Friday 8th July
Having had our fix of luxury for the time being, it was time to leave San Ignacio and continue our journey to the east coast. Despite enjoying the last few days together we still wanted to ride separately, something that was confirmed to me the day before when we were riding round the town together looking for a place to stay. Ed doesn’t do well in the heat and gets very hot and bothered, and once he’s got his bike gear on he’s always in a rush to get moving so he can cool down. He can’t help it and so I totally understand and get it completely, but I really don’t like being rushed, and as he rode off in front of me I was surprised to discover that I really didn’t like riding with him any more. And I’d just like to clarify that that’s by no means a reflection on Ed, it’s a personal thing. Anyone that’s travelled both with someone and solo will understand, and I have no doubt that Ed feels exactly the same about riding with me. I much prefer to ride alone now, in my own time and at my own pace, and that little ride in San Ignacio would have been enough to cancel out any doubts that I had about riding solo. Although if I’m honest I haven’t had a single doubt about riding solo since making the decision all those months ago, in fact it’s the best decision I’ve made in a long time!
After doing a few laps of the town and taking some photos, I got back on to the main road and continued east. It started off flat but turned out to be a beautiful ride through the mountains, but as I dropped down to the coast I got a very sudden and unpleasant surprise. It was instantly humid, like someone had flicked a switch, and my entire body became horribly hot and sticky. I wasn’t expecting an increase in humidity until the mainland, and started to worry that it was going to be even worse once I got there.
Thankfully it didn’t affect my appetite though, as I stopped at a bakery in Santa Rosalia that Marcelo had recommended to me, and scoffed not one but two delicious apple empanadas.
It looked like an interesting town, busy with life amongst the palm trees, but it was too early and too hot to stop. I checked my phone before leaving and a saw a message from Ed, who appeared to be enjoying the humidity even less than me. He’d also stopped in Santa Rosalia at a pizza place for some food and a drink, and was sat between two fans watching a Mexican midget singing and dancing on the side of the road, as you do.
It wasn’t until the next town that we actually go to see each other though, after a hot and sticky ride to the next town.
I rolled in to Mulege to find Ed’s bike parked up at a roadside cafe, where Ed was enjoying some shade and a cold drink. I pulled over and joined him, and hand delivered his apple empanada that I’d got for him from the bakery, which rather amazingly I’d managed not to eat on the way there.
After a good rest and a chat with the friendly owner, where I surprised myself by having a conversation longer than a few sentences in Spanish, Ed hit the road again and I went in search of some lunch. I was quite confused by the town, I couldn’t quite work it out, especially as my tom-tom app wasn’t getting on very well with the one-way system. It tried to take me over the river via a bridge that didn’t exist, then up a road that I definitely shouldn’t have gone up, but luckily being on a small bike you can usually get away with going the wrong way up a one-way street. I eventually found the little seafood stall that Marcelo had recommended, literally a stones throw away from where we’d been in the first place, but I quickly discovered that it was closed, and decided that I wasn’t actually that hungry anyway and settled for a banana and some milk.
As I carried on south the scenery was absolutely stunning, as I wound my way along the Bay of Conception. There was beautiful bay after beautiful bay, with endless camping opportunities and tropical looking palm-tree lined beaches. I could have easily stopped at any one of them, as accommodation and seafront palapas were bountiful, but I’d already given Ed the address of a place I’d found on-line, which according to reviews was the most beautiful beach on the Baja.
After playing cat and mouse with a trucker most of the way there, who beeped and waved every time he went past me taking photos (which was often) and every time I overtook him again, I eventually arrived at Playa Requeson. Ed was already there, and had secured us a waterfront palapa for the night for the tiny sum of $50MEX each, which is about two pounds. I was so pleased to get my bike gear off, and even more pleased to discover that the water was like a bath, it was glorious! Ed was also happy as he’d made friends with the guy next door who had a healthy supply of cold beer, and we enjoyed our time swimming in the sea and chatting on the beach.
As darkness fell we were treated to the most beautiful star spangled sky, only interrupted by the lights of the the odd truck that went past on the night shift. It was so peaceful and surprisingly still hot, and we enjoyed a stroll along the beach which was illuminated under the full moon, before trying to get some sleep.
We’d both put our tents up under the palapa, but after twenty minutes of sweating without the hint of a breeze, we took them down and slept outside on our air mattresses. It was still too hot to sleep and we both lay there tossing and turning for a couple of hours, until around 2am Ed decided to cool down in the water, where he got a very interesting surprise. As he moved his feet in the water it glowed green, and he quickly realised that the whole area was full of bio-luminescent algae. Needless to say that I went straight in to join him, and we had a great time playing in it, along with the fish that glowed as they jumped out of the water. It was mesmerising as it sparkled and shimmered when you gently moved your hands along the surface, and when you moved your arms and legs vigorously backwards and forwards it went absolutely crazy. It was so surreal watching our limbs glow as we waved them around in the water, and imagine Ed’s joy when he discovered that if he waved his willy around it glowed green!* Hours of entertainment right there folks.
*Sadly there are no photos of this, but I’m sure you can use your imagination 😉
latest update.. fantastic thanks for sharing ( ride your own ride) RIDE ON!
Haha Cheers J! I’m busy writing more today so hopefully I’ll be up to date soon!
Nice descriptive writing Rachel!
Makes the reader feel as though they are right alongside you!
Stunning photography as well!
Thanks Chief, I try my best! 🙂 Still need to work on the photos but I think the writing is getting a bit better haha
Great read once again!
On that last part: Not all things are meant to be photographed. 😉
Haha Yes that’s very true!! Some things are best left for the moment 😉
A far cry from your journey across Canada. Someday you will have to redo the west coast of Canada in the early summer. Thanks to both of you. I made that trip this summer. Ontario to Victoria BC and back.
Tell me about it! Talk about one extreme to the other. I would love to visit Canada in the summer, especially round the Okanagan area. Sadly I think I’m too old to qualify for a working holiday visa, so it’ll be a while yet before I will have enough money to get back there, but one day I hope 🙂 And great to hear you’ve been having your own adventures, hope you had a great time. That’s what it’s all about. Canada is a beautiful country to epxlore so make the most of it! 🙂