1600km on the Baja Divide from San Diego to Mulege, Baja Sur
Nov 20-Dec 27, 2023
19-20 Nov 23 Hotel, San Diego
Arrived in San Diego after a pleasant road trip in Ruby the Astrovan including a wonderful three day camp in Joshua Tree National Park. Got a hotel in National City on the route so I could shuttle first Kathy and then John to the hotel from the airport. Saved about $60-70 in Uber/taxi costs. We stayed for two nights, allowing everyone to gather any last minute items from REI, build, load up, test bikes and chill a bit.
21 Nov 23 Wild Camp
Launch day! We headed out through San Diego and up into Sycamore Canyon near Lake Otay. Lots of climbing, windy and didn’t reach a suitable camp spot till late. Contemplated camping at Thousand Oaks in Pio Pico, but too early in the day and about $75/night. The climb after was steep and took hours. Passed by many CBP trucks and could see their tracking and heat sensors from near the water tower we camped at. Such a windy spot and the next day heading down we saw there were better camp spots. Oh well.
22 Nov 23 Hotel Tecate
Crossed the border around noon, with a tough day of headwinds, more climbing and a hellish highway section on CA94/96 until the junction with Hwy 180. If there is a better way to go and avoid this section we would have done it. Truly dangerous in every way; no shoulder, lots of fast traffic, blind corners and few bailout spots. Hated it.
Border crossing was fairly quick, though it cost us double for the visa at $US40! Got a room for MX$580 for two of us & Kathy got her own room. Tecate is a pretty nice border town, far smaller than Tijuana and with a beautiful plaza and lots of food options. We spent two nights and ate at the fabulous Al Chile for brunch the next morning. The owner was so sweet and the food was divine. Dinner was at the Negro Durazo, a huge place across from the Tecate Brewery. Great fish tacos and pescado dishes with Tecate Rojo, of course.
23 Nov 23 Wild Camp 50km south of Tecate
Grabbed a coffee at the OXXO and then cheap breakfast at MacDonald’s as there wasn’t anything else open at 7am. Heading out of Tecate on the main Hwy 3 was just a city slog out of the morning traffic, Fairly good shoulder and early enough that it wasn’t terribly busy. We skipped the neighborhood route and stayed on the highway till the San Francis turnoff due to recent reports of robberies, which was only a couple miles anyway.
Had a few climbs today, nothing too difficult with a mostly E-N wind. As the day wore on it got a little chilly. Being winter, the sun was down by 5pm with la luna coming up. Moon would be full in the next week. Opted to skip padded shorts and go for just Smartwool merino or Ex Officio boxers. Much easier to manage and clean, plus cooler. Enjoyed a nice meal of miso and Knorr fried rice, and pretty much went to into the tent by around 6pm. Moonlight streamed through the trees that were dropping leaves, and quite beautiful.
24-25 Nov 23 Del Royale Motel, Ojos Negra
Woke up to cloudy skies and cool temps. My choice of a Ridgerest foam pad and Western Mountaineering Summerlite bag seemed to be a good combo. Not as luxurious as my inflatable, but much easier to layout and roll up, plus no fear of punctures.
The riding started with climbs and continued most of the morning. John and Kathy talk non-stop, so it’s like having a radio on all the time. Amazes me they never run out of topics. We crossed the high point around 4700ft and the route as fairly smooth and rolling. A bit of rain, but mostly just a light drizzle. The last 10km was rough washboard sand and little did I know then that this would become ever more common. I never even knew sand could have washboards!
We got a cheap motel for the three of us in Ojos Negros in the dark. Seems we couldn’t quite find the route or something had changed? Due to hurricanes and rain, the route is never exactly the same, so the goal is to maintain a path as near to the GPS track as possible and do some creative routing too. Had a good shower, pizza just a block away and cervezas from the Sixx.
The next day we explored the town with a fantastic breakfast at Rositas, then checked out the laundry and huge street market getting setup for the weekend. Took a nap, cleaned the bike and air dried some clothes. Food shopping and finding a SIM card were done. Might even have too much food to get to Urapan. Kathy had a minor crisis with her cell service, but eventually resolved. Dinner that night was off the chart amazing. We were the only guests at La Cocina del Fer. Had Pescado grilled with ajo and a fresh salad. The owner and chef was a master and the real hot chocolate with cinnamon was the best I’d ever had and made up for no cervezas (we discovered most small restaurants didn’t serve alcohol).
John scored a pair of long pants at the street market as the temps were in the upper 30Fs and he only had shorts. Grabbed some mazana (apple) turnovers and dried fruit too. Think we have enough food!
