navelgazing.omphaloskeptic.net Journal

Getting There - Aneel's Travelogue

< Previous: More Diving | Getting There - Aneel's Travelogue | Next: Backwards, twice as fast >

Returning San Ignacio, Baja California Sur, Mexico, Sunday, 12 July 2009 7:57pm

I didn't sleep much or very well after the late night dive, so the morning was pretty slow. Had breakfast, packed, did a last little bit of souvenir shopping, had a quick lunch at the restaurant two doors down from the hotel.

As the morning wore on, the sky clouded over, and a wind picked up. Just as we were suiting up, there was a peal of thunder and it started pouring. We said our goodbyes, and set off around noon, hoping to get out from under the rain.

Setting off

Apart from my timid cornering on the wet curves, it was a good ride. It was cloudy the whole way, so it was not too hot. For most of the way it was just drizzing, though the raindrops hit like little stones at highway speed. We got to see a lot of lightning strikes in the wide open desert.

Our first military checkpoint on the way north was considerably more involved than they were on the way south. They had me open two of my three cases, and all three of Chuck's were searched. They even had him take off his jacket and show them his Camelbak, which he had filled with ice.

The gas station just south of Mulegé was out of gas. That's the first time that has happened this trip. Happily, I had plenty of gas to get to Santa Rosalía, where there are 3 Pemex stations within 1 km. And I'm still carrying 4 gal of gas in my side cases, since we used so little in the empty stretch last time.

We're spending the night in San Ignacio again, in the same yurt. We arrived early enough that we could have pushed on to Guerrero Negro, but a dip in the river seemed more appealing.

Return Day 1: Map 169 mi