Afterward, we got some pics of the cool old steam engine outside, probably a mining transport. It was built in Erie, PA, close to Tom's home.
We got underway about 9:15
and proceeded to Camino del Diablo, the Devil’s Highway. I decided to try out the video mode on my new Canon camera, so I affixed it to the Ram mount, just behind the windscreen and was easily able to turn it on and start recording while moving. Unfortunately, the battery only lasts about 20 minutes and died just as we were getting to the entertaining(twisty) part of Camino del Diablo. After viewing what I'd recorded, later in the day, it was clear that mounting the camera to the bike created way to much movement and jitter to be acceptable quality. Guess I should have gotten the sports video cam(Drift, like Go Pro) I'd been on the fence about. It's mounted to the helmet, and the head is a natural stabilizer. Live and learn.
and proceeded to Camino del Diablo, the Devil’s Highway. I decided to try out the video mode on my new Canon camera, so I affixed it to the Ram mount, just behind the windscreen and was easily able to turn it on and start recording while moving. Unfortunately, the battery only lasts about 20 minutes and died just as we were getting to the entertaining(twisty) part of Camino del Diablo. After viewing what I'd recorded, later in the day, it was clear that mounting the camera to the bike created way to much movement and jitter to be acceptable quality. Guess I should have gotten the sports video cam(Drift, like Go Pro) I'd been on the fence about. It's mounted to the helmet, and the head is a natural stabilizer. Live and learn.
Back to the road, it went on and on and on and on for almost one hundred incredible miles, like six Palomar Mountain rides back to back. Our ride was down the mountain and had started at a very chilly 8500'(or so) and the Devil's Road took us down to a warm 3,000' before it leveled and straightened out. The road down was not particularly crowded, but there were, trucks and cars to pass, some rough surface and decreasing radius turns to deal. The scenery was mostly all pine forest, until we got down to the straighter flat sections below the Devils section. Out 25 miles from it's end, we came upon an accident where two young men on a small 50CC Honda motorcycle had crashed into a truck while descending. Roger had stopped and had seen one fellow staggering on the side of the road. Another was laying in the middle of the road, bleeding from a head wound and still as we passed. Roger said the fellow had raised his head as he was observing. We passed on, and parked a bit down the hill, not knowing what kind of trouble an American could get into as a good Samaritan in Mexico, but people were all standing off to the side of the road beside the truck that was hit and no-one was making an effort to help either of the kids. Sad... Luckily an ambulance arrived just as we were leaving.
We passed on down into a town below, gassed up at the Pemex and crossed the street for a great rotisserie chicken lunch at a little mom run street cafe'.
The rest of the trip to San Blas was uneventful and continuing thought the town, off toward the bay we ended up at the Hotel Garza a bit off the beaten path.
A beautiful inner courtyard garden, restaurant and lobby. The rooms were very nice and there was no fireplace, so we were golden for a smoke free night of rest.
Dinner in the dining room was very nice. Mine was a beef steak( don't remember the cut) that was tender and had a mild sweet red chile sauce that was to die for.... A quick read and writing session was soon aborted for sleep, which was punctuated by a 3 canon salute, sometime around midnight, evidently signaling the end of a local festival downtown. Morning came on the ringing of the town(or church?) bells starting at 6AM and continuing every 15 minutes or so til about 7AM. A new day and on to Mismaloya.
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