The Baja Divide – Part 2 (Valle de los Cirios)

After a rest day, we left town, Sarah the proud new owner of a large sombrero – the latest component of our heat management strategy!

Opting to skip a section that had been reported by multiple riders as a horrendous sandy mess, we jumped on the highway and, with a strong tailwind, cruised at 25km/h all the way to San Ignacio, 75km away. These bikes can roll surprisingly well on asphalt!

San Ignacio came as a complete surprise – an oasis in the desert, complete with a freshwater lake and hundreds of date palms. Moreover the central square, shaded by large green trees, offered a wonderful, cool retreat of the sort that I had been used to seeing in South America but that had not been so prevalent in the Mexican desert thus far. San Ignacio is home to a ‘Casa de Ciclistas’, which offer either free or low-cost accommodation to touring cyclists. I had taken advantage of several on my trip through South America and they were always good places to either meet people or get useful local knowledge. The highlight of this casa, besides the kind owners, turned out to be the cutest of chihuahuas that you’ve ever seen/met. I’ve never been a fan of small dogs – the ones I’ve encountered have generally tended to be yappy and a bit rat-like. Canela, however, was absolutely beautiful and melted both our hearts. That night, she slept outside the inner of the tent, but leaning against Sarah. Meanwhile, we plotted how we could kidnap her and where exactly Sarah would stash her on the bike. If only we had panniers…