Settling In at Syulita

It's Friday November 26. We are sitting on the terrace at Hotel Diamante in Syaulita drinking Pacifico and trying not to think about the cold weather we will return home to in just 5 days. We are starting to feel very much at home here in Mexico and it will be hard to leave.

We arrived in Sayulita last Sunday afternoon and had made reservations for a bungalow (small apartment) at the Sayulita Trailer Park.  We had stayed here several times in the past and had been quite satisfied with the accommodation, location (beach front) and atmosphere. This time we were not so impressed. The first room we were given was small and dirty. We moved to a newer unit. It was much nicer but rather expensive. After 3 days of asking about the internet, I was finally told that I would have to pay an addition fee to use it. Even though the fee was only 20 pesos per day, we decided it was time to look at other accommodation options.

We didn't have to look far... The Hotel Diamante is just across the road from the Sayulita Trailer Court. It is located about a 10 minute walk from the centre of Sayulita. It is owned and run by a Mexican family. The owner, Theresa, runs a tight ship. It is impeccably clean, very nicely appointed and reasonably priced.  A nice room for two by the pools is 450 pesos  (about $37.)  One of the larger second floor terrace rooms, like we have is $650 pesos ($54). There is a community kitchen. Fresh fruit and coffee is available free in the common area every morning, high speed wireless internet and parking for the bike in the hotel lobby. We would highly recommend this place for anyone coming to Sayulita.

Hotel Diamante Pool and Common Area / Kitchen

Upper Floor Terrace / Sitting Area / Kitchen

Today Linda and I finished another week of Spanish lessons. We had signed up with the Costa Verde School for the course but this course was run by an community action organization named PEACE. We didn't know it, but this was PEACEs first attempt at a language course. Unfortunately they were not as well prepared as they could have been, or hopefully will be in the future. Luckily I had an experienced teacher that recognized the flaws and modified the course for the better. Linda however, was not so fortunate. Her instructor followed the curriculum and it didn't work out so well. This having been said... we both benefited from the course. We are invited back next week to sit in on the Costa Verde course for a day or two at no cost. 

Sayulita is a neat little town. It has definitely been Gringo-ized but it has a strong Mexican flavour and charm. Speaking Spanish is optional here but is definitely appreciated. We speak Spanish first and switch to English if necessary.... less and less now. The locals are  very friendly. We are on a first name basis at the local bar and restaurant. 

An intense tropical storm rolled through this area last September. Enough rain fell to cause extensive flooding and damage. The bridge into the center of town was washed away. The highway on either side of Sayulita received extensive damage from land slides. The beach has also been dramatically altered. The shape and slope of the beach is different and the surfing and fishing area have been substantially altered. However, if you din't know how it looked before, it wouldn't make any difference.... It is still pretty damn attractive!

Temporary foot bridge in use while rebuilding the washed out bridge

The beach looking north from near our hotel

Larry the Lizard. One of the Sayulita Iguanas

Dia de la Revolucion

We are now back in Sayulita once again. It's been a few days since I had the chance to write the blog so I'll back up a couple of days. Let's see … In the last posting we were still in Todos Santos at the Hotel California. We had checked out but I was having trouble getting Linda to leave.

Well, we made it to the ferry terminal in lots of time to get the tickets, pass though the aduana (customs) and wait in line with the trucks and cars. Even though the ferry departs and arrives in the same country, the vehicle permit and travel visa requirements differ between the Baja and what I refer to as “mainland Mexico”. Everything has to be in order to board the ferry.

The ferries are quite new ships and are well appointed. Cabins are available at reasonable price if you want one. We didn't bother since this passage was only 6 hours. The passage to Mazatlan is 14 hours overnight and a 4 bunk cabin with toilet & sink is only about $65. We sat in the TV / Movie salon. It had two big screen TV's and reclining high back chairs. They showed 2 movies during the passage. .. one in Spanish and one in English (with Spanish subtitles). There is a restaurant and a bar as well. All in all, a well organized an well run operation.

By the time we disembarked it was almost 10pm. We had booked a hotel in the city of Los Mochis, about 20K from the ferry terminal. Normally we would not ride at night but we figured that nearly everyone on the ferry would be heading to or passing through Los Mochis. That seemed to be the case and getting to Los Mochis was not a problem. We don't usually book ahead but since were arriving late we had booked a hotel this time. Thank goodness for the GPS. Some hotels are not obvious or easy to find.

