pass up the opportunity for some illustrative photos.

On the way back to the car the peace was shattered when "EL MATADOR DE GALLO" (Rok and his well-earned new nickname) decided to chase and catch one of the local farmers' chickens. After Becca made a mad and muddy dash through the freshly tilled and watered field trying to stop him, some due apologies were expressed, a few pesos paid to compensate the loss of property, and we were on our way. Bad dog.

The next day we covered some miles taking the longer and beautiful south route away from the region. It was one of the windier roads we have ever traveled and went through some stunning canyon lands. We couldn't quite make it all the way to the National Park we had set our sights on so in lieu of night driving we found an impromptu campsite near a Village cattle corral off a side road. It proved to be a perfect place to stopover and cook some tacos for dinner with our fresh tortillas and queso we found during the drive. It also provided us with a skull and horns for the chalk van, we are looking good with our new hood ornament now!

Sierra de Los Organos is a random National Park in Zacetecas we found with google maps while planning our route. Boy, are we glad we did. This was by far our best camping spot so far. Pale red rock cliffs and spires surround the area. It has lots of manicured trails, little cabañas, and well set-up campsites complete with tables, grills, and sandpits for tents. They didn't seem to mind dogs at all, even "El Matador." When we arrived we were the only tourists in the entire park. We had free reign on any campsite we wanted and didn't see a soul until sunset when one other Dutch couple pulled in and said hello before setting up their own camp. It was a nice clear night with plenty of moonlight for some awesome night photography by Becca. The place was simply incredible and we will definitely be coming back when we have some more time. We did some trailer rearranging in the morning and took the opportunity to get a photo with some of our gear. Believe it or not this isn't all the toys we have on the trip, but it gives you an idea of why we are towing a trailer!

So far Mexico has been easy-going. The food has been great, the people are among the most hospitable we have been around, some roads are better than others, and as long as you are not trying to set any speed records the potholes are usually avoidable. Topes can be sneaky and I've only seen the trailer airborne once or twice. My Spanish is getting better slowly, and Becca has been very patient with me asking how to say the same things over and over, and "whats that sign mean? ok how about that one?" We've covered a lot of ground--we're already heading into Southern Mexico. We cant wait to get past the big city. Today is The Day of the Virgin Guadalupe. Pilgrims flock to Mexico city to pay homage to the Patron Saint of Mexico. We are hoping to skirt around Mexico City, avoiding as much of the extra holiday traffic as we can and making it to a flying site in time for the glassoff. Wish us luck!

Across the Border

We spent our last few days in the US getting ourselves organized before crossing the border. Rok went to the vet to get his official Health Certificate, we finally found the perfect full-size spare, and we got all stocked up on chalk and other necessities. We also traded some friends a ride in a helicopter for a ride in the chalk van. 

We said goodbye to the coast and made our way over to Arizona, where Christmas came early from Ozone. We’re super excited to get some air in our new wings—Becca got a Delta 2 and Cade an Alpina 2 and the new Ozium lightweight pod harness. Yay! Cade will also be ready to get back to work with his freshy Magnum 2.

We stopped by Eloy Arizona and caught up with old friends and watched 200 people fall out of the sky all at the same time. Whoaaaaa. We escaped with our budget intact before we got sucked in to the wind tunnel/balloon/airplanes/endless fun trap and headed South. 

Our last night in the US for a while led us to a spot just North of Douglas, AZ where tens of thousands of sandhill cranes spend their winter. We arrived under the moon and stars and fell asleep to the murmur of whoknowshowmany cranes nesting in the night. We thought it fitting to join the birds at their winter migration spot as we begin our migration in earnest. 

Our first day in Mexico was awesome! We cruised through the border at 6 AM and hit the highway. Cade only almost got arrested once, leaving Becca to fend for herself in a random Chihuahuan downtown. We managed to reunite ourselves and evade the Policia with plenty of time to make it all the way to Creel, near the rim of Copper Canyon. Rok already found a Mexican girlfriend at our campsite. She may have fleas.

The adventures have begun! We'll be doing our best to keep in touch with spotty wifi. Viva Mexico!

Thanksgiving with the Hayeses

 We spent Thanksgiving week with my grandparents and extended family in Los Osos, CA.

This little section of the California coast boasts some spectacular flying. The San Luis Obispo Soaring Association is a small but active and very welcoming bunch. They’ve got dunes, drive-up coastal ridge soaring, and a few inland thermalling sites.  Patrick Eaves and Tim O’neil and friends are always awesome hosts.

