We awoke bright and early around 6:20 with the intent to get to Guerrero Negro before nightfall. We moved a little slower than anticipated and had a nice cup of coffee with David a fellow adventure rider we bumped into the night before. David was a white South African, born in what was Rhodesia. After living in South Africa and retiring from his advertising company David had decided to ride around the world for six years on a motorbike, a BMW GS650: a somewhat heavier and more road oriented version of our own bikes. David offered up some real coffee and we obliged. Without a filter he poured the grounds and hot water directly into our cups. I had done this once in the past with mixed results. The key is to stir the grounds until they sink to the bottom. Chris took two swigs and dumped his in the bathroom and then made instant coffee, I gritted my teeth and endured the texture. Meanwhile, David went on about a great deal of interesting things. David felt he had lost his home for the second time, as South Africa had become too dangerous for even this adventurer.
On the road by 9:00 and on our way. The roads were now all highway and we feared they might be slow. The opposite was true, the road were quite clear in Baja. One could easily do what ever his bike would and skills would permit for the majority of the trip with the exceptional slow vehicle and topo (Mexican speed bump) here and there. We drove along the coast for the majority of the morning. Before heading slightly east into the interior we found some single track dirt trails to the water. Here we burned some beans and served them in flour tortillas we purchased from the Oxxo (Mexican Plaid Pantry). The food may have been terrible but we loved it just the same. The cost was similar to most of what we has seen in the us and before Enesenada, stunning as ever but this was the first time we has seen dunes and Pelicans.
Pictures from our luch side track
Full and ready to leave we pushed talked about our destination and strategies upon arrival then headed off. The road winded thought some hills and the road became quite bad in places. All maintainance was done by hand with a crew that fit in a pickup truck. We passed several accidents but this was becoming normal after our experiences in Tijuana an Enesenada. Night fell and we found the visibility conditions to be terrible. The lack of reflectors, rumble strips and fresh paint made staying on the correct side of the road difficult. Dull yellow looks similar to white especially when you are staring into oncoming traffic. We arrived in Guerrero Negro with a little adrenaline on our breaths and quite fatigued. It was time to get off the road.
Our first stop was at the hotel and restaurant know for it's excellent seafood. This was a bit of a tourist destination with whale tours only a few miles away. The Lonely Planet suggestion proved to be good again with an excellent diet of fresh fish we hoped back on our bikes in search of a campground on the beach. Fifteen miles of dirt road through a sea salt production facility and we found our spot. The sky was all stars, not even the moon polluted the sky. It was so clear you could tell the color and twinkling of stars you had never seen before. The milky way was not just a haze but a band of tiny lights, we could see by the star light. The tent was pulled out for the first time and we were fast asleep ready looking forward to the next day.
400 miles in total
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