Sunday, July 22, 2012

Baja Mexico

Note: Catch-up post, we crossed into Mexico on May 4.

Leaving San Francisco on May 2, we made a path south to Tijuana. The first night was rough, with getting used to how different things looked, the different way people talked and the different food - we left Bakersfield, CA the next morning and headed to San Diego. Approaching the border, traffic gradually thinned out to an eerily quiet multilane expanse, the typical freeway construction was augmented by extra high fencing on both sides, and a large sign warned any American gun nuts that they need proper permission to bring their toys into Mexico.

The border crossing was a nonevent and we made a pit stop in Ensenada and at the Old Mill in San Quintin before hooking up with some motorcyclists that were headed to a house they have in Bahia de los Angeles. One of the guys in the group looked over my moto and generally approved but remarked that it had pretty low ground clearance. In the literary world, I believe they call that comment foreshadowing.

The next day we did about 50 miles of 4x4 dirt road from the Bahia to Mision San Francisco Borjas, rejoining the pavement at Rosarito. I'd be lying if I said the off-road riding wasn't great, but I'd also be lying if I said it went entirely well for me. The minor falls in sand were a cakewalk, it was the turbo stealthrock that gave up its life in the name of punching a gaping hole in my bash plate and stopping my bike cold that did a number on my right ankle, an injury that only got more enjoyable with two additional falls in deep sand that imparted a feeling reminiscent of when I pull and twist off the drumstick from a piece of cooked chicken and feel the softened tendons give, allowing the bones to move and separate freely. We made it to Guerrero Negro that evening. Putting on my boot the next morning over my swollen, plum colored ankle to go to the hospital, I was reminded of that scene from the beginning of Dances With Wolves when Kevin Costner slowly and painfully pulls his boot over a gunshot wound in his leg, to return to the front line of a civil war battle. Two x-rays, two doctor visits, a shot of hydrocortizone in the butt, a bunch of little pills, and a few hours later, an initial diagnosis of an ankle fracture was overturned in favor of a severe ankle sprain and I was instructed to give it a week of rest before continuing. Bless Erik's patience, as a forced full week in Guerrero Negro is not an experience I'd wish on someone under normal circumstances.

Hungry to get some miles under our tires, we left GN and stopped in the quiet palm shaded oasis of San Ignacio before lodging in Loreto. The coastal drive was a stark mix of bone dry and oppressively hot hilly desert, and a chain of quiet white sand beaches with turquoise waters and shade provided by the occasional palm frond palapa.

Arriving in the relative metropolis of La Paz we stayed at the art hotel Yeneka, which sported friendly resident cats and an artsy feel that tended to focus on ancient rusty car parts that both provided a good vibe and made one thankful to have a current tetanus shot.

Our last stop in Baja, Cabo San Lucas, was as it has been for years ever since it experienced the explosion of growth from sleepy fishing town to tourist trap. As with many of the tourist towns in Baja there seemed to be a subtle undercurrent of decline, most notable in the closed or empty businesses that withered when their tourism lifeblood was stanched by the economic slowdown and/or increase in violence in Mexico.

On the ride back to La Paz to catch the ferry to Mazatlan Erik saw his first dead horse on the side of the road - little by little we're achieving milestones in the trip. The ferry ride to the mainland was a fitting closure to Baja, a clean break from the unique culture and geography of the peninsula and a transition towards the heart of Mexico.

Picture of sunset: A little slice of desert paradise in Bahia de los Angeles.

Picture of dirt road: The desert road to nowhere awaits us.

Picture of x-ray: An intimate look at my right foot, courtesy of the Mexican Seguro Social.

Picture of salt flats: Guerrero Negro does boast one of the largest salt factories in the world.

Picture of truck: Step 1 to starting an engineering business is spelling "engineer" correctly.






Labels:

MEX-CENT-SOUTH MOTO TRIP

PRELUDE

Darren here (el mecánico from the original 2005 Landcruiser trip). Not content with surviving that trip, my feeble mind was ripe for manipulation into again leaving the comfortable insulated womb of mother America under the power of the internal combustion engine. Unfortunately, Brendan, the most mature of the original three, was fully occupied with some sinister plot while living under the plausible cover story of being a respectable consultant with a wonderful fiance. Worse yet, he convinced Kiki, the Landcruiser hula girl doll that another trip was a bad idea. As for Colin, his exact whereabouts were unknown; he was presumed to have dedicated the remainder of his days to attending to the daily needs of an enclave of blind leper ferrets in the remote mountains of Colorado.

