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| In que waiting to board |
Packing it up and clearing out of La Paz I had the whole day to ready my passage being ferried across the Sea of Cortez to Mazatlan. I figured I would have the rig washed and get a good walk in so around the malecon I went, discovering more little cool spots.
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| La Paz malecon |
La Paz is really a wonderful place I felted completely safe as I walked around both day and night. Ready for an afternoon coffee, Big Sur Coffee was my go too, a little spot on a narrow tree shaded street. I sat on the bench saying hola! to passer-byes sipping a well brewed americano. I stopped for a little munch and a ice cream before heading over to the port. Its all about following protocol when booking passage, first I had to have the rig inspected and passport confirmed by the border patrol.
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| Cool old Hotel malecon La Paz |
They were very nice and asked me where I'm going and where I been. They checked my TIP papers with my rigs vin# and ID then made a visual inspection asking me to open this or that no biggy just doing their job. They even gave me advice on where the best tortillas come from, we both laughed!!
Next I had to get weighed, once they let me through the border inspection I got in line to be weighed. Wedged between large semi's the line moved along. I payed $175pesos and moved forward on the scales, issued a gross weight certificate of #3309kilos. Next I parked and went into the
TMC office to book my passage with weight cert. in hand.
TMC charged $3900pesos, price included, automoviles con operado, two meals and passage to
Mazatlan from La Paz. Easy enough I paid my pesos got my boarding pass and was told where to park, as the larger trucks were being loaded first.
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| Ferry ship loading to the left San Jorge La Paz BCS |
Finally I was called to board and backed-in up the ramp and on deck to a snug spot starboard side with a open view of the sky, this works. Well not so fast they needed to move me so a larger truck could maneuver as space was getting very tight. They directed me further back mid-ship in front of a handful of motorcycles, I still had some room but further back I was no longer looking at a open sky, boxed-in!
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| packed like sardines |
Getting situated I remained in my rig until the vessel shoved off about 35min behind schedule. Once we were under way I walked the deck and figured out the lay of the ship trust me this was no cruise line with an activities director. Nor did they go through any safety measures they didn't even have a clear floor plan of the ship posted! They did have showers and banos along with a galley outfitted with a big screen TV playing soft porn novellas.
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| my home for the next 14hrs |
There was another seating area but all was taken clearly less seats than passengers. The passengers were truck drivers who made this run many times before. I checked in with the galley to make sure I didn't miss dinner they were nice and offered me a place to sit. I still had time and didn't want to be a bother so I went top-side to get some fresh air. The weather was warm and the ships breeze was very welcomed it was a beautiful night.
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| sunrise off the stern |
Returning to the galley they recognized me as the only gringo on board, the kitchen jefe pointed to a seat sat me down and before I could say, thank you, I had a meal of carne, beans, fresh hot tortillas and guacamole in front of me. Poured on the hot sauce and dug in, not bad at all. Sipped some instant coffee and thanked senior jefe for the meal.
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| Heading into Mazatlan |
I returned to the upper deck to enjoy the rest of the evening and scout out a place to stretch out. Returning back to my rig to grab a couple of beers and hang-out the engine noise of all the big rigs running was a bit loud. Noting that it would be hard pressed to sleep in the car, after a while I tried it with my rig running, AC on and windows rolled up. A couple of hours later I needed to get up and use the bano and take a shower. Felt bad for leaving my rig running while trying to sleep so I turned it off and went topside to chill in the night air and hopefully bag some Zzzz's.
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| Getting a nudge from a tug Mazatlan MX. |
The night was long but morning was approaching fast, I was slow to stir I rested in a semi comfortable slumber, as the days sun was rising! Galley opened I poured myself some coffee and remand on top deck til Desayuno (breaky) was served. The morning air was fresh and clean the ship had been on course all night occasionally checking it with my
InReach SatCom. Changing course the ship headed for port in
Mazatlan. Watching the tugs and pilot boat come out to greet the ferry we were instantly under the guidance of port officials as we safely docked.
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| on the waterfront Mazatlan |
Off loading seemed to happen quickly as I was directed to disembark down the ramp on to
Mazatlan soil. It was early AM so I decided to take a leisurely drive along the water front in
Mazatlan about 27klm long I found my way around his busy town and headed for
MEX 15 towards
Guadalajara.
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| Through the pass to Tepic |
As the road went through little towns and villages,
Tepic was my stop for the night 293klm from
Mazatlan.
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| Baja Waypoints Good Times! |
Hope to see you on the Trail!!...
🚙.......
