to be honest...

…today sort of sucked. It started out okay. A nice Squishy Bowl of Frosted Flakes, I mean Zucharitas, is always a good thing. The clothes were still a bit damp so I set them out in the truck on top of a clean sheet. (which reminds me, the only thing not to be silt covered yesterday was the inside of my Ezi Awn tent. It may have let a little water through in NorCal but it kept the dust out. Seems like a fair trade to me.) Back on pavement the plan was to take my time getting to La Paz. Things started to go south when I had to stop and put air in my tire again. No matter how many lessons and dictionaries you have a gringo butchering Spanish and a small town Napa clerk cannot figure out how to communicate ‘valve stem wrench’ without going out to the truck to look at it. An hour wasted (although a clean toilet at napa) I was back on the road. Plan was to track down a race crew headed back north and borrow a wrench to see if that was the source of my leak. The gauge doesn’t want to read properly so I’m hoping that the stem isn’t fully tightened.

I pulled into La Paz about 2. Got lost not once but twice looking for the Ferry terminal. I was on the right road the first time just misjudged the distance out there. The second time was the crucial mistake. Trying to find my way back to the main road I guess I ran a stop sign. Obviously I got pulled over. I’m sure you can all guess where this is headed. I deserved the ticket, not an issue. He however wanted $200 cash instead. I told him I’d take the ticket. He told me the station was closed on Saturday. I said I’d be back Tuesday and do it then. He then told me he had to keep my license as a guarantee I would return. I said no problem (it was voided by the state of Utah anyway and I have the new one on the way.) I then asked his name so I could tell the clerk at the police station who had my license so I could get it back. End up spending $40 to get off without the ticket and my license back. Sucks to have to play their games but I figured it was cheap this time. Back into la Paz, ferry terminal closed for the night. Looks like I’ll be back on Monday to get a ticket for Tuesday. I wandered around looking for an ATM and something to eat. Okay mainly to look for a place to park to find the other two. Found a spot. Walked into a restaurant that had a college football game on. Just what I needed to turn around my long day. (oh did I mention I have a head light out. The Slee light harness has decided to come apart on me. I thought zip ties and electrical tape would hold it. I was wrong. That is a project for tomorrow. ) Right as I sit down they switch over the game to some Mexican music awards. I had spent too much time realizing I spoke crappy Spanish to try and ask to turn the game back on so I ordered a coke, headed outside to my truck and got on the road to Cabo. The entire route south people kept brighting me. I knew something was wrong. I guess in the chaos of the La Purisma road yesterday my one working light had fallen out of the socket. Hell it’s no wonder I couldn’t see anything. So pulled over, plugged it back in. A world of difference. I also had to put my 2^nd quart of oil in over 5000 miles. Burning it like it was paper. Awesome. I found a camp spot in the dark. Finished off my Dreyer’s cookies and cream (the one positive to my day) and now I sit here typing in the tent. Hopefully the sunrise will find me in better spirits.

I guess it could be worse. I’ve been lost in Oakland trying to find a gas station for my rental car, frantically trying to make my flight. Yeah today was better that that. Time to email Lonely Planet and tell them ‘valve stem wrench’ needs to be added to their pocket dictionary.

Lost in Baja,

Dave Connors

Lead - Expedition Americas

http://www.expeditionamericas.com/