December 2019 - Two Wise Nomads

The US of A

Staypineapple was a really cool little boutique hotel located in the Gaslamp Quarter. It’s facilities and rooms were high quality and yet it had the buzz and energy of a backpackers. We grabbed some free bikes from the hotel and set off to explore San Diego. First stop was the waterfront and the impressive aircraft carrier USS Midway. We then headed inland to Balboa Park and spent an hour riding around the park. There were a lot of beautiful old colonial buildings housing quite a few museums and art houses. We started noticing the large number of homeless people – mostly males – but what was interesting was that they were very polite and quite chatty when engaged.

We decided to ride the 6km to a shopping mall which took us out towards the airport and the port. A few times we had to ride along the edge of the motorway which was a bit disconcerting. The number of homeless people around the naval base was incredible – I guess a lot of them are ex military. In the end we did around 30km so got to see a fair bit of the city. While we felt we did not really get a handle on the place, we both picked up a vibe that was a mixture of affluence and poverty. Quite weird. We grabbed a meal at a Gaslamp fish restaurant which was expensive given what we had been used to paying.

A big storm forecast for the next day so we chilled in the morning before picking up our car for the driver to Coachella. We took the more scenic highway 79 and were amazed at the amount of snow left over from the big storm over Thanksgiving. It got dark by 5 so finding our place turned into a bit of a challenge. Made worse by us trying calling the place for the next night when trying to get access to get access. We finally got in to our room which was basically a converted garage with a toilet attached. It was fine and served its purpose.

The next day was spent driving through the Joshua Tree National Park. We bought a $80 pass which gave us access to most US National Parks over the next 12 months. Joshua Tree was incredible, as was its namesake cactus/tree. We stopped a couple of times for a bit of a trek – once to see the skull rock which we never found; and another to walk up a canyon. It really was beautiful – I can I understand why U2 named my favourite album after it and why a lot of people come here to take mushrooms. The roads were populated by a lot of large RV’s and massive ute’s.

Our room for the night was in Casa Frank – basically a home (the owner Frank slept in a little side room) with 4 bedrooms and a communal lounge and kitchen. 1 bathroom was a bit of a ‘mare. Interestingly our approach of only staying at places rated 8 and above on Booking.com didn’t work in America as there were no places rated above 8 in our budget range. Americans must be tough raters as the 7 rated places were fine. We had heard good things about a diner called Pappy & Harriet which was a bit of an institution that played live music, so decided to drive the 15 minutes to check it out. The bands were OK but probably not worth the drive.

Next day we had a bit of a drive to Death Valley Inn & RV Park in Beatty on the outskirts of the Death Valley National Park. We were in real cowboy zone with the plenty of cowboy hats and massive cars and utes. It was also cold. We walked into town – it had a few dodgy food places and motels. Deryn stayed in the motel while I headed into town for dinner at the local Denny’s which was located inside a casino. Can’t get more American than that. We got away early the next day as Death Valley was huge and we needed as much time as possible to see what we could before it got dark. We were in the park within 20 minutes. It was spectacular – a vast expanse of valleys and mountains in the distance. We took quite a few photo’s but they just did not do it justice.

First stop was Zabriskie’s Point and a walk up the hill to admire the coloured mountains. Next stop was Dante’s View up the top of the Black Mountains. It was a bit of a drive and as we stated to near the top the clouds started to roll in so by the time we reached the top visibility was basically a metre! Great. So back down to the valley floor and a hike in Golden Canyon. We decided to do the 6km walk and when looking for out little backpack we realised that we had left it behind back in Beatty. Damn. It had Deryn’s wallet as well as our water bottle so we had to go retrieve it. Thankfully it had been found in our room and was waiting for us in reception. A 120km round trip – it wasn’t that bad as the views were that impressive it didn’t matter seeing it for a second and then third time. It was nearly 2 hours before we returned to Golden Canyon so only had time for a 30 minute walk. The scenery was unique – you would not want to be in the area when it rained as the there was no top soil to soak up any water and it would funnel into the canyons that we walked into. Not that rain was a real risk as the area only has 2 inches a year (and an average temp of 120F in the summer!).

