Melting in Mexico

Buenos Dias!

I'm sorry 'So long' has been so long.  We are now in mainland Mexico on a rest day in a pretty little town called Ajiji on the shores of Lake Chapala and it's the first time that sufficient energy and connectivity have coincided for many a day.  Just when we thought it would all get easier with many miles already banked in strong legs, humid heat introduced a whole new challenge that has been hard to manage; we've arrived in camp fit for little more than shower, eat, rest.  And I guess we're at that strange 'so near and yet so far' stage where thoughts are already turning to the joys of home yet mixed with sadness at the end of a rich, intense experience and the prospect of some difficult farewells.

Baja California became evermore beautiful, wild and peaceful as we rode south to finish in the lively port of La Paz.  Often parallel to the sea, the road was genuinely 'rollink hillz' and exhilarating riding enhanced by sightings of dolphins, soaring seabirds and amazing forests of cacti and palms. 

Cacti strutting their stuff

Camps were informal and memorable; the local priest in one small town offered us shelter in the the church grounds and we woke to a glorious sunrise and the uplifting sounds of morning mass.

Rain on our final day on the peninsula meant we rode into town looking ready for the kiln and the next day our 18 hour ferry crossing to Mazatlan was overcast and photos disappointing.

Approaching Mazatlan, a small island white with guano

Mazatlan was the beginning of a different Mexico.  The warmth and welcome of the people has been delightful since we crossed the border but this was developed tourist territory with all the hassle and bustle we had been happy to avoid.  It was fun to leave on a small water taxi, nursing our bikes nervously, to begin the ride south to Puerte Vallarta. 

Cosy fit for 7 bikes, 7 riders and the Captain!

And this was where the heat, humidity and mosquitoes hit hardest.  At the first turn of the pedals everything seemed to liquefy even early in the day; by mid-morning it was a battle to stay hydrated, sane(?) and un-bitten.  Inevitably we have to ride some major highways and the burning tarmac, noise and fumes from the traffic topped off with heightened anxiety can be pretty taxing.  To help us cope our accommodation on this section has often been in hotels on riding days, some very basic but some with air conditioning and a pool :-))

Still in our cycling kit...

As well as resorts and beaches there are huge wetlands where half the world's supply of shrimps are farmed and fished.  

I loved the calm, slightly surreal atmosphere of these watery plains.

Three days ago we left the coast, turning east towards our final goal in Mexico City.  We climbed over 4000 metres in the first two days through dense tropical and eventually pine forest.  It was great to feel the temperature and humidity drop, smell the lush, fresh greenery and see the drapes of Morning Glories in every shade from deep blue-purple to vibrant turquoise.  

Since Mazatlan we've been joined by Mexicans Geraldo and Jose, both ardent cyclists, immensely and justifiably proud of their country and keen for us to enjoy the best of it.  Geraldo is a gifted mountain biker who now coaches the young Mexican team for Olympic qualification and is an influential figure in all aspects of the country's cycling activities.  Both men have given unstinting support to us in so many ways and it's great fun to have them along.

It's time to say 'So long' again and attend to the increasingly derelict kit I like to call my laundry!

Just one more picture of a typically colourful Mexican town and I think this is probably the penultimate posting until we reach Mexico City, inshallah.

Oh, and a pretty Mexican coffee.

And finally, these figures are macabre to see but made in the spirit that life is just one brief episode in the whole and death to be celebrated, not feared...

Till quite soon,

Viv x

Hoorah, hoorah, hoorah, nous sommes a la plage!!!

I had a highly romantic vision of the Baja California with azure sea, white sand and all the things the brochure promised.  Leaving Mexicali in throbbing heat to cross grubby salt flats, featureless but for a few skeletal remains of long-abandoned projects was not in the script.  It's been a seven day stretch, starting down the east coast where things steadily improved and two nights camping on the beach, swimming in the soft warm waters of the Sea of Cortes brought the dream a little closer.  It was fun to watch pairs of pelicans fishing industriously; floating on my back watching frigate birds glide elegantly above was a perfect antidote to sweating away the miles on the bike.  Temperatures have often been in the upper forties centigrade even in the morning.  Don't mention the mosquitoes.

Salt flats south of Mexicali

Entry to the southern region.

Getting greener

Cactus forests on all sides as we go further south.

White sands at last.

Camping on the beach.

They're far faster and more agile than their rather gawky shape suggests.

The road from San Felipe across the peninsula to Guerro Negro on the Pacific coast is yet to be completed and included an 'exciting' section of rough dirt on our way to the middle of nowhere.  The camp site was posted as Rancho Laguna Chapala and we arrived in high hopes, unfortunately a few millennia too late for the lagoon.  Undoubtedly the grottiest place we've camped and the total absence of any competition was evident in every sphere.  Guerro Negro itself is a centre for whale watching in the season but other times a desolate place, its only saving graces a good coffee shop and a hotel bed for the night!

Travelling off the beaten track is what I love and the occasional physical discomforts are entirely compensated by everything I see and, above all, the people I meet.  In the absence of any public sites, Victor, the General Manager of a huge tomato and cucumber growing project, generously allowed us to camp on his land.  His wife offered us the facilities of their beautiful straw-built house, made us cold drinks while we waited and the little boy showed us around, confident and sociable, aged four.  It seemed a hostile environment for such water-hungry plants but underground resources are the key and the climate allows for two crops a year.  Victor employs three hundred workers and explained that he has twenty big supermarket customers; between them they demand fifty different types of packaging....

Camping at Victor's - the tent the only thing without a fly....

Each day of the trip is only possible because of my bike yet it hardly gets a mention!  Last rest day I cleaned it, changed the oil in the Rohloff Hubgear, replaced the back brake blocks and adjusted the chain and that is the first serious maintenance since I started over five thousand miles ago.  Apart from pumping the tyres, cleaning the chain and the occasional sluice down it has required no attention whatsoever and runs ever more smoothly.  Marvellous.

On the road in the early morning.

Anxieties about riding in Mexico have been allayed so far and drivers have been consistently considerate. The next few days take us down to La Paz on the east coast of the peninsula and from there we take the ferry to Mazatlan and, hard to believe, begin the final three weeks of the tour.  

It's strange to think that autumn is upon you and difficult to imagine mellow fruitfulness!  

So long

Viv x