26 Nov 23 Los Viñedos Hotel Boutique camping, Urapan
Early 7am start to Urapan with coffee from the convenience store. Ate the turnovers and bundled up with the temps around mid-30Fs. Fortunately there was no wind, just calm and sunny. The first 32km were a gradual climb, but was a lovely day. We stopped for lunch in a nice grove of huge pinion oaks and should have just camped there.
Instead, we kept riding the last 32km to town to find the newly opened Hotel Boutique Los Viñedos. The terrain became relentlessly hilly and either up or down was brutal. Everyone was worn out and plain cooked. It took seemingly forever to finally get into Urapan, and as it was Sunday, everyone in town was hanging out and mainly having family cookouts and drinking beer. John had a little cell service, but finding the place we wanted to stay proved extremely frustrating as darkness began to fall. When we finally found it, the gate was locked and no one there!
Decided food was priority one, then finding a place to camp. We went to La Cuchara, a big, open covered restaurant and the chef with his wife and family were so sweet! They fed us well on pollo and carne de vacuno fajitas, with loads of ajo/veggie and pasta salad sides. We had picked up a couple baby-sized Corona lime beers which went down very well. They offered to let us camp there, but then Enrique from Hotel Boutique Los Viñedos came by and invited us over. It was getting dark so we paid our MX$450 for all three of us and headed up the road a short ways.
After a tour of all the new rooms he’d built out with a different theme for each, he agreed to let us set up tents on the covered open air patio above the rooms. At MX$2150/night we couldn’t afford to stay indoors, so we ended up at MX$250/each to camp.
Kathy and I both woke up around 11pm and made our way downstairs to the nice bathrooms, which then set off the guard dogs who were very loud. Then we realized there was a full-blown party down the street complete with a tuba playing band. So much for a good night’s sleep. The music lasted till early morning so it was a rough night.
27 Nov 23 Wild camp near La Calavera
I replaced brake pads in the garden after brewing up some coffee while Kathy & John got a tour of the property. Little did I know then that my front brake would have some later issues. We rode to the Acambaro Baja restaurant for tocino and huevos with more coffee. Great spot on the deck in the warm sun and worth the few miles off-route. The owner and his son (?) were so nice and there was a huge amount of Baja race memorabilia everywhere. Pretty interesting place.
We rode about 40km and finally saw the Pacific Ocean! Enjoyed a late lunch stop and a few miles later found a nice campsite on a bluff above the ocean. Beautiful sunset and surrounded by cactus with the nearly full moon coming up. So quiet and blissful compared to the previous night.
28 Nov 23 Wild camp, beach south of Erendira
Long, slow morning ride into Ejido Erendira. Kathy & John left early and as usual I rode alone all morning. The coast was beautiful, with huge brown pelicans and seals basking on the rocks. Saw a few vans camped along the way, guessing most of them doing the surf/beach thing. Couldn’t find K & J in town, so just went into the abarotta and grabbed some supplies for the ride to Punta Colonet. As I came out of the store I saw them at a cafe only a short distance away, so joined them for carnitas tacos and a coke. They’d been there an hour already, and already could see splitting off to ride solo which I basically was anyway most days as my turtle pace was too slow for the hares. We never made it to Colonet, instead finding a beach camp and just sitting around drinking cervezas in the sun. Kathy almost got swept out to sea which was a little unnerving!
29 Nov 23 Mission Motel, Vincent Guerrero
Up early around 5am but no need to rush as town was only 30km away. The route was beautiful along the ocean, then through big vegetable farms and huge agave plants on the plain before Colonet. We stopped for desayuno of chorizo and huevos. Lots of discussion about skipping the main route and staying on the highway to Vincent Guerrero. I hate traffic and this 65km stretch was full of it. Eventually went and basically rode the dirt side of the highway, dodging trucks, cars and people for a couple hours. Actually was kind of fun, like a big video game. Reminded me of riding through towns in India. From Camulu to VG the traffic got intense, but finally made it. Will take another day for Salvador at Fass Bike to work on my front brake issue, do some laundry and find a TelCel SIM. Had to strip the bike of all bags, which is not a quick process. Things felt rushed and wasn’t all that fun. So much to do and K&J wanted to get going. It took a long time to sort out the SIM and wait for laundry to be done. Seems the TelCel office could replace my SIM, but then had to go to an OXXO to pay the recharge amount, then return and have the guy finish the setup. Such a hassle, but at least it finally worked.
