Days 37 Through 41: Ciudad Constitución To La Paz

We set out from Ciudad Constitución with a good tailwind but it was clear that our days of traffic-free cycling were over.  Not only did our four-lane highway go back to two lanes, but drivers were a bit more aggressive on this stretch of road requiring constant vigilance with our mirrors.  However, the flat farmland turned into some nice rolling hills.  We even saw a young guy geared out in spandex training... with his mother following closely behind in a car to ensure his safety.  He seemed a bit embarrassed and kinda grunted at us as he passed by, while his mother gave us a friendly wave.

After cycling about 120 km, we ended up scooting under the fence into the desert and camped near the marker for Km 89.  We stopped at the one little restaurant between our campsite and the outskirts of La Paz and met a wonderful duo of motorcyclists from La Paz, in particular, the affable and exuberant Jorge... a 78-year old dynamo who is still living life to the fullest.  He himself is also a cyclist and was fascinated by our journey and our story.  He checked out our gear, gave us his phone number, and offered us any and all assistance we could possibly need upon our arrival to La Paz.

La Paz was a wonderful surprise.  It is urban and sophisticated because it is the capitol of Baja California Sur, but it still maintains a small-town feel with a warm sense of community and openness that is so rare in big cities.  It also has a nice balance of national (that is, Mexican) tourists and international tourists, and you never feel like you're just wandering amongst other tourists.  We spent a few days enjoying La Paz while we waited for some things we had ordered to arrive, pimped out spokes and hubs for Gonzalo and a new helmet mirror and a replacement Camelbak mouthpiece for me.

La Paz in the distance... it's a bit misleading, you feel like you are almost there, and then it's a long windy ride around the bay!

We explored the malecón to see if we could find a cart that serves fresh clams for Gonzalo, but to no avail, the stand was closed already.  However, I discovered a small bar called Harker Board Co. that serves real actual local craft beer!  The brewmaster is from Colorado and they are based out of Los Cabos... my joy was apparent and I ended up having several pints of what is dubbed as the "hoppiest beer in Mexico."  After over a month of watery light beer, I was in heaven.

Some research reveals that cerveza artesanal is gaining some traction here in Mexico.  I am excited to discover the local beers here!!!

We had a gorgeous sunset from the "bar o' happy draft beer for LeeAnn" and then headed back to our hostel to crash out.  After five straight days of cycling, we were exhausted.

The next morning, we wandered into the local market for breakfast and lo and behold, Jorge found us!  It turns out he had remembered we were staying in a pensión and there are only two near the malecón so he had stopped by to ask if any cyclists had arrived.  He had the good sense to look for us at the market and we ended up spending the better part of the morning as his guests.   Gonzalo's camera died on the road, so Jorge called around to see where would be the best place for Gonzalo to replace it, and then schlepped us around to every possible place so Gonzalo could see what was available.  We stopped by Jorge's house for some iced tea and met his wife and daughter, and talked about living life coloring outside the lines.  Jorge is also an adventurer, a retired Aeroméxico pilot who has traveled extensively himself.  In fact, he cycled from Santa Rosalía to La Paz forty years ago.  Now he bikes recreationally twice a week and goes on regular motorcycle rides with his friends.

Jorge dropped us back off at the hostel with an invitation to meet up later for coffee and drinks with some of his friends.  We agreed we would be in touch and set out to satisfy Gonzalo's craving for fresh clams.

Gonzalo finally gets his fresh clams at the little stand located near the Hotel Pekin off the malecón.

I tried a few pieces and they are amaaaazing.  They are meaty and sweet and incredibly fresh.  Nothing but a little lime, salt, and hot sauce.

Sometimes the best places come in unassuming packages.  This guy's stand was basically full the entire time we were there, it's less than half the price of the fancy beachfront restaurants and probably tastier (80 pesos bought Gonzalo over a dozen clams and a beer).  The plump gentleman originally hails from Mazatlan (I think) and provided us some bawdy and lively conversation... it's clear he comes here often.  