I’ve been visiting family here my whole life, and flying along the way. It’s kind of my little California home-away-from home. This time around I was able to take my 16-year old cousin Jimi and my Uncle Patrick tandem. Jimi has been flying multiple times with both of us in Jackson but never at home in California and Uncle Patrick was a first timer. I’m so thankful the wind gods cooperated and allowed me to share some smooth Thanksgiving air with my family. It’s one of the reasons I started flying tandems in the first place—to share the sky with people I love.

Besides a few flights at Cayucos, pretty much all we did for 4 days was eat, play Cards against Humanity, and walk on the beach.  We discovered that no game has ever been better suited for the Hayes family and that my grandma (aka Yaya) is a Cards Against Humanity wizard.

We also enticed the family to help us chalk up the van. One of our favorite parts of having it is seeing what others’ come up with to draw!

 
San Luis Obispo Chalkvanart from Cade Palmer on Vimeo.

An unfortunate side effect of our wandering lifestyle is that we rarely get to spend quality time with our families. We cherish these occasional opportunities to slow down, enjoy good meals, and laugh with our amazing relatives. We hope all of the Americanos out there enjoyed your turkey day, wherever you may be. And those of you from the rest of the world, we know Thanksgiving doesn’t make sense, but it’s a great excuse to spend time with the ones you love.

Our Incredible Friends

Becca soaring into the coastal sunset 

It never ceases to amaze us that no matter where we travel, we always have generous friends to support our journey.

Gliding over Santa Barbara

It is one of the most amazing characteristics of the international paragliding community. We're a small group of people with similar passions who tend to wander. Even if you don't know anyone and are traveling to new places, there are almost always friendly, kooky people that just want to fly!

Enjoying Kevin's glider at Bates

Jesse coming in for a beach landing

We've already been playing connect-the-friend-dots along our journey and can't express enough how thankful we are to have such welcoming and generous hosts. Starting in Jackson, Hal and Ali let us explode the entire contents of the van and trailer into their backyard Man Cave. In the mean time, Hal provided some sweet Wheeler Woodworks trailer shelves to match the already custom setup in the van. We got some mechanical help and a sweet new tool set from the infamous Matt Combs and his stepdad Norm. His mom Nona wouldn't let us leave Norm's metal shop without a delicious bag of goodies for the road. At our first stop in SLC we were greeted by the ever-generous hospitality of Wade and Kristen, complete with unbeatable basement cappuccinos and lots of shakeface fun from Bella. We stocked up on lots of the usual home-away-from-home love from Loren, Sarah, and the Rivlet, and the rest of the Point Rats. As we continued south we were provided with tomfoolery and entertainment from Marshall, Carson and company. Carson let Rok ride in the spotless man truck and his mom let us park our chalked-up hippy van in front of her house for a night and sent us on our way with another goodie bag for the road. Even our friends' moms are awesome!

Rok romp

Upon our arrival in Santa Barbara, CA we had fellow J hole winter refugees Brian and Kelly to show us the sites, feed us, keep us fit and entertained, and introduce us to a great crew of local pilots.

Chris riding "switch" at Bates

Brian Howell headed for the beach grill

Tandooming

Flip flop XC at Pine Mt.

The area's Paragliding and Hang Gliding clubs are very active and we were promptly welcomed into the scene. Chris with Fly Above All and Rob's Eagle Paragliding crew both chase the flying every day. We had some fun XC flights from a few different mountain sites, awesome coastal soaring, and even a couple tandem flights. We got cold with first-time flyers at cloudbase then flew them out to land on the beach to warm up. We saw whales, dolphins, red tailed hawks, and turkey vultures.  To cap it all off, we worked in a sunrise hike and speed fly with Aaron.


We were also paid an impromptu visit from our great and formerly mustachioed friend Kevin, who dropped off a few loaner gliders and gifts and introduced us to some awesome new friends.

Santa Barbara has been a blast. The people are friendly, the skies are sunny, and it always seems to be happy hour. Rok got his indian summer haircut, made lots of new pocket dog friends, frolicked in the waves under amazing sunsets,  and is still trying to figure out why ocean water tastes so bad.

We are forever grateful to all of our friends (new and old) who have provided a bed (or couch or floor), a shower, a delicious meal, and your wonderful company along our travels. Y'all make this gypsy lifestyle possible and we couldn't do it without this network of friends who are family. Someday we hope to have a slightly more permanent spot to call home and welcome all our friends. For now you know where to find us from May-September. Come Visit! The rest of the year we will come find you.

Chris trying out the Octane 2

Thank you! from the bottom of our hearts,
Cade, Becca, and Rokaboo too!