Living 2 Lives: one on an F650 and the other in the real world

thanks! the photos are not nearly as good we would have liked but we appreciate the comments! the food has been hit and miss. we had some good food last night. we find the street food far more satisfying than the restaurant food. and only had stomach troubles yesterday from restaurant food. (knock on wood)

day 10 guad to barra de navidad by bastchild, on Flickr

We checked out of the hotel and asked to keep our helmets, riding gear, and a pelican case with them. They wanted us to book a room in advance, so we booked a night in 4 days, which would be the night before flying out. We went down to the metro took it one stop to 16 september avenue and grabbed the first bus to central nueva, the new bus station. The new bus station looks like an airport. Actually, it looks nicer than our airport.
Central Nueva by bastchild, on Flickr
Central Nueva by bastchild, on Flickr
But, like an airport the price of food and drink are about double. Well, maybe not that bad. This cost 38 pesos, but the bottle of water was 22 pesos and should cost 11 pesos at the Oxxo.
ham and eggs 38 pesos by bastchild, on Flickr

I went to a couple different counters to inquire the bus schedules and found one leaving in an hour and would get to Barra de Navidad in 4.5 hours. We had some breakfast and bought some water, but didn't have to because the first class buses come with a bag of refreshments: your choice of beverage (juice, soda or water) a breakfast bar and potato chips.
Central Nueva by bastchild, on Flickr

The bus was very nice with even a door separating the rest of the cabin from the driver, like a plane. Someone wands you down and briefly looks inside our carry-on luggage. They can store your luggage underneath and give you a receipt for it, so it is not a free-for-all at various stops where anyone can accidentally grab your luggage. They played a few movies on the way down. They had free wifi at the central nueva station and at the bus station in Autlan where we picked up more passengers. You got to choose your seats. Not bad for 359 pesos a ticket.
The bus ride was through a mountainous region and it made me pretty car sick. I fell asleep for a bit when it got really bad. At one point the movie "Extremely loud, incredible close" was playing which made me even more annoyed. I imagine the road is like the Espinoza del Diablo from Durango to Mazatlan. If so, I do not recommend it on a bus. I am not looking forward to the ride back to Guadalajara.
The bus let us out at Melaque where it was sunny and hot. It is a dusty little town from the bus depot and we waited a few minutes for the local bus to pick us up to go to Barra de Navidad. These two towns are only three miles apart, on either end of the Bahia de Navidad. Six pesos later, we got off in Barra and went looking for the hotel Alondra. I had tried to book a room from the bus station in Autlan but we pulled away before I received confirmation, so I asked to use the wifi at the hotel. I can't believe the deskclerk let me! The hotel has a small hotel across the street on the beach with an infinity pool. We wanted to stay there and it was a bit more expensive at $71. I booked two nights and showed the booking confirmation with to the desk clerk, and the total was $168 paid through visa. He said, the price would be $199 and I needed to pay the rest. I told him it was paid for already, and not wanting to get into an argument, I asked him to check his email. As it turns out the booking I made earlier at the bus station did go through so I cancelled the earlier one (which was for the main tower, not the beachside hotel).
Alondra Hotel Casa by bastchild, on Flickr
When you walk by the Hotel Alondra Casa, you see the infinity pool and the bay. Such a great marketing strategy. The beach is small and skinny but the water is perfect. The pool water is pretty cold. Our room was poolside and you could see the bay from our bed. The room has a sliding glass door. There is free wifi and a/c and ceiling fan and hot water. The main building has underground parking. There is a rooftop bar at the main building with happy hour. Not a bad place to stay and wait for stuff to get done on our bike.
Alondra Hotel Casa by bastchild, on Flickr
Alondra Hotel Casa by bastchild, on Flickr
Alondra Hotel Casa by bastchild, on Flickr
Alondra Hotel Casa by bastchild, on Flickr
Alondra Hotel Casa by bastchild, on Flickr
Alondra Hotel Casa by bastchild, on Flickr
Alondra Hotel Casa by bastchild, on Flickr

