On Monday, we arrived in Mexico! The border crossing in Tijuana was surprisingly anticlimatic. We walked up a few flights of stairs, down a few more, through a series of doors, and popped out on the other side: No search, no questioning, not even an ID check. Really?
Based on previous travelling experiences, I searched for the distinguishing smells of a new place. But as we biked through rush hour traffic, the only real difference I felt was a huge cloud of exhaust in my lungs. Besides some goods being slightly cheaper and everyone speaking Spanish, Tijuana didn't seem very different from San Diego. Of course, 20 miles can't create a change as drastic as my heart desired.
The next day, we biked around town to check it out more. Again, I was pretty disapointed. The border area is all bars, pharmacies, and dentists' offices. Downtown was even worse, mostly chain stores and restaurants. By lunch time I was feeling disheartened about this whole Mexico experience, but I tried to remind myself that this was just a border town and everywhere else would be different.
In San Diego, we met a guy named Forrest who has a house in Tijuana. Having met him for all of 10 minutes, he gave us detailed directions to his house to stay at. In our 3 days there, we never saw him. However, his house is on a lot with several other houses, all Mexican punks who work on old cars. They all turned out to be really awesome guys. After our ride in town, they invited us to their part of the lot for a bonfire, where we drank cowamas (liters of beer) and learned more about Mexico and Tijuana.
The next day, they took us to the nearby flea market. A maze of several blocks was lined with people selling second hand clothes, kitchenware, tools, etc, as well as a few produce vendors and some food stalls. Finally I felt like I was in Mexico! The idea of a flea market in a third world country was completely foreign to me: In Asia and the Middle East, the policy was pretty consistently to use it til it broke. But I enjoyed checking out all the trinkets, and I got myself a little leather coin purse. When we got back, Josh and I relaxed for a while, then joined the gang by the bonfire again. They convinced us to stay another day so that one of them, Wason, could give us free tattoos the next night (How could we go to Tijuana without getting tattoos?)
So we stayed the next day too! We fixed up Wason's old bike as a thank you for the tattoos. Actually, he turned out to be an incredibly talented artist. I got a little bicycle, and Josh got a chain ring with a heart in the middle (pictures eventually).
The next day, freshly inked, we hit the road for Ensenada. Biking into the suburbs of Tijuana, I finally noticed a distinct difference in the look of Mexico. We biked on a highway through a winding valley to the shore. The hills were lined with colorful simple buildings precariously balanced on landslides. All of the roads leading off the main highway were dirt or gravel. The riding was surpisingly easy; the shoulder was huge and most cars passed pretty wide. We found a beautiful abandoned cottage on the beach to sleep in.
Today we pounded out the rest of the miles to Ensenada. Most of our ride was inland up in the hills. Some of the climbs were pretty gnarly, but we were surrounded by beautiful ranches the whole time.
Enseneda is pretty nondescript so far. We met up with Josh's friend Ana, whose house we are staying at. She prepared us a really delicious dinner, and they headed out to some bars while I stay here and relax. Our plan after this is uncertain. Josh wants to head West to San Felipe, then North to Mexicali to catch a train south. I would like to go South as soon as possible. Either way, I'm excited to be in a new country!
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Monday, February 21, 2011
20 Miles from the Border!
Our time in LA was surprisingly really awesome, marking my first positive LA experience. I reconnected with my Aunt and Uncle and cousin there who I hadn't seen in many years. I caught up with some old buddies. I saw some crusty kids at Venice Beach drink their own booze vomit. And I made some amazing new friends in the LA radical scene!
The ride from LA to San Diego marked the last US "leg" of our journey. Now we are only 20 miles from the border, holy crap! We are staying at a house here called the Ninja lair, which is full of really rad people. There are also cats, bunnies, ducks, chickens, and a really aggressive rooster who tried to attack Josh and I in our tent this morning.
Also, I am really surprised at how much biking sucks in San Diego. Like Los Angeles, the drivers and super aggressive, but on top of that this city is hella hilly. So we have spent most of our time in the house, but it's nice to have a rest. We are headed to Tijuana tomorrow, my first time in Mexico, yes!
I uploaded a few more photos to this album, and here are some cute animals:
The ride from LA to San Diego marked the last US "leg" of our journey. Now we are only 20 miles from the border, holy crap! We are staying at a house here called the Ninja lair, which is full of really rad people. There are also cats, bunnies, ducks, chickens, and a really aggressive rooster who tried to attack Josh and I in our tent this morning.
Also, I am really surprised at how much biking sucks in San Diego. Like Los Angeles, the drivers and super aggressive, but on top of that this city is hella hilly. So we have spent most of our time in the house, but it's nice to have a rest. We are headed to Tijuana tomorrow, my first time in Mexico, yes!
I uploaded a few more photos to this album, and here are some cute animals:
Friday, February 11, 2011
The Road to LA
I uploaded tons of photos on facebook!