On to Guamuchil

Friday morning, after a leisurely start, we rode to Guamichil. Guamichil is a city of about 60,000 people in the centre of a productive agricultural area. This is the place we met the boys from the ATM motorcycle club 2 1/2 years ago while traveling we Lee. I had been in contact with some club and they were expecting us.

When we arrived in town we easily found their clubhouse but no one was around. Our main contact with the club, Victor Sanchez, is a dentist so we decided to find his office. Since we had been their before we though that would be a simple task. You would not believe how many dentist offices there are in Guamuchil! We quickly found out that when you factor the number of dentists with the number of people whose name is Sanchez, locating his office was challenging. Even asking a policeman and receptionists in other dentist's offices , when we found one open, we were unable to locate Victor's office.

By now we were hot , thirsty and frustrated. In the end we went back to the clubhouse and talked to the fellow in the beer store next door. We should have thought to do that when we first arrived. He was expecting us, handed us some beer, directed us to the restaurant across the street and called Victor. Victor soon arrived to welcome us. It turned out he was home for lunch. Even if we had found his office it would have been for naught... closed for siesta!

Throughout the afternoon club members arrived at the club to greet us. One of the club members we met on the previous trip had since moved to Mazatlan. Indio was the fellow who cooked the fabulous meal for Linda, Lee and I on our first visit. When Indio heard we were coming back, he came up from Mazatlan to cook a meal for us again.

We had an entertaining evening at the clubhouse. Most guys spoke limited English but one fellow, Javier, spoke good English and help translate. It was a good chance to practice my Spanish. Some conversations went pretty well others abruptly ended when I ran out of vocabulary. Come to think of it... this seems to happen to me quite often these days in English too.

A few of the guys had ridden to Canada from Mexico. Lee and I tried to meet up with them the summer before last but couldn't connect. This past summer this same group rode from Mexico to Prudow Bay, Alaska and back in just over two weeks. They averaged over 1000K per day.... hard core!

A National Holiday - Dia de la Revolucion

The 20^th of November is Mexico's biggest national holiday. It is the anniversary of the 1910 Mexican Revolution. Many people dress up in traditional attire and nearly every community has a parade and a fiesta.

In Guaumchil a large parade is part of the festivities and the ATM motorcycle club traditionally leads the parade. We were asked if we would like to ride with the club in the parade and we agreed. I was presented with an official club shirt which I wore. Just as the parade was about to start we were told that the club members ride 3 abreast and that our position was in the centre of the front row. So away we go and the next thing I know is that we are leading the parade. As we passed city hall we were announced as honoured guest from Canada.

The whole visit was a great experience that we both really enjoyed. We really were treated like honoured guests.

Leading the parade

One Happy Canuk

One of the groups in the large parade

Chicas bonitas

The club members in the parade

On To Sayulita

Yesterday was a long day from Mazatlan to Sayulita. We took the autopista pay road most of the way to make better time. Usually we found gas stations on the autopista but this time there were none. I expected to find a gas station close to our exit from the autopista but I was wrong again. We left the autopista in the mountains near Tepic and found ourselves winding our way through small mountain villages.  When I felt we could go no further we stopped in one of the villages to inquire about the location of a gas station. We talked to a gentleman at a fruit stand. He told us that there were no gas stations in the area but he gave us directions to a fellow who sold gas out of his shed, only a block away.  A smile, a handshake, hold the funnel please, a couple of photos, a few pesos and we were on our way.

Plans are meant to be changed... with hotel California addendum

Well, a lot has transpired since our last posting. We are now officially “Language School Dropouts”. We were very pleased with the instructors . They were all knowledgeable, patient and enthusiastic. However, we felt that the school's teaching methodology was rushed and confusing. I felt that insufficient time was allocated to verifying comprehension and practical application of the lessons... or maybe we are just slow learners???

Backing up a couple of days...

