For the entire month of Easter, they dance in the streets 24/7
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Finally Mexico
This is a picture of Julia walking downt the street in Guaymas [why-mas], Sonra, Mexico. I finally feel like I am in Mexico. Our fabulous host Marie took us downtown to see the church and the market. We also picked up some beef to roast, it is said to be some of the best meat in the world, of course Julia and Meia don't eat it, but I am stoked. San Carlos, gringol-land, the next town over lacks the charm of Mexico to me. There is a charm is crumbling buildings, bright paint and of course Mexicans themselves.
La Paz
It was so strange to hit a real city again. I believe the stripes on the trees are no parking signs.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Sailing - day three
We ran into a huge pod of dolphins today, maybe 500. At first they stayed away, but near the end they came and bow hopped and were leaping and playing with us, for maybe 15 minutes. It was brilliant and the first real experience the other two girls have had with dolphins, other then from afar. Today I cleaned the kitchen, sewed my bathing suit and downloaded some pictures. I also tried again to find the hole in my thermarest, but it seems that I will have to take it swimming with me tonight. Drat that hole. The breeze is blowing, we are sailing and the world seems to smile on us.
Sailing- day two
slept so so last night. I couldn't sleep inside, so I took my sleeping bag outside and slept on the deck. This might have been brilliant except for the fact that I didn't bring my sleeping mattress, so it was kind of hard. The hardness wasn't so bad as I am used to it with my thermarest. I do need to fix that, maybe tonight. We are headed to Aqua Verde tonight. I am told there is hotsprings there, maybe we will see them.
Today we hung out, had oatmeal for breakfast and hung out for a while. We stopped motoring and started sailing just as I started making cinnamon buns. I proved to be the worst sailor on board and threw up twice while baking. I am not good in the cabin in the day. I require much wind, so I spent the rest of the day hanging out on deck. We all ate cinnamon buns for lunch, which were declared excellent. They were good, but not my standard ones, I think I might try and amalgamate.
Monday, March 26, 2012
Sailing day one
I am sitting here at the end of the day as the girls make dinner. It has been a beautiful day. We met Hugh, our captain at seven at the dock, tried to load up, found the bikes didn't fit, but put them on the floor to fiddle with later. I then made eggs, with tomato, onions, avocado and corn tortillas. Sadly I was later sea sick, I never have been before, I then up just a little bit at first, felt fine. But when Meia went down to throw up again, I puked off the side, even though I felt okay. The rest of the journey I felt great.
I guess I should take some time to tell you about my companions. Meia is an American from Vermont, she is 26 and strikes me as a fairly sporty hippy type. She has a very dark tan, shortish hair she is forming dreadlocks in and a red fringe for bangs, you'll see a photo later. She has beautiful thigh muscles, I think if I lost some more weight mine would be like them. She started in Alaska in the summer, but took three months off to work since then. She has a small guitar, plays not great, maybe a bit better then you, but sings beautifully. She is outgoing, enthusiastic and fun. I like her a fair bit.
Julie is 23 and from Australia. She started a tour in Vancouver to leith ridge, Alberta. This tour started in LA with another girl and met the group in Tijuana I believe.They started in Tijuana the same time I started in Vancouver. She strikes me as the stereo typical couch surfer. Traveling for a long time, fun, a little quiet, rather kind, up for adventure and just enjoying herself.
Hugh is from Alaska, maybe 55-60. He is a pilot in Alaska for small planes, some for people, some for commercial goods. He likes to talk, but not a whole lot. I think he has warmed up to Meia a fair bit. He is very obliging and easy going and is exceedingly nice about taking us, willing to put up with space inconveniences to have us.
Lastly is the ship. It is a 36 foot sailboat. It had a beautiful wooden interior, a cabin in the fore with two beds. We are sleeping in the dinning area. The 4 person table & bench has the table that lowers to create a double bed and next to it is a single bench, where I will sleep. It also houses one bike during the day, which will be placed in the hall space for night. We managed to get two bikes into the forward bench/ storage area, this spot would be like a bunk cubbie, with only head and shoulders out if someone slept there. We had to take off handle bars and seats, and Julie took off her front pannier holds as well to get them in.
