Cha Cha Cha

Disclaimer: there will be no photos uploaded due to the theft of our mini USB cable, done by a coyote!!! It's a shame too, because this stretch has by far been the most scenic of our 2 or 3 weeks, or however long we've been out here....

South along the Sea

So we left San Felipe where we updated last and continued riding along the incresingly scenic Sea of Cortez. A few miles south of town we found some sandy dunes to try to block the wind coming from the sea and camp for the night. What at first seemed like a nice campsite, turned into the 2nd most difficult tent setup of the trip. We had to dig deep into the sand and brace the stakes against concrete blocks we had found to keep the tent upright in the wind. At first the setup was great. Wind predictably died down at sunset and we got to see the beautiful full moon rise up over the sea, casting a massive reflection over the sea. Then the winds came. The winds were pounding the side of tent, which is the weakest spot for it to hit, and we were waiting for the tent to fall down any second when the stakes got yanked out of the sand. Magically this never happened after we tied off to our bikes, and woke up to calmer air.

This would be our last day on pavement, and a fast one. A tailwind developed later in the morning that would push us a fast 60 km or so to Puertecitos and to the most gringos we've seen yet. There was a small bar slash hot dog joint called Cow Patties where we hung out and got some info on the road ahead. The guys told us that there were at least other 3 other cyclists ahead of us, and they were making fun of these guys on their skinny tires going over the rough road ahead. Still, we now knew that we may possibly meet someone else out here doing the less traditional route. Later we'd meet others, but didn't know that yet...

We had plans to stay at the hot springs in town, but since low tide was necessary to get the water hot, and low tide was too late in the evening PLUS it was absurdly expensive to camp at $20/night, so we went further south out of a town that turned out to be depressing and disgusting, despite the oasis we had created in our minds. Further down the road was nothing but gravel pits, but we had to find one to camp. Not necessarily the most beautiful camp, but not too ugly either. And wind free!

Eric's chain was having problems hopping off of low gears on rough roads, and with the rough road ahead it was time to do something about this. His chain got shortened and we rode a few miles before the chain started to skip again. We pulled over to a beautiful spot right on the water and found the problem. The problem was the broken chain breaking tool wouldn't put the chain back together properly, so it took both of us, one with chain tool the other with pliers, to slowly get a functioning chain. With few bike shops, and even fewer good parts, it may prove tricky to find a decent tool. Finally with a functioning bike and Lisa nearly finish with her book 4 hours later we started the long climb up onto the dirt. Washboards. Washboards. Rocks. And loose dirt.

The road wasn't really the problem though, the problem was the traffic. Namely dump trucks and other construction vehicles. This road is slowly being extended as paved south for the growing gringo traffic, so construction is never ending. We got passed constantly by these trucks, and when they passed us they spit up clouds of dust. Darkness was slowly descending and we had to wear sunglasses despite the level of light to see down the road. Sadly the dust and constant noisy traffic managed to drop our enjoyment of this area slightly.

The sea of Cortez was starting to become surreal. The water had finally turned turquoise which we'd read about in these bays, so not only was the water a strange sight, but so was the land. Cliffs dropped into the sea in ways that reminded me of the fjords in Alaska. Mountains popped out of the sea which are now islands once the peaks were surrounded by turquoise water. Again, the scenery was our favorite of the trip. Somehow things get better and better.

Things would continue to be rough for the next few days, but the scenery was pristine, and thankfully free of litter. Every highway in Baja has so far had trash EVERYWHERE, and out here on the rough road with no traffic, things looked as they should be. There were some wild horses. A few beautiful sunsets. Some fast and fun descends. Blah blah blah...

Then came the wind. We left a beautiful spot where we finally swam in the Sea of Cortez at Gonzaga Bay after a lazy morning. A few motorcyclists passed us and said they were glad they weren't us as we started to fight the wind. A headwind. At fist the wind wasn't so bad, just slowed us down a tad. After 2 hours we were off of our bikes and pushing. Lisa got blown over twice, and we knew that we couldn't ride in the wind. What really worried us was finding a campsite. There are no large trees in this desert, and no good rocks anymore to provide any shelter from the wind. We gave up early around 3 pm and decdided we couldn't go on like this, at less than hiking pace. Amazingly, we found a wide ditch-thing beside the road that helped a little bit. Winds were EASILY 50 mph plus, the worst taht either have us ever seen sustained for over a few minutes. It took us well over 2 hrs to find a decent spot down there to camp. The spots were either wayyy too sandy, or waayyy too rocky underneath, but 12 stakes later, we were in a tent that has continued to impress us under seriously serious camping conidtions. No broken tent poles!

Coco

We met Coco near the end of the dirt road before we dropped down to the Transpeninsular Hwy and pavement for the first time in days. He ran a little business in the middle of nowhere where we could buy a Coke, with real sugar and no high-fructose corn syrup!, and fed us free food. He got us to sign into his guestbook, and it turns out there were at least 5 other cyclists a week or so ahead of us. This was also the first place that made us feel like we were on a long trip, and felt like we were on a long-distance hiking trail. Food hookup in the middle of nowhere, signing a book to see whose ahead, and good company for hours...

Back on the highway we cruised nearly 100 km to get near the highway that branched off to get to the Pacific. The next morning we woke up and realized we needed a day off. Our hair was fried, we were a bit dirty, and could do with some old school laundry done with Dr Bronners and a bucket...

Cha Cha Cha...

15km later, we were on the Pacific Ocean for the first time, in the town of Santa Rosalita and met an awesome gringo named David. David was originally from Germany and had a killer massive grey moustache. He told us that we were welcome to stay near his camp 5 miles further along the beach at Playa Andreas. No brainer: go to David's. Stocked up on food, we rode the miles on a dirt road and went to the most beautiful beach we'd seen yet. Nothing but 6 or so palapas, a handful of surfers, and constant surf. Apparently there was a legendary "swell" coming in and all of the surfers had come down from San Diego to check it out. They were all awesome to us. Told us where the cold shower was. That there were going to be fish tacos in camp at night. Etc Etc Etc.

What had originally meant to be a half-day off became 3 days off. Bikes fixed. Books read. Journals caught up, we could finally surf. Everyone seemed to have a spare wetsuit that they wanted to loan us, and good boards to start on, so we spent a few hours out on the water. It's easy to see how people can get so hooked on surfing. It's so peaceful floating on the board waiting for a wave to come, and when the wave finally does come, the ocean feels so powerful. You can't plan these things. Here we are getting free surfing lessons on a beautiful beach taht most tourists would never find. Lucky indeed...

We couldn't stay there forever, so after surfing and getting some info on attractions ahead, we got back to the highway and headed south. We have since met 2 other cyclists, Mike from San Francisco, and Hannah from Sweden. Now we're in Guerrero Negro hanging out, making tentative plans to rent a ponga (boat) to take us out to an island out in the Sea of Cortez to stay for a few days. Read, write, journal, photograph, and enjoy.

The future

Up ahead we've gotten news of tons of beauty awaiting us. 3 dormant volcanoes called the 3 Virgins that erupted only 200 years ago. Apparently you can see the lava flows from them and from this lava grow the largest Elephant Trees on the planet. There in a really lush valley where the town of San Ignacio and it's legendary old crumbling mission are held. Date trees. Green green and fresh water! Then there is supposedly a really hairy and fun descent down to the Sea of Cortez and that torquise water. Old scandanavian mining town where the houses are made of old wood, the river delta town of Mulege, pristine beaches where you can camp on the spit of sand that juts out into the sea, and maybe christmas on an island in a national park.

Life is good.