Dancing Saddle

While waiting out the rain in Tecate, I got to taste real tacos and volcanos for the first time with some general observation of life in Mexico. The contrast from Korea was expected but still huge. I stocked up on food to cook over my improvised tuna can stove and nearly 8 liters of water.

Volcanes con todo. one of my new favorite dishes. Crispy Tacos with everything. They reign supreme. And Casa Paris where I first felt like a traveller blogger. Making blog posts and doing research.

When the rain finally stopped, I headed south over the steep hill that overlooked Tecate. I stopped on the outskirts to grab something to eat and to down some coke. At the same time got my first blessing from a random stranger for my journey ahead. Soon after that I finally turned onto the dirt road to start the hard part of the Baja Divide, I almost immediately had to make changes to my packing. Everything was too lose and I couldn’t remember where anything was as I comically searched to find the extra strap. Everything now safely tied down, I slowly ventured further into the wilderness. Laughing at myself at the stupidity as a way to cover the nerves.

Last look at Tecate from the tophill of the steep hill leaving the city. My last snack before hitting the dirt.

Periodically along the way, there were signs of human habitation; horses, dogs, fences, cows, farmsteads, trucks and some people. After my first unwelcome dog encounter that left a little rip in my one pannier, I started looking for my first wild camp sight.

Soon into the wild with only occasional evidence of human habitation including the beautiful horses that are way more welcome than cows and dogs.

I found a little spot hidden from the dirt track and looked around for five minutes to make sure I wasn’t missing something stupid and then went ahead and set up camp. I got to use my tent, my sleeping quilt, my sleeping mat, my stove, solar light all for the first time. This is something most people would not recommend. After a cold night, where I had to get up and go pee, layer up on clothes, and readjust my quilt because I hadn’t learnt how to sinch the foot well properly, I woke up to find everything covered in frost. After warming up and repacking everything, I headed off.

My first wild camping experience. This was an evening of so many firsts. Glad I was so tired as I fell asleep pretty quickly except for when I needed the toilet. When I woke up everything was covered in frost and had to melt the ice in my water bottles.

Today was the first day I would encounter other cyclists and my first trail angel. I am borrowing the term trail angel from the AT and PCT but it is so appropriate. After about 20 km and one very hard climb that involved walking and this would definitely not be the last bike and hike I would be doing. Soon thereafter along a flat stretch I saw a sign for food, coffee, water and camping. I almost didn’t believe it but there it was with other cyclists already there.

After the crazy uphill which involved a lot of pushing and walking and resting the view back made it worth while. A ground squirrell which I often spotted during this part of the Baja Divide.

This was how I met Peter; the trail angel; and Pablo, Marco, Cesar and Jose, who were cycling the Baja Divide. I chatted with them a bit and got a lot of useful information from Pablo and then they were on their way. I then chatted a while longer with Peter and then went on my way as well.

Peter built his farm lodge along the trail and has built a cafe and will be building camping sites in the future for bikepackers. Pablo, Jose, Marco and Cesar became my companions for the next day or so.

I unexpectedly caught up with them and we all camped together by an abandoned camping site by a river. The next day we had a staggered start with Marco and Cesar leaving first and then Jose and then myself. I quickly passed Jose and then caught up to Marco and Cesar just after they arrived in Ojos Negro. Eventually Jose and Pablo arrived. I had lunch and restocked. They decided to camp in the square or nearby.

Beautiful camping spot along the river. A cold dip in the water for a bit of a clean. Helping Jose fix his tent in the square of Ojos Negro.

I was still fresh and wanted to continue. Pablo said I should make sure I don’t camp too high up and, in my bravado, I said I would be able to get downlow before the evening. Well, I didn’t, but along the way I started encountering my first gates and then a lone stranger walking in the middle of the desert carrying nothing but a jacket and a machete. We chatted in broken Spanish before I headed off. I ended up camping at altitude but I was much better prepared this time and was super cozy.

I came across this magic bus that reminded me of Christopher McCandless aka Alexander Supertramp. Climbing into bed to watch the sunset as a cold night was in the making.

The next day was insanely hard. I thought it would be an easy day to Uruapan but I was badly mistaken. Lots of washed-out roads and steep uphills and downhills meant lots of pushing and pulling and walking. Roads so badly rutted that I am definitely too inexperienced to ride. Eventually the roads smoothed out and I was able to spend more time riding than walking. I was low on water but not to the point of worry.

The rutted out road that I had to push and walk up and down that has so far been the hardest part of the route. The delicious tortas fritas that ended up being my dinner for the evening.

I arrived in Uruapan, grabbed some snacks, topped up on liquids and then headed to Santo Tomas to grab something to eat and find a place to camp. I had some tortas fritas and then went to go look for a camp site. I headed a long the Baja Divide route and eventually found a spot that was kind of hidden. I set up camp and just snacked for dinner. I had some dogs as neighbors but thankfully they stayed far away.

My first beer in Mexico and thought I would try some of the local brew. Waiting for my clothes to dry while drinking my morning coffee.

The next day I continued a long the Baja Divide and soon I saw the Pacific coast for the first time. The scenery reminded me of the wilder sections of Hermanus. After resting at Ejido Erendira, I decided to get off the Baja Divide and go on road for a bit.

My first sight of the Pacific Ocean from Mexico and the beautiful rugged coastline that I followed for a couple of hours.

I regretted this choice as the detour was longer than I thought and the road was busier than I imagined and much longer. By the time I wanted to camp there weren’t many options but thankfully iOverlander and Vinos Dubacano came to the rescue. After a night camping in their wine tasting courtyard and a slow start to the morning I headed off to Vincente Guerreo.

Looking rough after five days of wild camping. My view from my camping spot in Vinos Dubacano. Not shown the oranges that I was free to pick and subsequently massacre.

Unfortunately, this was the low point for the journey so far. The wide shoulder soon disappeared and the traffic was intense. I had to totally focus on the road and didn’t enjoy the journey at all. During this stretch I unfortunately saw a dog getting struck and killed by the traffic that was speeding down the main road. After that all I wanted to do was get to Vincente Guerreo. I stopped only to grab some road side tacos and kept going until I arrived for my first rest and hotel night in 5 days.

My first road side tacos and a giant fresa. I really enjoyed this and helped distract from the crappy road. Repacking and reorganizing my gear.