A Trip within a Trip - we are off to Mexico - The Bartletts tour Europe on their E-Tandem

April 12, 2024

A Trip within a Trip - we are off to Mexico

We are very fortunate to have family with a condo in Mazatlan who are very hospitable in sharing their place. Barry’s brother Lewis and his wife Caroline kindly invited us to come for a week and enjoy a getaway to their piece of paradise. Thank goodness they hadn’t given up on us….we have been invited before but couldn’t fit it into our schedule of cycle tours. We are staying in Mazatlan for a week and will fly back to Vancouver for one night before proceeding on to Europe. We are indeed lucky people and we are grateful for their hospitality.

Good friends are the best…and that includes our friend Holly, and her dog Nina, who kindly took us and our bags to the ferry terminal for our journey to the mainland.

Our ferry, the Salish Eagle, is ready to accept passengers.

Since our recumbent tandem has been staying with friends in Germany, we have the luxury of travelling with just 2 panniers and our Dutch Radical Design trailer. We need the trailer to accommodate our camping equipment, cooking gear and the extras that entails.

Love the ferry ride from Saltspring surrounded by islands and the open sea.

Waiting to disembark at Tsawwassen terminal and get this holiday started. It is so much easier pushing a trailer than carrying heavy luggage. Love this very adaptable trailer.

We enjoyed Japanese style hot dogs at Japadog at the airport. We have left our trailer in storage at the airport for the week.

Waiting for our plane to Mexico…our West Jet plane is at the gate.

Enjoying the view of the Southern Gulf Islands (British Columbia) and the San Juan Islands (Washington State)…we are on our way.

Crossing over deserts and rocky terrain with cliffs. Thanks Bill S. for your email…indeed it is a photo of the beautiful Grand Canyon.

We have had a good and uneventful flight from Vancouver…just a little over 4 hours. It has been an easy travel day. West Jet has an efficient system for online check in. At the airport we simply dropped off our luggage, went through customs and we were done.👍

Mazatlan Airport is small and low key…we like it.

The outside deck at the condo is spacious, comfortable and has a killer view of the ocean. Love the roar of the ocean which is soothing but inevitably makes me want to nap.

A view of the beach from their condo. We are fascinated by the fish loving pelicans who soar overhead and the sandpipers, on the beach, racing back and forth as the waves ebb and flow.

Usually, we leave on a trip and take a sigh of relief when we get to the ferry…now we can relax. But this way seems better…we have a full week of sun, relaxation and great food before we head off to Europe. This is a good thing.

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Carron CarsonHello you two! Sounds like an excellent way to start your journey. We look forward to following you through Europe!
Carron and Bob
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7 months ago

Charmaine RuppoltGreat you're headed back to Europe! I'll look forward to reading your journal as you go along after you leave Mexico! I'm headed to Switzerland this June - my first time biking there! :)
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7 months ago

Barry BartlettTo Carron CarsonHi Carron and Bob
Greetings from Germany.
Nice to hear you will be with us on this adventure. We are very behind in our journal, but are getting on it today. We both got some kind of bug, struggling with jet lag perhaps and have our tandem in a bike shop awaiting parts. The good thing is we are staying with friends in the beautiful Hessen countryside at their farm. Our poor tandem, Seavo, has been sitting at our friends’ farm for the past 5 years due to COVID and our travels in Japan. It is a delicate matter as we haven’t shared with him that we have acquired 2 trikes in his absence.
Take care neighbours.
Mary Ellen and Barry
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7 months ago