30 Nov 23 HI Mission, Nuevo Odisea
The ride to Santa Maria was along Mex 1 again, but at least it wasn’t that bad along the dirt frontage paths. No way to ride much on the pavement, there’s little to no shoulder and constant traffic. Got to the Mission which is a Warmshowers host and met Amy from Ireland who John had contacted through FB. She is how we knew about the place in Urapan as she had a bad crash and spent a few days there. We invited her to ride with us a bit as she healed up.
Host Kevin, his son Daniel, volunteer Arcel and chef Brian made us all feel at home. We had to learn the multi-step shower process and had a room with two bunk beds so all four of us piled inside. Boys on one side, girls on the other. We all shared a rice and kim chi soup for dinner after a little prayer. Our conversations around the table were engaging and it was interesting hearing about their work to make this place fully functional as a Warmshowers stop. It’s done on a shoe-string and Kevin’s main focus is working with indigenous kids in the local area.
01 Dec 23 Wild Camp
Long day of climbing and dry rocky roads. Finally found a spot between cinder cones that was not just rock-strewn surfaces. Was a challenging day.
02 Dec 23 Camp at Rancho el Descano
After starting with a stiff climb the roads improved on our way toward Catavina. We even found a pond that everyone took a dip in or at least for me, cooled off my feet. Would have been an option to camp near, but unknown how it came to be. Looked like a fairly stable water source as there were even cattails. There was much talk about “the restaurant” ahead, but when we came out at El Sacrificio it was a small tienda with some simple meals and we opted to just get a couple beers and cokes, fill water and head to the next place. The proprietor was a wonderful older man who had a big smile. I kinda wished we would have eaten there, but daylight was already waning. All the talk of this upcoming restaurant turned out to be a complete bust as it was no more. Fortunately, Marcel had a small tienda with water, snacks, sodas and lots of beer. He also allowed us to camp within their fenced property which was very welcome.
The night was damp and cold, with truck traffic only a few meters away. One of the first times I needed to put on everything I had. Everything was soggy in the morning so was looking forward to a day off to wash clothes and shower.
03 Dec 23 Wild Camp 40km past Descano
Today was nice with long gradual climbs and descents. Some sandy sections, arroyos mixed with rocky hard pan. Felt really good and could tell my tour mode was starting to kick in. Maybe the four beers the night before helped too?
Everyone needs a day off though and the longest remote section is coming up in a couple days. We thought we had crossed the Baja Sur border, but found out later that was not the case. We came upon a number of recently fenced off roads so had to navigate through the brush to find a way around. Typical rich ranchers who think the own everything. Wire cutters would come in handy.
Found a spot in the trees and used my Picogrill 35 wood stove for the first time. Worked pretty well, but learned over time that cholla skeletons are too sooty so finding mesquite or other hardwoods worked much better. I would end up using the stove more and more at night, while still having the canister stove for morning coffee.
04-05 Dec 23 Catavina Mission Hotel, Catavina
Lots of fantastic trees and rock formations on the way to Catavina. The others were anxious to be done, so opted for the highway when it was close by. I continued on the route another 40km and it just kept getting better and more beautiful. No people, just sand, rocks, cardon cactus and boojam trees. Spectacular.
I made it to the hotel in a few hours. They’d scored a big room with 4 beds, so again we all piled in. Power went out for a bit, but beer was still available and power came back on to have dinner across the street at Cafe Horas, which was excellent. In the backroom were scores of collectibles and interesting old stoves and things.
As this is a main stop for Baja racers and teams, there’s no gas station, but a number of gasolina vendors line the highway with cans of gas for sale. Catavina is also the last place with a store to pick up supplies, so I loaded up here. The store even had hamburgers and fries certain days.
06 Dec 23 Wild Camp
After much discussion the night before, John, Kathy and Amy decided to ride the highway toward Loretto. I opted to stay on route and do the 200km, three day trek to Santa Rosalita. It’s an intimidating stretch which requires carrying about 12+L of water as there is no defined place to acquire any. I had enough food and water on board for the whole thing and luckily the first day to San Jose de Faro is quite sandy but slightly downhill for the first 50km.
The last half became steep with relentless up and down hills approaching the Pacific Ocean. It also got hotter. Found a nice covered “rest area” community center building that offered shade and a place to eat lunch. It had some signs inside describing the flora and fauna of the area and was quite nice for such a remote spot. Further on, I soon noticed the towering cardon cactus all had scores of vultures atop them, watching me closely with their wings outstretched. It was slightly unnerving and seemed as if I was entering the valley of death. Everything was eerily silent. For the entire day I only saw one or two pickup trucks with a couple fishermen go by. Not a place to have mechanicals or any other issue.
