Day 34: Loreto To San Javier

One of my best friends of all time sent me a quote that speaks so truly of this bike trip and travel in general, that I had to put it here.

"The truest and most horrible claim for modern transport is that it 'annihilates space."  It does.  It annihilates one of the most glorious gifts we have been given.  It is a vile inflation which lowers the value of distance, so that a modern boy travels a hundred miles with less sense of liberation and pilgrimage and adventure than his grandfather got from traveling ten."

~C.S. Lewis.

Gonzalo had discovered a half-paved / half-dirt road alternate route out of Loreto via the mission at San Javier, which is one of the most well preserved missions in Baja.  It was a mere 100 km (or 62 miles) which allowed us to make forward progress towards La Paz, while avoiding the traffic on Highway 1.  Never has C.S. Lewis been so right.  The 40 km (or 24 miles) from Loreto to San Javier ended up being our favorite day of cycling so far.  I have friends who commute that much just one way to get to work.

We started the day by swinging back by El Caballo Blanco bookstore for some coffee and cinnamon rolls with Jeannine.  It turns out that El Caballo Blanco is not just a bookstore, but rather serves an important role as a gathering place for what I call the "townie gringos" who live in Loreto.  That is, the ones that live in Loreto year-round and don't isolate themselves out in gringo-only enclaves.  We had the pleasure of chatting with Jim (and another gentleman whose name escapes me and who kindly took a photo of us) before heading out.

My maps have a new home at El Caballo Blanco!

Jim and Jeannine send us off in style (photo credit: their lovely friend who took our picture).

Gonzalo rides out towards the Sierra de la Giganta on the road to San Javier... I think this is the fourth time we have now crossed the Sierra in Baja.

This sign has seen better days, but there are cave paintings along this road!

Silly US$200 tour be damned, we get to see some cave paintings just off this route, though not as impressive as the ones in the Sierra de San Francisco, they were still really awesome.

But mostly because we found a natural spring bubbling up here.   Since it rained last October, all the springs overfloweth.   We were told it hadn't rained for about seven years prior to that rain.

We marked this momentous occasion (that is, the finding of the natural spring) with a snack packed for us by the lovely Jeannine from El Caballo Blanco... homemade cinnamon rolls!

This quiet road winds up into the Sierra... that little dot in the upper-righthand corner is Gonz ahead of me on the climb.   

We were rewarded with amazing views of the Mar de Cortes as we climbed up...

A quick rest in the shade of this small sanctuary before continuing our climb.

A few parts of the road were in disrepair from the flooding from the springs in the last rain, and others had been taken over by overflowing springs (photo credit: Gonzalo).

Gonzalo decided to take advantage of these natural "pools".

By early afternoon, we had made it to San Javier, a small village that seems a bit out of time.

The mission at San Javier is the second of its kind in Baja, only the one in Loreto precedes it.

A beautiful oasis in the middle of the desert.

Behind the mission a ways is 300-year old olive tree that still produces olives

While we were eating lunch at the restaurant in front of the mission, Luis, the gentlemen selling cajeta and mango empanadas his wife Erika bakes in front of the restaurant, asked me if we needed somewhere to stay, and would we like to camp on his property just down the road?  It'll be great, he told me, it has lots of shade for you to relax.  We gladly accepted and followed him back to his property, where he has a small vineyard, olive trees, orange trees, lime trees, and free range chickens.

Luis' vines are just two years old, he hopes that he will have his first vino misional batch next year.

I threw my hammock up and ended up staying there for a blissful night of sleep.

If I could have, I would have taken this adorable dog with us.  She followed us to Luis' property and adopted us... she slept by us and growled at anything that came near us, she hopped up in my hammock to snuggle while I was reading, and she barked at any other dog that deigned to chase our bikes.

We spent the afternoon relaxing in our hammocks and then invited Luis for some beers.  It was fascinating hearing his story about growing up in San Javier, the various work he has had over the years (everything from construction to producing olive oil and wine), and seeing the world from his point of view.  He leads a simple stress-free life.  He doesn't like using cell phones because it makes his ear hot, even though San Javier recently got cell phone service.  He doesn't miss big supermarkets or the internet.  I could learn a few things from him.

A few travel notes for cyclists:

• Stock up in Loreto for this route because there's nothing once you leave Loreto until you get to San Javier.  It's about 20 km of fairly intense but paved climbing before the road levels out a bit... and the road is in disrepair in some sections, so be careful.  There are just enough tourists that make a day trip of this that you don't really need to worry if something happens.

