Last Days

Almost time for the big return trip. Hard to believe that even without flying, we will be able to cover the entire distance home in four or five days, via bus through Mexico and train from San Diego to Vancouver. Just a little bit faster than the three months that it took us to get here!

We are now in Sayulita, not far north of our final destination, Puerto Vallarta. Sayulita is overrun with tourists, but it is probably the busiest time of the year. It's easy to see why foreigners are attracted here - it's a beautiful little town with perfect beaches, lush surrounding forests, and a laid-back attitude. It being our last few days, we decided to skip the campground with dirty toilets and party scene, and are staying in a (very, very nice by our standards!) hotel. It has been a treat to be able to sleep in near silence on a comfy bed with clean sheets. Maybe we are just getting old! Or maybe it's just time to go home.

We've been talking about where we would bike next if we were able to go touring again. Across Canada was the consensus, and I've decided that I don't have any desire to travel by bike in developing countries; I'm just not that hard-core! But I admire those who are. Here are two links to cyclists we have met along the way who are in it for the long haul, and have fantastic websites: http://www.going-south.tv/ (we met Fin and Alex in Mazatlan and spent xmas with them in San Blas; their documentary sounds really exciting) and http://www.davestravelpages.com/ (Dave is an amazing adventurer who we have seen off-and-on since Washington).

Tomorrow, John and Aurun, two Swiss guys we stayed on the beach with in San Blas, will be generously driving us in their big traveling van to Puerto Vallarta, as they head east to Mexico City. And Brydone's friends Mark and Karli (and their two, too cute kids) have offered us their house in PV to stay at for the few days that we will be there. Thanks guys!

With love,

Rill

The Beach Life

Leaving Mazatlan was a bit tougher than expected as the buses were
chock full for much of the day. We finally got onto a very nice first
class bus at 2 pm but as the traffic was terrible and the going slow
we arrived into the city of Tepic after the last bus to the beach side
town of San Blas had departed for the night. Next to the bus depot
was a very basic hotel so we settled in there and sought out a yummy
full roast chicken for dinner. It was relatively cold up in the hills
in Tepic at night, cold enough that we were glad to be back on the
coast at San Blas the next morning.

Since arriving we have been staying in a tree house type cabana just
behind the restaurant's large palapa at a surf camp. It would not be
too much to call this place heavenly. We were reunited with two
cyclists currently on a arctic to Panama trip while filming their
travels for a documentary. We'd met them in Mazatlan and have had a
good time hanging out, surfing, playing beach volleyball, and making
spectacular meals of prawns and fresh fish caught nearby. We also
have two Finnish girls, a Germans couple, and two Swiss guys in our
entourage at the surf camp; it is a very nice atmosphere so we'll all
be spending Christmas here.

Yesterday the Germans and the Swiss joined us on a boat tour of the
mangroves located behind the town. We were delighted to see an
amazing array of birds, crocodiles, turtles, fish, iguanas, crabs,
orchids, and other forms of life, all so very close to the boat. The
tour was about 4 hours on the boat and was a great deal at only 80
pesos, about $6.25 CDN. In addition to a couple dozen wild crocs we
visited a crocodile breeding centre; where juvenile crocodiles are
bred for release to the wild. There were a few 7 metre long monsters
there. The largest wild croc we saw was 4 metres or so; in other
words BIG.

Tomorrow, for Christmas, we'll probably spend the day on the beach,
surfing, lounging, and perhaps go via boat out for some whale watching
or paddle the surf boards out amongst the dolphins which frequently
come by during the day.

I hope everyone has a great Christmas!

Hello from Torill....I don't really have much to add...except to wish
you Merry Christmas!

This is my first Christmas away from family. It's a little strange not
to be at home, but it also doesn't really feel like Christmas - must
be because of the beach. Maybe also because we'll be home soon!

Mazatlan

We're now settled into the warmer more humid mainland and are really
enjoying it so far. The ferry ride turned out to be a good deal of
fun as we teamed up with an Aussie on a round the world motorbike trip
to raise awareness about prostate cancer
(http://www.riderightround.org/) and another motorbiker riding from
Calgary to Panama and back. The Aussie brought a big bag of balloons
and we all tried our hand honing our street busking skills. Who knew
it was so darn hard to blow up one of those things! Beers on board
were reasonably priced at $2 CDN which really kicked things off.
Unfortunately, Rill was pretty tired so she missed out on a spirited
late night card game. The ferry was only about 1/4 full so there was
lots of space to spread sleeping bags and mats for a nice long sleep.
In the morning we saw a large pod of dolphins playing in the boat's
wake; what amazing creatures they are (shocking that the Japanese are
slaughtering so many of them each year - we watched "The Cove"
tonight. Go rent it tomorrow). There were also a few whales about
and lots of rays and sea birds.

