“Do you hear that?”
“What?”
“It’s quiet…”
No more ‘Hola Gringo!’, no barking dogs and no loud music. We are in Baja California and the only sound is the howling of the wind. Strong wind. Headwind… But, we needed this, we definately needed to be away from the crowds and feel the freedom of travelling by bicycle again; and here we are! Camping in great spots, cooking our own pasta meals and sleeping under the stars.
Sunset
In Baja California most of the roads are dead straight; the climbing is with a very low gradient and it takes tens and tens.. and tens of kilometers before you see another bend in the road… And with the stormy headwind it’s a mental battle. Most of the days our average speed is no more than 12 kilometers an hour, I guess it’s definately a better idea to cycle Baja from North to South!
Very, very straight roads
The traffic is ok and the truck drivers are really considerate and giving us the space we need on the narrow roads. Towns, such as La Paz and Loreto are very pleasent and well worth a visit.
We camp at the beach, take a dip in the turquoise colored water and enjoy firy sunsets while Elmar makes us a cup of coffee with the percolator. Another night we hide our tent underneath a huge cactus deeply tucked away between the bushes; only to find out Jerry also likes to roam around here… reminds us of a night camping with Myles in Bolivia! But this time, we couldn’t send Jerry away to annoy the funny British guy!
But, those winds and those endlessly straight roads! They are killing us! I hate to tell you this, but it’s soooo boring! Cactus after cactus, boulder after boulder, bushes after bushes… Not to mention the sand storms… and since we are going so slow because of the wind, it’s like a neverending story!
Pretty windy..
Every now and then we have to cross some mountainous parts of Baja and that’s when the fun begins for us; the road is winding its way up and down, we are among colorful mountains and a surprise awaits us on the next corner.
We end our ride through Baja riding from Ensenada to Tecate; we have decided not to cross the border at Tijuana (the worlds busiest border crossing), but to detour through Valle de Guadelupe and it’s a good decision. The scenery is quite stunning. We enjoy the wine fields and the climbs and downhills through ‘boulder country’ with crazy mountains to cycle along. The 15-minute border crossing is our sweet dessert. 😉
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