August 2017 Banamichi Update

The days seem to fly by now, each new one chasing the tail of the previous one. It is hard to believe that 8 months have passed since I last wrote about Banámichi. Despite the tone of my last post, we are indeed alive and well, and still enjoying our home away from home on the Rio Sonora. In fact, we just returned to Tucson from a short visit.

Mexico still holds surprises and continues to delight.. Some surprises are fun, and others...well, not so much! As we entered Mexico through the Mariposa border crossing a week ago, a monstrous piece of machinery was parked right where we needed to go to get on Route 15 south. It took up nearly two lanes and there was no way to get around it. The only choice was to hang a right and go through the customs booth for Nogales Centro.

The left two lanes were completely blocked (Photo from https://www.theknot.com/us/victoria-revel-and-xavier-rivera-nov-2016/details)

We did our best to convey to the border official that we needed to be on Route 15, and asked how to get back there. He mumbled something really fast about the periférico (ring road) and waved his arms around in a random direction. Neither of us had a clue what he said, so off we went into the black hole of Nogales Centro.

If it really had been the center of town it would have been OK; we would have recognized the streets. But it was just some random road on the outskirts of town with road construction going on. I turned on my cell phone and asked Google to navigate to Hermosillo. Google in its infinite stupidity took us to Calle Hermosillo. Who even knew there was a Hermosillo Street? Now we were really lost...in an impoverished neighborhood water ran in rivers down the streets from the recent monsoons.

OK, Google, try again. Navigate to Hermosillo, Sonora. Long story short, after several more ridiculous  directions and about half an hour, we finally stumbled upon Route 15. Phew! Surprising, but really stressful.

It was really good to arrive, but with all the rain, the backyard was full of weeds that needed pulling. That was lots of hot, sweaty work between 6:30 and 9:30 AM each day we were there, and necessitated two major dump runs. Finally the yard looked like its gorgeous self again just as we had to leave for Tucson.

backyard looking all spiffy after days of work*

About a year ago, our friend Vicky gave me a 5 gallon bucket with a bunch of small papaya trees. I planted several of them in the yard, and now there are a number of nice looking papayas waiting to ripen. A lovely surprise!

Try a Papaya! (when they are ripe)*

When we left the last time the avocado tree had one lonely avocado. We looked everywhere for it, but it was gone...victim to some unknown fate. While we were staring at the tree, Dan W. saw another avocado that was still there....coolio! It might even be ready by the next time we go down.

One lonely avocado*

One evening, the two Dans, Tracy and I decided to go out for dinner, but without a real destination in mind. There is not too much to choose from in Banámichi. We drove south down  the road to the town of Huepac, where we found the remnants of a festival in honor of San Ignacio. There were pop-up restaurants, bouncy-castles for the kids, shooting galleries, and booths selling all the plastic stuff made in China. Very colorful!

We decide on food from Dany's Restaurant, which seemed just right since we had our own two Dannys along. We ordered Sopes Al Pastor..thick corn tortillas with spicy cooked pork. Then the flies descended.  Hordes! Millions! Must be due to the season and all the rain. The food was tasty, but we gobbled it up  quickly while flailing our arms about to fan away the flies and praying that we wouldn't wake up with Montezuma's revenge. (A pleasant surprise...we didn't.)

Two Dannys (and me) at Dany's*

Afterwards, we wandered about the carnival and were just in time to see a gigantic Sponge Bob Square Pants bouncy castle arise from a heap of rubber in the road as it was inflated.  Hilarious! Tracy wondered how Saint Ignacio would feel about Sponge Bob making an appearance at his festival!

Sponge Bob rising from the dead*

Next was the mechanical gorilla. It was so grotesque that a picture was in order. Then, as we turned to walk away, someone activated it, and it roared and shook the cage. The sound was so earsplitting that we all jumped in surprise!

ROOOAAARRRR!*

We left just in time, because as we drove back into Banámichi, there was lightning and thunder all around us . The sky was magnificent, with the red and orange sunset and the black clouds...a beautiful end to another interesting day in Mexico. Overall, an interesting adventure.

