Baja Adventure Ride

Day 5 - Cabo San Lucas to La Paz (191 miles)

Baja route map Heading out of Cabo in the morning with a larger group, we followed the blue route along the eastern coast. This is very scenic and quite fun as far as dual sport rides go. In some places the sand could get a bit deep, providing an opportunity to work on your sand riding skills. Some rerouting was also required when apparently some overzealuous landowners decided to gate off some of the roads on the map.

Stopping for lunch at the small seaside town of Buena Vista, we enjoyed yet another excellent meal of fish tacos. While there, I noticed that this town seemed more popular with Americans, with some of them looking like they have settled in at this idyllic location.

Following lunch I opted to bail from the coastal route further north as I heard that the conditions were sandier and that a rocky slope at one section may be more problematic for bigger bikes. The others continued on in two groups along the coast, while I went inland on my own, with a plan to try to intercept them ahead at Bahia de Muertos (Bay of the Dead) where my original group talked about making a stop.

Reaching the Bahia de Muertos in about an hour, I was struck at the desolation of the place. After taking a few photos and waiting a bit more with no sign of anybody, I decided to continue on to the hotel at La Paz. Along the way closer to the water, I noticed this curious behavior where dozens of vultures would fly around and perch on saguaro cactus in certain areas near the road. Inspecting closer I found hundreds of dead fish dumped on the ground. Apparently this is either by-catch or unsold fish that local fishermen had unloaded in the area (they typically don't have ice at the fish markets). After being aware of this, I started noticing more of these type of dumping grounds for fish on other roads nearer to the coast. Witnessing the scale of this kind of makes you feel like you are pissing into the wind in trying to act more environmentally responsible.

Getting to the hotel by the late afternoon, the rest of my group that took the route along the coast did not get in until another 3-4 hours. I used the spare time to walk around with my camera, doing a bit of street photography. In the meantime, it turned out my group ran into more problems with Stu's bike, getting a couple of more flats, while also having to double back to the highway when the coastal road was blocked due to some ad-hoc construction (that an earlier group was able to slip past). Apparently Stu's damaged tire from the original rim impact on the first day was starting to haunt him, potentially allowing more dirt to get between the tire and tube.

Images (click to select the larger view at bottom)

Intro Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 Day 7 Day 8 Day 9 Conclusion

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