Surprise!!!
I‘ m still in Guadalajara! I got here on december 24th and my intention was to stay only 1 night. So far I stayed 4 nights – and I‘ m trying to leave tomorrow. There are many nice people here, I‘ m having a great time and actually enjoying not to cycle for a while!
More later…
Anja
21.12.08
Hi there!
Since friday evening we‘ re in Tequila. Exactly, that‘ s where Tequila is made! And I learned that it‘ s the cheap stuff, Tequila Blanco, that we drink in Germany!
I wanted to catch up with my blog, but I have a cold and I‘ m really tired. The last days were hard, a lot of climbing and it‘ s around 30 degrees in the shade (without much shade). We are now at an elevation of 1100m, Mexico City is at 2200 m.
More later and if I don‘ t get a chance to write again before Christmas:
Feliz Navidad, Merry Christmas, Joyeux Noel & Frohe Weihnachten!!!
Anja
15.12.08Acaponeta – Santiago Ixcuintla
96 km, 5:23 h, Ø 17,7 km/h, 452 hm, total 6261,9 km
I wasn‘ t motivated to get going in the morning because the first thing I had to do was to change the tube in my tire. The worst thing about it is always pumping air in it with my small pump it works, but it‘ s just so hard to get enough air in it. Later I got some air at the gasstation, I think I never had that much pressure in my tire! Cycling seemed to be really easy;-).
Anyways, I was pretty miserable the whole morning and didn‘ t really know why. We cycled back the 10 km (I hate it!!!)to the toll road and actually used the real entrance to the road for the first time! We just had to use the sidewalk. It was already very warm, 30 degrees. For some parts it was kind of hilly today and a place in the shade was hard to find. After 55 km we left the wide tollroad and were back on the Libre which doesn‘ t have a shoulder. After a few kilometers we saw a restaurant on the side of the road a cold coke, yippieh!!! But, too bad, it was closed. Back on the road, drinking our warm water, we soon saw a sign for a Rancho and could hear the loud mexican music. They listen to music hear a lot and always very loud. Actually the music reminds me a bit of german Volksmusik. We stopped, sat down in the shade and ordered our badly wanted sodas! Unfortunately it seemed as if we had to pay tourist prices. There were quite a few people drinking beer and we hoped that they were still able to drive because they would pass us sooner or later on the road. The last 35 km my legs felt pretty good and cycling was very easy for me.
Unfortunately Santiago Ixcuintla, the town where we are staying, is 8km off the main highway. That means we‘ ll have to get back there tomorrow. Our hotel, the Hotel Plaza Los Reyes (320 Pesos/3p), is very new, the shower was actually hot, there is wi-fi and it‘ s clean. The only disadvantage: we had to carry our bikes up to the 1st floor.
We had dinner at a restaurant a few blocks away. I ate a torta (a mexican kind of hamburger) and a really big Quesadilla (a tortilla with melted cheese and meat in it, you can put veggies, salsa and guacamole in it). It was very good and cheap.
It‘ s already 11:30pm again. That‘ s the bad thing about internet in the hotel: I stay up late, don‘ t have any time to read my book and am tired the next morning!
Hasta luego
Anja
14.12.08
El Rosarito Acaponeta
95 km, 5:15 h, Ø 18 km/h, 275 hm, total 6165,9 km
While we spent some time on the internet this morning the owner of the motel just walked through the open door without knocking and made a big deal of on of our bikes leaning on a board (that already had many scratches). Yesterday, when we arrived, he didn‘ t want us to take our bikes in the room but then we wouldn‘ t have stayed. So we were finally allowed to take them but he said that we were responsible for any damage we would make. Since we offered him to take a look at the room after we put everything in it yesterday and he denied we were really annoyed by his reaction.
Around 9:30am we left El Rosarito and stayed at the Libre for the first 22 km to Escuinapa da Hidalgo. There was no shoulder, the traffic was moderat. In Escuinapa da Hidalgo we stopped along the road for a cold soda. For a (long) while we sat there in the shade.
