6 Amigos (page 2)

We arrive in San Ignacio as the sun sets behind the church on the town plaza.

Back in the 1800's a German left a ship in Santa Rosalia, and went about 40 miles inland to San Ignacio.

That is the reason for businesses with names like "Fischer".

We wakeup to another beautiful day in Baja. The courtyard at the La Pinta Hotel in San Ignacio.
Another day of looking for more "Then and Now's".
The doors of the church were not hard to find. This pictures was from Erle Stanley Gardner's book, "Off the Beaten Track in Baja". The book was printed in 1967. Erle was the guy behind the "Perry Mason" Radio and TV shows. He wrote 10 non-fiction books on Baja.
As the doors look today.
The doors, as we found them. Hey - we need to close the doors to get the picture!

In 1967 Erle Stanley Gardner sent a team down Baja with barrels of fuel in Dodge Powerhouses, so that he could fly down in a helicopter. In the book "Off the Beaten Track in Baja" he writes about this neat lady that helped to coordinate things for him in San Ignacio. He would fly down, then do exploring on trail bikes.

This is Erle and Hercilia Cesena in 1967. On a trip to Baja back in 1997, she was one of the very first "Then and Now's" that Sandy and I first found, which started this "Then and Now" habit we now have....... Erle was an "Adventure Rider". He rode Tote Goats and Honda Trail 90's.
Because of our trip back in 1997, we knew exactly where to find her.
Hercilia, sitting around a campfire, with Mr. Gardner back in 1967.
She was a hottie!
Hercilia Cesena and I on October 1, 2007.. She is the pharmacist in San Ignacio.
Tom, getting Hercilia's phone number. As it turns out, she has had "enough" of the business and is ready to sell. She asked Tom "If he knows anybody that wants to purchase a pharmacy in San Ignacio, please have them call her"!

This is just a token motorcycle picture to keep you motorcycle riders interested! More later!

A picture of the church in San Ignacio is from "The Land of Shorter Shadows", also by Mr. Gardner (printed in 1948).

As the church looks today. The trees have mature!

The picture below is from 1967 ("Off the Beaten Track in Baja").

As it looked on October 1, 2007.....

We tried to gain access to the bell tower, but the guy with the keys was out of town and was not returning until 3:00 pm. I could not ask the guys to stand around for 6 hours in the heat, so off we went.
Another picture from the bell tower. Hey, I have a reason to return to San Ignacio!
When we attempted to get authorization to climb the church tower, we met this gentleman which had written a book about the church in San Ignacio.
Ronnie, kicking back while I am doing the "Then and Now's".
The street leading out of San Ignacio.
As you ride out of San Igancio, you pass by this small lake. On to Santa Rosalia!

Since Tim's battery in the 650 BMW was a GONER, we seached Santa Rosalia, high and low, looking for a replacement for the goner!
The 650 is striped and ready for a new battery!
Although Tim was using the battery from the 650 Honda, he was happier than anybody, that a battery was located. Since Tim had the Honda battery, he was also responsible for push starting the Honda.!
This is TIM just prior to impact on the main street of Santa Rosalia, on his LAST push start of the Honda!

I took a few months off, and have not done any posting. Gotten very LAZY and just day dream, most of the time, about South America. This ride took place in October of 2007, and I never finished the pictures. I got a call from some of the guys on this ride, and we are going to meet for 10 days of riding in Moab, Utah in April. The grief they will give me if I do not finish this report will make the trip unbearable, so I will try and complete the report so they don't think I am a complete failure!

The guys were trying to find a battery for the BMW 650, so I had an hour or 2 to attempt to find a few "Then and Now's" around Santa Rosalia.

The bike looks so lightly packed compared to the overloaded R100GS on our trip to South America.

The KTM looks like a sport bike compared to a Peterbuilt!

We have been traveling up and down Baja since 1973.

Boy, that shows my age, doesn't it?

This chimney runs up the hill about 1/3 mile, then it has a small stack on top. I guess it saved money when compared to building a TALL stack right in town.

When I was here a few years ago, I decided that I would ride the motorcycle to the top, but stopped about 80% of the way.

I was going to go all the way this year, but it is now impossible, as the ceiling of the long tube up the hill has collapsed in spots.

Now for some "Then and Now's" in Santa Rosalia.


This photo is from a book called "Land of Shorter Shadows", printed in 1948, by Erle Stanley Gardner. Erle is the same guy that wrote all the "Perry Mason" stories.
The building in the trees is the same building as in the old picture. It was easy to verify, based on the structural supports and the cut in the mountain (which you can not see in the picture.
This picture, from farther back shows the supports which match the old picture. The ugly yellow and orange building is under the tree in this picture.
The construction of this small church is attributed Gustave Eiffel, the famous French architect responsible for the Eiffel Town in Paris. Eiffel's design won a prize at the 1889 Universal Exposition of Paris, France, and was originally destined for somewhere in Africa. It was later discovered in Belgium by an official of the Boleo mining company, who purchased it and brought it back to Santa Rosalía in 1897.
Due to new construction in Santa Rosalia, since 1948, it was impossible to take a picture from the exact location, so the angle is off a little. The good news is the church still stands.
During our travels in South America we found many other builds built by Eiffel. This church in Arica Chile (in the Atacama Desert) was built in 1876 which was 13 years prior to the construction of the church in Baja.

Under Construction----

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