I think we are going to have a really good trip. I kind of regret not meeting the whole group sooner, they seemed like a lot of fun and I kind of felt like I was intruding, well not really, it it was their last group day. They were very kind and inclusive, I just don't easily feel apart of a group and they were in a space of parting with really good friends. I quite like Portal (Hiro) a guy from Japan, a yogi type with one enormously long dread, longer then my hair and a long Japanese old man style beard. He told me I was good luck, that I brought on the boat ride and actually meant it (okay, I guess I can be flattered into a good opinion) and told me to take care of his friends. I wish I had known him longer, I think he was the type I would like to be friends with. He gave all three of us crystals to take with us.
Anyhow, we ate a late breakfast, were well underway, spent some time lounging on deck and I fell asleep and woke up sweating, the girls had gone inside to sleep. I didn't know until later that I only slept about 10 minutes. I did go inside, but had a bunch of bags on my bed I sort of arranged, but couldn't sleep. I then took apart my bike and put it up into the storage area, in the morning Julie had got her bike there before eating. About half an hour after eating we all were ill, well Julie only felt ill, so the second bike was never put up, as it is way, way better to be on deck while feeling ill. I then hung out with Hugh for a while. I tired sleeping later, maybe slept 1/2 hour (I forgot to mention we were all up until 2 the night before), then hung out on deck a bit more. At three I woke them up so they would sleep in the evening. We hung out for a hour or so, then pulled into harbour.
I swam to shore. I didn't tell the girls how beautiful it was. There is a little sand bank after the tide sand beach shore. Walking up this I could see the next bay, maybe 100 feet away, from my spot both could be seen in one shot (sorry no camera) and the result was stunning. I enjoyed the swim as I needed some exercise. We ate pasta for dinner, had Mexican hot chocolate and sweets for desert and watched the sun set. Now it is 8:20, dark and we are all reading or writing quietly, I am playing Cuban Fire music. I am al ost ready for bed, being very tired. Looks like Hugh is getting ready for bed.
We are currently anchored in Isla San Fransisco, a small island right next to Isla San Jose. It is about level with Cuidad Custitucion. There are maybe 10-15 other boats anchored here. Apparently there is a lovely hike along a precipice
Friday, March 23, 2012
La Paz, cyclists & sailboats
Fates smiles down on me. I caught a ride into La Paz. I got off, was trying to get my bearings, find Internet when I hear a hey you, I turn see nothing keep riding when another cyclist flags me down. I found another touring group of seven people, they heard I was coming from a couch surfer who I sent a request to. They invited me to come and stay with hem at the English church where they are lodged. I was also talking with Meia, who was trying to find a sailboat to the mainland, and I mentioned I wanted to as well. About 20 minutes later a guy came by who had seen their note on the pier and seen them, but missed them, to offer them a ride, me too. It will take us a fair deal north, to Guaymas. It I don't. Are, it is a beautiful maybe 36 foot sail boat, all decked out in wood. I am so happy, rest, ocean, a voyage, adventure and new friends! The rest of their group is headed south on the Baja, they are going much, much slower, having left San Diego about the same time I left Vancouver, well some of them, they were not a group to start with. We will get to hang out, cook food - I am going to make cinnamon buns and enjoy. We will put into port a few nights going north on this side, then cross over, weather somewhat permitting.
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Police Visit
Oday for the second time I took Beto's advice and slept in the park next to the police station in a small (ish) town. This morning, as I was dawdling and reading, I got a call from two police officers. When I opened my tent and they saw I was a white girl, they shrugged their shoulders, said "okay" and walked away. So it seems the advice was pretty food, and it certainly is a safe spot, if not too quiet or very dark. Last time it was cars, this time it was dogs causing a ruckus, but all in all, I slept well.
I am on my way to La Paz tomorrow, from whence I shall take a boat to the mainland.
I also discovered that they really don't sell postcards in Mexico, at least not here. In Loreto, a very touristy town, I did find some in an "art" store that were about $2 each, so no postcards will be sent. But I am thinking of almost all of you guys, I have plenty of time to let my mind wander while I am cycling.
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Friday, March 16, 2012
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Guerro Negro
I ended up staying Guerro Negro three days. I am having trouble shaking my cold and was not ready to leave yesterday as planned.
Now if you are trying to find Guerro Negro on googlemaps, or pretty much any other place I am now mentioning you will either not find them or get entirely the wrong picture. I looked on googlemaps today and Guerro Negro, instead on sitting on the second biggest of two very large lagoons in Baja Sur, is no where near the water on the map. Awesome!
