Playa Burro

I wake up with a good headache, but nothing that a couple of ibuprofens can't solve. the fire spinners form bend pack up to go south in search of warmer weather. there is rumor on the beach that there are 80 mph wind gusts in San Franciscito, and that the wind is coming south, too. not the best weather report, and I am really glad that I packed San Franciso style with lots of layerable clothing.

We decide to stay put and take our chances, especially since it is very calm in the morning, and it turns out to be a nice warm day. Alex and I stay at the beach while Paige goes to Mulege in search off a mani pedi, unsucessfully as it turns out.

But she comes back with lentils and other veggies, and we finally get to have our own gourmet cocinera up a dinner of lentil stew and salad. Paige is pretty beat, but Alex and I are all awake now after lounging at the beach all day and we go to the new bar on the block that we have heard about when we had lunch at the beach restaurant Bertha's. It just opened last month, the owner is 27 and they have pool.

We order margeritas and start chatting to the local americans. One of them turns out to be the drummer of Van Halen, he is a very nice guy without any attitudes and he plays pool like a god despite him already staggering around the pool table, and we meet his wife, too, and a couple other expats. Turns out he had played at Bertha's earlier today. we had heard there was music but were too lazy to walk over there. He actually lives at the beach part time in a two story palapa. Proof again that you don't need much. A two story plywood palapa in Baja at the beach with a view of the Bahia? What more do you really need I ask you?

When we get back to the beach the water has calmed down so the sea looks like a lake and the reflection of the moon in the water is so beautiful that we stand by the beach and watch the moon and the incredible stars. No wonder they call this the Bahia de Concepcion. It does look like Paradise. I sleep like a baby that night.

Christmas

on christmas day we wake up to a blue sky and the wind is not too bad. the plan is to go to the Bahia of Concepcion south of mulege and find a beach to hang out on along there. We go into town in the hope of finding breakfast and make phone calls to our loved ones, and the town is completely abandoned. It's before 9 still, so maybe something opens later, but I already have visions of hordes of starving american tourists roaming the streets hunting for food.

fortunately somebody points us into the direction of an american hotel that supposedly serves breakfast, and they do. there is only the waiter and one cocinera, so they are having a hell of a time to feed everybody. the food comes fairly fast, but then we have to wait 45 minutes to get the bill because the waiter is not familiar with the computerized system yet.

By the time we figure out how to make phone calls to the States and to Germany and get packed up it's fairly late again. The Bahia isn't too far, but when we get there, breakfast is really far away and I am starving. We stop at a couple of beaches in search for a wind sheltered palapa, and the one that seemed ideal gets snatched away under our noses. The water is turquoise and the beaches are pristine here, so it's like looking for a parking spot in San Francisco.

After that attempt I really need to eat and somebody points us to Playa de Burro that has a restaurant that is open. Same situation here, two people trying to feed pagan tourists with no regard for Christmas and it takes us about two hours to get fish tacos.

the sun is nearing the horizon again, and when we are about to leave to Mulege for a hotel, a guy on a little 70s Suzuki 50cc pulls up and we compliment him on his cute ride. His name is Clint and he ends up inviting us to his palapa at the end of the beach where he's staying with 3 other male friends.

They are basically doing the same thing, friends bumming around Mexico for 3 weeks, except while we are on the minimalist end of the scale, they are on the maximum end. They are from Bend, Oregon, and they are very equipped. They have everything from ginger infused vodka to fire hoops and fire spinning stuff to harpoons, fishing equipment and unbelievable food, and they can all cook!

Needless to say we consider ourselves extremely lucky, and it turns out to be a very fun Christmas eve with us learning how to wield the fire sticks and burning hula hoops, and generally proceeding to get nice and drunk killing a lot of ballenas. There is skinny dipping in the cold water and howling at the moon rise with some other beach neighbors, which was really exceptionally beautiful in the clear sky, and there are raw clams for dinner that came out of the ocean that day and yellow tail fish tacos that those guys had fished earlier that day.

When we go to bed the moon is about to disappear behind the mountains on the other side. Although I miss my family this is a christmas to remember.

Comondu

The next day brings 100 km of dirt road that will lead us past a small mision in comondu and a couple of beautifully lush palm tree oases. We need to be in loreto at 5 to meet paige. We already know that 100 km over the mountains in dirt will take us about 5 hours taking it easy with breaks and sightseeing, and sure enough, we get there at 3. the mision of comondu is closed unfortunately, but the land scape is gorgeous and well worth the trip.

