Cycling Down the Baja - Taking a Break from Taking a Break

After my Odyssee on the Terracerías I decided a bit of a break was well deserved. Also, Wednesday was coming up, which meant I needed to be connected to teach my class. So I checked into a hostel where I attended to my needs, one by one.

First of all, my bike was badly in need of some attention. But with a couple of new tubes, and re-wrapping the leather tapes on the handlebar horns she already looked so much better. Then my skin had to be cooled down, after receiving just a tad bit too much Vitamin D on the beach. Not a painful sunburn, just a strong glow. Still, the cool shade of the hostel came very welcome, together with the aloe vera cream I bought just downstairs. Notice my bike right above the farmacia, on the hostel's balcony.

Soon I was ready to explore San José. They say when in Rome do as the Romans. But when in San José del Cabo? You better do as the tourists, because in the end it doesn't matter, you won't pass for anything else. So that's exactly what I did. Luckily the hostel was located right in the middle of the old center, which is also the "Arts District".

Yes, San José has tons of galleries, where serious artist show their serious work, to be sold to serious collectors at serious prices. I was not that serious about it, but I enjoyed strolling through the city, looking at the tourist sites, and the tourists around them. Indeed, one can go to still further extremes... It's fun.

Running with the arts theme, the hostel also offers activities to its residents. So along with board games, or movie nights, there are occasional arts hours, where we get watercolors to express ourselves creatively, if we feel up for it. I certainly did. After fixing my bike, soothing my skin, and exploring the city, it was the perfect way to kick back and enjoy hostel life a bit. The completed pieces are exhibited on the hostel wall. Mine is up there as well. It's the one where you can clearly see that the artist has not developed his skill too much since kindergarten.

Once I was done with hosteling, I got ready for the last part of my trip. Since the permaculture project never got back to my inquiry, if it was okay to visit them, I decided that the Southern tip of the Baja was only going to be about fun and games, that is riding around in the sand, and chilling in touristy places. I had about a week and 200 km left to go back to La Paz, so I could take it as easy as I wanted. But then, as I started riding to Cabo San Lucas, suddenly everything changed. Again!

Sometimes the Universe throws you the weirdest curve balls. And this one came in form of yet another a busted tube. However, it didn't happen in a dust-filled pothole on a gravel trail, but on the smoothest pavement on the beach promenade of San José! How weird, I thought. I must be doing something wrong. More than 5000 km nothing, and now the valve just keeps getting ripped out. I had to get to the bottom of this matter before going to San Lucas.

So I switched my tube to the spare, and since it was too early in the morning for the bike shop to be open, I went back to the hostel. That's when I saw the message: The lady from the permaculture ranch in Cabo Pulmo had answered my inquest: "Sorry it took me so long to respond, but of course you are welcome to visit. We love to show people what we do!"

I realize, it may be weird when complete strangers come knocking on your door, asking to see your place. Also, if someone doesn't put their contact on the internet, there may be a good reason for it, even if they do accept volunteers. And since I only got to see their Workaway page, where they clearly state that three months is the minimum time they take volunteers for, I assumed this might be the case for them too. Still, I wanted to give it a shot. I rode to Cabo Pulmo, walked into the only coffee-shop in town, and asked around. The locals were super helpful, even gave me their number, to which I texted a very respectful message. That was just before I got stuck on the beach.

Since I hadn't heard back from them, I took it as a negative. But when I did get the definite positive invitation, just when my valve tore out of my tube, I realized the connection, which others may easily declare a mere coincidence. I wrote back immediately, saying that I'd be there as soon as I could - meaning not by bicycle! But first things first:

At the bike shop I learned that the extreme heat can have this effect on my valves, especially if they are not pumped up properly. (Or rather vice versa.) 15 psi was clearly too low. (Oopsie!) 30 is recommended, but given all the weight of my equipment, 35-40 is still better. I immediately bought a small pressure gauge and another spare tube. Then I organized things with the hostel, paying for another night, and two subsequent nights of storage for my bike. Then, at the bus terminal I got a ticket for early next morning to Las Cuevas, the closest place to Cabo Pulmo with a bus service. From there I hitchhiked the rest of the way.

Hitching in those roads is easy. Because traffic is so sporadic, and public transport nonexistent, people are more likely to give you a ride. Though I had planned for the hole day, I arrived before 9:30 a.m. I even took my time to have breakfast at a friendly food stall in La Ribera. When I stepped into the coffee-shop in Cabo Pulmo, the same people were there as last week. They remembered me right away. "So, did you manage to find them?" they asked. I told them the whole story, and that they were about to pick me up.

I spent a day on the ranch, and both of them were more than happy to show me everything, from the earthbag houses to the food forest, from the goats to the cheese making, from the biochar to the methane digestor. Not only that, but they were super happy to let me shoot videos, wait patiently for me to make all my adjustments, and then give long explanations in great detail once I was shooting. Unlike most other places, where I'm expecting to have material for one, or maybe two videos, this place offers enough for several!

I could not be more excited when I went back to San José, the same way I came. But now it's really time I got moving. I still have about 200 km to cover, but now I only have three days left. My stops are Cabo San Lucas for tonight, El Pescadero tomorrow, where a WS host is expecting me, and by Tuesday I want to back in La Paz. Wednesday I still have a class, and for Thursday I have a ticket for the ferry to Mazatlán. And again, I haven't been riding in more than a week!

Take a look at the rest of my Baja Ride here!