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comitan
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4177
Registered: 3-27-2004
Location: La Paz
Member Is Offline
Mood: mellow
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That area is more downhill than uphill, but the biggest factor was the white line in that area gave them enough room to stay on the road and not
having to pull off for every vehicle. Today its down hill all the way.
Strive For The Ideal, But Deal With What\'s Real.
Every day is a new day, better than the day before.(from some song)
Lord, Keep your arm around my shoulder and your hand over my mouth.
“The sincere pursuit of truth requires you to entertain the possibility that everything you believe to be true may in fact be false”
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Mulegena
Super Nomad
Posts: 2412
Registered: 11-7-2006
Member Is Offline
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Really admire you two.
Almost to La Pa' now!
Here's a little something for John and Rachael.
http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/54Ejh0/inhabitat.com/camper-ka...
"Raise your words, not your voice. It's rain that grows flowers, not thunder." ~Rumi
"It's the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." ~ Aristotle
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motoged
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6481
Registered: 7-31-2006
Location: Kamloops, BC
Member Is Offline
Mood: Gettin' Better
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The thought is a nice gesture.....but the cart design is stoooopid:
1) small wheels so no good for middle-aged couples pushing a shopping cart (a la Winnebago) through the desert;
2) Cart is very unstable once the "bedroom" is opened up a;
3) Safeway wants the cart back in their lot.... ;
4) No room for all your stuff....
Another design idea project from elementary grade school 
Don't believe everything you think....
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Mulegena
Super Nomad
Posts: 2412
Registered: 11-7-2006
Member Is Offline
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Well, ok then, how 'bout this one?
Its got big tires.
http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/9bPCki/inhabitat.com/a-pennsyl...
"Raise your words, not your voice. It's rain that grows flowers, not thunder." ~Rumi
"It's the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." ~ Aristotle
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bajasuzie
Junior Nomad
Posts: 47
Registered: 8-19-2007
Location: San Jose del cabo
Member Is Offline
Mood: 
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OMG Mulegena...you are making me laugh
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motoged
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6481
Registered: 7-31-2006
Location: Kamloops, BC
Member Is Offline
Mood: Gettin' Better
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Mulegena
Well, ok then, how 'bout this one?... |
M,
That's much better....glad you have their best interests at heart
Don't believe everything you think....
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Mulegena
Super Nomad
Posts: 2412
Registered: 11-7-2006
Member Is Offline
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Hope they get a giggle or two, too, when they get rested up and on-line.
Word just in on Facebook, they're in La Paz!!!
Congratulations on this mile-mark, Walkers2.
"Raise your words, not your voice. It's rain that grows flowers, not thunder." ~Rumi
"It's the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." ~ Aristotle
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64525
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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While I am away in Baja for 2 weeks, starting this weekend, I asked Igor (Skipjack Joe) to continue posting the track maps when he can.
Otherwise, this is the link to click to see the latest SPOT MAP: CLICK HERE FOR SPOT TRACKER MAP
Congratulations you guys on making to La Paz!
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BajaGeoff
Super Nomad
Posts: 1727
Registered: 1-11-2006
Location: San Diego and Campo Lopez
Member Is Offline
Mood: Heading To Baja!!!
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Nice job John and Rachel!
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woody with a view
PITA Nomad
Posts: 15938
Registered: 11-8-2004
Location: Looking at the Coronado Islands
Member Is Offline
Mood: Everchangin'
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is that spot #50 from when they jumped into the water in ecstasy?
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BajaLoverzzz
Newbie
Posts: 1
Registered: 7-11-2012
Member Is Offline
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Glad to see you guys made it to La Paz! will look forward to chatting with you guys soon!
If you don't love Baja, you must never have been there.
