100 days on the road, and Janet still alive, who would have believed it. Today we had a very civilised start, having a nice pancake breakfast served to us in the hotel resturant.

Our very nice hotel

Then it was off across town, I was not sure where but it looked right! it involved the usual zig and zag you get with the block type roads, then the traffic came to a halt and I knew we were here, the port of entry. We scythed our way to the front only to be told to go and wait in the pedestrian queue. Apparently some enterprising people had started to rent bikes out so anyone with the bike could push to the front of the car queue and get straight across. Then dumping the bike shortly after where it was collected and brought back over the border to use again.

So waiting was the order of the day, it took us 2 hours to get through. A word of warning though make sure your American visa is correctly stamped up to date or you need to get it processed over the other side of the road and then join the queue again.

The queue to the USA

There was no sign of anyone on the Mexican side checking your tourist visas on your exit though.

As you cross into the USA, you are greeted by a McDonalds and the San Diego mass transit system which is ready and waiting to take you away to downtown San Diego (where else would it take you!), you can put cycles in the “trolley” as they are called. We cycled on though no matter how tempting.

San Diego trolley

The road ran parallel to the border for a little while, all with very nice wide cycle lanes. A very welcome thing. It is so very different here than in Mexico, but not necessarily better.

Mexico across the wall

After 3 – 4 miles of pleasant back road riding we started down the San Diego cycle path, this took us right into the centre of the city without cycling down any roads, it was lovely, and very well used. The city looked ever more impressive as we got nearer.

Our first view of San Diego

San Diego looking more impressive

Eventually the cycleway ended at a short ferry crossing where for $9.00 the two of us were transported to downtown San Diego. We very surprisingly found the hostel quickly (the block system really helps here). Market Street and Fifth Avenue. The hostel is clean and the showers  good, I slept in a bunk bed for the first time in a long while.


For food we had a walk to a gastro pub and micro brewery, that is it the day gone.