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"On the Trail"
Wednesday, November 1, 2000: Pancho Negro wins the prize!! --- Naranjal,
Ecuador ( 65kms)
Videos:
Baking bricks near Pancho Negro
Lunch break at Pancho Negro
Tad here, doing well. How are you?
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Breakfast at El Triunfo came from a roadside vendor as all stores and restaurants were still closed at seven. We had a fried empanada with a bit of cheese inside and a hot, sweet, corn drink called MOROCHO. Very tasty and filling. Hopped on the metal horses and galloped to the next town, El Truncal. I wanted to do a bit of internet and Frank wanted to keep moving but we compromised with a 30 minute internet stop and he would go to a ferreteria (hardware store) and find a new bulb for his beacon light. I found an internet cafe that was open and Frank found Carlos Abad. Sr. Abad worked with him for almost an hour finding the right bulb and then gave it to him free. So if you are in El Trucal please stop by and say thanks and buy something from Carlos Abad at EL CABLE (tele. 422-230). While I waited for Frank I found a pineapple vender. A gal name Eve saw that my leatherman was a few inches short to cut pineapple and handed me a carving knife and urged me to eat the fruit. This was the fruit of the Knowledge of Good and Juicey. After many a tastey slices shared with all, Frank and I banished ourselves out to a gravel road and on to the next town.
The road, though gravel, had many interesting sights, one being the roadside brick construction production. The bricks are made from the clay next to the road and mixed with sawdust and then baked in an oven. I got a good picture of Washington and the brick oven.
Flat, gravel, and very little traffic. Came into Pancho Negro, a quiet town and thought we could stop in front of the church for a quick, inconspicuous bowl of noodles. As soon as we stopped a crowd began to form. They told us it would be fine to have lunch in front of the church and then all followed us down to watch. They were so great! They loved the camp stove and couldn't believe that we didn't eat our noodles with meat. I joked with them that I tried to bring along a pig with me but it got tired from running before we got to Mexico so I decided to go vegi. After adding the onions to the noodles I thought it could use a bit more so I emptied the rest of our mustard into it. A few wanted to try our dish and to the surprise of their friends said that it was pretty good. Good but not quite filling, thought I. But that was soon remedied as a few women brought over cups of BADEA juice. A badea fruit is larger than a cantelope and smaller than a watermelon, green on the outside and light yellow on the inside. We each had two glasses of juice and then they gave us a whole badea fruit. We gave them our address. Frank let a gal ride his bike and that got everyone cheering. I filmed a bunch of the kids sending a greeting out from Pancho Negro. I told a few ladies that this town was one of the friendliest I had encountered on my trip. She said that 3 bikers had been by there about 2 months ago but they kept to themselves so when they saw that we were friendly they just had to let the welcome party loose. As we were about to leave we each got a number of kisses on the cheek and a few more gifts of bananas and pictures taken. About seventy-five people came out into the street and waved us on our way! We both couldn't stop smiling with gratitude for the next hour. To the people of Pancho Negro... your welcoming, joyous energy was a gift to us that we hope to share and pass on again and again!!!
We have their school's address if some classroom wants to connect with the kids of Pancho Negro!
When we got to Naranjal a guy named Angel helped us find a hotel. He drove ahead of us and got us all set up. Thanks Angel of Naranjal.
That night I was tired of rice and onion, tomato, and lettuce hash so I talked Frank and this cook into a cooperative french toast. I bought bread and jam and she brought the eggs and milk. I made the first few and then she took over. A boy, Luis, who said he was homeless, came over and we invited him for french toast dinner. The cook invited the rest of the town to try this strange Tostada Franceses. That is a bit of an exaggeration but I got a bit irritated when she started serving the food we bought to others to try, over and over. She asked me, kind of, after having offered it and I felt like I should say yes. It was a lesson of either saying a strong Yes and feeling good about it or saying a strong No and feeling good about it. Instead I said a wimpy Yes and felt bugged about it. Next time... And that., kids, was a PeaceBike Inner-Peace Note to Self.
After searching around the town for internet we settled for ice-cream and headed back to the hotel.
Icecream sandwiches are very good,
TAD