Vino de Mexico

We've been asked more than once "What do you do with your time now that you're in Mexico?"

Well, yesterday we were introduced to a Mexican vineyard/ranchero called El Tule. 

When we arrived there was a woman making fresh tortillas in the outdoor kitchen fueled by a wood burning stove. On the stove was a soup that was being prepared for the evening meal if customers chose to purchase it. Also in the kitchen were several vineyard workers who began playing guitar and singing as they waited for their meal. The owner of El Tule introduced himself and I practiced what little Spanish I could muster up. It was obvious I need to brush up on my Spanish speaking skills! 

As it got a bit later it became clear that this was the place to be! The locals started arriving; people were enjoying the wine, ordering food and soon people were playing musical instruments and singing. The vineyard was spectacular and, along with many things in Mexico, it was different than a typical vineyard located in the United States yet also had some similarities. What's so different? What's similar? Take a look.

Here is the wine bar where we ordered a bottle of red wine which came chilled. It was very refreshing as yesterday was mucho caliente (very hot).

We also ordered home made bread and a cheese plate. Check out the size of this cheese plater! We only paid 130 pesos for everything which is approximately $10.00 US dollars!

As you can tell we thoroughly enjoyed the cheese!

The vineyard's cat, Azul, fell in love with Poncha.

After enjoying our wine we took a walk around el ranchero. A lovely 100 year old ranch.

A  pomegranate tree.

The grape vines.

A few little piggies.

Plant beauty.

Some art.

 

El Tule's buildings.

 

We also bought a few bottles of wine to take home and enjoy.

Another fantastic day in Mexico!

Baja Beginnings

Tomorrow will mark our first full week in Mexico and I must say, we are loving the slow paced life around here. We have our Baja beach mode of transportation; beach versions of Bluga and BB Baker.

We are doing our part to recycle. The local recycle place informed us we were the first ever to arrive with recyclables by bike so now we're famous!

 

We are enjoying the local produce, tamale and Mexican candy stands.

The local speed bump sign that Susana thought were boobies.

 We also get a kick out of the local style of homes where camper trailers have been converted into homes via Mexican style additions. Here we have the double decker.

Here are the adjoining trailers with roof top terrace.

Old school.

The mother-in-law casita. The trailer is not added onto the home, but a separate "extra" unit.

Susana is turning into a Mariachi contender.

And some other great views we enjoy every day.

These are views of the beach just 100 yards from our Baja home.

It's a good life!

Chula Vista

We've been hanging out in Chula Vista since we completed our tour on Monday. We decided to stay here for a few days in order to sell Bluga and BB Baker (our lovely bikes) and to view a few boats. Bluga is still waiting for her new owner, but BB Baker has now been spoken for and she will be on her way to Pennsilvania tomorrow. Hopefully she will get a chance to tour again. Meanwhile Bluga will be very sads without her.

While we were here we got the chance to see a few boats. We haven't found "the one" yet, but it's been fun seeing what's out there.

We also went to a fabulous brewery and tasted some amazing beers.

We even bought a few to enjoy back at the room.

We're also getting ready to cross the border tomorrow so we needed to purge a bit. Some lucky cyclist is going to be very happy with this thrift store find!

We'll still be blogging as we continue to search for a boat, but our internet will be a bit limited so it won't be as often. Thanks again for all your support and encouraging comments.

We Made It!

56 days since departing Portland, Oregon.

42 days pedaling Bluga and BB Baker.

 

14 days spent visiting loved ones.

1725 miles.

Our final ride day took us through San Diego. It was an incredibly warm day filled with hills and the challenge of locating the bike route had us taking a few wrong turns. That didn't seem to matter as this was our last ride of the bike adventure. It was incredible to be pedaling along and look up to see the huge Mexico flags flying in the wind letting us know how close to our goal we were! It took us a bit to actually locate the border by bike. It felt incredible and surreal to have accomplished our bike adventure! 

WE MADE IT!!!

On The Road Again

We had a great time in San Fernando Valley visiting with friends and family and we tried to fix our horrible bicycle tans at the pool. It wasn't pretty!

But, damn we tried!

Thankfully, we scored another ride back over the hill from Danielle. Love this woman!

She dropped us off in Santa Monica and we rode to our next destination in Long Beach.

We landed in a lovely, seedy motel with an interesting mirror on the ceiling. 

We're pretty excited about tomorrow as we have two boats we're scheduled to see in the morning. After that we're headed south toward San Diego. It's crazy to think we're just over 100 miles to our final destination, the Mexican border. We considered riding to Mamacita's house in Mexico, but due to safety concerns and what little brains we have left, we decided to stop at the border. We'll sell our bikes and then plan for our next adventure. It's hard to believe we're so close. Cheers!

Into the Valley

On our travels, we attract people...could be our magnetic personalities or Poncha's incredible orange tutu. Nevertheless less, while in Santa Barbara, two women began asking about our adventure and decided they must adorn us with a gift.

Check out these stunning sunglasses!

While in Santa Barbara, Poncha introduced me to Killer Shrimp restaurant; one of her favorite California dinning places. My oh my, my taste buds learned why! We devoured an incredible shrimp dish that came loaded with shrimp in a spicy broth that you soaked up with a ton of bread. We then topped off the meal with the most incredible sweet potato pecan pie!

On Saturday, August 2nd, we enjoyed a lovely campground located right on the beach and woke the next day to a bit of rain. We rode 51 miles that day. It was our first flat ride and the miles quickly flew by. We rode inland and then along the coast where there were miles and miles of campers lined up right up to the ocean.

On this ride Poncha scored her third flat. I, of course, am still in the lead with six flats!

We turned 1500 miles on this ride.

The terrain changed to barren mountains. This is a shot of the Santa Monica mountain range.

We landed in the Malibu area where Poncha's dear friend, Danielle, picked us up and drove us into the valley for visits with family and friends. Thank you Danielle!

We packed up Bluga and BB Baker for their first car ride of our adventure.

We thoroughly enjoyed time with Danielle including quenching our the thirst with a few margaritas and filling our stomachs with some delicious Mexican food.