Reality Check-Crossing into Mexico (Baja)

Chris wrote:

As we entered Mexico through Tecate the first order of business was a 5 mile traffic jam on a single lane dusty road in 100 degree weather; for those of you in celsius, it was one helluva hot day.


Guess which lane we took-- Tijuana is where all the Cartel problems are.

This is the local athletes' tool of choice, the "Baja Racer" they come in all shapes and sizes.

This is my tool of choice; I'm speaking FOR THE BIKE.

When the bags are off the bike and the tool is checking the map on a dirt road with no civilization in sight, then you know problems are around the corner.

Yep, here come the problems, notice the sticks under the back wheel, a good idea but nowhere near enough.

As you can see, so this is where it gets ugly and I did what any defeated tool does,

pushed the bike on its side and nearly killed myself dragging it to a different spot of really soft beach sand, hoping and praying I didn't need a 6 lane freeway of sticks.

I will say this, this was a serious challenge, for me a bit but for my ever so dedicated wife even more so, she didn't stand around taking pics all the time or we would have a lot more to share, she rolled up her sleeves and got all sandy and sweaty with me and she seemed to love every minute of it, honest truth!!

Finally we found this littel hotel on the edge of the ocean and checked in to a tiny sticky room with a fantastic view.

Yea, now she's all smiles, the bike that is.

When we arrived here the first order of business was 2 double Tequilas and 2 cold cervezas, EACH and a good laugh.

A couple of views from our room.

The unfinished hotel, alot of potential.

The following day we rode south towards the Sea of Cortez and on the way we stopped at this spot in the middle of the desert for a break as we were riding in 110 degree weather, the air bone dry. This place was right in the middle of the desert with nothing 40 miles either side, I ask myself, why would anyone want to live in a place like this, I'll never figure it out.

The other direction.

We finally found a hotel called, the Desert Inn, how appropriate, they had a pool which we abused and a good A/C. 9pm In the resturant, which didnt have A/C, the temp was still 100 degrees F. Early in the morning at its coldest point, the temp got down to a whopping 95.

From Melissa: We began this leg of the journey with a lot of excitement and a healthy amount of fear. Countless bikers that we have met have regaled us with stories of their friends and friends-of-friends who have ridden through Mexico, Central and South America and encountered a myriad of mishaps…robberies, bikers left bloodied by the side of the road, victims of drunk drivers (for which they have been hauled off to jail, asked for insurance, forced to hand over vast amounts of dollars) etc. If one more person tells us about the book “Two Wheels of Terror”, by the guy who was motorcycling though Colombia and was kidnapped for 4 months, I’ll run. I really would like to read this book, only AFTER I get home from this journey. With all of this input, we have tried to stay positive and not get hysterical about the amount of danger ranging from swine flu to drug lords. However, today when we crossed into Mexico, I have to say that our anxiety was at an all-time high. We crossed from San Diego to Tecate with much anticipation………however, the border guards just waved us through, didn’t even leave the shady area where they were hanging out to stamp our passports (which we hope won’t be a problem later.) We came into Tecate and headed down the Baja coast road to Ensenada, stopping for lunch at a small town called San Vicente.We passed through the MexicanWine Route but did not stop as we were concerned about timing and where to stay the night. There is quite a distance between stops with hotels in this part of Mexico and no signs…very little is also visible on a map, and the GPS has been off-track, not lining up with the actual roads (even though we purchased the Garmin Mexico map system.) Having lived in Mexico, I have a real love for this country, but...traffic was a nightmare, and a good amount of the road was under construction, where we were diverted off onto a dirt road, stuck behind buses spewing fumes into our faces. We had stopped at the tourist office in Ensenada and were told that there was a hotel a few hours south in a town called Colonet, just off of a road near San Telmo, near the beach. We arrived at Colonet at about 4pm, and the town was basically a few buildings along the side of the road. We asked some police officers where the hotel was and they directed us to a dirt road which supposedly went to the beach. We went down this road and it got worse, worse, and turned into a maze of dirt and sand roads which went alongside farms and led nowhere. By this time the sun was going down and we were getting nervous. We hit some soft sand and the bike went over. With all of the bags, etc. the motorcycle is very heavy; even with the new tires that Chris had put on in San Diego it was very unstable. Chris and I had to pick the bike up and try to get it out of the sand, which was interesting….picture this..the two of us, hot and sweating, mosquitoes beginning to swarm, trying to pick up 500 plus pounds of motorcycle from the soft sand, with the bike sliding all over the place. Back on the bike, onto the road, still looking for the hotel. MORE soft sand and we went over again. Only this time we could not get the bike out of the trees, and the back wheel was WAY buried. Chris put sticks under the back tire and we tried to create traction and get it out but no way. He finally said “Babe, take off your jacket, this is going to get ugly.” We then proceeded to drag the bike along the sand and get it out of the hole and turned it around. The sun was getting lower and lower and I could picture us stuck in this maze in the dark being shot by ticked-off cattle ranchers. We found a new, dirt road with the now useless GPS which can’t recognize any of these Mexican roads and went uphill on a road filled with big rocks and dirt. We almost went over the cliff. When we were on our last nerve we came upon a farm and asked a guy where to go and he pointed us to a road towards town. By then it was almost dark. We stopped at a gas station and ended up going south to the next town called Camalu and were directed up a hill (another dirt road!! Thank god for the GSA!)where a hotel called “La Cueva del Pirata” appeared like a mirage in the distance. We immediately had a Don Julio Tequila and just got our bearings.
I must say that we have done some planning in this regard: we have gotten a satellite phone and a personal tracker, which is the size of an Ipod or a little larger, called a Spot Tracker. This allows you to send emails to a specific set of friends and family to let them know that you are OK. It also (for about $90 per year) has a service that is 911—this is a button you press and anywhere you are in the world, they can locate you on Google Earth and send help in the form of truck, helicopter, etc to rescue you. The Spot Tracker can be purchased at any REI store. Alex, a biker that we met in Ferndale, California told us about this and it was a great tip. We also got Mexico Motorcycle Insurance through a company called Mexpro which can be purchased online. They provide quotes from a variety of Mexican Insurance companies.
Our first day in Mexico……..now on to the next adventure!! (photos for this post to come when we get a stronger signal...out here in the middle of the desert right now...)