Lopez Mateo to Loreto - 100 miles
Since we got such a late start after the whale watching tour we decided to stop in Loreto for the night. It was almost 4 pm when we arrived and we just managed to catch the bank before closing. We then had to find an internet cafe to check in with families and work. As luck would have it, there was a dilemma at work that required nearly an hour of email correspondence to resolve. It was nearing dark and we scrapped our plans to camp at El Coyote beach since it was another hour and a half north.
The road between Cd Insurgentes and Loreto had several nice twisty sections that were a hoot to play in. One of the canyons had some switchbacks that made me wish I had knee pucks on to rail the corners. We didn't know what to expect in Loreto because we'd not heard much about the town. As it turned out, it was a really nice place.
We took a ride into town and checked out the malecon and el centro. We discovered a small Inn to the rear of the mission. It turned out that the Iguana Inn was owned by an American couple from California. They were a great couple and the Inn was fantaitic. Since they had limited openings, they booked us into a large cabana that the three of us shared. The Inn had a really nice central courtyard area. Of course, we walked up the street to a local tienda and bought beer to drink at the Inn. We met two couples from Alaska who came into town from their sail boat. They were great fun to hang out with.
We all decided to go to dinner together and the Alaskan couples had made a reservation at a very exclusive restaurant called Fonda Canipole that sat in the shadow of the mission bell tower. The restaurant was also an artist studio and the structure housed one of the original wells for the mission. We ate a fine meal that was took all day to prepare and we were the only guests in the place. The lady who cooked the meal came to visit us and one of the Alaskans, who is of Argentinean birth, spoke with her in Spanish. She explained that all the food was "made with love" just for us and she was elated that we all enjoyed it so much. The place was filled with artisan crafts, which was it's primary function. This was a real treat and I thank our hosts for the experience.
Many of the streets in town were cobblestone and appeared to be very old. The area was very pleasant with a relaxed feel. I could easily live in Loreto and it was my favorite stop of the trip.
While staying in Loreto I began to think about all the news reports about drug trafficking, murders, and kidnapping, that plague cities like Cd Juarez, Cd Mexico City, and Tijuana, and could not but think how out of context they were with this town and even the east coast of Baja. Thus far on our trip, we've experienced nothing but kindness from a very friendly and giving people. Although we have no illusions that there is danger present even here, it seems to be far removed from ordinary life. It seems that with a bit of common sense most trouble can be avoided.
Loreto to Guerro Negro - 266 miles
The ride north took us along more beautiful coastline. The overall feeling I get riding through Baja is "ocean front property in Arizona" to quote George Strait. We had a nice enjoyable ride back to Mulege' on some fantastic roads. Even though we were backtracking, it was still a good ride.
We initially wanted to follow the Pacific coast north from Cd Insurgentes, but The Captain advised against it. He told us that along the coast the dirt road had huge sand dunes that had to be crossed and the mountain road would be too rocky and beat up for the little Nissan to traverse with out sustaining damage. I'm glad we listened to The Captain, otherwise we'd have missed Loreto.
We pushed on to San Ignacio for lunch. As we pulled into the square, we met a very interesting Dutch couple, Gerda and Loet, who said they were spending 6 months exploring Baja in their Dakar Rally style truck/camper. We shared lunch at a taco stand that sold fish and scallop tacos while they regaled us with stories of their adventures in Mexico and Africa. What a fantastic life they lead. Unfortunately, we did not get any pictures.
We continued on to Guerro Negro and fought the wind the entire way. It made for a difficult and unpleasant ride. We stopped at the same hotel in G.N as we stayed at before. The manager wanted to charge us a $100 cash deposit for the room key and they also jacked up the room rates. Phil told him to get f*cked and we went down the street to another hotel. It was kinda dumpy but the price was right.
We stopped at a gas station in G.N. and waited in line for about half an hour to get gas. The people were friendly but the town still struck me as a shit hole. We'd been told by Coco that there was a way to bypass the main military checkpoint at G.N. along the beach. We checked out the route after getting gas and Coco's directions were spot on. We had not gotten our tourists visas and did not want to chance getting a run-around or a fine at the checkpoint. We used the bypass the next morning without any problem.
We wandered around town after checking in to the motel. It was really cold and windy, I ended up wearing my fleece jacket under my riding coat as we walked around. We got a recommendation for dinner from a lady we met and we wandered down a side street to a really nice restaurant. Phil and Paul ordered huge steaks and I had halibut and scallop cerviche. The food was excellent but kind of expensive. G.N. is a whale watching tourist town. We talked about this with Gerda and Loet and after they described their experience and cost while taking a tour there, we told them to go to Lopez Mateo. It seemed that our experience was much better than theirs.
Again, we didn't take any photos of G.N. since there was not much to see and we didn't like the town. We had a big day planned for tommorrow, so I went to bed early. We parked our bikes in the hotel courtyard even though there was no fencing. We had no problems with anything being taking or messed with.