The largest emplyer of the town is the salt company. Apparently Guerro Negro is the largest exporter of salt in the world, most of which is used industrially or on roads, but some is for table salt too. It is all seasalt that is dried in large pools. I was told that one day of rain puts the salt production back three months. But what might surprise you to hear is that it is not a very hot place, it is very windy and mostly cloudy. Paola told me there is three other places along the Baja with a similar climate, but of course she sould not remember where. I also was told that desserts of the latitude of Baja are all windy due to to the rotation of the earth. I recall once learning about the correalis effect and think this might have something to do with that, but really I have no clue.
While in Guerro Negor I was hanging out with Paola when she wasnt working. Paola is a friend of Betos, who I met in Enseada and went for a nice bike cruise through rural ensenada with. I had an awesome time! She hooked up me up to go whale watching with her friend Rebecca, who was one of the guides at a whale watching place. While all the other boats were hanging out together, we were alone and had a baby and a mother play with us the whole time, we even had a second set come a play for a bit, I even got a slight discount, which was really awesome.
I also got to meet one of her fellow teachers who is making recycled paper. She had turned the beautiful paper into a writing flip pad, so I thought I would show her how to make a book, a nice one with a spine, ect. She even video taped me, and of coure it was the superfast version I made, but she seemed really excited. I also pulled up some youtube videos of book making, though sadly none with the hard cover and spine came up. Oh well. It was also interesting because she spoke no english, but luckily, this was one of those times where showing worked way better then words anyhow. We also had banana chocolate pancakes ala Paola. Apperently Paola had made some fancy pancakes she posted on her facebook wall and had everyone different comments on the kinds they like to make.
I also got to meet a friend of her fathers. He works for the salt company and gave me a a large book on all the local birds and which ponds they can be found in, a book that isnt for sale, also a flora book and one of the salt mines. He also is involved with the caves in the Sierre de San Fansisco, which has cave paitings that are a few thousand years old, of course the carbon dating process is bequestioned but they are somewhere between 2,500-5,000 years old. He radioed them to let them know I would be by tomorrow on my bike and that I didnt have a lot of money. There is one close cave painting I will see. There is also five two days journey that are supposed to be phenomenal. I am not sure that I really have the money to see them, but I will see what happens, seems a little silly not to go, but I will see what will happen. Both Paola and her fathers friend raved about the food there, apprently the torillas and goat (shepps maybe) cheese is unbelieveable.
Paola and I also stopped for food, the place she wanted to go was closed, so we tried somewhere new. We got quessadillas with cheese, I forget the name, I will have to ask. They made very large thick corn torillas just prior to adding the cheese, then added the meat, salsa and guacamole. It was so damned good I am hungry now just thinking of it.
Now if you are trying to find Guerro Negro on googlemaps, or pretty much any other place I am now mentioning you will either not find them or get entirely the wrong picture. I looked on googlemaps today and Guerro Negro, instead on sitting on the second biggest of two very large lagoons in Baja Sur, is no where near the water on the map. Awesome!
The largest emplyer of the town is the salt company. Apparently Guerro Negro is the largest exporter of salt in the world, most of which is used industrially or on roads, but some is for table salt too. It is all seasalt that is dried in large pools. I was told that one day of rain puts the salt production back three months. But what might surprise you to hear is that it is not a very hot place, it is very windy and mostly cloudy. Paola told me there is three other places along the Baja with a similar climate, but of course she sould not remember where. I also was told that desserts of the latitude of Baja are all windy due to to the rotation of the earth. I recall once learning about the correalis effect and think this might have something to do with that, but really I have no clue.
While in Guerro Negor I was hanging out with Paola when she wasnt working. Paola is a friend of Betos, who I met in Enseada and went for a nice bike cruise through rural ensenada with. I had an awesome time! She hooked up me up to go whale watching with her friend Rebecca, who was one of the guides at a whale watching place. While all the other boats were hanging out together, we were alone and had a baby and a mother play with us the whole time, we even had a second set come a play for a bit, I even got a slight discount, which was really awesome.
I also got to meet one of her fellow teachers who is making recycled paper. She had turned the beautiful paper into a writing flip pad, so I thought I would show her how to make a book, a nice one with a spine, ect. She even video taped me, and of coure it was the superfast version I made, but she seemed really excited. I also pulled up some youtube videos of book making, though sadly none with the hard cover and spine came up. Oh well. It was also interesting because she spoke no english, but luckily, this was one of those times where showing worked way better then words anyhow. We also had banana chocolate pancakes ala Paola. Apperently Paola had made some fancy pancakes she posted on her facebook wall and had everyone different comments on the kinds they like to make.
