Hola,

Well something always happens.....I was supposed to be leaving La Paz, Baja for Topolambampo/Los Moches, MX. this afternoon...bought the ferry tkts. this morning...when I noticed one of the saddlebags was loose. I found one of the bolts holding one of the luggage racks had cracked. The local machine shop could not deal with it in time for me to make the ferry, so for 100 pesos ($12) I changed my tkt. for tomorrow. That also meant another nite in La Paz at 200 pesos ($25....8 pesos to the $CAD).

But not so bad, since La Paz is a beautiful small seaside village with nice beaches almost near the bottom of “Baja de California Sur” . ….95% Mexican and 5% American.

Baja de California is “funny”…...the northern part, or “Norte” is “sort of” Mexico. This makes it easier for Americans to come/drive to B de CN without much paperwork, or military checks, but half way down, you cross the real border into Mexico. ( When I took the ferry from Guyamas, MX. to Santa Roslalia, I came right into B de C Sur…..got it?

Anyways, back to getting on the ferry with Dieter.

Once we got on board I suggested he try to get into the first class section with me since he bought an economy tkt. We pretended we “owned” the boat and it worked. We were the only two, with TV, video, and air conditioning. When the boat began to sail we went up on deck to the slightly cooler evening air, and when we returned to our first class cabin an hour later there must have been at least 10 people sleeping all over the place, but mainly on the floor….oh well, so much for “first class”. D and I talked for a few hours, and then we tried to sleep. D was out like a light but I couldn’t sleep in the seats (remember Hong Kong Jody??) and there was no more room on the floor. So I went up on the upper deck and slept on the floor there under the stars. The next thing I knew was D wakeing me up at 0530h to watch the sunrise. We chatted another few hours and I got a lot of riding and hotel tips from him since I was heading to where he came from. We landed in Santa Rosalia at 0830h, had breakfast together and D headed North to Alaska, and I South to Panama.

The ride south to 50km south of Loretto and the resort of Danzante was as hot as it was beautiful…amazing desert and 45oC….the wind in your face was like a blast furnace….it was actually hotter when you exceeded 100k/h.

I arrived at Danzante around 1400h and was greeted by the most fabulous owner/hosts you could ask for, Mike and Lauren Farley. They have only 9 beautiful rooms, and only one other was occupied since this was “low season” because of the heat. In fact Mike said in August the temp. hits the 50’s.

This is real desert with scorpions, tarantulas, rattlesnakes, and all the other critters we only see on TV. Lauren added it only rains two or three days (in November, I think) a year, but when it does, it dumps 20 inches at a time.

I can’t describe Danzante, but you MUST check it out at www.danzante.com ¡

It’s an all inclusive “Eco” resort that I found out from my sailing friends, John and Pricilla Baldwin, who are investors, and even with my special rate, I could only afford 2 nights. I relaxed a few hours in the 43oC heat and then headed down to the pool for “happy hour” and some of the best marguritas with home made salsa and taco chips I ever had (eat your heart out, Joanne), and then a great home made dinner. The next morning, they packed me a lunch and I kayaked alone about 2 hours to a deserted island and swam, snorkled, climbed its 800 foot steep peak, and slept in the sun until 1600h when I headed back for my second and last happy hour and dinner at Danzante. After breakfast the next day I left the luxury of Danzante and Mike and Lauren, and headed down the 5 hours to La Paz.

After I get my bike fixed tomorrow it’s the ferry to Topolombampo/Los Moches and from there probably down the coast to Acapulco, and then inland to Guadelajara, Taxco, Cuernavacas, and Mexico City. (Please excuse the spelling of some of these city names. The next time I’ll have my map with me !)

A short note on what’s it’s like to ride in Mexico.

So far I covered over 8,000 kms. (including about 2,000 in Mexico) and since leaving Quebec I have NOT hit one single pot hole…whether autoroutes, interstates, toll roads, main roads, back roads, or dirt roads….well actually there was ONE near Guyamas, but you had about 5 warning signs BEFORE you came to it!

You never go more than 2 hours of riding without coming to military check points (most frequent)…looking for weapons on drugs, immigration checks…checking papers, and agriculture check points…where if you are carrying meat, veggies, or fruit, they will fumigate you.

They are all very professional and even the military (all carrying machine guns and even a few with rocket launchers) go “ga ga” when they see the bike…I have yet to see anything that big here in Mexico. They rarely search me, and the odd time they do, it’s very brief. They are more interested in checking out the bike and where I’m from and where I’m going, and it usually happens that they teach me some Spanish and I teach them some English. When leaving they all like to say, “hasta la vista, BABY” and wave me off with “Buena suarte” (good luck). While this is happening the cars are waiting in line to be searched. While I’m usually done and out in 5 minutes, each car normally takes 10 – 15 minutes!

Most trucks and cars wave at me when we pass, and pedestrians shout, wave, or whistle… so far it’s been really great and EVERYONE has been so friendly.

There worst thing about the roads are the “topes” (the bumps they put across the road to make you slow down…like Westmount does). You have 2 – 4 of these in every village and town, and most of the time there are NO warning signs, nor are they painted. They are at least a foot high and only a foot wide.
They are not easy to see especially when the road is very dusty, and I’m busy looking everywhere except the road. I hit a few of these at 60 – 70 k/h…I thought I broke my front fork in half…but no damage. Now I always keep my eyes peeled when I approach any town!

At the coast the temp. is usually in the 30's by 1000h and the 40's by 1400h....despite the fact you don't have the humidity that we have in Mtl., it's still HOT, but I love it! The nites are usually in the upper 20's.

I hope this gives you some flavor of what it's been like for me so far. If you've got any special "requests", just ask.

Well, that's it for now...addios.
It's now 1600h and guess where I'm going now !....To the beach with a margurita or two in my hands............