sunshine - 4-26-2005 at 08:22 PM
I will be leaving tomoroow morning, an I've never been there. Is there Ice and/or beer available. Just wondering how much to stock up on in Guerro.
Thanks in advance.
Ken Bondy - 4-26-2005 at 09:58 PM
There is almost always beer available. Ice is another story. Depends on their generator. You never know. Best to be prepared for anything. On the
plus side it is one of the greatest places in the known world. Beer and ice just makes it a little better.
++Ken++
sunshine - 4-26-2005 at 10:20 PM
Great thanks for the quick response. Looking forward to a good trip.
Bahia S.Francisquito
Sharksbaja - 4-27-2005 at 01:37 AM
great folks and fresh fish meals. Camping avail. or a hut like below. Bring enough gas. Sometimes they have extra gas. Great place to visit. Nice to
exit through El Arco. Lots of washboard tho.
Pompano - 4-27-2005 at 05:54 AM
We first set foot there almost 30 years ago when a buddy and I flew a 180 onto the beach. At that time there was not too much around except for a
fishing camp. Around 1978 JWBlack and I drove the washboard in after rummaging around El Arco mine area and met some other explorers camped there.
Many years later we motored my old 'Pompano' up there to visit an old amigo, Ralph, on his tri, 'Sunshine'. (Does anybody but me remember Ralph? He
had a piano onboard his sailboat and was a fixture on the Baja sailing scene for 40 years...last 10 years his 1st mate was Dawn Wilson?) By this time
there was a couple of permanent residences, small store, etc. Also I remember a gemstone worker living there. He cut some fire opals up for me with
his speciality saw. Don't know if he is still there or not?
Around 1976-77 a friend and I were asked by a local panga fisherman's wife to please go look for her long overdue husband. She told us her hubby had
gone north with a few other boats looking for the motherlode of jurel (yellowtail), but now she was afraid for his safety, and our plane could cover
the water quickly. We were always ready for another adventure and we were airborne immediately and started flying the coastline north..looking for a
lost blue panga with an eye painted on it's bow..named El Tiburon. We covered the coastline all the way to San Fransquito and there it was..up on the
beach with about a dozen others. We set down on the strip and walked on down the beach to rescue the poor fellow. Only thing was, he was pretty
drunk as where all the other fishermen in the group. We told him he should sober up a little before talking to his wife on his return to Mulege...as
we were going to give her the fuel bill for our flight, about $100 worth of aviation gas at the Serinadad. I think that sobered him a little! We
didn't give that bill to his senora, of course, but we did let her know what he had been up to with his cronies at San Fransquito. I'm sure the
neighbors heard her lecture when he came back!
[Edited on 4-27-2005 by Pompano]
Ken Bondy - 4-27-2005 at 06:28 AM
Pompano
The gemstone worker was Ed (actually, Big Ed). I can't remember his last name, it will come to me, maybe it's in my log. He was a delightful guy,
married one of the local Mexican gals (I think her name was Marta, she worked in the kitchen) and lived with her in the fishcamp on the north bay.
Sadly, he is on the other side of the sod now. I think he died about ten years ago.
++Ken++
[Edited on 4-27-2005 by Ken Bondy]
Ken is Right on!!!
capt. mike - 4-27-2005 at 07:17 AM
there is no other place quite like PSFO. And that's Genaro and the family will never , they say, sell or lease, well maybe the lots on the south with
the 2 small casas, but never to allow trailers and palapas. The late Shark lady and good friend Debra Lucero's husband still runs his ejido based
campo on the north bay and you can rent from him. Debra's loss in the Flying Sams baron a few years ago at MMES was tragic, she had small kids left to
raise. I have great stories from 25 years of going there. It is on my list for ashes scattering, mine, one day.
Paulina - 4-27-2005 at 06:56 PM
My first trip there was by plane from Bahia, summer of 81, for a first look.
We were just there this past Spring break, dropping off family for a three day stay, while we did chores in Bahia. They had a fantastic time, Carmen
took very good care of them. They were the only couple there as it was the week after Semana Santa. They can't wait to return. I'll post a few photos.
This first one is of the cold beer and ice that was of question.
Regarding the leasing of lots...I'd LOVE to pull up stakes from Bahia and move on down the road, BUT I would not want to contribute to the place
turning into another Alfonsina's. Some things are best left alone and to the lucky ones who "found it first".
Saludos!
P.<*)))><
Paulina - 4-27-2005 at 06:58 PM
Inside the dining room.
Paulina - 4-27-2005 at 07:05 PM
Guess what was for dinner tonight? Our family said that "Gallo", their singing panguero, was quite the comedian.
Paulina - 4-27-2005 at 07:10 PM
Lunch on the patio was ready in a moments notice after we pulled in. Carmen wouldn't take no for an answer. She was one the ball, taking care of
everyone.
Paulina - 4-27-2005 at 07:13 PM
A view looking north from the south end of the cabanas.
Paulina - 4-27-2005 at 07:15 PM
I won't bore you with any more photos. The parting shot, the catch of the day....
[Edited on 28-4-2005 by Paulina]
it's funny....
capt. mike - 4-28-2005 at 06:22 AM
the 1st time i asked Genaro if i could bring my trailer down and lease a spot, he said emphatically, "and what - turn this place into another
'Alfonsina's'??!! no fricking way"
Exactly!
Paulina - 4-28-2005 at 08:24 AM
If that was Genaro's response......