I also got to meet a friend of her fathers. He works for the salt company and gave me a a large book on all the local birds and which ponds they can be found in, a book that isnt for sale, also a flora book and one of the salt mines. He also is involved with the caves in the Sierre de San Fansisco, which has cave paitings that are a few thousand years old, of course the carbon dating process is bequestioned but they are somewhere between 2,500-5,000 years old. He radioed them to let them know I would be by tomorrow on my bike and that I didnt have a lot of money. There is one close cave painting I will see. There is also five two days journey that are supposed to be phenomenal. I am not sure that I really have the money to see them, but I will see what happens, seems a little silly not to go, but I will see what will happen. Both Paola and her fathers friend raved about the food there, apprently the torillas and goat (shepps maybe) cheese is unbelieveable.
Paola and I also stopped for food, the place she wanted to go was closed, so we tried somewhere new. We got quessadillas with cheese, I forget the name, I will have to ask. They made very large thick corn torillas just prior to adding the cheese, then added the meat, salsa and guacamole. It was so damned good I am hungry now just thinking of it.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Whale watching
Today I went whale watching in the lagoon of gGuerro Negro, which is where the blue whales go to give birth. The babies are around one month right now and they love to play. The babies all hang out with the mothers, it is possible to see lots of whales, maybe 100 surfacing, but the trick is to get what they call a sticky whale, one who stays with you and plays. It seems singing the women's warrior song, a first national song, I am not sure how many tribes use it, but is is coast Salish and is often sung at protests, usually started by the Power of Women Group. Any how my song seemed to work because while singing we had a mother and baby stay and play by us for about half an hour.they would swim under the boat, en turn and go back to surprise us, usually staying on my side. We also had a second mother and baby join us for awhile. The experience was fantastic! We would splash our hangs in the water to attract and play with them. I even got to touch the baby whale twice! I think I am blessed to get to do more amazing ings then most people- though I suppose my methods of achieving them are uh crazier then most are willing to endeavor.
I am also in great hands. I stayed with a friend of mine, Mario in Ensenada. I know Mario from when he lived in Vancouver. He introduced me to his friend Beto, who likes to cycle a lot, Mario tells me he has been trying to convince him to cycle down the Baja with him; instead Beto will be cycling across the states near e boarder nd another trip through the Rockies. Anyway, Beto gave me the contactof his friend Paolo in Guerro Negro, which has turned out to be stupendous. She even has friends inLa Paz ( where she is from, by the tip of the Baja) who are fighting a Canadian mining company who want to put a mine there, it seems likely I will get to meet them. Life is great, except for a cold I can't seem to shake. It should be way too warm for a cold, but apparently logic doesn't work in this area. I did meet a friend of Paolo's who gave me echinasia and also was the tour guide on today's whale watching.
The hash reality
While cycling through the desert I saw large areas of dead cacti and this. While it is beautiful, I really don't think I am a desert person. I grew up with too much green. Even the Bahia de Los Angeles which is lovely, was only so nice to me, because everything seems so dead and dry.
I don't feel like the desert likes me, likes people. My race only knows how to conquer, the desert is something foreign, we don't know how to harmonize. I am going to have to find out if traditionally or currently indigenous people lived throughg the desert. As of yet, I have not seen this, but I hardly stray from paved roads, I do not have a good bike for sand, I only fall.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Info about cycling in the desert
I traversed my first bit of desert In Baja the past few days.
1)One of the first things I learnt is that deserts can be very windy
2) Due to the wind and heat you may not make your destination or you may surpass it.
3) Always have 4 L of water, mostly you will only need three before you find water again, but the extra liter means that you will not have to ever be concerned, particularly if you are forced to camp soon then you expect.
4) bring patches, I was warned that I would likely get one flat tire a day (none yet, but not everyone is as lucky)
5) Sleeping in a tent with high winds that shake your tent make it hard to sleep
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Cycling in Mexico
So it is more then time I made a post about Mexico.
I arrived in Tijuana saturday night. My friend Luis picked me up in San Diego. He had been there hanging out with friends, so we just met up in the evening. I was a little amazed to find out that the boarder is just a line to cross, there is no boarder guards or booth, well none that I saw. Perhaps they haul people with american licence plates out of the line? Or maybe it is just safety people were talking of as far as hastle goes?
