Leaving La Paz and Moving to Mainland Mexico - Malecón in Mazatlan

I spent most of Sunday trying to get bike supplies, but of course, the cities in Mexico never keep reliable hours so the store I was told to be the best for road biking was inappropriately closed.  I did manage to get a new battery for my bike computer so I will be able to keep stats again.  I will switch to KM so I can navigate easier, plus it makes you feel like you are going faster and farther.


I came across this church while roaming aimlessly



I thought this ad was cool.  It says: if you don`t vote, you don`t have a voice.



Later Sunday night I went to Pappas & Beer, which is a chain in Baja with establishments in Rosarito, Ensenada, and La Paz.  Sunday night is Banda Musica night.  I did not know what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised.  If I wasn´t so shattered from my Friday and Saturday nights, I would have enjoyed myself later into the evening, but nonetheless, I will go to another Banda show.  I tried to get some dance lessons from the locals, but they quickly were disappointed with my lack of coordination and general awkwardness.



Banda Musica

I was ready to depart La Paz Monday, but the only ferry out was the Cargo Ferry.  It sounded like hell so I decided to spend one more day in La Paz and take Tuesday´s Passenger Ferry.  I roamed the Malecón looking for the best beach spot.  Most were desolate so I ended up taking refuge under a bungaloo on the very north end at the Oromuel Playa Pública with only a few people in sight.  I stayed there to watch the famed La Paz sunset and was not disappointed.

The sky had an orange hue in this photo then had a blood red tint 15 minutes after the sun set.

I headed over to the ferry terminal to get my tickets.  While rounding a turn, there was a semi that passed me with almost no room.  I was thinking, dang that was close.  Then I realized that the truck had a second trailer.  The trailer actually bumped my left elbow.  There was about 4 inches of clearance on my right side to the shear cliff.  I thought for a moment that the worst would happen, but I managed to escape unscathed.  After going through the confusing process of buying a ticket, I headed back to the beach.  I had my bike so I headed for some nicer ones.  I went to the Northern tip of the peninsula to Playa Tecolete.  This was the best beach I have even been to.   The water was turquoise, there was a bar right on the beach, and the sun was shining.  I even got involved with some locals playing dominos and went from observing to learn the rules to beating them at their own game.  There isn´t really much strategy except, play your doubles first and try to reduce the options to your oponent so they have to skip their turn.  I also did the opposite of what is logical by playing off my lower dominoes first which they all held onto since that was a deciding factor in the tiebreakers.  It rarely goes to the tiebreaker so I´ll give up those wins for winning more of the games directly.

It was a bit windy this day, but other than that, it was paradise.

I make it onto the ferry and made friends with a 60+ year old Frenchman who had biked from Alaska.  His blog is jpsissia.eklablog.com  We helped each other through the confusing process of boarding the ferry.  I managed to get lucky, and when I pressed the entrance button, I was given the green pase sign while he received the red alto sign.  At any rate, I was on the ferry hoping it would be a fun boat ride.  While walking up the staircase, I see a Mexican man hunched over panting.  I offer him water but he declines.  His young children are half a flight up the stairs and I get a cross eyed look from them.  I don´t know if that was a way of them making fun of their father or me.  In any event, it certainly set the tone for the ride. 

The ferry had all of the amenities of a cruise ship.  I went to the bar and hoped to meet some interesting folks.  The bar had about 100 patrons, all of whom besides a group for 4 Germans guys were all Mexican men.  Literally there were no females in the bar.  The music was Mexican style where the singers get dressed up in bright colors with big dark sombreros and make that distinct Mexican holler.  The music gave me worrisome flashbacks of Guerrero Negro´s nightlife.  It wasn´t what I had expected, but I would be in mainland in less than 12 hours.  I went to find a place to sleep, but the movie theatre had people in all of the good spots so I went out to the open deck.  I laid in my sleeping bag in plastic lawn furniture.  It was a terrible night of sleep but provided for a nice place to catch the sunrise.

I was very confused by this sign.  I kept using it and saw other men in there so I think I was in the right.

I started feeling stomach pains while on the Ferry.  I couldn´t let myself get sick and let the locals think that the Gringo got seasick on the Ferry so I had to make it off the boat in reasonable shape.  However, the boat people kept us locked in a hot hallway for about 20 minutes before they unlocked the door.  My Baja Ferry experience was not great, but perhaps next time, I should opt for the cabin and not eat the chicken-like stew.



My Ferry in Mazatlan



Mazatlan like La Paz has a road called the Malecón.  However, Mazatlan´s version is about 3 times longer at 11 miles.  I rode my bike to what I estimate to be the middle and found a flee bag hotel.  I´ll post up here while I try to explore Mazatlan´s restaurants and nightlife.