Salvation came in the form of former college housemate and renaissance man Erik Innocent, who shared his idea of a motorcycle trip from San Francisco, California to Ushuaia, Argentina. The seed was planted and nurturing of the tender shoots of the plan began. Approximately one year later on May 2, 2012, the noisy, messy and somewhat unripe fruits of our labor were harvested when Erik and I departed San Francisco on two grossly overladen 650cc motorcycles, headed for points south. Picture of stick figure: I am pleased to introduce Mr. Erik Innocent. Picture of moto: Behold the 2006 Suzuki DL650 (Wee-Strom), a bike I'd describe as a loveably ugly moto that's a reasonable compromise between capability and cost. Her name is La Gordita Rojita.


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Monday, April 25, 2011

Tokyo

Tokyo by Road Trip Tokyo, a photo by Road Trip on Flickr.

so long Japan

the ominous crow

the ominous crow by Road Trip the ominous crow, a photo by Road Trip on Flickr.

this in from the tower's observation deck

Tokyo Tower

Tokyo Tower by Road Trip Tokyo Tower, a photo by Road Trip on Flickr.

its tall

Sunday, April 24, 2011

my room

my room by Road Trip my room, a photo by Road Trip on Flickr.

A bed, a radio a tv and a light. That's it

Capsule Hotel

Capsule Hotel by Road Trip Capsule Hotel, a photo by Road Trip on Flickr.

first night in Tokyo, one of the cheaper ways to travel

Friday, April 22, 2011

last stop Tokyo

So from Nara it was the high speed train to Tokyo. Pretty cool, not exactly sure but we were moving around 150 mph. Tokyo is an animal like I've never seen before. So many people, so dense and so expansive. I have never felt so safe throughout an entire city nor so easily understood an entire subway network. I was only there for four days or so and I was all over the place and was never over-intimidated, which I can't really say about New York or Philadelphia. All over Japan and even in Tokyo, hundreds of unlocked bikes are left outside the train and subway stations and noone takes them. You can leave your bag on a bench and walk away from it while you go to get directions. Or just walk without direction. It's probably the safest place I've ever been. A few other little tidbits that might help. Get the national train pass. I didn't and spent too much and lost time buying tickets. I wish I hadn't ignored my friends when they told me not to bring my hiking back pack. I was stubborn mainly because it's been with just about every trip I've taken. But it really gets in your and everyone elses way on the trains. Eat everything, its all good. except may the nato.

Thursday, April 21, 2011

one big Buddha

one big Buddha by Road Trip one big Buddha, a photo by Road Trip on Flickr.

kinda hard to tell but this guy is probably about 50 ft tall

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Nara deer

Nara deer by Road Trip Nara deer, a photo by Road Trip on Flickr.

these guys were everywhere and thoroughly unafraid of people. it was the same on Miyajima too

Nara

Nara by Road Trip Nara, a photo by Road Trip on Flickr.

Apparently the world's largest wooden building, and it houses one of the largest Buddhas

a quick stopover in Nara

So the way I heard it was that Nara was a good stop over and the place to catch the Shinkonsen (high speed bullet train) so that what I did. I did get to see Nara if only for a few hours but as it turned out that is not a place to catch the bullet train so the whole day was extremely rushed.

Monday, April 18, 2011

On to Tokyo

On to Tokyo by Road Trip On to Tokyo, a photo by Road Trip on Flickr.

back down the incline and on to Tokyo with a few quick stops on the way

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Koyosan Temples

Koyosan Temples by Road Trip Koyosan Temples, a photo by Road Trip on Flickr.

some individual pieces must have been a life's work

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Okunoin Cemetary

Okunoin Cemetary by Road Trip Okunoin Cemetary, a photo by Road Trip on Flickr.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

worst toilets

worst toilets by Road Trip worst toilets, a photo by Road Trip on Flickr.

Japan is home of the best and worst toilets in the world. The photo here is an example of the worst. The best have heated seats, a built in bidet with warm water and even provide a drying puff of air to finish off the experience.

Okunoin

Okunoin by Road Trip Okunoin, a photo by Road Trip on Flickr.

at the end of town is a huge cemetery planted among large cedars. The story goes that Kobo Daishi the founder of Shingon Buddhism went into meditation in the temple there xx years ago and waits there for Miroku Nyorai, the Buddha of the Future, when he will wake up.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

K Cars

K Cars by Road Trip K Cars, a photo by Road Trip on Flickr.

the K Car program there is pretty fantastic. Pete had one actually. Its usually a very small 3 cylinder car that gets really good gas mileage. on top of that you qualify for low registration and insurance costs. I think we should do something similar here.

my room in the Monastery

my room in the Monastery by Road Trip my room in the Monastery, a photo by Road Trip on Flickr.

slept on the floor just about everywhere I stayed in Japan. The table in this photo was pretty cool, ithad a heating element under it so you tuck your legs in and it keeps you pretty toasty. Not too much heat in a monastery on top of a mountain so it came in handy.

