Another good ride, this time to San Javier!

Thursday, March 3, 2011

This morning Sam came over early to see if we wanted to go on a ride.  Eric had been down with his usual stomach trouble yesterday and had been unable to go to Frank’s special rib dinner last night and had also not slept much over the past couple of nights.  Today he seemed better so we decided to go and San Javier was the destination.  Frank and Sandi decided to come in the jeep and we hit the road around 10:30.  Eric had done some map research and also had a look at what there was to see after he and Sam had been to San Javier on Saturday. 

On the road at 10:30 and off to Lo de Ponce where it looked like where there was a short cut to the road leading to San Javier.  A right turn off the highway a quick stop to peal off some clothes as it’s much hotter inland.  Eric made the comment that he had to be really careful on the slippery sand as it is really easy to drop the bike.  Not a good thing. 

Peeling off clothes.

We rode into Lo de Ponce and it’s another small pretty Mexican town.

Coming into town.

Obviously a farming town judging by the machinery.

Everyone waved as we rode by and as we got to the end of town we were faced with a dip off the pavement and ….a dirt rode.  Oh, oh….no thanks on the bikes.  You can never tell on a map what is paved.  So, no shortcut and back the way we came.

Another pretty church.

The usual cobblestone streets.

A quick chat to the Mexicans in town about routes and back out to the main road.   On the way out of town the cows decided to cross the road.  I had to use my old cow herding skills when one was right in front of us….okay it’s just sssst, sssst, ssst but she moved and we passed!

Alright Bossy get the H… off the road!

Back to the highway and on to the cut off to San Ignacio and up to the crossroads to San Javier.      

We stopped to pick up  beer and this is where things went wrong.  As I mentioned earlier slippery sand and gravel on a motorcycle are a problem. Sam rode into the parking lot at the beer stop….. slid sideways and….dropped the bike.  Rita managed to keep her feet up and not get caught underneath and then threw herself off.  She almost landed on her feet but fell backwards onto her butt.  One of the Mexicans in the beer store ran out and  helped Rita up while Sam tried to get the bike up.  I’m not sure but I think the Mexican helped Sam get the bike up while Sandi and I helped Rita and dusted her off.   It happened fast and Eric had barely parked Blue and it was all over.  Poor Rita.  Poor Sam….that’s an embarrassing  thing to have happen, not to mention dangerous.  Luckily neither Rita (and especially Rita) or their Harley were seriously hurt.   So Sam and Rita regrouped and we remounted and headed on to San Xavier for lunch.

  The usual Coca Cola sponsored sign on the way into town.

Always an arch showing the way into town.

Again, another lovely quiet little Mexican town and we headed straight to the Hacienda type restaurant because by this time it was 1pm and we were all hungry.  Parked the bikes in the square and walked across the street for lunch.  We had Pepe call ahead so that they knew we were coming and so even though we were late all was well. 

Another nice restaurant.

Getting ready for lunch.

A few beers,  some good chips, fresh cheese and really good salsa and we were all feeling better.  The owner suggested he would just feed us a Mexican lunch and we said okay.  We were served a plate with salad, beef and potatoes in a nice sauce.  Delicious.  Dessert was candied papaya (from their own trees) and we were all full and happy. 

The owner getting ready to sing.

Singing.  Oh, by the way after I posted this picture I noticed it looked like a Pacifico ad.  Sorry!

As we were finishing our meal the owner stepped up to the microphone and sang for us.  Eric and Sam had the same experience on Saturday and had said he had a really great voice.  Too true.  We were all impressed by his song and enjoyed it immensely.  We tried to explain “American Idol” to him but I don’t think he really got it.   He explained that it was “Mexicana musica.”  Very nice. 

This is the outdoor kitchen range that our lunch was cooked on.

There is always a bird in a cage.  This little one was happy to yak at me!

Now it was time for a trip up the hill to look at the view.  Frank, Sandi and Rita in the jeep, Eric and I on foot and Sam cowboying his Harley up the steep hill.  We all made it and were really impressed by the beautiful view of the surrounding countryside.

Walking to the top of the hill.

Rita looking out.

Sam, Rita, Kathy and Eric.

Frank, Sandi,Rita,Sam, Kathy and Eric.

I took this on delay.  Turned out great!

A few pictures and it was time to go.  Back down to the square and mounted up and ready to roll. 

A small typical, beautiful Mexican front yard.

The town square in San Javier.

We stopped at the Pemex just past the cut off south on the highway and again had a chat with the guy pumping gas who speaks such good English.  Turns out his home town in San Xavier and he was interested to hear what we thought about it and what we’d seen.  There was much more to see than we had time for  and so he also suggested that on his next day off he’d like to show us around San Xavier and make sure we saw it all.  How gracious is that. 

A quick ride home and happy hour.  All done, ready for bed. 

Another great day.