In the middle of the ride we stop for lunch and have the remainders of the noodle dish. Lucky for us there was a small store open in La Poza Grande and we had bought a bottle of Salsa Verde. We drop half a bottle into the dish and what a difference! It turns into an absolutely edible meal. It's the little things in live, and we love it.

In Loreto, we find a hotel at the malecon with a view of the Sea of Cortes that looks like a mega palapa for cheap, take the first shower since the mainland ( I will leave the math up tp you) and go to the Cafe 0le.

At 5.05 paige rolls up. she has bee-lined it from los barilles in 4 jours for 300 some odd miles. she had the most amazing trip herself. Apparently those other riders she met had a beatiful spot south of la paz where paige got to kick back and enjoy.

since it's christmas eve most places are closed but paige is jonesing for steak so we find a fancy hotel on the beach that serves steak. It's like You Are Now Entereing The American Sector. After days in the boons it's almost a shock to the system, and at the same time very enjoyable because they serve good salad. It's been meat, fish, cheese and tortillas for the last week for paige and me and rice beans and guacamole for alex, so our bodies are very appreciative of this.

we fall to bed utterly satisfied after food and strawberry margeritas only to find out that our cosy palapa with the ocean view is not insulated whatsoever and that the locals go up and down this strip with their stereos hopping much like in the Mission district in San Francisco. I have 34 decible ear plugs but can still hear most, especially the one that makes my bedposts dance. I don't even want to know how paige and Alex were able to sleep without ear plugs.

I can't sleep so I amuse myself with finding patterns on the different car that go by. You can discern them by the type of music they play and I'm counting the amount of cars that are doing this loop and after a while I can tell when one drops out, like, oh, the guy with the salsa music didn't come around this time.

Eventually it all goes quiet. No idea at what time, since I have long given up to look at the clock much, nor do I know what day of the week it is without thinking hard. I know that tomorrow is Christmas but even that seems very far away. Traveling brings on its own rhythm and man made highlights seem to become less important, except for we are not sure if the stores are open, but we don't care since we do have emergency rations and can easily survive for a couple of days.

la paz to la poza grande

In the morning we make coffee pack up and get back to la paz. The plan is to maybe meet paige at the café we were yesterday. We will wait form 11 to 1130 and if she is not there we will meet in loreto at 5 the next day.



The café is closed so we hang out in front and I get a couple of fish tacos for breakfast from a stand closeby. 15 pesos a piece and they are So Good of course. Any opportunity I get I eat fish even foe breakfast and alex finds herself a quesadilla con hongos. Paige isn't coming so we check out the map and figure out where we want to end up tonight.



I am not looking forward to the stretch of road before us. Between la paz and ciudad insurgentes its straight and boring and the wind is still blowing hard. We are tired by the time we get there. You wouldn't think that sitting on a motorcycle going straight makes you tired but it does.



We hit the internet café to download and get supplies for tonights dinner. We have the choice of two mini supers that carry pretty much the exact ame thing, except for one has an emenada with oineapple which serves as a snack.



Instead of staying on hwy 1 we go straight north to la poza grande where we hope to get to the ocean. We drive through town and basically drive through the dump which is basura all in the kaktus dunes. Somebody explained to us that this is because the people are poor and there is no good program to take care of the garbage. Alex point out that before the plague of plastic the garbage was all compostable and people just haven't changed their ways. I'm glad I get to pay taxes and the garbage company to take care of that. Viva taxes! Beats lliving with nall that garbage.



Its really fun for me to cruise the sandwashes. After a while we realize though that the dunes are endless and that we are still far from the water. I go a little faster to scout it out but when I can't see alex anymore I turn around and find her bike on its side and her with a sire ankle but otherwise ok. This spot seems as good in the ever repeating desert, so we decide that this is now our campspot for the night. Its still really cool in the midst of all the kaktus.



Putting up the tent it becomes immediately covered with those orblike thorny things that stick to even the smoothest surfaces. It's a pain to get them all off the tent before we put it up and we almost have to put on gloves. Thorns are painful! Still, I'm amazed yet again at how inventive nature is in preserving species and spreading seeds that sticks to EVERYTHING, even our tent. Hopefully we won't import them to San Francisco...The desert is beautiful but somewhat hostile to us, so I don't need that in SF.



We make a somewhat bland noodle dish and fall asleep. I'm freezing in my 0 degree sleeping bag and curse it all night for being a piece of crap until I wake up in the morning realizing that the evaporated water droplets in the tent are frozen. No wonder! Brrr! I guess next time I go to Mexico I will need a subzero sleeping bag. Or maybe I go to Alaska instead...