We walked around town (which isn't big) and bought some ice, chips, and rum and coke at the Oxxo. This is brilliant: the Oxxo has liquor on sale. For instance, you buy a Captain Morgan, you get a 2 L bottle of Coca-cola for free. And it only costs $11. They have similar deals with a other boozy drinks. You get a free mixer and ice. So sunset drinks it was.
rum and coke for $11? by bastchild, on Flickr
sunset drinks by bastchild, on Flickr
sunset drinks by bastchild, on Flickr
sunset drinks by bastchild, on Flickr
sunset drinks by bastchild, on Flickr
sunset drinks by bastchild, on Flickr
Alondra Hotel Casa by bastchild, on Flickr
this place looks like any backpacker town in south east asia, with pirated dvds, sarongs, hammocks
Barra de Navidad by bastchild, on Flickr
I spoke with the owner of this 2007 F650gs the next day. He says he only has 3,000 km on it! It is pristine! He is from Puebla state.
a newer F650gs by bastchild, on Flickr
praciticing dance show at the town square
Barra de Navidad by bastchild, on Flickr

Pleasantly pickled, we walked around for food and had some volanoes, which are open faced tacos with much more meat than a normal taco.
the stuff in the center I thought was garlic and green onions. No. It is pineapple and cilantro.
Volcanes bistek and al pastor by bastchild, on Flickr
Volcanes bistek and al pastor by bastchild, on Flickr
Volcanes bistek and al pastor by bastchild, on Flickr
We talked to some Canadians. This town is full of them. They had been coming down to Barra de Navidad for 20 years. There has been a paucity of foreign tourists on our trip thus far. We saw some Spanish-speaking backpacker girls in Real, and in Guadalajara we saw a couple girls and a couple guys that looked like tourists. The Lonely Planet said at the Guadalajara cathedral, we would run into more tourists than actual worshippers. This was hardly the case for us. So it was kind of nice to see foreigners sitting in restaurants and walking around. It wasn't busy in Barra but it wasn't a ghost town either.

Day 11 Barra de Navidad 0 miles
Barra de Navidad by bastchild, on Flickr
Barra de Navidad by bastchild, on Flickr
rust in paradise by bastchild, on Flickr

We had some lunch at Seamaster, which was on the water, but the food was so-so. We were really craving Baja fish tacos, and the fish was pan fried in butter instead of deep fried with batter. And the salsa stunk.
Seamaster restaurant by bastchild, on Flickr
Seamaster restaurant by bastchild, on Flickr
fish ceviche supposedly by bastchild, on Flickr
fish tacos by bastchild, on Flickr

We went for a walk on the beach to Melaque which was a lot hotter than we expected.
walk to Melaque by bastchild, on Flickr
this guy tried to ride but kept spinning.
beach riding with honda wave by bastchild, on Flickr
look at his rear tire and see why
beach riding with honda wave by bastchild, on Flickr
puffer fish by bastchild, on Flickr
Snowbirds playing ladder toss by bastchild, on Flickr

Melaque was busy with families playing in the sand and snowbirds player ladder toss. Definitely more people hang out at Melaque than Barra.
Melaque by bastchild, on Flickr
the wife tries to tame some wild rabid dogs on the beach
Christine tames rabid dogs on the beach by bastchild, on Flickr
We took the bus back to Barra and bought more ice and drank at the hotel overlooking the beach.
Hotel Alondra infinity pool by bastchild, on Flickr
Sunbathing by bastchild, on Flickr

The wife played tug of war with a pit bull.
tug o war with a pit bull by bastchild, on Flickr
Christine playing tug-o-war with rabid pit bull in Mexico by bastchild, on Flickr
Christine playing tug-o-war with rabid pit bull in Mexico by bastchild, on Flickr
come back!

