Days 6 Through 9: San Felipe

Because Gonzalo has to work every so often, we have planned to make stops where he has, at the very least, cell phone data reception.  Gonzalo has promised that we will try to plan stops for places where I can find other things to do while he works.  San Felipe, our last real town before we head into more remote parts, was the perfect place for both of us.  

Gonz hard at work while I go out to play!

The first day or so, I took advantage of the wifi and spent a fair amount of time updating my blog and doing research on the next two legs of our trip, which promises to be a remote and beautiful experience, but which also requires some planning given the paucity of amenities throughout that route. 

I am currently in love with the NationalGeographic adventure maps of Baja California.  While a printing error has omitted all letters containing an accent over them, it has been fairly accurate so far and has the major dirt roads marked.  Note that you cannot assume that a dot with a name next to it is a town with amenities… some of these places may have been tiny towns once, but may be empty buildings now.  Anything marked with a gas station marker is a fair bet to have everything you need to stock up though.

The rest of my time was spent doing some bike maintenance and exploring the area.  My impression of San Felipe is that it was once a thriving fishing town turned thriving tourist town, but which has suffered the fate of bad American media coverage.  The result is a small but developed town that feels eerily empty except for the few American expats that have retired here.  No one tries to sell you anything and half the storefronts are empty.  While not good for the local economy, it makes for a peaceful stay.

A nice thought, but there was no bike route to be seen.  The tourist office representative told me they are trying to promote cycling in the area, and asked me to send pictures of our bike tour for promotional purposes.  Maybe if I do, they’ll actually put in a bike lane!

Lunch at a local loncheria… a huge freshly squeezed (in front of me!) orange juice, lentil soup, chile rellenos, rice, beans, creamy mashed potatoes, corn tortillas, and the best hot sauce I have encountered so far!  I couldn’t finish it, but it was soooo good.

The winds kept blowing this poor ladybug around while I chased it with my camera.

Pelicans abound here... I saw about 6 flocks fly by on my walk to the south end of the beach.

This big guy scared the crap out of me as I tested just how close he would let me get.

I was determined to find local Baja wine, and lo and behold, they actually sell it in the stores here!  A malbec-ruby cabernet blend that was a little young, but not too bad.

Aborted day ride out to the Valley of the Giants... high winds whipped both me and the roads with sand and had me fighting to keep my bike on the road.  I opted to turn around and have an X-Men movie marathon instead.

Blissfully empty road and a glorious tailwind on my second attempt to get to the Valley of the Giants the next day.

I found it!  But only after a small detour to the airport... for future reference, take Highway 5 (from town it is called Mar Caribe Norte) south about 9 miles.  If you are on a bike and like zooming downhill, be careful once you see a big pink arch structure thingy, because you actually have to turn left to stay on Highway 5 halfway down a short hill, and if you are like me and just enjoy the downhill without paying attention, you'll end up at the airport and have to turn around.  From that juncture, the turnoff is well marked near Km 14.  Actually cycling into the valley is a bit tricky because its a mix of sand and washboard.  Be prepared to walk your bike for some parts.

The Valley of the Giants is actually the private property of the Rancho Punta Estrella which has dedicated itself to maintaining and protecting the giant ancient sahuaros.  When I arrived, I met this lovely group waiting at the closed fence at the entrance.  We waited for a while together and chatted, and after about 20 minutes, decided that we would just jump the fence and hike out and pay the fee when the gatekeeper came back.  (From left to right: Scott, Regina, Lindsay, Kat, and Robert.)

Robert and Regina live in San Mateo, California, but have recently purchased a house in San Felipe and know the area well.  Robert became my personal tour guide as we hiked the area for a couple miles, and Scott, a family friend, became my personal photographer (photo credit: Scott).

The scenery was unreal, with these giant sahueros and the moon peaking out over the mountains.  According the flyer from the tourist office, these bad boys take forever to grow... it takes 75 years for one to grow a single arm and they estimate that some of these will live up to 2000 years.

This area also is home to eagles, coyotes, roadrunners, hares, quails, and doves, but all I saw was a Chewbacca.

Robert kindly offered me and my bike a ride back to town.  I accepted his offer because it was a great way to avoid having to bike back into a headwind and a wonderful excuse to spend a little more time with everyone.  It was also my first official car/truck ride of this tour!  Once again, I am simply amazed and touched by the generosity of strangers.  Thanks to the San Mateo crew for making the day a memorable one!

A few travel notes for San Felipe:  

• A good economical option for a place to stay is a few rooms owned by "The General" on Mar Caribe Norte at Topolobampo just south of Mr. Fish on the south end of town.  Look for the green and blue walled building with a sign for rooms to rent leaning outside a fence, go through the gate, and knock on the door.  The rooms are clean, well appointed, and the showers are great.  The General also owns Asadero El General across the street, which has excellent tacos in the afternoon and evening.  Within a block of this place is a laundry service as well as a good supermarket.  It is set back from the beach, but well within walking distance, and we really enjoyed our stay here.  [Update: remember to ask for your key deposit back... we didn't and The General ended up keeping it.]

• San Felipe is quiet most of the time but comes alive on the malecon on the weekend.  Here, all the bands come out to the beach, I counted no less than 4 tubas and the music ranged from ragtime to old school ranchero.  Grab a homemade paleta just north of the 7-11 and go people watch for a relaxing evening.  The fresa (or strawberry) ones are the best and have tons of fresh strawberry chunks imbedded in the ice cream. 

• Lunch is the big meal of the day, so save your pesos for a nice late lunch at a local comedor where you can get a huge meal for USD$4-$5.  If you want to splurge, go to Chuys at lunch, get the combinación de mariscos for about $8 if you love garlicky seafood or get the tostada de ceviche mixta for $2 for a light snack.  

• We fell in love with the Fuente de Sodas Karina at Ensenada and Mar Mediterraneo for breakfast.  It's a bustling local spot with no tourists to be seen (except for us!) and a lot of regulars.  Their fruit salad with cottage cheese, honey, and granola is delicious, the coffee free flowing, and we haven't had a bad meal there yet.  We ended up going there every morning...  

• Daniel at the Hospital para Bicicletas just a couple blocks off the malecon on Chetumal is your "go to" guy for bike repair.  He trimmed my front fender so it would stop clipping my toe and refused to accept any payment for his work. 

We are going to be off the grid for a couple weeks, so no updates likely until we get to the ferry at Santa Rosalía to head over to the mainland!