Quit our jobs, sold our home, gone riding!

[sodapop6620]

Honestly, we don't know.

We're probably going to keep going until we can't or don't want to anymore. The no plan, no route, no timeline thing is really working out well for us, so no reason to change it and add any stress to the trip.  

Plus it is getting really cold up north

This is great, I love the pictures!!!!

[2RR2NV]

it is?  oh wait, ...  what's really cold?

[lightcycle]

Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/55.html



La Paz is the jewel of Baja California Sur. Located at the mouth of the Gulf of California, it enjoys beautiful weather year-round, a high standard of living and low crime rates. We fell in love with the city almost immediately.


The Malecon, a 5km long boardwalk along the La Paz's beachfront, is the city's focal point for tourists and residents alike


Family-time on the Malecon


We grab lunch at La Aura, the 4th story restaurant with a great view of the boardwalk and beach


Lots of local catch in that seafood soup!


Pelicans are common here, also attracted to the seafood in the waters closeby


Not seafood ice cream


Plenty of places to hang out on the beach, watch the fishing boats go out to sea


One of many aquatic themed statues on the Malecon


Neda is trying to look for what PaperBoatMan is staring at


The Malecon is chocked full of restaurants, diners and bars - all pricey!

We're staying in La Paz for the next two weeks, taking Spanish lessons at a language school called, "Se Habla... La Paz". We've also chosen the homestay option, where we live with a local family for the duration of our stay, so Alicia and Vicente are the first ones to welcome us to La Paz and into their home.


The very first night, Vicente pulls out his arsenal of guitars and we both play and sing while everyone dances around us.  Is it going to be like this every day?!? COOL!


Alicia is a first-rate cook, serving us local dishes for breakfast and lunch. This is Joe (Jose) from California, he's our homestay housemate also taking Spanish lessons, but he's much more fluent than we are!


On the weekends, Vicente opens his backyard studio to the local kids and teaches them how to paint


Another one of Vicente's proteges

We are astounded at how talented and cultured our homestay family is. Alicia is master of the culinary arts, while Vicente explains all the imagery of the many paintings that decorate his house. All in Spanish, by the way. My 9th grade French education is only of little help but I get the jist. Neda does much better because she speaks Italian and is so much better in learning new languages than I am.


Lalo, Alicia and Vicente's grandson teaches and choreographs a Hip Hop class.

Because I'm so slow with the Espagnol, Lalo gets in trouble often for speaking English to me. I've hung out a lot with this talented young man, jamming on the guitar and sharing mp3s, movies, and YouTube clips. Every once in a while, Alicia yells at him, "EN ESPAGNOL!" She takes her job very seriously and I'm very glad that she pretends not to understand English. I can only nod, "Si" and "Gracias" and my goal by the end of two weeks is to actually utter a complete and intelligible sentence for her approval!


Mariana, our Spanish teacher gives a presentation on Pinatas.

"Se Habla" is one street away from the Malecon, and every morning we ride our motorcycles down the strip to school, past the salty sea breeze coming off the shores. It's been forever since I've sat in any kind of classroom and I'm a bit cowed by how fast Neda is picking up Spanish. I'm used to learning things very fast, but new languages have always been a weak point for me.


Felipe, another one of our instructors waits for me to finish my homework.

"Gene, the point of homework is that you should be doing it at home..."

[Rocky]

It certainly looks wonderful there. How I envy you since it's -5C here today.

[Nodaclu]

After visits to Cozumel and Ensenada I had sworn off Mexico for good, but I keep hearing so many good things about La Paz, that I might have to give it one more try at some point.  

[bubba zanetti]

Hands down, it's La Paz. We were at the real estate office a few days ago checking out the prices...

Looks really great. I love the towns that have a Malecon to stroll along, especially in the evenings.

I wonder what a one bedroom simple apartment goes for there?

I hear there is great snorkeling on Espiritu Santo Island just near there.  

Disfrutar aprendiendo español !!

[lightcycle]

Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/56.html



Our first week in La Paz has been very taxing. Every day, we're up early to have breakfast and engage Alicia in some morning Espanol, then off to escuela for cuatro horas of intensive vocubulary enhancement and verb conjugation. When we get back in the early afternoon, we have a little break then another session of homestay language practice over lunch. Our evenings are spent in the room doing a bit of homework and massaging our aching heads, random Spanish words leaking out of our ears.


