left: sunrise over the sea of Cortez at the harbour of Santa Rosalìa. I arrived in Santa Rosalìa which is situated along the 1300km long Baja Peninsula (4th longest in the world), just before dawn on the 23.09.2005. The 10 hour ferry trip was ok but I only got a little sleep on the uncomfortable seat.
Right: the harbour of Santa Rosalía on the Baja Peninsula. In the background is the ferry 'Santa Rosalía' which I took from Guaymas to reach the Peninsula. The ferry is an old Norwegian ferry which used to be used in the arctic waters, now it is used in water which hardly ever gets below 30 degrees Celsius!
left: Santa Rosalía used to be an old French copper mining town in the 1880s. The mine was just left standing and is slowly rusting away due to the salty air!
right: Iglesia Santa Bárbara which was originally designed by Gustave Eiffel and erected for Paris´1889 World´s fair is not really spectacular but is more famous because it is said that it won a prize together with the Eiffel tower at the world´s fair. It was supposed to be sent to Africa but someone bought it and shipped it to Santa Rosalía and erected it in 1895.
I had actually only stopped in Santa Rosalía to see the sunrise, mine & church and to eat some breakfast, 'tacos con pescado' and a freshly pressed 'jugo de naranja'. I got enough water and set off through the desert towards Mulegé.
left: in the middle of the desert one suddenly drops from the desert plateau into a lovely lush green valley, full of palm trees - Mulegé! A really lovely little town. By the time I got to Mulegé it was about 40 degrees Celsius (middle of the day) and there was nothing better to do than to lie under a palm tree and wait 2 to 3 hours before cycling another 2 hours in the evening when the temperature drops to about 34 degrees C!
I carried on in the late afternoon...the views and the beaches along the way were just incredibly beautiful. The ocean is really clean and the visibility down to the ocean floor just amazing! (it is regarded as one of the top 10 scuba diving, snorkeling and sea kayaking sites in the world! which I fully believe!). JUST AWESOME.
I was however soon distracted by a loud 'BANG', I thought someone had shot at me but I was horrified to see a 25cm piece of my back rim simply torn off! At the time I was actually cycling quite comfortably without putting any extra pressure on the wheel but it was still extremely hot and I could not touch the boiling hot rims due to the heat of the day (even my break levers were hot)! Probably this caused the rim to break because the wall of the rim was still thick enough!. Anyway, there I was in the middle of the desert with a bike which I could no longer ride. I knew that I would need to hitch-hike into the next town, Loreto which was 102 km away. Maybe I could get a rim there. So I held out my thumb....it was hot and the sweat was pouring down my body. I had 2 litres of water left (which does not last long in the desert!!). I was lucky...the 3rd car stopped and the guy spoke English, John from California, USA was on his way down to Cabo San Lucas, his 4 X 4 loaded with gear and 2 kayaks. He offered to help but said he would only go to the next beach where he is planning to stay for a couple of days. Sounded a good idea to me as well and we somehow fitted all my stuff and trailer on top of his stuff and fixed the bike on top of his kayaks and off we went to the most wonderful beach that I have ever seen...PLAYA REQUESON!
Somehow I was suddenly glad that thanks to the broken wheel I had met John who showed me this lovely place and on top of it all he had 2 kayaks! We spent 2 nights sleeping on the beach, observing 'shooting stars' while having a last beer and falling asleep in the peacefull environment.
In the mornings we were awoken by the beautiful sunrises. Then off into the water for a cold swim (before the heat of the sun warmed up the water too much), a kayak trip and then back into the shade of the 'palapa'!
Getting the kayak ready to go kayaking around the island seen in the distance.
right: John coming back after a kayaking trip, accompanied by the 'beach dog' which always watched and protected us!
A local (Paulo) offered to catch some 'almejo´s' (clams) in the sea for us to eat. They were so delicious that we bought 20 off him!!
right: Almejo's (chocolate clams), ready to eat! Could not be any fresher!!
left: A clam with some lemon juice just before it disappeared down my throut!!
right: View from the island onto our beach 'Playa Requeson', one can see our 'Palapa' on the sandy beach. We only had 2 visitors during the 2 days on the beach, a very nice couple from Spain: Paloma and Jeróme. They came with snorkels and so we went off snorkeling and kayaking to view the beautiful colourful fish and sealife. That evening they joined us for spaghetti which we enjoyed with a lovely clam sauce which Jeróme made for us!
left: hanging in the hammock under the shady 'Palapa' during the midday heat.