I came to the Faro fishing camp, but didn’t stay around as the dogs were loudly barking from all directions and they were everywhere. My only goal was to get as far away as possible. A few long hills later with lots of hike-a-bike, the sun was going down. I pitched the tent high above the ocean and where there was a small pull off that was only slightly less rocky than everywhere else. I was so tired but covered almost 95km for the day, so was happy with that.
07 Dec 23 Wild Camp
Another long but amazing day, with lots of climbing and rough descending all morning. Between headlands it became sandy and smoother. Woke up to coyotes and heard them most of the way, but never saw them. Passed pockets of Joshua and boojam trees. The goal was about 70km to make the final day tomorrow with the roughest roads the shortest.
Wind grew stronger from the north which was slightly helpful, despite not going that fast. Met a surfing couple in their old Chevy van as they navigated a steep washed out road. They had been coming down here for decades and looked like they’d been in the sun a lot. They were surprised I was riding this alone and could carry enough water. The were adamant that the highways here were no place for cyclists. I agree. When I mentioned I had a Chevy Astro he said “Jesus drives an Astrovan!”, which is a line from a Mt Joy song I know well. Too funny.
There were a number of abandoned shacks along the way and then I came upon the most idyllic little house on the beach at La Punta. Simply magical. I saw a couple working near the little back building and decided to stop and say hello. Ruby & Kent turned out to be the most wonderful couple, they gifted me water and told me the stories of the place. It’s actually his brother’s house and has had it for over 30 years. It has full solar and a desalination system. They were all surfers who never left, though only his brother lives there full time. Such a gorgeous place.
They pump water from a tidepool every week or so to a 250 gallon tank and desalinate that to another fresh water tank. It was all rather interesting. There are rock designs and found art pieces all over and they even have a small whale skeleton. Wanted to take photos, but sometimes I don’t feel comfortable taking pictures of someone’s private home, plus it’s not like they invite people to just stop by all the time. He said I was the only biker he’d seen in weeks, but mentioned that would likely change in January and February when most Baja riders do the route.
Beach camp was nice, but every time the condensation gets a bit much. I live by salt water, so pretty common occurrence. At least had a good wind break behind a small rock wall with a plywood changing room next to it. Would be a good place to bring the van. Am so glad no one else was around, just sea lions and pelicans. Very windy night.
08-10 Dec 23 Hotel Pacifica, Santa Rosalita
Though I only had about 40km to ride today, it was by far one of the worst stretches yet. Constant washboard, hard and unforgiving, interspersed with a number of draggy climbs and rough loose descents. Stopped at the now abandoned El Cardon, seems the old surfer guy died and his daughter tried to keep it going but now completely empty and rapidly deteriorating as it sits near the ocean and dunes. Perfect example of entropy, memories fade and our impact on the universe is insignificant.
Met a really interesting SoCal guy named Will on his Yamaha TW200 with his gear and boogie board. Long time surfer, hates posers and has ridden all over the US on motos. Wore a bright sparkle green 70s helmet and had a huge sheepskin that he sits on while riding all day and sleeps on it at night. I shared some chocolate cookies with him and he told me how useful electrical tape was for cuts. What an awesome guy.
Found a nice filet knife along the way. Got into town and stopped at a abarotta for a coke and the kind woman there walked me over to the cliffside and pointed out the two hotels down near the water. Seems a large number of the townspeople now live above the water because the last couple hurricanes basically destroyed their homes. I opted to spend at least one layover day here, but that changed.
A massive windstorm came in and stayed for two days. It would have been crazy to try and ride in it. Sand was everywhere, even blowing through my door and bathroom window. Had sand covering everything! Fortunately I had lots of cervezas, homemade pozole and burritos from the woman who owned the store and hotel. I also had the pleasure of a number of meals at El Cactus with the wonderful family who own it. Such a fabulous place, wifi and incredible food.
The first night I met a couple guys from Sammish BC and they shared some fancy tequila with me. The next day as I checked all the bike bolts & repaired the stove and a guy named Andrew came to stay. He was in a simply built-out Ram 1500 he converted to do surfing and was from Seattle. We spent the next night and day chatting, drinking beer and eating at El Cactus. We chatted with Lida and Antonio and they told stories of Hurricane Hillary in Sept 2022. They’re expanding the restaurant and even got it doubled in size in the three days I was there. Eventually will add banos and someday cabanas to rent. Lida said how nice it was to have us there and that we were so much more appreciative than the locals!
