Mainland Mexico!

A note of thanks to everyone I met in La Paz. I had a wonderful experience at Se Habla thanks to Julie, Andrea, and my amazing teachers: Adriana, Jassiel, and Alfonso. If you're looking to learn or improve your spanish, I would definitely reccomend this school.
A big thanks to my American friends, also learning Spanish, for many wonderful dinner parties and lots of laughs. 

Perfect frittata created by Kaitlin and friends

And of course, I couldn't have asked for a better host family. Two weeks of good conversation and delicious food at their welcoming house was an unforgettable experience.

Alicia and Vicente- my mexican grandparents!

It was hard to say goodbye to my friends in the beautiful city of La Paz, but also exciting to embark on the next leg of our journey. We arrived a little early at the ferry terminal and hung out in the shade of a palapa at a nearby beach while waiting. Some clear blue water, soft sand and Bob Marley made for a pristine waiting experience. 

Ugly waiting area next to ferry

When it was time to load the ferry there was some confusion because there are no signs at the terminal. Luckily various people helped us out and soon our tickets were being checked as a giant 18 wheeler backed up less than a foot away from us. With our bikes securely tied up below deck, we made our way to the 'salon,' a room filled with airplane style seats and a giant TV which movies played on for the majority of the ride. Up a flight of steep stairs was a deck where we could watch the sun set and where everyone else on the boat was purchasing cocktails. Overall, the ride was great. We were served beans and rice with tortillas for dinner and more tortillas and beans for breakfast. In addition, we met some interesting people including Zach and Zoe, a couple from Pensylvania, and an interesting guy from Mazatlan, Agustin, who told us about many places to go.

Zoe and Zach, new friends 

View from the deck

Cruising towards land, we saw some giant whales leaping and playing in the waves. It was exciting to see the outline of Mazatlan approach on the horizon and it hardly seemed important that we had arrived two hours late at port (typical Mexico).

Once in port we happily met up with our friend Dan, whom we met in Pincher Creek, Canada. He and his wife Caroline have a winter house down here in Mazatlan and have generously offered to let us stay for as long as we like. This afternoon we enjoyed some wonderful meals with them and Dan gave us an incredible tour of the old city, which feels very European. 

Vibrant sunset over the ocean 

After reviewing the road maps with our friends this evening, we are happy and excited for all the adventures to come on the mainland!

Sandboarding and Whale Sharks, January 18-19

This past Sunday we met up with our friends Robert, Sabrina, Philip, and Nici, fellow Trans-America cyclists whom we had met a few weeks ago.  They invited us to go sandboarding with them and their friend Frida, and we gladly went along and enjoyed a day sliding down dunes and swimming in the ocean.

Sabrina looking like a pro

Robert going down sideways 

Tam and Sabrina

Today, Monday, the weather was perfect, and we took a tour out in the bay to see and swim with some whale sharks!  It was absolutely incredible being so close to these enormous and gentle creatures; in fact, until you're so close, it's tough to comprehend just how gigantic they are: 4-8 meters (13-26 feet) long.  And these are juveniles.

Better photos to come on the Flickr page

Stories From the Ranch, January 5-16

As you already know, I spent the last two weeks helping out on a ranch just outside of Laz Paz.  I found it through WWOOF (World-Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms), an international organization that connects prospective farm volunteers with prospective hosts.  Generally volunteers work in exchange for room and board; specifics of work hours, equipment, and accommodations are all up to the specific farms to work out with their volunteers. 

With all that I devote to food in time and money, and the proven importance of good nutrition, I know so little about where my food comes from and how it's grown or made.  From this ignorance came the impetus for WWOOFing: to lessen the gap between me and my food.  The ranch at which I worked for these past weeks did not grow food, but I learned a whole lot about caring for goats, cows, and chickens, not to mention about the processes of cheese making and generally running a ranch.  My daily duties involved milking the cow and goats and taking them out to pasture, as well as helping out in whatever capacity I could.  Sometimes I cooked, other times I constructed, and other times I organized.

