Day 512
Farewell Isabell
So this was it, just 3 more days riding and we would be in La Paz, and for us, the end of the road in the Baja. First though we had a hill to climb. Today I was flying, the rest combined with some shorter days had really refreshed me, I even beat Isabell up the hill! Normally she is way ahead but today, just for once I was Queen of the Mountain! She soon recovered and pulled ahead. Whilst waiting for us she was joined by Paty and Daniel. They handed us endless cold drinks, chatting away, asking about our trip. We certainly needed those drinks, as soon after we left them the route became a long slow slog into a headwind. We finally made it to Ciudad Constitución and a campsite that Carla had stayed at a few weeks before. We were given a covered area to camp in, there was a pool and even tables and chairs, yeh! It was lovely, the owner gave us discount for turning up on bikes and Tom decided maybe we should stay two nights.
Well, we ended up having a near sleepless night, for some reason there appeared to be a basketball game that went on, with commentary, until 3am. Then the disco started. So, no top 10 here!
Isabell was adopted by a dog when she popped out for an early morning stroll, so we had to harden our hearts and pedal fast and leave poor Fido behind. Take it from me, that dog was just so perfect it was a close call, Isabell was moments away from cancelling her trip and heading home with Fido.
Today ioverlander didn’t have anything to offer as to where to camp, Carla had ridden nearly 85 miles to find a camp spot when she rode along here a month ago. I was struggling, paying the price of flying uphill yesterday. We didn’t want to stop too soon as we knew if we did it would leave too many miles to La Paz, meaning an extra day on the road. Finally, after over 60 uninspiring miles Tom found us a camp spot. We pooled our remaining food and Tom created a fantastic stew, then we sat up way past our usual 7pm bedtime and studied the night sky. You can keep your ‘Strictly’ and your ‘I’m a Celebrity’, they are not needed here. Just give us the stars!
Then our final day riding the Baja. It wasn’t to bad at first. I had regained my energy, we stopped and ate a fantastic second breakfast, then we met Tim, riding his Oxford Bike works tourer, just like Tom’s, well apart from the rim strip issues and leaking hub. Tim is riding Ushuaia to Alaska, taking time out to surf along the way. So we asked him endless questions before wishing him well.
After that we just had to turn those pedals and with yet another headwind, and low on water, we headed for La Paz. It wasn’t a joyous last day, especially the 10 miles through the run-down outskirts of La Paz. Finally, though we made it. Our home for the next few nights, Pension California is awesome and affordable. Isabell is leaving tomorrow, so we went out for one more party. We drank, ate, were joined by Jose, then we hit a late-night bar. Maybe the less said about that the better, but suffice to say we had a good time and it was fantastic to see Tom properly relax after the last few stressful days, and though Tom danced with a local girl, got beaten at pool none of us tried the pole dancing!
Thanks Baja, we’ve had a blast!
