Motoring
Mexico
By Jeff Goin
Jan 12, 2002
The border is a bummer. It's purpose, to separate a culture
and a philosophy, is as effective as it is unfortunate. Most unfortunate
was that it also separated me from my Sky Cruiser. Thankfully Don was generous
enough to offer me his DK which performed flawlessly the entire trip.
 The trip down from Chicago, through Dallas/Ft. Worth was
uneventful which is especially sweet since I travel as a "standby:" I
only go if there's room. Getting through immigration and customs was a breeze...much easier than for my gear.
FedEx
did a marvelous job getting it there on time but the customs folks wanted to
charge me a US$250 "Duty". That was more than the cost of my entire
trip so I decided to just have them ship it back home since Don offered to
let me use his DK. Hindsight's 20/20
suggests the next time I bring it as checked luggage.
The flight down from DFW revealed some spectacular formations.
The one pictured above left is a canyon that I'm told is bigger than the Grand
Canyon. This is about 60 miles north of Guadalajara.
After
arriving Don showed me around a bit. His gorgeous house sits high with a perfect
view of Lake Chupala (where we would fly).
He flies both the Mexican and US flags and described the
importance of having the correct one on top. Of course their value as a wind
indicator is not lost on Don either. The lake is 300 feet below this view
(pictured right) and so the winds up here can be quite different as I soon found
out.
  
The drive to launch in Ajijic, Jalisco, Mexico.
The drive provided amusement of it's own. Although only 5
minutes in duration it seemed we went back centuries in culture. From rooster
fighting to the horse as basic transportation it was so different. Really I've
only seen these sights on TV and it was fascinating to find myself in their
midst. As much traveling as I do it rarely crosses borders and then only the
immediate ones.
 Day
1: Flying
The travesty of this reservoir's liquid lacking was our gain.
The lake should be several feet higher but owing to drought and increased
upstream usage, it is way low, exposing significant land.
This
has gone on long enough that farmers are putting fences up and letting their
animals graze on the new growth. Some locals even maintain a few areas for soccer
fields which makes an excellent launch.
Since my beloved Sky Cruiser was cooling it's fins in customs
I would be flying Don's DK Whisper. And boy was I thankful to be able to (thanks
Don)! While it's a good bit heavier than the 'cruiser it is way better than the
alternative: not flying! Don has two wings and was kind enough to offer me the
small Silex, which I'm familiar with. Plus it's my favorite motor wing!
Winds
were light and variable. It took me two tries to get airborne owing to the
ravine which I couldn't make it over. I got turned towards the
ravine during inflation and thought I'd be airborne...not at THIS altitude! I lost too much
momentum trying to cross it with the wing overhead and had to abort.
The next time I laid out facing more away from it and launched
with no problem...but boy was I running! With 20 more pounds of motor and
being up at 5000 feet it made quite a difference. Of course the Silex is pretty
fast to begin with.
The scenery reward was well worth the launch effort. We cruised about
the shoreline and hillside for just under an hour. It was chilly with the air
temperature being about 68 and the rare clouds keeping any warm sun away.
  
  
In all of Don's flying these shores at various altitudes he's
only received one complaint: an 80+ year old woman who didn't like him seeing behind
her walled yard (and nearly ALL the yards are walled).
 There
is a surprising amount of wealth on these shores too and it's certainly all not
from the invading army of Gringo's. This spread (pictured left) was one of many
that dot the landscape. From ground level it's impossible to tell what's behind
the ubiquitous lot walls, but soon after liftoff the impressiveness of these
mansions opens up.
I ventured into the hills a bit to see if there was any ridge
lift but didn't find any...it just got bumpy. High clouds prevented most thermal
activity but sufficient winds aloft gave some "texture" to the inland
air.
We flew anywhere from 5 feet to 500 feet depending on
location. Because of the high ground speed though I only went to foot-drag
height once for a brief period. If the motor quit I would have had a tough time
running it out so I stayed generally above 30 feet the whole time (not my usual
beach flying altitude).
 After
landing my real Mexican experience started. Don has a collection of critters,
mostly exotic birds, and we stopped to pick up some feed. Next to the store
was a fisherman's hangout. Pictured left is the fisherman's grandson, a friendly chap who
was visiting home from Tulsa. His perfect English made for some enjoyable
conversation. His fisherman grand dad makes the nets he uses, weaving them by
hand. It turns out that Don has used his services to have a net made for his
early DK.
 Much
of the trip's fun was the food...of which I consumed heavily. Don
& Leeta are wonderful hosts and so there 's always food around the house (a
dangerous thing for me). What was really great were the little Mexican
restaurants we patronized. I'm pretty much a pizza and Wendy's eater but this
Mexican fare was great! Nick should have been here.
Most of the little towns we were in had cobble stone streets
and little shops were everywhere.  There
were frequently animals of various kinds in the streets too - not all still
living.
Some of the construction methods proved
interesting as well...apparently the electrical codes are viewed as somewhat
optional. Pictured left is Don standing next to the light switch from a
restaurant we just exited. The wire running up the wall was it's power
source.
Day 2: It Never Rains
Nope, it never rains here this time of year. On Friday I
mentioned that the forecast called for rain on Saturday. Leeta and Don both
laughed and informed me this is the dry season and it won't rain here
significantly probably for several more months.
It rained all day Saturday.
In fact, just about everybody I met commented on how amazed they were
at all the rain. "It never rains here this time of
year...especially this much!" they said.
Of course I'm only here for two full days. Thankfully, as it
turned out, the day was far from a loss and provided some interesting and
enjoyable aspects of my trip.
With motoring a washout we got together with a couple of Don's
flying friends and headed to a mountain soaring sight 2 hours away. We knew it was a long
shot and indeed didn't see any flying but the trip was a blast none-the-less.
The site, Tapalpa , was to be the launch site for a large
sanctioned paragliding contest starting the next day (which we didn't know).
  