Practicing "las compras" (shopping) en Espanol in Todos Santos

So when the "fin de semana" (weekend) finally arrives, we feel rested enough to take a day-trip south to Todos Santos, a beach-side town recommended to us by Felipe, our Spanish instructor. It's about an hour's ride away from La Paz, and the road winds up and down the Sierra de la Laguna mountains. Lots of fun!


Bringing forth the Mayan Apocalypse...


Misione de Nuestra Senora de Pilar in Todos Santos


Musta forgot the rosary beads in the car...


Lobby of the Hotel California, Todos Santos

Yes, this is *THE* Hotel California, made famous by The Eagles song. I was a bit disappointed. I think I was expecting a real dive of an establishment, the kind of place a washed up, disillusioned Don Henley would check into and muse poetic about the twisted lives of the hotel's mysterious occupants. We walked through the lobby and halls, but no Mirrors on the Ceiling, no Pink Champagne on Ice. Just a very trendy, expensive hotel that steers visitors to the very large gift shop selling "Hotel California" souvenirs.

We didn't spend too much time there...


Getting ready to hit the beach

What we're really here to see are the pretty beaches just outside of town. It's about a 10 minute ride through some gravelly and sandy roads, and I'm glad that we unloaded most of the heavy gear off the bikes. Even so, we wobble our way through heavy sand to reach the beach's parking lot. Stupid, crappy Tourance tires.


How to take pictures of the waves coming ashore


Picture of waves coming ashore


How not to take pictures of the waves coming ashore

Felipe told us that a popular attraction in Todos Santos is the Turtle Release. The beaches here are an important nesting site for sea turtles, especially the endangered Pacific Leatherback. Unfortunately, the beaches have become home to all sorts of human activity - dune buggies and other powersports, and people taking their (hungry) dogs out for a walk. All of which destroy turtle nests buried in the sands.


Checking out the incubation greenhouse

Between the nesting months of October to April, volunteers comb the beaches at night and relocate the sea turtle eggs to a protected incubation greenhouse, providing a better environment for hatching success. The sites with the round fences around them are nests that are ready to hatch soon. The fence stops the turtles from trying to instinctually head for the waters, and allows the volunteers to gather them up in the late afternoon.


This baby is seconds old! It just crawled out of the sand having broken out of its egg!

The project is aimed not only at replenishing the sea turtle population, but also to educate visitors, who are encouraged to "assist" the baby turtles to make it to the waters without being trampled on by dune buggies or joggers, or eaten by dogs or birds.


We each "adopted" one baby turtle and walked them to the edge of the shore


My baby! Feeling a bit paternal here...

Sea turtles live to about 100 years. I got a bit choked up when I realized that we were here on their Day 1, helping them increase their odds to make it to Year 100. The odds are still stacked against them, even when they make it to the waters unmolested, they'll have to face aquatic predators, but at least we're evening the imbalance that we caused in the first place.


Day 1 of 100 years


SO CUTE! These little guys know exactly which way the waters are


And they're off...!

A line was drawn in the sand so that we didn't leave deep footprints on the shore that would impede the baby turtles' progress to the waters. And also to stop us from accidentally trampling on them, as the incoming waves occasionally pushed the turtles back on shore. I wanted to walk my baby turtle all the way into the water, but we are told that it's good for them to struggle on land as it prepares them to swim in the waters.


Off into the sunset, goodbye baby turtle!

[MungoJerrie]

What an amazing experience you two are having!

[Nodaclu]

Off into the sunset, goodbye baby turtle!

Man, there's just something about this pic that does it for me - sort of a metaphor for all of us...tiny and insignificant in the big picture, heading out into the massive ocean of life that awaits us.

Just amazing...

[cjohns]

...metaphor for all of us...tiny and insignificant in the big picture, heading out into the massive ocean of life that awaits us.

Just amazing...

Well said.  

Awesome thread!  The gift that keeps on giving week after (miserable wet/cold NW) week!!

[DkKnight]

Such an awesome experience - I truly hope that it never ends for you  !
Thanks for sharing  

DK

[lightcycle]

sort of a metaphor for all of us...tiny and insignificant in the big picture, heading out into the massive ocean of life that awaits us.

Very cool description!

[RangerG]

A merry Christmas to you both!  Only bad thing about your trip is being away from friends and family during the holiday season.  Hope you are able to share the holidays with new friends.

[lightcycle]

Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/57.html



Our trip is in danger of ending very soon.

After a week of intensive Spanish and evenings spent digesting all this information, our second week of classes is going much more smoothly and we're venturing out into La Paz often to take in the nightlife. In addition, we're making lots of friends in school and our homestay family has been taking us out often. As a result, our social life in La Paz has blossomed. So much so, that we actually took a look at some of the housing prices at a local real estate agency...

