Bo 'n' Louise

First it was all grey – then green
After about a week of desert, stones and cactus in all shades of brown, grey and greenish is was a huge change to suddenly drive through the incredible lush green mainland Mexico! Palm trees and other green vegetation line the road on both sides. Birds of prey circle above and white herons are hunting fish in the wetlands along the rivers.

First they were two – then three
Another major change and a positive one has been the arrival of Anne, who will be travelling with us for a while. We have even succeded in getting both her and all of our common belongings to fit on the bikes. The guys at the military check-points are puzzled (or perhabs envious?) by the constellation of two girls and one guy on two bikes.

We arrived late to this little but very confusing town and the darkness did not make orientation any easier.. Tiny alleys with coppled stones, steep both up and down and many tunnels with little light but with water tinkling down and the mouldy smell of ancient cellars made up the streets of this town. Next morning we had a chance to see just how nice and charming that could be and to discover more about this bohemian multicoloured town. I have never seen so many ”Bugs” – the old-schoold Wolksvagen – and in so many colours – matching the houses lively display.

Beautiful Guanajuato with the tunnels and the colours..

Well, the Mexicans are not the worst drivers in the world… neither are they the best. After 14 days on the road (about 4000 km) we have learned the 10 commands of Mexican macho driving:

1) Never use the horn – it shows you are not in charge (very not-macho)
2) The bigger vehicle, the more right to the road you have
3) Take over anyone who have taken over you.
4) Drive as close as you can.
5) Do not use signal at all OR use emergency signals all the time.
6) Never drive under the maximum speed limit
7) Take over long lines by driving in the emergency lane
8) Let anyone in who has just jumped the line by driving in the emergency lane
9) Please do your shopping while waiting for green light from the street vendors
10) Lights are for sissy pants… also at night time

After hitting the mainland we have had the pleasure of two new things, Mexican toll roads and Love motels.

Mexican toll roads
I know I know, it doesn’t sound too good but they are really nice. Prime tarmac that has been laid straight trough the countryside with peeps into lush forest, deep valley and mountain scenery. Since they are deadly expensive they are mostly half empty which just add to the joy.. until next toll booth (the cost is about 10 USD per 100 km).

Snow in Mexico

Love motels
Some fairly exotic-looking motels close to highway entries and exits, who attract customers who is shacking the secretary or just one of the working lady from down the road. They are surprising nice and cheap (the motel, mind you)… and can be rented by the hour or the whole night (we mostly do whole night). They even have a garage to hide the car so no-one can see who is shacking who.
A lucky guy is going to spend the night with two chicas at the Love Motel

On the road to the ferry in La Paz we
drove through the city beach front street – and was pulled over by
the police.. We had been warned – people in San Diego had told us
this would happen.. The policeman explains at length how we had not
stopped properbly at the STOP signs (we had been following the
examples of other drivers in the street and half the signs were
covered in branches) all the while he eagerly waves the ticket pad
around. When asked how much the ticket is, he pauses and looks to the
sky and invents 600 pesos (46 USD). After some discussion about going
to the policestation and what the ticket migth cost us there the
price comes down to 400 and when I pull out 200 and ask if it ”¿esta
bien?” we get back the drivers licence and can move on to the
Mexican version of the boat between Denmark and Norway. Including a
popular man playing electronic elevatormusic, discotheque and Winnie
the Pooh in the launches.. But also with sightings of sea turtles and
dolphins in the morning – something you don’t see between Denmark
and Norway..

I’m talking about the Baja California peninsula. On a Mexican map it is just a little tap but when you take a closer look it is fairly long. About 1200 km (that is 750 miles for some of you), but mind you that is as the crows fly. Reality, as experienced drivers might know, the road distances are much longer. Yesterday we managed to push our day record to impressive 446 km (279 miles) where 100 km was without a single turn and there was 320 km between the two first gas stations. All this is done in what is best described as damn hot weather, well beyond 100 F (37.8 C), and since we are wearing full suits the sweat just pour right into our boots. Locals have mentioned that it’s the hottest season… and we believe them.

On the food side we have mostly been gifted with delicious Mexican food, though a bit uniformed. Tortillas, frijoles and asado but they have been clever enough to cover it up by using different names like taco, burritos, enchiladas, etc… but let’s face it, it is all meat crapped in tortillas with some kind of fillings (am I the only one who have figured it out?).

Taking a nap away from the blistering sun

Its for real, we are on the road! Have gone south on Baja California. Had a surprisingly pleasant and fairly easy border crossing from California to Mexico. After a long day we put up our tent just a couple of meters from the Pacific Ocean and did not have a hard time falling asleep. The second day of driving brought us through some of the amazing scenery that Baja is so well known for. Endless plains and windings mountain roads (with brand new asphalt) dotted with small dusty towns where people ride horses and the dust gives everything a shade of light brown.. Here every town has its cowboys, boots, hats and everything.. Though we were only a mile or so from the coast the landscape was baking. Even at 80 km/h the air felt hot like riding against a giant hairdryer.