10-7 San Ignacio - Crow's Ballet.
On the ridge above me, a flock of crows pirouetted, dove, barrel-rolled, swooped, over the high ridge, through the cactus, red boulders, in pairs, wing tip to wing tip, turning top to bottom, they slid through the air up, down, right, left, cork screw back to the top. This dance of 10-12 would come and go like a cloud of gnats. This performance continued for minutes on end.
This was our first stop that truly comforted and relaxed us - the Mexico we've been looking for. San Ignacio actually has a beautiful central plaza, shaded by massive, old trees, anchored a one end by a 16th century mission church, encircled by vendors selling soft drinks, candies, sandwiches, the street lined by shops offering tourist trips, Internet, curious and goods for the local 2,000 residents. Concrete benches, mixed with wrought iron huddle under the huge trees and harbor a mix of pedestrians and "watchers".
Wandering the streets we found some wonderful surprises: Casa Lerre', rooms, books and gallery. Entering through a green door off a dirt alley, one falls into a lush garden traversed by a small aqueduct created by the missionaries. This refined space was recently purchased an equally refined California mother who has created a wonderful guest house, show casing loca art, crafts, historical pictures, along with educational books in English about Baja and its environment and history. The owner, a photographer, has restored many of the old photographs documenting the original owner of 1870's and their families. For anyone coming here, she has reasonable rooms for rent.
After a brief swim in the refreshing and spring-fed lagoon, we tidied our tent and made for the Rice & Beans Bar for margaritas and fresh shrimp and scallops! Tomorrow we ride.
10-8
Today - tail winds and almost 50 miles descending from the central plateau with an astounding 6 mile vertical ending to the Sea of Cortez -
WOW! The desert between Santa Ignacio and the sea was green punctuated by blooms of red and yellow. A spectacular variety of cactus plants created the most densely vegetated desert I have ever seen. Burros, long-eared jack rabbits, road runners skirted along the road and we were told there were also fox, bobcat and cougar inhabit this abundant desert environment.
In contrast, the land near Santa Rosalio is scrubby, rock brown, heaped with mine tailings. The town, French influenced by 1800's mining investment, is clean, vibrant with a diffinite Caribbean feel: brightly colored houses, verandas and patios flanked by plants, a generous use of wood as a building material versus the concrete and stucco of most Mexico, tin/steel roofs with vents or small copulas top most structures, here. We spent the semi-tropical evening relaxing on our hotel patio, listening to the local boom box seranade us with pleasant music.
We began the next morning with a great breakfast in a cute restaurant and pedaled the next 50ish miles south. Lunching alongside the road under a desert tree, we consumed our PB&J sandwich. After climbing over the coastal range, we dropped into the oasis of Mulege, a town of 2,000 with no bank -whoops. After arranging our sleeping bags on the raised platform under thepalapya, we joined acquaintances of a prior week for a beer at their beautiful new home in the American enclave.
riding into Santa Rosalita |
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| Santa Rosalita boats |
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on the road to Mulege |
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