From Anchorage to Ushuaia by Bike

After two difficult days climbing up from sea level, we finally arrived in Tequila (1250m in altitude), where we got in touch with Mickael (French) and Sara (Mexican), members of the couchsurfing network. We were supposed to stay and rest one day, but we ended up staying two.

A visit to a retirement hospice in Guadalajara

We went with Sara and Mickael to Guadalajara to visit a retirement home there. They go whenever they get a chance to help out and to bring food: the hospice is in a nunnery and is home to more than 140 older women.

There is no social assistance for the elderly here. In the countryside, the families take care of the elders, but in the city, families often “dump” their aged in hospices like this one. No funding from the state though, it’s privately run. They survive thanks only to donations, and are taken care of by volunteers and by the few visitors they receive. Some women were dropped off here by their sons, who promised to come back the next day, and who haven’t been seen in ten years. The rooms are dormitories, separated by curtains. A few lucky women have private rooms, generally those that arrived here first. There are no medications or nurses. The beds are regular beds, and are not equipped for elderly home care. We helped them play the lottery, sung Christmas carols, and gave out Christmas care packages (filled with candy) and scarves to the 40 or so women who are still about to get out.

Even though we didn’t understand everything the women told us, we knew that our presence with them was enough to bring them some joy.

We also visited the women who were bed-ridden, to bring them their Christmas care packages. One of them had a stomach ulcer, but had no money to pay for medication. The only think she could stand to eat or drink was Sprite. So we bought her some bottles, since there was no one who comes to visit her and she was unable to get up out of bed.

We received many “muchas gracias” (thank you very much) and “feliz navidad” (merry Christmas). One lady even gave us a blessing for the rest of our journey! The whole experience was very moving for us, and we felt very lucky to have state sponsored retirement homes in France, and social security, among others things.

Tequila

Tequila is a town that exists solely due to their production of tequila (it’s true, there is such a place!!). There are many tequilleras, two particularly important ones: Cuervo and Sauza. Certain roads and neighbourhoods belong to these two companies, who combined pay three million dollars in taxes to the municipal government, and who consequently hold a lot of sway in city governance. Generally, they are known here for having contributed little but taken a lot from the community.

The tequila that we are familiar with in France, called “tequila blanco,” is never drunk here, only exported. [A bit like the Beaujolais nouveau from France] This tequila is bottled right after the distillation. The tequila labelled “Reposado” is aged for six months in oak casks to improve it, and the tequila “Anejo” is aged a year. Here, tequila is savoured like whiskey. Who knew!? And when we asked one of the companies why they didn’t export the good stuff, they answered that in Europe, tequila is considered only a drink for getting drunk, and they didn’t want to spoil that image. Very strange…

A micro-entrepreneur

In Tequila, we met our first micro-businessman. It was by chance: we went to pick up some jellies from a friend of Mickael et Sara, and we happened to ask him a few questions. Faustino makes these jellies in his kitchen and sells them himself from his tricycle in the streets! Bingo! We were able to interview him and his family all about their little venture. It was amazing to hear their stories and to talk with them, all thanks to Mickael who translated for us. We made an appointment for the next day so we could see him do his rounds and take a few pictures. Faustino was very proud of his business and generously invited us into his world.

Thank you so much to Faustino and Lily for your hospitality and for sharing your experience with us!

Up next…

After two days of rest in Tequila, we are headed tomorrow to Guadalajara to stay with Carlos and Marta, the parents of Liliana (an old co-worker of mine). Carlos is the interim director of a microfinance institution. When he found out about our project he insisted on meeting us, and then when we told him that we would be around Guadalajara around Christmas time, he invited us to spend Christmas with him and his family.

We’ve decided not to go by bike tomorrow. Sébastien has been sick for four days now (fever, head cold and sore throat) and our bodies need a break. We have also seen the road when we went to the hospice: we would have a choice between either the cuota (toll highway) which is mostly uphill except for the very end, or the free highway which is very dangerous. And since Mickael is driving into town in his pick-up, he’s going to drop us off.

Sara