Day 50
Saturday night in Guerrero Negro was a real party. Or at least it sounded like it. Cars rolled by blasting their stereos until sunrise. Lots of singing, and later on, the distinctive tinkle of a piss on the fence nearby. The stray cats enjoyed being mystified by our tent netting again and again.
We slept in a little and after eating, went to get water at the neighborhood filling station "La Gota del Desierto." We placed our various bottles on the counter and the man behind glass filled them. When I asked "Que vale?" and pulled out my wallet, a man behind me with an empty jug stepped in front of me and placed a 5 peso coin on the counter and smile. It was his gift. We thanked him kindly and wished him a good day as we left. He said a sort of prayer for us that went something like "May all you wish for be granted." Little did we know how right he was.
We made our way to the Bus station. Asked a few people and it ended up being about a mile and a half away. It looked like a tienda with the open sign out of power, but there were people inside waiting with baggage. We inquired and bought tickets San Igancio for the 12:30pm bus. We had a little time so we went back, got our bikes, said a short goodbye and headed for the station. It was late in the morning and breakfast had wore off after the walk, so we pulled into a tantalizing taco truck. We had a few fish tacos each and by god they were the best I've ever had. Hands down. What made it better was the conversation. There was a young family there who had seen us on the road yesterday. He was Argentinian, she was Brazilian, and baby boy was very cute and bilingual. They were headed south in their old RV from Everett WA down to Argentina. They offered us a ride but we said we already had tickets. However, it sounded like fun so we left shortly to see if we could get our tickets refunded. As we rounded the corner to the Bus station, we saw the bus pulling out. At the station, the young woman at the counter was flustered but laughing. 'It just left! We waited but they had to go!' "But the bus leaves at 12:30!" I said (it was 11:30 on my watch). "Yes, it did!" she says. "Pinche cambio de tiempo!" exclaimed Lluc. It was then I realized when we crossed the border into Baja del Sur, we went ahead an hour into Moutain time. Damn.
So we didn't get our money back (it wasn't much), but we went back to the taco truck with smiles. "It's a miracle we met you guys." Lucas, his wife Rey, and baby Valentino opened their home to us and we were off to San Ignacio. This was better than the bus anyhow, so we weren't upset.
The road was bleak. Just as we had imagined. Everytime a truck passed the other way, blowing a gust of wind through the window, a sighed in relief. We talked the whole way, rather successfully, which made us feel great about our spanish. Looking outside it was obvious: That would've been a rough two day's ride.
In a little over two hours a group of volcanic mountains had approached and suddenly the ground split apart and palm trees filled the void. San Ignacio. A bridge brought us over a real river into town. The first fresh running water we've seen our whole time in Mexico.
There was a beautiful old mission built of volcanic rock, standing before a classic spanish-colonial square, shaded at this time of the afternoon with large green trees. Absolutely heavenly.
We sat in the square and rested (a two hour drive is surprisingly exhausting after having not been in a car for a long time). Valentino rode is tricycle in circles, and we watched him sloppily, and gleedully devour a chocolate ice cream.
The afternoon was turning into evening so we parted ways from our new friends and made for a market, to supply for the next day or two. These are the kinds of people, Lluc remarked, you're sorry to think you may never see again. I agree. We were fortunate today.
We made camp in the date palms by the river off of a sandy road. Not the most spacious, but it nice to be surrounded by green.
At dusk we returned to the square for an ice cream and to watch the night life. Good to be on the other side of the Vizcaíno, and it feels we have entered a new part of Baja. Stunned to find that we are within a day of the itinerary I drafted before the trip. never thought I would be that accurate... The last 600 miles lay before us.
We slept in a little and after eating, went to get water at the neighborhood filling station "La Gota del Desierto." We placed our various bottles on the counter and the man behind glass filled them. When I asked "Que vale?" and pulled out my wallet, a man behind me with an empty jug stepped in front of me and placed a 5 peso coin on the counter and smile. It was his gift. We thanked him kindly and wished him a good day as we left. He said a sort of prayer for us that went something like "May all you wish for be granted." Little did we know how right he was.
We made our way to the Bus station. Asked a few people and it ended up being about a mile and a half away. It looked like a tienda with the open sign out of power, but there were people inside waiting with baggage. We inquired and bought tickets San Igancio for the 12:30pm bus. We had a little time so we went back, got our bikes, said a short goodbye and headed for the station. It was late in the morning and breakfast had wore off after the walk, so we pulled into a tantalizing taco truck. We had a few fish tacos each and by god they were the best I've ever had. Hands down. What made it better was the conversation. There was a young family there who had seen us on the road yesterday. He was Argentinian, she was Brazilian, and baby boy was very cute and bilingual. They were headed south in their old RV from Everett WA down to Argentina. They offered us a ride but we said we already had tickets. However, it sounded like fun so we left shortly to see if we could get our tickets refunded. As we rounded the corner to the Bus station, we saw the bus pulling out. At the station, the young woman at the counter was flustered but laughing. 'It just left! We waited but they had to go!' "But the bus leaves at 12:30!" I said (it was 11:30 on my watch). "Yes, it did!" she says. "Pinche cambio de tiempo!" exclaimed Lluc. It was then I realized when we crossed the border into Baja del Sur, we went ahead an hour into Moutain time. Damn.
So we didn't get our money back (it wasn't much), but we went back to the taco truck with smiles. "It's a miracle we met you guys." Lucas, his wife Rey, and baby Valentino opened their home to us and we were off to San Ignacio. This was better than the bus anyhow, so we weren't upset.
The road was bleak. Just as we had imagined. Everytime a truck passed the other way, blowing a gust of wind through the window, a sighed in relief. We talked the whole way, rather successfully, which made us feel great about our spanish. Looking outside it was obvious: That would've been a rough two day's ride.
In a little over two hours a group of volcanic mountains had approached and suddenly the ground split apart and palm trees filled the void. San Ignacio. A bridge brought us over a real river into town. The first fresh running water we've seen our whole time in Mexico.
There was a beautiful old mission built of volcanic rock, standing before a classic spanish-colonial square, shaded at this time of the afternoon with large green trees. Absolutely heavenly.
We sat in the square and rested (a two hour drive is surprisingly exhausting after having not been in a car for a long time). Valentino rode is tricycle in circles, and we watched him sloppily, and gleedully devour a chocolate ice cream.
The afternoon was turning into evening so we parted ways from our new friends and made for a market, to supply for the next day or two. These are the kinds of people, Lluc remarked, you're sorry to think you may never see again. I agree. We were fortunate today.
We made camp in the date palms by the river off of a sandy road. Not the most spacious, but it nice to be surrounded by green.
At dusk we returned to the square for an ice cream and to watch the night life. Good to be on the other side of the Vizcaíno, and it feels we have entered a new part of Baja. Stunned to find that we are within a day of the itinerary I drafted before the trip. never thought I would be that accurate... The last 600 miles lay before us.
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