The Trip - Ciudad Constitucion, Lopez Mateos, Ciudad Insurgentes and points north
I rolled out of Ciudad Constitucion early at about 5 am determined to get further north with a few sidetrips. I had heard that whale watching was possible at Lopez Mateos from the pier early in the morning.
It was really cold and I had put on the Gore-Tex liners for the riding suit but forgotten to put on thermal underwear thinking that the wind protection would be enough. Sure enough by the time I had reached Ciudad Insurgentes I was very cold and thinking about the electric vest that I had sent back earlier in the trip.
Not wanting to unpack the bike to get the thermal underwear I decided to wait until sunrise at the Pemex at Ciudad Insurgentes. Riding with the sun warming the earth and your riding suit I've found makes a HUGE difference in rider comfort.
I got back on the road at about 6:30 with the sun rising to my back as I headed west down a chuck-hole filled road to the port town of Lopez Mateos.
Photo - early morning in Lopez Mateos
As it was now the 31st and very early the boat rental was closed. I was alone for a good while at the pier (Embarcadero) until some locals who had been partying the night before showed up. Not feeling comfortable with so many drunk locals asking questions and wandering about, I decided to cut my visit to Lopez Mateos short and get back on the road to go north.
Photo - Birds at Lopez Mateos
I really would have liked to stay a bit more as for the short time that I was there I quite enjoyed watching the seagulls, pelicans, and other wildlife flirt about the bay. I didn't see any whales while I was in Lopez Mateos but while I was leaving the few tourists that were there were starting to make their way down to the pier so I suppose that I just was there a bit early while the whales were sleeping!
Photo - The bumpy "highway" to La Plurisima and San Isidro
I returned to the highway the way I came avoiding the potholes by looking at the waypoints that I dropped on the GPS on the way in. Coming back to the highway I headed north on a parallel track to Mex 1. The road that I was taking was lightly traveled and all the way to La Plurisima I only saw 3 cars.
I was taking the direct road north sometimes known as "The West Side Highway" to avoid having to cross the peninsula again and go by Loreto and Mulege. I wanted to see some ancient caveman/indian paintings that I heard were near Paso Honda and to ride the rest of the Baja 2000 course from La Plurisima through San Juanico and back to San Ignacio.
Photo - goats on road
The road north was paved but very ripply. The main attraction here were some goats in the middle of nowhere that were being herded by a small dog. There was no goat herder around though to control the dog. Very strange indeed!
Photo - BMW F650 on the entrance to La Plurisima
With regards to the motorcycle, everything was fine and in good working order. I had the front fender fully duct taped by now as the screws had popped loose. I was comfortable with the bag setup and fuel range. Overall, I was really settled in and having a blast.