The last night on mainland Mexico we spent in Alamos. And we were lucky because we hit the last evening of a regional fiesta with local dance groups, food stalls and rollercoasters. So we made our way through the fiesta trying the food at different stalls, watching dance groups, fireworks and lit balloons being released.
From here it was only a few hours to Los Mochis and Topolobampo with the ferry terminal. Although we arrived at 4 p.m. and the ferry leaves at midnight there were already people waiting. Our entertainment during the long wait was first buying the tickets (the lady at the ticket booth sent me to the office in the next building, there they sent me outside to a man and this man was actually helpful and took me to the correct man who gave us a piece of paper on which he wrote our number plates. With this piece of paper I was finally able to purchase the tickets at the first booth – but only after the ladies there finished their chitchat, which was definitely more important than serving waiting customers …) and then we chatted with the truck drivers waiting next to us, another biker and a young boy.
This boy asked where we were from and where we’re going to. On hearing that we were heading to Alaska he noted straight away that this was very far and we would need a lot of petrol, we surely would have to pay about 50.000 Pesos. We told him that we could only afford petrol and had no money for anything else, not even food. This lightly made comment really concerned the boy. On the ferry he found us and asked us various times if we had eaten anything. He was so relieved when he saw us drinking a coffee in the morning.
We left the ferry with the other biker, Soonam from Hawaii, to have a bit of breakfast in La Paz after which we split up again because he was heading straight North and we wanted to go down to the cape. Our first stop was a campsite not far down the road (Rancho Verde) because we needed some sleep after this restless night. But on the way we saw 2 BMWs parked in front of the pretty church in El Triunfo. Of course we stopped to have a chat with the riders and ended up at a café where we first experienced Baja prices (is this still Mexico???).
After a day’s rest at Rancho Verde, which is located in a nice green oasis, we made our way along the sandy roads of Cabo Pulmo. What fun. When we reached Todos Santos we found that the hostel that was supposed to have tent spots had been made into a B&B, charging 148$US for a night (WHAT???). So we stood on the street, discussing where to go from here, when a lady stopped and asked if she could help us.
Introducing ourselves we found out that she was from Colorado and used to ride her motorbike around the States, Canada and Alaska for many years before she had to stop due to a serious injury. What a remarkable woman. We ended up with an invitation to stay with her and her 2 little dogs Piston & Lola at the little casita she owns in Todos Santos. This was a win-win situation, we had a nice place to stay with lovely company and in return we helped her get her house functioning again because it was left “in shambles” by her housesitters (she herself had only arrived 2 days earlier). On our excursions with PJ we watched whales in the distance while walking along the beach – gorgeous – and the release of baby turtles during sunset. Oh yes, the sunsets in Todos Santos were really amazing.
The planned 2 to 3 days turned into 10 days. Good times. But as usual we got itchy after a while so we left to head North, first on boring straight roads with nothing to see but sand and cacti. Turning towards the Sea of Cortez we crossed a mountain range (it’s hard to talk of “mountains” in this case after having been in the Andes) where the road was nice and windy and really fun to ride.
At Bahía Concepción we camped on the beach, using the posts of a palapa (palm leaf roof) to tie our tent to. I called it “creative camping” because it was a bit of a tight squeeze. A lot nicer was it at Bahía de los Angeles (but more expensive too). While we pitched our tent our neighbor pulled out a violin and I thought “oops, that will be interesting”, violins can really hurt. But when she started playing it was wonderful; a whole new experience camping with this kind of music on a beach. We loved it and stayed 5 days, together with our violin playing neighbors Lisa and her partner and a really inspiring outdoorsy couple from Alaska on the other side, Don & Donna. We had a great time there.
The Southern end of Baja California appeared pretty boring to us, as I said before ‘sand and cacti’, but by now the landscape had changed. Unbelievable how many different cacti there are; I would never have thought that cacti can be so fascinating that we stop various times to take photos.
On our way North we came to a stretch of road with long bends, a lot of fun to ride – until we came to one with speed bumps not before the bend but starting inside the bend and all through it. They almost took us off the road. We really wonder about the sanity of someone building this kind of thing.
Our last stop in Mexico was Ensenada. By now we weren’t really sad to leave Mexico because travelling the Baja didn’t really feel like Mexico anyway. It’s so different from the mainland which we enjoyed a lot. Our only problem was that we were way too early and it will be very cold going North. But our sleeping pads were leaking and beyond repair so San Diego was calling with its outdoor shop. California, here we come.
To see the Baja California video, #49, please click here: CLICK
Welcome to our blog. Tintomkiwi are Tina & Thomas from Germany who live in New Zealand since 2006. In 2013 we decided that it’s time to live our dream and tour South America with our motorbikes, a 1989 BMW R100GS and a (slightly modified) 1996 BMW R80R. And while we’re there, why not visit friends and family in America and Canada as well. So the plan developed to travel South America for about a year and then make our way through Central and North America up to Canada and Alaska. So we resigned from our jobs, packed the bikes, booked the flights and got house and cat sorted. Well, there was a little bit more to it but let’s cut a long story short. South America, we’re coming!
TinTomKiwi riding the Americas 
Really enjoying reading and watching your progress heading north.
We have returned from our trip to Europe including 2 Weeks in Germany.
We are now living in our mobile home and loving it.
Steve & Jan Lowe
Hi Steve & Jan, good to hear from you. Did you visit Cologne too? Have fun with your mobile home. Hope to see you when we’re back home. Tina & Tom
We got as far as Julick as my Brother lived there for several years. Two of his children were born there as well
Steve & Jan
Hi, met you on my way to the BMW rally in Death Valley, hope that you’re doing well and traveling light
Hi Bob, how are you doing? We have just finished the due maintenance on our bikes at Tom’s brother’s place in San Jose. Now we’re ready to hit the road again, some spare parts lighter than before. 🙂 Greetings to you, ride safely.