Thoughts on Baja, mainland Mexico, and beyond.

This is the last entry for this trip. (I promise).

Thanks everyone for following along and checking in throughout these last 5000 miles. When I was in the midst of various challenges, and working through all the emotions that come with new challenges, reading your comments and e-mails brought me back to center. Mas muchas gracias. I have lots of detailed information, about the surface of Baja, along with a little insight, (with an emphasis on “little”), into and beyond it. Should any of you be considering going to any of the areas mentioned in this blog, let me know. You know I would look forward to talking about it.

If you’re not interested in me waxin’ for a minute, you might want to skip the following thoughts but at least scroll down to the pictures of what I refer to as Mexico’s “Paris”, a Spanish colonial city named Guanajuato, Mexico, for a glimpse of this beautiful and medieval city.

Connections.
In the little time spent thinking about this trip since returning,

the thing that stands out the most so far is how alive and fluid the space we live in, really is. Obviously that’s not rocket science but while immersed in the big waters and riding the bike through space, I could actually feel it.

I felt it and then actually saw it after putting three consecutive big mile days on the bike and thinking about the 5000 miles just ridden as I was returning home. The air became water and I could actually see and feel the wake and turbulence off to the sides as the motor pulled me through it. Ok, “So what”, you say, “You were delirious”. Well, that may be true but I only mention it as an example of a much larger realization for me.

To help better describe it, I share a quote given to me at the beginning of this trip. Rho said that while this quote was intended for walkers, it also holds true for motorcyclists. I would like to add to this by suggesting that it holds true for all of us as we move through this beautiful and incredible space together; "When you walk, you are massaging the earth. In the same way, the earth is trying to help you to balance your organism and mind. Understand this relationship and try to respect it. May your steps have the firmness of a lion, the elegance of a tiger and the dignity of an emperor".

Another realization was how important it was, (and I really had no choice), to trust. Trusting other people, myself, the landscape, and everything around me. Because of this, I can’t begin to tell you how by doing so helped me realize so many cool relationships, and to explore and discover. In retrospect, being forced to trust was the best thing that came from this trip and I am in awe of what it brought me.

Lessons Learned

If you dont "want a pickle, go out and ride your motorcycle"... (Arlo Guthrie; http://www.arlo.net/resources/lyrics/motorcycle-arlo.shtml ) Check out the lyrics and Arlo's story of the song.

When in Mexico asking for directions, do not confuse the Spanish words Direcho with Direcha. (Look ‘em up if you don’t know the English translations). I did confuse them when spoken to me, unfortunately, way too often.

Guanajuato, Mexico
Here is a view from the top, in Guanajuato. The city was built on top of the mines in the 1500's by the wealthy Spanish mine owners.
El centro is filled with history and charachter. They have a nice theatre that is a great example of this...
and stunning architecture.

Here is a shot looking down one of the side streets.

Every time I turned my head, I was transfixed by how incredible this town is.



Which got me lost on ocassion. So I stopped in here to gather myself...


These Cantina's are for men only. "Yes Robin, if you were to walk in they would ask you to leave". At the end of the bar is a trough or urinal. I thought it was pretty convenient, Robin seemed to be a little disgusted by it. Unfortunately they wouldnt let me take any pictures of the inside.


The streets heading into el centro were a better representation of the architecture generally found throughout the cities in Mexico. Smooth flowing lines and rich colors...


Here is a shot of the morning set up's going on for the mercado.



Hope you enjoyed as much as I did posting. See you again soon for the next adventure.

La Paz. jb

Down but not out...

Spent three days broken down in Puerto Vallarta waiting for a part to be delivered from Guadalajara. (By the way, Puerta Vallarta is not a bad place to be broken down). I also made two new friends, Raphael, the owner of a motorcycle shop in Nuevo Vallarta, and Art, an awesome guy, harley rider, and ex-canadien now living in a little town called La Pineta, a couple hours north of Puerto Vallarta. I wont go into the details and I have no pics to share but it included this mucho loco gringo knocking on doors of complete strangers asking for help in the middle of the night and in the middle of no where, a ride on the back of Raphael's roaring harley into Puerto Vallarta at 4am, and a bit of tequila and cervaza. I will have to share this story with all of you the next time I see you.

Once the fix was complete, I decided that because I was now over budget due to the fix, I would head back north. The trip back would be without any real research as I had done for the trip to date. (I spent about three months planning the routes, talking to other folks who had made the ride through Baja, etc). So I would more or less would be flying by the seat of my pants. Just to make things a little more interesting, I decided to take a short-cut; across and then north through the heart and interior of Mexico. Of course my first day's ride of the return norte had to include a bit of Tequila.
Not sure which came first, the Jose Cuervo plant or this beautiful church in Tequila?

