Chihuahua City, Mexico

Over the next few days Norelise and I spent lots of time hanging out and talking about travel; gear to take, places they wanted to visit, all about Australia. Each time she introduced me to someone it started with, ‘This is Paul from Australia and he is travelling for three years around the world on his motorbike.’ Every time she said it she was as excited as the first. 

We did another tour of downtown.

Antonio was busy working in his glazing business so Norelise kept cooking me meals and fussing over me like I was a VIP. In her eyes apparently I am and she wouldn’t let me lift a finger.

The second night I was there a number of their friends come over for a beer and barbeque, nothing foreign in that, and we kicked on till 4am. Much of the conversation was in Spanish and I was given the odd interpretation, but this was good for me to get my ear into the language. In three nights staying with them I have made life-long friends which is of course so much simpler now with Facebook and the Internet.

On my last day I was invited over to Norelise’s parents where I met them and her younger sister and they put on a huge lunch and they all fussed over me. Her mum Leticia was as excited as Norelise when she saw the bike later, I could see where Norelise got her excitement from. Leticia said I was not just from another continent but from another world and called me an alien!

The next morning I said farewell and headed towards the area north of the Copper Canyon to see the sights of the area. It was the perfect start to my time in Mexico and I’m still humbled at the welcome and generosity I received from Antonio and Norelise.

  I had a call out of the blue from a journalist who wanted to do a magazine interview with me. Luis worked for a lifestyle magazine and was a friend of the people from 7.21 Café, so when he read about me on Facebook he made contact.

  We met about twenty-five kilometres north of Chihuahua city at a major toll station just after midday. We spoke for about an hour or so and then he said he wanted to do some filming of me riding. Another hour was spent on the bike up and down the highway with him hanging out of the car with his camera. We stopped for some lunch almost back in the outskirts of Chihuahua and another friend of his turned up, and he wanted to take some photos. We went back to the tolling station and they took all sorts of shots of me riding in different situations, even involving the toll booth officials who waived my toll (15 Pesos). After nearly five hours they said they had finished and I rode north along the highway. Unfortunately it was late in the afternoon and my destination I was told was two hours away, so I decided just to drive on until I found a motel.

  Luis promised to get in contact with some photos and video and I hope he does.