Next was the Devil’s golf course which was basically a salt plain but a lot different to the last one we saw in Northern Argentina. The surface was very jagged, unlike the smooth surfaces elsewhere. Badwater Basin – the lowest point in North America at 282ft below sea level – was our furthest point before heading out via the Artists Palette and Artists Drive. Again, it was a lot less colourful than Argentina – the perils of a prolonged period of travel; you get spoiled. We spent the night in Panamint Springs Motel & Tents on the edge of the Park. We had to check in at the local petrol station; the room was basic but fine. There was only one restaurant in the area so we had dinner and then the included breakfast – most US places include a breakfast with the room rate. Deryn likes them but I find them a bit basic. But then I do love a full English Breakfast sans meat!!!

It was a 4.5 hour drive around the Sequoia National Park through some stunning farmland and mountains. We stopped a couple of times for a cup of tea (one cafe was packed to the rafters with gunc – no photos allowed – and cats of all ages!) and then lunch (where a naturalised Aussie told us of his plans to ride his horses from Mexico to Canada). Our place in Three Rivers – Lazy J Ranch Motel – was on a family run ranch – been in the family since the 70’s. It was beautiful with a few goats and sheep to make it feel authentic. There were a few lambs which surprised me – they explained that it was done intentionally to coincide with the annual farm show in May where they would compete.

Next morning it was an early start with our first stop in town to buy/rent some snow chains which is are mandatory to carry in the car when heading into the Park. I had no idea how many sizes of the damn things. We ended up buying some cheap ones (US$60) which we could return and get a $30 refund if unused. We knew there was going to be a bit of snow as we could not drive between Sequoia and Kings Canyon as the road through the pass was closed. Within 30 minutes of driving we were climbing through multiple hairpin bends; then we hit the snow. We stopped at the Giant Forest Museum to get a bit of background to the amazing Sequoia trees. They only grow naturally between 2800 and 4000 metres in this small part of California. They are the biggest trees in the world by mass and and some are thought to be well over 3000 years old. The biggest, General Sherman weighs over 1800 tonnes and is thought be to 2700 years old. That makes it only a middle-age giant sequoia, as other trees are believed to be more than 3,220 years old. We tried to go for a hike amongst the magnificent trees but unfortunately the snow was too deep and we had to bail out and walk back on the road. We then drove up to see the General. Quite awe inspiring standing in his shadow. From there we drove to the Lodgepole centre for a cuppa before heading back down to the warmer climes to have a picnic lunch in a park.

Given the amount of snow, visiting Kings Canyon and Yosemite was not an option so decided to head back to LA and do the coastal drive up to San Francisco. We reached out to Jimmy and Zsoka in Santa Monica to make sure there was a bed for the night – there was so we were good. 4 hours later we were in J&Z’s place – the motorway was full of massive cars and trucks top with only 1 driver. Insane. It was lovely to spend some time with James and Zsoka which included a walk around the very habitable suburb of Santa Monica including its beach (much prefer Aus and NZ beaches) We went for dinner at a local pub where we joined by Simon Oz Osborne for a lovely evening. We kept going at James and Zsoka’s – Zsoka and I gave my bottle of Jamison a very good nudge.

We headed up Route 101 after a leisurely breakfast in another lovely local cafe. The food and coffee in Santa Monica was certainly top shelf. First stop was Malibu. Incredible how they have built all the houses basically on the beach. The house owns the beach up to the high tide mark – will be interesting to see how much their insurance premiums are going to increase on the back of global warming. Next stop was Santa Barbara. Another beautiful place with a very liveable vibe. We stopped for a bit of a wonder; I got talked into buying a jacket and jeans after which we grabbed a tea and a fruit juice from the cafe in The Californian – $22!! Not a cheap place to stay me thinks.

The drive to Cambria was OK but route 101 was a bit too much of a motorway; things started to improve once we turned off onto route 1. We had a brief stop at Morro Bay to admire the sun setting over the estuary. Our hotel – Cambria Beach Lodge – was very cute. On checking in the owner asked me twice whether I had any pets – apparently this part of the world is pet city. We checked in and went for a walk along the beach to watch the sun set followed by another overprices meal – if you share the main without an entree they add $8 to your bill.

