When we left Yuma, I decided against bringing rain gear. I know first hand what it's like to ride in hard rain for an extended period of time. It's not great. But you gotta draw the line somewhere when you're packing gear. So I left it behind. So it rained real hard and I got real wet. It was one of those really, really annoying rains that first fogs up your helmet, and then starts leaking though the visor. Fills up your boots. Soaks you to the skin. Can't see a mf thing.
Well, I could see the water coming down the side of hills. Waterfalls in the desert.
What ended up happening was the roads started flooding. The vados were washing out. We reached a point about 11km south of Loreto where a bunch of cars were stopped in front of a washed out vado. It was probably 20 yards across. I decided to watch Brian cross. He did pretty well until just as he was reaching the other side, he hit a big hole. The front end vanished and then came up high and over (Just like in the commercials). I was not anxious to pit the mule against the tide. I decided to wade it first, which is what you're supposed to do. As the water rushed over the top of my boots, big rocks started slamming in to my feet. A tree floated by. Forget it, not doing it.
We talked it over a few minutes. The water receded a bit, and then started rising. Brian figured he couldn't make it safely back. I wasn't going to cross. So we agreed to meet back at the same spot the next day. Brian and Charlie headed to Ciudad Insurgentes (and further in to the path of the storm); I backtracked to Loreto.
Of course, by this point the washed out vados were even more washed out. It's a funny feeling when you drive your mule into rushing water and he starts to loose his footing. You start going sideways, like when you lock up your rear brake. But in this case, you're cranking the gas.
Anyway, it was dark and raining when I pulled in to Loreto. The streets were flooded. But there was a hotel open. Only thing was, I had given Charlie and Brian my wallet. And my cell phone. And all my dry clothes.
Luckily, I had stashed some cash in my toolcase under the seat in case we were robbed. And I have my credit card number memorized. Thankfully, the staff at the Santa Fe accepted the number and gave me a room. I felt bad sloshing through the lobby, but they were very gracious and never said a thing. Acted as if it was routine. Bless them.
I spent the rest of the day wearing a tee shirt I bought in the hotel store, my gel shorts and some very fashionable flip flops. The hotel had a couple of internet PCs, so I was able to make email contact with Viv, who was in contact with Charlie by Sat Phone. Everyone was very concerned that I would be stuck without my wallet, but once they realized I was safe in a hotel the whole thing just became humorous.
The next day was actually pretty boring. The rain stopped that night and the water started to recede. I checked out of the Santa Fe and tried to drive down to the spot were we got separated, but the police wouldn't let anyone pass. The road took a massive beating. Charlie and Brian tried to get back to Loreto, only to get stopped here.
The roads were like this basically from Santa Rosalia south to Insurgentes. Trucks were lined up, unable to turn around and waiting to cross.
With nothing else to do, I basically hung out on the streets of Loreto in my riding gear (which had dried out
overnight) , chatting up the other gringos. Everyone was stuck and wondering when the roads would open. Yup, I was getting some looks from the locals. But everyone was friendly. One guy I talked to gave me a tip about a cheap hotel, so around dinner time I checked in to the El Dorado. I figured I would then get some dinner and check my email.
It's amazing how much heavy equipment showed up and started right to work. By the end of the day, they had started to close the gap on this washout.
Charlie and Brian got the go ahead to cross once they'd filled it in. What looked like it may take several days to fix was done by nightfall.
Unfortunately, Brian and Charlie had no way of letting me know they would be in Loreto that night. They stopped at the Santa Fe, but of course I wasn't there. I was wandering down the main street, looking for some dinner. But instead, I see a very familiar white Land Cruiser with all kinds of flammable liquids stacked on top.
"Yo".
They didn't hear me. "Yo!".
On they went. "YO!!!".
Red tail lights. Charlie's head pops out the passenger windows. Holy sh*. Make that two rooms at the El Dorado.
:)
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