We bought some El Jimador with Fresca. El Jimador is excellent. I have never bought a bottle of tequila before, but it is made in Jalisco, the state we were currently in. I was only 129 pesos, for the Fresca and bottle of tequila. That's $10 usd
El Jimador and Fresca by bastchild, on Flickr
Sunset drinks by bastchild, on Flickr
Sunset drinks by bastchild, on Flickr
Sunset drinks by bastchild, on Flickr
We had been striking out on meals here, and we had seen some taco stands near the entrance of town, so we headed that way, but we were lured to the some awesome live music at Los Arcos de Jalisco.
Los Arcos de Jalisco by bastchild, on Flickr
Los Arcos de Jalisco by bastchild, on Flickr
They had fried fish tacos for 45pesos, so we sat down. Turns out they are really rolled tacos, but they were delicious. We had another order.
Los Arcos de Jalisco by bastchild, on Flickr
Los Arcos de Jalisco by bastchild, on Flickr
Los Arcos de Jalisco by bastchild, on Flickr
I had thought we had ordered some aguachile, a shrimp ceviche of sorts, but the order never came. Next time. Turns out the road side taco stand was closed at night so we walked back to town and a taco stand was grilling meat on a tire rim grill.
tire rim grill by bastchild, on Flickr
I had seen one of these on the beach earlier that day. We sat and had a taco each. Delicious and only 10 pesos each.
tire rim grill by bastchild, on Flickr
Quesadilla miriam.com by bastchild, on Flickr
Quesadilla miriam.com by bastchild, on Flickr
Quesadilla miriam.com by bastchild, on Flickr
Quesadilla miriam.com by bastchild, on Flickr
We will book another night here, finding it hard to leave. We are thinking about leaving the bike at the BMW dealer for a couple weeks if they will let us.
day11 fin

Nice report. What kind of airfare are you finding from Guadalajara to GPT ?

we got $800 a week before departure on the kayak.mx site which referred us to expedia.es. it is a lot of money just the same. not sure if one is able to get on the .mx or .es site from the stateside servers. even now we are trying to figure out which direction we will head to next. mazatlan or linger inland and visit san miguel allende, morelia, the monarch butterfly sanctury and mexico city. it is hard not to double back when riding through mexico. we are probably going to leave the bike at the bmw dealer if we can or else the hotel this week while we are home.
thanks for reading

Day 12 Barra de Navidad, 0 miles
Spent another day at the beach, but this time took the bus to Melaque and walked back. Being Monday, the beach was pretty quiet, confirming our feeling that the crowds the day prior at Melaque were daytripping locals. We found an empty table and umbrella Senor Froy’s and had some drinks and food. The water temperature was perfect. We were surrounded by Canadian snowbirds, who, like backpackers, kept meeting up town-to-town. (I would say, like motorcyclists but since we haven’t met any yet, I can’t.)
When it came time to pay our bill, I realized that they were tried to pull a fast one on me. I suppose it works with drunk Canadians pensioners. (Or anyone.) I had ordered Tecates, because I like it and it was cheaper, but the first beer they brought me was Dos XX. The rest of my beers were Tecate, but they put down that I had 3 Dos XX. And they tried to keep an extra 50 pesos when giving me change. No big deal. But just a reminder to be wary when at touristy places. I still tipped 25 pesos.
A beat up bike in Barra
beat up bike by bastchild, on Flickr

A baby on the bus to Melaque
baby on bus to melaque by bastchild, on Flickr

Melaque
Melaque by bastchild, on Flickr

Senor Froy’s
Senor Froy's by bastchild, on Flickr

Melaque by bastchild, on Flickr

BLT by bastchild, on Flickr

Melaque by bastchild, on Flickr

Back at our hotel for sunset
Barra de Navidad by bastchild, on Flickr

Barra de Navidad by bastchild, on Flickr

For dinner we couldn’t find anything interesting open so we went back to Los Arcos and discovered the beautiful flavor of aguachile. It is sort of like ceviche except it isn’t blended or chopped up. It is whole shrimp tails soaked in lime juice. It is more like sushi. Fantastic.

We got excited when we spotted this GS but it was someone riding home, just passing through for tacos.
GS 1200 by bastchild, on Flickr

Mole enchilada – so-so
Mole enchilada by bastchild, on Flickr

Tortilla soup – not like Puerto nueva
Tortilla soup by bastchild, on Flickr

Aguachile – this is the bomb
Aguachile by bastchild, on Flickr
Day 12 fin

Nice pictures!

Thanks for sharing. I need to get down there...

Thanks for sharing with us guys. So when do you guys plan on going back?

Later
John

yep, gonna subscribe. dig ur style.

thanks for reading. we are currently back home but headed back to guadalajara in 4 days to pick up the bike and ride it to the coast (we think) and stay in the warm weather for a few days. emphasis on few.

yeah, but if we were hardcore, we would have done something like your tat trip. that's a great report. thanks for reading!

