La Paz to Lopez Mateo - 215 miles
Let's try this again. We got a good start from La Paz and had a really windy ride through the long straight sections. The cross-winds would blow so hard that they would knock us all the way across our lane when the gusts would hit. As we were leaving La Paz and entering the first canyon we came around the first corner into the canyon at about 55 mph to find a string of semi trucks going about 10 mph! Panic brake time! I was on the left and had just a split second to see that it was clear through the many curves ahead of the trucks so I bailed to the left around the trucks and passed all of them through the tight turns. Phil got caught behind and I had to wait for him to catch up. As we got further north we entered many more twisty canyon sections as we criss-crossed the mountain ranges. These sections of road were good pavement and the riding was excellent. We stopped for a beer after about 100 miles so that we could get our plan together. The wind was so bad that I hit reserve at 120 miles when I normally would last until about 230. We got gas in Cuidad Constitution and headed west towards the coast. We planned to travel about two-thirds of the way to the coast then turn north along a small secondary road to Lopez Mateo. We passed through a couple of military checkpoints and the soldiers were more enthusiastic about checking your vehicle. One of the soldiers wanted Phil to give him his goggles. I told the soldier that he needed them for riding and continued speaking rapidly in English. He got tired of this and waved us through. Paul wasn't so lucky. The guy searched the truck and took his goggles. Paul tried arguing but to no avail. This was the only negative experience we had with either soldiers or police the entire trip.
The secondary road to Lopez Mateo. A very sandy two-track that seemed to stretch to the horizon.
After about a mile or two of the sandy road I started having hand cramps and trouble hanging on to the bike. I told Phil and Paul that I was going to go around and would meet them in Lopez Mateo. The decided to stay together in case Phil got into trouble on the sandy road. Paul was game to follow in the little Nissan two-wheel-drive pickup.
They told me that it was wise that I went around because the road got progressively worse and they hit a silt bed (like talcum powder that is a foot deep) and some sections where they barely made it through. I wish I could have gone but my hands were in no shape for it.
We reconnected in Lopez Mateo for beers.
Lopez Mateo is a quiet little fishing town that hosts some day tourists. There are a couple of hotels and a gas station but this day we were the only tourists in town. It was a wonderful experience. We managed to find a guy who was a commercial fishing boat captain who had three rooms that he rented out. This was next door to a nice restaurant that had a menu selection of Breakfast, Lunch, or Dinner. The food was fantastic and the owner was a really great guy. We invited him to sit and drink beer with us and he brought out is personal tequila from home. No one in town spoke any English so it was a nice challenge for our Spanish skills.
The Captain's 8 year old grandson acted as tour guide and showed us all around town. We met up with a bad-ass biker group along the way.
These guys followed us around town doing all sorts of bike tricks for us.
Phil bought them all cold drinks for the show they put on and they followed us all the way to the restaurant. We settled in for dinner and mamasita shooed all the kids away. The restaurant was really nice with a nice clean dirt floor and brick walls. The dinner menu was a seafood combination plate that had fish, lobster, and shrimp. It cost us about 12 each including drinks and tip. The food was incredible.
After dinner, it was off to the rooms for more beers and bed. Phil and Paul stayed up talking (or trying to talk to) the Captain. He apparently offered to set us up with some whale watching in the morning.
Mural for the International Gray Whale Festival
The Captain, Paul, and me renting a boat for the whale watching tour
Mural "happy return"
The Captain, Phil, Paul, and the boat skipper.
A momma gray whale and a calf. They would come up under our boat, lifting it up, then roll over onto their sides so we could pet them. What a cool experience!
If you slapped the water they would come closer.
After the tour, we went back to our rooms and got packed up. We then said our good-byes and headed north.
