DUE SOUTH: Get ready For Architectural Overload.......

So First of all an apology.....apparently I am not updating the blog often enough. I realise that there are people all over the world hanging on my every word and waiting for the next installment, which is all very well but the realities are that from now on the availability of good Internet access will become more scarce the further South we travel unless we are in a highly populated area. I will try and update the blog weekly to ensure everyone knows we are well and how much you have to pay collectively in terms of a ransom to secure our realease. Before I update you all on the last week's activities I will give you an insight into how something small and insignificant can become an overwhelming headache. The other night we had checked into our hotel which was equipped with High Speed Internet, and I decide to update the events of the last seven days. I turned on the laptop to find half the keys on the keyboard weren't functioning, B ST RD! no letter , no letter , nd the sp ce b r w s pl ying up..you get the picture. I took the keyboard to bits, gave it a clean, still no good, the next solution is to buy a normal USB keyboard and use that. Back home I'd call into the local computer store and pick one up for around £5. In Mexico I have to first of all find a town that has a computer shop, then locate the shop, then try and explain in 'Spanglish' what I want (and it can't just be any keyboard it has to be compact enough to fit into the bike pannier) and then pay an exhorbitant amount for a piece of Chinese plastic, just so I can tell you all what a great time were having! Shit I'm developing GOBS..Grumpy Old Bloke Syndrome, anyhow on with the Blog.......

From laptop to tabletop

The run down from Loreto to La Paz was fairly uneventful, the stretch leaving Loreto along the coast road has nice views over the Sea of Cortez but it all too soon turns to familiar desert terrain. As I said in the last post we were hoping to get onto the Mexican mainland before the Tropical depression out in the Pacific decided to head our way so we needed to catch the ferry to Mazatlan that evening. We finally found the ferry terminal but before we could buy tickets we needed to get the Temporary Vehicle Import Permit (TVIP) for BOB, this is documentation to say that have brought a vehicle into the country and the permit must be cancelled when you leave or else you're in deep stuff. You get and pay for the TVIP at the Aduana which is the equivalant of Customs, we could have done the paperwork in Tijuana but the Aduana is not always at the border and in the case of Tijuana the office is in the city itself and we didn't want the hassle of riding through Tijuana at all, so we chose to get it in La Paz. The Aduana in La Paz is conveniently located in the ferry terminal buildings and after 45 minutes and a wobbly credit card moment we had the permit and booked ourselves onto that evening's sailing to the mainland. One note of warning, make sure before you leave the Aduana that all the details on the permit are correct. We have heard horror stories of incorrect vehicle identification numbers or wrongly typed names resulting in vehicles being impounded, fines (did I say bribes?) or worse still, having to return to the original Aduana to sort the problem out.

BOB's immigration papers

The ferry crossing takes approximately 12 hours but apparently it never leaves or arrives on time but 'hey' we were on board and the Sea of Cortez is as still as a millpond. Unfortunately the Pacific Ocean isn't, the voyage was fine until we sailed past the tip of the Baja peninsular and then came under the influence of the ocean swell. It didn't stop us sleeping, but I was concerned that BOB had not been strapped down by the cargo guys and was now rolling about on his side somewhere below decks. The doors to the vehicle decks are kept locked and no one is allowed access after the ferry sets sail, but at one o clock in the morning I found someone who could understand me and assure me that the bike was secure.

Sunrise on the La Paz ferry

We awoke early for breakfast and then went on deck to watch the sunrise and Sue caught a glimpse of her first wild dolphins.

The dolphins would head straight for the side of the ship and then disappear underneath only to surface on the other side.

We were one of the last off the ferry and had planned to stay in Mazatlan that evening before leaving for Durango the following day so we found a hotel with a pool and kicked back for the rest of that day. Mazatlan has quite a pleasant beach area but is frequented ocassionally by the cruise ship crowd, they descend on the town for the day like locusts and then at three o'clock in the afternoon they leave en mass for the next port. If you happen to be in the resort at the same time it's assumed that you are also from the boat and must run the gauntlet of local touts and traders.

When we got our injections before leaving the UK we didn't bother to get any malaria tablets, one reason was there was so much confusion over which type was best and the other reason was cost. I had read numerous reports on the side effects of the various brands of anti malarial tablets and each brand can have a detremental effect depending on the individual. Chloroquine appeared to be the most stable but also one of the mildest in terms of preventative properties. The cost in the UK would be somewhere around £60 each for enough to see us through the problem areas and quite a few people suggested buying them in Mexico or the States when we got there. We had no luck in the States as the cost of a consultation with a doctor was too expensive but when we were in Mazatlan we paid £1.13p to see a doctor and get a prescription and £3.97 for all our tablets!