Helping the goats reach some yummy branches

Since none of the above is terribly interesting, I'd like to share just a simple story about one day's foray into the mountains.  Background: I or another volunteer hiked every day into the hills with the female goats, 33 of them in total.

Chiguil

From my journal:

1/13? Tuesday

Hiking with Tomas and the goats.  Instead of going up an arroyo (a dry streambed with many trees and plants), we followed a ridge.  The vegetation was sparser for the goats, but there was always something leafy to eat.  It was a narrow and steep pasture, tough going for us two-legged creatures.  Finally we topped out on the main ridge.  The hills opened up to sky in all directions; I could see for miles, and it was now apparent that the main ridge, which we were now on, continued far up into the high cliffs, a buttress for the crumbling pink bands.  Tomas said he was fine alone with the goats, so I set off solo, just for a bit, with only the little dog, Chiguil, coming along. I walked all the way up until I could go no farther, surrounded by desert and wind and streaking sky and thinking that ridge-walking is my favorite kind of walking.  When I finally reached the wide band of pink conglomerate that turned vertical to mark my point of no return, I stopped and sat for a bit.  In front of me, the shore just a few miles away, was the Sea of Cortez, a shimmering jewel, blue under the pale sky, with rugged, untamed islands poking up out of the surface in the distance.  From my vantage point, perched way up there, it seemed as if the bay were a shallow tongue of the larger expanse, extended temporarily and kept there by the thin line of white along the edges, the caulk holding the pure sea desperately to its blotched, undeserving brother, the land.  If I should watch for long enough, maybe, with a great, churning roar, it would slide back into its greater self again.  

But my eyes had other things to see.  The cliffs, the cliffs!  The pink band near the top, so interesting looking as to draw me in from afar, was cut and eroded with huecos and fins, large and small, poking out here and intruding there into the seemingly solid mass, everything curving and fluid, solid and smooth, arching and flat, everywhere, all at once.  It colored the mesa for miles, a life-sized ribbon to my right and left.  Below were a series of ledges replete with boundless gems to equal or surpass the brilliant ocean beyond: lupines and asters, yarrows and others, a lively contrast to the xericity of the stark, vertiginous walls and the surrounding desert.  And, as if all this weren't enough, the sibilant notes of the canyon wren filled what little space was left around me, the perfectly tuned whistles cascading and dashing off the walls and into my ears.  After a minute I saw the curious bird bouncing and flitting around from place to place, room to room, in its majestic home.  Then down I went to find Tomas and the goats, enriched in mind forever by experience.

Adventures With Goats!

Danny and I both had great, but extremely different weeks.
My family in La Paz is simply wonderful. All week they cooked me delicious traditional mexican food and helped me practice spanish. Mostly I talked with Alicia and Vicente, young grandparents.
Vicente is an amazing artist and spent a whole afternoon showing me his artwork and different techniques.
Se Habla La Paz has been a good experience so far. This first week I had two young and energetic teachers- Adriana and Jassiel- who were both awesome. The other students in my class were extremely fun to work and learn with. Kaitlin, Memo, and Jason thanks for all the laughs!
Outside of school I've been trying to explore the city a bit and on Friday I went to a nearby beach. I didn't think it was possible, but this beach was more beautiful than La Bahia de Concepcion.

Sunset at the beach

While I've been living the city life, Danny has been out at the ranch. Duties each day include milking the cow and putting her and the young bull out to pasture, hiking with the goats so that they can graze on the tasty desert plants, and feeding and milking the goats. In between all of this Danny built a chicken coop so that they can start collecting eggs from the chickens.

This weekend I went out to the ranch and had a fantastic time. Danny works with two other WOOFers- Thomas and Clement- both from France. They were great to spend time with. On Saturday I helped Miguel (the owner of the ranch) paint a sign to advertise his goat cheeses. 

The new sign (I only had black and white paint)

Today Danny and I went hiking with the goats for 5 hours. They are gentle and agile creatures.

Danny helping the goats reach some delicious leaves

Part of the herd 

One of the goats named Duna always waited for me if I got stuck behind.

Spectacular vistas with the goats 

So cute 

Dogs all chilling in the shade after a long morning hiking with the goats

Both Danny and I are both looking forward to one more week at our respective homes.

