I met up with a couple guys from Texas at breakfast. Bill and Rolf had
come down to Copper Canyon for a quick vacation. They were going back to
Texas the day I met them. I told them about the mission church at Satevo
(Satevo- a cluster of houses 4.5 miles south of Batopilas) and we made plans
to go take a look at it. I was already planning to go to Satevo because I
wanted to find out where the north fork of the road past Satevo led to. We
formed a convoy of my truck and their two dirt bikes and left for Satevo.
We toured the church, climbed the bell tower, and took some pictures. We
had our goodbyes and they headed for Texas and work. I headed for parts
unknown (if only unknown to me), and plaza life, explorer style.
I followed the north fork over a pass and into the Rio Urique side of the
mesa. All the while keeping an eye out for the trail that would allow me to
make the circular route from Batopilas to Urique. After cresting the pass
the road descended into a broad and level (level in relation to the rest of
the canyon) valley. When I finished covering all the switchbacks into the
valley it was late afternoon. I turned onto one of the many roads that
crisscrossed the main road here in the valley. Soon I was up on a knob hill
and could see most of the valley. I stopped here and stood on top of my
truck looking down the valley to the south while the afternoon storms pushed
over and down the mesa that formed the east wall of the valley. The scene
was electric with lightning flashing from the eastern mesa down into the
valley. Hills and mountains in the southern distance faded in and out of
sight as the storm passed across the valley. The thunder rolled up the
valley building in intensity and then fading away in echos. I stood atop my
truck enjoying the thunderstorm version of plaza life until the rain made me
go.
I called this area the Big Valley. Big Valley is not a creative name, but
that is what I wrote on my map. With the small amount of daylight left I
drove further down the valley. I crossed a canyon that was about 60 feet
deep and 90 feet wide with vertical walls and a flat sandy bottom. I would
return days later to investigate it. The road snaked around and finally
spit me out at the Rio Urique. There was no bridge only a ford. I turned
and headed home in the darkness and rain only making one wrong turn.
Days later I returned to the Big Valley area to look at that small canyon I
had noticed before. I drove into the canyon which I called Black Sand
Canyon so I could differentiate it from another canyon that forks with it.
The other canyon of course was called White Sand. I think its self
explanatory why I choose these names. Neither canyon was spectacular but
they were both interesting and worth the trip. I followed Black Sand to its
fork with the Rio Urique. I forded the river and the water got deep enough
and the current strong enough to make me nervous enough. As soon as I came
out of the water the Grey Ghost (my truck) started to make an ominous
sound. It sounded like a bearing going bad. I quickly remedied the problem
by ignoring it. Don´t worry this would come back and bite me in the ass.
Successfully across the river I stopped to cook up some lunch, rice and
sardines. Sitting there savoring the last bits of fish tails and scales two
people?no four people walked toward me. As we said hello I realized it was
Ascensión. Ascensión was working at Juanitas setting tile. With him was his
wife and two young daughters. They had walked here from Batopilas, over 25
miles away. One daughter had to be carried all the time and the other was
carried most of the time. If that doesn´t sound tough enough remember they
walked over a pass that reaches 7000 feet. Now that's a commute. I offered
them a ride but he said I couldn't reach their house in my truck. They
continued on. I would cross their path twice more. Hours later I was
cooling off in some stream that fed into Rio Urique when Ascensión and his
family crossed my path for the third time. This time when I offered a ride
he said yes. When he realize I was just driving up the stream I think he
also realized I didn't need a road to drive on. So I took him and his
family to their front door. Well, they didn't actually have a front door.
He asked me to stay for supper and of course I accepted. Soon I was drinking
coffee and eating beans with some powerfully strong cheese all scooped up
with mounds of corn tortillas. I'm not bragging about the food I'm just
telling you about it. It didn't take long to prepare the dinner because his
mother, father, and two sisters lived in the same house. Everything was
ready when we arrived. After dinner I was treated to the adobe home show.
I toured the homes of his neighbors. At the end of the tour I was sure of
two things. I would never build my house from adobe, and you can eat green
mangoes.
At the end of the tour me and the boys sat around enjoying the hillbilly
version of plaza life. We sat around skinning and eating green mangoes
letting the peels fall everywhere. When it appeared we might be getting low
on mangoes his wife appeared with some sort of stewed plum. They told me it
was an injun dish, but I realized immediately the real reason for enjoying
this dish. The plums had big seeds that made a satisfying "thump" when they
hit the ground amongst the mango peels. Ah yes plaza life is much more
enjoyable when you can make a mess while doing it. I doesn't matter if you
get to throw plastic soda bottles or spit mountain plum pits its always more
enjoyable when you can make a mess. So I did my share of flicking mango
peels and spitting plum pits along with the occasional finger in the mouth
to dislodge some foreign matter and spat on the ground. Yes tomorrow his
wife would have some sweeping to do. Plaza life was over when the sun went
down as there was no electricity in Villa de Hillbilly. Ascensión and I
returned home and settled down for the night with the rest of the extended
family. They set a cot up for me and Ascensións' sisters had to sleep on
the floor.
I left late the next morning after realizing I faced days of unbroken
hillbilly plaza life if I stayed. Additionally we had that cheese with
every meal and it was too strong for me. I drove away that morning and in
five or six days Ascensión and wife would walk away too. Again they would
walk the 30 miles back to Batopilas carrying their two daughters. Tough
huh?
