Beach and Water at Sunset

Having left the Sierra‘s and the excitement there I have been finding the careful drivers on paved roads in the coastal plain somewhat tame.   I drove to the coast at Mazatlan yesterday and hardly took any photos.  I did however catch my first glimpse of the Pacific en route and felt a small sense of accomplishment at having arrived intact and happy with my adventures so far.

Ghoulish Drying Squid

Restless I woke up ready to leave Mazatlan for San Blas – a small less developed fishing village 4 hours south.  Starting the day with goat stew and marlin tacos for $4 that were sublime, left me feeling much more content. The free coastal highway 15 was in good repair and other than a tractor trailer crashed in the jungle after hitting an SUV, the ride was pleasant and comparatively short.

Heron? at dawn on the pier

I arrived in San Blas and setup my tent for two days of camping on the beach.  Cheap beer, the freshest seafood I’ve had, and no highrise development is a good start for a little recuperation before the short hop down to Puerto Vallarta.  Mosquitoes and sand fleas be damned.  Photos are of a boatride through the mangrove swamp over the road from the town.

Mazatlan Working Neighbourhood	Mazatlan Working Neighbourhood	Ruta 15 Libre to San Blas	Ruta 15 Libre to San Blas
San Blas Playa Azul at Dawn	San Blas Playa Azul at Dawn	Sitting San Blas Playa Azul at Dawn	San Blas Playa Azul at Dawn
San Blas Playa Azul at Dawn	Bird and breakwater light	Dog following me around on beach
Mangrove Movies	Mangrove Trip	Mangrove Trip	Mangrove Trip
Mangrove Trip	Mangrove Trip	Mangrove Trip	Mangrove Trip
Mangrove Trip	Mangrove Trip	Drying squid	Drying squid
Puffer fish	Las Islitas Beach	Las Islitas Beach	Las Islitas Beach
San Blas Playa Azul

Choice, Mazatlan, to San Blas, MX

Marlboro Posing

After the gearshift soldering by the fellows on the river in Urique I packed up all my still half-wet gear and left the elderly hippy American’s hostel and made for El Fuerte, Sinaloa, MX.  All was going swimmingly as I crested the canyon with great confidence and no small sense of satisfaction that I had so far navigated some of the toughest motorcycling terrain around.



Bike after wipe-out above Urique

During the night the workmen had decided to grade the road some more and so there were large dunes of red clay dust and rocks freshly deposited on the trail.  As I rounded one corner I thought to myself what a large pile there is in this corner. Then my front wheel slid out, then my back one as I eased off the front brakes, then the bike went down to my left and I flew over it and felt the bike flip over behind me and land on it’s right side.

Gathering myself I check the bike – damage report:
- bent faring, the bike didn’t turn left so well
- paint showing it’s true colours
- GPS mount, snapped
- shin, minorly scraped

So feeling insecure on the bike I continued over the spine of the Sierra’s warily passing over the serious construction over which I broke the gearshift yesterday.  Of course the GPS no longer was powered as the new adapter had broken en route and I had no idea where I was going but thought I should just follow the largest road and hope it would lead me out of the mountains sometime near nightfall.

Dusk came and the brilliant stars faded into sight whilst still among the mountains with little petrol remaining.  After 1.5 hours riding in the dark with no towns to speak of a Pemex gas station with OXXO (like 7-11) glowed like the most welcome beacon I had seen in a long time. White with dust I inquired to find out I had arrived in Choix, MX – not my destination but happily a sufficient settlement to support a hotel, a Pemex, and 24 hour bank machines.

An abandoned Catholic church



I’ve made it out of the Sierras for now…

Entre Amigos Hostel Urique	Entre Amigos Hostel Urique	Entre Amigos Hostel Urique	Leaving Urique
Leaving Urique	Leaving Urique	Leaving Urique	Leaving Urique
Leaving Urique	Leaving Urique	Leaving Urique	Leaving Urique
Leaving Urique	Urique From Above	Leaving Urique	Urique From Above
Urique canyon	Around Urique	Above Urique	Above Urique
Around Urique	Urique Canyon	Above Urique	Above Urique
Above Urique	Around Urique	Urique Canyon	Above Urique
Above Urique	Around Urique	Urique Canyon	Above Urique
Another Bike Pic From Urique	Top View Urique canyon	Highest view of Urique	Looking miserable, feeling top of the world
Bike after wipe-out above Urique	Sun starting to go down trying to escape the Sierra	Marlboro Posing	A ruined truck
A town before Tubares	Sierra's at sunse	Sierras at sunset	A river that I'm sure I crossed
An abondoned Catholic church	An abondoned Catholic church	El Rio	Bimbo Truck

The GPS USB adapter (2nd one) failed leaving Urique so this map will have too many straight lines – broken routes… but for anyone downloading it, just stay on the main (mining) road the whole way and you’ll find yourself in Choix – the Pemex beacon!)

Urique to Choix, MX