Boots in Baja
The real purpose of this trip was to see if KR and I could get on our m/c horse again after a couple of years away. Our unstated goal was to make it to Catavina, about 400 miles south of the border, to see the extraordinary cacti and rocks in the Baja mountains. We found this horse wandering in the desert though I didn’t try to ride him. But we did get on our m/c horse again and found our groove.
My strategy for this trip was to recreate our first motorcycle trip to Mexico thirty years ago. Back then, Karen had never been on a motorcycle, so we didn’t take any freeways south to avoid going over 50mph. It’s been a while since we were both on the bike so I wanted to ease us into it. Karen had been giving me the “I don’t really want to go, but I’m not letting you go by yourself” vibes for the prior two weeks. She didn’t start packing for this trip until the morning we left. As she pulled on her helmet, she wasn’t a happy camper.
It was probably a blessing that it took me three full days to figure out how to operate our helmet intercoms, hence there was no f___ you’s”coming through the speakers. Technology hasn’t always been my friend, but in this case silence was golden.
I’ll cut to the chase: twelve days and 1,700 miles down Baja to Loreto (about 2/3rds of the way down) and then back. It didn’t take us long to find our groove, both good and bad. On Day Two we took our obligatory low speed spill, this time in soft gravel as we entered a Pemex station. Neither one of us felt anything. NVII just got a few more scratches and we were off.
The road (Mex Hwy 1) has pretty much been transformed into a smooth, Two-Laner snaking through the desert and mountains, with only a few car-eating pot holes. Even a Prius could make it: ) I used an incredible amount of restraint in our pace, not going over 80 (OK 85) but once. Most of the time, I let everyone pass us as we sauntered down the road. Not too long down the road and I heard my all time favorite sound — Karen “chirping” in the intercom and having a great time talking while seeing the sights. We had found our Rhythm of the Road. Perhaps it was a bit slower and the days were shorter, but everything else felt exactly the same.
One of the great things when traveling by m/c is the daily routine. Get up early, have a cup of coffee while packing up, carry all the stuff to the bike and strap it on, and shove off for the day’s sights. Breakfast is about two hours out and lunch is later. We typically rolled into our last stop and revered the process. Unpack the bike, unpack our stuff, get cleaned up, and head out to see the sights and find a Corona. Rinse and repeat.
Both times we crossed the Border at Tijuana, which is usually the THE border crossing to avoid. No papers or Temporary Tourist Visa necessary, but I did buy a week’s worth of m/c insurance. Going down we went through the border and never stopped, probably not going slower than 20 mph as the border to TJ was empty. Coming north, border traffic was pretty normal, which is to say daunting. Various Apps were predicting 2-3 hour crossing times. We did it in 20 minutes from start to finish by splitting lanes and dodging hawkers, cutting back into the line right before the guard stations. The most difficult thing was not tipping over as the road was greasy and tough to get a grip with my “compact” stems.
We made it to Loreto which is 700+ish miles below the border, after a fairly grueling ride. No chirping in the helmet on this leg as KR was Done going south:) We stayed at a very nice hotel, Posada de Las Flores, in the center of town. We decided to spend a second night here as its so nice and I have a bunch of work to get done. It’s very expensive at…. $103/night US.
The next day we made a U-Turn and headed back up. We had some really great nights, a few not so great riding segments, and perfect weather for the entire twelve days. This would be classified as a short trip for us, but I think we’ll look back on it with fondness with the realization we’re still young enough to be doing this kind of stuff: )
Here’s what things looked like so far.
There’s not a lot of love beneath the smile as KR suits up before shoving off
Believe it or not, we’d never been to downtown San Diego. It was a happening place this Saturday night and we were very happy to jump in.
Many hotels and AirBnB’s have eliminated human check-ins as a result of COVID. Here KR stands in front of a hotel in Coronado while texting to see if there’s any availability.
Typical small restaurant. This one in San Vincente, which is in Baja Norte’s wine country.
One of my favorite place ever, the Mision Santa Maria Hotel in San Quintin. We first found it 30 odd years ago, and while the name has changed, its pretty much unchanged
View from our room
The beach. See any people?
The beach stretches as far as you can in the other direction as well.
Motorcycle Dude needs a Corona at the bar. I thought it was a look, KR not so much: )
We had a near-death experience, but it wasn’t on the bike, it was in a Mexican cab on the way to this famous old restaurant in San Quintin. The taxi driver was looking at his phone, playing with his kid, and talking with his wife on the 25 minute drive at night down a two-lane road. No one had seat belts. I couldn’t stop thinking about f___ing ironic if we got killed in a taxi crash on a m/c trip: ) I finally crawled over the front seat and shouted at him to shut up keep his eyes out front.
One of the coolest places on earth, mountains of Catavina with rocks and cactus
We took a walk down this dirt road/path behind our hotel. The Catavina Desert Inn is a great hotel with pretty shitty staff and an outrageous $30pesos/hr/128MB charge.
The 150miles between Catavina and Guerro Negro going south is pretty desolate with no “real” gas stations in between. Here, we stop at an abandoned Pemex station that is now manned by guys selling gas out of 1 gallon jugs. A mechanical breakdown out here would not be a good thing. Of course, NVII does not breakdown unlike his predecessor NVI.
On the other end of the scale, we stay at the Posada de Las Flores Hotel in Loreto for a couple of days. One of the great things about traveling by m/c is the extreme contrasts in surroundings and accommodations one can seek out.
While Loreto is small, its a pretty happening place. This is the town square on a Wednesday night. Bars, restaurants, music and dancing. Like I said, contrasts.
My Loreto office was on the pool deck of the Posada de Las Flores. And people ask me why I use a small computer: )
The next night all the beach hotels in Santa Rosalia were booked (we didn’t know it was Spring Break) so we stayed at this hotel in El Centro. Plastic table worked just fine as my office. Cost per night: $30US
The more mundane part of m/c travel: KR’s one pair of shoes broke, so we went shopping in a zapateria.
Motorcycle Stud. All systems worked well. Karen and I decided that our next m/c trip will be to South Africa this fall.
Loved it!
Ah….to be young again!!!
Sounds like a great trip! Miss talking to my favorite uncle <3
Another great F&K episode…….just wondering if you forgot that we live in San Diego……… 🙂
Hi F & K,
A few months ago—or was it a year—we also revisited memories of Baja. Could we still camp on a beach, catch fish, and live like we did in 1977??? Back then our total weekly expenses were about $25. Of course, fuel for The Turtle I, our 1967 Land Rover, was about 24 cents a gallon. Oysters, clams, lobster, and plenty of fish were all still waiting for us. Hussong’s Cantina was still waiting for us. Beaches were the same. An article in the next issue of Overland Journal will tell more of the story. Our question, could we still do it in The Turtle V??? Yes, but many for a bit more than $25 a week. Diesel was now $4.00 a gallon! Tecate is a much better crossing going South or North. Most of what we expected was just like old times. For a look in the past—https://turtleexpedition.com/adventures/mexico/baja-california/baja-backroad-adventures/ We now have a time-share just south of Loreto! Are we getting soft or smart?
we’re all getting soft: )) We were always wimps compared to you and Gary:) Perfect example of wimpyness. KR and I are riding a m/c for a month in Africa. We’re taking a motorcycle TOUR : )) We would never in a million years have done that back in the day. fw