Leaving Yuma AZ:

Before leaving Yuma we went through all our gear. We sent home a package weighing 9 pounds, all stuff we decided we can do without. It felt good to lighten our heavy load.

This is what is left of our survival kit (the beer is not part of the kit :)

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Baja Mexico:

Ok, we planned it just right and entered Mexico early on a Sunday morning, just like I’ve read one should do to avoid the long lines and hassle associated with crossing on a busier day. We first went to register the motorcycle with customs. We find the building right away and a guy tells us that we can’t do it here today and that we will either have to wait until tomorrow or do it somewhere else. We look at each other with a big F formed on our faces. How could this be, we crossed here on a Sunday 2 years ago with our jeep and had no problems. It doesn’t matter. We can’t get it done here today. We discussed going back to the US and crossing again tomorrow. The US is less then 100 yards away but that means we will have to pass through the US customs and that could be a real hassle. They could require us to unpack all our stuff for a search and probably would. Double F. We went to the Immigration office to get our tourist card while we were still thinking what to do. The people there were very polite and told us we could clear customs for the motorcycle in La Paz where we are planning on taking a ferry to mainland Mexico, 'Great'. We hop on the bike and proceed into Mexico relieved.

We’re tooling through Mexicali looking for highway 2 heading west. This is a big city of about a million people. Downtown there were people lying all over the sidewalks. It looked like most of them were sleeping on the street. It’s so weird thinking the USA is just over there a stones throw away. We wondered if these people came here from all over Mexico hoping to cross the border illegally and failed and are now down and out living on the street. Yesterday was Mexico’s Independence Day, a big day of celebration, maybe these people had been out partying hard the night before and are just sleeping it off. Possibly a few but there were just too many of them.

We expected to just run into highway 2 but the road we were on suddenly had a roadblock with police directing traffic. I pulled the bike up to the roadblock and asked a police officer, in Spanish, how to get to the road to Tecate. He replied in English “Do you speak Spanish?” I said “Un poco” (A little) He replied back with a big smile “Good, I don’t speak English” We all laugh. He calls over to another officer who came walking over saying “Parle vouz Francais” Now we are all laughing. This guy spoke English well and was very helpful to us. It was still a challenge to find the highway but Heidi and I are used to this. Don’t panic and just try the roads that feel right.

The predicted highs for Mexicali were 105 degrees. I was dripping sweat on the counter while filling out my tourist form. Soon after Mexicali we started going up in elevation and the temperatures started to cool. This was a great ride, double lane freeway through rocky mountain scenery. At Tecate we turned south on highway 3 toward Ensenada.

Ensenada was a lot bigger than we expected. It was great seeing the Pacific Ocean and all the seaside scenery but getting through town took forever. There were still a lot of celebrations going on for Independence Day. This seemed to add to the slow traffic.

After Ensenada the traffic almost vanished. We were thinking of maybe camping that night along the Pacific coast on a beach somewhere but we came across all the camping spots too early in the day. We wanted to get deeper into Mexico before stopping. We stopped for gas at San Vicente. I asked the gas attendant if she knows of a good restaurant in town “Puede dicerme donde es un restaurante bien” She points to a place right next door, a quaint little Mexican restaurant. The waitress there hands us the menu, opens it up and points to the selection ands says “Only Mexican food” Like she was thinking we wanted American food or something. We thought this was weird but blow it off thinking we are not that far into Mexico and there are probably a lot of Americans coming through here during the Baja races wanting American food. Well the food was fantastic, the hot sauce was hot and I shouldn’t have tried to finish the whole thing. It was just too good.

It was late afternoon and I was getting fried. We have been on the road since 7:30 AM. We cruised through several medium size towns. I pulled over and stopped in most of them to talk with Heidi and discuss an option of spending the night here. Heidi was adamant about pressing on and hopefully finding a camping spot on a beach. We get to Colonia Vicente Guerrero where there is a tourist sign with a palm tree pointing toward the coast. We head down that road. The road was dirt, rock and bumps. It soon became apparent that the beach was a lot further then we wanted. We turn around and get back to the main road. I tell Heidi that I’m toast and need to stop now, she agrees. We pull into a nice little place, motel Sanchez. Twenty bucks for the night and we are set. Ice cold beer is right across the street and we have a beautiful little courtyard with a huge tree in the middle to enjoy it under.

I had to take off the back of the toilet and manually flush it but what do you expect for twenty bucks? At least it flushed.

Right across the street from the motel was OK Disco karaoke bar. I slept like a rock and Heidi listened to bad karaoke all night. I did wake once about three AM to purge my fabulous Mexican meal but then fell right back to sleep. I guess my eyes were bigger than my stomach. At least I didn’t have food poisoning….

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Mexico: What is wrong with our bike?

I wake up hungry and had to go find food. Colonia Vicente Guerrero is a nice small village with several restaurants. I walk up and down the main street and pick a place where a lot of the locals were eating. Huevos rancheros and coffee. I feel like a new man. Further up the street I get some fresh squeezed OJ to go for Heidi. We enjoy a lazy slow morning at the motel knowing we are in Mexico and all is good.

We’re on the road by about 10:00 AM. The sky is clear and the temperatures are perfect for riding. I almost need gloves but opt to go without knowing it will be getting warmer throughout the day. Cruising south we soon see the Pacific on our right with beautiful sand beaches and dunes. This is where we were hoping to make it to yesterday but were glad to have stayed the night in Colonia Vicente Guerrero.

Just before the road turns inland we stop for gas. A couple miles later we see a road sign saying 328 km to the next gas station, about 200 miles. If we aren’t experiencing a head wind or aren’t traveling too fast that’s about our range before hitting reserve. I’m glad I bought that 4.2 gallon tank from Ebay last year, without it we would be hosed.