On the weekend, we went off on a road trip on a loop though Todos Santos, Cabos San Lucas, San Jose del Cabo, Barriles and back to la Paz. The last time this way we missed seeing this part of the Baja. The two other guys on our course who were traveling on motorcycles were headed for Cabo for a few days and had suggested a cheap hotel near the beach strip. When we arrived in Cabo, Bob and Don had already secured a room for us. As usual the older (grittier, as Lee would say) parts of town are the most interesting. The beach strip with huge hotels, malls and expensive restaurants could be anywhere warm.

Don & Bob in Cabo

Cabo San Lucas Beach Strip

This picture tells the story of Cabo

It wasn't until returning from the weekend road trip that we decided to investigate other language training options. We had been paying weekly for the course in la Paz so we let them know that we would not be returning for the second week. There is a possibility that we may be able to attend a course in Sayulita the week after next. No replies to my email yet.

Our host's Alicia and Vincente were very sweet. They were very accommodating and thoughtful of our every need. It was great pleasure to meet and stay with them and their family.

Alicia & Vincente....  muy simpaticos!

We have reorganized our plans... As I write this we are staying at the Hotel California in Todos Santos. Todos Santos is much less touristy than Cabo San Lucas or San Jose del Cabo. This hotel is the one that inspired the Eagles song. We arrived here yesterday for one night but decided to stay for two. It is really cool place. Linda wants to stay here for the rest of the trip! Don Henley;s words...”you can checkout, but you can never leave” seem quite appropriate. Here are a few photos....

Hotel California Street View

Balcony in front of our room.

The building and decorating is very nice

This is the entry gate to the interior guest area, pool andcourtyard

A shallow cooling-off pool... very relaxing!

Linda (now pronounced Lee-nda) is very happy at the Hotel California!

Tomorrow we are taking the Ferry to Topolobambo and going to Gauamuchil on Friday. Then\probably Mazatlan on Saturday.

This is a comical example of a stop sign.
 Firstly, it is almost impossible to see until you reach it.
Secondly, it says "4 way stop" but it is a T junction.
NO HAY PROBLEMA!

An Addendum:

Linda was browsing for info about the Hotel  California in Todos Santos and came up with some interesting info. Construction on the hotel started in 1947 (good year!). It was completed and opened in 1950.

Hotel California, Todos Santos circa 1950

In the late 70s and and early 80s it was renamed Hotel Mision Todos Santos. In the early 1980s a rumor was started, apparently by a real estate agent anxious to generate some business, that the Eagles had stayed in the hotel and Don Henley had composed the song here. In the late 80s the name was changed back to Hotel California. In 1997 at travel writer contacted Don Henley regarding the rumor relating to the Eagles. Henley denied any association between the song and the hotel. (see below) By 2000 the hotel was vacant and out of business. In 2001 and John Stewart and his wife Debbie (from BC, Vancouver and Nelson) bought the hotel and started an extensive renovation. John passed away in 2006. Debbie now owns and runs the hotel. In a conversation with her today, she attributes the state of the hotel almost entirely to John's vision and design. She told us that with every update and touch up, not even a colour is changed.

I'm a little disappointed that this is not the hotel in Don Henley's song. Guess I'm a romantic at heart. Never the less, it shouldn't distract from it's charm.  We think both the town and the hotel are pretty special and well worth a visit.

T.G.I.F.

Well... we got through the first week of school. Whew!

The school didn't pamper us old folk. We are not exactly accustomed to four hours a day of intense concentration, plus an hour or so of homework, but we survived. This school seems to use the "shotgun" technique. They blast the students with information and hope some of it penetrates. We both feel overwhelmed but I'm pretty sure that some of the information is sinking in. We are both going back for another week.

Some of the other "estudiantes" finished their session today so a few of us got together for supper on the Malecon (the beach drive and promenade).  Don & Bob, other motorcycle riders are heading to Cabo as well, then up to San Ignacio to watch part of the Baja 1000. Bruno, the bicyclist, is also riding the Cabo loop before taking the ferry to Mazatlan to continue his expedition to Ushuaia.

El Malecon en la Paz, Baja Sur

This weekend we are taking a holiday inside a holiday. We are taking a circular route from la Paz that goes though Todos Santos, Cabo San Lucas, San Jose del Cabo and Los Barriles before returning to la Paz. It is about 400K round trip so will stay overnight somewhere around mid-way.

