To San Ignacio we go

November 30, 2018

Desert camp to La Case Del Cyclista

The appeal of desert camping seemed to have left the girls a little in the morning, or Erica at least, when she found her bicycle had two flat tyres. Dea too, had a flat to fix, no doubt a result of the prickly desert floor, yet the first we'd suffered in Mexico. She got to work fixing it and we said goodbye to each of our new found friends. They were all planning to pass through San Ignacio today and then press further on, while Dea and I wanted to stop and spend a couple of days in the oasis town. Knowing that they all rode faster than us we bid them goodbye after a fun couple of days.

I would help Dea, but I've got to find a cool desert plant.

Goodbye to Michel, who really should get himself some brighter clothes.

After saying goodbye to the girls we met them again beside the road, still having bike troubles.

Dea and I cycled on alone, still enjoying the tailwind and hoping to make good time to San Ignacio. One very exciting thing happened when I spotted a really good A for my collection of desert plant letters - as you'll remember I was hoping to find all the letters of the alphabet so that I could start writing things, maybe even this journal, using desert plants.

It wasn't long before Erica and Cristina caught and passed us and disappeared into the distance.

After 20 kilometres Dea and I stopped for our customary first break, and started to scan the road behind us. Now that everyone had gone ahead we would have to wait for the next cyclist to catch us up before we could have any friends. Alas, no cyclist appeared, but the desert around us seemed to have a lot of potential for letter finding, so I went for a little walk to see if I could add to my collection. This quickly became very addictive, as I found an I, an E, an N, then I saw a T far away and I just had to go photograph it. I got carried away and almost couldn't find my way back to Dea, but I even got myself an L on the way back. It really had been great fun, I could have done it for hours. But I now surely had enough letters to start spelling things already. I looked at the letters I found, and managed to write a word which is quite appropriate for us cycle tourists, especially in the Mexican sun:

There is nothing any of you can say that will make me feel the last half hour of my life has been wasted.

From there the rest of the cycle to San Ignacio was pretty straightforward, even though a few hills started to appear just before the town. And there was no mistaking San Ignacio, with the sudden appearance of palm trees, date palms, marking the oasis. There were also signs on the road for La Casa Del Cyclista, promising camping for cyclists, hot showers, and wifi. Dea and I had been planning to find a hotel for a couple of nights, but seeing as the main reasons for doing that were for the hot showers and wifi, we thought we'd check out the Casa Del Cyclisa first. Besides, we were in need of some new cycling friends, maybe we'd find them there.

And wouldn't you just know it, we were in luck. There were a couple of tents already set up in the yard, and three touring bicycles next to them. Oh, and there would be no need for introductions, because we already knew the cyclists, Erica, Cristina, and Michel. We were all reunited again! (apart from Harvey, who'd disappeared somewhere.)

It turned out none of them had felt like cycling too far today in the end, which was great as it meant we could spend another evening together. And what a great place to spend it. The cyclist camping spot had been set up in the yard of local man Othon and his family. It had begun in 2014 when a French couple cycling with a dog had stopped in San Ignacio in need of a vet. There had been none, but Othon had known what to do and had helped them out. From that a friendship had formed and the French couple had suggested the campsite idea to help Othon generate a little extra income. With the input of the French couple now here was a really ideal place, with everything a passing cyclist should need - hot showers, wifi, flat camping, a hammock, a picnic table, and a really nice atmosphere. There was even a cat and her three young kittens, which were incredibly cute. Until we started making dinner, and then they kept jumping up on the table trying to get food, which got old pretty fast. But so cute!

Lots of cyclists have stayed at this paradise over the last few years.

Playing football with Othon's son Juan Miguel.

Michel didn't seem to mind the cats' attention.

One last night together, thanks to La Casa Del Cyclista.

I just realised we can take this bad boy plural.

Today's ride: 57 km (35 miles)
Total: 831 km (516 miles)

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