The (Hard) Road to Ciudad Insurgentes

Thursday, 11 March – San Juanico (Scorpion Bay) to La Paz, BCS

1. Looking out from the palapa we rented at the Cantina at Scorpion Bay.
It was very windy so I wound up sleeping in the truck. Ray slept in the palapa.

2. A look at the palapa in the morning light.

3. The wonderful paved road we unexpected found when we arrived in San Juanico just as unexpected ended about 20 km from town.

4. The road leaving Scorpion Bay is not finished.

5. Thanks to the GPS, we were able to connect to the main road.

6. This canyon presented an unexpected challenge as
we tried to reach the paved road to Ciudad Insurgentes.

7. The canyon walls are steep ...

8 . ... and there is a river (La Purisimo) at the bottom.

A Sudden Realization: You need extra gas not to get to NEXT gas station, you need extra gas to get back to the LAST gas station. We put our extra 5 gallons in the truck that morning. We only have enough gas to go forward.

9. It looks like a lot of water. The fact that we have not seen any
north bound traffic the last two days makes us wonder.

10. Fording the river on foot gives us confidence.
If there were any rain, we would be camping on the west bank of the Purisimo.

11. Ray handles crossing the Purisimo

12. One final look at our only real river crossing and we are on our way to La Paz.

13. Finding the Casabuena B&B was somewhat of a challenge. Through this door ...

14. ... we found a much needed oasis.

15. The veranda in front of our room at the Casabuena B&B.

16. The fountain in the garden at the Casabuena B&B,

17. Another look at the garden at the Casabuena.

18. Seven blocks north on Belisario Dominguez is the Ranch Viejo
where the menu is painted on the wall.

OK, we woke up today with the wind still blowing. This makes the 5th day of rather strong north winds. Ray and I made a strategic decision to move back to the east side of the peninsula and return to the Pacific side when we get a favorable weather forecast. For now, we will skip Puerto San Carlos and head directly for La Paz and hopefully sunnier days.

The new paved road we unexpected found allowed us to exit San Junico at 60 MPH. I am talking light-speed after the last 120 miles. We rolled along the beach and thought we were getting pretty close to BCS 53 (the paved road to Ciudad Insurgentes) when the road unexpectedly ended. There were some tracks that continued on after the pavement but we were unsure. The map and the GPS were no help. We back tracked to the cut-off to La Bocana, drove 3 miles north on this track which showed on the GPS, and then rejoined the old road. Our hopes of pavement quickly melted away to reliving yesterday.

We ran into an anxious moment as we neared BCS 53. We came to a rather large canyon with steep walls. When we reached the bottom, we saw that there was a rather large river. At this moment, I understood why we carry extra gas. It is not to get you to the NEXT gas station; it is to get you back to the LAST gas station. We had put the extra 5 gallons we were carrying since San Ignacio into the truck that morning and we were below ½ full. We did not have enough gas to go back the 170 miles to San Ignacio. We forded the river (La Purisimo) on foot. We decided it was doable and that this was not the reason we had not seen any north bound traffic for the last two days. Ray picked his way across the river. Shortly, we were on pavement. He had reached BCS 53.

BCS (Baja California Sur) 53 is a straight road to Ciudad Insurgentes. As you get close to Insurgentes, there are irrigated fields. The homesteader ejidos give way to a continuous patchwork of fields. Ciudad Insurgentes is a real town. It is neat and tidy. It was the first town since Guerrero Negro. We did not spend any time here other than to buy gasoline at the Pemex station. Mexico Hwy 1 joins BCS53 at Insurgentes. We drove south out of town, merged onto Hwy 1 and continued south.

The agricultural areas continues to Ciudad Constitucion which is 40 kM south of Insurgentes. I think I read that Constitucion is about 60,000 people. We made a quick stop at the Super Ley grocery store on the south side of Constitucion.

The agriculture ends pretty quickly south of Constitution and you are back in the dessert. The population drops to almost nil as little settlements occasionally dot Hwy 1. There is no other population center of consequence until you reach La Paz some 200 km later.

When we arrived in La Paz, we tried to locate the Casabuena B&B which was recommended to us by Carlos, of the Baja Expedition team in San Ignacio. From the map Carlos had drawn for us. We drove a mixed use street several times and did not see the B&B. We drove by the Baja Expeditions office and Ray Asked them for directions. The drew us the same map and assured us it was there. We drove the street one more time with no luck. I stopped into a tienda on the corner. He pointed directed me across the street and pointed me to a wall with a door on it. For the first time, I saw the sign “Casabuena” above the door. HINT: It is directly across the street from the laundry.