Sometimes I think I’d like to have some sort of clickstand to hold the loaded bike up, can’t always find a good tree, or pile of rocks. Adding a front rack and food canister would be a nice addition. Otherwise, the Tumbleweed Prospector is ideal for this route, outside of a few brake pad issues early on, nothing has gone wrong with the bike. Retightened the Tailfin pannier bolts and then broke the buckle on my hat swatting flies, but after a moment of panic I fixed it with a little zip tie. My poor head and eyes would be cooked without that hat.
The wind continues, and along with it blowing sand. Already antsy to get going, so tomorrow should clam down and can finally leave. Am grateful to have had this little town to stay in, being in the tent would’ve been not so fun.
11 Dec 23 Camp Mission Borja
Said goodbye to Andrew and left town along the beach. Lots of pangas and fishermen getting ready and finally able to go out on the water. Seems I wasn’t the only one pinned down. Met a nice guy named Garrett from Bainbridge Island and now Santa Cruz on a surfing trip as I headed out around 8am. This section to The Wall was supposed to be gorgeous, but It frankly was boring and you couldn’t even see the beach. The stretch to the Mex 1 highway was brutal and most of the time I couldn’t tell if I was just in the volcanic rocks or on the route, it all looked the same and really, really rough.
The reward was coming to the La Cienega restaurant a short distance down the paved highway. Two burritos and a coke for MX$98. They even had free wifi.
It was a hot day and the route to Mission Borja varied from deep sand to blown sand, rocks, washouts and reroutes, so was slow going. Fortunately only a couple hike-a-bikes, which was surprising. I finally made it after faffing around with a confusing shortcut. Met Angel, setup my tent and he showed me where the water, bathroom (with a flush toilet!) and shower were. He and his father have been trying to build up a place for people to camp for years and survive from donations and charging MX$200 to camp and $MX100 to tour the mission, which is well worth it. The hurricane really damaged things here and took out much of what they’d grown down in the wash.
Some really weird sounds all night, not cows or burros, but something I couldn’t identify. I kept my food inside the tent.
12-13 Dec 23 Camp Achelon, Bahia de Los Angeles
Left Borja after my most interesting mission tour with Angel. Really fascinating how much effort they are putting into this. They are the last indigenous family still here. At one point when it was built there were between 2-3000 people here. The original people helped build the mission but some Dominican priest came while he was sick and killed over 1500 people in a very short time. The rest left. Tragic colonialism per usual.
Today’s route was rough. Lots of reroutes, rocky “roads” and deep sand. Luckily temps were cooler. Got stopped by two federale patrols who interrogated me about why I was there and where I was going. It was rather amusing as we could barely understand each other, but they had guns and I didn’t.
Made it to the paved section to Bahia de Los Angeles and had little traffic to deal with and mostly new tarmac. Had no idea where to stay in town, there’s no ATMs or banks and hotels only took cash. I finally came to a shop with water and met a guy filling water jugs for his place called Camp Achelon. It was a ways out of town, but was such a lovely spot with wifi and a great restaurant. I opted to get a place inside which was expensive, but I could cook and had a wonderful view of the beach. Seemed worth it as the next 200km to Vizcainio would take three days.
The owner was a young guy named Antonio who let me Venmo him money and he gave me cash which I was grateful for. Cruised into town unloaded a couple time to explore and look for a pair of shorts to wear while I washed everything. It’s good to have a goal. No luck though, despite a number of both clothing shops and street vendors. Met a nice guy named Ryan from Portland who had a really cool first generation Astro Tiger van.
Pretty apparent by this time I won’t be seeing any of the original crew again, they are sticking to the road and are on a schedule. It’s so much easier to ride alone though, and can do what I want. Doubt I’ll ride with a group again, it’s way too much coordination of expectations.
14 Dec 23 Wild Camp, Boca Grande
The day started easy enough, rolling out of town and slowly climbing along the coast going south. As the road continued it got rougher, either loose rock or sand, one after the other. And the climbing got steeper, but only had a short stretch to hike. Kept seeing footprints along the way, which was odd because there is literally nothing out here. It gave me much to ponder.
Coming around a bend I saw a few trucks and about 20 hikers. So crazy. It was a rest stop for them and they shared dates, nuts and gatorade with me, which was really sweet. A couple of them spoke English and they jokingly admonished me for not knowing more Spanish – how right they were. Learned that there were about 40 of them walking the El Camino pilgrimage route between missions and doing about 35km per day. We got to know each other over the next two days as I would come upon them quite often, and one named Louie and I would chat while he walked and I rode.