It was hard to leave such a beautiful place but I had to move on (so did John) and so he drove us down to the next splendid town of Loreto (25.09.05), where I hoped that I could get my rim replaced!
Loreto: a stunning little town, known to be the oldest human settlement on the Baja Peninsula and used to be the capital of the California's.
right: The mission 'Misión Nuestra Señora de Loreta', dating from 1697, was the first permanent mission in the California's and the base for the missions carried out.
On the 26.09.05, John and I had met up with Paloma and Jeróme for a Mexican breakfast. Jeróme was particularly keen to go on a walk through the 'sierra de la Giganta' to see some rock paintings. He hired a taxi and asked if we would be keen to join him and Paloma. We did not refuse and soon we took off... through the desert, along a bumpy jeep track until we found the track which was supposed to lead us to the paintings. Unfortunately we could not find them and after a 4 hour desert walk in 40 degrees C we returned to the car. We were not too disappointed, the desert is lovely but we got back to the car thirsty as hell!!
right: cactus flowers are really beautiful in the Baja desert! However watch out for rattlesnakes!!!
left: pleased to be back at the car after we had all run out of water!!
In Loreto I had to find a solution to my problem (the broken rim). Somehow no bike shop had a rim which would fit my spokes and hub, eventually Jesús found an old rim in his scrap-yard, unfortunately it looked more oval than round but I thought I would give it a go and hopefully I could 'hobble and wobble' my way down the desert road (nearly 400km) down to La Paz, which is the capital of 'Southern Baja California' and surely I would be able to get a rim there! I really was not sure about the rim and it made the riding a bit uncomfortable.....hopefully it will get me to la Paz (I thought)!
I left Loreto on the 29.09.2005, one hour before dawn after saying goodbye to John who had been such a great help! Setting off at this time of the day has been necessary so that I could cover the first 50 to 60km before 9am (after 9am it gets unbearably hot). Leaving early also has other advantages such as viewing fantastic sunrises and the light is better for photography but there are also disadvantages...just before taking this photo I nearly cycled over a rattlesnake which was crossing the road! (along my journey on the Baja peninsula I had seen at least 40 squashed snakes on the road). That day I 'pushed it', 153 km through the desert including quite a long uphill, crossing over the mountain range 'sierra de la Giganta', nearly each switchback having crosses and flowers indicating that people had driven off the road and crashed down into the bottom of the canyon. I would sometimes look over and see the car shattered and squashed down in the valley floor! terrible sight! Similar to what one sees in Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru etc etc.
right: crossing over the 'Sierra de la Giganta', the desert is lovely and green here!
The last 210 km of desert between Constitución and La Paz was mentally and physically very challenging for me. It was hot as hell and often the road would not have a bend for endless kilometres, disappearing as a mirage in the distance, no shady bushes for miles and trucks roaring past in hell of a speed. 210 km is too much for me in one day and so I had to split the stretch in 2 days, sleeping on the front porch of a little desert 'tienda' (shop). Suddenly in the middle of the night the wind picked up, thunder & lightning. I was immediately invited to sleep on the floor in the simple living room of the owners house which contained nothing more than a table and a small tiny TV. (The livingroom is connected to the shop). The tin roof was rattling and I thought the roof was about to blow off!!! "What the hell is this"....only the next day did I realize that 'hurricane Otis' was coming in from the pacific ocean! I hurried on in terrible wind the next morning, hoping to make it to La Paz, 100km away before the 'real storm' would arrive! The going in the strong wind was incredibly difficult, hardly cycling faster than 12 km/h with the wobbly wheel!
I was glad when I reached La Paz before viewing the lovely sunset and watching the storm clouds move away. The core of the hurricane had luckily moved up the western coast of the peninsula and only brought clouds and wind to La Paz. That same evening I had found a bicycle shop which had a rim for my bike (a cheap one but hopefully it will hold for a while!) and then I went off to sleep for a good 10 hours after hardly having slept the night before.
The 'Malecón' (seafront) of La Paz shortly before sunset and before the 'nightlife' begins! A lovely city indeed!