Day 13 Barra de Navidad
The wife had homework to do all day. I spent my day reading ride reports and researching routes to take from Guadalajara. Northwest to Mazatlan and then down the coast, or east toward more silver mining towns? I took some photos from the rooftop bar of the hotel.
Rooftop bar by bastchild, on Flickr

And for lunch made it to El Guero, a seafood shack as you enter the town on the main road. It was great.
El Guero by bastchild, on Flickr

Mariscos El Guero by bastchild, on Flickr

Shrimp ceviche yum
Shrimp ceviche on tostada by bastchild, on Flickr

Finally fried fish tacos, sort of like in Ensenada – but the magic is in the white sauce in Baja, and this is really not quite as good. But it is the best we have found so far.
Fish taco, shrimp taco by bastchild, on Flickr

Aguachile again
Aguachile by bastchild, on Flickr

Vw beetle selling snacks
VW beetle vendor by bastchild, on Flickr

Met an 85 yo American, Headly Chambers, who lives half the time in Las Vegas, and half the time in Barra. He was interesting with many stories. He is like the mayor of the expats. He knows everyone.
Headly Chambers by bastchild, on Flickr

I called Carmen Motors in the morning (when I was supposed to pick up the bike) but they told me the springs were too long and they would have to cut them. No, no no! I called Klaus at EPM Performance Imports and he emailed me some instructions which I forwarded to Carmen Motors. Turns out (hopefully) that the spacer may need to be cut. Carmen Motors replied that they would do so. I have a factory-lowered bike, and Klaus says on the fiche it looked like there was a spacer. I guess we will see when I pick up the bike next week. Does anyone else have insight on this?

For sunset we had drinks from the rooftop bar. Yes, it would have been cheaper to buy a bottle from the Oxxo, but we decided since it was our last night at Barra, we might as well enjoy the view from up top. Yes, it was worth it. Met some Canadian snowbirds who own homes in Barra. This town is full of Canadians. They say after Christmas, even more come down here, and they have a direct flight from Toronto to Manzanillo, just 30 km down the coast.
Rooftop bar by bastchild, on Flickr

Rooftop bar by bastchild, on Flickr

Rooftop bar by bastchild, on Flickr

Rooftop bar by bastchild, on Flickr

Dinner was a bit off, but we met another American, Bob, who owns a 5 bedroom/apartment place in town. He normally rents it by the week or month but said he would rent a room out for $40/night and had safe place for a motorcycle too. He is at www.casadelaparota.com if you are interested in hanging out for a long time here. It is quite nice.
Mariscos Pipi by bastchild, on Flickr

Fish covered with white sauce, stuffed with shrimp and bacon. Sounds great but tasted dried and overcooked
Mariscos Pipi by bastchild, on Flickr

Coconut shrimp. Equally dried and flavorless
Mariscos Pipi by bastchild, on Flickr

Bob’s place is behind the wife
Mariscos Pipi by bastchild, on Flickr

Casa de la Parota by bastchild, on Flickr

Casa de la Parota by bastchild, on Flickr

day 13 fin

I forgot to mention meeting 2 mototravellers in Barra on the day before, alas no photos though. They were George and Jordan or something like that from Portland, OR on a couple of DR650’s(?). They were hightailing it to Panama City by the 26th crossing the Darien in January. We met them at a corner and when I went back to give them our hotel room number they were gone. Buen viaje!

Day 13 Barre de Navidad to Guadalajara, 0 miles on bike

Got up early and walked to the bus station and took the bus back to Guadalajara. Pretty nauseating ride with the mountainous roads. It was rush hour when we arrived in Guadalajara so it was a challenge getting back to the Hotel Portobelo. We had dinner at the same place across the street, Super Torta.