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mexicoliving
Nomad
Posts: 100
Registered: 3-1-2009
Member Is Offline
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We are in La Paz, heading to Baja Expedition offices this morning. I have written a brief update of Constitucion to Santa Rita, and will complete
Santa Rita to La Paz later today. Thank you all so much or the incredible support!
http://bajagoodlife.com/2012/07/12/baja-walk-road-to-santa-rita/
Normally I would post the whole thing here, but it has many links to images and I don't have time to update them all for the forum. Thanks for the
understanding.
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Skipjack Joe
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8084
Registered: 7-12-2004
Location: Bahia Asuncion
Member Is Offline
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I get a blank screen when I follow this link.
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goldhuntress
Senior Nomad
Posts: 663
Registered: 1-28-2010
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Skipjack Joe
I get a blank screen when I follow this link. |
It works fine for me.
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64525
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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Thanks for the link John... I just looked at a hundred or so of your photos!
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Khandra
Newbie
Posts: 2
Registered: 7-12-2012
Member Is Offline
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I read your update about the walk between Constitucion and Santa Rita. It is amazing how many hardships you two had to endure to get there!
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rdrrm8e
Nomad
Posts: 252
Registered: 5-14-2007
Member Is Offline
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Linky no worky para mio tambien
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mexicoliving
Nomad
Posts: 100
Registered: 3-1-2009
Member Is Offline
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Sorry, our servers have been getting a heavy load the last few hours. Here is the latest report minus the image links, all images are here:
https://picasaweb.google.com/111762627298877558621/BajaWalkGallery2
The Road to Santa Rita
We were excited to get going again and to leave Constitucion on our way to La Paz. We got a late start and didn’t actual get going until after 6AM,
but we had an early morning cloud cover that provided some relief from the sun for at least the first few hours of the day. The only problem that we
had with the cloud cover was the impact it had on our SPOT satellite batteries. We had learned from calling SPOT support that cloud cover could reduce
our battery life to as little as 3 days, and considering it required lithium batteries only, which are rarely available in Baja, this had been a
problem. Although, we found we could use the Alkaline batteries as long as we remove them daily from the device when we went to bed each day, to help
reduce the chance of corrosion or problems, that according to SPOT support was common when alkaline batteries are used.
The road leading out of Constitucion was very busy in the morning, mainly with worker traffic and large commercial trucks, and as usual, the road
narrowed to two lanes and the shoulder disappeared once we reach the edge of town. Within just a few kilometers, we encountered our first flat tire
and were proud that this was also the first time in the trip we actually had all the tools necessary to fix the flat, so that is exactly what we did.
We pulled over, removed the wheel, then the tire from the wheel, patched the tire, and put it all back together. We had been looking for a patch kit
and bike pump for several hundred miles, so it was nice to have found everything in Constitucion. Within 20 minutes, we were back on the road. In the
days to come this skill was greatly improved. During this stop, just as I was completing my first tire change, Gene Jensen called from San Felipe. He
was excited to reach us, and we were excited to hear from him. I was especially excited to share my new tire changing skills with him. The call was
brief, but a nice addition to the start of the day.
We continued walking for several hours, and as it neared noon, we reach Villa Morelos, a small agricultural community, probably no more than a few
hundred people, but a large area in terms of farm and ranch lands. On the right side of the highway was a taco stand called Café Colado, a roadside
taco cart, like so many we’ve seen throughout Baja, so we stopped for lunch. As in most cases, our arrival drew the attention of those in the area and
they all wanted to know what we were doing walking in the heat, pulling a cart. Sitting at a small table next to the taco stand was Efren, a pleasant
looking man, well groomed and in the attire of a farm worker. He spoke some English, and we could tell he wanted to use all the English he could,
which of course made communicating easier. We gave him our printed sheet explaining the walk, and our goals. We began to discuss his ranch, the
organic products he produced, and how he had worked there since he was 15 years old, and how he loved his job, his boss, company and the products they
were growing specific to children. Although we had only 20 minutes to talk with Efren, it was a wonderful conversation and the passion he had for his
work was contagious and exciting.
