MC Raven Ride Report 37 - Potros, Corsairs, Ships and Trains

I arrived at the ferry terminal 2-hours early like they suggested. All that means is that I had to wait around in the sun for an extra 2-hours.

Leaving LaPaz

Ferry terminals are often confusing and, when you throw in all the truck traffic and a different language this one was even more so. Much like a border crossing, I had to prove I had my TVIP, they even made me drive the bike up onto the same scale that they weigh trucks on (I think that was mostly so they could charge me an extra $7 or so), go here, get this stamped, go there, pay some more money....

Eventually, I arrived at a place where they indicated I should park and wait for the call to board the ship. Not long after, a group of riders on Harley-type cruisers came along. Turns out they were from two different LaPaz based motorcycle clubs (Los Corsarios and Los Potros) traveling to the mainland for a ride up to Punta Prieta. It wasn't long before we were trading Alaska flag and walrus pins for club stickers and patches. They adopted me as a member and offered to help me find Los Mochis and a hotel for the night. I'm really glad they did. I'd have gotten lost for sure.

We stopped in Los Mochis for a late dinner at a roadside comedor then headed across town to the motel. I plan to do a blog entry on my various hotel experiences at a later time but, I should explain a little about 'Love Hotels'.

Just like you, I smirked when I heard about 'Love Motels' (nudge, nudge, wink, wink). To be fair though recal that in Mexico (indeed all of Latin America), young couples live with their parents and grandparents under one roof so, if a couple needs a night alone, they go to a 'Love Hotel'. These hotels/motels rent rooms by the hour or in 6-hour blocks. They usually have separate garages often with electric garage doors which are off the street for maximum privacy. Sure, sometimes someone brings a call girl to a Love Hotel but, I'd bet that more often than not, they're used by couples having a night away from the kids.

In any case, from my perspective, Love Hotels are great. They're usually very reasonably priced, clean and, since the bike is locked in a garage and secure, I don't have to worry about it (a major benefit).

So, yep; I got picked up by a couple of Mexican biker gangs and whisked off to a Love Hotel.

This particular motel turned out perfect for me as they agreed to lock my bike in a toolshed for a couple of days while I was able to take the train up to Creel and the Copper Canyon. (Of course, they knew they'd get another night of rental out of me when I returned for the bike so, it worked out good for all of us.)

CHEPE, the train goes from near sealevel at Los Mochis to more than 10,000 feet and passes through several distinct ecosystems; farm land, scrub high desert, pine and oak forests as it winds its way upward. The engineering necessary to build this railroad is phenomenal! It follows along valleys, through tunnels that open straight onto high bridges over rivers, cutting back on itself and circling up into the mountains.

The roadbed is in dire need of maintenance and, was in fact being worked on as I made my trip. Still, it's disconcerting to feel the car you're riding in lean over to this side while, when you look at the adjoining car, you see it leaning way over in the opposite direction! Overall, the trip takes about 8-hours and, was well worth it.

I rode as far as the town of Creel and spent the night at the Hotel Real. The Lonely Planet guide describes this hotel perfectly: from the outside it looks a little scruffy, located down a dirt street with a cluttered parking lot but, the room was enormous - big enough for three full-sized beds and had these wonderful murals on the walls. All that and walking distance to a pretty good restaurant for $250pesos/night.

Because of track maintenance, the train didn't make it to Creel so I had to take a bus back down the line to the next stop named Divisidero. Divisidero isn't a town, it's just a spot where the train stops but, because from there you can actually see into the Copper Canyon there are many food stands and souvenir stands.

The food stands are very interesting. The cooking surface is made of a 50-gallon barrel that has a wood fire going inside. The cooks (always women) make gorditas and cook them on top of this flat surface. A gordita looks kinda like an English muffin only made out of masa or cornmeal. Once cooked on both sides they're cut open and stuffed with the meat of your choice. Great street food and, very cheap too.

MC Raven Ride Report 36 - Update from LaPaz

I’d hoped to spend 2-weeks here attending the Spanish Language school; Se Habla…LaPaz however, financial concerns raised their ugly heads.

First, I screwed up on the TVIP (Temporary Vehicle Import Permit). I’d thought to help speed the process along by filling out the forms and paying via the Banjericita website then, just pick up the permit here in La Paz. In the event, it didn’t work out that way. Turns out that they mail your TVIP to your home address (in my case, North Pole) and, the local Banjericita branch can’t cancel a TVIP – that can only be done when you check out of the country. So, I could ride all the way back to Tijuana, leave the country and cancel the TVIP then, get a new one or, get a new TVIP here (making two total) and cancel both when I leave Mexico. Unusual, and will probably cause delay as I leave but, saves a trip back to Tijuana. End result as far as finances go: another $360 US gone ($300 for the TVIP + $60 handling fee).

