Sunday August 23, 2015, 136 miles (219 km) – Total so far: 10,663 miles (17,160 km)

3 days 136 miles bicycle, 72 miles bus We had a nice first night in Loreto and after riding around town we settled on a bungalow named SuCasa, Loreto while ignoring the usual hotels. The proprietor was a very nice American lady, Gail, who spent 41 years here with her husband. They owned and operated a fishing boat for all those years. As she said, “We had a very wonderful and adventurous 41 years here”. She recommended a local bar, Augies, for dinner. We went there and were immediately warmly welcomed by all the “gringo” fisherman and Augie himself at his world famous bar. Loreto is home to 19,000 people including over 2,000 gringos. We were told that the fishing here is superb. We had a great time at Augies half price happy hour with cervezas, chicken wings and fish tacos. The bar is frequented by the local gringo fisherman and they warmly welcomed us with free cervezas. Throughout our time in Mexico we have consumed lots of fish no matter if fried or breaded as in tacos, sautéed or grilled. It has all been so fresh and excellent. I can’t say enough how good the fish is. Another one of our favorites is obviously fresh tortillas whether corn or flour. The avocados are wonderful also. We always carry avocados and tortillas and will enjoy a simple breakfast, lunch or dinner of sliced avocado on tortillas. “Muy Bueno.” Jocelyn is great at picking out good avocados which last several days.

This morning we went to the Loreto bus station and inquired about a ride to the next city of Ciudad Constitucion about 120 km away. We decided to take a break from the heat and ride the 72 miles on the bus tomorrow. We found a decent hotel across the street and spent the day sitting in the shady pool and very cold room with the drapes closed and watching National Geographic in Spanish. In other words it has been a very fine day resting, cooling, and meeting more gringos. We can’t say enough about all the friendly people we have met on our journey. Except for a few impatient truck drivers everyone has been so friendly with honks, beeps, waves, and thumbs up! One truck driver actually crept up on a steep hill honking along with many cars behind honking and nudged my left rear pannier. He forced me into a ditch and I could only watch as Jocelyn, who was right in front of me, was almost hit. We try to stay close while climbing.

With the bus ride tomorrow that will give us two days of riding rest before we head to La Paz.

August 23, 2015 We have arrived in La Paz, Mexico after two riding days from Constiticion. Yesterday we rode a record 80 miles in Mexico as it was the flattest day of all. In fact it was almost totally flat for our first 5 hours! From here we will ride a ferry 18 hours across the Gulf of California to Mazatlán on the mainland of Mexico and continue south along the coast. In the meantime we will hang out here or cycle to Cabo San Lucas about 93 miles south. The ferry reservations are required 3-4 days ahead and Andee mailed us a package of replacement bicycle mounts for my GPS and video camera to a local warmshowers home. These plastic mounts have been sitting in the sun for several years and have broken.

We are very excited to be here after cycling almost the length of Baja California, Mexico as it has really been a challenge with the heat and terrain.