Happy New Year! Jan 1st-4th

Our New Year's Eve is pretty quiet, but we meet two fabulous travelers: John and Claudia. These two have been traveling in a Land Rover, driving off road as much as possible and going on  exciting side trips (biking, hiking, packrafting, etc.) They say that they're headed to Argentina as well but that they'll probably take 6 years. 

Jan 1st 2015

After sleeping in we spend the morning with John who has graciously offered to help us with some bike maintenance. After re-greasing my bottom bracket, removing Danny's cassette with our handy tool, and doing various other small tune-ups, our bikes are ready to enter the new year in style! 

Thank you John for spending so much time helping and teaching us about bikes.

John and Claudia with thier awesome Adventuremobile. It was great meeting you two!

After a few errands in town it's almost 2:00pm by the time we leave. However, thanks to a flat road and tailwind, by 4:30 we've already completed 40 miles and decide to stop early. The sun set is beautiful over the desert mountains and the moon is so bright we don't need flashlights.

So many good moments in the past year to treasure, and so many more good ones to come. :-) 

Jan 2nd 

Neither of us is excited to ride through more desert today. Luckily, 20 miles in our day is made by the appearance of a small town with a Tortilleria. Here we buy huge amounts of fresh, homemade tortillas and locally made cheese. La señora who sells us these items also gives us 6 liters of water for free- a rare find in the desert. 

All afternoon the biking is tough. The road is hilly, the traffic is terrible because we are approaching La Paz, and we have a headwind. Even though there is still light to bike, we pull over in the desert to camp. I decide that today is the day we will eat the Snickers bar I have carried from Tok, Alaska. I was saving it for a special day, but really everyday on our trip is special. Plus, I just really feel like a Snickers.

Jan 3rd 

Early in the morning we already have a strong cross/headwind. Thankfully the traffic has died down a bit, perhaps because it is Saturday. About 25 miles into our ride we hit construction.

Awful road- people still driving like crazy.

 The whole road has been torn apart and we are left with several long stretches of sandy, dusty and wash boarded gravel. After gritting our teeth through some nasty riding, we find that part of the new road has been finished and is still closed to cars. Those little barriers can't stop bikes! Now we're riding on wide, long stretches of fresh pavement with no cars or dust. Hooray!

Our bike lane.

 

Instead of biking into La Paz, we turn left on a different road and head to the ranch where Danny will be working for the next two weeks. The scenery is spectacular; giant cacti and sparkling ocean on the right, colorful striated mountains on the left. At the ranch we are greeted by a wonderful crew of people: Miguel, the owner, Clement, a WWOOFer from France, and Lorenzo, a WWOOFer from Mexico. The ranch was hit hard by the recent hurricane, but is still beautiful and completely sustainable. All of the animals appear happy and well fed, and the many varieties of cow and goat cheese look delicious.  We spend a lovely evening learning a bit about the ranch and baking bread in a wood fired oven.

A couple low light pictures of the ranch.

Danny will of course have more stories to post after his stay. 

Jan 4th

We wake up early to a cacophony of roosters, long before sunrise. Such is life in rural Mexico. 

Sunrise from our tent.

Miguel and crew are driving into La Paz today so they give me a lift. Outside of Walmart we part ways and I bike off to find my homestay. It's not long before I'm meeting Alicia and Vicente at their beautiful home in La Paz. They have a whole separate studio apartment for me to stay in complete with bed, bathroom, and kitchen! After traveling by bike and camping, such luxury is rather overwhelming. I hang up my two shirts in the closet. 

In the afternoon we go shopping for some food and school supplies. Alicia patiently listens to me struggle to tell her about myself in Spanish and makes some delicious food. What a wonderful place I have found!

The view from my new apartment.

It's crazy to think that I'm going to school tomorrow. What a change from the usual.

Stunning Beaches and Windy Deserts Dec. 27th-31st

From the journal of Tamara

Dec. 27th

It was pretty much a perfect morning, tailwind, flat road, sunshine, sparkling blue Sea of Cortez on the left and jagged desert mountains on the right. It wasn't long before we were in the town of Mulege, where we bumped into the Austrian cyclists again and decided to bike with them to a beach on the Bahia de Concepcion.

