We are on a mission to get to Mazatlan and the Baja ferry that will get us to the Baja California peninsular so it has been a fast day with quite a distance on the toll roads. These are not cheap at about $20 NZ for 100 km (for each bike) but the time saving can be great, and they feel a lot safer to be on with a verge to pull on to when a fast maniac tail-gates, no country towns and a predictable surface.
The Baja ferry has no cabins left and can’t guarantee bike space tomorrow afternoon and also has very limited space on the Friday sailing in two days. So we could wait 24 hours only to be disappointed, there is another service 600km away, and this doesn’t get us excited as it is just too big a ride for one day.
I have read a couple of blogs about another freight only ferry and we chance on the office and they have a boat leaving in a couple of hours, half the price and that includes meals and a seat. The blogs I read were not favourable but for 16 hours we can endure anything. So we race to the shop to get some rum and coke and chippies. A complete military check of the vehicles delays the departure a bit, and we are off into the Sea of Cortez. Our 3 bikes and 30 big trucks and the drivers off into the sunset. The food was not great (beans that looked like vomit) but the rum worked its magic.
I string up my hammock and settle in for the night on the deck but should have chosen a space out of the prevailing cool wind as by the time it was dark and I felt sea-sick and cold, I had no energy to change it. I suspect I still had a better night than Gareth and Dave who slumped in chairs all night. Woke to marlin leaping and the morning star glowing in the east.
Onto Baja peninsular and to a hotel in La Paz for a recovery sleep.
Here we leave Dave as he is off to the world Game fishing champs in Carbo San Luis and will leave his bike in LA for shipping a week after us. Well we kept to schedule and got him here on time so let’s hope he catches (and releases) a big one. Good luck Davey and thanks for the company.
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