They stayed at San Raphael that night and invited me to camp and eat with them, but I really wanted to be alone. I found a nice sand dune just before there and had a wonderful night of silence. Just me, a wild burro and her baby and lots of brown pelicans. As it was an 80km day I had to rush to setup and cook before it was completely dark.
15 Dec 23 Rancho Escondito
So much sand today, but also kindness, more dates, gatorade and bananas from the pilgrims support crew, and was able to pay them back a bit with finding a strap and buckle that had come off their trailer. I returned it after finding them stuck in the deep sand and they gave me a tin of Kirkland chicken as a thank you!
Despite being a rather short mileage day of around 45km, it was a challenging stretch. Started to lose some patience after being on and off the bike between rideable sand and impossible sand. Being hot, sweaty and yet chilled by the breeze added to the struggle.
Ate lots of delicious food at Rancho Escondito and had an unlimited supply of cold cervezas. It was so nice to have the whole place to myself, and have a good shaded space with wifi to lounge. The very generous owners charged up my powerbank. Turns out the father is a well-known guitarist on the Baja Peninsula. My little cabana had no heat and only light when the loud generator was running, but outside of the bird that got inside and couldn’t find the open door to escape it was a nice respite, though not cheap at MX$350. At least I didn’t have to setup camp.
Between managing water, food, and navigation, concentrating every moment to stay upright and moving forward on sandy tracks, conserving power, carrying extra weight and the subsequent slower pace, it was all rather exhausting. Lots of thoughts about how I would do things differently, but all in all, the system was pretty dialed.
16 Dec 23 Wild Camp, 5km south of El Arco
Today had the option of going from El Arco straight to the highway and into Vizcainio. In the long 32km of nightmare sand I decided the extra mileage wasn’t worth the tarmac, so stayed on route. First stop along the way was Rancho Piedro Blanca where I tanked up on liquids. Crossing a few huge arroyos the road smoothed out and became much more rideable. Crossed over a timezone here so lost an hour which really didn’t matter much.
Came upon a couple huge climbs with concrete paving undoubtedly to prevent washouts. Very, very steep, but could ride them with effort. Only saw one rancher and two motos the entire day. El Arco was a seemingly abandoned industrial zone. Never saw a living thing, even dogs. There was an old church and many dilapidated buildings strewn about. Felt a little creepy. Supposedly there is a tienda somewhere, but was getting dark and didn’t feel like looking for it.
South of town was some open land that made a good campsite and I setup the tent and cooked over the woodstove, though it was quite windy. It’s definitely a dirty, soot-infused process.
17-18 Dec 23 Kadekamen Hotel, Vizcainio
Fortunately this section proved to be much less taxing then I’d heard. It wasn’t easy by any means, but mostly rideable and half the distance of the tarmac which avoided it. The worst part was where the cow tracks were, as they generally took the same line I needed (can’t blame them). Whether sand of hard pan, it was rough the entire way, but especially the last 10km.
Vizcainio is a big place and the first thing was find food. Had two amazing al pastor tacos at Taco Pablano on the main drag. It was packed and soon after I got there a couple busses with dozens of young soccer players showed up and it was crazy busy. Was glad to get out and find a place to stay.
For the first time on the trip I actually had working TelCel service. Had little cash and the first hotel only took cash, so that was a bust. Went to the Kadekamen Hotel and they took cards, so was able to get a nice room and figure out where banks and such were. Decided to make it a layover so I had more time and that proved necessary as finding a working ATM was a challenge, but was eventually successful. Even found a cheap pair of surf shorts to wear for laundry day.
Met a nice guy named Justin and his wife and kid who were living out of their camp trailer and working remotely. He was a big bike and surf guy so we drank cervezas and chatted bikes. Soon after met Tom and all of them were headed to La Ventana to surf for the winter. Vizcainio is a typical big highway town, but had the best food and any service you could need. I loved it, except for all the unloved and beaten down dogs that seem to be one of the constants in Baja. Reminded me a lot of India.
Decided here that perhaps Mulege would be the end for me. Was feeling anxious and wanting to do something different than be pounded day in and day out. That and having few bus options after Mulege played a part. We’ll see.
19-20 Dec 23 La Casa de Cyclista, San Ignacio
Had about three nights of wild dreams so always woke up wondering what was going on. Started the day heading down Mex 1 to the turnoff into the agricultural lands. Moving south I rode into clouds of smoke coming from the fields I was supposed to ride around. Maybe burning off harvested crops? It was enough that I opted to stay on the tarmac and make the fast run to San Ignacio instead.
