September 10, 2014

... I slept, ate and watched movies. Actually, the ride was more comfortable than expected. I had only grabbed a few items from my bags and left the rest of the luggage on the bike. The ferry had a sun deck. In the morning, I saw dolphins jumping in the water. Very neat. Of course, by the time I had my phone ready to shoot some pics, the dolphins had disappeared. They could've waited just a bit longer...

Upon arriving at the Mazatlan port, I had my bike ready to go. I wanted to set it up a bit early, in order not to block anyone while I was getting ready. The truck drivers probably would not have liked that too much.

I had a head start. The ferry workers had to untie the trucks from their tie-downs. and now I had to wait. Then It was my turn. I had run the bike for a few minutes in advance, just to get the engine warmed up. And wouldn't you know it, just as I was about to twist the throttle to pull out of my spot, the engine sputtered and died. I guess, I overheated the motor. After a few tries, the engine restarted, but only kept idling with me twisting the throttle. I was reliefed, when I finally rolled out of belly of the beast onto the tarmac.

LIke the entire ride had been, there was no exeption to the weather in Mazatlan, hot and humid.

I stopped at the nearest OXXO (similar to 7Eleven), bought myself a juice and consulted my map. Where to go??? South, I knew that. A group of young guys pulled up next to me and one approached me. In perfect English he asked me,"Where are you going?" With a smile a replied, "Argentina". He explained to me that he ownes a Harley Softtail Delux and frequently tours the area. I told him that I was thinking of overnighting in San Blas, a small town about ....km south of Mazatlan. "Great place", he said. "Follow 15, then take the exit where it says "San Blas. It's a twisty road". I thanked him for the information, told him about Crazyridesouth and handed him one of my wristbands. Then, I headed for Hwy 15, aiming my front wheel toward San Blas.

After a 100 km or so, I had to detour through a small town, EL Rosario. The road was closed due to construction. In town, I stopped for a few photo opportunities, and was approached by a guy approx. my age. His name was Carlos, and he was curious to where I was traveling to. I told him about my plans. To my surprise, he walked across the street and came back with an ice cold cup of juice from a nearby vendor. Wow, did that taste refreshing. We chatted a bit longer, and he gets me a second cup of juice. Made my day. No charge. Another nice guy. Love it!

Back on the road, I continued my journey through green hilly vegetation and twisties to San Blas. It had started to rain. No problem. I kept riding, slowly and carefully. The roads were slick and wet. But I arrived in one piece!

Miles: 165/276 km