Before leaving Villa Morelos, we stopped at the only llantera (tire shop) and although the young man working the shop didn’t have a tire we needed, he
did have grease, so we had him remove all four tires and grease up our axles and bearings. It was fun to watch him use the full size car jack to jack
up our small little cart. Once back on the road, we only lasted a short time before our next tire went flat. Again, I was fixing and replacing a tire.
This was a hot day, and a tough day, but nothing we had not dealt with in the past, but unlike the days when we were traveling off Highway One, we
were now on Baja’s main highway. We found that many people we had met in the past were seeing us again for the second, third or more times, as they
drove from one town to another. One of the most pleasant visits was from Jesus, a very nice man that we ran into riding his bicycle alone from the
town of San Ignacio towards the San Ignacio Lagoon to roads end and back. On his return from roads end, he stopped alongside us to ask us what we were
doing out there, a distance from town and moving further away. We told him about the walk and again provided the usual piece of paper with our
explanation, something we learned was the fastest, smartest way to get our story told in Spanish. Now, here we were more than a hundred miles from our
first encounter, and this time Jesus was driving his car, not a bicycle and when he saw us, he drove the car off the road onto the dirt shoulder, and
this time he was with his wife and kids. He was excited to introduce his family to us. After a short visit, we had to continue, and they had to get
home, so we said our goodbyes, again and parted ways the second time.
The day was long and with visits, we were not making our usual distance, but running out of daylight. In addition, we found both side of the road were
lined with barbed wire, and there was no place to camp at all. We were getting concerned that we wouldn’t find a safe place to camp and we had not
seen any ranches, stores, or homes in many miles. Just as the sun was dropping, we came to our first ranch, and although there were signs stating it
was private property, we didn’t care and wanted to see what could be done before the sun dropped completely. In the dimming light, we could see that
there were people on the porch of a house several hundred yards from the fence, so we began to wave our arms and yell “hola” in their direction. After
a few moments of this, we noticed one of them was walking off the porch and putting on their shoes. After the shoes were apparently on, they started
walking our way, not in any hurry, which was okay; because at least we had their attention. Within seconds, a smaller figure joined the approaching
figure and as both got closer, we realized it was a man and a young girl, maybe 9-12 years old.
Eventually, they both arrived at the fence, and we learned that it was Luis and his daughter. We tried to let him know that all we wanted was the
ability to camp inside of his fence, where it was safe and that we didn’t need anything from him and would leave early in the morning. However, after
what seemed like more than 30 minutes of trying to explain ourselves, much as we had done without difficulty so many times before, and what seemed
like begging this time, he still didn’t seem to understand our request. We were getting frustrated, and were almost ready to risk sleeping along the
road, when Luis received a call that stopped the conversation so that he could answer. As Luis spoke on the phone, we could both see a woman off in
the distance also on the phone, and she was looking directly at Luis. When the conversation was completed, Luis said we could stay and showed us where
we could put up our tent. It was clear at that point, that Luis was not the boss. Ten minutes later as we were setting up our tent, the young girl
that had accompanied Luis came out to us with a pitcher of lemonade, and two glasses. It appeared to us that the woman in the distance was boss, and
after Luis had delivered our explanation sheet in Spanish to the real boss, his wife, she found it safe to have her daughter bring us refreshments.
The next morning, after a short time of walking, our new friend Efren, we had met in Villa Morelos at the taco stand, drove up and off the highway,
then stopped on his way to La Paz to introduce us to his entire family; mom and dad, his wife and children. They had also brought us apples, pears,
and a box of Rice Krispy Treats. It was very nice to see him again and to meet his family. Although the visit was brief, it was pleasant.