Came upon an abandoned restaurant and stopped for some lunch. Looked like it was once a pretty busy truckstop but now just deteriorating buildings. Was a fast day and covered over 70km in a few hours. Decided to stay at La Casa de Cyclista and setup my tent in the yard. Was a wonderful spot and the woman who owned it had started shortly after the Baja Divide route had begun. Camping was MX$100/night and laundry with detergent was MX$50, so I took advantage of that. Walking distance to some good tiendas. Was on the last of my fuel canister but nothing available. It’s amazing that two little 110ml canisters lasted a month.
In the late afternoon, Vanessa and Simon arrived and took one of the two indoor rooms available. It was their first big tour and they were going from AK to Panama! They were more road-focused with full 4 pannnier setups and amusingly had decorated their bikes with reindeer antlers and red noses in anticipation of Xmas. They left the next day and I stayed another night.
Alex showed up next and we spent time at the Rice & Beans which had become a staple in my dining choices. He was also on a long adventure and had already been riding from AK for a number of months. Contemplated waiting for him and riding the remote section to El Datil, but really didn’t want to sit for another couple days as he planned.
There were cats everywhere in camp and they were quite amusing until one sprayed me while I sat in my chair! Fortunately not on my tent. While exploring the neighborhood I fed a starving dog some tortillas, so heart-breaking to see this so often.
Had a cold shower and got ready to leave in the morning. Feeling unfocused and hoping the next stretch is not overly taxing as I head toward the Pacific Ocean again.
21 Dec 23 Wild Camp 10km south of Ejido Luis Echeveria
Said goodbye to Alex and started the day in cold air and cloudy skies, which soon became a downpour. Rode into the main square for a delicious desayuno and coffee. Met a wonderful family and this beautiful woman who spoke English chatted with me about bike touring. Seems everyone is gathering for the holidays, so lots of families were out. I stopped at the mission and took a walk inside the empty building.
After climbing out of San Ignacio past the dump and into the hills the rain tapered off a little as I made my way to San Zacarias where there was a mercado. Was hoping to get a little bottle of tequila and a few snacks for the long couple days ahead. They didn’t have any, but the sweet young man there ran home and got me the rest of his tequila telling me he doesn’t like it anyway and would rather drink Tecates. So funny. So that is how I ended up carrying a big glass bottle of Jose Cuervo which amused the couple I met later while having a snack.
After 50km of pavement came the wet and muddy salt flat estuary zone. It wasn’t terrible, but not having really favorable winds and stopping to clean the bike every few kilometers was not as enjoyable. The terrain was a moonscape of salt encrusted pools along the two track with occasional water crossings. Navigating the ruts and mud took some finesse.
There was a little fishing village tienda, so got a coke. The route meandered through sandy hills and another dump. It was starting to get late so kept looking for a suitable camp spot. A couple sketchy guys in a red pickup cruised by slowly and then stopped up ahead. Instead of passing them again, I pushed my bike over a rise through the acacia and found a second untracked sand road and then a nice camp spot.
For solstice night I drank tequila and cooked over the woodstove far away from anyone. In the distance were lights of the fishing camps and what looked like rows of fish processing plants. Nothing better than being solo in vast spaces like this watching a stunning sunset.
22 Dec 23 Wild Camp past El Datil
The riding was mostly across huge flat expanses, windy, but not bad. Came upon a number of osprey nests on poles and watched them fish in the bay. Came into El Datil and started looking for the tienda. Seems the one has no purified water, so the nice man there helped me find the one that did. Had he not shown me I would have never found it. As most little shops are, only the locals know them, so there’s no signs or any indication they are stores. All of them have no lights inside, so sometimes it’s hard to see what is available! This tienda looked tiny, but the guy had backed a 40-ft trailer up to it which was filled with products of all sorts. Amazing. The town is 100% fishing focused, so pangas and nets are everywhere. The sun was shining and felt good.
The route out there was sandy and strewn with trash. Wanted to find a campsite before the next big climbs began and ended up in a marginal spot, but good enough. A few horses and cows roaming around and some close enough that I worried they’d trip over my tent. At this point I could ride straight down to San Juanico to a Warmshowers host, but then would have mostly pavement and traffic to Mulege. No thanks.
23 Dec 23 Wild Camp 16km before San Miguel
Fricking brutal day of riding. Always rough, hard track or sandy. Lots of hike-a-bike to make it interesting. Occasionally there were some nice rideable spots, but never long enough to enjoy them. Also getting much warmer.
Stopped at Girsoles Ranchero for corrida, coke, aqua and some wifi time for MX$286. The couple were so sweet and showed me around the new camping space they had built. Had it not been so early in the day I would have stayed. Also another time I wished I had language skills. The woman brought me into their kitchen and I sat at their table and she made me so much food I couldn’t finish all the fresh tortillas! Such a wonderful stop.
