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Panamericana adventure
  • Meike Grothe
  • Herbert E
Sep 2019 – May 2020

Panamericana adventure

A dream comes true!! Starting in Vancouver, our plan is to go South until we reach Tierra del Fuego - World's end. Our chosen way of transport: 2 fantastic travel bikes. Follow us on our adventurous trip with all the expected highs and lows 🚵‍♀️😀 Read more
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  • Panamericana adventure
    View of LA suburbsTypical breakfast cafe in Running SpringsBig Bear LakeOnly some of those funny street names

    Switzerland

    October 28, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 8 °C

    This morning, it was again when we woke up as there is pretty strong winds in this area. However, we made it out of the sleeping bags, had breakfast and started with a very steep climb (up to 19% elevation gain in corners), also passing Lake Gregory, a little mountain lake. The day felt a bit like cycling in Switzerland as we passed mountain cabins, lakes, forest and street names such as "Knickerbocker", "Bergschrund" or "Althorn".
    Once we got up the first hills, we were at "Rim of the world", a road following a ridge with the desert just behind. The winds here were absolutely crazy, so we had to be really careful. We also missed the 4000km-stop by 1km as the winds were too strong at that stretch ;)
    For lunch, we stopped at a roadhouse in Running Springs and got plenty of coffee to warm up. In the afternoon, the winds had calmed down, so we could enjoy the rest of the cycling to Big Bear, a beautiful lake in the mountains where we stayed with our host Derek.    Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    1

    Downhill

    October 29, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    Finally, we had a more or less downhill day. After a relatively short 500m-climb at the beginning, we were up at the last high pass (elevation above 8000ft) in the US on our trip. Strong head winds blew straight into our faces at the top, but with a 6% descent we could still go down at a decent speed. And it was a long downhill, sometimes rolling, with beautiful scenery and great turns, about 1800m elevation loss into Yucaipa. From there, we cycled on to Bogart Park where we camped for the night. When we entered Bogart Park we saw a Bobcat doing its campground walk.Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    Crazy winds
    Casino and golf course in the middle of the desertThe views you get when you climb again 😊Slim bikesNew friends

    Crazy winds

    October 30, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 8 °C

    52km and just above 1000m climb: sounded like an easy day when we planned it. However, things turn out differently sometimes when you travel. First of all, we didn't have a quiet night as it was really windy all night long. In the morning, we had to get our tent to the toilet room in order to get it back into the bag as the wind outside was so strong. We then had to cycle about 20km straight against the winds (gusts up to 55mph). As a lot of dust and sand was whirled through the air, we got sandblasted and had to wear our smoke masks to avoid grinding teeth.
    But the highway we were going to take was closed, so we had to take a long detour (thanks again Google for this stupid route suggestion). Luckily, the winds in the valley on the other side of the hills were less strong. And just after we had started our long climb for the day (1300m from this side), Theresa - our host for the night - drove passed and took all our luggage in her car. This way, we could climb up to Idyllwild relatively quickly and enjoy dinner with Theresa and Bill.    Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    Bill's favorit breakfast place in Idyllwild
    Idyllwild town centerThat's how we experience the U.S.Tent cabin in the vineyardYummy pasta and wineCosy place for sleeping

    The vineyard story

    October 31, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    We had a really good start into the day as Bill took us out for breakfast to a small restaurant. Afterwards we explored the town center of Idyllwild. Actually it's worth to spend a couple of days there to enjoy the really nice atmosphere of this town and to do some hiking.
    We continued our travel to the South. In Anza we stopped for lunch and again checked our options for the next night. It's hard to find places for wild camping as there's no national forest on our route and the "official" campgrounds are rare and expensive.
    So Meike had this idea to stay at a winery over night. On the first call she got a positive response from Shadow Mountain Winery. We arrived there at 3pm and immediately got a wine tasting of the Californian wines. It even got better as Alex and Pam, the owners of the vineyard, offered us one of the tent cabins for the night.
    We had some interesting conversations with other guests and finished the day with pasta and a very delicious Sauvignon Blanc.
    Alex and Pam do lots of traveling in there orange Bulli. They picked it up in Wolfsburg in 1972 and had a journey all over Europe for 2 years. So they knew the needs of travellers and made our stay at their vineyard very enjoyable 😁    Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    Alex and his employees getting in the harvest
    Pam at the entrance to the vineyardGold mining museum1Herbert and his piesLaban's yurt with an outside bathroomInside the yurt - reminded us of our Mongolia holiday