Bus station in Barra by bastchild, on Flickr

Hotel Portobelo by bastchild, on Flickr

Supertorta by bastchild, on Flickr

Supertorta by bastchild, on Flickr

Supertorta by bastchild, on Flickr

Day 14

We had a 9am flight from Guadalajara, so we took a 6am cab to the airport for 250pesos. I think the going rate is 220 pesos, but it was early and the hotel just called a random dude, or someone who clearly wasn’t a taxi, so rules don’t apply. The airport is 17 km from the center, but can take 45 minutes. At 6am it only took 20 minutes.
We had left one pelican case full of gear behind. I brought the moto riding gear back so I could wash them in the bathtub at home. Also brought the helmets back because the wife’s microphone stopped working and I need to troubleshoot it at home. This was also a chance to swap out cold weather gear for hot weather gear. Or rather a chance to pack less. One pelican case weighed 22 lbs and the moto riding gear was 24 lbs. wth?
waiting to check in by bastchild, on Flickr

We arrived too early to check in, so the wife had some Burger King. She said, “You can have the rest.” This is how it is.
"you can have the rest" by bastchild, on Flickr

boarding by bastchild, on Flickr

In concourse B at Hartfield International Airport, in Atlanta, there is this pathetic excuse for a pizzeria. Yeah, I know it’s airport food, but Panda express and Starbucks do an okay job, right? This place made me angry. Probably because it is frozen pizza reheated. How is this acceptable? Litle Azio Pizza & More? Boooo!!!
Little Azio's Pizza and More by bastchild, on Flickr

Little Azio's Pizza and More by bastchild, on Flickr

It’s 50 F at 4:45 pm in Gulfport, MS. What have we done? It’s okay. We will be back in Guadalajara to pick up the bike in 8 days.
Gulfport by bastchild, on Flickr

We are flying back to Guadalajara tomorrow! Back on the bike in a couple days (as long as the folks at Carmen Motors did a good job).
Day 14 fin

Likin' this report! If I may ask, what sort of jobs do you guys have that you take every other week off to ride? I'm SO jealous!! Looking forward to the next phase of your adventure!

I am pretty lucky with my job, in that I do shift work so I just work a string of days to get my hours in then I am off. I happen to work 5 days then have 5 days off. Five days is great, but still difficult to get down to TDF with that kind of schedule. But we are doing what we can.
Glad you are enjoying this. We are having a blast.

Day 15 Gulfport to Guadalajara
We had an afternoon flight out of Gulfport, putting us in Guadalajara at 9pm.
Flying back to Guadalajara by bastchild, on Flickr
Flying back to Guadalajara by bastchild, on Flickr

We arrived an took a taxi (300 pesos!) to the hotel and checked back into the Hotel Portobelo. This was the third time arriving here. We retrieved our stored luggage too. It is always nice coming back to this Hotel, but it is getting a bit repetitive and it is time to move on.
Hotel Portobelo by bastchild, on Flickr
Hotel Portobelo by bastchild, on Flickr

We walked back down toward the Cathedral area and found some tacos al pastor. 4 for 24 pesos – not bad.
El Tacazo by bastchild, on Flickr
El Tacazo by bastchild, on Flickr

Cool Honda c90
Honda C90 by bastchild, on Flickr

Then we discovered tacos Eldorado, 5 for 15 pesos! They are served in salsa, so they will be henceforth known as “soupy tacos”. They are delicious.
Tacqueria los Faroles by bastchild, on Flickr
Tacqueria los Faroles by bastchild, on Flickr
Tacqueria los Faroles by bastchild, on Flickr

Cool church
Guadalajara at night by bastchild, on Flickr

Bike night ride (with ATV!)
nighttime street riding by bastchild, on Flickr

We stopped by an Oxxo to pick up a bottle of El Jimador and Fresca. They still had their sale for a 2 L Fresca and 900 mL bottle of tequila. Wait a minute, I only got a 700 mL bottle in Barra and they charged the same amount (125 mL) and they tried to do the same to me in Guadalajara, but I pointed out that the picture was for a 900 mL bottle, so the clerk sheepishly got a bottle from behind the first bottle. Strange that it would ring up the same amount. The cheek!
Tequila in us, back at the hotel, we passed out for the night.
El Jimador and fresca by bastchild, on Flickr
Day 15 fin

Day 17 Guad to Mazatlan by bastchild, on Flickr

We woke up early and took the metro and bus to Carmen Motors. It was rush hour and the buses and subways were packed as were the streets, but bus 25 took us back to the BMW dealer – literally right in front of the BMW dealer.
Carmen Motors by bastchild, on Flickr