We rang the door and were greeted by Milton, who welcomed us into what I will call a travel oasis. See the pictures above. Casabuena B&B is a very chill place in a very chill town. After nearly 3 weeks of living in the back of the truck or plywood casitas, we were ready to sit in the sunlight in the garden after a hot (yes-they are hot) shower. I would recommend Casabuena to friends, relatives, and/or strangers. It is reasonably priced, within easy walking distance of downtown, and has a nice charm in to its architecture and gardens. If you are coming to or are passing through La Paz, here is some helpful information:

Casabuena B&B
Owners: Milton and Susu Sanders
3065 Belisario Dominguez (Between Sonora and Sinaloa)
La Paz, BCS, Mexico 23060
phone: 52-612-122-5538 – English works here.
cell: 044-612-137-5767 - English works here.
e-mail: miltuna@hotmail.com
website: http://www.cblapaz.com

Note: Belisario Dominguez is one street back from Abasolo (Hwy 1 Entering from the north)

Milton recommended the Ranch Viejo seven blocks up Belisario Dominguez toward the city center. As Milton said “You will smell it when you get there”. Tacos carne arrachera – very good.


Wednesday, 10 March – Laguna San Ingnacio to San Juanico (Scorpion Bay)

1. The "high" road south of Laguna San Ignacio turned to single track. As we approached the base of the mesa, the vegetation turned to waist-high grassland with some trees.

2. We lost the grasslands as we began to climb.

3. We encountered one ranch on our ride at El Bule
where we had to let ourselves through the gate.

4. Although not difficult, this stretch was the most desolate part of our entire trip.

Baja is vast. In Baja California Sur, the Pacific side it is sparsely populated.

5. Road signs are updated by the highway users.

6. The terrain is flat on top of the mesa.

7. San Juanico sits on a beautiful bay known as "Scorpion Bay" by the surfers.

A shout out to our surfer friends Sam from Mill Valley, CA and Tom Mills of Raleigh, NC. The waves enter at the point and break evenly toward San Juanico (kind of shown here). Jesse, the manager of the Cantina says during south swells (May - August), you can ride a wave from 3rd point (the light-house) into San Juanico - Ray and I figure this to be about 1 mile.

OK, this next part is going to be a rather dry and boring account of our journey along a very desolate stretch of road. Unless you are planning to drive this stretch, then you will want all the detail in this account.

On the Laguna San Ignacio, the Baja Expedition / Antonio camp is at La Frieda. There are two roads that go south: the “high” road, which follows the base of the Mesa and the “low” road, which crosses the coastal mud flats and mangrove areas. We decided to take the low road but wound up on the high road almost immediately.

There is a settlement about a mile from camp referred to as Escuelita (there is a school) by the residents. From the camp, we headed straight to Escuelita, kept to the right of the settlement as we passed, and then turned left at the end of the settlement as instructed by Carlos, one of the Baja Expeditions team. After turning left around the settlement, the road forked (which Carlos made no mention). We took the right hand fork which I am guessing is a short-cut to the high road for south going traffic. I think if we had taken the left fork, we would have wound up on the high road and seen the sign for the low road. Looking back, I think we crossed the low road (there was no sign on this track). We located our position immediately on the GPS and we knew we were on the high road since this appears on the Baja maps Ray downloaded. We came to a signed, cut-off for Delgadito, the only settlement on the low road, that was on none of our maps. We tried this road but it had extreme wash-board and we quickly decided that we were meant to take the high road. So here is the story of the high road ….

As we got closer to the Mesa, we broke into waist-high grassland dotted with some unknown tree. The vegetation was a welcome change. The road narrowed to single track through this grassy area which lasted until we crossed a drive riverbed at El Cuarenta, turned north-east, and started climbing between a break in the mesas. We passed a ranch at El Bule where we had to let ourselves through the gate. We heard some sheep or goats but did not see anyone.

Once on the east side of the mesa, the road was wider, had fewer rocks, but had some dust pits. We hit one of these dust pans and now everything we have is covered with a fine coating of dust. I told Ray that he will have dust in his truck as long as he owns it.

The was a cut off to San Jose de Gracia. Someone had taken the effort to keep the sign readable (thank you) otherwise, we would have taken the wrong turn. From here, the road was fairly obvious through La Ballena (the whale) and Ejido Cadeje where we actually had to cross a small river. We saw where the low road rejoined the high road before La Ballena. There was no sign at this intersection but it is your only choice and fits with the maps in the Baja California Almanac.

When we arrived in San Juanico, we were surprised to encounter pavement. The road running south-east out of town is newly paved as is the main street through San Juanico. The town appeared tidy with its curbed streets and street lights. It was also interesting to see the wind farm north of town that was working overtime since the north winds we had our entire time at Laguna San Ignacio continued at San Juanico.

