Lazaro Cardenas! (el norte)

So.. after more than 85 miles yesterday with a morning full of mountains, here we are in lazaro cardenas. I had no idea how difficult it would be to ride fully loaded touring bikes up mountains. Yesterday was a challenge. We were both exhausted and sore and it was late, so we treated ourselves to the finest (and only) accomodations in this grand town: the motel romo. Two bonuses to this motel: karaoke and billiard bar attached, along with a taco place. Just about perfect. The karaoke bar was a blast until we wanted to head to bed and it was thumping mariachi and raggaeton into the night. Jeff and I did a couple of english selections: "brown eyed girl", "total eclipse of the heart", and "ain't no mountain high enough" (which turned out to be the backup singing version). It was fun..for us. Maybe not for everyone else. :)

Also, we camped two nights ago for the first time. Our cooking skills could use a little work.. the vista outside of our tent was fabulous though! The land here is really pretty beautiful. A good mix between agriculture and rugged landscape. We did pass evidence of some serious rain that they saw here last week. Trucks and buses out in the middle of riverbeds and just about every major bridge was under construction after being closed last week. One bridge had a detour through the dry riverbed because an entire chunk of bridge was missing! And maybe for me the saddest flooding evidence I've ever seen: we passed a poorly placed vineyard that was flooded all the way up to the cordons! I haven't talked about wine much on this winemaking blog, but flooding and vineyards don't get along very well..at all. And I'm a little bummed that we haven't had tons of extra time to check out some wine. Maybe on our way back through..

Well, we have a couple of errands to run in town today. We may stay another night if we head to the beach or we may head on. Time will tell....

por fin, on the road

We're planning on getting to the road today! The bridges still may be out, but we're going to see how far we can get. Wish us luck!!!! Not sure how much internet we'll have for a while, so bear with us..

Ensenada and weather brings more changes

So we are in Ensenada! A direct bus ride yesterday from Tecate proved not possible. After the bus was delayed about a half hour, the bus driver was adament that there was no room for us and our bicycles. BUT, there was a bus that left in 5 minutes for Tijuana where we could make a quick connection to a bus that leaves every half hour to Ensenada. It left us with few choices. So, off we go to Tijuana. The bumpy road wasn't so kind on our  full bladders because in the hurry and confusion we didn't get a chance to head to the bathroom. Anyways, we arrived safe and sound in TJ. It really didn't feel overly dangerous at all. Just a very large, expansive, hustle and bustle Mexican metropolis really. We loaded up our bikes on the bus to Ensenada and went to a nearby bakery to get some food. The ride to Ensenada was beautiful..right along the coast. Just a little taste of the scenery we will be seeing for the next month.

In Ensenada, we arrived at our hostel and upon describing our trip, we quickly learned that there would be some major obstacles. Some crazy rains this past week caused some bridges to be washed out. Check out the link for more info.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/jan/26/baja-bridge-may-reopen-as-storm-repairs-continue/
A frenchman that really needed to pass from south to north ended up paying for a plane shuttle to get over the washed out bridge..

So, we've decided to stay in Ensenada for another night to wait it out. After trying to find some nightlife last night, we realised that Monday nights is the slowest night of the week here and it was apparent. We ended up watching Sherlock Holmes at the theatre..great movie we both thought. Tonight is supposed to be a little more lively, so we're looking forward to that.

Going with the flow! unless its flooding and takes out bridges  :(

On our way!

So, I know I promised an entry yesterday, but we've quickly realised that not everything always goes according to plan. We had a great night out in Santa Monica on Saturday night. It included karaoke, Guinness, a very long walk home, a very late night call to Jake Oakland, among some other interesting escapades...

Yesterday my cousin Natalie and her boyfriend Scott drove us to a highway heading out of San Diego. We got on the very windy and hilly road towards Tecate (our border crossing), still feeling the residual effects of the fun night before. It wasn't long before we realised that we weren't going to make it all the way to the border before dark with our fully loaded bikes. No big deal..we roll with the punches!!! We stopped for some food in a small village and our waiter was quick to offer up an under construction room that he had on the lowest level of his house. It was the best case scenario and we slept like babies.

This morning, feeling like a million bucks after a few calisthetics, we hitched a ride with a passerby that took us directly to Tecate. Visa paperwork and payment went without a hitch. The guy working the visa desk was amused by the thought of two americans sleeping in the same tent for a month. lol. We had lunch, a couple of Tecate beers (fitting, right?), I got a buzz haircut, we bought harmonicas, and planned out our day. We've made the decision to avoid the mountains between Tecate and Ensenada by taking a bus. We are a few days behind schedule and both came to the conclusion that we would rather spend time on the beach than battling the windy hilly road over the next two days. It may sound like we are giving up a little, but it was an easy decision after a battling some very hilly stretches and afternoon traffic on the road yesterday.

So, we will be in Ensenada tonight, staying the Ensenada Backpackers Hostel. Looking forward to it! Please spread the word about the blog to friends. I'm not sure if I have the net time and resources to send out a notification email to many people. The url is on my facebook profile.

Until next time!

The beginning of a great adventure

Ok, so I know its on facebook about this whole blog thing. Jeff Edwards and I are bicycling the Baja Peninsula in Mexico starting tomorrow for a month. Right now we are in Santa Monica at my cousin's place and instead of writing an introductory blog post that will chronicle our journeys thus far and those henceforth, I'm going to go out to enjoy the LA nightlife. Legit blogpost number one coming tomorrow morning before we head out...promise!