Yours truly has become a cheater. Yeah, riding down the Baja California, he claimed. Cycling through the desert, he was going to do. More than 1000 km on a bike... And now? Happy greetings from La Paz? Already? Did he teleport himself, or what?
Well, kinda... I actually took the bus. But here's the honest truth: I was never properly prepared for this trip. Struggling with the sandy ups and down to the Playa Calavera already showed it. Failing at the steep inclines in the Sierra de San Pedro Mártir was a second cautionary tale. But going through the Valle de los Cirios, the long stretch of desert following the last populations after San Quintín, would have been a recipe for disaster.
As little of a "town" San Quintín actually is, it still has most amenities present. There are stores, supermarkets, mechanic shops, and you can buy fruit, coffee, tacos, and most importantly water. Once the population peters out over the next 50 km or so, there is nothing. Only wild, beautiful desert. Mom's house in its most savage form. And in that place mom is pretty stingy with her water. Which means, you need to carry it with you. Enough to last 2-3 days, depending on how fast you pedal.
My bike was already heavy enough, and overloaded with stuff. I could have ditched some of it, or mailed it away, but that is not really what my trip was about. I mean, once there were interesting people, places, and projects I encountered, I would want my video equipment with me. The other thing was, I really wanted to take that ferry to from La Paz to Mazatlán on the mainland around the 25th of June to meet up with my wife and go to our niece's graduation. Timewise I could have made it... but only by pedaling through, all day, every day, without stopping to see anything.
So, I bit the bullet, swallowed the frog, and bought the ticket for the bus to La Paz. On the way I got a glimpse at what I had missed, which I don't want to discuss here. Some of it remains a mystery, as we passed through it at night, other parts were so lovely I just know I'll have to come back to, under the right conditions.
It was thus that I arrived in the town of my destination. Does that mean that my trip is over? Far from it! I still have two weeks, which I want to make good use of. And the Southern tip of the Baja California promises to be (one of) the most gorgeous parts. I want to take the loop eastwards along El Sargento, Los Barriles, Cabo Pulmo, then head down to Cabo San Lucas, and come back towards Todos Santos. All in all a roughly 500 km trip, about the same as what I rode on the Northern Baja.
The best thing about it? All these places I mentioned, plus everything in between, is dotted with interesting sites, places, projects, potential interviews, or at least photogenic spots (or so they say). I'm quite excited to say the least. La Paz itself has been way more than I expected. An actual town of decent size, with lots of wonderful corners. Sure, it is super touristy. Supposedly the highest standard of living in Mexico. But after the dustbowl of the Northern Baja, a refreshing relief. In fact, the pictures I took this morning, which I plastered throughout this post, got my parents so excited, they're now planing to "visit me here" next year. Which means, I will be back to this town!
But for now, I got everything done I was planning to. I mailed my warm clothes and sub-zero sleeping bag to my home in Mexico City, rented a light sleeping bag for the next two weeks, got my ticket for the ferry, and made sure my bike is in top shape again after riding in the belly of the bus, completely disassembled. Tomorrow will be my first leg of the round to El Sargento, where a WS host is already expecting me. I'm completely psyched.
Sometimes it simply can’t be done… but that doesn’t cancel out the next opportunity when we can try again.
😉
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That's right. And there's only shame in it if it makes me feel ashamed, which is not the case.