Monday, April 11, 2011

Temples in Koyasan

Temples in Koyosan by Road Trip Temples in Koyosan, a photo by Road Trip on Flickr.

ust about every building in Koyasan is antique, really a beautiful town

Incline to Koyosan

Incline to Koyosan by Road Trip Incline to Koyosan, a photo by Road Trip on Flickr.

after a long train ride you end up with the last connection being an incline track. Pretty cool final leg of a long long day

Wakayama Traditional Dance

Wakayama Traditional Dance by Road Trip Wakayama Traditional Dance, a photo by Road Trip on Flickr.

my first night back on the mainland (can you refer to an island as the mainland?) I was in Wakayama and it lucked out to be the same night as the weekly dance exhibition.

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Back on the main island

So I ferried back to Honshu and worked my way up to Koyasan. Besides the ferry trips the only other thing that I really planned for my time here was to spend a few nights in a Buddhist monastery. Koyasan is the small town I chose to do that in, it's the center of Shingon Buddhism and a really peaceful little town on the top of Mt. Koya. I stayed in Muryokoin, woke up at 6 every morning to attend the meditation sessions and then had a typical Japanese breakfast before figuring out what to do with my day. The whole of Japan is slightly confused when you tell them you dont know where you're heading to next or how long your staying. The monk that checked me in and showed my around found it pretty amusing as well. So the idea was to figure out the world and my life and what I should do with it and all that but that only took about four days and five nights so I left early the fifth day.

Saturday, April 09, 2011

Naruto Bridge

Naruto Bridge by Road Trip Naruto Bridge, a photo by Road Trip on Flickr.

not a ton of whirlpools the day that I was there but there was plenty for the civil engineer in me to geek out on

Naruto whirlpools

Naruto whirlpools by Road Trip Naruto whirlpools, a photo by Road Trip on Flickr.

The Naruto Bridge between Shikoku and Awaji Island heading towards Honshu is apparently one of the best places to see naturally occurring whirlpools.

manicured gardens

manicured gardens by Road Trip manicured gardens, a photo by Road Trip on Flickr.

small lots with even smaller yards still had some of the best kept gardens I've ever seen

playing with the reflection

playing with the reflection by Road Trip playing with the reflection, a photo by Road Trip on Flickr.

a little grub

a little grub by Road Trip a little grub, a photo by Road Trip on Flickr.

normally i'd be completely game for a little fish on stick but still relatively queasy I was more than ok with just the picture

old stairs

old stairs by Road Trip old stairs, a photo by Road Trip on Flickr.

local water access

vine bridge

vine bridge by Road Trip vine bridge, a photo by Road Trip on Flickr.

apparently at one time these were all over the place. Bridges made of vines were made so that if pursued by enemies they could be cut down to slow them down.

Friday, April 08, 2011

steep slopes

steep slopes by Road Trip steep slopes, a photo by Road Trip on Flickr.

finally got the energy up to take a train out to the middle of nowhere, which offered up some pretty amazing views

sick in Japan

so as I mentioned before, I got pretty ill my second day on Shikoku. Violently ill on a train platform actually. Luckily as I was on all fours losing my guts on the rails the polite Japanese peoples were doing there best to not notice me. When I turned around there wasn't a soul looking at me which was a real surprise when you imagine the lip curls you would get for performing this same stunt just about anywhere in the US. Sick while traveling is just about the worst thing in world. I don't care how old you are you want your mom and hate everything about the place you're in. I was stuck in a hotel bed for 24 hours straight and extremely disliked everything about Japan that I could think of. Luckily the hatred subsided with my illness.

Thursday, April 07, 2011

thats me

thats me by Road Trip thats me, a photo by Road Trip on Flickr.

this is what the sweet old lady called me for the few days I was there

sweet robes

sweet robes by Road Trip sweet robes, a photo by Road Trip on Flickr.

they came with every room

Wednesday, April 06, 2011

Translation gems

Translation gems by Road Trip Translation gems, a photo by Road Trip on Flickr.

there were a bunch of these all over the place. My brother actually has a better collection on his blog. He talks about a bunch of aspects of his life in Japan, it's pretty funny and worth checking out. www.livingandteachinginjapan.blogspot.com/

Tuesday, April 05, 2011

view from the ferry

view from the ferry by Road Trip view from the ferry, a photo by Road Trip on Flickr.

to Shikoku

So a few quick days in Hiroshima and Miyajima and it was time to move again. I was determined to get into the middle of nowhere a bit so the island of Shikoku was the goal. Just about the only part of the trip I had planned on prior to flying to Japan was this idea of hopping a Ferry through the small islands on the way over to the Shikoku. I asked quite a few people who all told me it was impossible and I had to take a bus but I ended up finding one over after a couple hours of trying. Kinda proud of myself for having no Japanese.