We are camped at the “Cantina”. There are two other campers here. Jesse, the manager, is friendly and helpful. However, the Cantina, along with the rest of town, is closed for business. As Jesse explains, surf season is from May through August at which time we would be lucky to get a site. Ray and I trolled though town looking for a taco stand Jesse told us would be open after 5 p.m. but we didn’t connect. We returned to camp to eat out of our camp box.

The beach at San Juanico is spectacular and lives up to the hype in the travel books. We are camped in the “surf” camp in the bluffs west of the bay. The beaches east of town stretch for a good 15 miles with very little access. I think that the only way up the beach is - well, to drive/walk up the beach. If you want to be alone on the beach, here (and about 90% of the rest of Baja) is your spot. The bay that fronts the town is known by the surfing crowd as Scorpion Bay. The proper name is Bahia San Juanico. The waves entering the bay at high tide broke evenly west to east across the bay. Jesse explained that when south swells enter the Bahia San Juanico, a surfer can catch a wave a 3rd point (the lighthouse) and ride all the way into town. Ray and I figured this is about 1 mile.

The wind is blowing hard enough that I do not want to sleep in the Palapa. Ray helped me set up the truck. Inside, it does a nice job of stopping the wind.

Eat, Sleep, Watch Whales

Tuesday, 9 March - Laguna San Ignacio



1. Dolphins play with the boat on the way to the laguna (video).

2. Mama and baby whale surface (video).

3. Mama "skyhops" a look at us in the boat. Baby surfaces (video).

4. Mama and baby stop to look at who is in the boat (video).

5. Another look at mama and bay "skyhopping" the boat. Shot by Mary, a fellow whale watcher (video).

Whale Watching at Laguna San Ignacio

Monday, 8 March – Laguna San Ignacio (lat 26 47.829; long 113 10.075) – Whale Watching

1. This whale has had better days.

2. Whaling team– Juan Paulo (guide) and Joel (dead weight)

3. Whaling team – Ray (communications consultant), Martin (skipper),
and Juanita (whale psychologist)


4. Close encounters 1 - Whale Racing(video)


5. Close encounters 2 - "Don't Wake the Sleeping Whale" (video)

OK, Ray and I went whale watching, ate fish, and did some blogging. I will let the pictures speak for themselves. The people associated with Baja Expeditions have all been great. The food, accommodations, and tours have all been a great. The whales did not jump into the boat this morning. Maybe tomorrow.

Public Service Announcement - Joining the blog as a "follower" should get you an e-mail notice when we update the blog. We will have several breaks in blog postings over the next couple weeks as we loose internet access.

The Road to San Ignacio

Sunday, 7 March – San Ignacio to Laguna San Ignacio (lat 27 18.009; long 112 53.675)

1. Cave art reproductions at the museum in San Ignacio.
The real thing is 4,000 to 10,000 years old.

2. Arriving at the Laguna San Ignacio

3. Accommodations at Antonio’s camp.

4. “No, I don’t have a job.”

5. Antonio and friends play guitar and sing.

Had a great breakfast at San Ignacio Springs Bread and Breakfast, then took in the cave painting museum next to the cathedral.

We took care of business in San Ignacio. Gassed up (took on 5 extra gallons for the the road south), bought food for four days, and punched out the last blog post at the internet café on the San Ignacio plaza. Then we were off to Laguna San Ignacio. A nice new paved road lead us about 20 km out of town. The road turned to dirt. The people in San Ignacio warned us that the road was rough. Compared to the road to Bahia San Luis Gonzaga, the road was really pretty good. With the exception a couple single tracks across the tidal plains, we were able to roll at 30+ MPH the entire way to the Laguna.

Ray and I checked into a cabana with Baja Expeditions (celebrating their 35th year as a world’s leader in eco-adventures). Here on the laguna, BajaEx appears to have merged with a local operator Antonio. Look for them on the web: www.bajaex.com. For those that know Laguna San Ignacio, Baja Expeditions has leased Antonio’s Eco-Tours (www.antonioecotours.com) for two years. So I guess, Antonio is now a sub-contractor. If you want the Antonio experience, you have to book through BajaEx.

Watched the sun set on the Pacific.

We had a nice fish dinner at the restaurant. After dinner, Antonio and friends played guitar and sang.

Whale watching tomorrow.


Saturday, 6 March – Bahia San Luis Gonzaga to San Ignacio

1. Taking a break on the road south of Bahia San Luis Gonzaga

2. The road climbs to about 2400 ft from sea-level.

3. The desert was in bloom in the Saguaro cacti zone.

4. A really big Saguaro (Joel is in the frame for reference)

5. We arrive at Coco’s corner for the obligatory beer …..

6. … where delivery trucks have seen better days …..

7. …and ladies undergarments adorn the ceiling.