And one last update..Tracy seems to have hired herself a cook...an older woman (look who's talking!) named Maria Jesus.This almost guarantees more interesting surprises in the future. Hooray for Banámichi!

*Photos courtesy of Dan and Tracy Williams


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The Trip Down

Some of the adventure of living part-time in Banámichi includes traveling there from Tucson. The trip  has become somewhat routine with time, but there are still enough surprises each time to keep it interesting.  And it is definitely an experience of Mexican culture. The atmosphere immediately changes when we cross that imaginary line in the desert called "la frontera"...the border.

Heading for the border

We generally cross at the Mariposa truck crossing in Nogales, Arizona. Abruptly, signs are in Spanish and the required lane changes are chaotic and confusing. We soon encounter a customs station where you might or might not get a green light. Getting a red light means an encounter with a very polite young customs officer who mostly just does a cursory inspection and waves us on our way with the words "Que les vayan bien!" (May you travel well.) At milemarker 21 kilometer, there is a second station for obtaining visas and car permits. Since Banámichi is not in the so-called "free zone," every 6 months we have to stop and get new car papers and leave a $400 deposit for our vehicle. The process is complicated, and on a busy day, time consuming.

Nothing to Declare  Lane? This guy got a red light!

First you stand in line to fill out the visa form, then you head to the bank and wait in line to pay for the visa. Then you go back and stand in line to get the visa stamped. Then its on to the copy booth for copies of all the paperwork you have in your possession, and then back to the bank line for the car importation and payment. There never seem to be enough clerks for the bank, and the wait under the tin roof is hot and long. The clerks patiently type in all the numbers of your license, registration and other information on the computer. Then more copies are printed out, and after about an hour, you walk away with a sticker to be placed on the windshield. Then there is yet another customs inspection. They are concerned about what you are bringing in, how much of it, and whether you have paid duty on it. Hopefully you get a second green light in the "Nothing to Declare" lane, and off you go.

Riparian area

The countryside opens up and there begin to be ranches and enormous greenhouses that grow tomatoes and cucumbers to be sold in the states. There is a beautiful green riparian area, and numerous roadside shrines. You go through a few small towns which each have topes...speed bumps to slow down the traffic. These vary in their lethality.  Some hardly qualify for slowing down, and others are bone-rattling nightmares that shake loose anything that is not packed well in the back of the car. One of the nastier ones threw our friend Tom off his motorcyle last fall.

Roadside shrines

Since anyone with any sense slows down for these topes, they are prime opportunities for vendors to sell you things. At some of them, there are stands selling watermelons and coconuts, and the Mexican Red-Cross is generally out on weekends standing in the middle of the road waving coin collection cans at passing motorists. The collectors are enthusiastic young people who are polite and grateful for any small amount they collect. We make it a point to donate a few coins each time. This is a good organization. There are clinics in the small towns that serve anyone pretty much without cost. We spent quite a bit of time in one in Kino Bay once when a friend walked into the ocean and within 30 seconds got badly nailed by a sting ray. The doctors were well trained, intelligent, friendly and helpful. Who knows when and where we might need them again?

Passing a doble semi remolque

We are on the main 4-lane transport highway---Mexican Route 15 - for produce traveling north to the states and goods going south from the states to Mexico. Doble-semi remolques...enormous tractor trucks hauling two trailers behind them rip along the road swinging and swaying, and rumor has it that the drivers are all strung out on speed. What is true for sure is that they are scary to pass...I tend to feel we are being sucked into their slip stream and I let out a sigh of relief every time we successfully pass one.

Our favorite tacos in Imuris

Heading further south, we come to the town of
Ímuris which might also be known as Tacoville. Along the main street, there is one taco stand after another, all wafting the scent of charcoal broiled beef, and all selling virtually identical carne asada tacos with grilled green onions. So far as we can tell, there are no distinguishing features, however, when we do stop we have gotten into the habit of going to Taqueria El Indio. If carne asada tacos are your thing, they are really good here and two people can eat for under $10. The tacos come with a compartmented plate of cucumbers, radishes, pickled red onions, and limes and two different bottles of salsa...one an incendiary habañero concoction and the other a cooling avocado cream. Yum!