So after a slightly awkward day in San Luis Obispo, we headed South for Santa Barbara. At 110 miles, this section is generally considered a 2 day trip. Our first day we cruised through about 50. However, we seriously stalled on our second day. First we stopped about 5 miles in at Vandenberg Village, a small town connected with the airforce base there. We stopped for coffee at a diner in town where a really sweet lady named Crystal bought us lunch. Then we headed to the library where we once again spent way too much time mulling around. By the time we were ready to go it was nearly 2. And then I was met in the parking lot with a flat tire! After patching it, we finally hit the road.
5 miles later we hit Lompoc. Jon claimed there was nothing to see there and that we would only be passing through or stopping at stores if we needed to. At the South end of town, Josh broke a spoke which meant we had to head back into town to find a bike shop. In the parking lot of the shop, we regrouped and reconsidered our strategy. With only an hour of daylight left, we were not going to make it to Santa Barbara. We decided to ask a local about places to stay and we just happened to ask the mayor of Lompoc! He made some calls for us and informed us of a campsite on the edge of town. We decided to splurge on the $5/night fee.
Once we set up camp, we met a Dutch man in the site next to us named Neik. We had dumpstered a hefty load of food earlier in the day, so it was taco night for the 3 of us and Neik. Our new friend also had 6 bottles of wine which he was eager to share. So we had a bonfire and tacos and wine in Lompoc, and it turned out to be one of the best time on our whole adventure!
The next day we headed into Santa Barbara, where we actually spent most of our time in Isla Vista. On our way out, we hit up some hot springs in Montecieto. The natural springs are not public and are pumped into the rich people's yards in the surrounding hills, but if you hike into the mountains to the source, you can pull one of the pipes out of the wall to fill a pool with! It was a nice way to end our time in Santa Barbara. Also, Jon ran into some trouble with his passport/various family drama and ended his trip there, so now it's just Josh and I.
Santa Barbara to LA was not especially eventful. We got into Santa Monica yesterday, and now we are at Josh's uncle's house in La Verne. It's warm and sunny and there are so many oranges! I don't know if a heaven exists, but if it does I imagine it looking something like this:
So after a slightly awkward day in San Luis Obispo, we headed South for Santa Barbara. At 110 miles, this section is generally considered a 2 day trip. Our first day we cruised through about 50. However, we seriously stalled on our second day. First we stopped about 5 miles in at Vandenberg Village, a small town connected with the airforce base there. We stopped for coffee at a diner in town where a really sweet lady named Crystal bought us lunch. Then we headed to the library where we once again spent way too much time mulling around. By the time we were ready to go it was nearly 2. And then I was met in the parking lot with a flat tire! After patching it, we finally hit the road.
5 miles later we hit Lompoc. Jon claimed there was nothing to see there and that we would only be passing through or stopping at stores if we needed to. At the South end of town, Josh broke a spoke which meant we had to head back into town to find a bike shop. In the parking lot of the shop, we regrouped and reconsidered our strategy. With only an hour of daylight left, we were not going to make it to Santa Barbara. We decided to ask a local about places to stay and we just happened to ask the mayor of Lompoc! He made some calls for us and informed us of a campsite on the edge of town. We decided to splurge on the $5/night fee.
Once we set up camp, we met a Dutch man in the site next to us named Neik. We had dumpstered a hefty load of food earlier in the day, so it was taco night for the 3 of us and Neik. Our new friend also had 6 bottles of wine which he was eager to share. So we had a bonfire and tacos and wine in Lompoc, and it turned out to be one of the best time on our whole adventure!
The next day we headed into Santa Barbara, where we actually spent most of our time in Isla Vista. On our way out, we hit up some hot springs in Montecieto. The natural springs are not public and are pumped into the rich people's yards in the surrounding hills, but if you hike into the mountains to the source, you can pull one of the pipes out of the wall to fill a pool with! It was a nice way to end our time in Santa Barbara. Also, Jon ran into some trouble with his passport/various family drama and ended his trip there, so now it's just Josh and I.
Santa Barbara to LA was not especially eventful. We got into Santa Monica yesterday, and now we are at Josh's uncle's house in La Verne. It's warm and sunny and there are so many oranges! I don't know if a heaven exists, but if it does I imagine it looking something like this:
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Moving Along
Last night we arrived in San Luis Obispo, about 250 miles down, 350 to go! Bike touring is pretty amazing, but I'm definitely thankful to have a day of rest here. We has our first rain yesterday and the night before, and since we've been sleeping outside it took a bit of a toll on me. I have slept outside a lot, but mostly in places that were hot. I can sleep in 100 degree heat with ants crawling all over me, but once the temperature dips below 50 I have some trouble sleeping on the cold ground. Also, the riding is physically demanding and I am biking with 2 very fit guys. Jon has done this route 4 times already and Josh, having been an avid outdoorman most of his life, flies through the miles with ease. But I am catching up and getting stronger and faster and sleeping better, and I can't wait to keep moving! San Luis Obispo is sunny and beautiful and all of the orange trees are ripe. Yes!
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