Day 4- Rosario hasta Mulege, Baja Mexico

Last night we were so exhausted that we were up and ready to go around 7am today. 

We walked outside to see that 4 other BMW bikes had made it to the hotel after dark last night.  Our bikes were covered with Dew, so I toweled off my bike and started to load it up.  While I was working on that, the riders from the other bikes came out and started to talk to me.  They were locals riding the area, but had lost some screws to one of the bikes, so they were waiting at the hotel for parts to come.  A really great group of guys, and very friendly.

After filling the bikes up, we were back on the road.  riding towards Mulege.  The ride would be about 400 miles and take us through some pretty interesting terrain.

The first section was full of cactus, hills, and brush.  It was interesting because it was so dry and different from what I remember.   We got to the top of one of the hills for some early photos because we have both been really bad about taking photos so far. 

Once that was over we continued on towards Guerrero Negro.  The landscape was unchanging for a while, until we started seeing that the rocks were getting bigger and bigger.  Eventually we were riding through amazing boulder fields filled with huge cacti. Naturally, we stopped for more pictures and continued on. 

Eventually we made it to a small town before Guerrero Negro where we had amazing seafood at the restaurant in front of the gas station.  If you are in the area, it is hard to miss as there are maybe 3 buildings in the town before Guerrero Negro.  I had a shrimp taco and a fish taco, Keegan had them make him a grilled shrimp burrito.  Both were delicious!

As we entered Guerrero Negro, the roads were a bit nicer, but it was still an airplane runway town.  Just a total straightaway that ends as fast as you enter it.  We had just gotten gas so we rode straight through. 

As we left the state and entered Baja Sur, the military station has the bones of a gray whale mounted in front of the base.  You go around the bones then the base and back on the road. 

We followed the road for a while through some great hills and plains until we climbed a summit that gave us a view of the Sea of Cortez.  We were both sunbaked and tired, so the view of the ocean was really refreshing.  We wound down around the mountain and came out in the city of Santa Rosalia.  The town was very neat and right on the edge of the sea.  We wanted to keep moving though as we had been told that it is much better to stay in Mulege (which I think is debatable now that I saw the ocean facing cliff hotels in Santa Rosalia).

On the road to Mulege I hit a rock in the road as I was coming around the corner.  In my video it doesn't look like much, but it really threw me for a loop.  I was able to recover after swerving into the oncoming lane as I got the bike back together and put a foot down.  It was definitely a close call though.

About 60 miles South of Santa Rosalia, we came to Mulege.  It is the first place we have been that I consider to be a real pueblo (maybe Santa Rosalia too).  The city is tucked into the hills and has a nice layout similar to the small pueblos that I grew to love in El Salvador.  The streets are tight, and the businesses are small.  We found a hotel (Hotel Mulege) and paid about 550 pesos for a small room with two beds and AC.  It isn't as nice as the Cactus hotel, but it will be great.

We checked in and headed to a seafood restaurant down the street.  It is on the second floor and was a bit overpriced.  If you are in this area I would probably suggest that you try staying in Santa Rosalia if possible).  Mulege isn't quite on the beach like Santa Rosalia, but Mulege seems to be a little bit quieter, and possibly safer. 

As an added note, we crossed a lot of military checkpoints today.  Most were great, but one was really strange.  They kept asking if we had guns, and rather than searching us, they would pat our bags/ cases but never inspect them.  I don't think they knew what they were doing, unless they wanted us to react to them touching the bags?  Still not sure.