La Bahia de Concepcion

Feb 20th

Well, you can see why they called it that. Just imagine, you're cruising up the highway in your auto with your girl, you pass white sandy beach after white sandy beach, lapped by cool blue and turquoise waters. The sun glints off that water, which is occasionally broken by pods of dolphins, or sometimes even some whales. You stop at a deserted beach, where there are just a few palapas on the sand, and nobody else for miles. You take a walk, and your feet sink in the sand as the sun sinks in the sky, setting aflame the peaks of the peninsula out in the east, beyond the water. A ray of sun catches her hair, as she brushes it back with her fingers, she turns to look at you, and... BAM, 9 months later when you're trying to figure out where that baby came from, it all comes back to you.

Well at least this is how I imagine it got its name. Of course, back when it was named it was probably a less romantic scene, involving horses, wagons, dirt roads, and probably had more to do with a lack of modern contraception than anything else.

Anyway, riding solo on a bicycle, one is not troubled by any of these situations, for better or for worse. Still, the scenery really was jaw-dropping. The contrast of desert landscape and stunning coastal vistas was just so striking, as if somebody had dropped a slice of desert into the mediterranean, sprinkled a little hallucinogen, and taken a big ol' swig. The red land, covered by a sea of cactus, dips down into the sea of, well, water, while vultures circle overhead (presumably anticipating my imminent demise by the way I am riding), and dolphins really do play out in the waves. Beyond that, the peninsula looked like the spine of some great beast, that had surfaced momentarily, but had been frozen in the act, perhaps held captive by what it too saw. Said beast made me think of the mountains of Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, so far distant in the south. Being part of the same great range, I suppose this makes some sense.

Nice way to wake up

Good morning Mulege, you oasis by the sea, you!

I honestly don't remember much about cycling that day, except those glittering images. I woke up to a beautiful morning on the beach in Mulege, feeling once again like there was no place I'd rather be than right where I was. I started riding and I think I spent almost more time stopping, staring, and taking photos, than actually pushing pedals. See for yourself...

I had intended to ride further than the 50km mark I had reached, but the appeal of staying on one of the beautiful beaches was too much. So I stopped at one, Buenaventura, where there was a cool little beach bar and some interesting punters to chat to. Amongst other things, two of the people there had seen some killer whales surface right in front of them as they were about to go snorkelling. Cool!