Taking the baja down the Baja: Day Nine

Note: This is a recap of Day Nine of our journey driving a ’68 bug from Sacramento, CA to Sayulita, Mexico.  You can catch up on day eight here.  

The most surprising aspect of the ferry ride was the timing.  We had given ourselves plenty of wiggle room, because we didn’t know if it would leave or arrive on time.  It did both.  We cruised into Mazatlan right before 9am, and everyone lined up in an orderly fashion to disembark.  I joined the exit line, rushed back to return the borrowed movies and remote control, then joined the line again while Edgar went down below to fire up the bug.

I walked off the ramp and met Edgar in the parking lot, where he was holding our exhaust pipe.  He’d lightly tapped a truck during the unloading process, and it was enough to cause the pipe to break off.  Once again our jar of bungees came in handy, and we headed off toward Sayulita with the pipe carefully fixed to the roof rack, while keeping a careful eye out for a welding shop.

At lunch time we found a nice little place right on the water just south of San Blas, selling shrimp and cheese empanadas and the now standard coca lites.  While we wrapped up the meal, we asked around about a nearby break called Stoners.  No one at the restaurant knew what we were talking about, so we went off-roading again.  We found some pretty beaches, but no swell.

We’d spent enough time in Nayarit to know where the swell is located there, so we got back on the pavement and headed in that direction.  In La Cruz we spotted what looked like a welding shop, and quickly turned in.  We used our spanish and a lot of demonstrative movements to explain the problem, and one of the workers said the magic words, “no problem”.  He brought out the torch, and waved off Edgar’s suggestion of a helmet.  A few moments and pesos later, the pipe was once again married to the bug.

We were close to home, but had enough light to check out one of the local breaks, so we took a quick peek.  Burrows wasn’t too exciting, but the pizza joint nearby had a live band.  They sounded good and so did a slice of pizza, so we settled in to enjoy both.

After dinner, it was time to go home.  Casa Aves has the perfect spot for the bug right out front.  We spent time unloading boards and supplies, and giving the green meanie a little dust-off as a welcome home.

The next day, we grabbed a ride to the airport, and a much faster trip home.

Miles traveled on day 9:  245

The story doesn’t end here; it’s just the closing of this chapter.  Thanks to everyone for following along and enjoying the recaps with us.  It was a great adventure and we enjoyed sharing it with you.  We’d love to hear your feedback and/or questions.  What surprised you about the journey? Is there anything we didn’t cover that you really want to know? Have you, or would you want to, make a similar trek?  Would you have joined Fibber McGee for dinner, or adopted a Mexican street puppy?  Share in the comments and let’s keep the conversation going.