    Following the gold miners' traces

    November 1, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    After a breakfast with a view, we left Shadow Mountain Vineyards. We followed Highway 79, an historic route, that the gold miners took to cross the Sierras in the 19th century. You could see several old cabins and sites pointing to this era. We only had to cycle for about 60km, but as we encountered strong head winds all the way, we were quite exhausted once we arrived in Julian. Luckily, the town is famous for its pies, so Herbert got apple and rhubarb pies to re-energize. We had arranged to stay with Laban for the night. He lives in a pretty cool yurt, taking care of a huge property on which we could pitch our tent.Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    View of the Sierras and Julian
    Crazy car (the gearshifter was made out of bones)Border fence between US and Mexico1Final Sierra-Cascades Beer

    Sierra Cascades - Finish line

    November 2, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Today, we spent the last day on the Sierra-Cascades route. We enjoyed some last views of the Sierras and had a really pleasant ride with mainly tailwinds through the foothills until we could already see the Mexican border. Before crossing it in the morning, we celebrated this part of the trip with a beer in Potrero County Park where we camp for the night.
    All in all, it took us 51 days to travel this route from the Canadian to the Mexican border. We encountered all kinds of weather conditions: plenty of rain in the North, snow at Crater Lake, heat in the high desert, crazy winds in Southern California. We had to climb A LOT and stopped counting the passes and summits. We met so many nice people who supported us with warm showers, a cosy bed, spontaneous invites, food, great conversations or just cheering when we climbed uphill again. Thanks to everyone at this point, you made the US an awesome experience for us.
    We are now looking forward to entering Mexico tomorrow and opening a new chapter of our adventure.    Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    We are in Mexico!
    México is full of colors. Here's a cemetery comparison: MX vs. USHarbour in EnsenadaBack at the ocean after 8 weeksUshuaia : 10.693km

    Bienvenidos a Mexico

    November 3, 2019 in Mexico ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    As we had a long day ahead, we got up at 5:30am. We were a little surprised that it was quite light already and checked our phones like 3 times. Then we realized that the time was changed to winter time over night - that made sense... 😏 Anyways, we cycled the remaining 10km to the Mexican border, followed the pedestrian signs to Mexico, passed a couple of doors and friendly Mexicans and found ourselves right in Tecate. No one checked our passport or wanted to give us the tourist card. So we looked around, found one of the friendly Mexicans and checked with him. He told us it's not necessary, but as we resisted he pointed us to a little office with the "immigration" sign on it. In order to get there, we pushed our bikes back to the US side of the border, got in the office, filled out the form, paid the fee and got our tourist card. The immigration officer gave us 180 days straight away when he heard that we are cycling 😉
    The rest of the day was up and downhill again, following the Ruta del Vino through the valley de Guadeloupe until we got to our hosts Tomas and Carmen in Ensenada. In front of their house, we saw a sign pointing to Ushuaia for the first time: only 10.693km to go (as the crows fly). We also visited the city centre of Ensenada which is pretty colorful and lively, lots of bars and restaurants full of people dancing and singing on a Sunday afternoon.    Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    High valley near Ojos NegrosSunset view in the mountainsCampspot for the night

    And up we go again

    November 4, 2019 in Mexico ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    We decided to change our route for Baja a little. Instead of following Highway 1 all the way South, we are going for Highways 3 and 5 in the North. This meant we had to cross the mountains of Baja California again. Getting out of Ensenada was quite loud and stressful on a Monday morning. But once we were some kms away from the city, roads got nicer, there was less traffic and less rubbish next to the streets. It is now dark at around 5:30pm already, so we stopped at a nice spot at 4:15pm in order to get "tent ready" for the night.Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    Summer, sun, cactusOne of the high plains

    Sommer, Sonne, Kaktus and much headwinds

    November 5, 2019 in Mexico ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    We got up early in order to avoid the heat and get a long stretch done today. We hoped for tailwinds of course. However, reality was different and we had to fight pretty strong headwinds all day. The route wasn't too bad: high plains, some mountains around, a canyon, many cactuses. The area here is VERY dry. You don't find any water except for bottled water in the minimarkets. Therefore, we have to plan days like today carefully, so we always have enough to drink.
    Despite the headwinds, we cycled 162km to a campground on the East side of Baja where we could pitch our tent right at the beach.    Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    Breakfast with a view
    Emmanuel, the owner, and us at the poolGetting back to the main roadBike repair shop in San FelipeGame night with Pam, Nancy and Clark (Barry's taking the photo)