The bike is running smoother now. We found a small motorcycle shop nearby and they installed my spare chain and counter shaft sprocket. The rear sprocket is OK for now. I might be able to find a new one in Cabo San Lucas is I'm lucky. Never the less, it should last the rest of this trip since we are not planning to travel that far.

Linda is packed and checking for hotels on her Ipod. We will take a few more pictures to show you over the weekend and next week.

Till then....

Getting Settled

It has taken a few days to get the wrinkles ironed out, both at the home stay and at the school. We are enjoying both situations now.

The home-stay hosts, Alicia and Vincente are both extremely nice... as are their daughter, her husband and their kids. They are very accommodating. We took the bike to school yesterday so that we could ride out to Pichilinque to get the permit for the bike. We told Alica that we would not need dinner but when we came back to the house at about 6pm she showed up at our door with some incredible tortas... shredded beef, diced onions and tomatoes with shredded cheese on top. Baked on a tortilla. Muy buena! Me gusto mucho!

The school situation was less than ideal as well. Linda had signed up for a 2 hour/day introductory conversation course and I had registered for a 4 hour / day intensive course. We both were slotted into the intensive 4 hour/day program and Linda & I were grouped together in a class with 2 others. After the second day we realized that the course content in our class, was overloading Linda and much of what was being taught were basics with which I was familiar. Linda & I discussed our options and were thinking that we might only stay with the school for the rest of this week. At breakfast this morning I mentioned to our host that we might only stay 1 week and explained our concerns about the course. When we arrived at the school, a class reorganization was already in the works. A student shuffle occurred to realign us. I was moved to a slightly more advanced class and Linda stayed with the original group. We are pretty sure that the reorganization was triggered by a call to the school from Alicia... but whatever the reason for the shuffle we now plan to stay at the school for two weeks.

There was no problem getting the permit for the bike at the Ferry Terminal at Pichilinque. They were not busy and very friendly. It went smooth as glass! Since there was no delay, Linda & I rode to a scenic beach, Playa El Tecolote, on the point past Pichilinque, sat in the sun and had a bite to eat.

Playa  El Tecolote

The chain on the bike is stretched and needs to be replaced I have a new chain with me but I have been reluctant to attempt to install it. I am short one tool. I could probably make do but if I screwed up the repair we might be here for longer than we would like. Today I found a bike shop that can replace the chain and sprocket. I have an appointment tomorrow afternoon. Hopefully that all goes smoothly too.

Just a comment on money here in la Paz... It used to be very common to be able use US dollars on the Baja but this situation has changed. The crackdown on narco trafficking has made it less attractive for those outside of the narco business to use or accept US dollars. We have been told that stores are reluctant to accept dollars and banks are hesitant to change dollars into pesos. There is no problem using your bank card in any of the banks or ATMs to get pesos. There is even a Scotia Bank in la Paz.

Back to my homework...

School Days...

Our language course started today. The course runs from 8:30 to 1pm, with a couple of breaks. Our instructor, Alejandra, is very patient. There are 4 people in our class and 3 others in more advanced classes. One fellow is German and riding his bicycle to Tierra del Fuego. There are two Americans, our age, both on motorcycles (650 V-Stroms) and a couple, she from the US and he from Australia, both living in New Zealand. Interesting folk.

We are staying with a family in a rather large house about 5K from the centre of la Paz. We have a little suite but eat meals with the family. The extended family lives in the house... 3 generations. They are very nice but the location is not ideal. It is too far to walk to the school, or downtown to shops or restaurants. A family member drives us to school and picks us up. The situation is complicated by the odd dinner time. Breakfast is at 7:30 but dinner is at 2:30pm. We are going to look into other options for the 2^nd week that may allow us to walk to school and to el centro.

We have asked our hosts not worry about dinner tomorrow. We are going to take the bike to school and then ride out to the ferry terminal and try to get the necessary permit for the bike so that we can book the ferry trip.

Better get back to my home work... 

Loreto to la Paz

The roof-top, see-through pool at Poseda de las Flores, Loreto
(taken with wide angle bike cam)

We are in La Paz. It was a long day from Loreto.. about 360K but it seemed longer. A short portion of the route is through the mountains along the gulf coast but once you are through them, the road has very few bends. To circumnavigate the mountains on the gulf side of the peninsular, the highway takes you almost to the Pacific coast before returning to the gulf.

