Serenading Ensenada

Day 4:
San Diego, CA to Tijuana, Mexico

Day 5:
Tijuana to La Mision
48 km

Day 6:
Las playas de La Mision y Santa Anita

Day 7:
La Mision to Ensenada
54 km

Day 8:
Ensenada

Total flat tires to date: 4

The past few days transported me from the comfortable environs of the US to Mexico.
After bidding adieu to my friends Sablove and Tank in downtown Tijuana, I spent my first evening with David, a medical student at the local University. My second day in Mexico turned out to be the hardest riding day yet! The road leading out of Tijuana was extremely narrow and big rigs zoomed inches away at a clip that seemed to shake every pebble on the non-existent shoulder! This is also where I got my first taste of frequent flat tires from the debris and scraps on the side of the road. After leaving the dust and pollution of Tijuana, the world opened up and each kilometer brought more smiles. I spent the next night at Rob´s, a couchsurfer in the beautiful coastal town of La Mision. As I was preparing to ride out the next day, one look at the 15 foot waves at the beach, and an inviting grin from Rob with a 6 pack of Pacificos convinced me to spend the day relaxing at the beach and walking around the beautiful pueblo. He introduced me to his friends and it was a wonderful experience practicing my Spanish and getting to know the community.

The ride to Ensenada, although an easy one, presented me with a foreboding warning of malicious weather ahead. Riding through strong headwinds, the day was overcast and cloudy all day, and it was a pleasure to see Bahia todos Santos and Ensenada across the distance. I met up with Bianca, my last couchsurfer for the Baja Peninsula and we spent the rest of the day meandering through Ensenada sampling the best anti-tourist holes and local marisco stands. Bianca is a high school senior with an unlimited enthusiasm for psychedelic trance and we hit it off right away. We drifted late into the night hanging out with her friends, wandering the streets, and making fun of my broken Spanish. The next day I opted to take another rest day, as dawn brought a spell of nasty Southerly winds and heavy rain. It looked like another weather system was moving in, so it was not a difficult decision to continue spending time with Bianca and her sweet mom, Blanca. I was invited to a psy-trance party, but deflected that offer instead to spend more time with Bianca´s friends who were in a punk-ska-cumbia band (imagine that!).

It was difficult leaving Bianca, whom I now call my hermanita... or ¨cachetita¨. She leaves for Sweden next year for college, and she shared her anxieties of leaving her home community with me. Bianca made my stay in Ensenada unforgettable, and I´m happy to be able to have connected with her and hear her stories and perspectives on life.

This morning I leave Ensenada, despite lingering clouds and light showers. It has been a mellow past few days, and I´m looking forward to more spirited riding ahead. This may be my last post for a while, until I get to somewhere comfortable enough to spend a few moments on the internet. The messages of love and encouragement I have received from everybody have been invaluable - I got my first pangs of missing home as I felt lost and confused in the dizzying vortex of what the Spanish world sometimes seems to be. My Spanish is being challenged each day and I feel an inward and outward growth each day.

But now, its time for the road yet again... I´ll be praying for tailwinds, wide shoulders, and strong tires, even though these may be grand illusions rendered amiss next to the beautiful magnitude of the Pacific.

Que te vaya bien,
JD