We tried to get the bike but having no work invoice or receipt, they didn’t know which bike I had. After 20 minutes, Martha Ruelas, showed up and found our bike. I asked for the Hyperpro owners manual back and they brought the bag of my old springs and shock and retrieved the manual and warranty and even my BMW owner’s manual and maintenance book which they had removed from the bike. The bike looked good and I confirmed they changed the water pump. The bill came to $370 usd.
our bike is back! by bastchild, on Flickr

new hyperpro 3d rear shock by bastchild, on Flickr

We headed off back to the hotel and loaded up the bike and hit the road around 10:30am.
buskers at intersection by bastchild, on Flickr

It was a 6 hour ride to Mazatlan for us so we took the cuota road. We passed by volcanoes and lava flows and craters.
Volcano by bastchild, on Flickr

Lava field
Volcanic rocks by bastchild, on Flickr

Agave fields for tequila!
Agave fields by bastchild, on Flickr
We stopped in Jala for lunch at a torta stand. It was great for 20 pesos each.
Torta stand in Jala by bastchild, on Flickr

Torta stand in Jala by bastchild, on Flickr

Carnitas torta by bastchild, on Flickr

Torta stand in Jala by bastchild, on Flickr

Jala for lunch by bastchild, on Flickr

The cuota is expensive. It cost us at least 360 pesos to get there. We took the libre road for a bit but got stuck behind sugar cane trucks on mountainous roads – not fun to pass.
Sugar cane fields
Me and Christine by bastchild, on Flickr

Sugarcane trucks by bastchild, on Flickr

Kids in pickup by bastchild, on Flickr

shadow by bastchild, on Flickr

We made it Funky Monkey Hostel at 4pm. The wife wanted to try staying in hostel for change in order to meet other travelers. Nigel checked us into a private room with kitchenette ensuite. It was about the same price for us as the dorms – $17 each. What a deal! This place has secure parking, free wifi, water, use of kitchen, pool. Nigel and Salem were great hosts. I highly recommend this place to stay if you are passing through. It is in a quiet safe neighborhood 10 minutes walking from the beach.
Funky Monkey Hostel by bastchild, on Flickr

Funky Monkey Hostel by bastchild, on Flickr

Funky Monkey Hostel by bastchild, on Flickr

Funky Monkey Hostel by bastchild, on Flickr

Funky Monkey Hostel by bastchild, on Flickr

Funky Monkey Hostel by bastchild, on Flickr

Funky Monkey Hostel by bastchild, on Flickr

We went walking to the beach, not wanting to put on our gear again. It was pretty warm. The sun had already gone behind the islands but the sky was a brilliant orange. The water was a cooler than Barra had been. Mazatlan was the most touristy place we had been to thus far on the trip in Mexico, but there were not as many gringos as I expected. There were beach resorts in somewhat dilapidated conditions. But they have a 6 mile long malecon great for walking, running, biking, or rollerblading. We wandered about but were a bit limited as we didn'’t bring the bike. We ended up eating tacos which were topped with pineapples.
Mazatlan by bastchild, on Flickr

Mazatlan by bastchild, on Flickr

Mazatlan by bastchild, on Flickr

Mazatlan by bastchild, on Flickr

Mazatlan by bastchild, on Flickr

Mazatlan by bastchild, on Flickr

Malecon at night by bastchild, on Flickr

Taco Time by bastchild, on Flickr

Taco Time by bastchild, on Flickr

Taco Time by bastchild, on Flickr

Taco Time by bastchild, on Flickr

Back at the hostel, we talked with Salem for a while, and met Jose, a lawyer from Tijuana on a three-week holiday and Louis, a student from Georgia Tech who just finished riding from Atlanta to Vancouver on a Honda Rebel and backpacked the Pacific Crest Trail and now wants to paddle down the Pacific Coast of Mexico. I had been hesitant on staying in a hostel but this renewed my trust in them. We didn'’t go to bed until nearly 2am, talking to these guys and asking for ideas on where to travel in Mexico.