Coming out of Tequila and heading towards Guadalajara, as I was picking up speed from a stop, a snarling, gnarling, pack of dogs came fighting out into the dusty heated street. I checked my rear view mirrors and had a line of trucks on my tail and there was no shoulder on the road to bail out on. I tapped my brakes only lightly out of fear of getting rear ended, and unfortunately caught the hind quarter of one of the dogs. I heard him yelp but didnt stop and didnt even look in my rear view mirror to check on him. I rambled on. The wild dogs are everwhere, (as are horses, goats, cows, and burro's), and you never know when they will appear. I cant begin to count the number of times I had to swerve to avoid them, and their carcases, lying in the middle of the road. Never the less, I was sickend by it and it took me some time to recover. But the day wasnt over yet. As I said earlier, I hadnt done any research on this route, and rolling into and finally through Guadalaraja was what I can only think to compare to riding through downtown Manhattan at rush hour. It took me almost two hours to get pointed in the right direction. The dirtball mexicans calling me yankee and asking "Que tal gringo"? ("Whats up white boy") as I was parked on the side of the road in the wrong side of town checking my Mexico state map while trying to catch my breath, didnt help matters. Nope, I didnt get any pictures of them. But I did give 'em a big smile and a"wave" of sorts as I smoked my rear tire in their faces as I headed out.

Heres a shot of me questioning my shortcut...

I kept it under 60 for quite a while as I was trying to get my mind right...

Here is a pic that I failed to include earlier in Mazatlan. I was tempted to enter, but thought better of it as I may be there soon enough...

If you cant make out the pic its a red wrought iron fence with the devils head on top, just below his pitchfork. The pitchfork reads El Diablo.

Thats all for now. Thanks for your comments and for staying in touch!

The Main land

Me and my new found friends arrived safely in Mazatlan. We had no idea what was in front of us or of the challenges to come. We pulled out our maps and agreed to met for lunch a few kilometers away. I was only able to catch up with Roie again, the next day in old town Mazatlan. Simple coincidence. Not sure where the others are as I never saw them again.

Mazatlan is filled with touristas, mainly centered in Nuevo Mazatlan. I spent my time in the old town.

Mazatlan has pretty churches.

and this one had a beautiful facade, with cinder block behind it.
On to Barra la Naviad. Will post again soon! La Paz to all of you!

a Ferry tale...

I left Todos Santos early for the fifty mile ride back to La Paz to catch the Ferry to Mazatlan. While I didnt have to be to the docks until 1p, I wanted to get some e-mails out and have a big breakfast before hopping on the ferry. This is a shot from the cocina on the malecon in La Paz where I ate and contemplated my ride across this sea. To be honest, I was nervous about the trip, and with good reason. The ferry company had exchanged hands numerous times over the last ten years, and more concerning was that I had just talked to a guy in Loreto who rode the ferry about five years ago. Long story short, the ferry sank. Fortunately everyone on board was succesfully loaded onto the life boats and made it to their destination. However that wasnt the end of the story; the guy tells me that the Mexican government would not allow any passengers to depart the country until they had each paid to have their vehicles pulled out of the Sea! Dear Jesus! I gave St Christopher a big kiss before I headed to the docks. Here is a shot of the ferry. Doesnt look bad, 'eh?

I had never been on a boat this big before. They loaded up all the semi's, light trucks, and cars before the two motorcycles and couple of bicycles that were also going across. While I had to wait two hours for them to do so, my bike and I would be the first one off the ferry. Sounded good to me! Here is a shot of the belly of the beast being loaded with a semi.

Once aboard, we had some company guiding us out of the harbor:
and these guys too...
I went first class. but keep in mind this is first class Mexican style. The ferry was really old, worn, and duct taped everywhere. There was also the strong odor of pesticide hanging in the air as they must have just sprayed it down. The cabin though was functional and served its purpose:
I met the owners of the three bicycles and the other motorcycle. A couple from Quebec was on two of the bicycles and were heading to Peru, where they would then fly back to Quebec after visiting Machu Pichu. Another Quebec couple were riding two up on a motorcycle to Tiera Del Fuego on a 650cc motorcycle!





The other bicyclist, Roei, is my hero. he flew himself, his gear and bicycle from Israel to Prudhoe Bay in Alaska about a year ago to start his bicycle trip around the world. He is half way through his first leg traveling down to Tierra del Fuego before taking a plane across to Africa. for the next leg.