They have a lot more stuff than we do! 

It made for some fun times on the beach with warm food and music.

Turns out, the bahia (bay) is simply amazing. There is no noise and no development except for small shelters known as palapas made from palm leaves. The sand is white and dotted with perfect shells. The water is clear, aqua blue, and shallow for a long way out. Did we find paradise?

On the beach we met two German cyclists riding a tandem bike from Alaska to Argentina as well as some other friendly traveling Europeans.  We stayed up late talking and sharing stories. 

Check out Robert and Sabrina's blog. (The two German cyclists) 

Tandem2go.de 

Dec. 28th 

People come to this beach planning to stay a day and instead stay for weeks. We were also easily sucked in. After a morning of painting and sand sculptures, Danny and I borrowed goggles from Robert and Sabrina and went swimming out to a small reef. In the clear waters we spotted stingrays, pufferfish, red coral, schools of small stripy and clear fish, and sea stars. What an amazing underwater world! To warm up after our swim we hiked around and did some bird watching. A nighttime campfire with our new European friends sealed the deal on a wonderful day.

A painting I did on the tandem.

Phillip, Nikki, Jakob, Robert and Sabrina- you guys are awesome! See you down the road.

Dec. 29th

After enjoying an amazing sunrise over the water, we sadly said goodbye to the beautiful beach and our friends. Our morning ride took us from beach to beach along the pristine bay, each stunning in its own way. Unfortunately, the road turned inland and we were in the desert for the rest of the day. 

After 70 miles of hard riding we happily greeted the town of Loreto. Here we found a hotel at a good price, and Mike, the friendly guy who we met in San Ignacio on Christmas. 

Our friend Mike

Mike generously took us out for a simply delicious dinner of giant burritos and flan, and introduced us to several of his friends in the area. Rick and Andrea it was great to meet you! And Mike, we can't thank you enough for everything. 

Dec. 30th 

After a late night out we slept in and spent the morning exploring Loreto. The street by the ocean known as the malecon is beautifully developed with tiled sidewalks, stylish hotels and restaurants. It was unlike anything we had seen in Mexico. 

The Malecon

After riding along the ocean for a few blocks we turned back into town on a cobblestone pedestrian street. Here little shops line the way, and trees are cut to form archways over the road. In the main square is the oldest mission in Baja, a gorgeous historic building with a iconic bell tower and stained glass windows. 

The Mission 

Riding out of town we enjoyed the blue waters of the Sea of Cortez for 20 more miles before turning inland to the coastal, deserty mountains. 

Goodbye ocean

Hello mountains!

Here we started the hill we had been warned about, twisting steeply up and up and up. Despite the heat we pedaled hard and made good time. It helped that the scenery was fantastic. Unfortunately the hill didn't really end; it just turned into more smaller hills and we picked up a headwind. Very tired after 40 miles, we stopped at a small place selling burritos and asked to camp. Before we had even finished speaking the guy was smiling, nodding his head, showing us where to camp, and taking orders for burritos. Such nice people here.

Our campsite

Dec. 31st

We woke up early and enjoyed our now standard breakfast of avocados and tortillas. Avocados are so cheap and delicious here we each eat at least 1 a day. 

After a few hills, our road flattened out and we zoomed through expansive desert into farm country. Here the traffic picked up but thankfully the road widened to 4 lanes. Since it's New Year's Eve we decided to stop early at a small, well maintained campground. We're mixing up some special salsa for dinner tonight and relaxing. 

Feliz Año Nuevo!

Some Photos

Our narrative will be updated at some point soon.

With Philip and Nikki, Cyclists from Austria

Bahia de Concepcion

Baja Mountains

Sea of Cortez!

It was sad to say goodbye to the wonderful oasis we discovered at Casa Leree, but we were also excited to reach some warm ocean water. Late morning we said goodbye to Juanita and her wonderful family of dogs. Juanita, we can't thank you enough for everything!

The puppy could ride here and I wouldn't even notice!

