Ferry Crossing from La Paz to Mazatlan

It’s time to head to the mainland. Baja has been incredible. A slow, gentle introduction to Mexican culture and a preliminary view of what areas of my Spanish language skills need work… but it’s time to cross the Sea of Cortez.


Our last seaside campsite for a while... Tecalote Beach, Baja Sur

We headed back to La Paz and booked our ferry ticket at the Pichilingue ticket office.


No "on the sea" adventures, please.

Our bikes were measured and despite some of the rumors going around, they passed as motorcycles (not trucks in disguise!). For about 4,000 pesos ($285), we had confirmed seats with meals included for the next day. We had mixed recommendations but opted not to get a room: every dollar counts and we’re keen to meet the locals.

We passed some time on the internet at Kilometer Zero, met up with our friend Steve from Playa Coyote and even gave our first interview in Spanish. (You might note that the reporter says that I didn’t like Australia - that would be the fault of my Spanish - I was trying to communicate that the countries where we have been told to expect danger, we’ve found only nice people and the only country we have had a problem so far was Australia… oops. Love you Aussies!)

Anyway, getting onto the ferry was a breeze, but we were surprised by a “harbor tax” which we were told by the other overland travelers in the line was something they’d been told to expect… 75 pesos each.





The ferry was massive, and after tying down the bikes on the top deck we went inside to our assigned seats. They were plush, reclined fully and gave a great view of the large TV which played movies (sometimes, even with English subtitles).



Roel went out on deck to socialize with the other travelers (and whale watch), while I popped two Dramamine and stayed with our stuff below.




Let's see... my first suggestion would be to remove the obstacle from in front of the emergency exit.

The crossing was pretty uneventful. The food was fine. The ladies room was clean (men’s room apparently was not). I slept great thanks to the Dramamine (minus the hour+ that the child behind us was screaming) and before we knew it, it was time for breakfast and then we were in port on the mainland.



We were all hyped up for what we thought would be our first “real” border crossing in Mexico… complete with extensive luggage and paperwork checks… but no… we rode straight off the ferry and into Mazatlan.

Mexico, here we come!!!