1. Romeo, Don, Jeff & Bob keep dry beneath one of
the competition tents
2. Jeff (myself) stands on the PG launch site with the clouds churning away
below.
3. Don and I pointing to the wind streamer that's getting a brief
respite from the wind and rain.
When we arrived the clouds had consumed the mountain and a howling wind was blowing down launch. There
were tents and banners up in anticipation of the free flying hordes with their
admiring spectators. Being up at 7200 feet MSL it was cold too.
 There would be no paragliding this day. Even if you did get
your cold, muddy, soggy wing laid out, the 30+ mph wind would have fixed you
right up. It was blowing the wrong direction just to add insult to the cold.
But it did occasionally clear enough to provide some amazing
scenery. Rotor was swirling the clouds in ways I've never seen before...they made
the rotor visible in a made-for-eyeball spectacular of why you need to check the
winds atop the peak. With the wind solidly at our back we could see these clouds
swirling up the mountain then around when they hit the prevailing howl. Quite
fascinating.
Knives
Now we had time to kill. Bob, our "tour guide" for
the day knew of a world-famous
(at least among knife aficionados) maker of fine knives pretty close to the
launch area. Their Ojeida product is shipped all over the world and if purchased in the
USA would cost 5 times the local price.
 They did have some beautiful examples of fine craftsmanship. Pictured left is
the owner with one of his products...a belt knife. This is intended as a
concealed weapon that fits the belt and serves as it's buckle. I now know why
the airport security folks check behind belt buckles!
What was amazing was the inconspicuous nature of the shop and
the friendly demeanor of the proprietors. They didn't mind us walking around and
picking up their wares (which were indeed amazingly sharp). There has obviously
been some recent expansion. It was largely an open air affair...even the
machines were protected only by low walls with pillars to the roof. Obviously
the weather rarely dictated the need for much else.
 
1. Romeo holds up his purchase...a meat cleaver that will barely notice it's
slicee,
2. Don Jordan inspects the samples set out on a table for all to handle.
Day 3: Flying
I woke up to the patter of steady rain on the roof.
"Oh no, not more rain!". Thankfully, looking out west towards the
weathers source, a beautiful blue sky beckoned. There was even a steady
breeze lapping at the flags...it promised good flying later.
After Church and some welcome warming of the air,
we headed for launch. It was unusually breezy but flyable. Don's friend, Romeo
met us there to practice kiting and got a good dose of high-wind handling. Don
and I launched with a destination in mind: a a nearby ultralight airport that
had one drawback...it was downwind. But we could still make headway upwind at
about 7 mph or so and went.
The pictures tell the rest of the story:
  
1. Our course took us just south of the town carrying the same name as the
lake: Chapala.
2. The beautiful town and the surrounding area has attracted many northerners
from the US and Canada who came down, saw and bought.
3. Our destination is one of the few ultralight clubs in Mexico. This aspect of
the country was quite the opposite in cost...it is way more expensive to fly
there then in the US.
 
1. After arriving we found many compadres...the airport owner is a friendly
chap who loves aviation. There was a collection of aircraft including
experimental but most were ultralights.
2. Don and I were the only flight activity while we were there this lazy Sunday
afternoon.
  
1. The return trip was a bumpy slow go.
2. The terrain was eminently landable which was fortunate...Don came up a mile
short of the destination. He normally flies the Silex in these higher winds but
was letting me use it and says the Ranger wing increases fuel burn by 25%.
3. I landed to make sure things were ok then flew back for the truck.
  
1. Bob, an Air Canada captain and PG pilot snapped the following
pictures.
This one occurred during camera check-out.
2. We refueled and flew some more.
3. Don check's the truck cab
This day more than made up for the wet Saturday.
Again this sport and the wonderful
folks
associated with it have enriched my life enormously. It is unlikely I would have
ever experienced Mexico this way and I'm sure glad I've had this opportunity.
Thank you Don and Leeta for your gracious hospitality!
Departing Impressions of Mexico
My departure from Mexico was an arduous one as my
standby travel status left me stranded for many hours at Guadalajara. It also
left me with some powerful impressions of the Mexican people. Surprisingly they
were powerfully good impressions.
Don dropped me off at 0600 and offered to hang
around or come back to the airport if this happened. But he understood the
drill...I would stay at the airport and try to get on whatever flight was
heading my way. And I tried a lot of them! Finally American Airlines came
through with an afternoon flight that wasn't full.
Since 9/11 I no longer can ride in the "jump seat"
of other airlines flights. Generally I can still ride in the back but only if
there's room. It is a courtesy born of our unusual propensity to
"commute" to work from different states. This is mostly because
airlines frequently open and close "bases" to which pilots report plus
some just want to live somewhere else.
It wasn't the fact of my strandedness that left
the impression; there was nothing anyone could do about the full planes...it was
the incredible effort these folks went through trying!
Nobody has ever made the kind of effort these
Mexican agents did in trying to get me on an airplane. They had nothing to gain
and didn't know me from any other Gringo. Even when I had to get off the second
airplane they were very apologetic and seemed genuinely sorry I wouldn't be
making it. Of course it may be they just wanted me gone too!
One time I was back at the American counter after
being "bumped" to change my "listing." The agent from the
departing flight ran around the corner and told me they found a seat for me. She
hustled me through security (of course I beeped and had to be wanded), onto the
ramp and into the airplane. Amazing. Needless to say I was appreciative of all
their efforts and let them know it.
Strange how in tense times an impression can be
grooved so deep either for the good or the bad. This was certainly for the good.
|
