Mulege' to LaPaz - 312 miles
The ride out of Mulege' was spectacular as we headed south along the coast. About 15 miles south we passed a cove called El Coyote where there were numerous RV's and other campers. If it were not so close we'd have camped here. It was one of the most spectacular sections of coast we passed on the entire trip. The road was very twisty so we had little opportunity to take photos. I'd highly recommend this area for camping to anyone headed through here. After about 23-30 miles of beautiful coast we began to move inland a bit and the road became straight as an arrow in some sections. Usually, just when you were getting bored with the straights stuff, there would be the ominous "Cuerva Peligroso" signs. Sometimes there would be very tight turns and others the signs seemed to only be a wake-up-call for the hypnotized driver. We passed a group of riders from California on a mixed bag of street-legal dirt bikes (KTMs and XRs). We pushed straight through to Cuidad Insurgentes where we stopped for lunch. Another fine meal of quesadillas and beer for less than $10 for all of us.
We discovered that Pacifico makes a large beer called the "Ballina" or whale. We really liked these. After lunch we continued the long push into La Paz. There was quite a bit of boring riding while inland. The road was dead straight for miles on end. We dropped into one canyon and were divebombed by birds. That was a nice wake-up-call!
Paul was running low on gas and was starting to worry if he'd make it into La Paz. We stopped on top of a hill within sight of town so he could check his aux. fuel tank. Of course, he had to take all the crap off the back of his bike and remove the seat to get to the vent on top of the tank. So we goofed off while he messed with his bike.
Paul was really happy that we were almost there because his butt was getting really tired on the dirt bike seat. He said his technique was to sit a bit sidesaddle and switch cheeks about every 20 minutes or so. He also said that when the big trucks passed, the wind blast would nearly knock him over if he didn't readjust his weight fast enough.
When we got to La Paz we stopped for fuel and bumped into Chris. He is an Army Captain who is taking some time to travel and has his own website www.thelongestfriday.com Chris has his paraglider strapped to the back of his BMW 1150 GS. He was headed to La Paz to catch the ferry over to Mazatlan to continue heading south. Bien Viaje Chris.
La Paz
We made it into La Paz and began to search for a place to stay. La Paz is a fairly big city with many one-way streets. We quickly discovered that if you actually stop at a 4-way stop on a motorcycle everyone thinks something is wrong. The right-of-way hierarchy was pedestrians, bicycles, motorcycles, cars, trucks. We found that the traffic rules in Mexico were #1 - don't get killed, #2 - everything else is just a suggestion! After figuring this out riding in city traffic was a blast. We wandered around until we found the malecon then began checking the side streets for hotels. Phil spotted a small place and took off the wrong way up a one-way street. Paul and I circled around and met him. He found the Hotel Lorimar, which turned out to have a 5 star rating in the Lonely Planet guide book. Dumb luck served us well again.
The hotel had secure parking for our bikes and the desk man Guillermo was a great help. He gave us directions to a really nice motorcycle shop for Paul to have some service done to his bike. His rear sprocket was now nearly shot and he needed an oil change. Guillermo also pointed out several good restaurants and a laundry for us.
We had a rest day in La Paz and used the day to take care of Paul's bike. The mechanics at Motosport customized a Honda rear sprocket to fit his Husaberg and allowed him to change his oil at the shop. Phil and Paul had brought several extra moto jerseys and tee-shirts so they donated some extras to the staff at Motosport. They were all great guys and extremely helpful and talented mechanics. I absolutely recommend these guys if you are ever in La Paz and need bike service.
After taking care of Paul's bike, we went for a ride around town. We ended up wandering into a local barrio (neighborhood) on the outskirts of town and wandered around the dirt streets for a while checking out the local living conditions. We stopped at a local tienda where Paul bought a six-pack of beer and I chatted with the elderly shop owner Fernando. He told me he was from Oxxaca on the mainland and he gave us directions to get out of the barrio and back onto a main road. It's great how far a little Spanish can get you down here.
We rode back over the small hills and found ourselves back at the bay. We stopped at a local beach called "Pichlingue" and sat under a pallapa to drink the beers. While we were some local youngsters came by in a Suburban and promptly got stuck on the beach. Phil and Paul helped them get out and chatted with them for a while. They turned out to be really nice kids.
We went to the local laundry, which just happened to be right next to a tienda that sold beer. We had our laundry done and sat outside drinking beer and watching traffic go by. Another fine day in Mexico! After our laundry was sorted, we went back to the hotel and noticed another KLR there. While sitting in the open air common area, we met the bike owner, Sig Taylor, a Canadian of course. We chatted a while and decided to get some dinner together at Rancho Viejo a fantastic taco place. The food was outstanding and inexpensive. We hung out with Sig for the rest of the evening wandering around, in circles sometimes, as Sig led us to some good nightlife spots. We ended up back at the hotel drinking and chatting with Guillermo and one of his friends named Mauricimo. Mauricimo went and bought a bottle of 100 anos tequila that he, Phil, and Guillermo shared. I avoid tequila like the plague (es el diablo en una botella) so I practiced my Spanish with Mauricimo and he practiced his English with me. We hung out and had fun until about 1 am. Mexicans have a wonderful social culture that I absolutely love and I had a great evening.
Above, Paul is pointing out on the map of Baja where we are. Keep in mind we started at the top of the peninsula and sill have to go south to the tip and all the way back up to California.
Paul had a relapse of stomach problems so I went up the block to get him some more meds. The farmica had just the ticket and we had him back in sorts in no time. We hung out with Sig for a while in the morning since he was planning on catching the ferry to Mazatlan and riding up the mainland.
We got a bit of a late start but today was only going to be about a 160 mile day so it was not a real problem.