Later in the morning, before the clouds had burned off, we saw a couple of cyclists riding towards us, this was only the second cyclists we’d seen
since we left, the first being David Grossman, that turned out to be our best friends cousin, proving once again that the world is a small place. On
this occasion, we watched as the riders passed us, and we yelled where you going. When they reached us, they continued to ride past, but then as I
thought they didn’t see us, the rider in the back, looked our direction, and yelled “Hey, they’re walkers!” to the first rider. They both slowed and
turned back towards us, crossing the highway, rolling down the dirt embankment to reach us. “We thought you were highway road workers”, one of them
said, asking what we were doing. Once again, we gave them the usual mini-speech, and saving our print outs for the Spanish speaking. They turned out
to be Marieke and Arnold, husband and wife from New Zealand and they were finishing the last leg of a ride they had been working on for many years,
riding 3-4 months each year; from the top of the continent to the bottom and most parts of the world; China to Middle East. Arnold was turning 68, and
Marieke was near his age, and when we asked them where they were going next, Marieke said they said they were not sure, but it was a big world and “we
still have at least 10 more years of riding left, so who knows”. We enjoyed a wonderful conversation, shared coffee, and stories of adventures and
dreams. We exchanged numbers, contact info, and said our goodbyes.
Two hours later, around 11AM as the sun was beating down hot and relentless, we came to Las Brisas del Desierto, a restaurant that was alone in the
desert and an oasis to us at this time. The entire restaurant, inside and out, along with the signage was painted in the Pacifico beer colors, blue
and yellow. Rachel and I both agreed we had never been there, so we wanted at least see what was there, and we could use a cold Pacifico. We crossed
the highway and parked the cart under a thatch palapa just outside the entrance to the restaurant, which was another much larger palapa of the same
thatched design. Rachel removed her backpack, and I removed my pulling harness and we went inside. We were greeted by a group of about 10 Mexicans,
all sitting around the room chatting with one another. We all gave each other a traditional “Buenos Dias”, and then we asked if they were open, they
replied yes and motioned for us to have a seat. They had seen us walk up with our cart and wanted to know what we were doing, so again we pulled out
our printed explanation. The paper was handed to a young girl, probably 17 or 18 years old, and the youngest in the group, and she read the sheet
aloud to everyone. The reading was followed by a visible approval by the group. At that time, the majority of the group got up, shook our hands, and
said they were glad to meet us, then all but four of them left, which was the father, mother, son in his twenties and the young girl that had done the
reading. The same young girl took our order of four burritos, and two cold beers, which turned out to be Tecate, not Pacifico. Apparently, they had
changed distributors, but according to the dad, had not bothered to repaint the building or change the signs. The daughter disappeared into the back,
while Rachel and I sat and worked on our Spanish with dad, mom, and the son. A short while later the daughter returned with our burritos and Tecate.
We enjoyed a pleasant lunch, with a pleasant family.
We were not back on the road for more than an hour, when two more cyclists came into view in the distance. When they were close enough that they could
hear us, I yelled out to them, “where are you going?”, and immediately they both turned and crossed the highway towards us. They introduced themselves
as James and Margit, and told us they were from Marin County in the Bay Area, riding the tip of South America. James said they would take about a year
and a half to make the trip, so I asked how they could afford to do that, apparently too young to be retired. They said they lived in one of the most
expensive areas of California, and they could ride their bikes for less than they could live at home, and that they could travel full-time on their
bikes for less than $500 per month. Margit was originally from Germany, but spoke perfect English with a German accent. She told us she sub-rented her
place for $500 more than she pays in rent, and could live on $15 a day while cycling and camping. We told them about the previous cyclists Marieke and
Arnold, and they said they had heard of them and were hoping to catch up to them. We let them know they were only a couple hours behind them and they
became excited about meeting them in the next town. We exchanged our contact info, and promised to send each other updates, said our goodbyes, and
they rode off.