Since we still had more then 60 km to go we got back on our bikes, but not for long. A plastic-bag got stuck on Sebastiens‘ chain and was totally wrapped around it. He peeled it out, we were back on our bikes and saw a big grocery store. It was already noon and we stopped there to buy some food. When I came out of the store I saw Sebastien talking (or trying to talk) to two boys. They were fascinated by our bikes and asked many questions.
After a while we had to hit the road again, though. This time we wanted to take the Cuota, but it was closed. So we stayed on the Libre and there was a lot of traffic. Sometimes the cars in front of us just slowed down and a few hundred meters later we could see that people were selling food on the side of the road, mainly dried shrimps. Ten kilometers later we wanted to stop for a snack, just then Sebastien had a flat tire. He changed his tube while quite a few curious Mexicans watched him. It was very funny. When we wanted to take a picture of them a man turned around but later he wanted us to take another picture with him!!!
Later we could get on the Cuota. There was a lot of traffic, too, and the cars passed us fast but let us a lot of room. At a military pest control check-point we stopped for another snack and I saw that my tire was a bit flat! That‘ s why I had a hard time cycling at the same speed as Sara and Sebastien! We had 30 km to go and I didn‘ t want to change the tube, I decided to pump some air in it and hoped that it would last a while.
We could see many mountains today but we are still at sea-level. Pretty soon we‘ ll have to climb a lot though, probably the day after tomorrow. So I better enjoy the mostly flat road I‘ ll start to complain about the long, hard climbs soon enough! There were many really green trees, green grass and some lagunes on our way.
When we reached Acaponeta it was already getting dark. We checked into the Casablanca Hotel (285 Pesos/3 people) right at the town plaza where a fiesta was going on. The room is so big that I didn‘ t even have to take my trailer off! And I guess that‘ s the reason why it still stand there with very little air. I guess I‘ ll have to fix it tomorrow morning. We had dinner at the restaurant next door. My Hamburger was good, but not really big enough for the stomach of a cyclist! For desert I had a fried banana at the fiesta. It was ok, but I won‘ t eat it again!
Tomorrow will probably be another 90km-day and since we don‘ t have internet access here I might as well go to bed now because I‘ m really tired.
13.12.08
Mazatlán El Rosario
77,8 km, 4:30 h, Ø 17,2 km/h, 370 hm, total 6070,9
Last night it was very hot in our room and I didn‘ t sleep much. When I got up in the morning it was already hot again.
Around 9:30am (29 degrees C) we left the hotel and tried to find our way out of Mazatlán onto Mex 15. It was our first day cycling on the mainland of Mexico and I didn‘ t hear many good things about it. There‘ s supposed to be a lot of traffic, the dogs shouldn‘ t be as friendly as in Baja and the car- and truck-drivers more aggressive. Within the next days and weeks I‘ ll find out whether that‘ s true or not.
We didn‘ t have any problems cycling through the small roads of Mazatlán. There was a lot of traffic, but noone honked at us. Even when we crossed a bridge, right before Villa Union, with no shoulder, the truck behind us just slowed down and waited.
In Villa Union we stopped at a roadside taqueria for lunch. The city was very busy, there were many people, eating, walking, on bicycles or selling food like corn on the cob on the side of the road.
After lunch we had to decide if we wanted to take the Cuota (the toll road) or the Libre (the toll free road) to El Rosarito. There is supposed to be less traffic on the Cuota, because many people avoid paying toll and drive on the libre. Moreover there should be a shoulder on the Cuota. Nevertheless, after a look on my map we decided to take the Libre ‚cause it seemed as if there would be more climbs on the Cuota. After a while we stopped because we saw that the Libre was actually going closer to the mountains. Since there was a path we cycled up there and kept going on the Cuota. There actually wasn‘ t much traffic, a nice shoulder and some drivers honked and waved at us, showed thumbs up or the peace-sign, just as we knew it from Baja.