The sunset on the malecón is stunning and different each night... this was our view as we pulled up with Jorge to meet his friends for coffee and drinks.

Our motley crew... we spent several hours sharing travel stories until it was well past everyone's bedtimes.  Jorge brought his excitable but very nice dog.

The next day, Sara, the lovely woman from Guerrero Negro who adopted us during our time there, introduced me to Glenda Davila on Facebook.  Glenda is the founder of a group called Ellas en Bici, a women's cycling group here in La Paz, and made us feel right at home by inviting us to go kayaking and to attend a free jazz concert at the local cultural center.  I had a few hours to myself before kayaking because Gonzalo was taking his daily mid-day nap, so I explored a bit and cobbled together a lunch from the nearby market complete with freshly made tortillas from the tortillería.

La Paz has some fun funky artwork on its buildings.  Reminds me a bit of the artwork we saw in Boise.

I really liked the artwork on this gallery, too bad it was closed!

Glenda came by the hostel with her friend Martha to pick us up to head down to the water.  There, we met the queen of kayaking, Margarita, and we were off to explore an area where the blue herons go to sleep at sunset.  Glenda, Martha, and Margarita often meet to paddle together, sometimes bringing dinner and drinks, sometimes in the rain, sometimes for a night paddle with a full moon, but always to catch up and reconnect.  They are an easygoing and vivacious group and we ended up having so much fun on the water that we missed the concert!    

Glenda, Martha, and Margarita head back to shore.

Then, at long last, Martin, Eduardo's friend who did us the huge favor of receiving the spare parts for us, let us know the package had arrived.  He invited us to lunch with his wife and grandson, which allowed them to catch up with Gonzalo, who they had welcomed the last time Gonzalo biked through Baja.  We had a leisurely lunch and some nice conversation over almejas chocolatas, an assortment of scallop and octopus tacos, and micheladas.  I decided to go watch the sunset and Glenda and her crew stopped by!

Martin, his lovely wife, and their grandson (photo credit: Gonzalo with his new camera)!

Ellas en Bici stopped by to visit while I was enjoying one last craft beer in La Paz at Harker Board Co.

I closed the night out chatting with the former counsel to Bill Gates who handled his original IPO (yea, yea, yea, we lawyers somehow always find each other) and some vagrant Canadians who live here.  We talked about what we missed about the practice of law itself (not a whole lot other than the intellectual stimulation) and how we  kept our brains active after leaving the law (he sits on a lot of board of directors).  He thinks I would be great in academia and it would afford me a schedule that would accomodate a more liberal lifestyle.

A few travel notes for cyclists:

• We saw plenty of places to stop for supplies for the majority of this section, except between the marker for Km 89 and the outskirts of La Paz, we only found one little place around the marker for Km 35 or so.

• I enjoy Gonzalo's way of managing dogs that chase us.  The first method is to just stop.  They often get confused when you stop and lose interest.  Gonzalo often then puts his hand out and pets them, and all of a sudden he has a new best friend.  The second method is to slow down and chase the dog back.  They realize "holy cow, this bike-beast is way bigger than I am" and run away.

• We are staying at the popular Pensión California, which is a well-established hostel in La Paz on Degollado at Revolución.  It is very basic, but offers free wifi, a computer for use by guests, a basic kitchen, a nice communal area which is conducive to meeting other travelers, free drinking water, and is well-situated near the malecon, the market, and a popular taco stand.  Because it is featured in the Lonely Planet, is popular even now in the low season.  There is a new hostel in town called Baja Backpackers, but it is pricey for anyone traveling with a friend and the Pensión California is a much better deal.  They appear to have a sister hostel for the high season with a similar name and similar facade just around the corner. 

• The Pensión California is conveniently located near the market, which has its own tortillería (the flour tortillas were amazing fresh off the press) and cafeteria area for delicious and economical set meals.  I highly recommend the fruit cart out front... a huuuuuge fruit salad costs about US$2.50 and you can choose whatever fruit you want in it.  It's so big it's more than enough for breakfast with some leftover for a snack alter.

