Page 5: - No Return Ticket - Just a Ride Report /w Pics - From the beginning
There is nothing on this road for the next 170 miles. The thought of turning back to the last town didn’t even enter our minds. I’m not sure why that is. Maybe we just couldn’t accept the severity of our situation. We dreamed and planned too long for something like this to stop us now..
170 miles and the bike is running perfect. We make it to the gas stop and the road to Bahia de Los Angeles. After stopping and dismounting Heidi wanders off to some shade. It’s hot here. After filling up, Heidi walks back to the bike. I see a look in her eyes I’ve never seen before. She was ‘freaked’ to say the least. It started hitting me too. What is going on here.
I think about the fried blinker wires we repaired in Yuma. I was just kidding myself thinking that had anything to do with the bike dying outside of Yuma. There is nothing hot on those wires unless it’s blinking and even then the blinker module isolated the wires from the battery. The worst thing that could happen is the module could fry and that has nothing to do with the bikes ignition.
Fuel stop:
42 miles down a dead end road to Bahia de Los Angeles. Heidi has read about this place, it sounds just like the kind of place we like. Small village on the Sea of Cortez with fishing and sailboats. We plan on spending a few days here and sort out our situation. More desert, mountains and cacti:
There is no traffic now and the road is straight. Now I have time to think about what the heck is going on with our bike. I formulate a theory why the bike is starting back up after quitting, but it doesn’t explain why the bike quits. We ride on….
Again I’m not making any of this up. We are tooling along less than 20 miles from the Sea of Cortez and the bike just quits again. We coast to a stop, dismount, take off our helmets and look at each other ‘This can NOT be happening’
I stay calm, confident of my theory. After a few minute wait I hit the starter. The bike fires up as if nothing has happened. We hop back on and continue. Bahia de Los Angeles here we come.
We made it. In my mind I bend down to kiss the Sea. This is what we dream about, places like this.
We cruise around the village and find a place right on the water. A little expensive but we are right on the beach. I pay for three nights.
I practically run to get beer and tequila. Heidi says we need to engage in some high level discussions. Tequila, Fresca and beer. Let the talks begin.
View from our room:
Later that day 5 dudes arrive in a van from LA, California. These guys are fired up and ready for a good time. They’re here to fish but aren’t going out until tomorrow. While we were all down on the beach, a fishing boat comes to shore and we all walk over to see what they caught. Their hold was almost full of fish. The guys ask the fisherman how much for a few fish. About 5 bucks. The guys dig in the hold and throw out 6 Parrot fish. They bring the fish over to the restaurant at the motel and have the cook clean and cook them using their homemade salsa they brought from California. The guys invite us for some fish tacos, Veracruz style. The fish was excellent and these guys are super friendly. I don’t think I have ever heard a group of guys laugh so much while just hanging out.
Another day in paradise:
Our last day in Bahia de Los Angeles was another day in paradise. A slow morning, drinking coffee, reading and watching the sun come up while the fishing boats head out into the bay. A long walk along the beach with Heidi followed by a long brisk swim. Life is good. When I sat in my cubical at work this is the life I dreamed about. My mind is clearing, my eyes see with more contrast and my love for Heidi seems to grow by the hour. How long can this continue? It seems that with every new challenge brings a new high. I throw myself into the darkness of uncertainty and emerge into a new brightness and clarity that says to my soul, you are alive…..
The 5 guys staying next to us who are from East LA come back from a day of fishing around 2:00 PM. Mario landed a 30 pound grouper, Wow. He was more stoked than normal, and that is stoked. Mario had a cooler of marinated carne de asada and boneless chicken on dry ice. He creates a grill on the ground using 2 bricks and a grate.
We are invited to join them for dinner along with 2 other guys from California who came here yesterday. Mario comes up to us and stares closely into our eyes and says “If I die from an accident or something today all this food would go to waste. I want to enjoy this food with you and Heidi” He is talking with real passion and feeling. We had one of the most delicious meals we have ever had. Que Rico. He tells a story of how he was born in Mexico and at age 2 his mother brought him to the US to give him a better life. Man I gotta tell you that if the US was filled with more people like Mario and his family it for sure would be a better place to live.
We are all hanging out drinking, eating, laughing and talking philosophy until we couldn’t drink anymore. Encounters like this are a part of what makes adventure travel great. The guys from East LA refer to Heidi as their sister and make us feel that we made friends for life.
Bahia de Los Angeles, recommended:
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