Canada to Argentina 2010

[betitolara]

Very true

We only break stuff we can repair

Originally Posted by ChiTown

Just burn that into your mind, even the worst of situations while traveling is better than a good day at work....

Ride on and stop breaking stuff, you have a long ways to go!

[betitolara]

When I woke up I was exhausted. Alberto's back was also not to good after all our adventuring yesterday so we decided to stay another night in Caborca. This took the pressure off and we had a very leisurely morning. The breakfast at the hotel was excellent and the staff extremely friendly and helpful throughout the day.

Some of the hotel staff

I didn't have many great achievements today: updated the blog, I watched the second half of Chelsea vs Arsenal, I took a nap. It was a pretty low key day, but it felt really good. I watched the Simpsons in Spanish in hopes that I might pick up a thing or two.

In the evening Marcelino, his family, and Emanuel took us out for dinner. Marcelino ordered for us and it was excellent food. Homemade, authentic tortillas are the best! They also took us on a tour of town. We got to see the church where a battle occurred between the Mexicans and the Americans. It was very interesting because you could see the bullet holes on the walls from the battle and the church was very pretty and large.

The gang out at dinner. Salud! A cow's head? weird Coolest mono around Concepcion Church where Gringos and Mexicanos fought in the past You cans still see bullet holes on the church's walls

Thank you Marcelino, Emanuel and your families for all your generosity and kindness. We have enjoyed our time in Caborca very much.

[betitolara]

There was a crazy thunderstorm in the middle of the night; huge thunder, hard rain and lightening. The rain, or maybe the thunder, was so strong it triggered the alarm on one of the bikes. Just earlier yesterday Alberto was talking to someone who said it hadn't rained in 3 years. I guess the streak was broken. Everything was pretty much dry when we woke up though. Just a few puddles here and there.

We stopped by Marcelino and Emanuel's family factory to say goodbye in the morning. On the way we called in at the Autozone for some chain lube and a map. Success with the chain lube but the tiny map was like 129 CAD and the book set was almost 200 CAD. We passed on that one. I guess we will keep the inaccurrate free BMW issue map. We said hi and goodbye to Marcelino and Emanuel. We also got to meet their father and sister, who helped us out with directions on the new road.


The road we didn't know of ... 'la costera'


The flora around


Close-up


Riding high


Typical desert road with no-one around


One tall & lonely cactus


Talking about lonely cactus ..hehe

The road to Desemboques was windy. The road was also shockingly straight but at least that gave us a chance to admire the scenery. If you grew up in Arizona it probably wouldn't be that impressive but for me it was great. Once we got to Puerto Lobos you could see the Sea of Cortez too. The ocean was a nice addition to the mountains and catus forests. When we reached Puerto Libertad we stopped for gas and a small lunch break at the beach. The water was beautiful and definitely worth the drive. The highway, which wasn't on our map, is almost done being built. There were a few sections that weren't finished where we had to take dirt detours. It was like being on a motocross circuit: up and down, up and down.

Some of the scenery: A cactus forest Puerto Libertad El Mar de Cortez Too close to the water

Puerto Libertad and the Sea of Cortez Pelicano U guys going south too? Naomi likes the shade Wrecked ship Time for a walk Our babies Un barco a la deriva

After Puerto Libertad the road travels inland. The scenery is more of the same: mountains + cactus but we enjoyed it. There was even a section of road that was slightly flooded for those out there that need a little adventure.


......................


First things first


Alberto goes first


Flooded section of the Costera HWY


.................................................. .............


'Danger is my business / Yo amo el peligro' - Cool McCool


Do you call this a highway?

The road finally took us to our destination: Bahia de Kino. What a beautiful place. We met a Chilean, Francesco, who has lived here for several years and he assures us that this is the best place on earth. He kindly invited us into his home and let us camp on his roof. It doesn't get any better than falling asleep under the stars listening to waves crashing on the nearby beach.

Bahia de Kino

Our view from dinner at the beach Kino (no) sunset Ceviche Mexicano Bedtime

[betitolara]

When I woke up because it was light out I was already starting to sweat. I don't know if I'm cut out for these warmer climates. We went for a walk on the beach and had a swim. The water was amazing. It was the perfect temperature: score 1 point for the Sea of Cortez. There were lots of fish and some nice waves. When we walked back to Franceso's house he invited us in for breakfast. We had a lovely breakfast with him and Norma. Thank you very much guys for your hospitality.