It became a bit windy and cooler as I meandered over the hills and sand. Was glad to find a campsite and stop for the day just off the road. Another woodstove night but luckily enough rocks from the arroyo to create a windbreak. Could hear coyotes and one vehicle passed by very late at night.
24-26 Dec 23 Hotel Terrazas, Mulege
65km remained to Mulege and it was Xmas eve, so hoping I could find a place to stay. Today was even harder than the day before! Woke up and was taking down camp when I saw a gaucho coming along on his mule. I called out “Feliz Navidad!” and he rode straight through the trees to visit. His name was Carmelo and he was all excited to tell me about his rancho just up the road and said his wife was there and could make me desayuno. Of course we did most of this by sporadic words we both recognized and some clever pantomiming. He was very sweet and weather-worn from his hands to his chaps and rifle.
I stopped at Rancho La Riconada and Rosalina made me delicious fresh tamales and frijoles, with a plate of fresh olives and peppers, plus a fried brown sugar treat and coffee for dessert! We sat and looked at her little xmas tree and decorations and showed each other pictures of our familias. She only asked for propino (tip) and I gave her MX$200 and was ready for the day ahead.
The riding from start to finish was beautiful canyons with all the possible versions of sand, deep, washboard, rutted plus numerous rocky water crossings and figured maybe about 10% of the whole thing was moderately rideable. Spent too much time cursing and frustrated with the constant concentration. The wild, rocky descents in the canyons were matched by the climbs out the other side. Plus as I got closer to Mulege, it seemed the traffic became more frequent, but unlike other days, people in their holiday rush were nasty and more than once almost got run of the edge, which would have meant death is it dropped hundreds of feet.
The final stretch into town was along fields down a narrow lane, then across a massive sandy wash where I lost the route and had to navigate by simply following other tracks and eventually ending up a couple kilometers from town and working my way back to the route through neighborhoods. It was getting pretty dark, but I had cell service and gratefully found Hotel Terrazas. What a day.
Started Dec 25 eating breakfast and chatting with an American moto guy on his way north. Afterwards roamed around town and things were quiet, with a few families and tourists, but really not that many people. Had a text chat with Kathy & John who were headed to La Paz, but I didn’t really want to bus and still had 600km to get there, so seemed unlikely we’d meet again.
Spent the rest of the day just cleaning my bike and washing clothes at the laundromat next door to the hotel. Very handy. Got a nice video chat with Mom & Dad and Peri too, so that was wonderful. Spent few hours in the local gringo pub eating seafood and drinking a margarita, listening to retired expats chat. Lots of drunks here.
After much contemplation I decided to end the trip here and bus up to Tijuana. Five weeks was enough and maybe would have continued if Alex or someone had showed up? Who knows. Was kind of anxious to do something different and get back to Ruby the Astrovan for a little roadtrip. Knowing the terrain, roads and conditions were just more of the same I’d already done for 1600km made it easier to stop.
27-28 Dec 23 Bus to Tijuana
Today was bus day. Bought a ticket online for the 3pm bus north for US$126. Ate some food, said goodbye to my recent kitty friend and went to sit in the shade near the bus station for a few hours. Met a lovely woman named Jess and we chatted until her bus to La Paz came. She had been traveling with her dad the last week or two and it reminded me of when Peri and I van camped for three weeks around SE Australia in 2019. One of the best trips ever.
The bus finally arrived late and I stuffed the bike underneath with the front wheel off and took a seat. Brought water and snacks and settled in for a rather boring and uneventful 24+ hours. Arrived in Tijuana around 6am and navigated my way to the San Isidro pedestrian border crossing. Luckily there was little traffic that early and after finding my way out of the huge bus station and through the homeless camps the ride was pretty quick.
Asked around for the correct line to be in and spent the next two hours in a massive queue of people slowly making our way to the customs building. Oodles of street vendors would take orders as people passed them and then run their orders up the line to deliver. It was an impressive system! At last I got through to San Diego and found a place to exchange pesos for dollars so I could get breakfast. Called an Uber van to take me up to Liz and Robert’s place in Santee where they’d lovingly kept Ruby for 6 weeks. So very thankful for them!
After a brief chat I loaded the Tumbleweed up and hit the road for AZ. When I finally got on I8 it was time to think about all the happenings on this Baja Divide adventure and was excited for what’s next. Not sure I’ll go back to finish it but I do know it’s not a route I’ll ever do again, once was enough!
#tumbleweed #bajadivide