The drive the next am was beautiful. First stop on the was Hearst Castle, built by William Hearst in the roaring 20’s. Unfortunately you had to join an official tour to see the castle up on top of the hill so Deryn and I declined. Next stop was a nearby beach that was home to a colony of elephant seals. There must have been over 100 of them – the males were huge! For the next hour or so of our journey we were engulfed by fog which hampered the view but also gave the scenery a ghostly vibe. The fog finally lifted and we were treated to incredible views. We must have stopped every 15 minutes or so to admire the views. We did one walk down to a small 2 site camp ground – would be a magic place to camp but not with children given the sheer drops all around. We, of course, had to stop to photo the famous Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge. Standing room only but definitely worth it. We stopped for a hike in the Los Padres National Forest. We climbed through a forest of the world’s tallest trees – the Redwood. Amazing. There was still lots of evidence of the 2016 Soberanes Fire which burnt over 133,000 acres. Dinner was a burger in a mall on the outskirts of Carmel-by-the-sea before checking in to our very pleasant Forest Lodge.

Carmel-by-the-sea is famous for being the location where Big Little Lies was filmed. The place was stunning. A very cute village with an amazing beach – I would hate to think what a beachside pad would cost. We both agreed that we would love to spend a lot more time in the area. Our drive to San Fran was a bit bland – more because of the contrast from the Big Sur. We dropped our bags off at Clayton’s place in Cow Hollow before driving around for a whole trying to find the car rental place. We had travelled 1904 miles on our brief US adventure.

We then had a lovely weekend in San Fran with Clayton. Dinner with Wayne and Cherie Fairbrother on Friday night, a brief lunch with Jennifer and Silvia on Saturday before a night playing pool in a local bar – we liked the Alaskans we met but found the local SF folk that turned up a bit later a pack of knobs. To be frank. I had lunch with Paul (a mate of Clayton’s from London now living in NY) and Clayton on Monday before flying to Vancouver late afternoon. So that’s it from the blog for now. It’s been an incredible adventure.

Copper Canyon El Chepe

While the El Chepe train started in Los Mochis (los’ m’ cheese), we read that the next town on the line, El Fuerto was a lot nicer – one of Mexico’s pueblos magico – there are 111 nominated magical towns in Mexico – and also meant you could board the train at a lot more godly hour at 8.20am rather than 6. We had tried to see if we could get the hotel in El Fuerto to arrange a ride but failed. We were told at the local taxi booth that it was 1300p ($100) for the 75min journey – actually 200p cheaper than that the hotel quoted.

We drove through Los Mochis; it looked very “Americanised” with lots of malls and American brands everywhere. El Fuerte was far more authentic with old colonial buildings and cowboys everywhere. The women wore beautiful brightly coloured cotton skirts. Our hotel – Hotel Posada del Hidaigo – was famous as the birthplace and home of Zorro. I had no idea he was an actual person. While the hotel had done a fabulous job in making the hotel feel authentic however it was a bit of tourist trap with the check in staff trying to sell us various tours before we had even got our key. The hummingbirds feeding at the entrance was special.

The town was lovely and got very basic once you left the main square. Much like Morelia, we noticed that as far as foreign tourists were concerned, we were among the youngest. No backpackers again. We had a bit of a wander before returning to a lounger by the pool and a late lunch. The hotel was empty, certainly a lot more staff than guests and yet it was hard work getting any service. It almost felt like they were staying in the same hotel as us. There were a family making a bit of noise in the room right next to us even though there were 3 empty rooms each side of us. I got up around 10pm and gave the 4 people at the front desk a bit of a spray. They didn’t understand much except that I was pissed off. Made me feel better.

We walked along the river the next morning; it was teeming with bird life. It had a bit of a Pampas (Bolivia) feel to it. We crossed a bridge and followed a path until it basically came to an end – we were meant to find some really old cliff drawings but failed. It was a lovely couple of hours but the rising temp forced us to return to the sanctuary of the pool. It was 28C by 11am. On the way back we did a bit of a detour and stocked up on booze and miscellaneous including my favourite queso (cheese) flavoured crisps. They are up there with salt & vinegar. We met another Canadian couple who had just done the El Chepe trip but going the other way. They made it sound lovely which got us excited. We spent the afternoon drinking and chatting away with them before getting a table for the “Fable of Zorro”event. A charismatic local dressed as Zorro serenaded and danced with all the ladies while the men got to dance with a slightly less charismatic backing lady. Deryn saw Zorro making a bee line so she dashed to the toilet, thereby missing seeing me fling the female assistant around the dance floor. Her head was spinning by the time I was done. Deryn returned only to be pounced on again by Zorro and so had her turn being swirled around the dance floor. It was a fun night.