Hook - 4-28-2005 at 08:38 AM
.....then I nominate him for the 1st Annual Baja Man of the Year Award.
To refuse to allow the "Alphonsina-ing" of that area in the face of continued obstacles (like high fuel costs, onerous regs on pilots from Mexico
City, etc.) is truly commendable. It would be so easy to take the lease money and run.
Everybody's got their favorite San Francisquito photo
Ken Bondy - 4-28-2005 at 09:12 AM
Once I get started I can't stop..
Ken Bondy - 4-28-2005 at 09:22 AM
Last one, I promise (yeh, right)
Ken Bondy - 4-28-2005 at 09:28 AM
paulina - loved your bulldog catch of the day
Ken Bondy - 4-28-2005 at 09:31 AM
she looks kinda like our Rosie, gone now
now i know...
eetdrt88 - 4-28-2005 at 10:21 AM
where i have to go in baja next...thanx for the photos guys,hey is the road to san fransquito tougher than gonzaga bay to san felipe???also i've heard
the water there is much cooler than the rest of the sea,is that true??
Ken Bondy - 4-28-2005 at 11:01 AM
eetdrt88 the road to PFQ through El Arco is IMHO about the same as Gonzaga to San Felipe. It's more washboard, less potholes, but both roads are ok.
That might be true about the water temps, they tend to be kinda chilly until late June or July, then they warm up nicely and stay civilized through
November.
++Ken++
good pics Ken!
capt. mike - 4-28-2005 at 12:00 PM
Now EVERYONE will want to go there!
but, yeah....it's a magical place, nite time the stars and sounds off into the desert are eerily wondrous. a full moon on that beach with Venus is a
visual feast for the eyes. Genaro does have a lot of moxie to resist developing that area, and he has told me of some serious $$ he turned down!
Imagine what his Dad and uncle went thru to get the equipment and supplies down there to PAVE the original strip!!?? And just so they ncould build a
private playground for their families initially.
Ken Bondy - 4-28-2005 at 12:56 PM
Mike it is really an amazing place, isn't it? Sorry about the photos, I should have thought of that. I have solved many weighty problems of our times lying on that beach at night almost blinded by the stationary
stars and dodging the shooting ones. But I always forgot the solutions (and the problems) in the morning! Damn. Were you there when Leonard and
Rudy were building the houses? My first trip was in 1978, Leonard's house (south end) was just getting completed. In fact he invited us to the house
one night to check out his TV right after the dish was installed. We watched Rudy's house getting built. The turqouse fireplace was (is) awesome.
After they "paved" the long strip I landed on it a few times but mostly I used the short strip. Were you there when that Lodestar replaced an engine?
That was pretty amazing. Interesting idea about the ashes, gotta think about that one. Hope your shoulder is healing well and you get back into
that left seat.
++Ken++
to be honest...
eetdrt88 - 4-28-2005 at 01:28 PM
i'm probably not the one to worry about,as far as exposing secret spots to....i'm quite happy returning to the few off-the-beaten-path places that i
visit every so often...i happen to really like alfonsinas and have met some great people down there,but i can also see why others might see the area
as spoiled,compared to what it once was.......over the years i hope to see as many of the great jewels of Baja as possible,San Fransquito is
definitely high on the list
I would hurry
jrbaja - 4-28-2005 at 01:46 PM
ifn I wuz you !!
Hey you guys, I have posted bunches of pictures on here of some pretty incredible places. And the good part was, nobody knew where they were
taken.
And without my posting locations, they are still pretty natural. Unfortunately, just because of numbers of people moving to Baja, there will be
very few places that continue to retain their natural, 200 year old lifestyles and there is no stopping it.
But, it may still be wise to not share all locations on the internet just in the hopes of prolonging the uniqueness of these rapidly disappearing
areas.
Driving time Bay of Los Angeles to San Francisquito?
John M - 4-28-2005 at 02:05 PM
Mileage, or driving time estimates? For a slow movin' raggedy old jeep. Thanks, John
David K - 4-28-2005 at 04:14 PM
It's a pretty good road John... and a visit with Pancho at San Rafael is worth it, half way there... Allow 3 hours driving time for the nearly 90 mile
trip.
This is the road south of Las Flores & Camp Gecko, looking northward, last summer.
Paulina - 4-28-2005 at 05:03 PM
Ken,
This one is for you. This is Charlie resting at his favorite cabana in some un-named place we all know and love. Sorry about your Rosie. Charlie is
getting up there now and has to be pampered on his baja treks as of late. He's a tough baja bully!
David K - 4-28-2005 at 06:06 PM
About where Sharksbaja put an arrow in the top photo is where I camped at San Francisquito... It was incredible... white sand, whales singing at
night, mantas jumping... This was back over 20 years ago. That's my 4WD Subaru, screen-house, umbrella...
[Edited on 4-29-2005 by David K]
Ken Bondy - 4-28-2005 at 06:33 PM
paulina
Thanks. Charlie is adorable. Sorry I called him a her. Don't tell him. Seeing him brought a tear to my eye thinking about Rosie. Regards,
++Ken++
[Edited on 4-29-2005 by Ken Bondy]
that dog reminds me of Ron White's dog
capt. mike - 4-29-2005 at 07:05 AM
Sluggo!
Great pics of both ends of the beach. I have shlepped a dive tank and gear from the cantina to both ends to shore dive and shoot Sheeps head fish.
That's a suck way to go, walking in that sand with a load. but no car...so.....
i have watched nite divers with an inflateable bring in a load of bugs, big ones, off those rocks!