Greetings from Mexico. We are finally here, after all that scheming and planning we have arrived in Mexico. Still no photos I'm afraid. In fact I didn't take any today - I had accidentally turned my camera on while putting it in the tankbag so of course the battery was flat - flat as a Tarata possum on a Friday night.
Today is a bit of a blur really. We both had GPS issues which made life a little tricky. Karen stopped talking to me (what DID I say?) and Liz just stopped. We tried to stick to the coast road from Laguna Beach but inevitably got punched onto interstate 5 over the top of San Diego and into Tijuana. In between of course is the US Mexico border. We both took the "nothing to declare" lanes; I got waved through but D&D got stopped for a perfunctory search. I think they were stopping every second bike and it was just lucky (for me) that I was in front.
In Tijuana we stopped to get some pesos knowing that there were toll roads ahead. We spotted a Scotia Bank and after going several times around La Raza memorial roundabout we went in the exit of the bank car park. As we parked in a space a policeman came over to chat with D&D. I expected him to be giving them a rark up for coming in the out but no, we was just explaining that motorbikes park for free and therefore can't take spaces but have to park on the traffic islands. Bother that camera!
We eventually got some pesos and headed off down the Rosarito Scenic Route towards Ensenada. And a scenic route it was too. And with the exception of some very heavy city traffic crawl through Ensenada itself, it was a quite a good road right through but narrow in parts with big trucks and buses. Some interesting passing was enjoyed by all. Especially those coming in the opposite direction.
Every now and then you came to a barrier. The good ones were toll booths where cheery chaps relieved you of 30 pesos for the pleasure of riding on their road. 30 pesos is about 2 NZ dollars.
By the time we got to San Vicente we were buggered. It was very hot and the level of concentration was high. After a few false starts we found this nice little motel with a nice motelier with nice kids.
We booked two rooms which cost us about $NZD27 each.New wandered up the road for a beer and a meal and then back to our motel as the village begins to wake up.
So some highlights of the day .... In no particular order.
- the contrast between the USA and Mexico. The litter, the smells, the driving. But also the big smiles and holas and waves we got from the locals.
The huge border fence between these two neighbors with ground zero on either side.
- the herd of Freisian cows (labeled Jeseys).
- the HUGE Mexican flag. Somewhere.
- The HUGE statue of Jesus. Somewhere.
- The huge trucks overtaking strings of cars on double yellow lines.
- The fact that there are two towns called Lazaro Cardenas only a few hundred Kms apart - my Karen was going to one; Dick's Liz was heading for the other. (this was our original destination before we ran out of puff.)
- The huge platings of grapes for wine.
- The speedbumps on the freeway. What?
- the sandy shoulders. Or otherwise the huge ditches with no shoulders.
- the fact that all the signs are in Spanish. Well, what did I expect? But what does "Alto" mean? I thought it meant "high" but apparently it means "stop." or even "STOP!!!"
The cars with such powerful stereos they shake the ground as they drive by.
And that is about it really. I'm really tired really and I really think I should really ummm stop.
Cheers,
Me
Today's run: 339kms
Cumulative: 19,227kms
Tipovers: The usual.
Location:San Vicente, Mexico
Bienvenido a Mexico, mi amigo. Definitely eat the street tacos, but only from vendors with long lines of locals. This approach has never failed me. And sorry for commenting so late on this. But, looked like Hollyweird showed a little of her true colors while you were there. Gotta love that place.
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