We met Chris from Middlesborough, England, and rode together the 71km to Mulege. After a long internet session it got very late so we wild camped on the side of the road, between cactus, near the coast. Chris and I both had flat tires in the morning.

14thNov.

15km  and we found La Playa Escondida (Playa Ecomundo, La Playa del Ciclista for us from now on), a small piece of paradise in Bahia Concepcion. It was wiped out by the hurricane in September so there’s no Palapas, toilets or anything, and it’s beautiful and quiet, and also free. There we met Charles, Inga, GianLuca, TJazz and Niña from Canada. We borrowed their kayaks and stand-up paddle board, went fishing and shared stories, beer, scalops, ceviche aand rice around the campfire. They’re the coolest family I’ve ever met. Thank you guys.

15thNov.

It’s just the three of us on the beach, seagulls and fish. It’s almost like being on a desert island, lovely. Some tourists made it down the rocky trail but they always leave. Nice.

17thNov.

We’re still here. we needed a rest. This is so unique that we don’t really want to leave. We’ve fixed the “loo with a view”. Yesterday I caught a fish that we’re using as bait to catch bigger fish, no luck so far. We spend a lot of time in the water, fishing (trying to) and swimming. 

18thNov.

Wake up to the sun rising above the islands, the seagulls are finishing the popcorns from our campfire dinner last night (had crab for dessert, we caught it in a bucket) while we have breakfast and see dolphins. Pack up and leave our playa escondida, a bit sad. After 18km we stop in Buenaventura so we can use the free wi-fi at the small lovely restaurant on the beach and split a delicious cheeseburger for lunch.

Thanks to our Tour Dad and most valuable member of the True Wheel Society now we have our package with my shoes and some more stuff we needed and we can get back on the road.

About a month ago, for some unknown reason my feet started to hurt way too much, so after riding over 5 thousand miles on my Sidi’s, I realized I needed new cycling shoes. Luckily we got a sponsorship deal with Keen Footwear, so I ordered the Commuter sandals. Matt took care of the shipping and after paying the stupid import duties (I call it theft) and a very long delay in Tijuana, finally the shoes arrived yesterday.

We love it here in Ensenada, we really do. Delia makes us feel at home in La Casa del Ciclista. But we need to keep going: in almost 3 weeks, we’ve watched over 26 movies (Julio from the DVD shop is our best friend now), we’ve eaten all the donas, fish tacos, adobada and asada tacos, tortas, enchiladas, tamales, ice cream and birrias; we’ve been to La Bufadora (a very nice ride to a rather disappointing tourist trap: a tidewater blowhole in a rock); we’ve read all our books and done a lot of drawing; and we’ve seen the big grey whales.

We’ve had a lot of time to think and reconsider what we’re doing and why we’re doing it. This is it. This is our lives now. This is what we do for a living: we ride our bicycles, we keep going. Because we do.

Now the Santa Ana wind has calmed down and my feet are very happy.

Thank you Matt.

It was lunch time when we rode into Ensenada, but we couldn’t really afford any of the tempting offers to stop at the numerous restaurants along the boulevard Lazaro Cardenas, so we continued the beautiful ride along the beach until we got to the traffic mess of La Reforma Ave. After asking for directions a few more times, we finally found Calle Paseo Pacifico and stopped at Mini Mercado Javi’s where the owner let us use his phone. La Señora Delia greeted us and showed us to La Casa del Ciclista. A few minutes after I had unpacked it felt like home.

We found out about this place on Warmshowers.com, like coachsurfing but for touring cyclists. Gerardo, a Doctor who now lives in Riverside CA. is an avid cyclist and loves to share his house in Ensenada with cycling nomads like us. There’s no way to express in words how thankful we are to Gerardo and specially to Delia.

Jose, Delia & Canica

La Señora Delia is a wonderful woman. Originally from Veracruz, she started working when she was 15, and became manager in a “curiosity store” where she got to meet Marilyn Monroe. She lives next door and looks after Gerardo’s house and the guests. Everytime we pass by to say Hola she offers us food. Last night we had Papas con Chorizo while Jose, her husband, listened to the Dodgers being beaten by the Phillies on his very loud radio, and Canica, the chihuaua dog, watched us eating away the cookies for desert.

A few days ago, we shared the house with Emi and Nicholas (http://grab-a-wheel.org). They’re riding from Vancouver all the way to Tierra del Fuego on their bikes loaded with home made panniers, plants, and plastic lunch boxes for handlebar bags. I cooked a spanish omelette (my Mum’s recipe) at Delia’s and had a very nice evening enjoying their company and stories from Japan. We hope we’ll catch up with them somewhere again along the road down south.

But in the meantime, we’re still here. Life goes slowly by in Ensenada while we wait for my new cycling shoes to arrive. We make the most of our off the bike time by using the slow internet cafe around the corner, reading our South America and Adventure Cycle-Touring books, cleaning and adjusting our bikes, eating fish tacos at Taco Bob’s (as in Sponge Bob Square Pants), becoming masters of the home made Burrito, daydreaming, siestas, and enjoying the lovely weather and the hospitality of La Señora Delia and his wonderful family.