8. The mission San Ignacio, 2 km south of HWY 1

9. Sunset on the river at San Ignacio

Big travel day. Packed up and dumped the gas on the hitch carrier into the truck’s tank. Had some extra and tried to give it to Olive and Jerry to repay them for the fish they gave us earlier. He had mentioned earlier that he did not have enough fuel to make it to Punta Final. However, Jerry told Ray that Dean (a permanent camper on the beach) had already given him mixed gasoline but that Dean really needed raw gas for his generator. So Ray gave Dean the raw gas. Ray returned from the trip with cooked clams. A start to another day in Baja.

We paid for a shower on the way out at the reverse osmosis plant at Rancho Grande. Then we headed south on the coast road. We passed the turn off to Punta Final. I am a little sorry that we did not make it out there this trip. We said that we would return to this sopt if we had time on the way back up HWY 1. However, given all the places marked on our map already, I am realizing for the first time that our time is limited and 5 weeks is not enough time for this trip.

The road improved somewhat compared to the road we had traveled from the north although progress was still slow. We gradually climbed to over 2400ft back into the Saguaro and Organ Pipe cacti zone. The dessert was in full bloom. As we crested the mountain spine that divides Baja, the temperature dropped noticeably as we felt the Pacific winds. We also encountered light rainfall.

We made the obligatory stop at Coco’s corner, a small compound at an intersection for the road to HWY 1. According to all the Baja books, Coco is a hermit that moved from Tijuana to the dessert something like 30 years ago. He sells beer and soda to passers-by and is a renowned story-teller. There are also ladies undergarments nailed to the ceiling which no doubt are the subject of some stories. I haven’t checked but I bet that Coco’s Corner is in Wikipedia. As fate would have it, after seeing no-one (either way) after leaving Rancho Grande, we had 30 motorcyclist from the US (it is Saturday – which I guess means dirt biking time) pass us right before arriving at Coco’s. So when we arrived, Coco was rather busy selling beer and getting people to sign his book. So we had the beer, we signed the book, but we did not get the story. I guess even Baja can get crowed.

The ride from Coco’s to HWY 1 went well. We turned south on HWY 1 and drove for several hours through high dessert with Saguaro as well as other cacti. This section of rode was particularly desolate. There were a few houses at the occasional road intersections. However, the gasoline stations marked on our travel map did not materialize. We were thanking ourselves for putting the extra gas in the truck that morning.

We came in close to empty at Vive Jesus Marie. We filled the truck at the Pemex station and had lunch of shrimp tacos, fish tacos, and tamales (the later were very good – those of you know me know how I am always looking for a good tamale) at the stand on the Pemex grounds just north of the station.

Just south of Vive Jesus Marie, we crossed into Baja California Sur where we had to pass the military post (I don’t think it was a check point) then into a agriculture inspection / toll booth. We paid our 10 pesos and answer “Si” to whether we were carrying any fruits or vegetable. We were directed to the side of the road where we had our oranges and avocado confiscated. I think the agricultural officer was enthusiastically trying to tell us that we could eat them there. However, Ray and I had just finished lunch and weren’t in the mood to pack in the oranges – or then again, that may not have been what happened at all since this was all done in Spanish. That same agricultural officer may have used our exchange in a training video.

We skirted Guerro Negro, marking this industrial town for our return trip. We found cell coverage for the first time in 5 days, pulled over, and called our families to let them know everything was well. The drive to San Ignacio was fairly uneventful passing through another military checkpoint just north of town.

A word about HWY 1. It is a fairly good road but the lanes are very narrow. We got behind a tractor-trailer on one section and the rid went from the yellow centerline to the white marker at the edge of the road. What makes this unnerving is the road is elevated in many section with a 3 to 4 foot drop off immediately after the white line (i.e. there is often no shoulder). Several times, tractor-trailers passed in opposite directions with no daylight between them. So, we are sticking to the rules of 1) no driving after dark, 2) obeying the speed limits, and 3) driving while well rested.

We pulled into San Ignacio which is a VERY COOL mission town. If you are traveling HWY 1, you should not pass this town. About 2 km off the highway is the mission started in the early 1700’s and the plaza with these magnificent trees. The town is an oasis built on a spring which everyone refers to as the river. If I have this correct, the river is underground, comes above ground at San Ignacio, and then goes underground again. The town is full of date palms and some irrigated fields. Apart from being the jumping off point for whale watching and cave painting tours, I don’t think the town has changed much. Being on the only road that connects northern and southern Baja, we will go through San Ignacio on our return trip and will probably stay here again as we are familiar with the town.

After checking out the square we looked for a place to stay and settled on San Ignacio Springs Bed & Breakfast. We have been camping for 12 days and decided to get a real bed for a day. The B&B is run by Jerry and Terry, a couple of Canadians that have transplanted themselves into San Ignacio. We stayed in the now-defunct karaoke bar. In addition to getting an update on the gold-medal hockey game between the US and Canada (Canada wins in overtime), we got a room with two beds, a hot shower (really), and a promise for breakfast the next day.

