Seriously, could people be any nicer?

Well, where to begin... We were following the Ruta Rio Sonora for several days and stayed in some pueblitos along the way. The last one we arrived in was called La Aurora. We headed down a sandy road to the town and asked a couple of people where to stay. We were planning to camp by the river, but ultimately we ended up being invited to stay the night in a local family´s backyard. But that was just the beginning...The person who had offered us the place to stay, Jesús, also invited us to his son Derek´s third birthday party which happened to be the following day. Everyone was gathering at his wife Isabel´s childhood home for the weekend and the party, and I mean everyone. Isabel has 6 sisters, 5 brothers and about 25 nieces and nephews! So, it was going to be a BIG fiesta with a piñata, food, music, dancing and laughter - how could we refuse?!

After we got our stuff settled a bit we were ushered inside for a bite to eat - what a bite! Isabel generously prepared us frijoles, queso fresco (fresh cheese), homemade flour tortillas and juice. After eating we just took it easy for a while, had a shower, washed clothes, and chatted with Jesús. Later in the evening we ate dinner with the family and Eric brought his ukulele inside for a bit of late night music and singing. The kids got a kick out of the whole thing and, after getting over being a bit shy, started dancing around the kitchen!

In the morning we ate more delicious Mexican food - eggs with chorizo, beans, tortillas and coffee - and then helped with the preparations for the fiesta. First we husked a whole bunch of corn, and I mean a whole bunch - two large burlap sacks of them. Then we watched fresh tortillas being cooked on an open air wood-fired stove. I use the verb ´watch´ here because I tried to help, but I was terrible at it! But they were absolutely heavenly. There are few things as amazingly delicious as a crispy, soft, warm tortilla fresh off of the griddle. Delish! Later we also cut up lots of vegetables and grated carrots for a giant salad.

In the afternoon the fiesta began with people arriving from all over the village and from other cities. Derek was thrilled to be the guest of honor, and he carried the piñata stick with him everywhere making sure no one touched it until the party started. Everyone found a seat outside the house where the piñata, in the shape of the car from the movie Cars, was eventually hung. All the children lined up waiting to take a swing at it in hopes of spilling out the candy inside. When it finally broke open everyone, including the adults, rushed in to scoop up the sweets! Afterword dinner was served - duros (a kind of big cracker) with salad on top, coctel del elote (corn soup with sour cream, lime and chile), cake and juice. The fiesta continued on into the night with lots of boot-scootin´ music and dusty dancing, and Eric and I did our best to learn how to dance to Mexican country music. We even got to try some locally made bacanora, an elixer made from agave nectar that burns all the way down. Ay!

All in all it was an amazing way to spend two days. Jesús, Isabel and their family were incredibly open and generous with us, and we feel very fortunate to have been able to have the opportunity to get to know them.

Y ya un poquito en español - a Jesús y Isabel y su familia mil gracias. La experiencia que tuvimos con ustedes fue fenomenál. Nos sentimos muy agradecidos haberles conocidos a ustedes y estar en su casa como familia. La bondad de la gente nos lleva y nos apoya cada día en este viaje. ¡Realmente estamos encantados haber estado con ustedes esos días!

We included a couple of photos of the fiesta for you to see and we are also adding in a random video taken on a ride a couple of days ago...