Mexico: The Bahia – La Paz and Cabo san Lucas ( 25th to 27th February)

Saying good-bye to Dario and Elias and heading off for the final bit of my Mexican adventure, I was a little sad that my trip was nearing its end but I was so filled with excitement to see the Bahia . What nice guys, but then again they are Mexican and I have yet to meet a Mexican person I don’t like. So much for all the media bollox about how dangerous Mexico is. Obviously you need to be careful in some places and avoid others and have some common sense but that goes for every country in the world even Switzerland.

After arriving so late into La Paz I didn’t really get to see much of it. I rode alongside the boardwalk and only got to the hotel at 5pm. By this time I was famished so had a quick shower and went down to the Chinese buffet restaurant next door to the hotel and had a huge and very yummy Chinese dinner.

The next day I headed down to Cabo. I took the longer scenic route and it was well worth it. I also just took my time, stopping often to enjoy the views. When I arrived in Cabo I was pretty hungry so stopped near the pier and went for lunch after which I just walked around for ages seeing what the place is like. It is very touristy but still very nice, I met a really nice group of American bikers who are in the Bahia for 10 days dirt biking. The leader Richard was fantastic and gave me some really good maps and ideas for my trip north.

I was told by multiple people that I must see Cabo which is why I took the 2 days to go south and see it. I will admit I liked it, but to be honest cannot say it is the most awesome place to see. One of the most important things I needed to do in Cabo was try get a new tire. I had checked my tires while in Queretaro and even Daniel agreed that they should get me to the states. However within 2 days the front tire just dropped in tread so quickly I was really surprised. It had done 18000kms by then but my front TKC80 tires usually last me 20 to 22000kms. This had now become a small emergency, however I did know that if I could not get one in Cabo I could in La Paz, however that meant going back to La Paz for an extra 2 days, due to the 28th being a Sunday.

Gadgets gets to visit the seaside in Cabo

I went to TodoMotos, as advised, and asked them about tires. The lady said no problem they would have one for me at 9am the next day. She insisted I pay a deposit but took the details and assured me the tire would be there. I arrived at 9am sharp, 9 am came and went and I kept on getting told it is on the way, every 10 mins. At 10:30am the tire arrived. Now I did say (to myself not them) that if they give me a street tire or MX I don’t care as long as it fits I’ll take it. hmmm famous last words. They had a proper hard core MX tire with very big and very spaced out knobblies, and it was a 21 80/100. Oh and it was also usd205

I said no way am I taking this tire as I am riding up to 10000kms on road, I also knew the tire wouldn’t be road legal in the sates so that meant buying another tire. So in effect wasting usd205, which at this stage I can ill afford. So I waited another 30mins and they brought a new tire a nice road tire but it was 70/70, they tried to argue that it would fit WTF it was visibly far too narrow. I even agreed to go with their sales guy to the mechanic Arturo who I had met the day before, he spoke English (no one in the shop did) and I liked him. He took one look at the tire and went ”erm no way will this fit”. He then sent me to Yamaha but was not sure if they had tires as he said they don’t really keep many spares. TodoMoto was recommended which is how I ended up there, otherwise I would have tried Yamaha first. Yamaha had a good Pirelli but a 21 80/90, they assured me it would be okay and after consulting, through Joern with his excellent mechanic in Switzerland I got the tire, and it fitted fine.

Arturo the mechanic what a nice guy

So I took the Yamaha tire to Arturo, he fitted it and I went back to the shop and demanded my deposit back, oh yes the Yamaha tire was only usd95. They did not argue about the deposit and apologised a lot for the situation so that was okay. All’s well that ends well.

The WORST part is that I went to Cabo to see the rock arch in the sea and did not get to see it 😦 what a waste of 2 days. In order to see the arch you need to go on a tour or water taxi (just 2 hrs on the water, and only usd10) to see the arch. Yesterday I arrived at 3pm and went for lunch and walked around, then did the tire and then found out that you cannot see the arch from the land so needed a water taxi but they don’t go in the evening (obviously)

The arch that I missed seeing

So I thought no probs. I get the tire at 9am, drop it and the bike at the mechanic, and go see the arch with a water taxi, have lunch and leave for La Paz after lunch (only 135kms on the direct route).

hmm well all in all the tire thing took so long I only rode out of Cabo at 2pm no time to see arch and get to la paz in one day. Loreto is 500km from Cabo and the road is ok but I wanted to get to La Paz to take a few kms off the journey. Thank goodness I had decided to do the La Paz stop-off as leaving Cabo at 2pm would never have given me enough time to get to Loreto before dark.

I stopped on the way back to La Paz to watch these guys ride the river bed, it looked like serious fun.

So in a nutshell I did waste my time going to Cabo. I was told I MUST go by 4 different people 2 Canadians and 2 Mexicans so though it was a must see. It is nice but I hope the rest of the Bahia is better, although I cannot really say a waste of time as I enjoyed the riding so much. I also enjoyed actually getting to see some of La Paz during my second trip there.

La Paz