Cycling days 13-15: Guerrero Negro to Mulege

• Hobos's Profile
• About this blog
• Entry from Mulegé

Trip Start Apr 07, 2010 Previous
Entry Trip End Jan 19, 2012 Next
Entry

  Mulegé, Baja California, Mexico
Saturday, January 1, 2011

Sitting in a cafe in Mulege on New Year's day enjoying delicious brownies...aaah...


Day 13 (12/30/10): 122km

We intended to sleep in and enjoy our beds in our hotel room, but our internal clocks decided to revolt against us. Oh well, we might as well get up and be productive! Shirley steps outside and finds the sky still gray and the ground still wet from the overnight rain showers (good timing for a hotel room! :) , then it's time for internet, laundry, breakfast and another hot shower, making the most out of our noon check-out time. As we roll our bikes out of our room and into the courtyard, Shirley realizes her front tire is flat. (Yeah, Tina...I guess we did jinx ourselves!) A close inspection of the tire does not reveal anything obvious, so we inflate the tire and ride on it as-is...must be a really tiny leak. A quick tour of town and carnitas tortas for lunch, then it's time to hit the highway again. There is a really strong tailwind, so we cruise at super speeds down the flat road.

We had intended to take it easy getting to Santa Rosalia 220km away because the ferry boats to the mainland leave on Friday and Sunday. We figured there would be no way we could make it there tomorrow, so why not chill on our way there? Well, these awesome tailwinds disrupted those plans. We rocket dow the highway and end up covering 120km in 4 hours!!! We were really feeling our bodies complaining during the last 10km, but we figured everything we cover today, we don't have to do tomorrow...and it looks like there will be some hills before getting to Santa Rosalia, so every inch closer to that Friday ferry boat, the better!


Day 14 (12/31/10): 119km

To make sure we won't miss the boat today, we decide to wake up early. Thankfully, the tent is completely dry and we pack up quickly. 30km into the day, we make a 1-mile detour to go see San Ignacio, an oasis in the desert where they grow dates, so we are surrounded by beautiful palm trees and water. The main plaza in San Ignacio is beautiful, with an old church, built in 1786 and made out of lava rock. It is said to be one of Baja's most beautiful churches. We enjoy San Ignacio a lot and eat 10 freshly made tortillas (fromt he local tortilleria) on the spot. Then, it is time to hit the road again...after all, we have a boat to catch!

We pedal hard up the low grade hills -- such a low grade it seems flat, but our legs and speed tell us otherwise. The kilometer markers on the side of the road count down the distance to Santa Rosalia for us...40km, 30km, 20km...we see the Sea of Cortez from the top of the hill, glistening in the sunlight! Now, down a winding road so steep we can smell the brakes from cars as they pass us while we are standing ont he side of the road taking pictures. Our last set of hills and the kilometer markers read single digits...we are so close now! As we ride through the outskirts of town, we have a beautiful view of the coast to our left and the stark contrast of a burning landfill to our right.

Once in town, we find the ferry ticket office with not much going on. We walk up to the ticket window and find a paper posted to the window saying today's ferry has been cancelled due to weather. We scratch our heads in disbelief -- it's barely windy and there is not a cloud in the sky! We read on...the next boat isn't until Tuesday? That's four days from now! We are so disappointed...no celebrating New Year's on the ferry, no sending our Spot signal from the middle of the sea, no visiting Guaymas or The Alamos, and no train ride to Copper Canyon, which is supposed to be 10 times more spectacular than the Grand Canyon. Oh well, we'll have to pedal down to La Paz to catch a ferry because we aren't waiting around for 4 days for a boat that might leave on Tueaday.

Right now, it's 3pm and we might as well tour the town of Santa Rosalia as we had planned. As we turn around and head down the main street, we hear someone call us...it's Mel! He's really surprised we've made it to town already since he's only been here for a couple of hours. He goes off to meet someone while we go to the Mexican/French bakery that is sold out of Baja's best baguettes -- another bummer! :(  We grab a few pastries anyway, then head over to the church that was designed by Gustave Eiffel (of the Eiffel Tower). We meet up with Mel again, who's with a veggie punk rocker dude bicycling down from San Diego to Mexico City.  We all sit on a bench eating dates, pastries and ice creal while discussing possible New Year's celebration plans. Nothing exciting going on...besides, we aren't sure if we can stay awake until midnight! We decide we'll just head out of town while there is a little daylight left and camp out in the desert -- business as ususal!

Day 15 (1/1/11): ~~ Happy New Year! ~~

In the morning, we lazily wake up to the alarm and totally take our time waking up. It's warm and beautifully sunny out with a slight tail wind. It's 8:30am when we start loading the panniers onto our bicycles and we wonder if Mel and punk rocker dude have passed our camp yet. We ride 53km to Mulege, a nice little town filled with palm trees and quaint shops, mostly closed because it's New Year's Day. We find a taco stand way in the back of town and have delicious fish tacos, then stop by Mago's Coffee and Sweets, with oh-so-yummy cakes and pastries...and free wi-fi :) So, here we sit...enjoying the New Year by indulging our sweet tooth and thinking of our family and friends back home. Our New Year's Resolution? Maybe try to slow down take it easy once-in-a-while ;P

Slideshow Share

Post your own travel photos for friends and family More Pictures

Days 13-15	Days 13-15	Days 13-15	Days 13-15
Days 13-15	The last thing Yannick sees before going to bed...   Comments!	Days 13-15	Days 13-15
Days 13-15	Rice and Beans	San Ignacio	Main Plaza in San Ignacio
Church in San Ignacio	Church in San Ignacio	Church in San Ignacio	Days 13-15
Days 13-15	Almost to Santa Rosalia	Almost to Santa Rosalia	Almost to Santa Rosalia
The Sea of Cortez!	Less than 10km to Santa Rosalia	Days 13-15	Days 13-15
Days 13-15	Days 13-15	Days 13-15	Days 13-15
Days 13-15	Days 13-15	Days 13-15	Days 13-15
Days 13-15	Days 13-15	Days 13-15

Previous Entry Next Entry