For almost 400 usd they should have thoroughly cleaned the whole bike




Volcan El Ceboruco
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceboruco_%28volcano%29

This is what we call "Tacos Al Pastor"

Day 18 Mazatlan to Sayulita by bastchild, on Flickr

We woke up early to get a head start on the road. It would be another 6 hour day. We had been trying to book in Sayulita or San Francisco but it was expensive or full. It was Friday.
We drove down the malecon to see more of Mazatlan. The malecon is gorgeous, but we had no time to dillydally. We had to hit the road.
Riding out of Mazatlan by bastchild, on Flickr

Riding out of Mazatlan by bastchild, on Flickr

We ended up taking the cuota most of the way. Once again we took the libre for a section and we were stuck behind slow trucks. No more! We turned off toward San Blas to check it out and stopped for lunch. This place was next to a Pemex station (which means clean bathrooms). We tried to order food off the menu on the wall, but the cook just kept rattling off other foods they had, even though we mentioned what we wanted. We just ended up pointing at a plate she had made for another customer and ordered 2 of them -- pork in red sauce. It was good.
riding to Sayulita by bastchild, on Flickr

Lunch stop by bastchild, on Flickr

Lunch stop by bastchild, on Flickr

Lunch stop by bastchild, on Flickr

San Blas is in a lagoon so full of mosquitos. The town looked okay but I wasn'’t charmed by it. We drove through the cobblestone streets and stopped long enough for the wife to get bitten by flies (and normally she doesn’'t) and head back out. This is one of those times I was glad I wasn'’t backpacking, otherwise we would have been resigned to spend a night there.
San Blas by bastchild, on Flickr

San Blas by bastchild, on Flickr

San Blas by bastchild, on Flickr

Don’t ride at night!
Cow in the road! by bastchild, on Flickr

After an hour the sky darkened in the distance and it looked like we might get rain. We put the electronics into a drybag liner and continued on just in time. When we pulled into a bus rest stop the skies unleashed it was a hard rain like in the movies. We waited for 45 minutes until the rain stopped and enjoyed a fresh pineapple juice for 15 pesos.
Our first rain by bastchild, on Flickr

waiting out the rain by bastchild, on Flickr

Fresh pineapple juice by bastchild, on Flickr

We finally made it to Sayulita around 6pm and checked into the Hotel Villas Sayulita for $75. This was expensive but so nice with a kitchen in each room.
Hotel Villa Sayulita by bastchild, on Flickr

Hotel Villa Sayulita by bastchild, on Flickr

Hotel Villa Sayulita by bastchild, on Flickr

Hotel Villa Sayulita by bastchild, on Flickr

Hotel Villa Sayulita by bastchild, on Flickr

Sayulita is gorgeous. We were kicking ourselves a bit for spending 4 nights in Barra de Navidad instead of coming here. Sayulita is the perfect tourist town. Not dead, and busy enough for you not to be lonely, but not packed yet. It is full of hippy yoga surfer types and expats living there driving around hefty golf carts. If you are in the mood for a tourist town in Mexico that won’t scare your friends, this is it. The town is split by a river. Our hotel was on the north side and while there were a few restaurants with pretty lighting, it was by no means busy. We crossed the river and found where everyone else was. There were loads of sidewalk dining options.
Sayulita by bastchild, on Flickr

Sure the prices are touristy but it also was good food. We were lured into Carmelita’s for some baja-style fish tacos.
Sayulita by bastchild, on Flickr

Restaurant Carmelita by bastchild, on Flickr

Restaurant Carmelita by bastchild, on Flickr

Restaurant Carmelita by bastchild, on Flickr

They were delicious.
Restaurant Carmelita by bastchild, on Flickr

There was a political rally going on so it was busy in the town square.
Sayulita by bastchild, on Flickr

Restaurant Carmelita by bastchild, on Flickr

We walked around on the beach which reminded me of Hat Rin in Thailand.
Sayulita by bastchild, on Flickr

Sayulita by bastchild, on Flickr

Although our waiters invited us to party with them when they closed at 1130pm, we didn'’t do anything crazy and headed back and drank more of our tequila before bed.

NICE report, Thank you

Are you in the medical field? Where i work I can do 6 in a row and then have 8 days off.

Later
John

This is what we call "Tacos Al Pastor"

Yes, I wish they cleaned the bike too! thanks for the link for the volcano!
We love tacos al pastor!

thanks!

yes. your schedule is fantastic!