I’m in San Carlos, Mexico, where the name of the game is rest and relaxation. After ~5 days out on the bike I was plenty relaxed and ready to dig back into TopoFusion, among other things. But things change and here I am a stone’s throw from the beach.
The first thing was that my development machine (and only machine) croaked. I was jamming away one night and the next morning… nothing. After investigation it turns out my P4 CPU fried. Not too bad for a computer that’s 5+ years old and has been worked HARD throughout.
I vividly remember the days when new chips and rapid advancements in memory and power had most computer users in the upgrade path frequently. It’s very hard to believe that mine is 5 years old and still does everything I need it to.
Still, it was time for an upgrade and the parts are on the way. In meantime, I can’t work on TF. And Paula’s passport / visa situation was coming unglued. It took a solid eight hours of reading, form filling, notarizing and waiting in line before it was all sorted out. She’s going to China with a group from her school, and the story of all her passport woes is too long to tell. Through the wonder of overnight delivery she should have everything she needs the day before she leaves. Hopefully.
The passport delay caused her to miss the group heading to Mexico. She also learned the destination was San Carlos, not Rocky Point (I had already done some research on Rocky Point, but oh well). So I found myself driving into Mexico on Memorial Day weekend. By the time I dealt with the passport, my computer and driving across Mexico, I was in definitely in need of some R and R.
It sure is nice to be here. The ocean and beaches are not a huge draw for me, but anytime I wind up here (every few years) I’m always surprised how interesting it is. Still, for me it’s like snow skiing — once every couple years is enough.
I got some last minute GPX tracks from Lee for a couple of rides he’s done here. I still haven’t checked out the singltrack “race course” by the beach, but I have been doing some interesting exploring right from the hotel’s front door.
There’s an amazing network of 2-tracks, jeep trails and cow paths out here. No signs, no management, no nothing. I’m not sure who “owns” the land, but clearly the motos have found it.
There’s a great feeling just wandering around and seeing what you can find. Some of the cow paths are quite fun. As long as they stay free of brush, all is well. One took me to a small mountain pass, just as sunset last night. I was admiring the absolutely foreign landscape around me (elephant trees, cardon cactus, yellow grass, paper trees) when a small family of javelina scooted out of the bushes, snorted, and carried on. I also found the local trash dump road — more trash than you can shake a stick at.
The mountains are quite intriguing here. They remind me somewhat of the Tinajas Altas range along the Camino Diablo. Multicolor and multilayered rock and not much vegetation.
This morning Paula and I did some longer exploring and found a huge waterfall (dry of course), but at the bottom was quite an oasis. There were dozens of palm trees and other greenery nestled together, including some growing out of cracks. The local Coatimundi was hanging out there, but he took off when he saw us.
We then headed out to Manga Palapa, a semi-remote beach that is several miles from where the pavement ends. It was interesting to see a somewhat less disturbed beach environment, and all the marine life associated with it.
Paula is out scuba diving (I didn’t register/pay for it) and I’ve got a tail winds article to write (not to mention a GET report to finish!!). Here’s a pic from a favorite section of the trip for me:
Quiet, smooth-as-a-baby’s-bottom 2-tracks with 180 degree views and dynamic clouds. The “WAHOO” descent.
