We both slept soundly, despite being on the busy main road into town. The first time I woke it was 4am. I reached over and peered out the cracked single pain window and could see the traffic lights flashing, red, yellow and green…what are you meant to do with that combination I thought. It was still dark…I sighed and rolled over. I continued with the same action at 5, 6 and 7am, waiting for dawn. I don't know why I woke? I'm not feeling restless, maybe i'm just eager, or alert… but it just felt like I had done all of my sleeping. I was pleased to hear a rooster crow…now there must be light I thought, but no! Shortly after 7am I could see the murky tequila sunrise rays penetrate the crack in the simple plastic black out drapery…I was up!
"Should I mix the acid in my new battery?", Kev asks. Sure…I think that it is a perfect day for it. We'll have a full ay of riding and the battery should fully charge!", I responded. Kev opened up the door to find a man riding his horse down the middle of the road. Clip, Clop, Clip, Clop…hearing that sound brought back a flood of childhood memories for me, and left Kev with a huge grin on his face! Kev proceeded to attend to the new installation of his battery and I pulled out my bike kitchen and attended to breakfast. I fired up the stove, pulled the purified water off the back of my bike, and made a fresh espresso. After a few sips of coffee I made our usual, steel cut oatmeal with walnuts and dried fruit. We ate up, cleaned up and got on the road. Kev's new battery will be able to fully charge over the next 4 hours of riding or so, and it already sounds 100% better! We continued across the state of Sonora on Highway 14 making our way towards the coast to meet up Federal Highway 15. It was another spectacular day of riding. Twists, turns, cactus, rocky hills and deep valleys much the same riding as yesterday. Does everyone wear a cowboy hat out here???...There was quite a bit of activity on the road and when the highway finally met up with 15, we were stopped at an Army checkpoint to verify our paperwork. I thought for sure that Kev was going to be hassled about running the "Alto" sign before the checkpoint, but luckily they did not seem to have an issue with it! I was asked if I spoke Spanish and politely replied "No" The Federali with his hand in his jacket smiled a wide, creepy dental braced grin! I really did not know how to take that, and just dismissed it. I so wanted to answer "No fumar espanol", as our Aussie motorcycle friends Ken and Carol taught us, but, I was afraid that I would crack up doing it and come across arrogant! There will be a time I'm sure!
We stopped in Hermosillo for a quick lunch at a fairly western style coffee shop. A local helped us with directions out of town and towards Bahia de Kino. A couple of guys walked up to me laughing saying "I'm having more fun than you!"…ha ha ha, they obviously read one of the stickers on my bike. They were pretty tickled and wished us well. There was quite a bit of traffic on the road, everyone rushing around before Christmas, although as busy as it was, it was not too overwhelming. Only another 130 kilometers to go…which took us just over 2 1/2 hours! It is always, always longer than you expect!
We pulled up at the reception and checked in. The Hotel La Playa and RV park is a pretty neat place. All of the rooms and RV spaces face the Sea of Cortez. Actually, we happened to be the only ones in the hotel section of this place! The rooms were spacious, clean, and the view was amazing! We were told that there would be no service on Christmas day, but they would bring us extra coffee, towels, and water. It is nice to be stopped for 3 nights. One night to crash, a day to kick back, and one day to plan your next move. Damn, it is super quiet here! Maybe too quiet. That evening we walked down the beach and surprisingly enough found a pretty nice restaurant to eat at. There were several groups of lit gringos patronizing the place….a good sign. Not knowing if they would be open on Christmas day we ate hardily and enjoyed a couple of margaritas along with a bbq'd lobster and creamed fish. Being a little out of the swing of things, and not yet quite into our motorcycle adventure groove, we had left our headlights back on our bikes. Damn, Damn….it will be an interesting walk back! "Si abre mañana!", the señora said! Obviously she had overheard us questioning each other whether they would be open tomorrow! It was amazing to wake up on Christmas day to the sound of the ocean, sea birds and the odd fishing tinny, slapping across the indigo Sea of Cortez. I had picked up a couple of plastic Mexican feliz Navidad stockings filled with lollies in Moctezuma, just for the spirit of the occasion. A little something to give each other on Christmas Day. Our Christmas was yes, you guessed it….shhhh, very Quiet! The only plans we had for today was to enjoy a long walk along the beach, collect shells, walk back to the restaurant at some point in time and phone our families. We had limited phone minutes, on Kev's iPhone…how much we really did not know! We did manage to connect with 1 and 1/2 out of 4 intended calls! And, we did make it back to the restaurant for a late Christmas lunch of fresh fish tacos, ceviche and yes, you guessed it, margaritas.
Hooking up the MSR bottle to the whisper lite…time for coffee!
Kev installing his new battery while I prepare breakfast.
Bahia de Kino, Sonora Mexico
The Island of Alcatraz off Bahia de Kino's coast.
Walking down to our room, and the hotel section of this cool RV/Hotel establishment.
Can you see what Santa left?
A natural Mexican Christmas tree right outside our room!
Ceviche…Amazingly enough sporting very festive colors!
And to all, a good night!