During a long distance bike tour, you bump into some pretty odd characters. This was the case when cycling between San Agustin and Catavina in Baja California, Mexico.
Cycling to Catavina
After a breakfast of huevos rancheros, I packed up and was on the road for 07.45. Today was a very short day of just 40 kms to Catavina, which would give me a good starting point for the next 3 day desert section of cycling.
The landscape changed almost from the moment I left San Agustin. It was relatively flat to downhill, and the scenery had changed from sandy ground, to a boulder strewn, almost alien looking surrounding.
Despite the best efforts of the Mexican inhabitants to write graffiti on every roadside boulder, leave shredded truck tires around, and generally litter the landscape with floating plastic bag, broken glass, tin cans and other assorted rubbish, it was still quite beautiful.
Catavina in Baja California
The town of Catavina itself consists of little more than a couple of hotels, a general store, and a partially constructed RV park.
They wanted 40 pesos to camp at the RV park, so it was job done, and all set up by 10.30.
Weirdo of the day
I headed to the store, and met an American transient type man. Always beware of men with no teeth, one sock and their entire worldly belongings wrapped up in a black plastic bin liner.
When his opening line was ‘I wrote all of Elvis’s songs’ I knew that I was in for a good one.
Not only had he written for Elvis, but also for the Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Phil Collins, Michael Jackson and perhaps more oddly, Bing Crosby.
That he had done all this when he was eight years old, was almost as remarkable as the fact that he had invented the hula-hoop, the Frisbee, twister and the pogo stick.
Supplies for the road ahead
Leaving him chuntering to himself about staring in Bullet with Steve MacQueen, I got some supplies in, with the solid aim that for the rest of the day I would fully re-hydrate and eat well. I have a tough three or four days ahead of me, where supplies will be limited, and settlements few and far between.
Every now an again, in quiet moments of my day, when all my jobs are done and I can sit in the shade overlooking some peaceful, beautiful scene, letting the wind blow gently around me as I am now, I come over a little sad and melancholy that there is no one to share it with.
Which is why I write these pages, so that I can share it with you, my friend. It’s just a shame you can’t appreciate just how good this cool beer feel right now 😉
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