Day 9.

Great night full of sleep. Woke up early and left San Vicente for Camalu. I was away from the coast for two days, but the ride today brought me back to it. Rolling hills and another tough peak to climb. I had to hike another 4-5km this morning, but it's a good way to stay as safe as possible and save my legs from too much strain. The weather was on my side once again, except for brutal wind during the middle of my day. It calmed down and made for a pretty quiet ride. 65km to Camalu.

My parents arranged for a Western Union money transfer for me to pick up here. With International Fees on my debit card and fees for ATMs, I'm losing a good bit of cash. We figured Western Union would be the best bet for money, however, it didn't work. The business that offered Western Union couldn't connect with the system and the plan failed. Mexico is hit or miss. Can't expect the conveniences we have back home. ATMs it is.

Really scary night... While I was trying to find a place to camp, I hollered at a farmer (nighttime, pitch black) and immediately his three big black dogs came charging at me, with every bit of aggression they had. After maybe 15 seconds of straddling my bike, being circled, one of the dogs made a grab at my leg and tore the zipper from my shorts pocket. I had my hand on my knife and as he bit down I made a go at his neck. The sheath for my knife was bungied onto my handlebar bag, so when I pulled the knife, it was all blade. The dog was clearly hurt and and as it all happened the owner screamed the others away and I bolted. As I rode off the owner kept screaming he was sorry. For a good hour my heart was in full on race mode. I found an empty spot in the middle of a field, pitched my tent and without unrolling my sleeping bag or pad I fell right asleep.

I should've brought mace. We even had it at the bike shop I work at... damn.