    San Felipe

    November 6, 2019 in Mexico ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    After a long stretch yesterday, we had an easy day ahead of us. It started with breakfast at the beach, sunrise view included. Afterwards, the owner of the beach camp, Emmanuel, invited us over for a chat, some coffee and a second breakfast (cakes). He convinced us to stay a little longer for a swim in the sea and in the pool.
    We then headed into the town of San Felipe to get something to drink, plan our route and fill up supplies. At the Malecon, the beach promenade, we already bumped into Pam and Barry, our hosts for the night. We had a short chat before we split again to run our errands.
    From San Felipe, we had to cycle another 20km in order to get to the community Mision Los Sahuaros, where Pam and Barry live in a beautiful house. Once we got there, we headed straight to the beach. At night, Nancy and Clark, their neighbours, came over for a game night. We played "joker", a game similar to "sorry" with some special rules and tweaks. It was a great night with lots of fun, great food and interesting conversations.    Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    "Good game", here with Barry and Clark
    Inside the Cowpatty with MemoThe cowpattyHot springs in PuertocitoRon and Susan5000km at Bahia Christina

    It's all about the people

    November 7, 2019 in Mexico ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    We realize that traveling by bike makes it really easy to get in touch with local people and it's actually one of the best parts of our trip.
    This morning started with a round of pickle ball, a game similar to tennis, but on a smaller court, a slower ball and different racquets. It's good fun and easy to learn. Thanks to Barry, Clark, Pam and Nancy for letting us play with you :)
    After that kind of technical exercise, we went back on the bikes. Our next stop was "Cowpattys", a bar along the road selling mainly hot dogs and beer (which we - of course - tried). Memo, the guy who works there is well known in the area. He works in the bar for several months, saves up money and goes bike riding the rest of the year. He went to Panama before, so he helped us planning our route in mainland Mexico already.
    At the bar, we met Ron who lives in Puertocito with his wife Susan. He first showed us the hot springs in Puertocito and then invited us for a chat to his house. His wife Susan and him are lovely people. They offered us snacks, sandwiches and water to support us on our trip. They also gave us some advice of where to set up our camp for the night. So we said goodbye and camped some kms further South at "Christina's", a restaurant right at the beach.
    Right there, we reached 5000km on the road.
    296h on the bikes
    62485m of climbing    Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    Sea to the left, mountains to the right
    Interesting rock formationsView of the houses in Gonzaga Bay at high tideBeachside dinner

    Beachside stay

    November 8, 2019 in Mexico ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Now that we are at the seaside of Baja California, we are taking it a bit more slowly. We had a pretty bad night of sleep as the seals made a lot of noises, the neighbour's dogs barked several times and we had a mouse visiting our tent again which Herbert had to chase. So after a slow breakfast , we rode to Gonzaga Bay. We were going to stay with Don, who we had met in San Felipe and who had invited us to camp at his beachfront house. The housing area here is actually quite amazing. The houses are built on something like a long sand bank. At high tide, they are surrounded by water from 3 sides. However, this way, all houses are right at the beach. We got here around lunch time, so we had plenty of time to relax, do some bike maintenance and study Spanish in the afternoon.Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    Sunrise at Don's place
    Don and usDirt road experienceValle de cirios

    Training on gravel

    November 9, 2019 in Mexico ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    After a relaxing night in Don's trailer, we enjoyed our breakfast during sunrise again. Then we headed off to a long day today, as we had to leave the East side of Baja California again to get to Highway 1 which will take us all the way to the Southern tip of the peninsula. The first kms were easy riding with only little wind. We then had to go on a dirt road for about 4.5kms - they have been building a paved road connecting Gonzaga Bay and Highway 1 and this is the last missing piece about to get finished at the beginning of next year. Luckily, we got back on a paved road afterwards, the dirt road stretch took us about an hour and we were covered in dust afterwards. All in all a good preparation for the South American roads,we definitely had some valuable experience. Once we got to Highway 1, we saw some interesting landscape full of giant cactuses of different species. At night, we camped next to restaurante Melany in Punta Prieta where we had a Mexican dinner. The problem here is that the food is quite low carb, so it doesn't give us the energy we need for cycling. So usually, we have to eat snacks at a shop before or after dinner on top.Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    Rainy day and "Mesa" mountains
    Welcome to Baja California SurOur camp next to a dirt roadAbandoned house. Great as a shelter for cooking!