Since I’m so close and had the time, I decided to ride over to Todos Santos. Some say (though the Eagles haven’t ever confirmed it) that the Hotel California of Eagles song fame is the same Hotel California you find in Todos Santos. I had to see it. While there, and my back was turned for just a second, someone stole my brand new (2-weeks old) Garmin Zumo 660 GPS! I’d just paid $300 + $59 (for the Mexico mapset download) for that GPS! After such a short time, I’d really come to depend upon it to navigate my way around strange cities. Gone just like that! End result as far as finances go (Part II): another $360 US gone. My travel budget has taken a $720 US hit in one week from things I could have avoided if I’d taken more time to check things out and watched my stuff a little better! In the event, the Hotel California looked just like any other Baja hotel only with lots of cruise ship’s mini-tour buses parked in front.

Both those expenses ended up keeping me from taking a 2-week course (with room and board). I settled for a 1-week stay and wasn’t disappointed. Se Habla is a great school with an attentive professional staff and a facility that would blow your socks off! My host family, Bernardo and Hilda, made the stay absolutely perfect. Bernardo is a professional chef who’s trying to start a catering business here in La Paz. The food, included in the price of the homestay, was superb! Watching Bernardo and Hilda work together in the kitchen is like watching a ballet. Each moves from task to task without hindering the other. All the while there’s a continuous round of jokes, songs and banter. I tried to arrive 15-minutes before mealtimes just to watch the preparation process.

I'd gotten to LaPaz just in time for Dia de Muertes (1 November). Celebrated mostly in Mexico, here in LaPaz, the whole city turns out for the fun. Downtown at the Theatro were 2-nights of costume competition, Ballet Folklorico dancing and great street food. Myself and several other studentss from SeHabla went and had a great time.

One of the ways Mexicans celebrate Dia De Muertes is to make altars in their homes to help the passed family members travel to the other side. Called los Arcos, they always have the following four components representing Air, Fire, Water and Earth. Usually, Fire is represented by candles, Water is represented by either water or liquor (usually tequilla), Earth is represented by fruits and Air is represented by pierced paper (picada) that moves with the wind.

Also on these altars are mirrors, pictures of the loved one, special things that they loved: favorite foods, pictures of children/grandchildren, treasured possessions, etc.

At the Theatro, there were Arcos for other people too like the one in the picture for Frieda Kalo and my favorite the Arco for El Santo the great  Lucha Libre wrestler.

Along with the Arcos, there's the competition of the Catrinas. Catrinas came about as a way for the common people to mock the wealthy 1% during the early part of the 20th century.  Based on a political cartoon by (I think; Diego Rivera), Catrinas portray wealthy Mexicans wearing the latest Parisian fashion; except, these wealthy people are dead and skeletons. The message is that death is the great equalizer.

Anyway, people of all ages spend months perfecting their costumes for the competition. They parade around the grounds of the Theatro and the populace votes on who has the best costume. I've included a picture of my favorite. She was adorable. Imagine how much work went into that dress and hat. Many costumes were even more elaborate. I'm told that, often the winner is a man in drag.

My homestay family, Bernardo and Hilda were the best I could have asked for. Often times, as his schedule requires, Hilda's brother Pepe stays with them.  I feel like I really made friends in LaPaz. Hilda and I still text one another – she's following my journey via this blog too.
As it always is, it's tough to leave such wonderful people.

MC Raven Ride Report 35 - Butterflies are free

Would have been pretty uneventful but for the butterflies.

The entire way from Mag Bay I was riding through swarms of yellow butterflies. The locals call them Sulfurs. I'd started seeing them a couple of days before.

Just outside La Paz is a military checkpoint. Just seconds before I arrived at the checkpoint, one of the butterflies flew up the left sleeve of my jacket. Not wanting to alarm the guard by stopping, (never a good idea - alarming a serious young man with a big rifle) I proceeded up to the soldier (butterfly moving up the inside of my sleeve, flapping the entire time). "Donde va?" (Where are you going?) "De donde LaPaz? (giggle, giggle)." Soldier gives me a strange look (Butterfly makes his way to my armpit!) "Where are you from" (Eyeballs bulging grimace on face - must keep from laughing!) "Heh, heh, a donde Alaska." "Go ahead, derecho" "Buena's Dias" (giggle, giggle).

I rode 100 yards up the road and jumped out of my jacket. The butterfly, dazed and flying strangely, took off. "Fly, be free!"  I made it to La Paz without getting shot (always a good thing).

