Day 11: 15-20 Km North Of Puertecitos To Cinco Islas

I woke up to a wonderful sunrise and promptly went right back to sleep for another 30 minutes before dragging myself out of bed to get an early start to beat the heat. 

Okay, fine, I may have set my cell phone alarm just to catch the sunrise…

Perfect morning cycling…

We made it to the outskirts of Puertecitos by 9am where the infamous Cowpatty is located.  Cowpatty supposedly has the best hotdogs and beer, but beyond the fact that we weren’t hungry yet, hotdogs and beer didn’t sound very appetizing for breakfast.  We opted to ride into Puertecitos to try our luck there and maybe we would be hungry by then. 

Oops.  The gas station did not have a storefront like most do.  The gas station attendant told us that the only places to get water was the Cowpatty, the next town at Gonzaga Bay, and a tiny market that services the village (population 20, we were informed) and tourists… but oh yea, it just happened to be closed that morning because the owner was in San Felipe picking up supplies.

It seemed like we would have to bike back out to the Cowpatty until Gonzalo found out from the gas station attendant that they had well water in huge tubs for watering the plants.  We decided to use our water filters and microdyn, anti-bacterial drops for treating water instead.

We may or may not have looked like crazy homeless people while pumping our water.  The gas station attendant was really worried that we planned to drink this water…

The road detouring into and out of Puertecitos is mostly sand/gravel… it also happens to be really really really steep (photo credit: Gonzalo).

We continued on for some of the most beautiful cycling I’ve ever done.  If there’s any reason to take this alternate route to Highway 1, it’s for the views.  It was icing on the cake that we had mostly traffic-free cycling as well.

Snack break at a gorgeous overlook (photo credit: Gonzalo).

I had to tear myself away from this view… 

Each corner and hill brought yet another stunning vista.

Gonzalo takes in the view of Isla el Huerfanito.

Leaving behind one view for the next one (photo credit: Gonzalo).

It was also some of the hottest cycling I’ve ever done, though not quite as gross as the time the Byk Ride crew cycled from Cumberland, MD to DC during a heat wave.  Even though Gonzalo tells me we hit 107 Fahrenheit (42 Celsius) at one point, at least it was a dry heat.  Gonzalo asked if we could wait out the hottest part of the day in some shade, and so we hunkered down in the shade of a half-constructed building at Huerfanito.  

We also made a friend who managed to beg a couple of tortillas off us.

A couple hours later, we emerged from the shade and made our way down the road again.  We debated making a push for Gonzaga Bay (inspired by Gonzalo’s desire for an ice cold soda) versus cutting the day short to find some nice beach camping (inspired by my desire to slow down and relish this beautiful area before we turned inland), until out of the desert near Cinco Islas about 25 km before Gonzaga Bay arose a vision… Imelda’s… was it open?  We were giddy with anticipation and hope.  A man came out and told us yes, indeed, they were open.  It was the best tasting orange soda I have ever had!

Cold sodas and basic meals are served here by the lovely and welcoming Imelda, who has seen many cycle tourists pass through her place over the years.  Take the time to chat with her!

We noticed a dirt road to the beach alongside Imelda’s and told her we would like to camp down there.  Imelda waved us on and said that it was free to us; we could just go past their old storefront next to the old gravel road that pre-dated the new highway.  Turns out, we would both end the day happy with cold drinks and extra night of beach camping!

On the way down to the beach (photo credit: Gonzalo).

View from near Imelda’s old storefront of our beach camping spot.

We had a leisurely afternoon swimming, doing bike maintenance, collecting wood for another fire, exploring the area, and setting up camp.

I think I just take these pictures to make Kiki jealous… he he.

Another great night of chatting around the campfire and sleeping without my rainfly on.

After the sunset, we noticed a coyote investigating our campsite.  Coyotes aren’t particularly dangerous, but will take your food if you leave it out.  Our guy peeked in a couple times and we heard him get into a fight with the local dogs a little while later.

A few travel notes for cyclists:

• Puertecitos is a destination for local and international tourists alike, but is mainly a weekend getaway.  I’m guessing the little market would be open on the weekend and most days, but we arrived on a Monday, which is probably when the owner does his weekly supply run.  It is unclear exactly what type of provisions are stocked at the market, but I’ve found that even the tiniest shops have at the very least canned tuna and pasta/rice/tortillas.  We were glad to have brought our own supplies for this stop though.

• Other cycle tourists have found the owners of Cowpatty to be sympathetic and to let them camp at the restaurant. 

• Take lots of water for this section.  There are no amenities between Puertecitos and Imelda’s, and even then, Imelda does not stock lots of water, just enough to have a drink with your meal (though she did have a small chilled bottle for Gonzalo who has a love affair with cold water).

• When wild camping in Baja, always put your food inside your tent.  Coyotes and stray dogs will eat just about anything.