Santa Rosalia

The Deserts of Baja have now taken the place as the most intriguing settings across which I´ve ever ridden. It´s amazing to look to one´s left and see a field of shrub and cacti extending beyond the horizon. It´s amazing to look to one´s right and see the same. It´s breathtaking to look ahead and see a yellow line down the middle of the road with no visible end. It´s frustrating, sometimes infuriating to ride that yellow line for hours at a time without seeing even the slightest deviation in scenery or trajectory. In fact, the only thing that ever changes while riding in the desert is the position of your shadow - not very rewarding.

Baja´s scenery changes almost as rapidly as the minutes of the day (until you arrive in the desert, that is.) In one day, I saw forested mountains, sand dunes, seas of cacti, fields of boulders the size of houses and dehydrated river canyons much deeper than I´d like to fall into.

I spent a night on a Pacific beach near San Quintin before heading inland for a few days. Following the only paved road on the peninsula, I rode to the town of Cataviña where I camped amidst a huge boulder field with an American motorcyclist. Derric eagerly shared his double rations after his weekender partner bailed out on him. I carried on to Chapala and from there, hitched a ride with a hydro worker down a 60km detour to Bahia de Los Angeles, a charming tourist mecca nestled in a huge rocky cove on the overwhelmingly blue Sea of Cortez. Bearing a few days of desert I couped up at a Canadian owned, eco-friendly bed & breakfast in San Ignacio, on the shore of a natural spring lake by the same name.

Weekends here have been a little hectic with the infamous Baja 1000 offroad race approaching. There are a lot of dirt bikes and dune buggies cruising about in the sand in an effort to master their respective sections of the 1600 mile relay. I´m still being granted lots of space on the road from the many trucks and cars that pass my way.

While it seems I´ve parted ways with my new found cycling team, I´ve heard rumours of more on the horizon. With only a few more days until my arrival at La Paz, I´ll soon be finished with the Baja and on to the marvel that will be mainland Mexico.

Adios, amigos!