Cabo to Todos Santos - 60 miles
Today was to be a short day. Paul had called ahead to find a new rear tire at a shop located in Cabo San Lucas. We received directions over the phone and we were off. We found the shop without difficulty and went about getting a new tire for the 'Berg. The workers at the counter of the shop didn't speak any English, and Paul's sign language and Mexican accent weren't working, so I tried my Spanish again. I managed to get across that we were looking for a rear tire and the size we wanted. The lady at the counter seemed to understand and we walked to the tire racks to find that we had two choices. A off-road only knobby or a small street tire. After a bit of thinking, Paul decided to go with the street tire. A bit more discussion and we arranged for the tire to be installed ASAP.
We waited around at the combined Yamaha and BMW shop for the tire to be mounted. We wandered into the BMW showroom and found that they had several of the latest models on the showroom. We lusted after the new F800GS and HP2 on the floor for a bit then made our way back to the Yamaha side to pick up Paul's bike. They got the job completed in about an hour. Since we actually had cell coverage here, a rarity in Baja, Phil fielded several business calls while we waited. It sounded as though things were getting a bit hectic back home and we may have to pick up the pace. We were already a day behind schedule due to Paul's and my illness in Mulege'.
We got back on the road at about 1:30 pm and headed northwest for Todos Santos. We'd heard many good things about Todos and were excited to be going there. It was pretty windy along the coast which made for difficlut riding in places. We rode to a small town just south of Todos and stopped for gas. While at the gas station, an American stopped by to say hello. He was obviously a biker because of the one-piece Aerostitch suit he was wearing. His name was Kevin and he was riding an orange Ural with a side-car so he could travel with his wife Anna and their dog. Anna rode on the back and the dog got the side-car because of his hip problems. They had a house just outside of town and were just returning home from a trip down to Nicaragua. We chatted with them for about a half hour. They gave us some great travel advise and we had a great visit.
Unfortunately, we only managed one photo of them as we were all leaving. We continued on north the 10 miles into town and found a nice spot for lunch.
We had a late lunch then rode around town for a bit to look for a room. We stopped at the first decent looking place we found since it was getting late and it was near el centro. The hotel did not have any real secure parking for the bikes but we could ride them down the multiple sets of stairs into the center of the complex. We used a cable to lock all three together since we didn't feel really secure in this town. The rooms were very small and poor, even by Baja standards. We got settled in and decided to go for a walk about before it got dark. We'd been told that the local mission was used as the cover photo for the old Eagles album "Hotel California". We found the mission but I don't think the stories are really true.
The mission that was supposedly used for the cover photo from The Eagles "Hotel California" album
There was a "Hotel California" just down the street from the mission. We went to the bar and met a really nice guy named Al McCarthy from Arizona who owns a sports bar called Duke's in Scottsdale.
A sample of Todos Santos el centro (town center)
A sample of Todos Santos el centro (town center)
We wandered the dirt streets of town for a while to get a feel for the town. Paul saw some lights off in the distance and we thought it was a concert or something so we went to investigate. It turned out to be the local school. Someone had left the lights around the sports field on.
Todos Santos is somewhat of a surfing mecca and artists community. The feeling of the town reflected as much. There were lots of Americans there and it was a bit too touristy for me. I didn't feel that the town lived up to the hype and was happy to be on our way the next morning.
We sat in the room looking at the map and deciding our next days plan. I wanted to make some ground north and Phil wanted to explore some more. We eventually decided to take some advise offered by another traveler and make for a small town called Lopez Mateo on the coast west of Cuidad Insurgentes.
Todos Santos to La Paz (oh no, Paul's bike broke down) 165 miles
We had planned to make it to Lopez Mateo but about 70 miles north of La Paz Paul's bike had a transmission failure. We attempted roadside repairs but the problem was going to be a bit more involved and require parts that we didn't have. Time for the little black burro to do its job and tow the stranded bike down the road.
The little black burro ready to do her job. Tow rope attached.
Caution, bike in tow! Paul had to hold onto the rope tied to my bike with his left hand. If we tied the two bikes together we'd risk crashing both bikes if one fell.
We passed a police checkpoint in Las Pocitas so I towed Paul back there. The police flagged down a delivery truck and told the driver to take Paul and his bike back to La Paz. We picked the bike up and placed into the back of a large box van and used my rope to tie it in. Fortunately, the driver spoke perfect English and he took Paul back to Motosport and dropped off the bike.
Phil and I rode back to La Paz. We went back to the Lorimar and got rooms from Guillermo, who was happy to see us again. We went back to our favorite store and bought beer and waited for Paul to call us on the radio. After discussing several options, Phil went and rented a small pickup to haul Paul's bike back to the border. He made arrangements to drop the truck of in Tijuana since there was not other option for drop-off locations.
We we hung out by the laundry on the steps drinking beer and watching traffic go by. Later, we went back to the hotel and hung out with Guillermo for a while. While there, we met another interesting American named Dave Lewis who was from Green Valley, AZ. He and a friend were traveling through Mexico in his old diesel Mercedes sedan. He was quite interesting to talk to and he was also into motorcycles. He told us about the Ducati he owns. He offered garage space and a yard to camp in if we were ever in his area. We met the most interesting people on this trip. It seems that these types of trips are more about the people you meet than what you see and do.
We will hit the road north in the morning and head for Lopez Mateo.