We caught the sunset on the river (see attached picture).

Since dinner was already booked at the B&B, we moved down the road toward town to El Padrino Restaurant where we had shrimp, scallops, and the calms Ray got from Dean this morning. The food and service were good. I would recommend El Padrino to anyone wandering into San Ignacio.

Tomorrow we do chores then move out to Laguna San Ignacio to do some whale watching.

4 Days in "Old" Baja

Friday, 5 March – Bahia San Luis Gonzaga (lat 29 47.377: long 114 23.711: elevation 10ft)

1. Sunrise at Bahia San Luis Gonzaga

2. A visit to the fish camp next to our camp site.

3. Color coordination is not important for shoes.

4. Ray climbs the headland north of Alphonsina's. The terrain is rough.

5. Bahia San Luis Gonzaga from the headland north of town.

6. The way things work in Baja: Dean gives Olive and Jerry mixed gas; Olive and Jerry give Ray and Joel fish. Joel and Ray give Dean unmixed gas. Dean gives Joel and Ray cooked clams. Everyone gets through another day.

We were woken last night by the barking of sea lions off the beach behind the camper. We were up and out of bend at 5:45 a.m. to see the sunrise. We walked south down past the camp with local fisherman adjacent to our campsite. We were approached by one fisherman about going sport fishing (this he admitted was an easier day than fishing commercially). After we told him we really were not fisherman, he chatted with us for about 30 minutes. It looked like from the remains on the beach that they catch a lot of sharks and rays. Our new friend explained how to dry and cook these. There was a truck on the beach that purchased and put the fish on ice. The truck takes the fish to market in Tijuana and Mexicali. The fishermen live in the camp until the season closes at the end of March. Ray asked if he could take some photos and he agreed. He asked us if we could help him launch his boat since he was stranded by the tide. However, his crewmate had found a truck to pull him in the water so we really didn’t have to do much work. We said adios and he disappeared around the headland on his way to another day of work.

We returned to camp, took care of some chores, and made tea. We met Dean, a retired law enforcement officer from Los Angeles who has a permanent trailer here on the bahia at Rancho Grande. He gave us a run down on the area, the local politics, and the impending development that is waiting for the new road. He recommended that Ray buy the Airstream trailer sitting next to us with a “for sale” sign on it (half of the picture today were of the airstream – Hannah, hurry up and graduate). Ray and I then walked up the beach to Alphonsina’s for breakfast.

We finished breakfast at low tide and walked across the sand spit to the island in the bahia. We climbed to the top of the first peak and took some pictures of the bahia – more great scenery. We took photos of Jerry and Olive, a retired couple from Wyoming which we later traded for fish. Jerry carries a Zodiac with 9 HP outboard in their camper van to fish on the bahia. He happened to be fishing right below us and was an easy target for the camera. The sea bass filets we had tonight were very good. Later while downloading our daily “catch” of photo’s onto their computer, Jerry and Olive gave us several good tips on places to stay and things to do based on their many trips to Baja.

Ray is sleeping and it is actually late (9:30 p.m.). We plan to travel tomorrow so I am keeping this short.

Thursday, 4 March – Punta Bufeo to Bahia San Luis Gonzaga (lat 29 47.377: long 114 23.711: elevation 10ft)

1. The road warrior

2. The coast road is to the left of Ray

3. The dessert is in bloom.

Well it turned out to be a long 20 miles on a bumpy road. We rolled into Bahia San Luis Gonzaga around lunch time and ate at Alphonsina’s as all the guide books direct you to do. We checked into Rancho Grande for 2 nights and then did a little exploring.

We drove back to Papa Hernandez’s to look at a house that was posted for sale at Alphonsina’s. We also asked about camping ($5 US) to camp at the boat launch and whether anyone was selling fish or shrimp (maybe down the beach).

We returned to Rancho Grande then took a smaller road toward Punta Final at the south end of the bay. We stopped in at Campo Beluga and decided the beach and the facility was much nicer there. After a little hand wringing, we decided that we would eat the cost of one night at Rancho Grande and move to this beach tomorrow. After discussing rates and the facility with the owner, Juan (all in my limited Spanish so you can kind of guess how the conversation went), we continued on toward Punta Final.

After crossing a rather wide arroyo and climbing a rather steep hill, we could see Punta Final in the distance. We estimated the time and distance to go there and return would put us back to Rancho Grande after dark. Since we had unloaded a lot of our gear including the food, water, propane, and extra gasoline, we were not as self supportive as we had been the previous days and decided to turn back and save to trip to Punta Final for tomorrow. BTW, the truck rides decidedly better off-road with even a little less load. Ray is recalculating specifications for the next upgrade.