I rode through LaPaz and all the way out to the ferry terminal at Pichilingue then returned to find a place to spend the night.

On the way into town Id passed a campground? Campestre Maranantha - looked like a nice place so, I headed in. I ended up spending most of the week before language school and 2-nights after here at Campesstre Maranantha. Great staff, well kept, clean facility, short ride to Walmart and right on the route to LaPaz's malecon and sea front.

MC Raven Ride Report 34 - Sea of Cortez to the Pacific in One Swell Foop

I spent most of the ride to Loreto kicking myself for not just staying a little longer and getting to know Susan better. Nice beach, great views and wildlife, friendly woman - why was I in such a big hurry?

Without going into Loreto proper I filled my tank and turned off the highway to go visit the Mission San Xavier. According to the Lonely Planet guide, the mission is one of the oldest in Baja and boasts a 300-year old olive tree so, I headed that way.

After about 4-miles, the road turned from asphalt to dirt and large cobblestones. Then, headed straight up a hill. The front tire caught a rock at the wrong angle and down I went. Oh well, start unloading and try to pick it up.

Soon, a van full of tourists came along and helped me pick up the bike. I reloaded and made my way up the slope. A tough climb but I made it. After the dirt/cobble section, the road curves then, follows a narrow shelf along the cliffside. In places that road had collapsed and was down to one very thin 'lane'.

Reaching the top of the cliff, I continued along as the road followed a small river. Where the river crossed the road were washes (vados) that were made of cement rather than asphalt. Growing on the surface of that cement was a thick, slimmy, slippery, black or green algae. I made it through the first vado (a short crossing) but felt my back tire break loose so, I slowed down to 5-8mph for the next one.

Just like trying to walk on glass with Vaseline smeared on it. Bike went down again: it, and I slid through the wash with a great splashing of water (I wish someone had been there to video that moment). Soon, the same van of tourists came along and picked Raven up again then sped away. I guess they'd had enough with rescuing fallen bikers.

I tried crossing 3 more vados and fell each time. Each time, someone came along and helped pick up the bike again. Eventually, someone asked the obvious question "How are you going to get back down again?" "I was going to continue on over to the main highway and Cuidad Insurgentes" I answered. "This road doesn't continue after the mission."

I decided I really didn't want to see the 300-year old olive tree after all. I was pissed off, wet, depressed and my bike had many new dents to the saddlebags and scratches on the crashbars. How, indeed, am I going to get back?
Before attempting to cross down the vado, I walked through the water and scuffed my feet. Trying to find the best traction. Turns out that (in some cases anyway) the algae doesn't grow as thickly along the upslope edge of the wash. The first 6-inhes or so is almost algae free.

Going slower than walking pace with my feet out like outriggers I was able to cross the vados without falling. Passed the cliff with the missing lane to the top of the incredibly steep cobblestone dirt road. Right there, near the top of the dirt section, the front wheel found a rut that trapped the tire and down went the bike again!

Earlier, while we were talking, Susan told me that she has a motorcycle but doesn't ride it anymore. She'd dropped it by locking up the brakes in her parking space and it fell down. The experience frightened and intimidated her into quitting riding. "Don't worry about that." I told her. "Everyone drops their bike sometimes. I drop mine twice a month: no big deal." I'd just dropped mine 6 or 7 times in 2-hours! It was a very big deal to me! I'm sorry for my superior attitude Susan. I should have stayed and gotten to know you better.

This time I actually went into Loreto to buy some agua purificata and try to find a bookstore where I could buy a Spanish/English dictionary. Loreto is a pretty town with cobblestone streets (I know where they got the stones) and a malecon by the bayside.

I found the bookstore, refilled my tank, got water and headed out of there.

After Loreto Highway Mex 1 heads up into the desert as it crossed Baja to the Pacific side. Right in the middle is Cuidad Insurgentes and just south of there is Cuidad Constitution. both ugly, dusty cities with no reason to be there except as a place to refill your tank. So, I opted to continue on to Magdalena Bay - where the humpback whales come each year.

As it heads across Baja, Mex 1 runs straight east/west so, I spent the entire day riding right into the sun. By the time I arrived at San Carlos, I was nearly blind from the sun and sweat. It was just getting dark when I arrived. Too late in the year for whale watching. Hotel (Brannigan I think) was nice with good wifi and, only $30 per night.

I was dirty, muddy, sweaty, feeling sorry for myself and crabby.

I should have stayed and gotten to know Susan better. Turns out, meeting Susan was the highlight of my day too.