The scenery around Loreto is very nice with mountains and coastal bays and islands

Cuidad Constitucion is 150K from Loreto. It is the third largest city on the Baja and is located in an agricultural area variety fo hotels, stores,and restaurants. One never knows from a dot on the map, or the size of the printed name on the map, what you will find. Some places have few, if any hotels, some like Constitucion, have many.

The highway south of Constitucion

To combat the boredom of the straight desert road, I took to photographing the road signs with the bike cam. as a way of confirming that I understood them... not that anyone obeys them anyway! We have been riding at roughly 100 kph and we seldom pass anyone but get passed frequently. The posted speed limit never exceeds 80 kph and drops to 60 on curvy roads and 40 in built up areas.

The course starts tomorrow... Linda is getting nervous.

Asuncion to Mulege to Loreto

We are on the last few days on the southbound Baja section of our trip. Our route today took us from the Pacific coast to the Gulf coast. The destination is Mulege (moo-la-hey). We camped in Mulege on our trip with Dave and Jen 5 years ago, in an old date palm orchard along the river. Two major storms and associated flooding have been destructive forces. The campground we stayed in, is a mass of tangled palms. The buildings and house associated with camp have been destroyed. Mulege has not yet recovered from these events.

This time we stayed at Hotel Mulege on the main street as you enter town. It was a reasonable, clean, inexpensive hotel close to some nice restaurants.  Prices have risen since we last on the Baja but it is still reasonably priced.  The beaches south of Mulege, along Bahia Concepcion, are spectacular. It is great camping and kayaking area. Unfortunately a bad battery connection on my bike cam resulted in no pictures today.

Might these cactus have been the inspiration for Dr Seuss's artwork?

San Ingacio church

About 100 k north-west of Mulege an oasis appears in the desert. Suddenly there is a town filled with date palms. The town is San Ignacio. This town is well worth stopping to visit. There is a beautiful plaza in the town centre where we stopped for lunch.

We have been making a point of speaking Spanish and everyone has been very gracious. On the Baja you can get by very well with English. Most people in the tourism businesses can speak at least some English. 

It is only 130K from Mulege to Loreto. Loreto has developed quite a bit in the last 5 years. It is now bigger than Mulege and more attractive. There is an airport here and you can fly in directly from the US. Eco tourism, diving and kayak tours to the nearby islands are the popular events.

We decided to stay at a really nice hotel in the centre of Mulege. ...Posada Flores. We saw it on the last trip. It is a bit pricey but there was a low season special so we decide to stay. I must say that the roof top garden / bar and pool was very nice. The pool has a glass bottom and is the "window" to the courtyard of the hotel.

Hotel Courtyard with pool above.

After breakfast we are heading to La Paz...

Bahia Asuncion Day 2

A huge thanks to David and Nancy including us in their hectic Bahia schedule. First a walk after breakfast, then coffee, then lunch, then shopping, then surfing, then a nap (us anyway), then a get together with friends for cerveza and supper. That's my kind of hectic!  Also a big thanks to Shari, Juan and all the family and friends who made us feel so welcome... We'll be back.

Getting reaqy to leave Shari's B&B  in Asuncion

David and Nancy's street & house (yellow)

End of the pavement

Shari's B&B just right of centre by the Blowhole

Bahia Asuncion is fishing village of about 2000 people. As well as sport fishing, which brings most of the tourist, there is a well organized lobster and abalone catch. The fishing is organized and protected under a strong cooperative that controls and protects the fishery. There are severe penalties for poachers outside of coop members. Anyone is permitted for catch fish for there own consumption that are not protected by the coop.

There are a few rental cabins, a campground on the beach and a basic hotel on the main drag. The beaches are very nice... long, sandy, shallow, safe with good boogie boarding. The weather on the pacific coast is generally cooler than the gulf coast both winter and summer. It is also very dry. In fact it seldom rains, hence natural vegetation is sparse.

Tourism is fairly new to Asuncion. Our host, Shari, is the tourism / real estate contact in Bahia Asuncion. If anyone is interested in visiting an authentic fully functioning Mexican fishing community yet undisturbed by the affects of tourism you can contact Shari through http://bajabnb.com/php/

Cute Surfer Chick

David and Nancy's "secret" boogie boarding beach.

