Day 114-115: Viscaino to San Ignacio

October 14: 45ish miles

Check out the sunburn! Never had that one before. 

The last two days of riding have been wonderful. The scenery, which has always been beautifully green desert, only gets better as we see more mountains and finally, in Santa Rosalia, the Sea of Cortez. And added to that I have the new company of Mano, Tanya, Spencer, and Kate.

Mano (spelling may be wrong) from Holland

Daisy and Jason Philtron

Kate and Spencer

The Philtrons again

Military Man marking the military checkpoints

Day 114 concluded with a reunion of the Philtrons, the Canucks, and Antonie and me in San Ignacio. San Ignacio is a charming little down that has been a victim to the recent hurricanes. We talked with a man as equally charming as the 18th century cathedral across from the central plaza, who told us about the how the hurricane flooded the town and destroyed all the camping areas, in addition to other buildings. We hadn't found Antonie who had rode ahead of us, and when I asked if he had seen him and jokingly added that he had abandoned me for the third time (he hadn't actually ever abandoned me, although one night I thought I lost him but the truth was I didn't see his bike and went 3 miles past the campground he was at) the charming Mexican man said that no friend would abandon me 3 times, and if they saw him they would lynch him. 

He had great recommendations, and so we went to his first which was the town's main plaza which is across the street from a beautiful old church from the (I think he said early) 1700s.

I love seeing so many bikes in one place!

Hurricane damage:

We paid a low price to camp in front of the hotel. It turned out to be a bustling place, not to mention the busy farm animals. We even saw a cow and horse brought across the field.

That turkey really wanted some from the females, but they weren't giving it.

As much as these buggers annoy me when they wake me up in the morning, I have fond memories of being awoken by roosters, so I still smile a little bit.

Tents

Blatent trademar infringement:

Photos from Antonie's Camera

I got the photos from Antonie, some of which were taken on the days when I was without a functioning camera. Enjoy!

First view of Tecate, Baja California Norte, Mexico

Never order a second round of coconuts unless you verify the price first. That's all I have to say. 

"Welcome to Wine Road" We passed many vinyards along othis route.

Javier, a friendly lobster fisherman.

Here are some photos of the morning fog.

Desert Fog. This forced us to side of the road for a while. It also got our tents and gear wet because we weren't expecting it and slept without a rainfly. 

The following pictures show the desert in bloom. Recent hurricane storms dumped a lot of rain here, and we were fortunate enough to witness its effects!

 

We see quite a lot of plateaus such as this one. The slopes are much nicer for biking on than in California.

Water in the desert is unexpected and creates all kinds of unexpected beauty!

Some of the cacti are very tall!

Day 113: Guerrero Negro to Viscaino

October 13, 2014

Guerrero Negro to Viscaino

46 miles

WiFi for 2 nights in a row! What are the odds?

Today's ride was a short one, but straight as an arrow and flatter than a billiard table in Nebraska, as they say. 

I'm happy to have a functioning camera again, but sad that I didn't encounter anything more interesting to photograph. Fortunately it was a fast downhill and over in about 3 hours of riding.

We made it to a hotel/RV park but it is off season so there are no RVs now. Upon arrival, we saw our old friends, the Philtrons, and some new friends. Mano, from Holland, and Tanya, from Germany! And then after an hour, two Canucks showed up, Spencer and Kate. I'm excited to see new riders, and I am now sitting with more cyclists here at the campground than I saw on the entire Sierra Cascades route in the United States. 

Can you spot all 7 tents? You can't because some aren't set up, but 7 tents is a lot!

Here are some photos of the cacti we saw today. I have Antonie's photos so I will make a post of just those! And they are better cactus pictures!

And the obligatory English fail. 

Day 109 - 112: Rosalia to Guerrero Negro

October 9 - October 12

Over the last couple days we stayed at a campground under a grass hut in hopes of avoiding the residual hurricane weather, and wild camped near the beach. The hurricane is creating some very unusual conditions in the desert. Namely thick morning fog and lots of green vegetation and flowering plants. My camera was dead for the fog and plants, so I will add some photos that Antonie took later.

