A Visit to the Whale Nursery

We have been dark for the last two days after leaving Guerrero Negro.   I suffered my first equipment failure as we started out.  Somebody left my new water back pack on the back of my bike unattached allowing it to fall off at our hotel as I rode out.  Sigh.  One more lesson learned the hard way.

The ride was beautiful all through the  Reserva de la Biosfera Desierto de Vizcaino.  The weather was sunny and the road was in good condition.  We turned off Mex 1 at San Ignacio to find a quaint, small town established on an oasis.  The palm trees and other vegetation were dense.  We found our way to the central plaza so common in small Mexican towns surrounded by restaurants, other businesses and a wonderful, restored cathedral completed in the later 1700's.

We sat at Victor's near our bikes just off the plaza shaded by several tbrees that must have been started with the Cathedral.  Dave had Chili Rellenos with a delicious tomato sauce and I an equally delicious breaded fish dish.  Everything comes with refried beans, flour tortillas unless they are in the main dish, and often rice.  "Pan" is a gringo thing available on request only.  

The cathedral was magical and awesome structure given its long history, the incredible resources and effort put into its construction and now maintence.  I walked into the cathedral to hear a repeated scraping  sound.  I walked closer to the alter to find an older workman meticulously refinishing the interior of one of the thick wooden side doors on the left.

After lunch and getting directions we set out on the 58 km mostly paved route to Kuyima on the Laguna.  After a mistaken right hand turn into the wrong property with a very angry barking dog at my left ankle, we hurried out and back on the correct dirt road  as I expected a bite tear in my still intact riding pants.  We suffered through a few miles of the worst washboard I have ever ridden to finally make it to the ecotourist facility Kuyima.

Kuyima is a ecotourist camp owned and operated by the local community over the last 29 years devoted to the preservation and study of whales and the entire ecosystem of the Laguna.  That includes the small, economically poor human community that depends on the Laguna for fishing.  Dave is standing at our Cabana Cardon in this next picture.

We watched whales for two morning sessions each about 2.5 hours in pangas holding about ten people.  The experience was breathtaking and self-evident from these pictures.

That is Dave in the first taking the picture.   In the second a big Gray whale "spy hops" apparently needing to see land for orientation, especially when tides are rapidly changing.  The third photo today is of a mother and here newborn calf, very hard to see.  The Laguna is one of three places Gray whales give birth, all in Baja.  The last photo is the closest we got to one of these beautiful creatures that finally went under the boat.  The anger and destruction portrayed in the movie "In the Heart of the Sea" was balanced by the gentle curiosity on display all around us by these creatures.  Check out this link on the life cycle and history of Gray whales Gray Whale - Wikipedia

A sunset at Kuyima with some of the many birds in view.

We met many fine people with similar interests in and care for the Gray whales and the environment.  We ate six fine meals prepared by the staff of Kuyima all of whom seemed to be joyful and excited about their work.  The tour leader, Roberto was distinguished in his attention to each of us and especially to Dave and I.  Though he was a tattooed Pittsburg Steelers fan, because he made our stay more memorable I have him on of the two Denver Broncos hats I had brought for gifts.  When the Broncos beat the Steeler's tomorrow, he can take off his Steeler's jersey and put on the Orange hat.  

We Met Coco!!

We left San Felipe southbound for Alfonsina's on the Bahia de Luis Gonzaga.  We have been dark for the last two days because there is no internet or cell service in this remote location.  We are making our way into central Baja.

The ride south was GORGEOUS. In this photo we are both grateful for the beauty as we look out onto the rough Sea of Cortez with whitecaps from the heavy wind.  Our destination is the land you can see on the right in the extreme distance, Bahia de Luis Gonzaga.

Soon after taking this picture I heard a crack-thud as my helmet was blown off of my bike to the asphalt by the heavy wind.  No serious harm, thank God.

What looks like a bullet proof vest in this photo is actually my passport money pouch.

As we made the turn to Alfonsina's it became clear it was more than a resort.  It has a  airfield for small planes and a long line of beach homes owned we believe by ex-pats.  At the very end the red building is our destination.  We had a cozy room on the first floor right next to the beach and the dining area.  Though sunny, it is still winter and the breeze was up.  I decided to delay my promised swim for another day.  Instead I walked long on the beach finding many shells, seeing collected whale bones at many of the beach houses, and watching pelicans fishing.

That night we shared the resort with an adventure motorcycling tour group of ten riders and their support team.  They were all really nice guys having a great time.  I envied the support truck to carry luggage and mechanics to do repairs.

In preparing this trip, Dave and I read many reports, stories and blogs.  One of the most common recommendations was to stop and meet Coco at COCOS CORNER.  Today as we rode from Alfonsina's toward Mex 1, we added ourselves to the long list of those who have met him and admire him.      

About ten years ago, soon after losing a leg by unclear cause, Coco retired from his work as a policeman  in Ensanada  to establish his home at an intersection of two rough dirt roads far from even basic services  in central Baja.  He cleared about four acres of land and built a meger house from re-purposed materials.  Over the years as his collection of women's underwear decorating a sheltered meeting area grew so did his reputation for hospitality, tenacity, independence, and humor.  Having lost his other leg not long ago, he now moves about in a wheelchair.  On his land he has four pickup campers arranged to provide accomation for $5.00 per night.