• The restaurant-bar in front of the mission is the most well-stocked place in town.  While there is a community store, the restaurant-bar has it's own little market, 4L bottles of water, cold drinks, and a nice menu.  Stock up here before you leave because there is nothing except a few ranches before you get back to the highway.

• Luis and/or his wife will likely be out front of that restaurant-bar selling homemade cajeta and mango empanadas.  We found these to be really great cycling snacks and they hold up well in your panniers.

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 30 And 31: Mulegé To El Rosarito To Loreto (aka It Ain't All Fun But It Sure Is Pretty)

I woke up well before Gonzalo because he was trying to get caught up on work in his tent at night, which meant he wasn't up as early as he normally is.  I decided to take advantage of extra time to make a small fire so we could toast tortillas for our bean burrito breakfast.

I kept this bit of tin foil thinking it might make a good tortilla toaster... I was right!

The road heading south out of Mulegé is by far the most stunning section of Highway 1, reminding me in some parts of the gorgeous riding we had near Gonzaga Bay.  This is what people think of when they think of Highway 1 (little do they know that Highway 1 does not stay on the coast the entire time, but rather crosses the mountains and desert several times).  However, this section of Highway 1 weaves in and out of the mountains offering hard fought but gorgeous views.  We also endured more 100+ degree weather as we wound our way through this landscape.

The first beautiful peek of the Mar de Cortes from the road south of Mulegé.

This is where it pays to push out a few hills to get to these views... the first descent into a picture perfect bay.

A lil bit o' paradise.

More glamour shots.

Gonzalo descends into yet another gorgeous bay.

All good things come to an end as we cross a peninsula towards Loreto... but still, desert views worthy of the climb!

Once we cut inland across the peninsula towards Loreto, it became incredibly hot without the cool breezes off the water.  We had the same painful climbs but with no respite from the heat, and Gonzalo started to overheat and had a bout of nausea.  So we sought out shade where we could to cool down, then continued the battle against the brutal sun.  Then out of the blue, a white car pulled over and stopped... then out of the window came two bold bottles of water... we gratefully gulped them down as the young Mexican guy drove off.  We finally made it to a trucker stop at El Rosarito, about halfway between Mulegé and Loreto, and hunkered in the shade for drinks and a bite to eat.

And by bite to eat, I mean this delicious aguachile made with shrimp and scallops... it's basically like a ceviche with chile and it's delicious when it's 100+ degrees out.  We ended up going back for breakfast... be warned, this place makes everything from scratch so it often takes 20-30 minutes for food to be prepared.

Sometimes, the best places are unassuming like this trucker stop at El Rosarito.  

We decided to call it a day and try to get an early start the next day, so we headed down a dirt road not too far from our trucker stop and found a place to throw up our hammocks... a rare thing in this part of the desert.  We were so exhausted we ended up just falling asleep in our hammocks.

I love hammock time.

The next day, Gonzalo was still feeling a bit off... I could tell because for once I was cycling in front of him and beating him up the climbs.  We made it to the military checkpoint about 20 km before Loreto when Gonzalo plunked down in the shade and told me he wasn't sure he was going to make it.  The nausea was getting worse and mentally each climb was a huge battle.  I was really worried because Gonzalo is a very strong cyclist and not the type to give up.  He insisted that he just needed to rest and that we could push on, so he had a soda and rested for about 30 minutes, and then we continued on.

Just a few kilometers later, Gonzalo pulled into what looked like a tiny market and asked for a soda or cold water.  The guy sitting out front looked at us a bit funny and said they didn't have anything.  We realized it was not a market, but just some guy's house with a very cute puppy named Hana.  Nevertheless, he waved us into the shade of his front porch and offered us chairs.  We explained the situation to the guy and he convinced his friend to give us a ride into Loreto.

Saved by a big Ford pickup!  Gonz gave him some money for the gas and inconvenience and we hightailed it to the first cheap motel we could find.

Loreto is a small but developed town that has a large American expat community.  And for good reason.  It was the first Spanish settlement in Baja California and boasts a beautiful waterfront, abundant wildlife, a freshwater spring that makes this an oasis in the desert, and a quiet charm that is often missing in touristy places.  We decided that this would make a good stop for Gonzalo to rest, get healthy, and get caught up on a little work.  So while Gonzalo rested, I called my mother to wish her a happy Mother's Day, and then headed out to see the town and get information on things to do during our stay here.

The malecon... beautiful waterfront.

Tourist office on the main square is housed in the old state capital building.

The oldest mission in Baja California.