The only evidence I have of the recent rains is mud. Beautiful flowers will come later.



A grass hut with a bunch of stuff under it. We hid from strong winds and rain under here.


This cat became my friend even though he was standoffish with the others. I'm a cattalker.

Wild camping by the ocean.

Looking up at our camping spot from the beach. Antonie is sitting up on the ridge there.

We have been eating at food stalls like these, which are awesome.


And they make food like this.



A picture of some agriculture:

And of the general scenery.

 They take water saving more seriously here than in California, USA!

A hurricane has helped to drop a lot of rain on the desert, and so the desert plants are in full bloom. There is grass beside the road, flowers of all different colors growing on the cacti and other bushy plants, and all up and down thousand foot mountain slopes there is green green green. I have not seen this much green since the national parks in California.

Here are some stories from the road:

Fog in the Desert

The fog has been crazy in the mornings. Some places we couldn't see for more than 50 meters and had to stop for fear of being rear-ended by a semi that didn't see us. In addition to the fog there is so much moisture in the air that in the mornings our tents look like they endured torrential rains overnight. I think this is another effect of the passed hurricane and rains. If so, we are experiencing the desert in a very unique way!

Cactus Touching Story

I saw a tuna growing on a cactus, and it appeared to have no spines. I decided to pick it and see if it was edible. It turns out there are many many fine little spines, like fiberglass shards, that detach and get stuck in your hand, like fiberglass shards. I learned not to touch a cactus, even if it looks harmless.

Mexican Police Interrogation

As I was walking back from pooping in the Protected Cacti Wilderness I was stopped by a truck filled with police officers. It was on the edge of town, but only a quarter mile from the restaurant where we were camped behind. I could see the restaurant from where they police stopped me.

They asked me "Where are you coming from?" in an authoritative voice.

I was quite nervous about being stopped by the Mexican police so it took me extra long to figure out what they were saying. And then I wondered if I should say I was coming from the United States, from Tecate, from Catavino, or from the restaurant, or from the wilderness.

So I asked them "Where from? Or Where to?"

And then they asked me "Where to?"

I said "I'm going to La Paz," which is the ultimate destination on the Baja California stretch, but they wanted to know where I'm coming from at the moment, so I told them "I am camping behind the restaurant. I came from the restaurant, I was looking at the...." And I was too nervous to remember the word for "cactus" so I could only point at them and say random words that started with a C and had an O at the end.

At that point one of the men in teh back (there were 4 or 5 officers in one truck, which was strange to see) said "Oh, los cilios." And at that they started to drive off. I breathed a huge sigh of relief and tried to figure out what had just happened.

I have no clue why they actually stopped me.

Day 106 to 108 Guadalupe to San Quentin

October 6 to October 8
Guadalupe to San Quentin

I´m typing from an internet cafe and the keyboard is set to Spanish but the keys on it are regular English. It took me 15 minutes just to sign in because my password uses characters that are in a different place on the Spanish keyboard, but the keyboard doesn´t show where. Frustrating.

We made it to San Quentin!

The last two campgrounds we stayed in have had swimming pools, which were very refreshing. The first one also had a zoo. It is not peak season, but it looks like that campground is a hoppin place during peak season. It had a soccer-fustal court and tons of picnic tables.

Awkward moments abound! We have also been talking with locals and my spanish is slowly improving.

One guy wanted to take a picture with the four of us, me, Antonie, Jason, and Daisy. When they left it got weird because one of the women wanted to get a picture with just me. I faked understanding less than I actually did about their request and what they were saying about me until Antonie came back. That was the only awkward moment up until then.

And then I had another awkward moment in a store looking for peanutbutter, or ¨something to put on bread.¨ As a tried to explain to the store owner. He grunted and pointed to the fridge. There was no peanut butter or jelly or anything spreadable in there, so I said ¨No, gracas.¨Then I decided to get some fruit, so I picked san apple off the table. He grunted againa and pointed at the mysterious fridge. We walked over there, opened it, pointed to the assorted fruit in the fridge and then took the warm apple from my hand and made me switch it with the cold apple.

