Baja 2009: The KLR Khronicles Part VI

Ah, here we are…the final installment of the 2009 KLR Baja ride.  It was a great ride, and if you want to catch up on the first five installments, you can do so here.   Read on, my friends…

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Ensenada, like Rosarito Beach, was an empty town, struggling with the impact of the 2008 Great Recession and the media’s obsession with demonizing Mexico. The streets were empty, devoid of tourists.  We saw some cool cars, though, and I asked the guys around this one if I could take a photo.

The club was friendly and we had a good conversation. The car in the background (the one shown above) belonged to Reynaldo, the guy with the Southeast sweatshirt. He explained that Ensenada had an active car club.

The guys asked me to grab a shotof the artwork on Robert’s car (he’s the tallest guy in the photo above), and here it is.

I awoke early the next morning and took a few more shots walking around Ensenada.   I like getting up early, and it seems that I always get great photos on these early-morning walks.

I found out Edgar’s name by doing my usual “Como se llama usted?” routine. After introducing himself, Edgar also introduced Brittany.  It was nice meeting a dog in Mexico that appeared to have no interest in having me for dinner.

So, there you have it…four days and 1300 miles of KLR riding in a round trip blitz down to Guerrero Negro, with a few off-road excursions that resulted in more than a few interesting photos.  The ride had been a blast, the Kawasaki KLRs performed flawlessly, and we visited places only accessible via dirt roads.  And it was safe, at least as far as all the negative publicity about the narco-terroristas goes. The dogs (and maybe the odd tarantula or two), well, that’s another story…

If you are thinking of going into Baja, don’t let anybody scare you away. It’s a great place to ride, it’s safe, and it’s fun.

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