Pilgrims, Cheese, Fire and Food

We spent the last night of January with yet another amazingly welcoming Mexican family in the tiny town of Tierra Blanca. After clearing a space in their yard for our tents, they brought us a table and chairs to cook on, then fruit and chicharon (fried pork fat, which Karl reports is delicious) topped with veggies and cueritos (pickled pig's skin). The next day's ride wasn't terribly scenic, but we had numerous distractions to keep us occupied. First we passed hundreds of people (who we later learned were pilgrims) walking along the road towards San Jose Navajas where we had seen what looked like a fair springing to life along the road. We stopped at a wine and cheese shop and got a tour of the barnyard and cheese aging room before buying a Mexican take on provalone for lunch. We regularly encounter fires burning along the road, but this day an (un)controlled burn was particularily close to the road and burning hot. As we neared Tequisquiapan Helene's bike computer rolled over 10,000 km, a moment every cyclist deserves to celebrate (although we missed ours, ooops, we'll be sure to celebrate our 15,000th km!). Our Warmshowers host Luis came home from work to welcome us into his tranquil yard so we could relax while he finished his day working at the family vineyard. When he came home we built a fusion feast from the food in our bags and some delicious additions from Luis' kitchen. We had a creamy quinoa and veggie dish, Sashimi tuna, chicken salad and one of Holly's unique improv desserts.Read more