I didn´t understand, and I never expected to have such an encounter. I gave the man 5 pesos and left.

And then earlier this morning I went into a store to find some salt. I tried asking the woman if she sold salt in smaller quantities, and was surprised to see her sitting behind the counter breast feeding her baby. She didn´t understand what I was asking. I was too shocked-amazed-happy to see a bussiness that would let you bring your baby to work and then nurse it in front of customers to respond very well. In the end we did find a smaller quantity of salt.

Hasta luego!

Day 105: Tecate to Guadalupe, Baja California, MEXICO!

October 5, 2014

Tecate to Guadalupe, BC, MEXICO!

WE MADE IT!

It feels like a whole new journey. There were times in the last month I was ready to call it quits at the border. I already had a great time in Canada and in the Sierra Cascades, and would have been okay with going back to Minnesota to begin a new, more traditional and socially accepted/expected, adventure.

But I thought about how I had been dreaming of going to Central America for over a year now, and realized that I owed it to myself to take full advantage of the opportunity I have now. And those thoughts stayed with me as I crossed the border and began this exciting part of my odyssey.

I am reinvigorated and happy to be in Mexico!

The roads are well paved, with a wide shoulder. The incline up the hills is perfect for biking.

I seem to make 1000 mile marks upon arrival to a new country. 1000 into British Colombia, 2000 for USA, and now 5000 for Mexico.

130 pesos for each taco (that's about $1.25). I had 4. And a torta. They were deliciosos.

We met some other cyclists! Funny that I met nobody on the Cacsades route, and on my first day in Mexico I meet new people. Antonie is on left, Jason on right. Jason's wife, Daisy is not pictured. All of us toured through Canada, and so we talked about the people we met. We both met Ryan, as well as Cho, a Japanese man who pulled a cart across the Al-Can highway. Here's a link to Jason and Daisy's blog.

My first impression of Mexico is that it is like Alaska, but with friendlier people, inexpensive food, and hot, dry weather.

Day 104: San Diego to Tecate

October 4, 2014
40 miles
San Deigo to Portrero via bike and Larry

I'm back in the saddle after 2 weeks of rest and relaxation in San Diego and Las Vegas.

No photos, just a pretty good story. Please continue.

It wouldn't be a day back on the bike without being picked up in a convertible by a 7th Day Adventist named Larry. I didn't feel like riding since I already rode between Tecate and San Diego. I just wanted to meet Antonie and go to Mexico, so I hopped in his car. After about 5 minutes he pulled out his missionary card.

Truly and honestly, I liked Larry and respect the work he does. Those of you who know me know that I sometimes disagree with how missionaries go about their work. But I liked how Larry went about his work. He was kind, helpful, and interesting to talk to since he had done some bike touring before, and also had been to Mexico many times before to do his missionary work.

He took me to Portrero park where Antonie was waiting. Larry helped unload my bike, thanked him, and expected him to drive off. Instead, he pulled out some food and sat down with us to chat. After a minute of shooting the breeze with Larry and Antonie (who, remember, I have only exchanged a couple emails with up to this point) that I realized what was about to happen: Larry needed to tell Antonie about the gospel of Jesus Christ in order to save his soul from ever lasting torment in the lake of fire.

And so that is how Antonie and I met.

I feared fighting and yelling when I realized that Antonie might not be up to par religiously. Fortunately both Antonie and Larry are very respectful people. Larry simply informed Antonie of his options regarding his soul and left it to me to continue the conversation on our bike journey. I agreed to do so, and after an hour or so of conversation, Larry left the remaining pears and chips for us to eat, and drove away.

Afterwards, I unrolled my pad and sleeping bag on top of the picnic table and went to sleep.

This giant tumbleweed blocked the shoulder of the road! I've grown fond of seeing tumble weeds in southern California. They make me smile.