I position myself with my wings spread in the sun on top of a cactus like I have seen the desert birds do and within a half hour its tshirt weather again.

basaseachi to rosario

alp

The alarm rings at 7. The wood stove made the cabana so hot I slept on top of the blanket for the first half of the night. I could pretend to be on the beach knowing full well that its winter outside.

The hotel is called tirolesas and the alpine name definitely jives with the weather. When I wake up its still not too cold inside but there is ice on the motorcycles. Paige is freezing. She is getting sick. We start the coffee and realize the water in the pipe is frozen.

It must have been sub freezing cold for a while last night. We have a hard time starting the fire again since we have no paper so I go to find luis but he's not there.

Fortunately there are lots of pine needles which do the trick to light the fire. we already fired the remaining pages from the printed guide book las night.

Eventually luis comes by and we tell him about the water problem which is turning into a bathroom problem. There is nothing he can do though so we pack up and alex and I decide to check out the basaseachi falls that are 5 minutes away.

But then the f650 doesn't start. The battery is a little low. Might be the temperature, battery going bad? Push starting down a small slope doesn't work either and only lands me away from camp.

Alex goes back to ask luis for jumper cables and comes back with rope to tow instead. That's a little sketchy for me since there is no good way to attach the rope. But luckily a truck with two strong guys in it pulls over and voila! Two people pushing and the bike almost starts but gathers enough juice again to start right up with the starter button.

Back at camp paige heard the battery being low and figured to get ready to go and we get on the road.

First item on the menu is getting gas and then deciding which way to go. The gas man tells us its 1 hour via the dirt road short cut and 3 hours on the windy road with a lot of camiones. We believe him and take a beautiful warm and gorgeous scenery road via mines, something that looks like a 50 people hotel on the middle of nowhere and a cute town named moris that i want to come back to one day and ride horses and dirt bikes.

Instead of 1 it takes us 5 hours. Good information is hard to come by here with us not speaking very good spanish. The man must have misunderstood the question. Up and down several mountain ranges with everchanging landscapes and vegetation.

Paige is really sick now and almost throws up in her helmet. Pobre sita! we feel terrible for her, but we can't stop since we need to make it to the ferry and are just super late.

Shes a real trooper and just pushes on too. When we get to yecora its 4 o'clock. We were told that yecora is not a good city to stay. Luis made hand signs indicating guns and says not to drive there at night since we might get robbed and los gentes son muy violenta. Its too close a los estados unidos still.

He suggested to make sure to get further away from the border at least to rosario. Its still 80 miles and according to the tres amigos the road will turn dismal. But what can we do we know it'll turn dark but we need to get out of yecora.

Turns out the road is great though contrary of what the tres amigos told us. Must have been recently repaved. So we make our way descending down through a surreal landscape that quickly starts to disappear in darkness, paige leading via gps which tells her which way the road is turning next.

When the first dots of lights appear in the otherwise pitch black darkness I am relieved. Driving at night is scary and something you should never do in mexico because of all the free roaming animals. You never know when there is a cow on her nightly outing around the next bend.

We get into rosario and paige makes friends with a couple of mexican women in the batroom of the gas station and they point us to a quaint 70s décor hotel in a side street. The doors are so low I have to duck. after showers we go into town and do taco stand hoppin which fits right with our eating schedule. Breakfast at 7am lunch at 4 double serving of dinner at 7pm. This time its two different carne asadas and grilled onions. So Good.

Two ballenas of pacifico later we get back to the hotel and sleep. Tomorrow is going to be an easy day or so we think, only 300 km on nice roads so well sleep in again. Looks like we are going to make he ferry. Thatll make me sleep well tonight.

La Paz plus

We arrive in la paz. They knock on our cabin doors to wake us up.

That was a short night but I slept really well. Something about boats. Its like being in the womb again. We manage to find good coffee on the boat or so we think. I guess the fact that it was advertised as cappucchino and was served in a non white cup san francisco style lulled us into security. But it was the same thin brew again with foam. No matter I got used to it by now. I just don't call it coffee. Maybe I should find a new name for it. Chocolate colored hot water? Tea with coffee flavor? Caffeinated energy drink?

