Jan 27--Such a Great Day, It Has to be Broken up into Three Parts!

Part one of today was the ride into Mulége. We didn't have anymore river crossings today, thankfully! However, we had some scary as hell descents! I managed to ride all but one, that both Brent and I walked down (not an easy task either). Brent crashed on one, but he was okay. I just hung on, and talked to myself the whole way down (sit back...slower...more brake...SLOWER...)! Again, the scenery was beautiful.

Mountains as far as the eye can see!

After several more ups and downs, we came out to the flat section. The ever present headwind became much more noticeable on the flat. In fact, it was horrible! It was also quite sandy, and the sand was blowing. We were plugging along, Brent aways ahead of me, and Harry about the same distance ahead of Brent, when I looked at my Garmin and realized we were off route. I hollered to Brent, and he hollered to Harry, but Harry could hear us in the wind, and just kept on riding. When Harry got out of sight, we turned around and went back to find the turn we missed. We figured Harry would eventually realize he was off route, or he would find another way (it's said that all roads lead to Mulége). The sand was blowing so badly that we covered our mouths (me with my buff, and Brent with his bandana).

Once we got off the river plain, we were in the shelter of some trees. It was much better. We were also no longer going into the wind. Before too long, we came to the pavement on the outskirts of Mulége. We rode on into town. We came to the arch into Mulége proper.

Part two of today--Meeting Heike Pirngruber (aka Push Bike Girl)

We were hungry, so we started looking for a restaurant. Who should we see walking down the street? Tom! We followed him to where Sarah, Joe, and Leah were sitting. They told us where they were staying, and that there was a laundromat nearby. They had come in the day before and were hoping to get a boat to take them across the Bahia de Conception, but it was too windy, and no boats would be going until Sunday. Sarah said she had met Push Bike Girl in a cafe just around the corner. Heike Pirngruber is another gal who I follow through her blog. 

We really wanted to get something to eat, so we went in search of some food. Around the corner was a bakery. We bee-lined it to that. As we choosing what to have, this gal comes out to say hi. It was Heike! She said, "Hi, I'm Heike." I said, "I know! I know you, but you don't know me!" I told her she was famous. Just like Tom and Sarah, and Nick and Lael, she laughed. She has been on the road for 4 years. 

Eventually, we decided to have some lunch there. Harry had rolled up (he also knew who Heike was), and we all joined Heike at her table. Her and Harry discussed their plans. They both want to ferry to the mainland after the Peninsula. It was great getting to meet Heike in person! I'm meeting so many famous bikey people here in Mexico!

Part three--Going on a mission to the Mission

Tom, Sarah, Joe, and Leah were all staying at Hotel Mulége. We decided we would stay there too. We rode over and checked into the room next to Joe and Leah (this is the second time we've stayed in the same hotel). Harry decided to find his own place since they only have two beds in a room here. After we showered, Tom said they were going to go check out the Mission. We said we would go too. On the way, we dropped off our laundry at the laundromat while the others went to a place where they could get ceviche. The shop was closed, so we went back to the bakery/cafe. I got a delicious oatmeal/raisin/coconut cookie. Joe and Leah saw a boat on a trailer headed toward the water. Joe went after it to see if they could take them across the bay (nope). In the meantime, Tom, Sarah, Brent, and I started walking toward the big white building up on the hill. We were looking for a road that went up. We finally found one--I'll call it dachshund alley. We saw three dachshunds. The first one was a puppy. He was very cute.

Then we saw the daddy, and later, the mama. There were a number of other dogs too (there always are in Mexico). 

After passing a cool cemetery, we came to a dead end.

We turned around and went back through dachshund alley. Back to the main road, we saw a sly-dog route that seemed to go up to the big white building.

We walked up the hill, but came to a spot where there was a sign in Spanish that said please do not pass through. We were thinking of going anyway, and just saying no habla espanol, if someone stopped us, but a bunch of little dogs came barking at us like mad.

There was even a pug barking through a drain pipe! Sarah got a video of that one. We had turned around, when a lady came out. We asked her how to get to the Mission. She said, "The Museo?" Figuring the Mission must now be a museum, we said yes. She told us how to get there, and we finally made it.

Couldn't tell if this was an original Frida Kahlo

Boat from a tree

                                   
                                                                The cells

Much to our surprise, the big white building on the hill was not the Mission, but the old prison, now a museum. We checked it out anyway. We could see the Mission across town on another hill! When we walked back down, we came out pretty close to the hotel, but we saw some interesting things the way we went!

Later, Brent and I went to find dinner. We ended up at the same restaurant that Heike and Harry were at. Then Tom and Sarah and Andrew (who we last saw in Vizcaino) joined us. There was a fire in the fireplace and we all huddled around it as it is pretty cold here. Brent and I had fish tacos. They were pretty good. 

Mulége is very much a "gringo" town. I heard more English speakers today than I have the whole trip. 

Oh, one other thing. Brent got a good sized puncture in his front tire this morning. He stopped to pump it up, but the hole was too big for the sealant to plug it. He actually got to use one of the tire plugs!

See the hole?

Tire plug inserted--worked great!