Saturday 23rd of June
In San Igancio a real Oasis.
We rode from Guerro Negro about 90 miles through the desert again, but temperatures were bearable and it was the flattest 90 miles I ever rode. We were told about this oasis and man/woman, is it ever. Water, Palm trees, grasses, never seen so much green - so good for the eyes and the soul - a lake to swim in. A place like a mirage, but in actual fact it IS.
BUT, I need to back up a little and talk about riding our bicycles through the most desolate and hottest/driest part of Baja, Mexico.
Our first night in the desert we started back on the road on
Monday the 18th
after a noisy night with trucks coming and going siphoning gasoline out of a barrel (or another truck), because the gas stations are so far apart, that some trucks simply don't make it to the next down.
Didn't sleep too well, but, at least I am clean.
We headed out - now I can say it: not early enough to beat the heat. The temperature rose quickly, but the desert was beautiful and was constantly changing it's landscape (there sure are many varieties of desert). Vast, rocky and mountainy, cacti forests - never boring and in the midst of all that a military truck drives by and the guy flashes a peace sign at you and it feels like nothing can go wrong....
Not a long day for cycling again - temps were up to 118f (49c) and we had to stop mid day. The air seemed to be at a boiling point, laying in the shade of a pink hotel, only to find out that the prices weren't what we expected and it was way too pink, anyways..... The care takers (who showed up about five hours after we arrived - good enough, 'cause we spend the time sleeping and hydrating) send us to a place one km down the road called Rancho Inyz. I prefer the tent in any case, so , we took off down the road -back into the desert for 1km off the main road - past a really fancy ass hotel that made the pink hotel look dirt cheap.
Nobody seemed to be at the ranch (siesta is taken very seriously here in the heat) and I am learning about patience again. Just wait, I tell myself, don't go snooping around, just because you want and you think you need something NOW.
There was a table and a bench, even some kind of a menu, lots of stickers on the wall and on the three refrigerators. Lay down and wait until somebody shows up, read the stickers and WAIT.
Soon a BIG sleepy looking lady came out of one of the rooms across the parking lot, grinningly friendly and made us the food we needed.
A little later her hubby showed up too, letting us know what to expect down the desert road towards our destination (La Paz): Definitely more heat!
Off to bed early, after rinsing off in the spring water off the land, but out of a faucet in the open field while family owned bull "Momo" was watching (we were warned not to pay any attention to him: He doesn't like it!). Bellies full and extra bean and rice burritos bagged up for tomorrow.
Really? We had the alarm set for
four am, but, man/woman, it was dark.....the night was almost restful and even a little cool. By 10 minutes to
6am we were on the road feeling the heat rise..
