On the way to Hidalgo del Parral (Photo: Alisa Clickenger)
Alisa Clickenger, aka MotoAdventureGal, is on her way to Tierra del Fuego, a woman riding solo to the tip of South America. Periodically she is checking in with us.
"I've been plugged into this BMW network of people, and interestingly enough, not because I work for BMW, but friends introduced me to a friend who introduced me to other friends and it's just been really great. I've been visiting with local people, learning local stuff, they've been taking me around and seeing things that I wouldn't be able to see otherwise, insights into family life, it's just been awesome, awesome."
Those were Alisa's first words when we spoke last week. Everywhere she goes, she says, when dealing with police and military officials, "I have a secret weapon. With my face shield down, I believe it’s impossible to tell it’s a girl under there unless you are my boyfriend or my mother. My Arai helmet has a dark pin-lock visor, which really shields my face.
"So what I do is I flip it up, acknowledge their surprise, then I quickly turn off the engine and take the helmet off. There. Disarmed. And then I talk. Ask them stupid questions, etc."
Once people see she is a woman, the reaction is enthusiastic. Her first morning in Mexico, as she was packing the 2003 Suzuki DR650SE she's riding, she greeted a couple women who were cleaning the park across the street. After awhile one came over to talk, and then one thing led to another. Soon she was turning down offers of coffee, of breakfast, and promising to send postcards from the end of the world. But for now, she's got to ride.
After crossing the Copper Canyon Alisa spent a couple days in Hidalgo de Parral. The bike was loaded and she was ready to exit her hotel room when "a lady friend of the receptionist, told there was a woman traveling alone, came flying up four flights of stairs and invited me out for breakfast. We chatted like crazy. She used to ride a motorcycle, she was living outside the Mexican mainstream, was a lawyer, chose not to be married, chose to have a child."
Maria Elena Ayala Gallegos asked Alisa to stay around another day and she would show her around. Back at the hotel, Alisa paid for another day, hauled her stuff back up to the same room, changed back into street clothes, and with her camera around her neck, skipped back down the stairs.
In the Copper Canyon (Photo: Alisa Clickenger)
Several days later Alisa was headed for Oaxaca. Ruben, who she was introduced to by mutual friends, rode 150 miles out to meet her and lead her into the city and to their home, where she was invited to stay. Under the weather a bit, they served her chicken soup, did her laundry, helped with maintenance on the bike, and generally pampered her.
"They help so much, and visit/entertain me when I am good and let me rest when I feel poorly. Something about friendly faces/people–-when I first talked to Ruben on the telephone he asked if I was ready to be spoiled. When we hung up I CRIED!"
From Oaxaca it was on to San Cristobal, where she again stayed with a local family.
"I've fallen in love with San Cristobal. I rode into town and hadn't even gotten off the bike yet and thought, 'Oh my god I love this place.' I hadn't found a hotel yet and it was 'Oh my god I love this place.' It's been such an incredible series of events the last 24 hours. I found an apartment, I found a vocation, I found friends, I found a way of life. I checked with my boyfriend and he's on board with this plan of mine. Miraculously enough, the people who are renting my house wrote to me that they want to rent for another year, so I think I'm going to come back here and live in San Cristobal after my trip.
"Something incredible has happened here--the universe just completely lined up when I was here in the last 24 hours. It's going to freak my family out. I am impetuous but when so many things fall into place it's just like, how can you avoid all those signs? I have a place to live, a way to make money, a town I love, my boyfriend says he's very willing to try it out."
Alisa left San Cristobal after a few days and headed into Guatemala. She'll be spending a week there in a language school, working on her Spanish, and then will head for Honduras, where she has another offer of a place to stay. We'll rejoin her sometime soon.
You can follow Alisa via her blog or get the real up-to-the-minute reports via her Twitter stream.
Related articles
Riding solo to the tip of South America
MotoAdventureGal update: Canyons, mummies, and butterflies
MotoAdventureGal update: Reaction to a woman riding solo
MotoAdventureGal half way to goal, but running out of time
MotoAdventureGal update: To the Darien Gap, then the hop to Colombia
MotoAdventureGal update: 'I rode the freakin' Andes!'
MotoAdventureGal update: Hard decision not to go to Ushuaia
MotoAdventureGal update: Made it to Machu Picchu, broke her hand
MotoAdventureGal Finale: Flying to Seattle today
Comments
Now that was a cool read!! Thanks Ken, very nice work.
Once on the way out of town for a trip (bike loaded with t-bag, etc.), I stopped at McDonald's to wait for my husband to join me (he had to work that day - someone has to). As I went inside, a woman approached me and said "you are NOT traveling alone, are you?" I assured her I wasn't but that I could. I can only imagine the reaction of people in a foreign country to a female riding alone.
That's a great story.
Got something to say?
Examiner.com is looking for writers, photographers, and videographers to join the fastest growing group of local insiders. If you are interested in growing your online rep apply to be an Examiner today!