Our road soon brought us to a wide desert valley in the shadow of Volcan tres virgines, a volcano so large that its top was shielded in clouds.

 The volcanic landscape provided for interesting scenery as we began a spectacular winding desent down into another large desert plain. Here, the clouds dissipated somewhat and a tailwind picked up! What luck we've had with winds recently!
In no time at all we had a beautiful view of the Sea of Cortez far below. Thus began the steepest descent of my life. Whoever built this road forgot that there's a lot of truck traffic. We didn't measure but the grades were easily over 20%.
Our welcome to the ocean was not as picturesque as you might imagine. The road became rutted and filled with huge potholes. We passed the dump and then the large copper mine, which is the main reason why the town of Santa Rosalia exists. Once in town we admired the church designed entirely out of steel by the same architect who created the Eiffel Tower of France, enjoyed some bread from a famous local bakery, and met two cyclists from Austria also biking from Alaska to Argentina!
Looking forward to sandy beaches tomorrow.
- Tamara

Desert Oasis, December 24-25

We set off from Guerrero Negro early, trying to make it as close as we could to San Ignacio, a true desert oasis, where we would spend Christmas Day.  The riding started off well with a tailwind!  I put an exclamation point there because tailwinds are just so exciting for us, especially on this ride:

Not much to entertain the eyes.  Getting through the desert as fast as possible was the name of the game.  We did see a crested caracara, a large, eagle-like bird native to the Baja, but apart from that, it was pretty boring.  45 miles later, and a whole lot closer to those mountains in the distance in the picture, we reached the town of Vizcaino.  The tailwind was still blasting, and the hope of reaching San Ignacio that day entered our minds.  Maybe, just maybe, if the tailwind stayed with us.

The tailwind did stay with us - for about twenty more miles.  Then the wind changed completely, and we found ourselves biking into the wind, yet, by this time, motivated to make it to San Ignacio.  The sun started to set... My odometer said 79 miles... It must be over the next hill!  But it wasn't there, and we kept going.  And going, and going, and going, until it was almost dark.  Finally, about 7 miles after where it should have been according to our map, we saw a town in the distance.  San Ignacio!  We stayed at the first hotel we came to, a spacious and quiet place called Rice and Beans.

The next morning, Christmas morning, we rode a few miles into the town of San Ignacio.  Amidst the swaying palms is the town plaza, at the head of which is the old mission, a grand and wonderfully preserved building.

Next to the plaza is a place called Casa Leree, which houses a bookstore and a comprehensive history of the area and its surroundings.  Until recently it was also a nice bed and breakfast.  The proprietor, historian, and former innkeeper is a soft-spoken lady originally from San Francisco named Juanita, who moved down here a number of years ago.  We weren't sure if her place was open for Christmas Day (it's also her home), but she welcomed us right in and showed us around.  Within a few minutes, she had invited us to her dinner that night, as well as to stay at her place that night!  People are wonderful.  

The Entrance to Casa Leree

Juanita

Juanita has two incredibly cute puppies.  And, recently, a canyon wren has moved in and built a nest on a support beam in the old barn, which is now the living room.  The house and yard are open and colorful, surrounded by shade trees and upbeat music from the neighboring houses.  It is a place of peace, an oasis within the oasis.  We are so fortunate to have been able to spend the day there.

After wandering around the town, cooking food for the dinner, and painting/birdwatching at the river, we headed to dinner at Tootsie's, a local restaurant owned by a Canadian couple. The entire English-speaking community of San Ignacio was there, along with a few guests like us, for a total of maybe 25 people.  We brought some salad and quinoa stir fry and enjoyed all the delicious dishes prepared by other guests and by the owners of Tootsie's.  We also met a bunch of fantastic people and had a great time in general.  What a wonderful day in San Ignacio!

Guerrero Negro

In the dusty little town of Guerrero Negro, population 13,000, there are three small bike shops and a bird refuge!  And, of course, 100 taco stands, just like every other town.  We spent today birdwatching, doing laundry, figuring out our future on the internet, and eating a meal without tortillas for the first time in over a week.

The bird refuge 

A spit of sand poking into the ocean

Zaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa