After getting through one desert we were back into another after Guerrero Negro. However, we did pass through a quaint oasis town called San Ignacio that has a lake and is surrounded by palm trees. Speeding down a crazy steep hill into Santa Rosalia we had a first glimpse of the Sea of Cortez. That night we managed to stay in a hotel room with Meaghan and Alisha for a total of 150 pesos ($15) at Hotel San Victor which was a super bargain. Next we found ourselves in Mulege, where we stayed with Bill through Warm Showers. You could definitely see the evidence of the hurricane that stormed through back in October. Many roads were destroyed and a lot of rebuilding was going on. Bill lived up a small hill so managed to escape the water but was stranded in his home for several days. We were treated to a tour around town in his truck, which included a restaurant right on the beach and an ice cream stop. Unfortunately, this was where we had to say goodbye to the two sisters. We ended up spending seven days with them, which is the longest we’ve cycled with anyone. They were going to enjoy a well deserved few days off at the beach before making the trek home to Vancouver, B.C. We miss you, Meaghan and Alisha, please keep in touch!
After cycling down Bahia Concepción, which showcases some beautiful sandy white beaches, we primitive camped amongst the cacti. We then found ourselves in Loreto, where we meet two other cyclists, Tom and Hayley, who (surprise, surprise) live in Vancouver, B.C! In the heat of the day we chilled out on the groomed beach lined with palm umbrellas and then continued onto El Juncalito, 24 km’s south of Loreto. This was our favourite beach in the Baja. It was just a small quiet bay with a mix of American and Mexicans living together, mostly in Palapas set back off the beach. We got to stay in a trailer, where we enjoyed a day off and also got thrashed at the game Upwords by Roberta. While Roland had a relaxing morning I joined Roberta in a small baking class where some friends where learning how to make 90 minutes cinnamon rolls. In the afternoon Roland and I took a walk around the bay to a sandy beach that had views of a marina. In the evening we had a feast at Tay and Bill’s house with other friends of Roberta’s and also three other cyclists: Marion and Andi from Switzerland (who started in Argentina and going to Alaska) and Uli from Germany (who we meet a few days earlier and is also going south). We enjoyed a pot luck meal with fresh fish (Doraldo) that Bill had caught and freshly baked bread that Roberta made. It was sooo good!
The cinnamon bread French toast Roberta made us on the morning we left must have had something magical added because we powered up a long and steep mountain and then got up to 50kms per hour on straights. We did almost one hundred kilometres before stopping for our first break. This is where we met Byron (another Canadian!) and agreed to meet up later that day to primitive camp together. After doing a total of 160kms and getting a bit burnt we joined Byron who had found a primo spot to camp for the night. The following day we meet up with Hayley and Tom again so the five of us camped together the next night. In the morning Roland and I parted with our camping buddies and busted it to La Paz. We stopped in a taco stand for breakfast where we met two local guys who wanted to welcome us to Mexico and paid for our breakfast! It was such a lovely surprise and made us feel really good as we’d just had a harassed ride with the trucks passing us and honking incessantly.
It turned out we didn’t have a place to stay in La Paz so we decided to just cycle straight to the ferry terminal and head to Mainland Mexico. In all the cyclists we’ve meet recently, no one was going to Los Mochis but heading south to Mazatlán. So I guess we are the only crazy ones going up into the mountains where it is cooler and also a big detour north again. After watching The Dark Knight in Spanish and trying to stay occupied during the 6 hour boat ride, we arrived into Topolobampo (say that 10 times quickly) at 10pm at night and found a hidden spot to camp for the night. Packing up the tent the following morning, a tarantula crawled onto our ground sheet, the first live one we’ve seen so far. It was a tad creepy though!
Today is our third day off in Los Mochis which has been a perfect place to rest. Of the 17 days we had in Baja, we cycled 15 of them so it’s really great to be having a break. People in Los Mochis appear to be relatively well off, especially compared to what we saw in the Baja. We have met a great guy through SERVAS here who also has some very lovely friends. Dan works at the Arizona English College and so our first day here we attended some of the classes where the students could practice their English by asking us questions and hearing about our trip. Also some of his colleagues live in an apartment block which one of them is empty right now. Once again, arrangements have just fallen into place and we have felt very blessed with having a ´free´ space to ourselves and being in the presence of some good company. Jeremy, our next door neighbour, is from the England and also has a good command of the Spanish language. We’ve been hanging out with him a lot and he has also been helping us with errands and chores we’ve had to do. As well as catching up on sleep, we’ve been enjoying afternoon beers on the balcony, checking out Los Mochis nightlife, watching movies, enjoying Thai and Colombian meals prepared by Jeremy, getting our bike serviced by some really great guys who also gave Roland lunch (Big Birds the cleanest it’s looked in a long time), and enjoying the shade of the local plaza and parks.
Tomorrow we head into the Copper Canyon by train. Roland and Jeremy are out buying the tickets right now and finding out if we can get our bike on there too. We heard from some other cycling friends they had to beg the conductor to get their bikes on so we’ll see how that one goes. If we can’t take Big Bird on, we’ll still go and leave our bike here in Los Mochis.
We can’t believe Christmas is only four days away. I think it’s going to be a pretty quiet Christmas for us this year as we’ll be up in mountainous terrain which is a lot less populated. We hope everyone has a special Christmas. We are sorry not to be with our families! FELIZ NAVIDAD!
Tortillas eaten since arriving into Mexico
169
Did you know?
Tequila is made from the juice of a particular type of Cactus plant.
Crib Score
Roland 68
Belinda 47
New Spanish word invented by Belinda:
"Skunkericka"
English translation: Skunk
This word is vital in Roland and Belinda´s daily diction as they are cribbage playing maniacs. It was only two days ago when this word was first put to use, on a balmy Baja afternoon under the shade of a bus stop, when Belinda very skillfully ´skunkericked´ Roland..... however, she continues to lag behind on the scoreboard!