    It sometimes rains in Baja California

    November 10, 2019 in Mexico ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    6:20am on the road - earliest start so far. We didn't sleep much during the night. Firstly, the restaurant was more of a 24hour truck stop, so there was a lot of noise of trucks coming and going. Secondly, there were a couple of puppies and young cats who loved playing with the tent: jumping against it to bounce off... If it wasn't our home for 15 months, it would have actually been really funny to watch 😂
    Once we were on the road, it started to rain. We didn't think this actually exists here and had difficulties finding the right amount of clothing layers at first. The rest of the day was cycling through pretty flat and unspectacular landscape. At least we had tail winds, so we could go fast. We stopped shortly at Guerrero Negro for a lunch and Internet break and then made use of the wind direction to continue a little further. At 4pm, we pulled off and set up our camp.
    By going into Baja California Sur, we also crossed a time zone for the first time. Now, sunset (which means bedtime for us) is no longer before 5pm, but closer to 6pm 😉    Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    Work under palm treesOur cute visitorsChurch in San IgnacioThe lagune1Dinner at the lagune

    An oasis in the desert

    November 11, 2019 in Mexico ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    When we wanted to leave this morning, Herbert had a flat tire again. However, as we didn't have much water, we decided to pump up the tire and go instead of trying to fix it right away. Our destination for the night was San Ignacio, about 100km through pretty monotonous landscape again. However, San Ignacio itself is a real oasis in the desert. It has a laguna, a nice old church and some cute little houses in the center. Luckily, we arrived there at 1pm already, so we had plenty of time to do our chores like fixing the flat tire and do our laundry, play with our visitors - 3 funny puppies -, explore the village and relax on our campground right next to the lagune.Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    Sunrise at the lagune
    Finally some mountains and canyons again 😉Enjoying a bit of luxuryWatching the pelicans from our Vista pointCat climbing on our bikes

    Dinner with the pelicans

    November 12, 2019 in Mexico ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    This morning, we took a little longer to get on the road as we enjoyed the lagune as long as we could. We then cycled to Santa Rosalia, a town on the seaside of Baja California. The landscape got more interesting again once we got closer to the sea, somewhat mountainous with canyons. In Santa Rosalia, we just stopped for lunch and filled up our supplies. The town itself didn't look too appealing to visit.
    So we headed for a beachside campground another 16km South. When we wanted to turn onto a dirt road leading to the campground, Myron and Marilyn stopped their jeep right next to us. They had a trailer parking next to the sea and offered us to stay in it. We thankfully accepted the offer and enjoyed a bit of luxury with an amazing view and a shower in the trailer. Over dinner, we watched the pelicans landing head first in the water and the cat climbing on our bicycles. After dinner, Myron and Marilyn took us to their friends' place. David and Martha live in a very cute RV, all painted in bright colors (Martha's work) and decorated in fish bones and shells which David has either found or traded with the locals here.    Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    1Dave leaving for his fishing trip
    Our home for last nightVulturesView of MulegePlaya SantispakDolphin cruise with Jeff and Julie

    Every day is a good day

    November 13, 2019 in Mexico ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    Every day (on a boat) is a good day. This is what David told us last night when we asked him if he still goes fishing every day. And when you see him leaving the beach in his boat during sunrise, you totally understand why. With this in mind, we left our beautiful camp for the night and cycled South. We had a break in Mulege, a nice little town situated next to a river. Afterwards, we were about to continue for another 40km or so. However, when we saw Playa Santispak, we had to stop. The beach, the bay and the people were too great to just go passed. Our camp neighbours Tom and Heidi welcomed us with a beer and filled up our water supplies. Tom also organised a solar bag for us, so we could shower later on. Then we met Julie and Jeff who took us on a boat ride to see some dolphins. And for dinner, we got ourselves a treat at the beach restaurant. So yes, it was definitely a good day!Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    Breakfast with a view
    Finally something to eat - market square in LoretoChurch in Loreto

    Rolling

    November 14, 2019 in Mexico ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Once again, we got up with a gorgeous sunrise. That's the best part of traveling on the East side of Baja! We then started into a pretty scenic, but also very exhausting day of cycling. The route first passed some nice bays, before it went further inland again where it got more mountainous. The most exhausting part was the rolling road. We went up and down all the time and soon stopped counting all the hills we crossed. Plus, there were no shops on the way, so we couldn't buy anything for lunch. So when we got to Loreto, we were so tired that we decided to stay in town instead of going further to a beach. It was a good decision as the city has some nice colonial style buildings, restaurants, live music and a seafront.Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    Obligatory tourist picture in front of the Loreto sign
    View of Juncalito Bay from a vista pointAt the beachCiudad Constitucion - typical desert town with shops along the highway