We get searched once again getting off the ferry and make our way into la paz. We need to deal with the waterpump. When we get to la paz I'm leading so I drive around for while looking for a good spot for breakfast. After driving around for a while (I love driving around and just looking at a new town.The different way they present and sell things what kind of houses people animals advertising colors do they have here?) paige stops me and we go to a hotel that she saw with motorcycles.

we stop hoping we can get some information and just swap travel stories. Sure enough while we are standing there they come out and we start chatting. They don't know the ktm dealer ship which I would like to find for a couple tools I didn't pack like the c-clip pliers for the bearing.

But they do own a place 70 miles south where they are heading this morning and they graciously offer to let us do the water pump there. Paige goes inside the hotel to look up the location of the ktm dealer in cabo and standing outside we run into another traveler this time from australia who has been on the road with little work stints for 4 years. He points us to a ktm dealer in la paz.

When we go there it turns out to be a yamaha dealer and paige doesn't find them confidence inspiring so we leave to weigh more options over breakfast. I'm starving at this point.we go to a vegetarian joint that we drove past earlier and have vegetables. A nice change to meat and cheese.

Since we have reception again we call in sf we call at scuderia the sf ktm dealership where we have friends to get their input on the water pump situation. I found out that the people we met only have trailers on the beach and no real wind protection that we would need when we open up the cover I'm somewhat hesitant to do it there. The wind is blowing very hard today to the point that on the motorcycle the front wheel gets pushed around so much that I have the feeling i am going to loose traction and crash.

At scuderia I get don the owner of scuderia on the phone. The problem wih the water pump is not necessarily the water in the oil but kmore the water in the filter which causes the oil pressure go down. since we only lost a couple ounces so far he suggests to change the oil and filter now and keep an eye on the water.

Without the special tool he thinks we could make it worse. I tend to agree with him and that's our new plan.

Paige needs a couple of days of from too much estrogen and she wants to go south to hook up with those guys and change her oil there and alex and I are itching to be camping heading to a beach north of la paz to find a camp spot.

the town there san juan de la costa turns out to be another mining operation and the street dead ends so we turn around and start looking at all the beaches we have passed. The wind is still atrocious so we need to find a spot with wind protection. After a few turn offs that wouldn't work we find a spot in the midst of kakti and shrubbery and long horn cows where you cant see the bikes from the street and which is right by the beach with nobody else around. persistency is king.

We pitch tent and make ourselves a lovely meal with rice tomatos and hot peppers on tortillas and I have some of the roasted half chicken I got at a stand on the way out. Its almost full moon and we hang out at the water and drink our two ballenas.

We realize that it is winter solstice and the longest night of the year. Not the best night to pick for camping but I'm just happy to be outside. The short days and long nights have made me realize in retrospect that winter is not the best tome to pick for outdoor vacations...

Taking hotels was fun and giving the freezing weather on the mainland our only option. But on motorcycle vacation a big part for me is driving around trying to find the perfect camp spot make food drink beer and go to sleep under the stars. I love it!

Its bright outside from the moon and the cows bells are all around us. At one point I wake up and see all the cows file past the tent. I'm a little afraid that the long pointy horns are going to slash the tent. we don't have the rain fly on and the see-through mosquito net might fool them.

But they have no problem squeezing between the tent and the motorcycles. I'm glad we have the tent though otherwise as alex said we might have woken up by a big rough tongue cow lick in the morning. Alex is making the last bit of coffee now and well have that by the beach.

later we ll meet up with paige again in town at the same restaurant and if we don't meet there say something changes we made another meeting point in loreto at 5 on monday. There is no reception where we are now so we can't communicate.

It has been nice to be off the radar with cell phones. As much as I enjoy bantering by text with certain people I do feel I'm on the hook with that thing too much. constantly in communication with people that are not right there and sometimes not enough time to concentrate on the people that are right there or even to rest and listen to yourself.

Even writing this blog is hampering with the being silent in myself and enjoy the moment so ill quit for now. Hasta manana. Or maybe I take a christmas break for blogging. feliz navidad!

last day on the main land

Uneventful day. Rosario alamos ferry in topolobampo. We did have a good time though waiting for the ferry drinking ballenas and eating great quesadillas at the harbor convenience store.

Once we tied the bikes to the railing deep in the belly of the beast the ferry was huge we proceeded to the bar and had our first margerita. Unfortunately it wasn't very good so we continued with beer and dreamed of strawberry margeritas at the beach tomorrow.

Baja! We'll be there at 6am. i love boats though. I could live on a boat. i wish this ferry ride would take a lot longer. But its 2am now and i need to go sleep a little as much as I would like to stay awake and enjoy the the swaying and rolling.