Mexico – Baja California Part 1
I arrived in Mexico City and my luggage didn’t!
Under normal circumstances your luggage catches up the next day, the next day however I would be en route to Tijuana, where my Mexico adventure would begin, at the most Northerly point of Baja California. The next place my luggage could be sent to was Cabo San Lucas. That’s the southern tip of Baja.. Yes where we were due to arrive, but not for about 12 days, almost at the end of the trip!
Fortunately I was travelling in a favourite pair of knickers, a great pair of jeans, a white top, my warm RAB jacket and my trainers. (My advice to anyone travelling with hold luggage – travel in an outfit that you can wear for everything, everyday, should you not see your luggage for a while.)
Another great thing was that my motorbike gear was already in Mexico and I would be in that most of the time, so actually I didn’t need that much anyway.
The sight of the bikes and truck when we arrived at Tijuana made me very excited, the looming trip was in the forefront of my mind and I soon got over my luggage worries.
I’d visited Tijuana almost 11 years previously and it had developed into more of a modern city, i.e, there were now Starbucks on most corners, there was some great architecture and good restaurants but I wasn’t that excited about the place itself.
I was excited by this little chap though who I met dancing outside on the street.
We left Tijuana after a drive around the city and I was pleasantly surprised by the excellent road we were on. (For some reason, in my head, I’d assumed the roads would be bad). It wasn’t long before we saw the ocean. I was riding along a great road, through rolling hills alongside the cliffs next to the ocean. Not bad, not bad at all!
Our first stop was Valle de Guadalupe, a winery, totally wasted on me as I’m not a drinker! The location, cheese and olives were very nice though.
We rode about 200km and before we reached our night stop, Ensenada, we called at Bufadora… and here’s why..
The next day the scenery changed so dramatically I felt like I was in another country altogether. In fact I really felt like I was finally in the Mexico I had pictured in my head… Dessert and cactus! Huge cactus! Cactus that only exist here and in one other place in the Middle East. It almost didn’t look real. It was so cool! The roads continued to shock me, it was like riding in the Alps. Brilliant roads, great corners and lots of elevation.
The roads were very quiet and as I watched my fuel gauge get lower and lower, we passed no towns, no garages and I began feeling like we were in the middle of nowhere. Until we came across this very modern fuel stop, right opposite our lodgings for the night!
Riding with Paco and Andres is great. They are Mexican men, they are therefore (I have learnt) very polite. Paco rides at the front to lead the way and Andres rides at the back to make sure everything is ok. Riding motorbikes in a group, especially over time is interesting because (like with other team or group sports) you bond with each other. You ride together and soon you fall into a rhythm and it’s cool.
Getting to know the crew better too. There’s five guys in the production team, they are also Mexican and very polite. So far I’ve not opened one door or carried anything heavy! I’ve been in Mexico for three days, I haven’t been mugged, attacked, killed or got involved with any hint of any drug scene! Amazing!