We signed his book, expected of all new visitors, to include our name, birthdate, city of birth, where we lived now and what we were riding.  Incredibly, he let us know of an 85 year old woman who had recently come through on a bicycle bound for distant destinations.  We left as a steady stream of visitors from truck drivers to other motorcyclists came and went.

The Sea of Cortez is Beautiful

Up well before the sun this morning, Dave and I were anxious to get our bikes of the trailer and get them on the road.  It took about an hour of fiddling with our gear, topping up the tire pressure and getting into our helmets and boots to start the engines and go just a little after sunrise.  Everything worked except my helmet intercom.  That caused troubles later.

We found out the wrong way that you can ride straight through the border into Mexico without being stopped.  However, you need your FMM short term immigration paperwork stamped and approved to be legal. We got our taste of the traffic struggle to come as we turned around to go back to the border.

My Spanish is OK but we still went to several desks before we found the correct one.  The Mexican border personnel are very nice but they have some trouble with English and do not all understand the rules the same way.  Thankfully the lines were short.  We were back on the Mexicali Terror Road in less than an hour.

The path from the border crossing to Mex 5 through Mexicali seemed far more complicated and dangerous than it looked on the map.  New road signs, lane marking conventions and heavy fast traffic led to about twenty minutes of terror.  I was in the lead using a GPS that gave information often inconsistent with the signs and roads were on.  Dodging merging vehicles and the occasional ferrel dog, trying to follow road signs I often did not understand and making sure my buddy behind me was still upright took everything I had.  I don't know why the road had so many turns to get to the main road out of town, but we both made it out alive and with a clear sense we were no longer in the good old US of A.

It feels so good to be on the open road on a motorcycle especially after the hair ball we had just ridden through.  The day was sunny in the mid 60's, our bikes were running great and we were feeling  like we were getting the hang of this adventure motorcycle thing.  Then up ahead, "Militar Inspecion".  Dave waved me ahead with my better Spanish and gullibility.  I opened everything up the young soldier with a stern look asked.  Within ten minutes we were on our way.

We arrived in San Felipe a little after 2:00 PM.  You can see Dave to the lower right near the iconic white arches the invite you into the town.

We easily found our way to the Chapala Hotel though it had no sign.  I had to recognize it from a photo on the Internet.  The owner was building cabinets for one of the rooms in the very secure parking area.  He welcomed us, checked us in in less than five minutes then took 600 pesos for a clean, no frills room on the third floor.  Hauling all of our gear up to the room was a chore as Dave reminded me to always get a room on the first floor.

After a lunch of fish and goberner tacos, we went to the gorgeous beach and beautiful water of the Sea of Cortez.

Tomorrow only a 130 km ride to Bahia de Luis Gonzaga. We are feeling the true spirit and life of the people of Baja.

Another seven hours of travel today delivered us from high desert covered in deep snow to towering cacti, palm trees and temperatures in the high 60's.  We made good time from Gallup, through Phoenix and finally to Yuma.  We quickly checked in for storage of the jeep and trailer than hurried to the closest car wash to remove the layers of dirt from our car and the bikes.  It felt great to see the colors of our bikes again and wash away all of the corrosive salts that collected on them from the previous day.  

Tomorrow we cross the border at Mexicali to follow Mex 5 to San Felipe.  Some of my apprehension about the coming challenges of our adventure was relieved when I called the Chapala Hotel in San Felipe to confirm our reservation for tomorrow night.  My Spanish is getting better but when I asked her to "confirmar una reserva", she excitedly responded "Tracy!"

The weather will be great and we are well-prepared for a memorable adventure together.  I look forward to sharing as much of the experiences Dave and I have with you in posts to come.  Please follow Dave on his blog at www.littlemotoadventures.com.

The Adventure Begins

I awoke to an eight degree morning after a fitful night's sleep.  It had snowed about six inches the night before and I had worked hard to clear it completely from our 170 foot steep driveway.  Would Dave be able to maneuver his trailer down the driveway or would I have to find a way to get my BMW F800GSA up the driveway for loading?  That would be the last step before departure on our long anticipated and extensively planned trip to the Baja Penninsula.  We would ride 2000 miles round trip from the border at Mexicali to Cabo San Lucas and back over three weeks.

Joyce had already helped manage my angst and fretting making sure I was prepared and packed.  This morning she harvested Swiss Chard from our greenhouse and sautéed it to include it with delicious scrambled eggs and toast as we awaited Dave's arrival.  He skillfully maneuvered the trailer down to my waiting bike and it was easily loaded.  My gear was loaded into the jeep and Joyce gave us a fond farewell as we set off into the crisp but now sunny morning.

Over the next nine hours we traveled mostly clear roads through South Park, Salida, Pagosa Springs, Durango, Cortez and finally to Gallup, NM where we are spending the night.  The recent snows blanketed much of the route until entering New Mexico with temperatures as cold as -9 degrees in parts of South Park.  Because of the more extreme cold our bikes exposed on the trailer took on a thick brown icy patina from the splash of the rear tires of the jeep.