Bienvenido a Mexico

After yesterday’s official decision to finish the North American perimeter by cycling to Florida, today began with the realization that starting said ride today might not be the smartest thing to do. I certainly WANT to start my ride to Florida today but this part of the country is currently experiencing some unseasonably high temperatures. The heat isn’t particularly unbearable along the coast, then again, I like the heat. However, the heat in the desert has been toping 40 degrees on a regular basis. Not exactly ideal for long rides.

In talking with Craig and Sue yesterday, they were both very helpful in offering suggestions of things to in San Diego area. One of those suggestions was to take a bus down to Mexico. Ensenada to be exact. Sue suggested I could hang out there for a bit while waiting for the desert to return to more cycle-friendly temperatures.

After weighing the pros and cons of that option – the biggest con probably being my lack of Spanish speaking skills – I decided that a few days in Mexico would be a good idea. So, instead of heading east today, I’m going to take Sue’s suggestion and take a bit of a vacation in Mexico.

Craig and Sue were once again so helpful in making this detour possible. Not only are they storing my bike for me, they also provided me with a backpack to use and they drove me to the trolley which would take me to the border. From there I would walk across the border to catch a bus to Ensenada. One extra benefit to spending some time in Mexico is that it will give UPS time to deliver my tire to Craig and Sue’s place. If all goes well, when I return from Mexico there will be a tire waiting for me.

Despite not really knowing where I was going or what I was doing, my excursion into Mexico went very smoothly. After taking the trolley to San Ysidro, I followed the pedestrian path to the border. From there, the border crossing went completely without incident. When it came time to go through security, all that stood between me and Mexico was the push of button. Upon pushing the button, a green light would allow me to pass. A red light would involve some sort of inspection of my belongings. I don’t know exactly what it would entail as a green light welcomed my way into Mexico.

Once I cleared the border, I did what Sue had told me. I followed the crowd. It wasn’t a big crowd but I followed along and easily found the bus that would take me to Ensenada.

The drive to Ensenada was about 80 minutes and it went well. Although, I couldn’t help but think what it would’ve been like to be biking instead of taking the bus. I’m already in bicycle withdrawal. That said, I’m pretty sure that the bus route and the cycle route are not entirely the same. I’ve also heard there are some unpleasant sections on the bike route.

Upon exiting the bus in Ensenada I found myself with no real idea of where to go or what to do. I knew the touristy area was along the coast so I started to walk in that direction. I figured the giant flag of Mexico (and I do mean GIANT flag) was also a good landmark to guide my way. It was a good decision as it didn’t take long to find the “Tourist Zone”.

From there I just walked around. That tends to be my default response when I’m not sure what to do or where to go. I’m not going to lie, I kind of wished I had my bike with me. And so I walked. And walked. And walked some more.

Before leaving San Diego I had looked online for accommodation options. Of course, most of those were of the more expensive franchises. The locally owned (and cheap) motels tend not to be on Priceline! That said, I did find a hostel that seemed like a reasonable option. It wasn’t downtown but I decided to spend one night there and come up with a longer term plan once I saw the hostel.

Not being right downtown really didn’t bother me because one of the reasons I’m in Mexico (other than waiting for Arizona to cool off) is to try once again to get caught up on my blog as well as a couple other writing assignments I have been neglecting. Throw in a couple of video projects and this will be a working vacation. Unpaid work. But still work.

The hostel in question is the Hostal Todos Santos and it’s only been open for about six months. It’s very nice and is particularly quiet here today. My home for the night is an 8-bunk dorm room but with no other guests expected today, I’ll have the room to myself. Pretty good deal – especially for $15. Just to be clear, there are a couple other guests here but they’re in the private rooms.

My day came to an end with a quick trip over to the grocery store. Along the way there was a Subway and, while they didn’t have fish tacos, I couldn’t very well turn down the opportunity to visit a Subway in a third country on this journey. The fish tacos would have to wait.

The plan for tomorrow is to spend most of the day staring at a computer screen. Not exactly the most exciting way to spend my first full day in Mexico but I’m okay with that. After all, it’s not like I’m the type to sit on beach all day.