Munching those miles

The thing about Baja is that there is not a lot here…most of the peninsula is desert, dotted with small towns along the single main road. People come here to enjoy that emptiness and outdoor lifestyle and we are passed by many a camper with all the toys on board…from bikes to boats and everything in between. This lifestyle suits us just fine, especially now the rain has stopped and the temperatures are climbing.

We hopped our way along the east coast, camping, soaking in hot springs and battling with 25miles of dirt road. Met another cyclist for the first time since entering Mexico – a young Australian called Lync, travelling on a mountain bike with a very heavy trailer, wearing a floppy camo hat and sharing our peanut butter addiction! We have spent the last week or so leap frogging him, cycling together at times and camping together in the desert. The dirt road was a challenge, it comprised of what seemed like endless rumble strip style bumps and rocks but the scenery was spectacular and felt like we were properly out in the wilds…nobody there, other than Coco. Coco is an old Mexican man with legs as far as his knees, who lives on his own in the middle of the desert, walking around on homemade leather knee pads and inviting travellers in for a drink or somewhere to stay…fascinating character and a bit of a legend among the travel community.

The dirt road gave way to the beautifully smooth surface of highway 1 and we travelled swiftly towards Gurrero Negro, crossing the peninsula again. The desert is a crazy place, so unlike anywhere I have been before, the weirdest thing it that the cacti don’t move in the wind, they just stand there tall, straight, spiked and unmoving, almost mocking us as we pass by. Maybe I am losing the plot!

Gurrero Negro is not an inspiring town but the grey whales that come to the lagoons to have their babies were truly inspiring! We had our first encounters on the Californian coast, near Ventura, and more than 900 cycling miles later we meet again…who knows, some of them might actually be the same ones. It was incredible being out in such a small boat surrounded by ballenas, some so close we could have reached out to touch them. The air full of the noises of them blowing, surfacing and splashing. Awesome.