The last two days were spent exploring Mazatlan, a fantastic old city.
Well actually only part of it is fantastic and the other part, out by
the expensive Western hotels, was absolutely awful. We headed north
out of the old city in order to spend the day relaxing in the swimming
pools along the Zona Dorado (Golden Zone). As we made the 10 kms walk
from the beaches of the city centre we were, for the first time in
Mexico, being harassed to buy crappy shirts, get a temporary tattoo,
take a taxi, buy an ugly hat, or shirt, or whatever else it is that
tourists inexplicably buy when they leave home. Also, everyone was
talking to us in English in a super sleazy manner typical of tourist
traps worldwide. The pools were lovely but, wow, what a terrible
change from our experience so far in Mexico where we are treated with
such kindness and warmth rather than attacked as prey. As the section
of the Baja (Los Cabos) is meant to be exactly the same type of
tourist destination as the Zona Dorado I am so glad that we decided to
skip it entirely. Back in the city, with our much cheaper and better
food and surrounded by Mexicans going about their non tourist trade
focused lives, things are so much more relaxed, enjoyable, and most of
all, real. I feel sorry for those who come to Mexico and return home
forming an opinion of the country based so wrongly on the touristy
areas; those areas are so far removed from the Mexico I'm loving.

Our little hotel is just five blocks from the beach in the palm tree
picture and five blocks in the other direction from a bustling market.
If you need an entire cow or a sweet piñata this is the place to
go. This afternoon we headed to the south end of the old city to hike
up to what is purportedly the second highest elevation lighthouse in
the world, although a brief internet search did not seem to agree (see
pic of the lighthouse from ferry). From the top there is a
spectacular view in all directions.

Tomorrow we head to San Blas, a small beach town. It should be a nice
relaxing place to spend a few days. After that we'll likely visit
Chacala, Sayulita, and Puerto Vallarta over our final two weeks in
paradise.

Only a week to Christmas, I bet Jack is getting crazy excited!

Diving Photos

Southern Baja

Hola from La Paz.

We head out tonight on the overnight ferry to Mazatlan on the
mainland. Last week we cycled 90 kms south from La Paz to Todos
Santos and Los Cerritos before turning the bikes around and returning
to La Paz. We initially had thoughts of cycling through Cabo San
Lucas and San Jose Del Cabo, two mega resorts towns on the southern
tip of the Baja. As we neared, though, the traffic became heavier and
heavier and the tourists far more frequent. Los Cabos (as the area is
known) is filled with expensive resort hotels and no cheap camping or
lodging options, not the kind of place we are really interested in
checking out, especially on a low budget trip like this! Aiding our
decision to return to La Paz the way we came was the state of the
highway between Todos Santos and La Paz. The road was fantastic for
cycling with a new divided highway sporting a huge paved should in
both directions, the only stretch like it in all of the Baja! Even
better, the final 15-20 kms into Todos Santos was still under
construction with one side of the highway closed to traffic but
perfect for two bicycles. On the return trip we encountered our first
significant head winds since northern Oregon but this did not dampen
our spirits on this nice stretch of the Baja.

From Todos Santos we explored the gorgeous but rather inaccessible
beaches on the Pacific coast. We spent one afternoon watching grey
whales breaching on the horizon, a few flying completely out of the
water. Closer in to us land creatures hundreds of rays were leaping
out of the water and countless huge sea birds fished all afternoon.
It was another fantastic Baja wildlife viewing experience.

We returned to La Paz on Saturday and back into the same friendly
hotel we stayed at earlier in the week. The place had filled up
considerably with a pretty fun mixed group of travelers and an when
older lady with a tiny dog announced it was her birthday and she was
throwing a party for herself complete with free margaritas things got
even better. I posted a photo of Dave (who is cycling from Alaska to
Argentina and who we have seen off and on since Westport Washington)
pouring margaritas from the "jug". They were delicious and
contributed greatly to a good time that night.

On Monday I went scuba diving. The first two dives were out in the
deeps looking for hammerhead sharks. I saw one shark on the first
dive and two on the second. The third dive was alongside a sea lion
colony and featured abundant fish, some corals, moray eels, octopus,
and some extremely close encounters with the curious sea lions.
Luckily, the only other diver on the trip has underwater camera
housing for his Canon G10 (the same camera I am using) and he gave me
his photos from the dives. I also have a video of the hammerheads on
the second dive and one of some of the sea lions underwater, I'll try
and post these as well. We also attempted to swim with dolphins but
once we jumped into the water they were nowhere to be seen.

