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November 19, 2017
Day 7 - Santa Rosalia, B.C.S. to Loreto, B.C.S.
I am alive and well and resting peacefully in the Hotel Salvatierra on the shores of the Sea of Cortez in the village of Loreto, Baja California Sur.
Starting Odometer: 6,633
Ending Odometer: 6,837
Distance Traveled Today: 204 miles
Distance Traveled This Trip: 2,214 miles [6,837 - 4,603]
Here's roughly what my ride looked like for today.
To do list:
change time on cameras and on bike.
log expenses for the day
log gas mileage for the day
charge cameras
charge gps and iphone
make fuel plan for tomorrow's ride
post photos
look at ferry schedule
clean visor on helmet
clean visor on motorcycle
oil chain on bike
This morning, we wake up in Santa Rosalia, B.C.S. We've all agreed to go to breakfast at 8:30 a.m. So we get up and walk to breakfast. Jorge has been through this town before, two years ago. I finally go back and look it up and it was 8 years ago that I was here.
So we go to breakfast and order and, of course, everything is deliciouso. After breakfast, we ride our bikes to the Pemex station and everyone gets gas for the ride today. Then, we ride down to Mulege.
Mulege is exactly as I remember it. It has a large wall with a gate that you ride through that says Mulege. So, it's a dramatic entrance when you go into town. Then, we follow the river down to the ocean.
Someone in their group has a drone, and he breaks it out and starts trying to shoot some video of the group riding, but the drone's not performing correctly, it seems. So I go and ride around the river and through town. I cross the river and go get some ice cream at a store just south of town. When I return, they've ridden down to the beach, so I ride my bike down to the beach also.
"Did you have any trouble getting your bike out here to the beach?"
"Dude...I've been riding for 30 years." Like, I really prefer not to take this bike off-road because it's not geared for it, but it's not like I'm incapable of riding off-road. That's not the issue.
At some point, we finally leave and roll south and stop at the Pemex station just south of town.
"I just filled up 30 miles ago. I really don't need to gas up again," I explain.
But, it seems that they're going to be riding off-road today. So I'm like..."Fair enough. Y'all have fun. I'm rolling south on Mexico 1"
But they tell me when I get into Loreto, if I go down the main drag towards the Malecon, I'll see a store on my right called "Routa Uno", or "Route Uno". And, in this store, they sell stickers for my motorcycle that say Mexico Route 1, which is the road we're on.
This, I think, is the most fun of traveling. Talking to strangers. Pumping them for information. Everything gleaned is an enhancement of your journey. Everything you hear from other travelers on the road is a gift from God.
Yes. Of course I want a Mexico 1 sticker on my bike. It has almost zero stickers on it right now. Ugh.
So I wave goodbye and take off heading south on Mexico 1. I'm not really clear how far I'll go today. I don't really need to be in La Paz until Monday or Tuesday. And today is Sunday. So, that basically means I have at least a day to kill.
I roll south and get to Loreto. The truth is that I really never went into Loreto last time. I mean, we rode past it, but we never went down to the malecon in Loreto, as I recall.
But this time, I have an assignment so, as I get to Loreto, I start driving up and down the various streets in Loreto, looking for a store that says "Routa Uno", apparently. But the first roads I turn down aren't even paved, so it hardly seems like they would be the "main road" if it wasn't even paved. So I keep sort of awkwardly rolling around through town, past stray dogs, cars with speakers on top blaring who-knows-what to the masses.
Eventually, I do find the malecon, but I certainly don't recall this from last time. Last time, we definitely skipped Loreto. We rode right past it.
I ask several people, and finally they point me to where the Route Uno store is. And, sure enough, I find it. But it's closed. Because it's Sunday, probably. Great. Brilliant.
Now, I'm not sure what to do. I could try to drive down to La Paz, but that's a fairly long ride. It's another 150 miles or so. And the sun is getting somewhat low on the horizon. I start rolling south, unsure of what to do at this point.
South of town, I see the restaurant that we stopped at last time I was riding down here. I'm almost certain it's the restaurant when I drive past it. But I keep going south, looking for something. I'm sort of looking for some places I recall seeing...some nice beaches where people were camped out. I roll south for about 30 miles, but then the road turns west and starts to cross the Baja peninsula again. So I double back. I really don't want to go any further tonight. I double back and stop at the restaurant that I passed earlier. I'm almost certain that it's the same place we ate at last time.
I remember specifically that there was a boat with a cactus in it. And a giant turtle carcass hanging on the wall inside the place. And, when I sit down, I do see a boat with a cactus in it. Then, I walk inside. "Didn't ya'll use to have a turtle in here?" I ask.
"Yes...but....I don't know how to say in English....It broke," he offers.
So, yeah...this is the place. So, I eat dinner, and then head back north to Loreto. There's a huge hotel with an enormous sign advertising rooms for $500 (pesos) a night, but this is Mexico, and when I ask, of course their rooms are $1000 (pesos) a night, not $500. So, I keep riding, because there's no way in hell I'm paying $50 USD a night for a hotel.
I end up checking into the Hotel Salvatierra for $25 USD a night, which is more what I was expecting to pay.
Posted by Rob Kiser on November 19, 2017 at 7:16 PM
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