With the exception of the irrigated lands between Mexicali and San Luis Rio Colorado, everyplace we have been is dessert with spare vegetation. Toady however, we started to see many flowers in bloom. Crossing the arroyo on the road to Punta Final was rich in white and purple. I am positing one image to share.

We met an American on a BMW motorbike at Alphosina’s today. He gave us some tips on some of the off roads travel we have ahead of us and promised that the roads are better than what we have been traveling on since Puertecitos.

With no moon, we turn in early. It gets really dark without the moonlight and there is nothing to do after updating the journal. Ray went to sleep last night at 7:00 p.m. I lasted ½ hour more. We were both awake by 5:30 a.m. and up and moving by 6:00 a.m. I am feeling rested.

Wednesday, 3 March – Punta Bufeo (lat 29 54.444 long 114 26.453 elevation sea level)

1. The beachfront taken from the headlands south of Punta Bufeo

2. Beach campsite at Punta Bufeo

3. Whale bones were plentiful because of a several recent beachings.

We got up today for another sunrise. We washed dishes, made oatmeal, and did sone reading on the next leg of our trip. We climbed the headland (the point in Punta) east of the bay. We were greeted with some great views of the coast. We got back down to the beach in time for lunch. By this point, we decided to stay in place for today as the temperature climbed to about 75F and sunshine was abundant.

After lunch we walked down the beach to Campo Las Encantadas to look at house that is for sale. We had met the owner on the beach this morning. There was no one at home so we looked in the windows – very nice. A major upgrade from a trailer.

We got back to the truck and started dinner. As I was finishing up the chicken and broccoli, a boat with three fishermen began heading toward us on the shore. Apparently, they were headed north along the coast and had been out later than they expected. They wanted to trade fish for food. They had several skates which neither Ray nor I knew anything about preparing. So we declined to trade but Ray and I made them peanut butter sandwiches and gave them some oranges. They know about as much English as I know Spanish. It was an interesting negotiation.

We had full moon two days ago so we have no light after the sunsets. Lots of great stars. 3 planets. Going to bed early.

Tomorrow we go to Bahia San Luis Gonzaga which is a short 20 miles from here.


Tuesday, 2 March – San Felipe to Punta Bufeo (lat 29 54.444 long 114 26.453 elevation sea level)

1. San Felipe from the headland north of town.

2. The San Felipe light taken from the headlands north of town.

3. A "campo" with a great beach north of Puertecitos and 1/2 hour south of San Felipe. Many pass Boo's quality test.

4. Riding the new road south of Peutecitos

5. Sign for Punta Bufeo on the main road said by some to be the worst in Baja

Today started with the promised chore day. We got up to watch the sun rise from the back of the camper. We really didn’t have much to pack so we were able to get into town around the time the laundry opened. The laundry service had two options: full service or self serve. We opted for full service to save time with other important chores – like eating breakfast. We had breakfast at “Rice and Beans” on the waterfront on San Felipe. I had heuvos rancheros. Ray had the octopus omelet. We climbed the headland on the north end of the bay and got some great photos. Then we were back to business; grocery shopping, filled up with gasoline (we are carrying 5 extra gallons), bought water from the water purification vendor (reverse osmosis), then went back to pick up our laundry. With that we said adios to San Felipe and headed south down Hwy 5.

The coast was lined with “campos” down to Puertecitos. The development thinned the further south we went. We contemplated staying in Puertecitos where we sat in a campo waiting for someone who looked like that might work there. There was no sign of life save for two kayakers who told me they were staying the night and assured me someone would come by and take our money (it was the attendants day off). An interesting thing about these kayakers: They had left San Felipe 4 days earlier and were planning on finishing in Cabo in May. I thought we were doing it the hard way. As we sat waiting for something to happen, it became clear that it was still early afternoon and we were not ready to stop for the day. So we played the game of saying “one more beach” until we wound up well south of our original plan finally camping in Punta Bufeo.

When we ventured south of Puertecitos, the guide books had us prepared for “some of the worst roads in Baja”. As it turned out, the Mexican government is extending Hwy 5 south to Hwy 1. We were surprised by and additional 15 km of some of the best roads we had seen in Mexico – then the pavement ended. The new road gets you through a section where the mountains come down to the Gulf of California. Where this section would have taken 3 hours via the old road, we cruised at 110 km/hr with no other traffic.

South of Puertecitos, the campos are relatively few and signs of human habitation sparse. Off the pavement, we progressed at about 15 MPH. The scenery however is absolutely stunning. This is how California must have looked before the roads were built and the people moved in. Ray and I agree that although the new road opens the area for economic growth, it is going to end an era that we both came to experience. We both feel that we are lucky to travel this section of the coast on the “old road” because we will not be able to do it this way in just a short time ahead.

