Central Baja 2 (Stage
6)
The couple of days rest in
San Ignacio felt good, as my sore back had disappeared, which I had treated
with the gel “Bio-Freeze” that was
introduced to me by my friend Reto in Switzerland. There was the usual delay
packing up as the tent was wet from the mist; if possible I always like to pack
up the equipment dry.
It was a pleasant 50 mile
ride to Santa Rosalia, with nice scenery, good road and little traffic. Back on
the Sea of Cortez side of the peninsula, the temperatures have gotten warmer as
well. I checked into the Sol y Mar
motel for 380 pesos and it turned out to be quite a nice place for the price. I
jumped into the shower with all my clothes on, as I normally do, to wash out
all the sweat, as washing machines are not always available. The afternoon
began with the standard exploration of a new town. Santa Rosalia was founded by
the French company El Boleo in 1884, who were mining copper until 1954 when it
was closed down (although the Mexican
Government operated the mine until the 80’s at a loss). Now there is a
Korean consortium working on a new project.
The other attraction in town is the metal church, which was brought there
by the mining company and is said to be designed by Gustave Eiffel.
A bit further south of
town is the campground “San Lucas Cove”, where I had another nice beach camp
and didn’t even need to get out of the tent to take pictures of the sunrise. I
just had to wake up! The one thing to remember from this place is the little
scorpions that took refuge under my shoes I left outside. From that point on,
the gear left in the open got a bit more detailed inspection before being used.
The next stop was Punta Chivato,
where I caught up with John again, whom I had met at the Rancho Sordo Mudo Campground a few weeks back. He invited me to
stay a few nights in his RV, which of course I gladly accepted. The days we
spent visiting with other friendly Gringos that own property, supervising the
construction of his home, riding the quads up into the mountains, playing with
his dog Cortez and having great conversations during the daily happy hour
routine.
I could have stayed
longer, as this place was almost representing paradise, but the road was
calling again. Only a short distance down the highway lay the oasis of Mulege,
another small place well worth stopping. As a lot of other towns in Baja, it
was founded by missionaries in 1705. The official title and still used by the
government is “Heroica Mulege” as during the Mexican-American war of
1846-1848, the Gringos weren’t able to capture the city. Another unique feature
is the old prison, as it was constructed without any bars and the prisoners
could freely move about, they just had to back at night. Before the completion
of the highway, there was no place to go except the desert and I guess the cell
was more inviting………………..
Until next time...
Tony Bike
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