OUT OF THE TROPICS

Since my last update, Leana and I cycled North parallel to the Gulf of California coastline - according to the map (or the Sea of Cortez - according to my guide book). We soon crossed the Tropic of Cancer, moving out of the tropics again for the first time since Capricorn in April 2011.

The road didn't actually run along the coast, but instead we travelled slightly inland, mostly on the highway through flat agricultural land. We cycled past vast fields of maize, beans, chile, cucumber, and tomato (the Sinaloa state licence plates even carry a tomato emblem). The Sierra Madre Occidental mountains formed a constant background to the East.

There are a great number of airports in Mexico, many of them international. The strech of sky above our route is obviously an important air corridor, and at just about any time the aircraft vapour trails were visible, often a number at the same time.

As we moved further North into Sonora State, the climate became cooler and drier, and the crop fields disappeared. Cowboys were grazing their cattle at the roadside, and progressively the landscape became more desert-like with large cactus along the way.

The road was often rather busy, particularly closer to the Xmas holidays when Mexicans from USA travel down to spend this time with their relatives. There are also lots of trucks on the highway, meaning lots of punctures from truck-tyre steel belt debris.

Oh yes, a belated Merry Xmas and Happy New Year to everyone who still reads this blog. Leana and I spent Xmas in the interesting if somewhat dilapidated port town of Guaymas, waiting for a ferry boat. We found a suitably dilapidated cheap room in a run-down local guest house, where many of the guests seemed to be permanent residents.

Last night we eventually boarded the ferry to Baja California state, and we landed on the peninsula early this morning. We are spending the day in the historic mining town of Santa Rosalia, before we move on tomorrow to explore this North-Western part of Mexico. During the night the ferry took us across the Sea of Cortez (or according to my map, the Gulf of California).

Daily distances cycled since my last update from Mazatlan are:- La Cruz de Elota 110 km; Obispo 58 km; Culiacan 85 km; Los Sanches 75 km; Guasave 80 km; Los Mochis 67 km, Diaz Ordaz 64 km; Navojoa 113 km; CD Obregon 70 km; Vikram 53 km; Guaymas 77 km; and to/from ferry Santa Rosalia 7 km. The distance cycled so far in Mexico is 5 367 km, and the total distance cycled so far on this trip is 102 912 km.