From Anchorage to Ushuaia by Bike

Since Sara’s fall, we’ve made good progress. In 12 days we’ve biked through Baja California and arrived in Baja California Sur Wednesday night after crossing the 28th parallel. We’ve changed time zones – now we’re only 8 hours different from France. We’ve been traveling with Anja, who is now a good friend of ours.

After following the Pacific Coast, we crossed the central desert of Baja California. We had to climb some steep hills (higher than 15% grade and 879 meters up) in stifling hot weather (more than 30°C) to get to the Los Cirios Valley. But all our efforts were rewarded by stunning desert landscapes and whole forests of cacti by the side of the road. We were surprised by all the different kinds of cacti – go check out our pictures to see for yourselves!

Partly because of the severe heart, we’ve changed our daily routine. We get up now at 5:30, half an hour before the sunrise. We set out at about 7:30, and stop for the day usually before 4:00, only about a half a hour before the sun goes down. And bed time is at 7:00 or 8:00. Luckily, the further south we get, the longer the days are.

This past week we’ve camped at the side of the road, right in the middle of the cacti, but also on some ranches, where we asked if we could pitch our tent and where we were warmly (and happily) received. It’s nice that we got to interact more with the population, have a few conversations, and to see more of the daily life of the Mexican people. Most of the time we eat in Taqueria, little stalls by the side of the road with tacos and other Mexican specialties. And we are finding them still just as delicious!

After all that heat, the rain took us by surprise. It actually hadn’t rained here for more than a year, and the heavy rains surprised everyone and flooded everything. The houses here are not built to deal with that kind of precipitation – it only rains like this in the interior!

Sébastien