The hotel was packed as a tour group of elderly Americans arrived late afternoon. We found at 5.30am that they were obviously in El Fuerte to catch El Chepe. The shuttle form the hotel left at 7.30 and these elderly folk needed a couple of hours to have a leisurely breakfast and check out. FFS. The train was very comfortable. We had tried to book a seat on the right hand side – far better views – but could not do so. It wasn’t really a problem as you could move around the train and there were quite a few viewing points – from the dining cart to hanging out the open window between the carriages. The 4 hour trip to Bahuichivo turned into 6 hours – a couple of times we just stopped with no information as to why. In addition, the views were not as spectacular as we were expecting but impressive none the less.

We were met by Manuel from Rancho Cabanas San Isidro at the station. He was the nephew of the owner of the ranch. Two brothers – Mario and Tito – ran the place with the rest of the family living on site. We were joined by a family from Austria who were visiting their son Roberto and his Mexican partner Tanya who now lived in Mexico. It was a 45 min drive to the small town of Cerocahui where the ranch was located. We all had our own very cute little cabin – each had a little pot belly fireplace but given how well the cabin was insulated we did not use ours – even though the temperature got down to single digits overnight. We were given a 3 course lunch in the common room then Manuel took us on a 11km hike back down to Cerocahui. The landscape was beautiful – quite unique – partly due to the area being at the bottom of the sea millions of years ago and also being carved out by the forces of water in creating the canyon. Our late start meant that it was dark by the time we got to the village so it was iPhone torch for the last 20 minutes.

The next day Mario had planned a full day visiting the small town of Urique 2650m down in the bottom of the canyon. The plan was to walk down from the Mirador but when we found out it was walking down the road we decided it would better to drive down and do a walk along the river to a town 7km away. The drive down was an adventure along a narrow winding dirt road with sheer drops cliff side. Urique was a authentic rural town with plenty of cowboys and brightly coloured dressed ladies. Once again there were loads of locals just sitting around as if waiting for something. No idea what and when I asked Mario I could not get a satisfying answer. Its been a common feature of rural Mexico. Urique was also distinct for having its main road double as a runway. It was supposedly for medical purposes but given the number of narcos operating in the area, there was scepticism around its purpose. Either way, the takeoff would be intense.

The walk to the town of Guadalupe was pleasant. Had a lot of fun playing with the kids in the town’s school. They pretended they hated having their photo taken; they would run away squealing when approached by a camera but would soon sneak back to enjoy it. Thankfully we did not have to walk the full 7kms back as Mario met us half way in the van. It was nearly dark by the time we returned to the ranchos. The Austrian family, bar Tanya, all headed off for a temazcal experience (a sauna – rocks in water and no fire in Mexico). We huddled around an outside fire having a few drinks until it got too cold an we moved into the indoor fireplace. It wasn’t long before we (I?) were doing shots of an artisanal local tequila called Sotol. Things were a bit hazy (for me)by the time the rest of the family arrived and we sat down for dinner.

It rained all night- apparently. Our train was due at 12.20 so we left at 9.45 to spend some time in the local village which was a bit of challenge given the rain. We have noticed a lot of dogs in this part of Mexico with most of them looking really skinny and mangy. So we bought some dog food and fed some of the locals (dogs) . Our 12.20 train did not arrive until nearly 2pm, again with no information provided as to it running late. Not a lot to do in a tiny little village station waiting for the train. Once we were on our way there was little to see given the weather plus it was getting dark. The destination was Creel, another Pueblo Magico. Our hotel – Maria del Tio Molca – was a 5 min walk from the station and yet we had someone met us to drive us to the hotel. We understood why when we got there – we would never have found it as there was no signage and it looked like a house. Our room was in a motel like wing; while the room was fine there was absolutely no facilities and the area outside our room smelt of cats pee – we think it was the smell of the plants.

It was a dash outside in the rain for a quick meal before retiring for the night. It rained all night and all the next day so apart from breakfast down at the Best Western in front of the fire and then across the road to La Cabana for dinner, we pretty much stayed in all day. We also did a slightly longer dash to the laundromat which was a bit of an oasis given its roaring fire. A real shame our ‘hotel’ didn’t have a lounge with a fire. The rain stopped overnight, and while the weather still looked a bit dodgy, we decided to hire some bikes from the 3 Amigos and explore a few of the local canyons. The bikes were brilliant and they also provided helmets and gloves (which were a godsend given the cold).