Days 32 And 33: Loreto

Loreto is well known destination for sport fishing, water sports, diving, and sea kayaking.  The day before, I had wandered around town looking for dive shops and kayaking outfitters, only to find many offices closed.  I wasn't sure if it was because it was Sunday or because it's the off season, but I felt a bit let down until I wandered into the office of Sea Kayak Baja Mexico just off the malecon.  A quick chat with the girl working there and a phone call to the gregarious and knowledgable Ivette Granados Marines, and I was set up for a solo sea kayaking and snorkeling adventure out to Coronado Island while Gonzalo worked.

I woke up early and met Ivette at the office shortly after 8 am, where we went through all the gear and she introduced me to Rigo, who would be my boat captain and guide.  She sent us off with a cooler bag full of ice cold water, juice, yogurt drink, fruit, and snacks and an insulated bag full of delicious fish burritos made by Rigo's wife.  I knew it was going to be a good day when we had a pelican decide to hop on the boat and ride with us as we pulled out of the marina.

Rigo was a great guide with an eagle eye for spotting sea turtles, mantas, dolphins, and identifying the various birds.  He was born and raised in Loreto and has been working with Ivette for about four years, so he knows every nook and cranny of the various islands well.  I was really glad to be able to speak Spanish because we were able to chat the whole time.   

Coronado Island is gorgeous in the early morning when the sea and sky seem to merge together.  It's amazing to watch the colors of both change as the day goes on.  It's one of five islands off the Loreto coast.

One of many blue heron nests on this side of the island.  We saw five different nests with baby herons!

A corner of the island where pelicans reign supreme.  We saw three blue-footed boobies mingling with the pelicans out here.  While they aren't endangered, nearly half of all blue-footed boobies are in the Galapagos, and they aren't found anywhere else outside of Baja California Sur, Peru, and the Galapagos, so it's pretty special to see them!  Random factoid: Charles Darwin was the first to study blue-footed boobies extensively in the Galapagos.

Coronado Island is an inactive volcano with really awesome volcanic rock formations that have been shaped by wind and water over time.

More cool volcanic rock formations... this corner is the home of a small sea lion colony.  You can see the alpha male staking his turf on the very tip near the water.

The other sea lions were sunbathing and playing in the water nearby.

And then we saw a small group of dolphins.  Rigo explained to me that when you see a small group like this, it may be because there is a mother and baby to allow the mother can protect her child.

We watched these dolphins for about fifteen minutes before we finally moved on to make a little base camp at a small beach on the island.

I love how the water color changes over time and depth.  A pelican greets us as we dock the boat.  Rigo and I had some of the burritos his wife made, and ended up sharing some with an American couple that had come over to chat.

Time to explore by kayak!

I paddled to another remote beach, docked my kayak, and got out to explore with my snorkel... nothing like chasing around some poor rockfish in my own private corner of paradise.  

The water was the perfect temperature for me... pool water temperature (rather than the bathwater temperature of the Caribbean)... so when I got back to the boat, I decided to go for one last swim with the snorkeling gear.  Rigo pointed out a good place to swim where the fish liked to hang out and off I went.  By the time I returned, Rigo had packed up all the kayaking gear, gave me some time to eat another delicious fish burrito and some fruit, and we headed back to the Loreto marina.

Gonzalo and I ended the day splurging on a big seafood dinner of raw oysters, local clams au gratin, and a lovely fresh seafood soup chock full of crab, octopus, shrimp, and scallops.  After several days on the road eating canned tuna with pasta and tortillas with beans, it's always worth it to me to splurge on the fresh seafood when we get into a beach town.  We try to avoid the touristy places, looking for the places where locals and other Mexicans are eating, to get the best stuff at the best prices.

Sooo good.  This place was near the intersection of Salvatierra and Paseo Miguel Hidalgo, a bit further away from the fancy restaurants that are scattered around the mission and the malecon.  They had good prices and the seafood was very fresh... in fact, we saw some poor clams crawling around awaiting their fate in our bellies.