Our wanderlust is still unsatiated though, and we've merely bookmarked this wonderful city as maybe somewhere we'd like to settle down in the future.


Just off the Malecon, we wander around the market with the locals. No gringos here!


Ramping up for a Feliz Navidad


Outside this hotel, a horse made of dried palm leaves


Back on the Malecon, a concert put together by the Municipal Youth Centre: Who can TISS be?


It's HispaniKISS!


Kids breakdancing on the Malecon

We love meeting other travellers while on the road! They're already predisposed to experiencing new cultures and there's always an excitement when sharing these experiences with each other over a beer and whatever the local food is. We met Karay at Spanish school, a super-cool gal from Ohio who is here picking up credits for her Spanish degree back home. We've spent a few evenings with her strolling the Malecon, gabbing over arroz y frijoles, and exploring La Paz. She's also an avid photographer and very interested in motorcycles so we have lots to talk about!


We pick up Karay on our way to church


In school, we learned about the Virgen de Guadalupe, an important figure in Mexican religious and cultural folklore. December 12th, marks the anniversary of the appearance of the Virgen de Guadalupe. Millions of people make the pilgrimage to the Basilica in Mexico City on this day for the celebrations. Thankfully, we are far away from Mexico City and don't have to contend with such a large crowd here in La Paz, but we're amazed at how many people gather at the local church in town.



Religion and commerce meet at the Santuario Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe


La Paz is Spanish for "Peace"


Standing room only at the Santuario Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe - all the way outside!


Getting a lift to view the service


Outside, Neda contemplates buying super-yummy churros that this little guy is churning out


"Un churro mas restante! La quieres La quieres?"
("One more churro left! Do you want it?")


Paintings for sale outside the church


A parade of indigenous dancers walk the streets celebrating the Virgin of Guadalupe

Our homestay family has taken us out every Friday night to Stella on the Malecon. We (try to) dance to salsa music, drink lots of Negra Modelo and enjoy the company that has temporarily adopted us for our time in La Paz.


Lalo and his girlfriend Shasta go out with us for pizza


Whirl of Christmas lights and motion


Put on your dancing shoes!


After a night of salsa dancing... and again with the ex-pat daydreams...

[lightcycle]

A merry Christmas to you both!  Only bad thing about your trip is being away from friends and family during the holiday season.  Hope you are able to share the holidays with new friends.

Thanks so much, RangerG!

We've got a pretty busy Skype-filled day ahead of us, talking to all our friends and family in shifts. Merry Christmas to you and yours as well!

[birdrunner]

Thanks so much, RangerG!

We've got a pretty busy Skype-filled day ahead of us, talking to all our friends and family in shifts. Merry Christmas to you and yours as well!

I'm pretty sure all of us at STN are wishing you a merry, blessed Christmas.

[Rocky]

I'm pretty sure all of us at STN are wishing you a merry, blessed Christmas.

We sure do    
All the blessings in the world to the both of you, and above all, be safe!

[lightcycle]

Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/58.html



Seems like every weekend, we're hitting the beach! Cabo Pulmo National Park is at the eastern tip of the Baja Peninsula and is recommended to us by our homestay family for its excellent snorkeling. There are only three coral reefs in North America, and the one located at Cabo Pulmo is the oldest at 20,000 years, and provides shelter to a whole host of marine wildlife.


Excellent ride from La Paz to Cabo Pulmo, last 15 kms are down a gravel and sandy road

There are many dive shops in Cabo Pulmo, which really isn't a town more than a few buildings scattered over a wide area. Unfortunately,  the dive shops have suspended tourboat operations for today, because of the very strong winds. They tell us that visibility is not very good at the coral reef because the waters may be murky from the sand kicked up from the sea floor.


Beautiful beaches at Cabo Pulmo


Definitely off-season, but a few families were here swimming in the waters

We debated on whether to rent some equipment and to head down to the beach ourselves, but I chickened out (It was cold, man!) and stayed on the beach taking pictures. Neda being the braver of the two of us, rented a mask and dove into the waters from the shores.


Divemaster Neda preparing to go in

Although it's advertised as being totally waterproof, this is the first time we've taken our Nikon AW100 completely underwater. I half-expected it to return ashore as an expensive brick. We were pleasantly surprised:


Neda says this school of fish were very curious about her and followed her everywhere


Water was a bit murky, but the pictures turned out surprisingly good


Although it looks small, this fish was almost a foot long!

