The first few days on the mainland

After packing up and storing the RV, we left Los Barriles Monday morning still undecided which ferry we were going to get (either $200, 6 hours to Topolobampo, or $360, 18 hours to Mazatlan which is 300 miles south) Getting to the ferry terminal made the decision for us when we realised that the Mazatlan ferry doesn’t sail till Tuesday – duhh!

It meant we got into Topo around 9.30pm which wasn’t the greatest plan but luckily we only had to ride a mile in the dark before we found the town’s only hotel and crashed for the night after a dull ferry ride where we were forced to listen to Spanish dubbed films at high volumes (but hey – they feed you for free on this ferry!)

The next day we rode the 300 miles to Mazatlan – 7 hours on the bike in 90 degrees and wished we’d stayed in La Paz and waited for the Mazatlan ferry on Tuesday. By the end of that day I was all for selling the bike and buying an RV; no wait, we already did that bit, this was supposed to be us moving out of our comfort zones! We spent 2 nights in Mazatlan; as touristy as it was supposed to be, the old town part really was quite endearing; and of course the small matter of being able to park the bike in the hotel lobby, (well as much of a lobby as you get in an $18 hotel) helped the decision to stay!

We are now in a town on the coast called San Blas; a small old town which although has its share of wintering ‘Gringos’ is still very Mexican as is evident by the town square full of locals until way into the night – and of course the prices compared to Baja; 12 pesos, (60p or just over $1) for a beer in a beach bar!

The hotel, (the nicest of the three so far) is a bunch of rooms off a deep veranda littered with rocking chairs surrounding a shady and cool courtyard. No lobby here so the bike, (El Burro; formerly known as Donkey) spends his day lazing under the shade of a huge poinsettia tree in the courtyard.

The roads here have been ‘interesting’ to say the least. The truckers are crazy drivers – they’ll overtake on blind corners when it seems like there’s no time or space to do it safely – it’s just a constant game of ‘chicken’ for them with us on the motorbike stuck in the middle of it!!; [and Leo and Annette; if you’re reading this, you deserve a medal just for cycling this far!]