I headed east from Guachochi, hoping to make Durango the next day. I had decided to take 24 south, just before Parral, for two reasons – it looked shorter but also twistier than the other option, Mex 45 from Parral.
There’s a Pemex gas station and an OXXO store at that intersection. In front of the OXXO there’s an old guy selling knick-knacks. I pull up for some lunch and we start talking, he’s asking me where I’m going. I tell him Durango, he says which way? I point across the road to 24 south and he starts getting fairly animated “Solo, no, solo, no” and wagging his finger at me. He says going the Parral route is better.
While I’m having lunch I’m wondering if an old boy sitting on the pavement qualifies as “local knowledge” in this case, and should I take his advice? I’m thinking about asking the Pemex guys what they think, but I’m leaning toward just going via Parral since I’m not particularly wedded to taking 24. The next minute a truck with a manned machine gun mounted in the bed takes off down 24 – I guess that seals it eh? I took the old guys advice and went via Parral.
That night I stayed in a pretty nice hotel on Mex-45, for about $23. Big flat screen TV, only 10 channels, but 6 of those were in english! Only problem, the dialogue on 5 of them wasn’t much to write home about – they were porn channels. Pretty funny…
The next day as I was getting ready to leave an old gaucho with no front teeth and covered in dust (but with great boots and a nice white cowboy hat) comes to say hello. I’m packing the bike and he starts talking about it as being my “cabello”. For a guy who’s spent most of his life on a horse, it’s kinda nice that he’s talking about the bike being my horse. So we decide it should be “el Cabello Azul” – the blue horse. You like?