Anyhow, Luis decided to take me out. He was also giving me lessons on TJ. Apparently it is a lot safer now and is getting well recognized on the music scene. The bar scene was crazy. All of the bars are on the same street, maybe 4-5 blocks of solid door to door bars, there is of course other areas as well. And it is all a mix, some of them are classy and decorated and would look chic on main street or gastown, others were goth themed or granville street style. We were done early at 1, but Luis took me past the shady are where TJ residents go when the regular bars close.
The next morning he took me to Ensenada where we met up with another friend of mine Mario and his brother. We hung out and drank margarita's (which may have started at one bar in town, but of course no one agrees), and had mariachi bands come by. we also ate ceviche (sed-each-ay), which is fish that has been cooked using the acid in limes and then is served on a crisp corn tortilla called a tostada.
The next day I went for a great cycle with Mario's friend Beto. There are some countryside photos of this. I had intended to leave the next day, but was feeling sick, so I took a rest day.
Today was my first cycle day in Mexico. I started it by taking a bus to San Quintin (Key-tan, i believe was the pronounciation). I was told the roads from here on out would be less busy and safer. It has been beauctiful, but a bit different, even when \i was close to the water, I didn't see it much as there is huge sand dunes blocking it. I reached the town of Rosario and will try \beto's suggestion of sleeping in the park next to the police station. It seems wifi is not going to work great all of the time. I went to one resturant because it claimed to have wifi. I couldn't get the password to work, so I went to the internet place just two doors down. But the Wifi password didn't work, I pretty much had to force to girl at the desk to use google translate to tell me what the problem was. This was really difficult as she could not spell. I finally found out there was no password for the wifi. The free computer is not working, however, there was a young boy who they asked (I believe his parents forced him) to let me use his computer. \he is now sitting with his dad.
I arrived in Tijuana saturday night. My friend Luis picked me up in San Diego. He had been there hanging out with friends, so we just met up in the evening. I was a little amazed to find out that the boarder is just a line to cross, there is no boarder guards or booth, well none that I saw. Perhaps they haul people with american licence plates out of the line? Or maybe it is just safety people were talking of as far as hastle goes?
Anyhow, Luis decided to take me out. He was also giving me lessons on TJ. Apparently it is a lot safer now and is getting well recognized on the music scene. The bar scene was crazy. All of the bars are on the same street, maybe 4-5 blocks of solid door to door bars, there is of course other areas as well. And it is all a mix, some of them are classy and decorated and would look chic on main street or gastown, others were goth themed or granville street style. We were done early at 1, but Luis took me past the shady are where TJ residents go when the regular bars close.
The next morning he took me to Ensenada where we met up with another friend of mine Mario and his brother. We hung out and drank margarita's (which may have started at one bar in town, but of course no one agrees), and had mariachi bands come by. we also ate ceviche (sed-each-ay), which is fish that has been cooked using the acid in limes and then is served on a crisp corn tortilla called a tostada.
The next day I went for a great cycle with Mario's friend Beto. There are some countryside photos of this. I had intended to leave the next day, but was feeling sick, so I took a rest day.
Today was my first cycle day in Mexico. I started it by taking a bus to San Quintin (Key-tan, i believe was the pronounciation). I was told the roads from here on out would be less busy and safer. It has been beauctiful, but a bit different, even when \i was close to the water, I didn't see it much as there is huge sand dunes blocking it. I reached the town of Rosario and will try \beto's suggestion of sleeping in the park next to the police station. It seems wifi is not going to work great all of the time. I went to one resturant because it claimed to have wifi. I couldn't get the password to work, so I went to the internet place just two doors down. But the Wifi password didn't work, I pretty much had to force to girl at the desk to use google translate to tell me what the problem was. This was really difficult as she could not spell. I finally found out there was no password for the wifi. The free computer is not working, however, there was a young boy who they asked (I believe his parents forced him) to let me use his computer. \he is now sitting with his dad.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Mexico- Ensenada-16
An afternoon out with the boys in Ensenada involved ceviche, drinking, mariachi's / trios, sunshine and more drinking.
Mexico- Ensenada-16
Hanging out with the boys in Ensenada involved drinking, ceviche, mariache/ trios, sunshine and more drinking.
Saturday, March 3, 2012
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