BrokenSpoken

So after enjoying La Paz for a few days we decided it was time to push on and take the ferry over to Topolobampo in Sinaloa, Mexico.  Sinaloa will be the first state we’ll visit in Mexico.

We bought our tickets on Weds afternoon at the Baja Ferry office not too far from downtown La Paz.  As always, whenever we ride our bikes, we get lots of stares from everyone…I suppose Pedro’s newly minted green hair is part of the reason though.

It was a lot of fun at the ticket counter.  Being the ever effusive kind of guy I am, I started things off with my greeting and asking her how she was (really the spanish I’m most comfortable with…besides, she was cute!).  I bought my ticket and then it was Dom’s turn…unfortunately for him his credit card wouldn’t go through…damn the luck!  Pedro waited….somewhat patiently and gave exact change to the girl which made her smile and Dom blush.  You probably had to be there to really appreciate the moment.

We spent our last night in La Paz eating dinner with Peter, a local tattoo artist, which Pedro/Peter ran into a day before.  We went to a place called “Bandito’s” and I enjoyed one of the best burgers I’ve never been able to finish…typical.

The next day we said our goodbye’s to the staff at Hotel Yeneka.

Tanya, & Gris…two of our front desk staff.

Pedro had taken off earlier as he was going to stop at a local spa on the way to the ferry terminal and have someone work on his knee…it’s been bugging him and he’s hoping this might help.  So Dom and I pushed off for the 25k ride to the terminal.

The road to the terminal is hilly, which gave wonderful views of the many little bays and the town behind.

Screwy panoramic as the waves wouldn’t let it align properly…but still pretty.

Made for a beautiful view.

The downside of the hills was the fact that my derailleurs were giving me fits again…I had some choice words as I climbed!  Ah well…

When I got to the terminal I spotted Dom just outside the gates.  I could tell something was wrong and once I got inside to join him I learned that he’d been getting the Mexican shuffle….one person sent him one place while another sent him a different way….he did this four times and wasn’t too pleased….along with the fact that once again he’d forgotten something at the hotel.  So I sat tight with our bikes as he grabbed a cab and shot back into town.  It wasn’t too long before he showed back up….with his toiletries bag.

I guess he’s very attached to his toothbrush!

We hadn’t seen Pedro and everyone was getting into line waiting to be let on the ferry.  Just as they opened the gates here comes Pedro…who can’t be missed with his green mohawk!  More than a few stared open-mouthed as he rode up to join us.  He had been delayed as he went to one entry point and had all his bags searched (go figure).

When we got to the entry point Dom was up front and he had to push a button which randomly picks you for further screening or allows you pass through without issue…he got the green light and the Officer at the entrance allowed all three of us to pass through.

The gaping maw of the ferry.

This thing swallows a lot of big rigs.  Most of the passengers are the drivers/passengers.  I’m sure this might change on the weekends or holidays, but I was surprised at the lack of pedestrian traffic.

We left promptly at 2:30.  I watched a movie (in Spanish), worked on my Spanish (thanks Dom) and took a fine nap in the Salon (not the hair kind bonehead…the Salon has nice cushy seats that recline).

Last views of Baja.

Just another beautiful view.

We pulled into Topolobampo around 9:30 and got off the ferry around 10 or so.  We had been told about a motel in town and since none of us were keen about riding 24k at night we made our way directly there (after Pedro crashed into a concrete barrier….ala PeeWee Herman…I meant to do that!).

We got checked in, unpacked and walked a few blocks into town for some decent tacos and lots of stares.  Wasn’t too long before we were back and sacked out.