The day was getting hotter and more difficult to deal with, so we took a brief rest under a mesquite tree, which seemed to be our most common refuge
from the sun. It also became our most loathed tree, because of the incredibly sharp and ever-present thorns the tree produces. We were being stabbed
and stuck by the thorns on a daily bases, in addition to daily flat tires, and the nightly fear of putting a new hole in our air mattress, even with
the 4 layers of tarp we would lay down. This rest under this prickly tree was much the same, but the relief from the sun was always welcome, despite
the utter dislike for the tree. Our goal was to reach Santa Rita, which was still several kilometers away, and from what we had been told there was a
llantera (tire shop), and we were in desperate need of tire replacements, so we kept our stay brief, no longer than 30 minutes, but enough to remove
our shoes and raise our feet to reduce swelling. Then we were back walking again.
When the radio tower of Santa Rita came into view, it became a beacon for us to follow, that kept us motivated, gradually getting larger the closer we
got to our destination. However, when we reached Santa Rita, we were deeply disappointed to find it was a small pueblo, and offered us very little. It
was clear there was not going to be any resting here, and the llantera we had hoped for was out of business, and looked as if it had been for years.
Fortunately, there was a small tienda (store), where we were able to purchase toilet paper, much needed water at a high price, and two deposit bottles
of Pacifico.
Rachel and I loaded away the new supplies and immediately got back onto the highway. Leaving town we had to cross over a bridge that spanned a large
arroyo, which in many cases would have provided us with good shelter for camping, but not in this case. There was no way down into the arroyo for us,
which was yet another disappointment. About half way across the bridge, that had no shoulder, something Rachel and I had become accustom to
navigating, a commercial truck drove onto the bridge, heading north bound, directly for us. When it came onto the bridge, we both looked back to see
the other lane was clear, so we were not concerned, knowing the truck had room, however the truck didn’t move, instead it remained on a course
directly for us. We had nowhere to move, and we could not jump over the railing into the arroyo, it was at least a 50-foot drop, so we stopped, pulled
ourselves and cart as far off the road as we could and waited as the truck sped for us. When truck reached us, he had not only not moved into the
clear southbound lane, but had actually moved closer to our shoulder, as close as I think he felt comfortable getting, because when he passed us, he
only cleared the cart and the two of us, both leaning away, by 3-4 inches and at full highway speed. This was the first time in over 600 miles and
hundreds of trucks that we actually felt in danger from a commercial truck and knew we were deliberately being toyed with. The truck was not a full
semi-truck, but midsize and white, without any logos or identifiable markings, so I had no way of knowing who it was or where it was from. Seeing
there was no other cars behind this devil truck, I immediately leapt into the highway only milliseconds after it passed and flipped it the bird,
passionately with both hands. All I could do was hope my sign language was international enough to get my point across, and that he would return, so I
could teach the driver some manners.
At this point, Rachel and I were both exhausted from a long day of walking, the sun was dropping fast and we knew we needed a place to camp. About one
kilometers past the bridge, we came to an abandoned restaurant, and thought it could make a good shelter for the evening, but on a closer look
realized it didn’t provide much of a hiding place, and there was far too much trash for my comfort. We agreed to try the desert on the other side of
the road. This turned out to be the best choice, because that evening and the following morning there was much activity around the restaurant, with
trucks stopping, and cars passing on the dirt road that passed beside it to some unknown destination. Still angry from the truck driver, and the
disappointment of the town, we set up camp. This was a long day, but we reached our goal, although a disappointment at days end, we still had those
two bottles of Pacifico, which we enjoyed together, zipped up tight, safe and comfortable in our tent, before falling asleep to another chapter of
Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Princess of Mars on audio book.
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64525
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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Now, what are your plans for what's NEXT?
Finish to the 100th day (how many has it been so far?)?
Go to Cabo and then all the way north to Rosarito walking or walking to Day 100 then catch a bus?
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Udo
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6326
Registered: 4-26-2008
Location: Black Hills, SD/Ensenada/San Felipe
Member Is Offline
Mood: TEQUILA!
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Just out of curiosity:
Constitucion is infamous for gringos getting tickets...were you stopped by the cops at all?
Udo
Youth is wasted on the young!
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