"The Devil's Road" Main Expedition, Day 48

April 15th (Todos Santos to Ciudad Insurgentes)

It was great to have "the ladies" with us for a week. Heidi, Bri and Jade had a plane to catch and left us to gather and organize all of our stuff.

We were on the road by noon with a bit of sadness, as we had to turn the front tires of our bikes northward. We have completed about 95% of our filming goals while on the southern course. There are a few places and shots that we missed, skipped, or still want to get while on our way north so JT and I tentatively mapped out our return trip.

Our thought was to get through La Paz and camp at a spot we know of that is about 40 miles north of the city. We arrived there at three o'clock, the temperatures in the high 80s. With plenty of daylight, and nothing to film in that area, we pushed on. At one point we rounded a turn in the highway and found ourselves at the beginning of a very long straight and flat section of tarmac in front of us. JT immediately pulled to the side and I knew why. We were staring at an incredible shot of a mirage on the road. With the camera placed in the middle of the road, we captured a vehicle way off in the distance with its headlights on as it approached us. It made for an amazing shot!

Two hundred miles with my butt in the saddle of my bike was about all I could take. We pulled over and secured a room for the night in Ciudad Insurgentes. At $35 it was well worth it. Besides, there is nothing impressive about the terrain between La Paz and Ciudad Insurgentes. Nothing worth filming, that is.

"The Devil's Road" Main Expedition, Day 38

April 7th (La Paz again)

This morning we met two marine biology PhD students for an interview. We were an hour late! Both JT and I were not aware that BCS plays the "spring forward, fall behind" game, changing their clocks for daylight savings, and I felt like a fool. Michelle and her husband Marco were very understanding and gave us a great interview anyway. Michelle is studying gray whales and attempting to prove that while they are in southern Baja to calf and mate, they are also feeding. This, if proven, could change how Mexico protects their breeding habitat. Marco, on the other hand, is studying the bottlenose dolphins that frequent the La Paz bay.

They both gave us a great insight into how Mexico is working to restore our marine habitats and what may be in store for the future. Thank you both for taking time out of your day to talk with us.

During the afternoon, we negotiated with a local panga captain to take us to El Mogote so that we could walk around to film. We walked around the complex and was surprised by how finished and bustling one part of the project was. We had heard rumors that the project was gaining momentum to be completed, and we certainly saw evidence that workers were on site and attempting to finish parts of the buildings.

We were then able to find the same location of a few of Goldman's photos of the La Paz waterfront so that we could do a "then and now" series of comparison shots.

La Paz on this Friday was alive with action. It seemed that all the vendors were out, the Malecon was bustling, and there was a flurry of activity everywhere. Spring break is here, not only for Mexico, but for the States as well. A major beach volleyball tournament was also being held on the Malecon and the stands were full of spectators. JT and I walked downtown during sunset to get some tacos for dinner.

"The Devil's Road" Main Expedition, Day 37

April 6th (La Paz)

Today we intended to drive out to a resort community on a spit of land in the La Paz Bay called El Mogote. This place is shrouded in controversy. On the peninsula is a 1,700-acre resort called Paraiso del Mar. It was planned to have 2 golf courses, over 3,000 homes and condominiums, a marina, a town plaza, and other amenities. The developer did not receive the proper clearances and approvals from the government prior to beginning construction, and abandoned the project in order to flee criminal prosecution. So, this "resort" sits with partial occupation and no means of access, except via water taxi. The "road" is notoriously sandy with a depth and texture that will swallow most 4x4 vehicles.

Our attempt to get there was denied about a mile into the section along the dunes. The sand kept getting deeper and the sand patches got longer. I dumped my bike once, which gave JT the chance to film how to right these heavy beasts. Then it was JT's turn. He attempted to turn around and found his bike chain deep in sand with no way to get out. We took this opportunity to film the procedure of getting unstuck. It all went well and we were both pleased to turn a bad situation into a good one. The swim in the bay helped, too, since we were sweating in the heat of the Baja sun after that ordeal.

The El Mogote has another story that needs to be mentioned. There are a number of shark fishing operations and is also a sea turtle nesting site. The turtles come to this peninsula to lay their eggs and the locals have instituted a "Protect and Release" policy. Forty-five days after the eggs have been laid, the babies hatch and the locals help get them to the water.

We met a wonderfully interesting man tonight named David from Alaska. He is riding a bicycle along the Baja Divide trail (the length of the peninsula). We had a beer and several tacos together as we swapped stories. We had seen him several times in multiple places along our route and were glad to get his story and comments on film.

"The Devil's Road" Main Expedition, Day 36

April 5th (La Paz)

We made our way back to La Paz and without much trouble found our hotel. We had reservations for three nights in a small hotel just three blocks from the water. It was clean, had a shower, and was a safe place to park the motorcycles—in the courtyard of the hotel. We had to take off the panniers to fit the bikes through the doorway, but our host insisted.

"The Devil's Road" Main Expedition, Day 35

April 4th (Punta Conjeo to El Triunfo)

Everything was wet when we woke. The dew was so strong it seemed as though it had rained during the night. But, within an hour, most everything was dry. We had found a cool camp site tucked in under some low growing trees and had a great night’s sleep. Our next move was to head to El Triunfo. We had a day to kill before we needed to be in La Paz, so the decision was made to bypass La Paz and film El Triunfo.

Getting through La Paz has always been a problem for us and is notorious for other travelers as well for having very poor signs. We got lost again. One dead end road after another had me frustrated. I flagged down a passing motorist to ask him where the road to Cabo was and he began to stumble as to how to give us directions. After a few puzzling seconds, he said, "Just follow me." This nice man took us three miles out of his way and took us to the right road to Cabo San Lucas. Only in Mexico will you find that kind of hospitality. Thank you!

El Triunfo is an old town with a storied history. At one time 11,000 people lived and worked in this gold and silver mining town. Now only 500 people make it their home. The mining operation is in ruins and restoration work is in place to save the 70-meter smokestack that was designed by Gustav Eiffel. We were met by an interesting fellow that said he was a tour guide and asked if he could show us around. We agreed and he set about to tell us things like, "This is the machine," and "This is the quartz," and "This is the cow." In the end he asked for a propina, or tip, and continued to give us a blank stare when we asked how much the usual tip was. When I reached into my wallet and pulled out a bill, he seemed to not understand what I was doing. Or, was it his way of saying that it was not enough? We were perplexed.

Most of the land surrounding this community is private and well fenced, so we decided to head for Los Barilles to spend the night on the beach. The 30-mile ride was a wonderful mountainous and curvy ride that made the trip out to the beach that much more pleasant to be camping on.