In the middle of this empty stretch we came across a hiker going north. He had been out “hiking in the canyons” for 3 weeks. He was out of water (we helped him by filling his bottles) and was looking for a ride north. After chatting for about 15 minutes, we parted ways – strange.

If I have the story correct (probably not), Punta Bufeo is run by some of the Papa Fernandez family, an icon in this area of Baja. Papa Fernandez opened a campo further south years ago. Being the remote beach that it is, Punta Bufeo has a 2800 ft airstrip with about 20 homes owned by Americans and Canadians – mostly pilots. When we pulled in, we met Julio, who told us he is the grandson of Papa Fernandez. We are the only campers. Julio let us set up on the beach for 50 pesos. Showers are $2 each. In Punta Bufeo, there is also a small hotel, and restaurant which the sign says is open from 7a.m. to 10 p.m. Ray and I had some doubts since we are the only camper on the beach and most of the houses are closed up. We decided to check it out anyway facing the prospects of cheese sandwiches. Julio indicated that the restaurant was open – in his kitchen. He (and I am guessing) his mother prepared dinner for us (shrimp or fish – we both went with shrimp).

During dinner we chatted and learned some interesting things. This campo (and I am assuming this is how all the campos work) is owned by Juilo’s family. The 20 houses are sitting on leased lots. Beach lots are $940/yr, lots back from the beach $400/yr. You provide your domicile. Most of the campos we have seen have trailers with permanent structures like decks, sheds, or even additional rooms. We stayed in one of these last night in San Felipe. In Punta Bufeo, the tenants have built houses. There are no electric or telephone wires out here. Most of the houses we see have solar panels. In Julio’s house, he runs at least a refrigerator (did I mention we had cold beer for dinner), a deep freezer, lighting, and a television from 6 panels (I am guessing 1 sq.meter each) and batteries.

The other thing Julio shared is that he worked construction in Las Vegas and San Diego. I want to ask him more about this tomorrow. However, the pattern we are seeing is that if you meet someone who speaks English, they worked in the US. There are so many questions I want to ask about his experience. How did he get there? Why did he go where he did? How was he treated? … and what about that fence?

More later.

Puerto Penasco to Canon de Guadalupe to San Felipe

Saturday, 27 February – Puerto Penasco to Canon de Guadalupe

1. Crossing the Colorado River (Yes, this cut the Grand Canyon!!)

2. Bienvenidos a Baja California!!! (Leaving Sonora)

3. Rain Clouds gather over Guadalupe Canyon

4. A moment of confusion on the road to the canyon.

5. At the cut off to climb into the canyon. Raining heavy above.

6. We needed the Taco's low-low 4WD gearing to make it the last 6 miles.

Today was a long travel day. We broke camp and started traveling around 9:00 a.m. We took the “new” road (Hwy 3) 234 km from Puerto Penasco to San Luis Rio Colorado (SLRC) on the US border. The drive was only broken by the small town of Golfo de Santa Clara. This was a particularly desolate stretch with blowing sands and occasional views of the Sea of Cortez. The land was beautiful as it was stark.

Before reaching SLRC, we had to negotiate our first checkpoint with the Mexican army. This was staffed by 8-10 teenagers wearing cool uniforms and carrying serious weapons. Ray and I were happy to comply with the requests …. or at least what we thought they where requesting. They poked around in our stuff until they found our cooler full of beer at which the prime investigator made a comment to his comrades to which they all laughed. With our belongings hastily thrown back into the truck, Ray and I were only too happy to comply with their request to move on (sorry, no photo).

When we reached SLRC, we passed a string of Chinese restaurants. On Ray’s authority, Mexicali has the largest Chinese population in Mexico. Apparently, they have moved out to the ‘burbs (i.e. SLRC). Did I mention that it was lunch time? So we had Chinese buffet, which had several obvious adaptations for the Mexican culture. Ray thinks that the food here was much better than the food experience in Barstow, California.

At SLRC we also re-connected with the border fence the US is erecting. I haven’t really thought much about this until I actually came face-to-face with it. It seems odd that this is the next step in our relations with Mexico. It is reminiscent of the Berlin wall, neat and orderly on the US side; full of graffiti on the Mexican side. It is also odd that our economies are increasingly intertwined (count the US license plates on the roads here, the housing communities full of US retirees, or the trucks loaded with produce going to market in the US), yet there is a definite message the border fence is giving. As we drove down Hwy 2, we followed the fence for some time giving us occasional glimpses of the rooftops of homes and businesses on the US side. Very Orwellian.