Time to check out of the hotel and head to the beach until we depart
at 8pm. I'll miss the Baja but will certainly be back again another
time. Next time, though, I would plan to come with a vehicle capable
of accessing the countless difficult sand and rough dirt roads up and
down this still very undeveloped peninsula. Also, I'd want to have
supplies of food and water, kayaks, snorkel gear, and perhaps surf
boards to really explore the Baja.

La Paz (again)

Another change of plans!

Last week we set out to bike on Mex 19 from La Paz to Cabo San Lucas via Todos Santos, and then bike back around the eastern side of the peninsula on Mex 1. The route from La Paz to Todos Santos is almost entirely a four-lane, divided highway with two meter wide shoulders. The last 25 km into Todos Santos was actually still under construction and half of the highway was not yet open, meaning we had the entire half of the highway to ourselves.

We camped in an RV park in Todos Santos for three nights and explored the town and surrounding beaches. We thought we might camp at some of the beaches south of town for a few days before biking farther south, but after a few trips along washboarded sand roads that led to beaches either far from food and water or dotted with resorts and expensive restaurants, we decided that we'd skip Los Cabos and bike back the way we came from La Paz. On the mainland it should be easier to find what is rare in the Baja - a beach near a town. Traveling by bike seems as though it would give you a good amount of choice of destination, but when the roads suck and there's no fresh water anywhere, it gets more complicated. So here we are in La Paz again!

Todos Santos was a pretty cute little town. It's humid and more lush than the surrounding deserts. I caved and bought some beautiful silver jewelery, my first non-consumable purchase since we left. We spent a day watching gray whales in the distance. We were lucky to see them spy-hopping and occasionally breach.

La Paz is also pretty great. There are five peso tacos and a walkway all along the waterfront. For the month before Christmas, much of the downtown is filled with a street market that starts every day at about 8 am and ends at 9 or 10 pm. Brydone's Santa photo was taken in this market...some Mexican children might be disappointed when they learn that Santa is too hungover to pack up the sleigh.

Last night we stayed up late to watch the meteor shower. While camping, I got really used to going to sleep shortly after dark, so I get pretty tired by the time 10 pm rolls around...but it was worth it to stay up! Too bad that we were in the city, but there was not a cloud in the sky and we saw many from the roof of the hotel. Hope the sky was clear back home.

Tomorrow (unless plans change), we will ferry to Mazatlan. Unfortunately the ferry goes overnight, so we probably won't see much during the 12 hour crossing. 

Just a few weeks left until we have to head back to San Diego to catch the train! 

Love,

Rill

Photos from La Paz to Todos Santos

We're still having an awesome time in the Baja! Blog to come in the
next couple of days.

Kayaking, Baja California Sur

Our kayak trip was absolutely spectacular! We had the entire national
park completely to ourselves, seriously. Although we did share the
space with an incredible array of wildlife; mostly aquatic in nature.
The snorkeling was some of the best I've seen with thousands of fish
of all types including trumpet fish, puffer fish, nudibranches, tuna,
angel fish, etc etc... A number of times we saw sailfish come right
to the shore with their massive fins breaking the surface chasing
their prey. The hermit crabs were hilarious and plentiful to say the
least. Who knew that they love melon? We had two encounters with
dolphins as they hunted schools of fish. One of the oddest things we
saw was a ray jumping/flying across the water, about 2-3 metres high
and 3-4 metres long, coming straight at me in the kayak. It flew
right by my head on about the 5th jump and then was gone back into the
sea. Cormorant catching an eel was cool too.

Our camp sites were splendid. On the 3rd day the winds were gale
force and there was a 2-3 metre swell. Luckily we could head with it.

An incredible wilderness area!
I think we'll head to La Paz tomorrow and may go off on another kayak
trip from there.

From Bikes to Kayaks

We're just about to head off for a four day kayaking trip around Isla
del Carmen and Isla Danzante in the Parque Marino Nacional Bahia de
Loreto. It took awhile but we found a kayak outfitter that was
willing to rent us kayaks without a guide for a multi-day trip.

I leave you with a photo of Mision Nuestra Senora de Loreto, the first
Spanish mission in the Californias (1697) and known as the mother of
all the missions. It is quite an impressive sight.