Cheers and Beers from Mazatlan! Gosh! so much has transpired since my last posting. If I were to attempt to relate to you everything that has happened in the past few weeks ya´ll would easily be reading for the next half hour. Due to the fact that this blog ain´t yet on the ´Top 10 List´ I am not willing to risk losing the few readers I have due to boredom.
Muluge, Loreto, La Paz, Los Cabos, Mazatlan... the names, dates and events all seem to run together in a confused jumbled of cycling madness. I had my first tamales in Mulege and now I´m hooked. Along the Bay of Conception my legs grew tired from the rolling terrain and my eyes from gazing at the incredible beauty. In Loreto I experienced my first contact with large numbers of tourists. Fortunately if also served as a meeting place for half a dozen cyclists headed South. A few days later we met up again with Nico, a Belgium cyclist coming South from Alaska. In La Paz I wondard the streets bustling with people. That night we all were shown around town by Nico´s couch surfing host Laura. It was her doing that led us all to our first Mexican bar scene. 50 pecos (about $3 U.S.) cover charge and we had all the drinks free for an hour. The blaring music was a mix of popular Mexican and American music. Except for the fact that we had the lightest complexion in the joint the scene was much like any college bar in the U.S. The next day was spent relaxing and running various errands. That night Laura and her niece took us out to the mall and bowling. It was really great to have a local show us around and answer a multitude of questions that needed answering.
The following day we (including Nico) draged our now lazy bodies out of La Paz and headed for Cabo. The scenery was great and the terrain was tough. Los Cabos was a mash of humanity...especially overweight American tourists. This is not the Mexico we have come to enjoy and we eventually found a quiet public beach. We spent the afternoon hours swimming at the southern tip of Baja and talking with two very nice tour operators who were happy to share the shade of their tent with us. Later that afternoon we cycled North. We found a secluded beach a half mile off the road. The waves were really pounding the surf and we carefully enjoyed our last frolic in the waves of the Pacific after two months of companionship. Another companionship is also ending. My brothers (and Nico) have decided to headed North to Arizona. Meanwhile after much thought I´ve decided to head NW from Mazatlan.
Two days later we were back in La Paz. Due to the ferry schedule I was forced to leave that same night. So the next few hours I rushed around buying a radio, Bimbo jersey, and groceries. Passage for me and my bike was about $90 US. Getting on the ferry was a bit nerve racking, but I made it. I even made some very basic conversation with a local truck driver. The ride was nice and they even showed some movies. After 18 hours on the ferry we docked in Mazatlan. I was worried about finding a cheap hotel in a foreign city, but it took me only half an hour. It was only 200 pecos (exchange rate is about 14:1). I began exploring the town without a map and managed not to get lost. Today I took an early morning ride along the coast and then explored some of the sights of Mazatlan.
So tomorrow I leave the Pacific and begin my journey towards East Texas. My route will be Mazatlan-Durango-Torren-Saltitto-Monterrey-Texas. You´ll have to keep reading to see how it goes.
P.S. I´m still having problems with uploading photos. Here is a link to some of my photos. Some are new and some are old. Uploading photos is a pain so it´s still disorganized, but it´s something.
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=278509878/a=108375668_108375668/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish
No comments:
Post a Comment