The Mexican government has done an excellent job preserving the reef against commercial interests that seek to develop condos, marinas and resorts in this very popular tourist area. It's now designated a protected park and the aquatic wildlife has bounced back and flourished from the over-fishing in the 1980s. The park maintains a very wilderness-like feel to it, and the rough road in and out of the park reflects this.


Only old people abstain from swimming. So I grabbed my metal detector and walked the beach with this guy


So long, Cabo Pulmo, and thanks for all the fish!

[BashamR6S]

So not only have you been venturing on an EPIC TRIP, your down in Mexico where the weather is warm. Grrrr

Safe travels

[lightcycle]

Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/59.html



School's out for... er, Winter!

After two weeks of Spanish classes, we've graduated, and the school has thrown a party for all the students that are leaving this week!


Mariana and Felipe and the rest of the Se Habla teachers look on proudly as we are given our certificates


Our graduating class. We celebrate with chocolate cake!

We've spent 16 wonderful days in La Paz, making lots of new friends and pulling out the first tendrils of roots that we were starting to put down was difficult. We packed our once-light motorcycles with all of our traveling kit, ready to continue our wanderings. It was a sad goodbye to our homestay family but at the same time, it felt really good to hit the road again. Neda and I both agreed that we are nowhere close to settling down yet!

There is a ferry just outside of La Paz that is able to take us to the mainland. Unfortunately, our laissez-faire attitude to planning bites us in the ass, and the ferry to Mazatlan, which is just across the Gulf of California, is all booked up till January 4th, 2013! Seems a lot of Baja Californians travel to the mainland during Christmastime to see family and reservations are made weeks in advance around this time. Uh oh...

Fortunately, there is another ferry that travels to Topolabampo, about 4 hours north of Mazatlan. After having a good laugh over the funny name, we decide a 4 hour motorcycle ride from Topolabampo to Mazatlan is perferable to waiting another 3 weeks, as nice as La Paz is. Plus the Topolabampo ferry was much cheaper!


The ferry departs from Pichilingue, a great windy 10 km ride from La Paz


Along the way we pass some really nice beaches

We met some other motorcycle travelers at the ferry terminal - Jayne and Phil are a brother/sister team from Calgary (more Canadians!) - they were getting their vehicle importation papers done early for their trip to the mainland. I think they were staying in La Paz for a couple more weeks, so we suggested the Spanish school to them. We exchanged travel stories and they gave us some good roads to ride in the mainland, can't wait!


Into the belly of the California Star, capable of holding 100 cars and 900 passengers!

We were directed to park our bikes in a corner of the ferry's hold, and we searched for vain for tie-down hooks and straps. There weren't any around, so we assumed that the ferry was large and stable enough to keep our bikes upright even in the most violent of storms. We could not have been more wrong.

There was one other motorcyclist on the ferry: Rick was riding from Ensenada back to his home in Mexico City, and this was his very first motorcycle trip after getting his license late last year. Like all those that have been bitten by the touring bug, we would spend much of the 6 hour trip to the mainland talking about motorcycles, with him practicing his excellent English with us, Neda practicing her excellent Spanish with him, and me practicing talking Spanish like a 2-year old.

A couple of hours into the trip, we hear an announcement over the radio. All motorcyclists were being summoned to the cargo hold of the ferry. I looked at Neda and Rick and immediately I said, "I think the bikes have fallen over"...


A flurry of activity getting the bikes secured

Fortunately, the bikes were still upright. The staff had summoned us so that we could move our bikes to a spot where they could tie the motorcycles to the railing. The crash bars I put on at Mark's place in San Diego were to come in handy.


Excellent tie-down job by the ferry staff

The winds and waves were picking up very strongly, and I'm glad that our motorcycles were secured properly now. However, the contents of my stomach were less secure, and as the ferry undulated up and down and back and forth, my face got greener and greener until I had to rush to the closest bano. Neda alarmingly yelled after me, "Mujeres!" That mean's "Women's washroom" in Spanish...

Thankfully, even 2-year olds understand that and I stumbled out and then back into the "Bano de los hombres". Just. In. The. Nick. Of Time...


Well-rested in the morning in Los Mochis

We arrived in Topolabampo after sunset. Much like Pichilingue, it's not a very big town, just the ferry terminal and some buildings, so we rode with Rick about about 30 minutes away in darkness to Los Mochis. Rick is a biologist and used his corporate rate at a nice hotel in town and we had a really good night's rest on our first night on the mainland.


Rick is off to service his motorcycle in Los Michos.