San Clemente to Bahia, via a motorbike and the beach!!

What is the best way to get from San Clemente Ecuador to Bahia de Caraquez you might ask?  Well, it is by motorcycle on the beach!

I was swimming in the ocean the other day with the thought in my head that I need to go to Bahia later.  Before I went swimming, I checked the tide charts and knew that we had a very low – low tide at this time.  The low tide was -0.07 above sea level.  Or is that 0.07 below sea level?  Well, i dont know how to say it, but it was fun to think about.  Then I realized that low tide was the best time to go on the beach to Bahia.

So, I got out of the ocean, climbed the rocks to the house, took a quick shower and pulled my Christmas present out of the bodega.

So off to the beach I went.

I stopped in front of Helge’s house where he has some huge amount of acreage beyond comprehension.  He is building a house in the shape of a boat.

Looking back towards San Clemente.

Here is a 360 degree view of the area:

If I stopped too long, the kickstand would slowly sink into the sand.

I passed an archaeological site that claims to have a UFO landing area on the grounds.  It is called Chirije.

And before all my friends ask me what that big red thing on head is…  Yes, it is a helmet.

Tire tracks.

The riding on the sand is quite different than street riding.  At time the sand had more friction, less at others.  The bike would get the shimy shake at times without notice.  You could avoid objects, but at times it was difficult to feel comfortable to make an evasive maneuver.

Tracks in the sand

The next few pictures are of a new housing development project called Las Olas.  It is quite an undertaking.  It will be in a beautiful setting, that is for sure.

they have these signs up on a 1 mile stretch of beach.

Here is the rocky section of the trip.  There are blue footed booby birds reportedly in this area.

Thats one good looking Tundra!

There were stretches of beach that had lots of rocks and pebbles making the steering tricky at times.

To get off the beach and get back on road in Bahia, you have to go up a steep ramp / road / rock pit.  Whelp, I stopped the bike, tried looking for the best and said “its go up this steep ass hill or ride back half way to another road”.  I have a dirtbike with good suspension, so I said “Im going for it!”  As it turned out, I popped my first wheelie on a dirtbike when hitting the concrete lip.  Im sure the tire was a good 6″ in the air.  I landed it, and kept on going!!  Woohoo!

I made a grand entrance to Bahia, finished my errands, ate great ceviche on the beach and rode the road home.  It was a great day.

Figuring it out… 1 beach route at a time