Bahia to Bahia

One of Linda's suppliers own property in Bahia de Asuncion. They, David and Nancy, live in Creston but winter in Asuncion, Bahia de Asuncion is located on the Pacific coast about ½ way down the Baja peninsular. It is 135K off the main highway across the flattest, driest desert I have ever seen. To say that it is remote is an understatement! The Bahia de Asuncion was our destination today.

David and Nancy had emailed us to say that they had to go to the immigration office in Guerrero Negro to fill out some paper work. Since we would be passing close to this location we made sketchy cell phone plans to attempt a rendezvous.

Just north of Guerrero Negro is the state line between north and south Baja. There is a check point on the highway at this location. At the check point we noticed a parked car with BC plates under a a sign for the immigration office. Hmmm! Might this car belong to Nancy and Dave? We stopped and the vague meeting plans became a reality. David and Nancy led us to Tony's taco stand and we enjoyed some great fresh and tasty fish tacos for lunch.

Since David and Nancy had some errands to do, they gave us directions and we headed off for Asuncion. Asuncion is about 100K from Guerrero as the crow flies... but 180K by road. The road is paved most of the way. The final 15K is still under construction. On the Baja, if it isn't paved, it is sand. What a long 15K! Some of the road was only sand over a hard packed gravel. That was OK but other parts were soft bottomless sand. Linda walked as I plowed through it on the bike. Lucky Linda caught a ride to town in the first car caught up to us. Then David and Nancy caught up to me and went ahead to find Linda. Solo on the bike, I made better time and I reached town a few minute behind them and they led the way to our B&B.

I'm reluctant to tell anybody about Asuncion. Perhaps I should say that it's just like the Bay of LA and discourage anyone from going there but it is anything but. Dave, if you came here, I don't think you would ever want to return to Canada.

We are staying for a couple of days at least... more about Asuncion tomorrow.

El Rosario to Bahía de los Angeles

No road construction today!.. and not much traffic either. Today's challenge was the wind. We traveled 300K through arid hills and desert plains. At times it was struggle to not be blown off the road, especially when passing oncoming trucks. The scenery was interesting though. The desert landscape changed throughout the ride.

There is, what I call beautiful desert and ugly desert. The ugly desert is flat dry land with with sparse vegetation and a boring blandness. On the other hand.. the rolling terrain filled with tall cactus, bushes and rocks is interesting and attractive. Perhaps it was the hills and curves that made it interesting ,but this terrain made for a much more pleasant ride. I never thought I'd say I, but this really was “attractive desert”.

Bahai de LA is 60K off the main road. It is a paved road all the way to the Gulf of California coast. The “Bay of LA” is one of the main check points in the Baja 1000 off-road race. It has also tried to develop a tourism economy... albeit unsuccessfully. To put it bluntly.. it is not worth the 60K side trip!

We found an overpriced hotel on the main drag. There were some Baja 1000 competitors staying there too and it was interesting talking to them about the race. The race doesn't start until November 17 so the people we talked to were riders/drivers and team members checking our the the course.

We found the locals unfriendly, the area not all that attractive and quite depressed.

Ensenada to El Rosario

After a leisurely morning in Ensenada sorting out a cell phone, getting some pesos and stopping for a latte and huevos rancheros, we managed to get on the road shortly before noon. Initially we only planned to travel 200K... 3 hours or so. Well, we didn't figure in another 30K of road construction detours and a multitude of small towns and villages with 40kph speed limits. On top of that it was "un dia de fiesta" (a holiday) so there was also lots of traffic.

In Mexico a Service Station really is a Service Station!

Another  30K detour

Towns like this are pretty close together... can't make good time.\
Perhaps that is why everyone seems to ignore the posted speed limits.

We took the time to check out a couple of accommodation options online before leaving Ensenada. There are not many hotels along this part of the highway. Some had good reviews. The Baja Catcus Hotel in El Rosario was one of them and it is a gem! It is located on the north side of town next to the Pemex. The appearance from the street is deceptive but the rooms and staff are first class... all for $30.

There are military checkpoints every so often.
Generally they wave us through but occasionally ask a question or two
about the purpose of the trip or our destination.

If you say it, you can buy it.
Check out that package!

Tomorrow, Bahia de L.A. or Guerrero Negro... see what time we get moving and what progress we make.