Waking up in B. de Kino

Saying goodbye to Francesco (and Norma)

By the time had packed the bikes we were both pretty sweaty (it seems to be a common theme) so it was nice to get moving and feel a bit of a breeze. Our cooling vests are working well. That was a good score in Tuscon. The road was pretty boring to Hermosillo, and longer than I had expected as well. But Bahia de Kino was worth the detour. It's a very nice beach town. We stayed in Kino Nuevo, so I can't comment about Kino Vejo. When we reached Hermosillo a cop pulled us over. I didn't realize he was trying to pull us over (since I was looking for road signs) until he chased us down. As it turns out we were speeding in a school zone. When my options are: 1) Follow the speed limits and get squashed by cement trucks, or 2) Have an outstanding ticket in Mexico I think I'll always choose option 1. The funny thing is, for anyone who knows and rides with me, is that I was leading... so MY reckless driving got us pulled over. Now there is a shocker. So once the traffic police officer nearly killed us pulling us over he gave us the sob story: I'm keeping your licenses until you pay, you're wasting my time because I had to chase you down, blah blah. He even threatened to take Alberto to jail at one point. Anyways, long story short we got our licenses back, but wasted a bunch of time talking to the cop in the heat.


Lunch time on the side of the road


This wouldn't fly up in Canada.... no way!


Un pequeno Saltamonte

After finding our way out of Hermosillo and onto HWY 16, boy do I miss TomTom when navigating in cities, it was smooth sailing. The road was really straight and it was still pretty hot outside until we got through Tecoripa. Boy, then the twisties start flying at you from all angles. It was hard to fully enjoy it though for fear of oncoming traffic not being in their lane. Still it was a welcomed change, not to mention the glorious cooler temperatures of the mountains. The scenery was also very nice, but there weren't really any places to pull over and get photos. I guess the spectacular views will have to live on in my memories.

A small taste of the scenery

Sun sets behind the mountains

We are resting our tired bodies in Yecora tonight. Sounds like Alama, QC with the people speeding outside the hotel with the music playing loud.

[TK-LA]

Originally Posted by betitolara

If BMW was smart they'd pay you for this photo and use it in their ad campaign. Very cool.

[WarLlama]

Sweet pics!

[betitolara]

Wouldn't it be nice? ... maybe an ad campaign for Pelican cases and Rukka too!

Originally Posted by TK-LA

If BMW was smart they'd pay you for this photo and use it in their ad campaign. Very cool.

[betitolara]

I'm not sure how I feel about riding HWY 16. I can't fully appreciate the scenery because I'm paying attention to the curves, and I can't fully enjoy the curves from fear of oncoming traffic (oncoming Drivers here cut the curves very aggressively and end up on your lane). We had a few close calls in the first 45min of driving. We didn't see any tarantulas today, only butterflies. People who come to Canada to travel sometimes worry about bears. Me not so much. A bear is never going to sneak up on you; he won't be hiding in your tent or boot. A spider however can be much more sneaky. Therefore spiders kind of freak me out. I'd prefer to continue seeing large spiders on the road only.

One view from the road Photo time This is the look I get when I take too long taking photos Our flea infested guardian The hotel we didn't know were going to stay for 3 days

The road was nice, but hard to fully enjoy. As the day wore on I started to feel progressively more sick. I was feeling a little sick yesterday, and today was more of the same but I felt really bad by the evening. We got a hotel in a Mining Town (Cahuisori, Chihuahua) on HWY 16.

Our neighbour at the hotel offered to drive us to a waterfall he knew of in the area. It was an amazing view, and we wouldn't have stopped had we been on our own. Thank you David for showing us the amazing view. The Basaseachi Waterfall alone had been worth the trip to Copper Canyon.


A well worth detour: Basaseachi Falls

The falls and the amazing rock formations surrounding them The falls Cool geology El panorama

Unfortunately after getting back from the scenic side trip I (Naomi) was suffering from violent stomach cramps and pretty much had an unpleasant night.

[betitolara]

We decided to stay another day in Cahuisori because I (Naomi) still wasn't feeling too hot. I don't really have much to say about today. I just felt like crap and watched Mexican television all day. I'm getting a lot better at understanding the Simpsons Mexican style.

[betitolara]

Today our goal was to make it to Creel. Some would laugh since going from Cahuisori to Creel isn't very far (people go from Hermosillo to Creel in a day) but I (Naomi) still wasn't back at 100% so there was no need to push the issue. That and Creel has more or less been our destination for 3 days now. haha

We took the most direct route to Creel by getting off HWY 16 early (my map lead me to believe we would take a right at La Junta). We were warned that it was not all paved, or at least Alberto was. The road was fine, but rough road wasn't exactly what my stomach ordered. Thankfully only a small part of it was rough. There was one section where construction was happening that was really bad. They had just laid down a thick surface of dirt. Luckily for us one of the construction workers told us he would be rolling it soon and that we could follow him up. I watched a Jeep Cherokee struggle getting up the hill so I was happy to wait; and as it turned out once it had been rolled it was fine.

