The tail of a cold front with strong winds and 6-8 foot waves marked the scenario. Young Olympic style paddlers with parents, brothers and sisters showed up. News reporters, Club Directors and TV cameras were ready.

Four youngsters climbed on tandems that we brought to this town for the purpose. Juan Luis and I completed the welcome crew. The boys were very excited to paddle towards the harbor entrance and feel the 4 - 5 feet incoming swell. They were having a ball, without PFD’s and no experience on waves. We furnished them with lifejackets (unheard of by Olympic trainees).

18:10. A satellite phone call. “Hi Rafael, we have arrived, we are on the south side of the jetty. I climbed up and saw some tandems in the river.” That was Larry.

“Welcome to Tampico” I said, “You have to enter the river”. Sponsored satellite phone does not allow for long calls. After hanging I realized that they had to climb in their kayaks again and enter the already left behind rough waters.

“OK guys. Let´s go and receive them” The three tandems rushed to the jetty´s end, where waves were about 5 feet. We told the boys to wait at safe distance and Juan Luis and I reached open waters and saw the two fully equipped Nigel Denis kayaks climbing and descending close to the wave dampened rocky walls, in between spurs of white splashes. Came close, said hi and started surfing in.

The two anxious tandems surrounded them and started talking to Larry. They were trying their best English and Larry practicing his recent but rapidly growing Spanish. The half a mile entrance was very joyful. The adventurers happy with the welcome after two weeks of loneliness. The boys having an unexpected treat: new experience, paddle on waves, paddle with the masters.

At the pier, interviews, hugs, pictures, women cheerleading the visitors, demos, rolls. The State Canoe Association President Gonzalo Hernández greeted them.

Shown to their rooms they took a bath and came down to have grilled meet, beans and cheese tostadas, beer and soft drinks, all prepared by parents.

On the following two days we had to do some repairs, visited a school, Arthur and Juan Luis did a great demo with sculling rolls, offside rolls, and visited the city. There were some funny details worth mentioning.

1. Shopping for parts.- They needed a piece of aluminum tube to fix their camping tent poles. One broke during a “Norte”. In the USA you pick up the phone, look in the yellow pages, call, ask for the price and address and go. Here we went to a hardware store and following references from store to store, found one in downtown who had the tubing. Tampico downtown is called the Mexican New Orleans because balconies and buildings built at the turn of 20th Century follow the same architectural influence.

2. Crossing Streets.- I feared for the guys. They seemed used to the loneliness of open waters and are used to crossing streets in cities where drivers consider pedestrians as potential suers, to say the least. Unconsciously Larry and Arthur expected cars to stop in crossings, while cars expected them to move away. I suggested them that they were safer in the 6 - 8 foot waves.

3. Fresh fruits.- Arthur, Larry and Reynaldo (the Olympic kayak coach) crossed the street to the “School of the Sea”, to drill some holes. Coming back, each had a plastic cup with pieces of fruits like mango, water melon, cantaloupes, papaya and jicama, well spread with hot red peppers powder and lime. Reynaldo treated them to it in the street vendor portable cart. There, the same hands peel the fruits, collect the money, etc, The same bucket is used to soak the fruits, wash his hands, etc.

   I saw Moctezumas´s ghost wondering around. I told them “You should not eat that”, but they were not going to be impolite, and could not resist, as good bayou men, to try that delicious hot pepper.

   I have been wondering if their fast progress these last days has been due to some type of propulsion system.

   That same evening we were out for dinner and there was this taco place with servings of Greek style tacos, beef tacos, cecina tacos and they tried them all with fresh onions and sauce and green “cilantro”. They didn´t want to miss a thing. They were eager to taste, to learn, to compare, to communicate. They will have lots to share when they are through.

   Fortunately nothing happened but… I kept laughing to myself.. “they were safer in rough waters.”

4. Walking with Celebrities.- While in Tampico, people who read the papers or watched TV would recognize Arthur and Larry everywhere we went. In a school they even signed some autographs.

The goal was met. They promoted the sport, learned a lot, developed a feeling fro the importance of achievement among youngsters and many of us. The Club hosts were credited in the papers and we all had a good time.

We wish them a good trip and will meet them again in Veracruz.

    Rafael Mier-Maza
    El cayuco chief
    www.mayanseas.com

    pictures at community.webshots.com/user/cayucochief