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And so the adventure continues...

My camera (actually it was Rich's camera on loan) had lost all it's settings in today's series of get-offs,
But here is Federico, (who turned out to be Cirilo's dad), standing with Rich in front of the building where we were to sleep for the night.

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Agua Fria consisted of some houses scattered about and maybe 20-30 inhabitants. Incredibly Federico, 73yrs old, told us he had been born here.
:giveup::eek2:

Cirilo arrived, proper introductions made, we were shown the outhouse and we where to wash up. It was the time of day for the chickens to gather in their tree for the night,
Safely off the ground.
A plastic tube stretching some 6km up the mountain delivered fresh spring water to the settlement.
There was limited electricity. The kitchen had a couple of solar panels, and our sleeping quarters had a series of car batteries rigged to operate the light.
The beds were high and welcoming.

One of the houses was the kitchen. We were invited to sit down and have some tortillas and beans. Lots of fresh water.
We ate alone, watched over by everyone. On display?
In these rural areas the women don't eat with the men anyway.

I was asked if I wanted coffee, and when it came it was a cup of hot water.
A bottle of Instant Nescafe was handed to me.
When I opened the lid it still had the seal on it. It had never been opened!
Embarrassed I protested, but they would hear none of that.

"They" were Federico, his wife, a couple of younger teenage girls, and Cirilo's son, Heriberto, who was extremely shy at first.
Rich did a couple of magic tricks to break the ice.
I wish I knew some magic tricks.


The kitchen, in the morning
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Cirlilo and Herberto, hangin' with Richard in the kitchen
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After eating in the kitchen, which I guess was Federico and his wife's kitchen, Cirilo came up and asked if we wanted to eat and his house now.
 
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The kindness of these people was humbling.

Cirilo and his wife live here with their eight children and his parents, Frederico and Grandma. (As seems to be traditional in the Mexican culture, the women were not introduced to us and basically did not speak to us, so we didn't get names. They weren't rude or anything, they just basically stayed out of sight.)

They had a small cluster of buildings, each with a different purpose. One building was Grandma's kitchen, one was where Cirilo and his family lived, Frederico and his wife lived in another, Milton and I were in a guest/storage building, and so on. The buildings were all of similar design, primitive, built from earth and wood, with metal roofs and dirt floors. The little bit of electricity they had was used to light a bulb or two in the buildings and was provided by car batteries, recharged with a few solar panels.
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This ranch is at least a three hour drive from town or a six hour walk. With no other people living in the area, there are no stores, churches, or schools so Cirilo and family have to be mostly self-sufficient. A field of corn was growing near the buildings and they had chickens, pigs, goats and cows, which, presumably, provided meat and milk. They also had dogs (ranch security) and a couple of horses.

Wood was used for heat and cooking. The little solar panels don't produce much electricity but wood was abundant and free. But, of course, it had to be chopped up to be used, which I presume is a near daily chore.
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As Milton mentioned, water was sourced from a natural spring four kilometers up the mountain.

An outhouse was located beyond the cluster of buildings.



Frederico had us park our bikes in the middle of their cluster of buildings and then he and Cirilo did what they could to make us feel at home. They fetched a couple of old wooden chairs for us to sit on and then covered our bikes with some plastic tarp to keep them from getting wet from the overnight dew. Meanwhile, Cirilo's children peaked out of doors and windows to get a look at the two old gringos on their dirty motorcycles.
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Talk about an experience that'll be remembered and cherished for life. Always seems these experiences happen when the plan goes off path.

Thanks to you both sharing so much.
 
By the way, it was an extremely chilly night. We would've been very uncomfortable without a roof over our head.

Federico, the older man, was 73 and when I asked where he was born, he answered Here! Incredible.
 
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I caught Cirilo's eight year old son, Heriberto, peaking around the corner of one of the buildings at me. I said hello to him but he was too shy to say anything. Cirilo, seeing this, spoke to the boy, giving him instructions on the polite way to respond. With Cirilo's encouragement and guidance, Heriberto walked up to me, stuck his hand out, and gave me a proper handshake. I introduced myself and told him "mucho gusto". I then proceeded to show him a couple of magic tricks, which I have always found to be a good ice breaker with children. Amazed at my incredible magical talent, Heriberto decided I was an okay guy and never felt the need to hide again.

