Day 12 - Mazatlan Ferry Port

After a night of what felt like some evil torture, I got up to find some coffee whilst Jorik was easing out the pain in his hip and his knee. It had gotten chilly in the night, so I had put my socks and riding trousers back on and with my berkies in full swing, I went down to the canteen area to find some coffee. The canteen was heaving and I made my way to the back of the queue, I actually felt that the crappy coffee that I have had so far, no offense but I kind of like straight up instant coffee, sorry! Looking at the queue I decided it wasn’t worth it. Back up in the chamber of horror, Jorik was packing up his stuff. The sun was up, and so we made our way on to the deck to watch the ferry come into the harbour. We bumped into Saq on the way up, who we hadn’t met on the Ferry. The night before had been spent trying to find a comfortable way to sleep in quite possibly the most uncomfortable airplane seat you have ever sat in, in a room with a bunch of snoring people for about 13 hours. It was bollox. The approach to Mazatlan was pretty cool. Some pretty impressive landscapes, but nothing spectacular, it was a ferry port after all. As our bikes were down in the darkest pits of the ferry, we knew we would have to wait some time until we had the opportunity to unload. But we headed back to our seats to grab our gear and join the 100 + people who had to get off this ferry trip from hell, not to mention all the trucks and cars, and our bikes would probably be last.

We did get unloaded and off the ferry, it took a while, but we made a plan to catch up with Saq for some food before heading south for a place called San Blas. We were going to take the longer route as it didn’t include toll roads. Saq said he would hang around for a bit and them maybe join us down there later. We exchanged details, and hit the road, our first ride in mainland Mexico to a place we have no idea about. It was pretty cool actually. Loads of twisty roads and great views. A few longer sections that were a bit mundane and it was hot as balls. The temperature whilst travelling during the day definitely is something to behold. I must give the guys at Fly Racing (https://www.flyracing.com/) another plug. Your gear rocks. The vent system on the jacket is next level. Way better than what I had for my gear on the Africa trip, and that shit got hot! Very nicely done. The vents on the trousers really kick in when you stand up on the footpegs whilst moving. It is great to cool the legs down, which is not pleasant, particularly when taking off one’s boots at the end of a long day in the saddle. Thanks guys, you are awesome.

Coming into San Blas, our plan was to hit a bar on the beachfront, grab a cold Pacifico, and then ask where we could find a cheap place for the night. We didn’t need or want anything too expensive. The ride into the town was great, beautiful buildings and courtyards, but the cobbled streets were a bit hairy on the bikes. We pulled right up to the beachfront, in fact we rode over the edge of the road, across the pedestrian area, and into a plaza type arrangement. I was pretty knackered and parked the bike and was ready to get off and grab a beer. A bunch of police/security people come over and politely told us to remove ourselves from the area. Back on the road, the next place along was clearly a bar, so we bumped the kerb there and parked up right out front. They were more than happy to see us, and we grabbed a beer and took in what was a very nice set up. A little fishing hut kind of thing, but very cool. We got chatting with a few local guys who are sport fisherman, amongst other things. Alex, who owns a hardware store, and sport fishing business, and Ignacio, who owns a tackle shop, and sports fishing business. Alex kindly got us a couple of beers, but before we opened them, he put some salt on the top, and then the lime juice straight into the beer. Very nicely done, and thanks for the beers. We saw off the local businessmen, both in what looked like pretty new Mercedes Benz cars. I suppose the sports fishing business is good in San Blas. We had been advised that we could get a cabin on the beach for about mxn350 for the night, nothing fancy, but on the beach. It was the 6th shack after the turn into the sketchy part of town and called Stoner’s Surf Camp. We pulled up and the Senora at the front desk suggested that it was going to be mxn900 for the night for both of us. We agreed on mxn800 and had to wait for the cabins to be cleaned, which I suppose was a plus, but they were on the beach so that shit is getting sandy. Firmly settled in our rickety cabin that moved all the time, we popped down to the beach for a swim. The place is spot on, and just the sort of thing I was hoping to experience on the trip, definitely a win for me. Saq had been in touch and asked to meet up with us. We dropped him a pin and when he arrived, he was only there for about 20 minutes, he decided that this was not his scene, and he needed a proper hotel. We agreed to grab some food and as we had showered in the pretty basic facilities and were thinking about our stomachs, we jumped on the bikes in shorts and flip flops and rode into the town for dinner. The evenings conversation got a little controversial and after what might have been a sign when water started pissing out of a drain all over Saq’s very nice bike, we decided to call it a night and head back to our cabin on the beach before it got too dark. It was a fine evening, but something important happened. We decided on names for the girls, proper names, not the “stand-in names” that we had initially given them. My bike is now called Cassy, after Cazadores Tequila, and Jorik’s bike is called Julia, after her grandfather, Don Julio (but that’s for Jorik to embellish on the back story), we will call her Jules!