Day 14: Coco's Corner To Somewhere Off Highway 1 Near Valle Santa Ana

Morning in my own personal Alice in Wonderland started early... this kingdom goes to bed when the sun goes down and wakes up when it rises.  We blearily started our day with a leisurely breakfast as Coco had gone into town early.  Around 8 am, Coco came careening back from town in his truck which had been modified to allow him to work the gas and brake with his hands.  He hopped out, bragged about how fast he made it back, and then it was time for the ritual hanging of the panties...

I'm not sure how it all started, but Coco has managed to convince visitors to this corner of the desert to hang panties on his "lobby" ceiling.  It is an eclectic and colorful collection of granny panties, boxers, thongs, and everything in between.  Who was I to buck tradition?  I had thrown an extra pair of underwear into my panniers that I had yet to wear since I left Seattle.  It was decided, I would leave a souvenir for Coco.  He briefly lamented that they were clean... how else was he going to keep the flies away?  Then he showed me where he wanted me to hang them.

Coco puts the nails into my underwear so that the placement is to his liking and so I don't drop the nails on my way up the ladder.

Make sure to stretch them out, Coco tells me (photo credit: Gonzalo).

All done!  They aren't fancy, but I've left my mark here!

We settled up our beer tab and gave Coco a tip... he doesn't expect a tip, but he appreciates the extra money for the gas for his ATV.  Coco bid us farewell and after a few hugs and handshakes, we were on our way.

One last picture before we hit the road!

We knew that we had about 20 km before we would rejoin Highway 1, and Coco had told us that there was a big mountain to climb out.  I mentally prepared myself for a painful climb out, but this ended up being easier than the road into Coco's.  The higher elevation here brought in cooler cycling weather so we weren't melting, and the road was more compacted gravel/rock and less sand so we didn't have to walk our bikes as much.

We met this friendly French couple about 7-8 km before the end of the climbing.  They started in Argentina  hitchhiking, then switched to buses, and finally they bought bikes in Mexico to have more freedom.  We stopped and chatted for a while, exchanging travel tips going each way.  They gave us some great ideas for the Copper Canyon where we plan to head next.

One of the big climbs I didn't quite make it up in granny gear.  I think all the climbs are rideable if you avoid hitting the big rocks... I seem to always manage to accidentally swerve into one which knocks me out of my climbing rhythm and forces me to walk (photo credit: Gonzalo).

Motorcyclists are often our biggest supporters.  Sondra stopped to chat with us about our trip and we ended up talking for almost half an hour.  She was effervescent and a welcome distraction to the climbing.  She kindly offered to be our rescue if we needed anything since she lives in San Diego. 

We made it back to Highway 1 by lunchtime and Gonzalo popped into the llantera (tire shop) at the intersection if there was somewhere to eat.  Just 1 km south, there was a small lonchería which had cold drinks, water by the liter, and great machaca burritos.  We set up camp early as we had found a great spot in the desert near Valle Santa Ana with a fire ring already made... this space had been clearly used before as a campsite and we took it as a sign.

View of the campsite from my bathroom.

Moon rising over weird cactus thingy.  Then we treated ourself to watching a movie and munching on pear jelly bellies before passing out.

Northern Baja will always hold a special place in my memories because of the stretch between San Felipe back to Highway 1.  This is a beautiful and remote area where people really look out for each other, where the quirky cowboys of the American expat community play, where a dot on a map is a one-man kingdom, and where my dreams of what cycle touring should be came true.

A few travel tips for cyclists:

• The llantera at the intersection of the road out from Coco's corner and Highway 1 sells water, but 1 km south on the righthand side of the road is a lonchería which has basic meals and even sells some food supplies like tuna, corned beef, and ramen.  I would avoid the jaiba (crab) burrito though since it didn't settle well in Gonzalo's stomach... I stuck to the bean and cheese and machaca (dried meat) burritos and they were delicious.  This is the last place for provisions before Parador Punta Prieta... which is after Valle Santa Ana.

• Cycling on Highway 1 is all about managing the trucks and cars.  There actually isn't too much traffic, but the few trucks and cars that do come through are always going fast and a bit too close for comfort.  We manage them by taking the entire lane, keeping an eye in our handlebar mirrors for vehicles come up from behind, and only moving over when they have slowed down or moved completely over to the other lane to pass.  This is particularly important when there is simultaneous oncoming traffic, since everyone seems to think they can squeeze around before the oncoming traffic arrives.

• We found our campsite this time by following a gravel road which went somewhat parallel to Highway 1 and saw the clearing.  This is a great strategy if you can't find anything appealing off the highway.