Waiting for the roller to work his magic Waiting for the road to re-open Having lunch (outside a restaurant) in San Juanito, Chihuahua

We stocked up on the essentials in San Juanito: gas, cash and groceries. We arrived in Creel early in the day, which was nice and my body was happy since it was feeling a little under the weather by the time we found somewhere to stay. We are camping, yay! I know that sounds weird but I like camping (we really like our tent). Also there is a quad/mountain bike track at the campground so Alberto definitely got his money's worth riding around on his bike. The campground is fairly fancy and could be likened to a KOA. It's called Hotel Villa Mexicana.


Oh... those 'motocicles'

Alberto having fun at the campground Soft suspension :( Funnest campground around! Camping food! Once again, we were the only ones camping The sun goes down in Creel Fire clowds

[MrCheeky]

Great report. As a fellow BCer who has his sights on a F800GS and embarking on some adventures of my own, I'm reading your entries and enjoying your photos. Subscribed!

[betitolara]

We stayed another day in Creel at the campground and took a day trip to El Divisidaro. We also coined a new term today: The Mexican Hello. Here's the deal. The Mexican Hello is when a driver in the oncoming lane is driving in your lane, or moves into your lane once he sees you. The driver waits until the last second then returns to his lane. He waves as he passes you. We decided that the driver drives in your lane to get your attention so that he can say hello as he passes, hence the 'Mexican Hello'.

The ride to Divisidaro is only 40km to we had a relaxing morning and then set off late morning. The temperature was pretty much ideal for riding. The road was a bit rough at the beginning: potholes and gravel. It got nicer near the end and there were lots of good curves. But you always have to be on guard for the Mexican Hello. When we got to the end we paid to get into the Barranca del Cobre area, which turned out to be a steal at 40 pesos for the two of us.


Overlooking the canyon

Spectacular views Locals Nomi The new gondola Alberto Fancy hotel

We went to the end first, no particular reason we just thought we'd see what was on offer and work our way back. At the end was the Piedra Volada, which we chose as our first photographic stop. There was a road that went to a gondola, and it turned out to be our lucky day. It is a recent addition (the whole complex isn't finished yet) and it was running for free this afternoon. It was pretty awesome as it travels across a section of the canyon. Oh boy it was an impressive view. There is also going to be a restaurant/tourist complex but it wasn't finished yet. We did sneak in though to enjoy the view and check out the glass floor. The views at Divisidaro are well worth the small detour and the new additions (gondola etc...) will surely bring more tourists out.

The Telescopico de Barrancas del Cobre El paisaje From inside the teleferico The gondolas pass each other at 35km/hr Inside the future restaurant View from the future restaurante Little girl begging for 10 pesos

[betitolara]

Thanks amigo! glad you're enjoying our RR.

Cheers,
Alberto.

Originally Posted by MrCheeky

Great report. As a fellow BCer who has his sights on a F800GS and embarking on some adventures of my own, I'm reading your entries and enjoying your photos. Subscribed!

[OldAndBusted]

Originally Posted by betitolara

front page material

[betitolara]

We got frost overnight, but as soon as the sun came out everything melted. We enjoyed the road this morning the most: still twisty but with more visibility through the corners. We had planned to make a side trip to Sinforosa Canyon View Point but never saw the signs. I guess we should do better research next time, or any research since we didn't really do any.

Naomi down the road Road to Parral Vistas

At around lunch time I had an accident: I ran into a horse, or rather the horse ran into me. Alberto was leading and it was a straight bit of road. Out of nowhere this horse T-boned me. I never even saw it, and neither did Alberto when he drove by. It hit the front of my bike hard and redirected my path to the opposing ditch; where I crashed. Despite a few scratches on my helmet and crash bars, and one or two holes in my pants I was okay.

Using my helmet as a 'safety triangle'

My crashed bike One of the many spots where we found horse-fur on the bike When Alberto saw the bike thought that the trip was probably over What are those white marks on the road ? (see photo below) Horse fur! and Horse-shit!

Since this is my second time crashing this bike into a ditch I can undoubtedly say the BMW F800GS lives up to it's ad campaign of being unstoppable. Due to the nature of the accident I was expecting the bike to be unrideable, but all that was needed was an adjustment to my barkbuster and mirror and some zapstraps for the pelican case (which of course disconnected from the bike). The horse is probably in worse shape since he rolled and left skid marks on the road. The other thing that I observed was that not a single passing car stopped to see if we needed help getting the bike out of the ditch, and to top it off when they went around us they drove as close as possible.

Repairs being done

The other good thing about the crash (the first being that I was okay) was that it fixed something on my bike. My starter button had been sticking and it was not sticking anymore. Bonus.

The road was straightening out quite a bit by the afternoon as we headed for Parral. Thankfully that helped us make good time because we were delayed quite a bit by the crash. We spent the night in downtown Parral.

Crash damages: