Our trip has come to a close.
What an adventure we had !
Our journey was divided into four segments:
1. Traveling to California, where we traversed Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. We visited two national parks, the Grand Canyon and The Petrified Forest, and rode the Devil's Highway, also known as Route 666 in Arizona, which was renamed US 191 in 1992. We also experienced our first dust storm on a motorcycle, which was a harrowing experience.
2. Exploring California, where we spent time with our son, daughter-in-law, and two granddaughters.
We also visited Big Sur, Pinnacles National Park, and Joshua Tree National Park. We posed at Muscle Beach and walked along the pier in Santa Monica, where we met a young Frenchman who had visited over 100 countries. We rode along Mulholland Drive from west to east and took in the breathtaking views of Los Angeles from above and experienced an 80 mile bumper to bumper ride from LA to Palm Springs.
3. We joined the group and rode through Baja California from Mexicali to San Jose de los Cabos. We witnessed the sunrise over the Sea of Cortez and the sunset over the Pacific Ocean on the same day. We passed by vehicles preparing for the Baja 1000, which took place three days later. We saw stunning beaches and rode through beautiful desert landscapes. We took a dip in the cold Pacific Ocean and enjoyed the warmer waters of the Sea of Cortez. We visited the Hotel California, where “you can check in but you can never leave”. We enjoyed the bohemian artists and even bought a painting on the Thursday Art Walk in San Jose del Cabo. We ate beautifully presented and succulent meals. Most of all we enjoyed the laid-back atmosphere in Baja Sur.
4. We then took the ferry from Baja to the mainland and were able to observe the setting of the sun on the West and the rising of the moon on the East by just walking from one side of the boat to the other. We rode through amazing places that stirred our souls as we got one with nature. We experienced the first freezing winter storm of the season where we saw freezing rain, snow and we even had to turn around due to impassable, for motorbikes, black ice on the road. We experienced gorgeous scenery at the bottom of the Copper canyon on the way to a lost in time 17th century church. We rubbed shoulders and met the Tarahumara Indians and experienced their way of living by going into a cave that once was used as a house. We visited the largest community of Mennonites in Mexico which was established in 1920s and even tried one of their most well known dishes - Kielke. We passed through one of our favorite areas on the world - the Big Bend area.
All this took us 3 weeks and 4 days where we had exactly one day of rain. Every other day we experienced the sun. It was another magical ride that made us value our time on this earth.
At the end of every trip I like to ponder on quotes about traveling and see which one better resonate with the trip I have just taken.
Here are some for this trip:
“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” – Marcel Proust
“I am not the same, having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world.” – Mary Anne Radmacher
“Travel opens your heart, broadens your mind, and fills your life with stories to tell.” – Paula Bendfeldt
“Traveling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.” – Ibn Battuta
I hope you have enjoyed our stories.
Until next time, remember to Carpe Diem !