The scenery definitely changed, there were a lot more trees along the road, everything is very green. We still saw some cactusses and palmtrees, but there was farmland as well.
I saw many cows but they all looked pretty thin. Two donkeys were standing on the side of the road and just after I took a picture of them a truck of the road maintenance stopped and a man chased the donkeys away from the road.
In El Rosarito we got off the Cuota. At the paystation bicycles are not supposed to stay in the same lane as the cars because they don‘ t have to pay and the account wouldn‘ t be correct at the end of the day. The people who work there opened a gate for us so we could get off.
The first Hotel we saw had a price list and they had prices for 4 hours. Well, I guess that wasn‘ t the kind of hotel we were looking for. Then we passed a very very poor neighborbood before we came into town. We weren‘ t on the main road anymore and on our bikes the three of us were quite the attraction in the non-touristy area. There where many people out in the streets, just living their lives.
After a while we got back on the main road and saw a few hotels. We checked the prices and finally anded up in the Hotel d‘ Lola where we paid 350 Pesos for 3 people. The room was very clean , looked and had wi-fi.
After a beer and a warm (not hot) shower, we walked up the street to a Taqueria where we had a very cheap and good dinner. I‘ m surprised that I still like to eat Tacos after 4 weeks in Mexico!!!
12.12.08
Ferry (Chihuaua) from Pichilingue to Mazatlán (450 km, 16 ½ hours) 3km by bike
The ferry-ride was pretty uneventfull. We boarded the ferry already at 7:30 pm, parked our bikes between many truck-trailers and made ourselves comfortable in our cabin. By the time the ferry left Pichilingue (around 11:30 pm) I was already asleep. Because of the aircondition it was very cold in the cabin, but I slept like a rock until 7:30 am. I got up, walked around the ferry for a while and was surprised that it was already warm outside.
For breakfast I still had some food from the bakery in La Paz. Later I had a nap for about 3 hours!!! I was pretty exhausted. Around 4 pm we got of the ferry and before we new it we were already in Oldtown Mazatlán. Looking for a hotel we stopped near the Plaza where Alex who worked for a restaurant there started to talk to us. And, he, like so many other people here, thought we were gringos norte-americana. We don‘ t really like to hear that and told him right away that we‘ re from France and Germany. Then he explained us the way to a hotel, the Hotel Cientro, a few blocks away. We checked the price there and stayed for 100 Pesos each. Unfortunately we had to carry our bikes up 2 stairs. They didn‘ t have wi-fi in the hotel, but in our room we could receive the wi-fi from a store across the street.
For dinner we walked back to the Plaza. There were many people, mostly tourists. Usually we try to avoid the typical tourist-places but this time it was ok. There was life music and there were many people selling mexican handcrafts.
We picked the Beach Burger Restaurant for dinner. I ate garlic-shrimps served with vegetables and garlic-bread and it was really good. When we got the bill we were kind of upset because they added 10 % tax to the amount. We are not in the USA anymore!!! We never had that before here in Mexico and since it didn‘ t say anything about it on the menu we weren‘ t sure if it was a tourist trap. That‘ s why we rather eat where the locals eat!!! But: the food was good anyways;-).
11.12.08
La Paz – Pichilingue
19 km
I didn‘ t go to bed ‚til 1:30 am last night because I was uploading pictures to my webalbum and surfing on the internet. Our french neighbors (about 6 of them) were still in a pretty good and loud mood by that time and when I woke up at 7 am I thought about accidentally bumping into their door a few times, but I just couldn‘ t do it.
Instead, what did I do? Right, I walked to the bakery to get some pastries and buns for breakfast! How did you know?!? At 2 pm our bikes were loaded and we pushed them out, just to stop a few meters later at a Taco-Stand. I had one taco de pescado (fish-taco) and one taco de camaron. They were pretty good and they had a lot of veggies to put in it there, but I didn‘ t like the corn tortillas too much. If I can choose I rather eat flour tortillas.
After stocking up on some groceries we were finally on our way to the ferry terminal at Pichilingue, about 17 km away from La Paz. There wasn‘ t much traffic and cycling was easy because we took our time. On our way we looked for a nice beach for a short swim, but we couldn‘ t find one that convinced us.
Around 5:30 pm we reached the ferry terminal with the last daylight. A guy who worked there told us that we had to wait until 7 pm to get to the ferry.
Around 6:30 pm we had some more tacos just across the street and exactly at 7 pm (we were very impressed) the gate opened to get to the ferry. We waited in line with the cars and trucks and when it was our turn the ferry-people laughed already. They didn‘ t really know how to fill out the form where they usually put the license plate number of the cars and stuff like that. They decided to write down the colors of our bikes (we got 2 copies) and told us which way to take. Though there were no signs it was well organized. There were people standing with flashlights, showing the right way. Before we could bord the ferry we had to show our copies to several people, some of them actually made fun of it, walked around our bikes with their flashlights and looked for our license plates. Unfortunately we didn‘ t get the joke at first because our spanish is not good enough for that, but since they laughed we knew that everything was alright.
While we unloaded our bikes truck-trailers were driven on the same deck. It will probably take a while before we can get back to our bikes once we reach Mazatlan, because they are standing in the middle of the deck.
We were very surprised when we entered our cabin because it‘ s quite big and we have our own bathroom with toilet and shower. Since the Chihuaua is an old scandinavien ferry the power-outlets are still european. It‘ s almost 10 pm now, we won‘ t leave ‚till 11 pm. Since I didn‘ t sleep much last night I‘ ll go to bed now hoping that there won‘ t be too many loudspeaker announcements to keep me up.
Last greetings from Baja California,
Anja
10.12.08
Today I tried to sleep in but I was awake at 7am. So I went to the bakery again and surprise they had a lot of different pastries as yesterday. And they were good! When I came back from the bakery I saw Kristel from Belgium (we met her a couple times before) sitting at the computer of our Pension. She stayed here as well, tried to find us to share a room but noone knew about us. So she moved into our room which was quite a mess. Our stuff was spread out on the 2 extra beds and our clothes hang across the room on a leash to dry.
La Paz is a nice town, I like it here. The atmosphere is very positiv and the people here seem to be very relaxed. Along the water it is – of course very touristy, but you can find restaurants and grocery stores a few blocks away which don‘ t charge you the tourist price.
09.12.08
Yesterday I reached La Paz, the Capitol of Baja California Sur.
After almost 6000 cycled kilometers it‘ s time for a short break, just a few days.
Time to think about the last days, weeks and months.
Time to think about the days, weeks and months to come.
I‘ m very tired and am glad that I don‘ t have to get on my bike today.
6.12.08
Bushcamping Ciudad Constitution
60,9 km, total 5751,1 km
Not much to say about this day. I got up at 7am, just after sunset. We camped in the bush the last night and I slept very good. At 8:30 am the bikes were loaded and we were on the road which was mostly flat and very straight, 26 km to Ciudad Sergentes. There we stopped for breakfast, I had scrambled eggs with bacon and beans, what was very good. After a while we were on the road again which was still flat, but we were going south then, on a highway with 2 lanes in each direction. Except for some farmland there wasn‘ t much to see today.
After another 26 km we reached our final destination for the day, Ciudad Constitution (50000 people live here but it doesn‘ t seem that big). It was hot, 33 degrees C, when we started to check out some motel rates. We finally ended up in the Paraiso del Valle, sharing a pretty good sized and clean (except for some crickets) room with wi-fi. Walking around town, I saw a lot of christmas decoration. It really doesn‘ t feel like it‘ s christmas time here and a decorated tree seems kind of strange to me when I‘ m sweating like crazy because it‘ s warmer than 30 degrees.
For dinner we had the best Quesa-Tacos here in Mexico so far!!!
We will try to make it to La Paz (210 km) in 2 days, stay there for a few days and then catch a ferry to Mazathlan on the main land.
Adios!