The road to Durango took us through our first real jungle and up through the mountains towards the Central Highlands, the road is called the 'Devil's Backbone' although the actual Devil's Backbone is a series of cliffs about halfway to Durango.

You don't understand, it's a jungle out there!

Isn't she pretty......still.

More mountain views.

The variety of wildlife increases with lizards in the road and butterflies like folded sheets of A4 paper but the jungle encroaches right up to and in some cases over the road leaving no room for error on the hairpins or when passing oncoming vehicles.

Double whammy, Truck on the left, goats on the right. HIT THE GOATS!

And sometimes the big boys come unstuck!

Along the way we crossed the Tropic of Cancer.

The start of the Devil's backbone.

The view from El Espinazo del Diablo (Devil's spine)

We stopped at Salto for fuel and a coffee, I managed to secretly film this military patrol as they took a lunch break. Everybody was busy eating except the guy at the back of the truck who had his eye on me.

Go on Sue hold this bug to show how big it is....it's dead, honest.

Durango is a bustling colonial city with a network of one way streets that the GPS failed to get to grips with, we managed to navigate by riding parallel to our destination route and hoped as some point it we would get us back on track. Dan in San Diego had recommended a number of hotels in Mexico most are close to the main square or city centre which is great for sightseeing but not so great on our riding stress levels!, we ate dinner that night overlooking the plaza and cathederal seated on the balcony of a first floor restaurant which was very romantic but unfortunately the food failed to live up to the occasion.

Isn't she pretty, what a guy!

Overlooking the square.

Note to self..must get an iron.

Durango Cathedral.

It started to rain at some point after we went to sleep, but I was awoken not by the rain but by somebody (in the context of this story somebody is actually pronounced somebastard!) belting the living daylights out of a drum kit. I am not musically gifted enough to determine whether or not what I heard was actually skilled playing or just someone out to piss people off....he suceeded with me!

The next day was an easy run to Zacatecas, a town founded by the Spanish over 400 years ago after discovering rich veins of gold and silver in the surrounding hills.

The Teleferico (cable car) to El Cerro de la Bufa.

The view from above Zacatecas.

The convent on top of La Cerra de la Bufa (formally an asylum).

We also took a tour of the El Eden mine, one of the first and most productive mines in the area which was declared a world heritage site in 1993. To read about the mine go here:

http://www.bestday.com/Editorial/Mina-El-Eden/

"No of course you don't look silly in that hat"

One of the original vaults is now a subterranean nightclub.

I had to get a shot of this! it's what the well dressed men of Zacatecas are wearing..or, how I looked in 1974.

Zacatecas Cathedral

More Colonial Architecture.

Yes, I know the fountain is coming out of the top of my head.

A safe way to practice your Spanish.

The Entance to the Aranzazu Chapel.

Inside the chapel,

Aranzazu Chapel

Just another driving hazard in the city.

Loreto Chapel.

Another church

And another

From San Luis Potosi we headed for Xilitla to see 'Las Pozas' the gardens created by Edward James an eccentric Englishman who became attracted to the area as the place to nurture his obsession with growing orchids, one year a severe frost killed his whole collection and from that moment he set about creating a surrealist garden out of concrete. The man was obviously as mad as a box of frogs but there is no denying that his work over almost 50 years has left a legacy that is only now been recognised as an architectural marvel.

Before arriving in Xilitla we stopped to view the falls at Tamasopo and had lunch in one of the local cafes, the great thing about eating in places like this is if you can't explain what you want then you simply go into the kitchen and have a look in the pot.

I'll have some of that and one of them......

Downtown Tamasopo.

Tamasopo Falls.

You get the idea.

You won't look so tough in a burger

Xilitla is a small hilltop town in the middle of the jungle we arrived in the afternoon and had been given the name of a hotel by Dan in San Diego, unfortunately it was Sunday and all the streets around the square are blocked by market stalls. As you can guess the hotel we were looking for overlooks the square and hard as we tried we couldn''t get near it, in the end we gave up and found the nearest one with a room. Xilitla is not on the list of must see tourist locations and as such the quality of the hotels leaves something to be desired.