Shortly after leaving SLRC, we crossed the Colorado River and into Baja California del Norte (BC on all the signs). For those who asked, the Colorado river really is a trickle where we crossed (see photo), However before looking for someone from LA to club, much of the land between SLRC and Mexicali is crisscrossed with aqueducts and irrigation ditches filled with water that no doubt come from the Colorado. Driving on Hwy 2 you see that this is a major agricultural area (a stark contrast to the landscape at the beginning and end of today’s journey). I am really curious to see the Colorado River as it crosses the US-Mexican border to see who really has the water.

There was a 12 peso toll ($1US) to cross between Sonora and BC along with a 20 minute wait in line for the tool booth. We did not expect this nor the 2nd army checkpoint. However, we must have looked a lot less suspicious since we were waved through. After the stop-and-go traffic through SLRC, I persuaded Ray that we really did not need to check-in with the largest Chinese community in Mexico, so we skirted Mexicali opting to pay the toll (couta) on Hwy1 which is a really great road. Let me just interject that all of the main roads we have been on have been really good. Hwy 1 however is something like a two-lane interstate highway in the US (Limited access with entrance only at the interchanges).

After getting around Mexicali, we got back on Hwy 2 and drove about 30 km west of Mexicali, then got off on a dirt road where we drove about 30 miles south until the road ended at Conon de Guadalupe. This was our 2nd experience with the vast empty spaces in the Sonoran dessert. It took us about 2 hours to reach the campsite during which time we passed one house, an entrance to a ranch, and 1 person on a bicycle. We drove up (what I think is) the dry river bed. Be advised, you need the 4WD low range gear to get up the canyon. The campground is a dessert oasis and lives up the hype on the website.

We only had a short time before dark. Ray and I tried to hike up the waterfalls but it was too far. The winds are really strong in the canyon and we are experiencing some heavy rain which probably explains the length of this entry. But we had a soak in our hot spring, and have the fly up on the camper and are dry, warm, and are still happy campers. I will write more about the canyon tomorrow.

I am really liking Mexico.


Sunday, 28 February – Canon de Guadalupe (lat 32 09.217; long 115 47.458; elev 1221 ft)

1. Looking out Guadalupe Cayon toward Mexicali

2. The canyon is a dessert oasis.

3. Sunrise on the palm trees.

4. Ray perched above one of many cascades we explored.

5. Cholla was in bloom (special tribute to Jack Huffman and
the many dessert flowers we know nothing about)

Today was a long day but a short journal entry. Ray and I got up today and spent the morning and early afternoon exploring the canyon. We hiked up past many cascades and waterfalls. The river was full because of last night’s rain. We turned around when the canyon walls became too steep and left us nowhere to walk but in the stream. The cholla were in bloom and the palms were laden with nuts in the canyon. We had an early dinner and then did some exploration of the lower canyon.

Mario, the proprietor of the campsite, gave us the keys and instructions on how to close up the camp tomorrow – then he left for Mexicali. So Ray and I are really out here alone.

Tonight is a full moon. We watched the moon rise over the mountain to the east.

Tomorrow, we get and early start and drive to San Felipe. We are due for a laundry break.


Monday, 1 March – Canon de Guadalupe to San Felipe

1. Panaroma of the mud-flats on HWY 5 between Mexicali and San Felipe

2. Ray on the San Felipe waterfront

3. Ray with the Sea of Cortez (Gulf of California) looking east.

Another travel day. Adam, the son of the camp ground owner, went to high school in LA. He spoke English like an American (about the seventh that we met). He advised us against trying to drive across the Lagima Salada, which looked like an easy 30 km from the canyon to Hwy 3. Apparently, the mud flats are not good for travel when they are wet. So, we retraced our steps 30 miles up to Hwy 2, back to Mexicali, then down Hwy 5. We didn’t miss the mud flats as Hwy 5 crossed the southern part of this - another awesome geological feature.

At La Ventana, we left the main highway because of construction. At this point, we went over 100 miles on dirt road for the trip (we expect another 100 miles south of Puertecitos before we pick up Hwy 1, the main north-south highway). When we returned to Hwy 5, we traveled on the brand new highway into San Felipe. It appears the government is investing in the road between Mexicali and San Felipe. Like Puerto Penasco, it looks like the there is an effort to make San Felipe more accessible to those of us north of the border.

When we arrived in San Felipe, we were greeted by ReMax Realty and Century 21 signs, then beach front condos and villas. In fact, many of the camp ground and RV parks listed in Ray’s Baja camping guide had gone “condo” and were catering to a higher class clientele. We had to search for a while before finding and “RV” park on the south beach. We are the only mobile RV tonight. Everyone else is planted here permanently.

It is odd, when driving around San Felipe, the majority of the high-rise building are incomplete. Many of the housing communities seem to be in a similar state. Clearly, everything froze in place when the housing bubble burst in the US.

Tomorrow we do laundry and resupply. We may try to move to Puertecitos depending on how long it takes to get our chores done.