This is Heriberto
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Shortly after we arrived, they invited us to eat. Grandma had been working steadily in her kitchen on the evening meal with the assistance of one of her granddaughters. With the meal ready, they asked us to enter into Grandma's kitchen and take a seat at the table.

The work table in the kitchen is a large wooden box filled with, presumably, dirt. Grandma builds a wood fire on the work table and uses a wire frame above the fire to hold the cooking pots. Aside from the cooking table and cooking utensils, a dining table, and some additional chairs, there is nothing else in the building. It is used for cooking and eating only.
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Grandma in her kitchen
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Milton and I were invited to sit at the table and after doing so I realized they did not plan on joining us. Instead, Cirilo and his family sat or stood around the inside perimeter of the building and watched Milton and I eat.

Dinner consisted of frijoles, corn tortillas and water. They offered us peppers but I declined thinking they would be too hot for me. I wasn't sure how much to eat. Was this all the food that Grandma had cooked? Was there enough for everyone or would others go without because Milton and I were unexpected guests.

Not surprising, the food was excellent.

After we finished eating I suggested to Milton that we step outside since it was obvious that they were not going to eat until we were completely finished.

I felt so honored and humbled to be here with these people. They have so little compared to us and, yet, they were incredibly generous and welcoming.

Not long after dinner, with the last of the day's light fading, Frederico shook our hands and wished us good night. With minimal electricity and no television, bedtime is when the sun goes down.

Luckily, they had a spare building with two beds that Milton and I would be using. As Milton noted earlier, it was going to be a cool night, and I, for one, was happy to be indoors with a bed, blankets, and pillow versus outside on the hard rocks and a zillion spiders.

This was my accommodations for the evening
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I slept soundly through the night, undisturbed by Milton's snoring in the other room in the shack. :)

At daybreak I decided to get dressed and explore the compound a bit more, this time with my camera in hand.

A short time later, Heriberto showed up and started chopping wood. There was an extra axe so after taking a picture of him, I grabbed the spare axe and helped him chop wood. As we chopped away, Cirilo and Frederico spotted us and chuckled, presumably at my rusty axe chopping skills. Milton remained mysteriously absent the entire time.
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With our chopping complete, I joked to Cirilo that I was working to pay for breakfast but that since Milton hadn't done any work he shouldn't get any food.

The morning routine was in full swing shortly after Heriberto and I finished chopping wood. The chickens were fed corn, the dogs were walking about, Grandma was cooking again with the assistance of one of her granddaughters, and everyone else was doing what everyone else did each morning to prepare for the day.
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Once again, they invited us to eat in Grandma's kitchen. Breakfast consisted of potatoes, frijoles, corn tortillas, and water. And, once again, the food was excellent but no one else would join us.

With our bellies full and bikes packed, Milton and I said our most grateful goodbyes. It was 8:45 am and I knew we would have to move with a sense of purpose the entire day in order to make it back to Austin today.

As we rode away I reflected on how a potentially uncomfortable situation had worked out so well. Once again, a little bit of that Milton Magic had come through for us, turning this into a wonderful and unforgettable experience.

I grabbed just two pictures as Milton and I rode the 1.5 hours to Aramberri. It's a long way to Austin and we don't have time for picture taking or dilly dallying...
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]

Once in town, we linked up with Bob and Scott and shared our story with them. After that, we hauled butt toward the border but we were so far away that I didn't actually arrive home until about 2 am Tuesday morning, 20 hours after getting out of bed in Agua Fria. Which, as those that know him will attest, is pretty typical for a Milton ride.

In summary, it was a superb trip and I was really thankful for the opportunity to ride with these men again. I anxiously await the next one...
 
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I would say that family is wealthy where it really counts... :zen:
 
I didn't actually arrive home until about 2 am Tuesday morning, 20 hours after getting out of bed in Agua Fria. Which, as those that know him will attest, is pretty typical for a Milton ride.
Hey. Be glad you didn't arrive wet.
Cee-Bee Chuck used to say that when riding with me you always came back tired, late and wet.
Or something like that.

Excellent pics, Richard


I was really thankful for the opportunity to ride with these men again. I anxiously await the next one...
And you can take that one to the bank.
 
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Great write up, you have very good writing skills. Thanks


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
Rich, Great job on the ride report...thanks for the effort!

It was great to run into you & your wife at Ghost Town.

Sleddog
 
Great report Rich! I am ready to head back south. If you ever find yourself needing someone to ride with, let me know.
 
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