I ended my 'Baja' section of the trip by joining an organised group to go snorkeling and kayaking out at a nearby island of 'Isla Espíritu Santo'. It was amazing...on the way out, we got the opportunity to snorkel with 3 whale sharks, watched the dolphins jump next to us and then we went to swim with the sea lions out at the island. The sea lions are extremely playfull (as long as the male allows his females to swim with humans). Th snorkeling was also incredible, the marine life is just so beautiful here.
I left La Paz on the 06.10.05 and took the ferry back to the mainland - Mazatlán
left: sunrise over the sea of Cortez at the harbour of Santa Rosalìa. I arrived in Santa Rosalìa which is situated along the 1300km long Baja Peninsula (4th longest in the world), just before dawn on the 23.09.2005. The 10 hour ferry trip was ok but I only got a little sleep on the uncomfortable seat.
Right: the harbour of Santa Rosalía on the Baja Peninsula. In the background is the ferry 'Santa Rosalía' which I took from Guaymas to reach the Peninsula. The ferry is an old Norwegian ferry which used to be used in the arctic waters, now it is used in water which hardly ever gets below 30 degrees Celsius!
left: Santa Rosalía used to be an old French copper mining town in the 1880s. The mine was just left standing and is slowly rusting away due to the salty air!
right: Iglesia Santa Bárbara which was originally designed by Gustave Eiffel and erected for Paris´1889 World´s fair is not really spectacular but is more famous because it is said that it won a prize together with the Eiffel tower at the world´s fair. It was supposed to be sent to Africa but someone bought it and shipped it to Santa Rosalía and erected it in 1895. 
left: in the middle of the desert one suddenly drops from the desert plateau into a lovely lush green valley, full of palm trees - Mulegé! A really lovely little town. By the time I got to Mulegé it was about 40 degrees Celsius (middle of the day) and there was nothing better to do than to lie under a palm tree and wait 2 to 3 hours before cycling another 2 hours in the evening when the temperature drops to about 34 degrees C!
I carried on in the late afternoon...the views and the beaches along the way were just incredibly beautiful. The ocean is really clean and the visibility down to the ocean floor just amazing! (it is regarded as one of the top 10 scuba diving, snorkeling and sea kayaking sites in the world! which I fully believe!). JUST AWESOME.
I was however soon distracted by a loud 'BANG', I thought someone had shot at me but I was horrified to see a 25cm piece of my back rim simply torn off! At the time I was actually cycling quite comfortably without putting any extra pressure on the wheel but it was still extremely hot and I could not touch the boiling hot rims due to the heat of the day (even my break levers were hot)! Probably this caused the rim to break because the wall of the rim was still thick enough!. Anyway, there I was in the middle of the desert with a bike which I could no longer ride. I knew that I would need to hitch-hike into the next town, Loreto which was 102 km away. Maybe I could get a rim there. So I held out my thumb....it was hot and the sweat was pouring down my body. I had 2 litres of water left (which does not last long in the desert!!). I was lucky...the 3rd car stopped and the guy spoke English, John from California, USA was on his way down to Cabo San Lucas, his 4 X 4 loaded with gear and 2 kayaks. He offered to help but said he would only go to the next beach where he is planning to stay for a couple of days. Sounded a good idea to me as well and we somehow fitted all my stuff and trailer on top of his stuff and fixed the bike on top of his kayaks and off we went to the most wonderful beach that I have ever seen...PLAYA REQUESON! 
Somehow I was suddenly glad that thanks to the broken wheel I had met John who showed me this lovely place and on top of it all he had 2 kayaks! We spent 2 nights sleeping on the beach, observing 'shooting stars' while having a last beer and falling asleep in the peacefull environment.
In the mornings we were awoken by the beautiful sunrises. Then off into the water for a cold swim (before the heat of the sun warmed up the water too much), a kayak trip and then back into the shade of the 'palapa'!
Getting the kayak ready to go kayaking around the island seen in the distance.
right: John coming back after a kayaking trip, accompanied by the 'beach dog' which always watched and protected us! 
A local (Paulo) offered to catch some 'almejo´s' (clams) in the sea for us to eat. They were so delicious that we bought 20 off him!!
right: Almejo's (chocolate clams), ready to eat! Could not be any fresher!!
left: A clam with some lemon juice just before it disappeared down my throut!!
right: View from the island onto our beach 'Playa Requeson', one can see our 'Palapa' on the sandy beach. We only had 2 visitors during the 2 days on the beach, a very nice couple from Spain: Paloma and Jeróme. They came with snorkels and so we went off snorkeling and kayaking to view the beautiful colourful fish and sealife. That evening they joined us for spaghetti which we enjoyed with a lovely clam sauce which Jeróme made for us!
left: hanging in the hammock under the shady 'Palapa' during the midday heat.