The next day was spent getting provisions for a remote alternate route out of Loreto that Gonzalo had discovered that takes us through the beautiful area where the mission at San Javier is located, doing research on hostels and things to do in La Paz, and visiting the mission museum.

We also meandered into a homey little bookstore called El Caballo Blanco on Paseo Miguel Hidalgo just two blocks off the malecon which is owned by a lovely American widow named Jeannine Perez.   The front section of her bookstore has a freebie box and used junk novels in English on the cheap, while the specialty Baja books (everything from birding guides, camping guides, detailed maps, and history) and books in Spanish are in the back section.  Colorful paintings she has done over the years decorate the walls and colorful clay mugs she has made ("bad hair day mugs" she calls them) line one of the shelves.  She welcomed us in and treated us to some lovely herbal iced tea and a crumbly delicious scone-like pastry as we browsed, and then invited us for coffee and more pastries in the morning should we have time before we head out.  I ended up nabbing an international intrigue junk book from the freebie box and trading in my National Geographic Baja California maps for a small Spanish grammar book to make productive use of downtime at camp lest my brain atrophy on the road.

I awesomely put the dead battery back in my camera and put my charged battery in the charger, so I am borrowing this picture from www.starkinsider.com to give you an idea of this place!

A few travel tips for cyclists:

• We stayed at the Motel Brenda on Benito Juarez set back a bit from the mission and malecon.  We just asked someone riding a bike for an economical hotel and they recommended this one.  It's one of the cheapest places we've seen, quiet, clean, has great showers, spacious rooms, air conditioning, ground floor room access (many places are multi-level and may be difficult to lug bikes up), free drinking water by the reception, and while not advertised, if you ask, they will give you free wifi access.  Lonely Planet lists the Hotel Posada San Martin as the best budget deal (though it is the same price as the Motel Brenda) and I know other bike tourists have stayed there.  I've read that the Hotel Posada San Martin has a nice common area and free coffee, but that the rooms are dark and it can be a bit loud due to it's more central location. 

• There is a water purification station just a couple doors down from the Motel Brenda.  We got 12 liters for 10 pesos and they also sell big bags of ice.

• I highly recommend Sea Kayak Baja Mexico.  I found the service to be impeccable and I like supporting businesses run by women, especially in Latin America, where it's not as common.  A kayaking and snorkel trip is a bit pricey if you are a solo traveler (though still worth it!), but if there are two of you, I think it's a good deal and a great way to get off the bike for a day.  Ivette is very friendly and was able to pull together my kayak and snorkel tour with very little notice... I think I called her in the late afternoon or early evening on Sunday and was on my way the next morning for a great day on the water.  The gear is top quality and they also have a retail storefront that has great waterproof bags, stuff sacks, and even some camping gear.  They also offer really cool multi-day kayak tours from Loreto to La Paz with camping in various ranchos and tiny beachside towns.

• If you are itching to do some serious exploration of Baja, the Baja California Almanac that Jeannine carries at her store El Caballo Blanco is the most detailed map you can get, to allow you to design any hiking, mountain biking, road cycling, off-roading adventure you could ever want.  It's big, but would easily fit into a rear pannier and has all of the topographical information you could ever want.  Otherwise, if you are cycling north from Loreto, I traded in some pretty awesome National Geographic Baja maps that are more compact and more than sufficient for this area. 

• Vegetarians rejoice, I found an awesome vegetarian omelet at Pan que Pan... stuffed with mozzarella cheese and chock full of zucchini, spinach (I had asked them to substitute spinach for the bell peppers), carmelized onion, and mushroom served with beans, queso fresco, and avocado on the side.  At 50 pesos (or about $4), it was a good deal, as was the fresh orange-carrot juice at just 20  pesos (or about $1.60).

