Mulege: Practice makes perfect?
September 17th – 21st, 2014 ($1420 mxn)
Punta Abreojos (220km)
Does practice truly make perfect? Well, not really, but it certainly makes you better. Such was Dominic’s case in fixing flat tires on his motorcycle. We left Bahia Tortugas after the bad weather passed and continued south close to the coast on dirt roads until we reached Punta Abreojos, where we learned the previously mentioned bad weather from hurricane Odile had washed away part of the road ahead leading to the main highway.
Once again, we were stranded if we wanted to continue south, but Punta Abreojos was a good place. Abreojos was also a fishing town with its main source of income primarily being lobster fishing. I do not know there is a bad place in the Baja peninsula to be stranded in if one has shelter, food, motorcycle, and no rush. We learned from one of the many ex pats in town about a place we could camp in ten minutes south of town. It was next to a point break we could surf at while we got news from the road condition ahead, and close enough to town we could ride there for supplies if needed.
We spent the next five days camping, surfing, playing cards, and watching Dominic fix flat tires on his motorcycle. It’s truly a pain when one has to change a flat every now and then, even if you have a proper lift for the motorcycle, but changing four flats in a couple of days, scavenging for big rocks to balance your motorcycle on can be irritating, I suppose so; it seemed pretty strenuous.
Generally, when I say I “surfed”, I really mean I sat on a board out in the ocean watching waves go by. While in Punta Abreojos, though, I actually caught a few waves with a board I borrowed from one of the part time residents there. It was nice to surf, or just be out in the water, with the sun setting in the background and other people who also enjoyed just being there.
September 22nd, 2014 ($636)
Mulege (250km)
We left Punta Abreojos and rode southeast, across the peninsula, towards Mulege, not without Dominic getting another flat tire by San Ignacio, though. Heroica Mulege is a palm tree oasis, which I had always heard of as a travel destination while growing up, yet I had never been there to see for myself. Upon arrival we saw the damage hurricane Odile had caused here as well, the floods had left dirt, mud, trash, and other debris all over the streets, to the point that the Health Department did not allow restaurants to operate until the town was cleaned up. They had been without electricity and phone service for several days, too. Where the town meets the Gulf of California, a narrow strip of land used to connect to a tiny island with a lighthouse, however, that strip of land was no more, also washed up, along with countless palm trees lying on the riverbank. “No Bad Days in Mulege” is a popular car decal I often saw back home in San Diego – Tijuana. Ironically sad.
September 23rd – 24th, 2014 ($810)
Loreto (150km)
I finally got the last piece of luggage down from the second floor hotel room we got in Mulege and fixed onto the motorcycle, applied lube to the chain, and I was ready to move on. The depressing mood Mulege’s hurricane aftermath left on me was dispersed some 25 minutes down the road. Completely unexpected, at a turn in the road, we were atop a hill with the road continuing straight down a slope leading to the very first sight of Bahia Concepcion. I was instantly overtaken by the beauty of the bay, the turquoise and reflective waters, and sprinkled rocky islands; I had to stop next to the road to fully admire the view. I do not recall seeing a landscape as rich as this before. The sandy beach was completely empty, inviting us to camp there. We had been delayed many days already due to hurricane Odile and all it brought, that we had to settle for a few minutes at the side of the road before we continued riding south along the perimeter, delineating such a wonder.
One of the many aspects of the Baja California peninsula I have grown to enjoy is the lack of crowds. Except for the obvious, like Cabo and the northern border, it is quite isolated. This land offers so much, yet it is rarely swarming with people, taking away the peace, tranquility, and beauty. Decades ago, before the main highway was paved, it would take days to get to many of these places from the U.S.-Mexico border, I can only imagine how pristine it was then!
Just before the town of Loreto, at a military checkpoint, we opted to off-road a few miles east and set up camp at an empty beach. Weeks into this adventure and I had yet to spear a fish for myself. After diving for dinner at this beach, I came out with not one, but three fish! I remember when I speared my very first, it seemed of a half-decent size, but when I held it above the surface of the water for Tom and Dominic to see, I realized it was only slightly larger than the palm of my hand, similar to the rest of my catch that afternoon. I will take one victory at a time. For now, I had at last speared my own dinner.
At night, during our camp talk, we noticed lightning out in the distance, either in the middle of or across the Sea of Cortez. It was unusual, not only because the lightning seemed orange, but also because we never heard the thunder, and the weather conditions at our beach did not suggest rainfall any time soon.
Sitting under palm trees the next morning, we noticed the waves had become very choppy and the wind had picked up, just enough to make us question whether we should break down camp and take off. Still sitting in our chairs, the wind decided for us and instantly began blowing with great force. Minute raindrops were now falling all over the beach. No words were spoken; we all knew we needed to get out of that beach immediately. The wind was blowing with such force it dragged my tent across the beach. Sand, picked up by the wind, made it difficult to see where everything was, I had to put my riding goggles on and continue with a record-setting camp breakdown.
With boots full of sand, and gear crammed into luggage, we rushed out of the beach and back to the road, by the military checkpoint. If heavy rain caught us before making it to the road we would probably be stuck there until it all dried out, which could take a day or two. We raced out of that beach in anticipation of bad weather but, in an anticlimactic fashion, the rainfall never grew past a small drizzle, and the conditions were normal over by the military checkpoint. So, we just rode into Loreto proper for an afternoon around the square, the Mision de Nuestra Señora de Loreto, and the malecon, or waterfront walkway.
September 25th, 2014 ($515mxn)
Constitucion City (150km)
Bad weather would continue and short bursts of heavy rain would be the norm for days to come. We took refuge from the downpour in the harbor of Puerto Escondido, shortly after leaving Loreto, where a boat owner showed us boats that were banked on the rocks by the hurricane, leaving significant damage on the vessels. The highway began its way westward, up the Sierra la Giganta, a mountain range running north to south. It was nice to be in a winding road again with different scenery, the mountain had green slopes, contrasting with what I had been used to seeing in most of the Baja peninsula.
By the time we reached level ground atop the mountain, the sun was setting directly in front and limited my view of the road. I noticed Dominic’s motorcycle ahead abruptly shake from side to side, slipping. The entire highway for a few hundred meters was being repaired and, what had been dirt earlier that day was now mud, lots of it. I was going too fast to try to stop before I reached it; I braced myself and hoped for the best. Fortunately, none of us fell, but Tom’s motorcycle was having difficulties starting. It took us the better part of an hour to figure out one of the hoses leading to the carburetor had become clogged with mud. With the sun setting and no idea where we would stay that night, we begin riding in the dark and intermittent rain until Constitucion City where we brought the motorcycles inside the lobby and once again carried the entire luggage up several flights of stairs.
The conditions for that day were by far not the best: riding in the rain, at night, motorcycle not starting. It had potential to be overwhelming, but it was not. I am confident this was because we had a team that made it bearable. If I had gone through that day entirely by myself, I have no doubt in my mind there would have been moments I wish I was not there, especially with the motorcycle not starting, no one around, far from the nearest town, the sun setting and rain around the corner. It would have been a character-building day, without a doubt.
