I am soaked.  As I look around for corrals or some sort of home for the night, I see nothing.  The day is quickly turning into night as the heavy rain thickens.  I am desperate. I am tired. I am cold.

In the small town of Tepeaca I ask locals for corrals, a lienzo charro, a ranch, anything. No one can point me anywhere. The rain makes it hard to find people on the streets. I continue on.

As I make my way out of town, I am an eagle searching for a nest. No luck. With the rain still falling I ride up to a farmhouse. A lady is by the door and I ask her if I can tie my horses to a tree in front of her house and pitch my tent. She points down the road and says the man who lives there will allow me to camp. I turn the ponies around and ride towards his shop.

Before I arrive I look up at the gray sky as large drops of water hit me in the face and beg the Universe to allow me to stay here. I ride up to a large garage door and inside a man works on a refrigerator. I explain to him who I am and what I am doing and if he will allow me to camp outside his shop.  With a big smile on his face he says, “of course you can, there are some trees you can tie the horses to.”

Fighting back tears I make my way towards the trees. I was so emotional for a few seconds. It was such a hard day and I was feeling so hopeless a few minutes prior to being welcomed with such open arms.

After untacking the ponies and letting them graze, I make my way to the shop as lightning lights the sky. To my surprise, my new friend has a cup of hot coffee waiting for me. In a few minutes we are sharing stories and laughs as I sip on my delicious coffee.

It turns out his home is a magnet for travelers. He tells me about how he hosted a man from Honduras for 3 months once and another gentleman from Southern Mexico who was traveling with his son.

My first day out of Puebla was hard but in the end everything worked out – It always does! I’m hoping that this rain will hold off for the rest of my ride to Cordoba, Veracruz. Fingers crossed.