    Lazy day

    November 15, 2019 in Mexico ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    After the tiring day yesterday, we decided take it easy and just cycle to a beach some 30km South of Loreto. So we took it slowly in the morning, got up later than usual and walked around town for a bit before heading off.
    We went to Juncalito Beach, a beautiful bay with shallow, clear water where we could watch tropical fish without even snorkeling. From here, we actually took our first lift. A guy from the Loreto campground was at the beach and was going to Ciudad Constitucion, about 100km in our direction. The city is again in the center of Baja, an area that is mainly flat, hot and dry with pretty dusty towns. So we are happy to make this stretch faster and get back to the nice coastal towns as soon as we can.
    Down here in the South Baja California, the climate is different as well. It's very humid, so there's annoying bugs and mosquitos and the days feel a lot hotter while cycling. Nature, on the other hand, is quite a bit greener than up North. So there's pros and cons to it...    Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    Early morning on a flat road
    The curveMalecon La PazTraffic jam while getting out of La Paz

    A curve and chasing shelter

    November 16, 2019 in Mexico ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    We got up very early to make it somehow to La Paz as a tropical storm was forecasted to hit Southern Baja within the next 24h. But as it was still another 220km to La Paz, we were not confident to make it there. Actually, we were about to be stuck for 2 days in the middle of nowhere in the tent or maybe in a hotel (if we could find one).
    So we started to ride. The first 60km was just straight road without any hills. It could have been somewhere in Northern Germany. So we were very lucky when the first curve occurred.
    We arrived in a small village at noon and tried to "hitch bike" but none of the cars stopped. So we went to a tire shop and asked some of the mechanics if someone was going to La Paz today. 20 seconds later we got a ride - easy! 😂
    Once we got to La Paz, we found a very good bike store where we bought new chains. In the end, it took us 14 days to find a well equipped bike store in Mexico.
    While having a beer at the malecon and checking the options for the night, we contacted Donna and Bill from Los Barriles to let them know that we would arrive a couple of days earlier. We met them in California at a brewery and they invited us to their place in Mexico. Donna offered to pick us up somewhere between La Paz and Los Barriles, so we finished the beer quickly and went back on the saddle. After 2h of riding we met her on the road and got a ride for the last 60km. We got yummy sandwiches for dinner and had margaritas and beer 🍻🥂
    So luckily, we got a very nice and safe place to stay for the next few days 😁    Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    View from the porch
    Lots of rain...Mounting new chainsStudying Spanish gets easier after a beerGetting spoilt

    Bike maintenance and a whale

    November 17, 2019 in Mexico ⋅ 🌧 19 °C

    We got up early in order to see some baby turtles get released at the sanctuary. However, it started raining heavily, so we decided to better stay at home and have breakfast. The electricity had gone off as well. But luckily, the stove runs on propane, so we could cook and boil water for coffee made in a French press.
    After breakfast, it cleared up, so we went for a walk along the beach with Donna and her dog Zoe. Back at the house, we did some maintenance on the bikes. As we could use the garage, we stayed dry even in unstable weather conditions.
    The rest of the day, it rained a lot. So we spent most of it on the porch, getting spoilt with food and drinks to regain energy after a long period of biking every day. We even saw a whale making his way up North, jumping out of the water every 100m or so. Whale watching from the porch - not bad!
    In the evening, the power came back as well. We were all quite happy. As the water pump needs electricity, we didn't have running water. (During the day we managed by using the rain water out of the pond 😊)    Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    Morning at the beach
    Baby turtles on their way to the seaExploring in the ATVBest to turn around here...Double rainbow - view from the porch

    Exploring - and more rain...

    November 18, 2019 in Mexico ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Today, the weather was supposed to get better. So we went to the turtle sanctuary in the morning in order to see some baby turtles get released. The people in charge look for turtle nests along the beach and mark the spots, so eggs don't get destroyed. 45 days later, the baby turtles hatch and first thing they do is crawling slowly right to the sea. They are all on their own against their predators. 13 years later, the turtles return to the same spot where they hatched to lay their eggs in it. This morning, we saw maybe 50 baby turtles heading to the sea. At least a couple of them got caught by seagulls straight away for breakfast. That's nature, I guess.
    In the afternoon, we did some exploring. Our destination was a waterfall at the end of a dry river. We could borrow the ATV, which was good fun. However, it started raining again and the dry river was not that dry anymore. When we could basically see only water around us instead of a dirt road, we decided it's probably safer to head back as fast as we can. Good decision! It rained so heavily that we could hardly see anything. Furthermore, the sand and mud flooded the paved roads and the dirt roads basically turned into rivers. But we made it back to the house safe and spent more time on the porch 😀    Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    Kayaking in the bay
    Stoo at a remote beachChecking out Los Barriles kite beach