Days 21 Through 25: Guerrero Negro Part II

Guerrero Negro opened its arms wide and enveloped Gonzalo and me in a big warm hug.  We were no longer just some random tourists passing through town, but rather, Sara and Adolfo made us feel like we were a part of their family.  Sara and her daughter Sarita picked us up from the Motel Gamez in their family van with a cooler stuffed full of homemade burritos stuffed with potato and machaca and juice.  We swung by the ESSA production facility to pick up Adolfo, who had gotten all the permits and paperwork we needed, and we were off!

But first, let me tell you a little bit about this lovely family.  Sara is a remarkable woman.  The youngest of 12 kids from the nearby Ejido Benito Juárez, Sara is a mother of five children, ages ranging from 12 to 18.  Remarkably, she decided to go back to school as an adult to complete her high school education and then received a scholarship to attend university.  She is currently finishing her degree in alternative tourism and has a passion for sustainable tourism and preserving the environment.  Adolfo is a mechanic at the ESSA production facility who comes from a family of fisherman.  Sara jokes that her plans are crazy, but there aren't many people in this world who are willing to just go for their dreams, rules of society be damned.

Adolfo, Sara, and Sarita (minus the four other kids).

But I digress, back to the salt plant tour.  ESSA is the biggest natural salt production facility in the world, that is, it relies only on evaporation rather than artificial processes.  It is a joint venture between Mitsubishi and the government of Mexico, which respectively own 49% and 51% of the project.  This facility is so important that the president visits every year.  In addition to explaining each part of the salt production process and answered all of our random questions, Sara and Adolfo also made sure we saw everything and took some amazing pictures of us.

Big wheels from the ESSA salt trucks (photo credit: Sara).

ESSA is an equal opportunity employer... Sara was proud to introduce me to one of the female mechanics who works here.

Fun on a huuuuge stack of salt (photo credit: Sara).

Gonz and I get into a salt foam fight... foam is not the best ammunition but it sure is fun (photo credit: Sara).

Observing the massive salt trucks (photo credit: Sara).

Mountains of salt!

Look!  It's salt on a boat!  And Adolfo!

At the Laguna de Guerrero Negro... during the whale season, you can get a boat here to whale watch.  We found some remains and a cheeky little bird.

Sarita decides to wake up some sleeping birds.

On the way back from the salt plant, Sara suggested we go to a place called Los Amargos (which translates to something like "The Bitters").  The tourism industry in Guerrero Negro needs to find a way to promote this place.  Sure, it's a natural by product of the salt production facility (from what I understood of the conversation... by this time I was starting to get tired so my Spanish comprehension was failing), but it looks like an eerily beautiful alternate world.

The moon!?!  Los Amargos contains this mineral water that is warm and is supposed to be good for your joints.

It's a veritable playground of crystallized by product (photo credit: Sara).

The pictures don't really do justice to how strange and amazing this place is.

Sara and Adolfo dropped us off back at the Motel Gamez after an amazing afternoon.  We asked if we could contribute something towards the gas and food, but were told absolutely not.  I was so taken with Los Amargos, that I decided to head back out for the sunset on my bike after dinner.

Sara told me that a lot of people come at sunset because it's particularly beautiful at that time... 

She was right, of course.

Over the next fews days, I experienced hospitality at its finest, from a trip out to meet Sara's friend Kiko, to a tour of the underbelly of Guerrero Negro including its quirky but beautiful cemetery, to a kayaking class that was part of Sara's curriculum, to the delicious nopales/egg/bean/rice burritos Kiko brought from his restaurant to share with the kayaking class, to a warm homemade meal and a special bottle of Baja California wine with Sara and Adolfo's family.

Kayaking class!  The instructor is on the right... he is NOLS certified (National Outdoor Leadership School).  I had actually looked into courses at NOLS before for myself.

Sara and me looking supremely tan with our awesome double kayak before heading out.  We had an awesome day out on the water with clear blue skies and almost no wind (which is rare here).  We even chatted up a fisherman who was pulling up pulpo (octopus!) (photo credit: Debra).