The winds were strong, hitting us at an angle of about 100 degrees. The road is twisty, we were averaging about 50 MPH. I knew we were getting better then 50 MPG and should have no problem making it 200 miles.

We’re cutting straight across the Baja from west to east, from the Pacific coast to the Sea of Cortez. This road is mountainous and steamy hot riddled with constant curves and changing vegetation. At times we see just small rocks, other times we’re surrounded by 50 foot tall cacti and huge boulders. Up and down, twists and turns. The highway here is extremely narrow with zero shoulder and steep drop offs on both sides. There is no time to be thinking about anything except keeping it on the road. We’re sailing along 30 miles from the last gas stop, when 'BAM'. The bike just dies. No precursor, no indication anything was wrong. The bike just quits. I tried popping the clutch. Nothing. Luckily we coast to a tiny pull off on the side of the road. This is the same thing that happened outside of Yuma a week ago. We dismount. Heidi and I look at each other with intense troubled emotions in our eyes. What the hell is going on here. We wait a few minutes and try the starter. The bike fires right up. We waste no time getting back on the bike and continue on. My mind is racing with elation, confusion and concern seemingly all at once. Scenarios are being played out in my head one after another ‘we could have been stuck here’ ‘we could have been stuck there’. This is only our second day in Mexico and we are having big problems with our motorcycle. The road didn’t get any wider or straighter and I had little time to concentrate fully on a new plan. We just ‘ride on’.

There is nothing on this road for the next 170 miles. The thought of turning back to the last town didn’t even enter our minds. I’m not sure why that is. Maybe we just couldn’t accept the severity of our situation. We dreamed and planned too long for something like this to stop us now..

170 miles and the bike is running perfect. We make it to the gas stop and the road to Bahia de Los Angeles. After stopping and dismounting Heidi wanders off to some shade. It’s hot here. After filling up, Heidi walks back to the bike. I see a look in her eyes I’ve never seen before. She was ‘freaked’ to say the least. It started hitting me too. What is going on here.


I think about the fried blinker wires we repaired in Yuma. I was just kidding myself thinking that had anything to do with the bike dying outside of Yuma. There is nothing hot on those wires unless it’s blinking and even then the blinker module isolated the wires from the battery. The worst thing that could happen is the module could fry and that has nothing to do with the bikes ignition.

Fuel stop:

42 miles down a dead end road to Bahia de Los Angeles. Heidi has read about this place, it sounds just like the kind of place we like. Small village on the Sea of Cortez with fishing and sailboats. We plan on spending a few days here and sort out our situation.

More desert, mountains and cacti:

There is no traffic now and the road is straight. Now I have time to think about what the heck is going on with our bike. I formulate a theory why the bike is starting back up after quitting, but it doesn’t explain why the bike quits. We ride on….

Again I’m not making any of this up. We are tooling along less than 20 miles from the Sea of Cortez and the bike just quits again. We coast to a stop, dismount, take off our helmets and look at each other ‘This can NOT be happening’
I stay calm, confident of my theory. After a few minute wait I hit the starter. The bike fires up as if nothing has happened. We hop back on and continue. Bahia de Los Angeles here we come. 

We made it. In my mind I bend down to kiss the Sea. This is what we dream about, places like this.

We cruise around the village and find a place right on the water. A little expensive but we are right on the beach. I pay for three nights.

I practically run to get beer and tequila. Heidi says we need to engage in some high level discussions. Tequila, Fresca and beer. Let the talks begin.

View from our room:

Later that day 5 dudes arrive in a van from LA, California. These guys are fired up and ready for a good time. They’re here to fish but aren’t going out until tomorrow. While we were all down on the beach, a fishing boat comes to shore and we all walk over to see what they caught. Their hold was almost full of fish. The guys ask the fisherman how much for a few fish. About 5 bucks. The guys dig in the hold and throw out 6 Parrot fish. They bring the fish over to the restaurant at the motel and have the cook clean and cook them using their homemade salsa they brought from California. The guys invite us for some fish tacos, Veracruz style. The fish was excellent and these guys are super friendly. I don’t think I have ever heard a group of guys laugh so much while just hanging out.

Another day in paradise:

Our last day in Bahia de Los Angeles was another day in paradise. A slow morning, drinking coffee, reading and watching the sun come up while the fishing boats head out into the bay. A long walk along the beach with Heidi followed by a long brisk swim. Life is good. When I sat in my cubical at work this is the life I dreamed about. My mind is clearing, my eyes see with more contrast and my love for Heidi seems to grow by the hour. How long can this continue? It seems that with every new challenge brings a new high. I throw myself into the darkness of uncertainty and emerge into a new brightness and clarity that says to my soul, you are alive…..

The 5 guys staying next to us who are from East LA come back from a day of fishing around 2:00 PM. Mario landed a 30 pound grouper, Wow. He was more stoked than normal, and that is stoked. Mario had a cooler of marinated carne de asada and boneless chicken on dry ice. He creates a grill on the ground using 2 bricks and a grate.

Mario:

We are invited to join them for dinner along with 2 other guys from California who came here yesterday. Mario comes up to us and stares closely into our eyes and says “If I die from an accident or something today all this food would go to waste. I want to enjoy this food with you and Heidi” He is talking with real passion and feeling. We had one of the most delicious meals we have ever had. Que Rico. He tells a story of how he was born in Mexico and at age 2 his mother brought him to the US to give him a better life. Man I gotta tell you that if the US was filled with more people like Mario and his family it for sure would be a better place to live.

We are all hanging out drinking, eating, laughing and talking philosophy until we couldn’t drink anymore. Encounters like this are a part of what makes adventure travel great. The guys from East LA refer to Heidi as their sister and make us feel that we made friends for life.

Bahia de Los Angeles, recommended:

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