 Almost out of Imuris now, there are more topes with vendors selling fresh cheese, quesadillas, fresh pressed orange juice, shrimp and sometimes even colorful caged birds from further south. (Boo, hiss!) By the side of the road are carts selling various chiles and home canned fruit. There are several artisan shops, one selling beautiful copper pots from the town of Santa Clara del Cobre in central Mexico. There are also two fields selling multi-level carved stone fountains, pillars, huge stone balls and busts of various Mexican heros.

Homemade goodies for sale

Copper pots and other stuff for sale

Now we come to the tollbooth where the vendors of pirated music CD's hang out and soon thereafter is the unmarked turn-off to the road across the mountains to the Rio Sonora and Banámichi. Our hotel friends lobbied unsuccessfully for years to get signage at the turn-off, and finally put a nice sign up themselves. It was promptly torn down by unknown vandals, so the turn-off is still secret to all but those in the know.

Secret turnoff to Banamichi

After the turn-off the road is two lanes with no shoulders, and enters the back of beyond...ranching country and mountains.There are some landmarks I always watch for...one of them being Rancho La Lámina ...the sheet metal ranch...with an odd corrugated sheet metal roof.

This is the road where the most of the travel surprises occur...you might whip around a bend and see a farm truck full of cattle coming towards you in your lane! Once we drove along this road and kept seeing dazed looking cows walking along the road towards us. Finally we came around a bend, and there was a huge overturned cattle truck. Eeek! Another time we narrowly avoided a gigantic bull grazing at the side of the road with its butt sticking out in the travel lane. Sometimes deer dart across the road, or swarms of turkey vultures sit in the road picking at road kill. They wait until absolutely the last minute to heft their weight and fly away as the car approaches. This can be hard on the nerves...there are many times I have involuntarily ducked and cringed, sure they were about to come through the windshield.

Boulder in the road!

After the town of Cucurpe and the Mercedes mine, the road deteriorates. It becomes an unending, unavoidable progression of bone-jarring potholes. In one canyon, a Volkswagon sized rock fell from the cliff a few years ago, seriously damaging the road. Now there is a Volkswagon - sized crater in that canyon that is generally filled with rocks, rubble and spring water. If you know it is coming you can slow down and it is not a big deal, but imagine if one came across that little surprise at speed or at night.

Bogus de Anza memorial

Further along there is shiny new historical marker which claims that on this spot on a certain day in the 1700's, Apaches attacked the explorer Juan Bautista de Anza, who is buried in the church in Arizpe. Recently the de Anza Society visited and the memorial was proudly shown off. Apparently one of this very knowledgeable group remarked, "Well that is strange, because on that day, DeAnza was several hundred miles north of  here!" Apparently the memorial marks someone's fictional account rather than history.One can only wonder about the politics involved in this one...

Church at Sinoquipe

Finally, we descend from the mountains to the village of Sinoqipe and the turnoff to the south for Banámichi. It is only another 10 miles, and I generally feel I can relax when I see the cliffs on the far side of the Rio Sonora, the white church spire and the Tecate beer distributor---every village in the Rio Sonora valley has one.

The road runs along the river for a ways. There is usually not much water in it since it is sucked dry by farms and ranches upstream. Sometimes, though, there is a little water and then there is often a white heron standing in it. Cattle graze on the green vegetation near the water.  Pecan trees stand in neat rows on the farms. The peace of the valley beckons.

Soon we cross the bridge over the river bed and approach the welcoming arch to Banámichi. There is a pillar with the black seal of the town on it.  Dan thinks the seal looks rather like a road-kill beaver, but we don't say much about that in town because a friend's father designed it. We pass the new Pemex station, hang a right at the local Tecate distributor, and we are home sweet home in Banámichi!

The great seal of Banamichi (road-kill beaver?)