As much as I like the beach, I am a true mountain person through and through. I find the beach to be boring sometimes, but never tire of mountains and the features they offer this beautiful world. There is, however, a similarity between these two terrains! Fishing brings people from all over for sport, food, and tranquility. There is nothing like spending a day on the water, just you and your fishing pole, and the vastness of the nature around you. El Saltito in Durango was no exception.
A little background on El Saltito. I made my way from Mazatlan to Durango, a road that was unforgettable in so many ways. When I arrived at the hostel, my first question was: where I can find some natural spots to observe within the mountains? The first place the host told me was El Saltito (meaning “the little jump”). I am glad I have the motorcycle, because getting to this place without your own mode of transportation seemed impossible.
The road to El Saltito
A 50 minute ride into the bush, and a small sign stating I have arrived shows up in front of me.
The view from above was really spectacular. The water flowing down the rocks. Consistently crashing into the body of water beneath. I was pretty determined to get to the bottom of this place and see all of this from a different angle.
But where do I go?
From the lot I was parked in, it seemed like there was no way to get down. I tried going over the flowing water to the other side, but that didn’t seem very safe. Trying this did, however, give me the view I needed to figure out how to get down.
It is funny how sometimes, even when we think we’ve made a mistake or taken the wrong route, it is there to show us where we are really supposed to go.
I made it to the other side, and headed down towards the bottom. Honestly, it seemed a little eery at first. The shadow from the trees made it darker than I expected, and with some abandoned buildings around the area, it looked like a ghost town. Once I got acclimated, and moved closer to the shoreline, the view was honestly much better from this angle.
I noticed something…
Walking to the edge of the water, I noticed a bicycle sitting right in front of me, and didn’t see anyone around. Just as I was wondering where this person could have went (and how they heck they cycled all the way out here), this man pops his head out from behind the rocks! Upon noticing him, I also saw he was holding a fishing line, which made me even happier. I yelled asking if there were any big fish in the water, and he excitedly used a hand gesture telling me to come and check it out!
When I got there, I saw not only one, but FOUR fishing lines out in the water! This guy knew what he was doing. We started talking, and he showed me the big bag of fish he had already caught that day. One of my first questions was: Where did you come from? This man rode 10 miles on a rickety old bicycle to come fish here. Many may be asking why he would go that far to go fishing, He lives in a small village deep in the mountains, and planned on fishing there all day. I can see now why he made that journey.
I learned something new!
As you have figured out at this point, I love talking with locals anywhere I go. This guy was really excited to show me his trade. He had 4 lines wrapped around water bottles sitting on the shore. Patiently waiting to see when one would start unraveling so he could start reeling in a fish. As we were talking, one of the lines started to go out REALLY fast! He ran over as quickly as he could and started chasing the line. Now here is where it gets interesting.
He shared a trick with me when fishing here. You have to bring the lines in really fast, because otherwise the fish will swim under the roots of the trees, and the line will get stuck. In my opinion, this is a price worth paying every once in a while for the stuff he was reeling in! Occasionally, I would see him grab the line really tight, and give it a strong pull. It would break and he would add another hook and weight combo.
Having been around many fishermen in my life, I know they all have their own ways of tying hooks and weights. There are so many ways to accomplish this, and I cannot help but be intrigued by each of them. There is no “right” way to do this, just thousands of them. Each person swears by their method, and won’t bother learning a new one considering their’s has been working all their life.
Moving forward
With about 10 fish in his bag, I figured the journey along the river was calling to me. I bid my new friend farewell. He gave me an ear of corn and sent me on my way. What an amazing gesture from a local who only had two ears in his bag left for the whole day!
Truthfully, I have learned people who don’t have much give the most when it comes to strangers they can help. One may think it would be the opposite, but my experiences so far on the road have proven to me otherwise.
Walking down the river was pretty magical. I am no geologist, but I could only speculate these are lava rocks stretching across the whole riverside. Jumping from one to the other like a kid was fun, enjoying the new views as I continued along. I went down a couple miles, and decided to head back.
Right before I got to the exit point of this fisherman’s goldmine, I saw another local hanging out on a rock! He saw me from far away. In an attempt to start a conversation, he put his hand out in a way saying “what are you doing here?”. I went over and we started talking. He said he was there enjoying the views while his brother-in-law went out to do some fishing.
If there is any reason to learn the language of a place you are visiting, it is for experiences like this. When the fisherman waved me over to check out what he had going on, my heart lit up. I was so happy to get on his level and learn so many things from him. His method of tying hooks and weights, what bait he uses. How a simple plastic bottle can be used to reel in fishing line. And most of all, how hospitable people with so little can be in this life. I am forever grateful meeting these local fishermen in El Saltito!
‘Til next time,
Pete – A Traveling Teacher