Puertocitos to Bahia San Luis Gonzaga

January 11, 2022

The bay at the campground with some houses of Ouertocitos in the background. These were the nicer ones.

In hindsight, today was interesting as far as my hill mentality goes. My friends Jan & Mark had told me about the terrain ahead, but somehow, I managed to confuse myself and was thinking today was a mostly flat day until the end and the next day would be hilly. Imagine my surprise when I did a big climb rather early on and was thinking, "so much for it being flat and people in cars always have a different perception of hills than what constitutes a hill for a cyclist." Now, imagine my surprise when I started a second climb and was getting my butt kicked. Apparently I had confused myself and today was the hilly day. The second hill was probably close to three miles long and in looking at the elevation/grade after the fact, the grade was well into the 6% range for sections and even crept into the 7% category a few times. No wonder I was dying!

A little disappointed it was overcast, but that turned out to be a blessing as I didn’t overheat today

The views up the coast were pretty darn good, but at times, the views at times were of ugly brown mountains. I decided to throw on my Corey Hart playlist to help with the climb.

My friends in the three rv caravan, caught up to me just as I was reaching the top. They honked and shouted encouragement. I didn't flag them down for water, but was a little worried if it continued hilly all day, there was a possibility, I'd be rationing. I was still in denial whether the terrain was going to be hilly or flat. Ha ha!

I am a person that doesn’t use my brakes on downhill unless I need to. Well let me tell you, as I started the descent, I quickly realized braking was in order. The wind from the sea was gusting and I was a bit worried I’d lose control so I braked some. Don’t worry, still got 30mph going down, but also realized a spill at that speed would not end well.

The road I’m the distance. Nothing else to see, ha ha

All of a sudden the scenery changed, and there were golden grasses

I was carrying almost 5 liters of water and electrolyte mix with me for the day. There was one restaurant on the way, but I didn't stop as it didn't look very open. (In talking with another traveler, the guy had nothing, not even water for sale.)

I continued on and the terrain got a little less intense which at that point, I was very thankful for. My legs felt shot. Part of the problem I'm realizing is that with these long distances between services, I am not taking enough time to take breaks and eat a proper lunch. Once I finally took longer than a five minute break, I felt a big reenergized.

I was pretty tired when I got to the market at Bahia Gonzaga. The store was much bigger than I anticipated. I got some cold drinks and a couple of tacos before heading the 1.5 miles to the camping area/palapas.

I met a lady from Vermont traveling solo and she offered if I needed anything cooked, she'd be happy to let me user her stove inside her van -- out of the wind. I saw three couples again and ended up setting up near a palapa near them as it had a concrete floor which I deemed much better than a sand floor. They were kind enough to offer me a ride back to the store and showers and waited for me. The thought of riding another three miles did not appeal to me so I was super grateful for the ride. The shower was hot and had great water pressure. I visited with both sets of people and somehow managed to secure myself a ride with the lady from Vermont up over the mountains.

Another important note is that going to sleep to the sound of waves is suppose to be so soothing. Not so soothing when the wind is still howling and the waves are crashing loudly on the shore. I put my ear plugs in.

Today's ride: 48 miles (77 km)
Total: 1,306 miles (2,102 km)

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