Sara, me, and Pacifica, Kiko's friend who was also enjoying the class as a visitor.  Pacifica and I ended up chatting for a bit while the others received their instructions.  She and her partner Debra split their time between Oakland, CA and Mulége south of Guerrero Negro and are highly involved with the environment and social justice (photo credit: Debra).

Sara shows me how to make flour tortillas from scratch at her home.  Sara is a pro since she wakes up early every day to make tortillas for her family of seven (photo credit: Gonzalo).

Much to Sara's surprise, I actually did end up doing pretty well and rocked out a stack of sometimes oddly shaped but delicious tortillas.  Multitasking between rolling tortillas out while simultaneously cooking two others, including the secret double tortilla swirl method, isn't easy, but once you find a good rhythm, it's not too bad.  They say in Mexico a woman is ready to get married after to she learns how to make tortillas... (photo credit: Gonzalo).

The kayaking class with Sara gave me some beautiful views of the dunes, so I decided to go back on my bike to explore.   Thanks to Sara, I knew how to get back there.

Gorgeous dunes with superfine sand... we had seen some smaller dunes on our salt plant tour with Sara and Adolfo, but these were really impressive.

The dunes go all the way up to the water, making for a really beautiful beach.   As I was leaving, a ton of families pulled up to enjoy Cinco de Mayo.

Apparently, it is the crab migration.  The kids were getting a kick out of chasing these guys around and collecting them.  I was just trying not to kill too many of them with my bike!

Gonzalo and I decided we wanted to do something nice for Sara and Adolfo before we left, so we invited their family out for a pizza dinner for Cinco de Mayo... actually, it just happened to be Cinco de Mayo.  Here in Mexico, Cinco de Mayo is not the Mexican independence day (which is actually September 16th and is widely celebrated, sometimes for days).  It rarely celebrated except for in the state of Puebla, and is known as El Día de la Batalla de Puebla, where Mexican forces overcame French forces against all odds.

And then at long last, Gonzalo's rim arrived!  We would have just one more night here to give Gonzalo time to rebuild his wheels, do laundry, get food and water supplies, give our bikes a quick tune-up, and get one last sunset over Los Amargos before heading out towards San Ignacio and Santa Rosalía.

Success!  I've never been so happy to see a box sitting at a bus station before... we confirmed that the rims were indeed the right ones and celebrated with a huge breakfast.

A few travel notes for cyclists:

• Coordinating with Sara was made possible because I have a local cell phone, which isn't too expensive and great in the case of an emergency.  All you need is an unlocked international phone and a local SIM card costs about US$13.  I have found TelCel to be widespread with good service.  You need to put 200 pesos on at a time to avoid roaming charges, but that's only about US$17.  Note that while recargas can be done at many little shops (bring your cell phone and wait for a text message confirming your recarga to ensure it worked), you need to go to an authorized TelCel dealer to get SIM card.

• Los Amargos is easily visited by bike, it's about a 5-10 minute leisurely bike ride from town.  Take the main road past the bank and ESSA office and follow the signs to the Faro Viejo and Muelle.  Just past the tree-lined pedestrian trails is a big red sign that says something like Prohibido Entrar, Vehículos Autorizados Solamente, take a left on the dirt road there and then you can either of the next two dirt roads to the right.  Don't worry, this area is fine, we saw tons of cyclists and runners out here.  You may also notice some flat sandy singletrack throughout this area, created by local cyclists.

• From what I understand, some of the hotels offer salt plant tours and will arrange for the permits for a fee.  I think the fee is really to pay for an English-speaking guide because I saw in some travel forums that you can go directly to the ESSA office to get a tour, but that they only offer them in Spanish.   

• The dunes are also easily visited by bike, it's about a 30 minute bike ride from town.  Take a right onto the dirt road to the right of the canal as you head towards the ESSA offices, then stay left at the first fork.  This is also the road to the airport so you can just ask for that as well.  There are several dirt access roads to the water, but to get to the dunes, you have to cycle past the fenced off area until you see public dirt access roads again.