    Enjoying the beach and the sea

    November 19, 2019 in Mexico ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Finally, the weather looked kind of nice. So we spent the morning kayaking in the bay. Good training for the upper body after LOTS of cardio and leg training over the past few weeks. In the afternoon, we went to town to have some tacos and check out the beach. Some kite surfers tried their luck, but struggled with relatively calm winds. We went to a nice restaurant for dinner and got some icecream from the supermarket for desert. Great day for regaining energy for the days of cycling to come!!Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    Donna and Bill
    Famous bakery in Triunfo4th flat tire - all of them at the rear wheel

    Back on the bikes

    November 20, 2019 in Mexico ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    This morning, we got back on the bikes to cycle to La Paz. It was quite hard to leave Los Barriles as we had a really good time with Donna and Bill and very much liked the town. However, there's still a long way ahead of us and it won't get any easier to move again.
    On the way to La Paz, we passes some nice mountain villages and stopped at El Triunfo at the famous bakery to get some awesome bread - yum! It was a nice ride with great views. The rain was good for the landscape, everything is green down here and we saw many trees amd bushes with yellow, pink, red, purple, blue, white and orange blossoms. Haven't seen this in a long time...
    Once we got to La Paz, we had to organize our ferry tickets to mainland. It's actually pretty hard to find valid information on the ferry times. We had tried our luck online, but the website of the ferry operators either didn't work, didn't have information at all or showed contradicting information. So we had tried to ask for help in Loreto already, but the Mexicans at the tourist office there didn't understand the information provided either and advised us to go directly to the habour in La Paz (which is 20km outside of the city). When we got here last Saturday, all offices were closed for the weekend. So we checked at a hotel when we were in Los Barriles. The staff was supportive and called the ferry call centre who told us that there's no passenger ferry to Mazatlan at the moment. Only a cargo one which we cannot use, so we'd have to go to Los Mochis, some 450km North of Mazatlan (= 4 days on the bike). That's why we decided to try in person. At the first operator, they confirmed that we'd have to go to Los Mochis, so we went to a second one. At that place, they sold us tickets to Mazatlan on the cargo ferry - no problem at all! Typical Mexican! It doesn't leave before Saturday though, so we have some time to explore the marine life here (whale sharks and sea lions).
    We also passed the 6000km today - wohoo! But Herbert got another flat tire. Roads in La Paz are pretty dirty, so it wasn't a surprise. Luckily, we are staying in a big room in a hotel (first time in a hotel on this trip), so he could fix it straight away.    Read more

  • Panamericana adventure
    Breakfast in the patio
    22Malecon view

    Swimming with the whalesharks

    November 21, 2019 in Mexico ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    After breakfast in the nice cosy patio of the hotel, we went on a boat tour to see the whalesharks. La Paz is a great place to see them due to its special location in the bay. When the Northern winds come in autumn, they blow all the plancton towards La Paz. There is a big sand strip in front of the city which serves as a kind of net, so the animals can easily find food. And it's only about 15 minutes away from the harbour which makes it easy for the tour operators.
    We met at the tour office at 9, but didn't leave for the landing strip til 9:30am (Mexican times 😉). We already saw many boats heading for the whaleshark zone and were eager to go out as well. Once on the boat, we had to wait a little and cruised around in the harbour, as we were 7th in the line. They whaleshark watching is actually well regulated and only a few boats are allowed in the zone at the same time. Sid, our guide, used the time to explain how to behave in the water and provided some useful information about the area and whalesharks in general. When it was our turn to enter the zone, we were very excited. And we were sooo lucky! We saw plenty of the impressive animals and could snorkel with them 4 times. Sometimes, we were surrounded by 2-4 of those 4-7 metre long whalesharks and didn't know which one to watch first. They even came very close to the boat to show off, so we could take amazing pictures. We really had an awesome time on the boat!
    Back in La Paz, we were totally tired after all the swimming, so we had a lazy afternoon just walking around and doing some grocery and tire-repair-kit shopping. Bed time at 7pm 😂    Read more

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