Before crossing the border a short visit to GPR was on the agenda to get the steering dampers serviced. The guys were really helpful and after 20 minutes we were back on the road again.
Leaving safe grounds of the USA new adventures where awaiting us! Crossing the border at Otay Mesa near Tijuana was pretty easy going. Turning around the first corner a huge lorry barged out into the road and nearly knocked us of our bikes! Definitely time to get tuned into the Mexican driving style!
After riding through the middle of Tijuana we hopped onto the Highway 1 to Ensenada where we stayed for the night and indulged into our first meal of Tacos – one of many to come.. From there we headed over the peninsula along the Hwy 3 to San Felipe and camped out at an abandoned RV Park, which once had been a luxury resort in the sixties.
Riding along the East coast with lovely sea views the road turned into gravel for 40 km leading to the famous Coco’s Corner. Coco’s story is that he lost a leg due to diabetes and moved out into the desert. Building his home from scratch over the years he has been living there for more than 20 years, welcoming bikers in for a drink and a chat. Over 80’000 people have signed his book and posed for a photo with him. He also grabbed Kate’s ass – what a charmer! The next two days we chilled out camping on the beach at Bahia Los Angeles.
The Palm Desert riders had given us the tip to visit the Mission Borja. The road to get there was 60 km off-road passing amazing cacti forests. The local family showed us around the mission and we headed back onto the trail, which turned into deep sand – a challenge for us, having never ridden in deep sand before and once again the sun was burning down on us. Back on the East coast south of Mulegé the road passed by Conception Bay with white sand and blue water. But we couldn’t stop because the heat was so unbearable. Finally arriving in the town of Loreto we both were totally dehydrated and felt wrecked. The next morning after breakfast, driving over to a gas station, a police officer raced up to us on his quad. We thought – uh oh – first police encounter! He very politely explained to us, that we had just ridden down a one-way-street the wrong way. Adding that we have cool helmets and bikes – and to have a great journey!
Our last destination on the Baja was La Paz. Arriving after another long days ride, we checked into the Pension California and where able to ride our bikes into the hotel lobby. Time was spent exploring the city, drinking bad margaritas, but lovely coffee the morning after… Before boarding the ferry to Mainland Mexico we indulged into a seafood & fish meal by the harbour. The boarding went really fast – we had heard different stories, but we just rolled straight on! Next stop – mainland Mexico!