First stop was the Valle de las Ranas (Valley of the Frogs) and the Valle de los Hongos (Valley of the Mushrooms) just 5km outside of Creel. We enjoyed riding along the dirt road surrounded by rural Mexican life as much as the interesting shaped rocks. The amount of rain over the previous 36 hours meant lots of the road was under water which made for interesting riding – we had gained some experience from our Isla Holbox trip. Next stop was meant to be Lake Arareko but somehow, much to our pleasure, we found ourselves 1km from Valle de los Monjes (Valley of the Monks). Initially we had decided not to visit them because we thought it was too far but we were so glad that Deryn’s Map.me decided to divert us there. It was amazing. These towering rocks that looked like monks (funny that!). We had it to ourselves for the first 30 minutes until a tour bus arrived.

While riding back down the road we came across a sign saying Creel to Arareko Tarahumara bike track. Perfect. However it soon became clear that the actual track was under water so we had to sort of follow it on the slightly higher ground amongst the pine forest. It was magic. At one point we had to cross the river which meant carrying our bikes and wading thigh deep into a reasonably fast flowing river. We both made it without any major incident. We arrived at Lake Arareko after a 10 minute wait under a tree for a heavy shower to pass. The lake was a unique u shape, but apart from that, nothing special. Map.me was telling us that we basically had to retrace the way we had come to get back to Creel. Bugger that, so we carried our bikes across the river and followed a hiking trail (again carrying our bikes a fair bit) until we found a rideable track. Funny enough we passed a couple of local kids carrying their bikes but going in the opposite direction. It was then a matter of using Map.me to find our way home. We took a few wrong turns, asked locals for directions and poor Dits even had a slight crash before we eventually found the road back to Creel. It rained for the last 45 minutes or so but that just added to the adventure. We made it back to 3 Amigos 3 minutes after our 4 hour cut off time. 30km with over 400m of climbing. Perfect. We were covered in mud and soaked but felt fantastic. Best day for a while.

We felt a million dollars after a hot shower, a beer and a feed of chicken wings, pizza and salad. I dashed to the laundry to pick up our stuff from the day before and drop off our muddy gear. We were back in our room, tucked up for the night by 6pm. We had to check out by 12 the next day and our train wasn’t due to 15.38 (plus 2 hours!) so we had a chilled morning before checking out. We climbed the local mirador (via the laundry) to admire the statue of Jesus and sweeping views of Creel. After our day yesterday and a bit more sunshine, we could understand why Creel had been designated a Magico Pueblo. Our train was 2 hour late again but at least Creel had a few more sights to entertain us as we waited. We arrived in Chihuahua at 11, got ripped off by a taxi as had to pay 150p for a 5 km journey (the hotel told us the train taxis are a mafia that beats up any outsider taxis trying to get business – it costs 50p going the other way). Our hotel Doroteo Hotel Boutique was another converted homestead. It was beautiful.

We spent 3 lovely days in Chihuahua. Plenty of long walks exploring the old part of town; watching the locals in the main square and even a trip to the movies (Ford v Ferrari – great) in a very American mall. Deryn made a trip to the Mammoth museum which she said was amazing. A full skeletons oF a mammoth plus dinosaurs etc. She got chatting to a local who said if we needed any help to call him. Lovely people. We tried to have some fun one night but it was all a bit too hard. We did however find the most delicious shrimp ya os in Mexico. Surprisingly there were very few dogs in Chihuahua and certainly not of the little type. We saw one. We treasured these last few days as we knew it was the last of our 8 months of speaking Spanish.

Our flight to Tijuana was effortless while the crossing into the US via the Cross Border Xpress was also although we were again disappointed at how miserable the US border security people are. We grabbed an Uber (Mexican driver) to our lovely hotel in the heart it the Gaslamp district of San Diego.

And a note from Deryn….

Getting lost is not a fate to avoid, but a destiny to be embraced.

We arrived late after yet another epic chepe 2 hour train delay, into Chihuahua our final destination in this trip to Latin America. We awoke to a glorious sunny day but somehow I felt sorrowful. We began our usual meandering around the local Plaza del Armas, cathedrals and museums. I started to take in all the small things that I would miss from this adventure. Dogs, dogs, and cats (actually we only saw 1 dog in chihuahua and yes it was a chihuahua), not being able to flush toilet paper down the toilet, the beautiful bright colours of the clothes of the indigenous people, being immersed in Spanish, tacos… Many people have expressed that they couldn’t move around like we have. I am struggling to imagine not doing it. The natural wonders that we have seen, the physical challenges that we have faced, the chance to see a little of the way many other different cultures live. We have been unbelievably fortunate to have had experience.