It’s about the people you meet
Monday we got up and went over to Ignacio Springs B&B and had breakfast. We checked into our yurt and then went for a hike. Our hike took us up on top of the mesa looking down on the oasis of palm trees and the lagoon. We hiked for a few hours and ended up in town eating lunch at the same place we had dinner the night before. While we were eating, this guy pulls up on a Triumph motorcycle complete with a mirror held in place with packing tape. He asked if the food was safe to eat and then proceeded to join us.
His name was Derek and he had been traveling the road of Mexico for 6 months. His fiance died about a year ago and he set out to do what he always dreamed of doing. He shipped his bike over from England(although my girlfriend thought he was from Australia which insulted him greatly), and has been travelling all over Mexico since. His plan is to go up to Vancouver then over to NYC then back down to Mexico again. When asked about his profession he says ”I am a PsychoTerrorist” which is a play on words for psychotherapist. Of course we chatted about the fact that we do the same line of work etc. He was one of those guys that was just so real and said it like it was. He lost his job because he called one of his clients a derogatory name. At 62, he didn’t seem to care much. It just seemed to be the catalyst he needed to pursue his dream.
We headed back to the B&B and decided to kayak in the lagoon that was right behind the property. Terry had told us to just go grab them and then let us know about a spring that was at the end of the lagoon that was warmer than the rest of the lagoon. So we got in the kayak and paddled towards to spring. We got out and swam around in the spring for a bit. It wasn’t a “hot spring” but probably was around 90 degrees or so. We had it all to ourselves(a theme that kept recurring throughout our entire trip).
After our lagoon escapade it was time for dinner. We decided to eat at the B&B that night. It was delicious, chicken stuffed with zucchini. The desert was homemade butter pecan ice cream. Yum!
We hung out for awhile and chatted up a couple from San Diego who were pursuing economic degrees. They were down here for whale watching. The B&B was a popular destination for whale watching and they had trips leaving most morning to go to the coast to whale watch.
An adventure around every corner
We got up early Tuesday morning and ate a fine breakfast at the B&B and set our sights on Loreto. It was nice to know we would achieve our destination even after the unanticipated delay and extra miles due to the unforeseen sandy road. I had been doing some research on that road because I was curious if it was sandy the entire way. It seemed we had encountered the worst part and I was determined to make it on the way back. That would also allow us to spend an extra day in Loreto.
The drive to Loreto was a mixture of desert and coastal scenery. The first 40 miles was desert, then coastal, the desert again before arriving on the coast at Loreto. We were cruising along the first part of our journey and out of nowhere a herd of goats crosses the road. When you are riding a motorcycle this is roughly equivalent to your worst nightmare. Thankfully we saw them in time to slow down and snap a photo.
We slowly descended on a tight twisty road that led us to the coastline and into the town of Santa Rosalia. This town has a French influence but also has a lot of road construction going on. It is also known for its mining which does not make it the most scenic town in Baja. The next stop was Mulege. Mulege is a cool little town that we would explore a little more on the way back. It begged to be explored and seemed to suck you in by its charm.
After driving by Mulege, which also possessed some palm trees, we hit the Bay of Conception. This might have been one of the coolest coastal places we saw the entire trip. The bay was extremely beautiful with crystal clear waters that almost looked turquoise at times. You could just roll up on the beach and throw down on one of the grass huts(Palapas) they had. One couple told us they had been there 2 weeks and nobody had collected any kind of fee.