It was hard to leave such a beautiful place but I had to move on (so did John) and so he drove us down to the next splendid town of Loreto (25.09.05), where I hoped that I could get my rim replaced!
Loreto: a stunning little town, known to be the oldest human settlement on the Baja Peninsula and used to be the capital of the California's.
right: The mission 'Misión Nuestra Señora de Loreta', dating from 1697, was the first permanent mission in the California's and the base for the missions carried out.
On the 26.09.05, John and I had met up with Paloma and Jeróme for a Mexican breakfast. Jeróme was particularly keen to go on a walk through the 'sierra de la Giganta' to see some rock paintings. He hired a taxi and asked if we would be keen to join him and Paloma. We did not refuse and soon we took off... through the desert, along a bumpy jeep track until we found the track which was supposed to lead us to the paintings. Unfortunately we could not find them and after a 4 hour desert walk in 40 degrees C we returned to the car. We were not too disappointed, the desert is lovely but we got back to the car thirsty as hell!!
right: cactus flowers are really beautiful in the Baja desert! However watch out for rattlesnakes!!!
left: pleased to be back at the car after we had all run out of water!!
In Loreto I had to find a solution to my problem (the broken rim). Somehow no bike shop had a rim which would fit my spokes and hub, eventually Jesús found an old rim in his scrap-yard, unfortunately it looked more oval than round but I thought I would give it a go and hopefully I could 'hobble and wobble' my way down the desert road (nearly 400km) down to La Paz, which is the capital of 'Southern Baja California' and surely I would be able to get a rim there! I really was not sure about the rim and it made the riding a bit uncomfortable.....hopefully it will get me to la Paz (I thought)!
I left Loreto on the 29.09.2005, one hour before dawn after saying goodbye to John who had been such a great help! Setting off at this time of the day has been necessary so that I could cover the first 50 to 60km before 9am (after 9am it gets unbearably hot). Leaving early also has other advantages such as viewing fantastic sunrises and the light is better for photography but there are also disadvantages...just before taking this photo I nearly cycled over a rattlesnake which was crossing the road! (along my journey on the Baja peninsula I had seen at least 40 squashed snakes on the road). That day I 'pushed it', 153 km through the desert including quite a long uphill, crossing over the mountain range 'sierra de la Giganta', nearly each switchback having crosses and flowers indicating that people had driven off the road and crashed down into the bottom of the canyon. I would sometimes look over and see the car shattered and squashed down in the valley floor! terrible sight! Similar to what one sees in Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru etc etc.
right: crossing over the 'Sierra de la Giganta', the desert is lovely and green here!
The last 210 km of desert between Constitución and La Paz was mentally and physically very challenging for me. It was hot as hell and often the road would not have a bend for endless kilometres, disappearing as a mirage in the distance, no shady bushes for miles and trucks roaring past in hell of a speed. 210 km is too much for me in one day and so I had to split the stretch in 2 days, sleeping on the front porch of a little desert 'tienda' (shop). Suddenly in the middle of the night the wind picked up, thunder & lightning. I was immediately invited to sleep on the floor in the simple living room of the owners house which contained nothing more than a table and a small tiny TV. (The livingroom is connected to the shop). The tin roof was rattling and I thought the roof was about to blow off!!! "What the hell is this"....only the next day did I realize that 'hurricane Otis' was coming in from the pacific ocean! I hurried on in terrible wind the next morning, hoping to make it to La Paz, 100km away before the 'real storm' would arrive! The going in the strong wind was incredibly difficult, hardly cycling faster than 12 km/h with the wobbly wheel!
I was glad when I reached La Paz before viewing the lovely sunset and watching the storm clouds move away. The core of the hurricane had luckily moved up the western coast of the peninsula and only brought clouds and wind to La Paz. That same evening I had found a bicycle shop which had a rim for my bike (a cheap one but hopefully it will hold for a while!) and then I went off to sleep for a good 10 hours after hardly having slept the night before.
The 'Malecón' (seafront) of La Paz shortly before sunset and before the 'nightlife' begins! A lovely city indeed!