leaving the mexican mainland

mazatlan back to the heat and humidity of the coast, something we know all too well from belize and the one thing we did not miss. mazatlan is largely a resort town but we avoided the northern tourist strip and spent our couple days in old mazatlan, which is a bustling city in its own right and also home to mexico´s largest pacific port. thanks again to the door to door service of the green angels, who dropped us directly at a bike shop, our bikes received much needed servicing before baja, and abby got another set of tires. in celebration of our safe passage across the mainland, abby had her first ever ceviche, while bridget devoured an american-style hamburger that nearly killed her, but it certainly quenched her craving for a burger for the next 2,000 miles, if not ever. due to the ferry schedule, we were delayed an unexpected day in mazatlan, but thanks to manuel--a local who we first met in the bike shop when he came to our rescue as a translator and interpreter (manuel is a technical mountain biker but also boasts excellent bi-lingual skills)--the extra day was well spent. manuel took us sailing on his simple rig to isla de piedra, where we had beers under a shady palapa and were entertained by two local brothers who made at our tableside handheld puzzles from wire cuttings. thanks again, manuel. we hope to meet again someday--perhaps to cycle la ruta maya...

on friday (aug 18th) we caught the 18hr ferry to pichilingue, just 20km outside of la paz. after our first-class experiences on other mexican transportation, we were surprised to find the ferry much like an oversized chicken bus. with most the bathrooms out of order (in the most gruesome sense) before the ship even left port, we (the lone gringos) were packed into the salon section alongside friendly and huge mexican families and their incredible collections of dirty, naked children and oversized luggage (baskets). at one point the only people awake in the salon section were bridget and a four-year-old boy with a disturbing and incessant itch, which he went at double-fisted and vigourously. bridget now has fleas. but we have made it to baja, 20 hrs later, having watched the sunrise over the sea of cortes and the peninsula for the first time. it is saturday, aug 19th, and we are in la paz, from where only one road leads north, a la frontera...