A few travel notes for cyclists:

• The first bay south of Mulegé that is visible from the road offers a basic but beautiful RV park where you can camp for 80 pesos, and also has a nice restaurant on site, complete with a full bar, fresh juice, and sodas.  We ended up just getting a few cold drinks and enjoying the view.  Note that the RV park does not have enough water for big refills, you need to go 4 km down the road to the market.  Personally, I think it would be worth it if you arrive in the afternoon to have the access to the beach there... otherwise, there are other wild camping options if you have a couple hours to bike past the RV parks.

• The last place to get food or water before leaving this gorgeous section before cutting across the peninsula to Loreto is called El Coyote, where there is a market and a grilled chicken stand.  Get the chicken.  No really.  This guy has perfected the craft of carefully frying the skin to crispy perfection separately so that it maintains the perfect crunch, and then served aside the grilled chicken.  Add in a tomato salad, macaroni apple salad, and hot tortillas... drool. 

• Having some spare compression straps really great... I hadn't used them at all up until this point, but we were able to strap each bike upright to the side of the truck with just one compression strap for each bike.  Not only did this save our bikes from any damage, but it allowed us to fit both bikes in the back of the pickup. 

Days 28 And 29: San Ignacio To San Lucas To Mulegé

We woke up to a knock on the door of our cabaña... we were invited to Sofia's for homemade pozole (a warm happy soup filled with bits of tender pork and hominy, dressed to taste with fresh lime, onion, cilantro), otherwise known as the perfect hangover food.  She even had a big mug of real coffee for me.  We said our goodbyes and packed up for a well-deserved late start.

We headed out with a nice tailwind and a gradual climb out of San Ignacio around Los Tres Vírgenes, a complex of three volcanos (so says Wikipedia), the largest of which is known as the Vírgen and has been reputed to have last erupted in the mid-1700s.  And then we plummeted down a crazy descent called the Cuesta del Infierno (aka Slope of Hell) into Santa Rosalía, where we would have a late lunch.

La Vírgen.

Gonzalo likes to bomb down these hills, but I pulled off halfway down this screeching descent into "hell" to appreciate the awesomeness of the grade of this descent.  This was one of the few places that even had a shoulder to pull off on!

The promise of blue waters... but I had to finish this crazy descent first!

First things first.  Awesome seafood!  Ceviches, cocktails, you name it.  Baja does it right.  We knew this place would be good by the number of Mexicans relishing meals inside.

Santa Rosalía is a strange place.  It is as much an industrial town as it is a fishing town.  Apparently, there are tons of Koreans here because of a huge business they have here harvesting the giant squid to send back to the motherland.  There is some tourist infrastructure here because of its location on the Mar de Cortes, but it seems out of place amidst the huge seafood processing infrastructure.  We didn't stay long and opted to head out to find some nice beach camping on the other side of town, and ended up somewhere near a spot called San Lucas.

As always, dirt and sand access roads are our best friends when it comes to finding good beach camping.

The next morning, we biked out with the idea that we would reach Mulegé by lunchtime and set up camp early on the beach somewhere thereafter to give Gonzalo some time to work.  It was an easy day of cycling and we took some time once we reached Mulegé to do the tourist thing.

Vulture eyes me on my way out of camp.

I found a playmate at a small market we stopped at for drinks.  I can't remember where it was, but the guy had obviously seen cycle tourists come through before because he has a huge tree that prior cyclists have hunkered down under to escape the heat of the day.

The mission at Mulegé.

A solitary rose in the most unlikely of places.

Viewpoint from the mission... like San Ignacio, Mulegé is a wonderful little oasis due to a river that actually runs year-round.

I'm not entirely sure what this tourist information sign is trying to say...

As usual, we take a sandy access road to get to the water.  This one was a little more rugged than most.  If I had to do this section again, I would have cycled another 45 minutes to an hour to get to the "picture perfect" stuff... see next post... but this was still really nice.

We found the water!

A few travel notes for cyclists:

• While this part of Highway 1 is not as remote, we only saw about one place to stop for food and supplies between San Ignacio and Santa Rosalía, although this stretch is easily done without needing to stop.  Once you are past Santa Rosalía, there are enough little places that you don't need to worry to much.

• Although I am not particularly into the electronic gadgets like Gonzalo, I have come to appreciate that his GPS allows us to scout good areas for wild camping away from populated areas, or helping us determine how far we are from the water and to identify beach access roads.  We've created a comfortable division of labor, where he deals with the nitty gritty of the directions (we do general route planning together), and I manage food supplies and accounting.