Monday, April 04, 2011

The haul

The haul by Road Trip The haul, a photo by Road Trip on Flickr.

we got these muscles and oysters in about 20 minutes. Best I can figure, they are most likely the cause of me getting violently ill on a train platform about 48 hours later.

Decommissioned floating dock

Decommisioned floating dock by Road Trip Decommisioned floating dock, a photo by Road Trip on Flickr.

one of the guys working at the hostel mentioned he knew a place that he collected his own shellfish and we ended up crawling around on this thing

A Wedding

A Wedding by Road Trip A Wedding, a photo by Road Trip on Flickr.

kinda got swept up in the moment but these guys came out and were posing for professional pics and every Japanese tourist ran over and started taking pics so I did too. The traditional garb is pretty cool. Apparently you're part of a pretty important family if you get married on the island.

Sun Bear

Sun Bear by Road Trip Sun Bear, a photo by Road Trip on Flickr.

I never got the story on these guys but the statuettes were everywhere

Miyajima's Tori

Miyajima's Tori by Road Trip Miyajima's Tori, a photo by Road Trip on Flickr.

this is one of Japan's biggest tourist attractions. You're supposed to wait for low tide and walk under it but I hit it at the wrong time. One of the crazy things about Japan was that domestic tourism is so big that entrance fees often actually costs more for a Japanese tourist than a foreign one

Miyajima

I stayed in the "Backpackers Miyajima" hostel just south of Hiroshima and right across from the island of Miyajima. They're really friendly and just about the only place I found other travelers right after the tsunami, I'd suggest it to anyone. I was nice being on the water and the island itself is definitely worth seeing. Good hiking, tons of temples.

Sunday, April 03, 2011

Atomic Bomb Dome

Atomic Bomb Dome by Road Trip Atomic Bomb Dome, a photo by Road Trip on Flickr.

one of the very few buildings that was left standing

Hiroshima Peace Memorial

Hiroshima Peace Memorial by Road Trip Hiroshima Peace Memorial, a photo by Road Trip on Flickr.

I've not been extremely proud of being American before but never truly embarrassed until I walked around the Peace Park. Everyone really should go if they get to Japan.

Cherry Blosoms II

Cherry Blosoms II by Road Trip Cherry Blosoms II, a photo by Road Trip on Flickr.

Temple in Hiroshima

Cherry Blossoms

Cherry Blosoms by Road Trip Cherry Blosoms, a photo by Road Trip on Flickr.

I didn't plan it but I really lucked out being there during the Cherry Blossom Season

Steppin out on my own

So after about 2 weeks with my brother Pete it was time for him to go back to work and me to start the backpacking part of my trip. When I left for Japan I really thought that all my time solo traveling around Latin America prepared me for this as well but even though I had learned a few phrases under my brother's tutelage (Ubinkyoku wa doku deska? = Where is the post office? really served its purpose of getting my to a useful ATM but it's just about the only one I still remember) I was surprisingly nervous. As many places I've traveled to and around on my own before I've never run into such a language barrier nor been in such a foreign culture. There are a lot of etiquette rules over there that I new existed but had no real clue about and it made me a bit worried that I was going to accidentally offend the entire nation. I barely caught my first bus out of Yonago heading to Hiroshima but I'm glad I did because it's an eye opening and powerful place.

Saturday, April 02, 2011

the brother

the brother by Road Trip the brother, a photo by Road Trip on Flickr.

in this picture of him looking out at the Adachi Garden you can really tell he's an intellectual just look how he crosses his legs

The Adachi Museum and Garden

Garden of some name by Road Trip Garden of some name, a photo by Road Trip on Flickr.

this place was amazing, I've never seen such care taken in gardening. Noone was even allowed to walk on it.

Friday, April 01, 2011

Onsen number 1

Onsen number 1 by Road Trip Onsen number 1, a photo by Road Trip on Flickr.

so this was my first Onsen or Public Bath. pretty go get naked with a bunch of Japanese men and soak in hot water or hang out in steam rooms. They even have a tub with electric shock panels embedded in the walls I really has some reservations about it while I walked there but after you get over the naked in public thing its fantastic. You walk out feeling the cleanest you ever felt. I visited quite a few more before I came home.