On a hot tuesday morning I made my way to Rancho de la Villa, the Lienzo Charro where the horses are staying. As the sun climbed in the blue sky I carried my orange panniers through Mexico City’s busy streets. With a knot in my throat I said goodbye to this chaotically-special place.
Alone, I made my way out of the city with my 3 horses. It was a sad moment but also one of relief. After a week in the world’s third largest city, I started to feel a little crammed. I’m a small-town boy and that many people, cars, taco-stands and pollution made me a little uneasy.
Our second day on the road offered a beautiful view of Puebla’s Popocatepl volcano. With snow covering it’s tip and smoke surfacing from its core, I rode towards the large mountain for most of the day. If it wasn’t for the cars flying by me, it would have been a perfect day! I climbed a pass for most of the day which meant there was very little space to ride. I was on the road as trucks flew by the horses and I only a few feet away. It is the worst feeling in the world! It’s so stressful.
As we finally began to make our way down the mountain around 4pm I rode into a small town called Rio Frio. After asking an elderly gentleman if there was a corral in town he pointed me towards an old church. As I approached the decaying building I quickly saw a beautiful round corral. It was like seeing water in the middle of the desert! I was so happy. I rode up to a house next to the corral and asked the family living there who owned it. They told me it belonged to the town and that I was safe to use it.
“You have come to the right place, we are a good family and you can trust us,” the matriarch of the family told me with a smile on her face.
As I untacked the ponies they offered for me to leave the tack in their home. I gladly accepted. After setting up my tent and buying feed I began to chat with my new friends. They fell in love with the horses and asked a million questions. They couldn’t believe that I had arrived here horseback.
“Oh my goodness, don’t you get scared of not knowing where you will be every night,” the youngest son asked me.
I told him how I did get anxious about it, but not scared. For the past 9 months everyday has some how, some way, worked out. Even when things seemed like they were spiraling to a really bad place, at the end of the day everything was okay and I was somewhat safe and sound!
Like this amazing family, I have met many caring people during my trek south. Something I hope will help illustrate how kind the majority of people are! As we stood chatting and looking over the house as the sun began to set, the family invited me to tie my horses inside their front yard.
“You will sleep a lot better if you know the horses are safe next to your tent,” the husband told me.
A random man from the community came by the corrals and scared me. He began to tell me it was unsafe to leave the horses in the corral because someone could just take them. I told him I was camping right next to them and would hear anything and he answered, “and you think you are safe?” It scared the hell out of me! The family said he was just a bitter person who wanted to scare me and that I shouldn’t worry. But to make me feel better they offered their front yard for my tent and ponies. I accepted the offer and did, in fact, sleep a lot better.
The next morning I left my new friends as they waved me on. I continued to make my way down the mountain as I thought about a scene I will never forget. The corral where I arrived in Rio Frio was right next to a horse slaughter plant. As I stood watching my ponies eat, a man walked out of the factory carrying half of a horse’s body on his back. It was the worst scene I have ever seen. Hard to forget…
After 8 hours riding we arrived in the town of San Martin, our final stop before getting to Puebla. As I made my way to the Lienzo Charro I spoke to the universe – I do this a lot. I ask for what I need. Sometimes it’s a corral. Sometimes it’s water for the horses. This time I asked that the Charros would allow me to rest the horses at this Lienzo. I was super tired and just wanted to rest. As I pulled into the Lienzo I spotted a group of men by a truck. I rode towards them and began to tell the story I have shared so many times. “Hello my name is Filipe and I am riding my horses from Canada to Brazil… Do you think I can rest them here for one day…?”
That’s when one of the Charros turned to me and said, “only if you rest here for a few days to hang out with us.” As he passed me a cold beer the thought of resting sounded like a million bucks. Turns out I stayed the weekend.
I had such a great time with the Charros of San Martin! They took me to see an Hacienda from the 16th century, to a fun-filled charriada, and provided much laughter. Sometimes you just have to stop and enjoy the moment when you are on a trip like this. I will arrive in the city of Puebla later than I imagined but the stories and friendships I will take with me from San Martin will last a lifetime. And that’s what traveling is all about.
I’m not sure why, but there are people in this world who have an energy that attracts strangers their way.
