Baja Sur's Big Gap

Baja California is made up of 2 states, Baja Norte (north) and Baja Sur (south).  In order to get to the tropical paradise areas of Baja Sur you have to drive through the Valle De Los Cirios Natural Protected Area  and because this is a protected area there are no gas stations for 225 miles.  Actually there isn't much of anything at all but beautiful scenery and a curvy road. 

The "Gas Gap"

We have a reserve tank of gas on the bike for places like this. We have had to use it several times already and highly recommend adventure bikers do the same. 

Here is our 2 gallon tank.

Everyday we drive past at least a dozen of these roadside shrines. Some of them are simple and some are elaborate, but they are all fairly unique from each other.

YAY!!

A tropical depression hit the Baja and caused landslides and washed out roads. Good thing we have the bike for that, eh?

The beauty of the ride always makes the hard days worth it. We passed through several postcard worthy locations along the way.

Hola!

One of our favorite stops was Loreto. It's off season in this very laid back beach town so basically we had the place to ourselves.

Don't see me!

In the tiny town of Ciudad Insugentes someone has taken the time to shape the shrubbery into rainbows and chickens.

Our final stop in the Baja was La Paz.  From here we will take an overnight ferry to the mainland so we have several days to relax and enjoy the beach.  We stayed on the Malecon (boardwalk) and enjoyed watching the locals and the many statues along the way.

Boop!

Bearded lady with a conch?

The Black Pearl

The view from our $40 room.

Being a stranger in a strange land can be exhilarating. We walked through a peaceful demonstration on the malecon after dinner one night.

Watching Matthew get a $6 haircut while watching telenovelas is far more amusing than I thought it would be. 

On our last day we took the bike out for a ride to see one of the locals favorite playas (beaches). Sand is hard to ride on but totally worth it!

"I was only stuck once and only fell down once.. so that's a win right?" -Matthew

On the ride back to La Paz we stopped to watch the Blood Moon Eclipse.

Bloody moon!

The Baja was not what we expected and some days the roads were rough and the food made us ill but we are so glad we did it.  Now it is time to hitch a ride on the ferry to Mazatlan!

Suddenly MEXICO!

Even though we have been through Canada twice during this trip we really don't feel like we have ventured out of the good ole USA until now.

SUDDENLY MEXICO!!  

As soon as we crossed the border into Tecate, MX  we were immediately overwhelmed by the chaos that is Mexico. The combination of the road conditions, the crazy drivers, everything is in Spanish, Mariachi bands everywhere and the sometimes untrustworthy food had us feeling homesick right away. Oh, and it's also VERY LOUD!

Benny, our mascot, will now be refereed to as Benicio! He's acclimating better than us.

Vamonos!!

On the bright side Mexico is cheap. Our first room at a small resort just south of Tijuana was only $40 USD with an ocean view. You can live well on less than $100 a day here.

The diet here consist of lots of deep fried foods and every meal comes with chips and salsa and warm tortillas, even breakfast. (I think they even use them for napkins.)

Bring me a wheelbarrow for meh belly!

Our first full day in Mexico we hit on of those tourist places where you can buy handmade goods from the locals.

And the mariachi's provide loud live music at your table so you don't have to have that awkward conversation with your loved ones. It's best to avoid eye contact with them.

Seeking their next victim.

You can also buy bajas in the Baja.

Awww, he's wearing a hat!

We decided to ride down the Baja to La Paz to take a ferry to the mainland. We really don't know what to expect from the terrain but our first day of riding took us along the coastal route that reminded us of California Highway 1.

Well done Mexico.

Random street art makes every ride interesting.

The little mosques (?) are the equivalent of roadside crosses. They can get pretty elaborate.

Mmmm that is a tasty burger.

It is the rainy season here and the road conditions change suddenly. As we headed down Baja California Norte (North) We ran across some flooded roads and construction.  At this spot the road was a small river so I hitched a ride across in the back of a local's truck and Matthew road the bike through.

Never a dull moment.

Up next we head into the "Gas Gap" and into Baja California Sur (south)