He is truly an inspiration. You have to check out his web site: http://www.icq.com/specials/bike/ We all talked throughout the night and shared stories and information, do's and dont's, and the benifits of technology for today's adventurers. My best night yet and confirmed in my own mind that I wasnt alone or crazy. Okay, maybe just not alone...

I was happy to see these aboard.

Pretty ferry rope...

Another day about to slip away.

While I must admit, I was secretly and half-heartedly hoping for a ride in the life rafts, we safely made it across to Mazatlan...

The ride across to Mazatlan was 18 hours. When the Pacific met the Cortez, about half way across, this ferry and all aboard, were being rocked and rolled like I have never been before! Many folks got sick and the ferry hands were making a mint selling drugs to them. I was fine, and didnt need to rock myself to sleep on this night!

Roei and I had lunch in Mazatlan and walked up to and around the Market in old town Mazatlan. We enjoyed each others company for the afternoon before he set off for Tepic, about a three day ride for him. We wished each other safe travels and both looked forward to seeing each other again down the road.

I have to get my laundry rolled and back into the stuff sack and plan the remainder of the trip so will post again at my next stop. My love to all of you and La Paz to every one!

the end of the road in Baja...

Loreto is a beautiful city with much to do and see. Here are a few pictures of el centro on or near the plaza.

The residential streets here have some beautiful homes...

I think Rob and I could be very happy in Loreto in our old age. They have all the services you need and its not too bad of a drive to San Diego if you need a US fix.

Skirting the Cortez Sea and on to La Paz, ("Peace" in english), I stayed at the Posada De Sol. A great 10 room hotel just west of el centro. Here is a picture of the sun setting just off the malecon in el centro.
I rode out of La Paz to Todos Santos, determined to get a good deal on a room at the Hotel California:

But they wouldnt bargain. 2000 pesos a night, ($200. US). So while someone was "living it up at the Hotel California" it wasnt me. I stayed across the street for 350 pesos and slept comfortably and safely waking up to my usual morning set up of Starbucks espresso... My riding gear doesnt amount to much down here..

Todos Santos has an awesome bookstore. As I hunkered down here for a few hours reading, it reminded me of home, when Robin and I would make our weekly visit to the best bookstore in the world, Tattered Cover.

I clebrated the great hotel rate with a sit down dinner. Best shrimp fajitas and Margarita I ever had.

I will post more tomorrow, whilst doing some laundry, of the ferry ride across the Cortez. It was first class, Mexican style...

a Whale tale and the Cuesta de Infierno

Myself and two new friends, Patrick from Germany and Tony from Alaska, spent almost three hours in a Panga on the San Ignacio lagoon with the Gray Whales. The ride to get their was a merciless 4x4 dirt road for two and one-half hours. But I would have walked it if I had to.

We spent two of the three hours actually playing with a mother and her newly born calf. We all scratched and rubbed them. I actually put my arms around the head of the calf as she nudged up against the panga. When i scratched her tail, she slapped it down into the water, soaking all of us. Unfortunately this ended my picture taking as the camera got all wet. (it still works fine though!). The mother, in this picture, sprayed us with her blow from about three feet away on several ocassions.

The calf would raise her head, and one eye completely out of the water and stare at us for 10 to 15 seconds at a time. It was truly a religous experience. My friends and I will be posting all of our pics to Flickr sometime soon so will send along more pics then. Hopefully they got a shot of me giving the calf a big hug.

Leaving San Ignacio and SE to the "Grade to Hell"; a 5k decline into the valley where Santa Rosalia is located. It's a narrow two lane road, skirting the Cortez Sea. When semi's are coming from the other direction, they take up half your lane as well, making the lean out of, and around the tight corners, pretty scary. The cars have to pull over, however I can negotiate on my bike though it did make me "pucker up" once or twice!

Here is my first glimpse of the Sea of Cortez:

The ride has been special, the people are rich in spirit, and the vibe is muy tranquilo.

I arrived in Loreto yesterday. Spending the night here:

Hope all is well with all of you. Sorry to hear about the Pack but they had a great season!

Back on Mountain time...

in Baja CA Sur. Its wide open, wild, and beautiful. I landed in San Ignacio early and I am staying in a yurt on the San Ignacio river; a tributary into the Pacific, with wireless, no less. Its called the San Ignacio Bed and Breakfast (left a link earlier in this blog). If you ever come down this way, Stay here. Its in the middle of a Palm tree grove right on the river. Terry and her husband from the great white north, are super people and they have created a Zen masterpiece.

Here is the backyard:

Here is a shot of the Yurt:

Backing up a few days; Entering California along the border of Mexico:

heres another, outside of Yuma, entering California.



The dune buggies play here.


Crossing over to the outer darkness:

I will send along more with some pics soon.