bajalera - 8-6-2005 at 11:54 AM
Several weeks ago, on a thread about the "real" Baja, I said that to me this is a place where something unexpected always seems to happen, and our
recent trip was no exception.
On July 18 Steve, Nikki [my 7-year-old granddaughter] and I headed north from La Paz on Highway One, turning off at Arroyo Conejo to take the road
along the Pacific. We camped out for a night, and then went over to the Gulf side, camping out on the east side of Conception Bay, where there are so
many heaps of decorative shells that you wonder if any live ones are still out in the water. I've always been curious about that part of the
peninsula, which has an excellent road although it cuts across a few rocky arroyos. From our campsite we watched headlights winding up and down
Highway One on the mainland side of the bay, and tried to figure out where they were.
Then we set out in search of Miller's Landing. When driving up the peninsula with my three teenagers in 1968, I had taken a wrong road coming out of
El Arco and ended up skittering down a really sandy road south of Callmalli--sort of scary, since at any minute I expected to get stalled in the
stuff. Eventually we had come to the main old road, and you'd think I would have had the good sense to head north on it. But by this time all of us
were tired and hot and dusty, so what I did instead was cut across the main road and head for the coast--although we didn't have a map, I knew it
couldn't be far.
Here we stopped at what we later learned, from Gerhard & Gulick, was Miller's Landing. Onyx from the quarry at El Marmolito had been loaded onto
ships here and taken to San Diego, and there were big blocks of it on the beach. Although it was great to see the sea again, the landing proved so
cold to us, after spending five years in La Paz, that we retreated farther inland to spend the night, before rejoining the old road and heading for
the border.
This part of the coast now looks nothing like Steve and I remember it, being blocked off with a rather substantial rim of cobblestones, which also
cover the beach. But we finally found the place where we'd stopped all those years ago, and spent the night there. [That's when my vision started
giving me some strange dark blobs at night, which were pale yellow for several minutes in the morning.]
The next day weset out in search of El Marmolito. Onyx is still being taken from this quarry, and at the top of the hill overlooking it there's an
abandoned three-room house nade of marble blocks nearlly two feet thick. This place is obviously not considered a tourist destination by the people
working there, however--when Steve was taking pictures, two different guys came by to ask what he was doing, but then stopped to talk. Although the
better-known quarry at El Marmol is no longer in operation, marble is still trucked north to TJ from El Marmolito, which is farther away, because the
quality here is better.
We arrived at El Rosario, and my room reservation for July 22 ans 23 had been confirmed by e-mail but the room was taken, another wasn't available,
and we were tolld vacancies were really scarce because of the town's fiesta. By that time we had been bucketing about on back roads for some time
[mostly without ice, but to me warm Pacifico is better than none], were pretty grungy, and the idea of scrounging around for a room didn't have much
appeal, so we drove on to San Quintin--where a fishing tournament had filled the Chavez motel where we usually stay, but a good replacement was found
with no problems.
En route north we tracked down the old Jaraguay Grade, where a truck transporting cattle had gone off shorttly before we arrived in '63, and strips of
drying beef were dangling from clothes-lines and wire fences for many miles along the old road. We also located old Turquesa Grade, where a mine is
still in operation. By this time my visual problem had gotten worse, and I also had a bad case of the Aztecs trots [or maybe Cochimi is more
appropriate in Baja]. I've only had this once before in Mexico and a couple of Immodium pills ended it, but this time it didn't go away. So we cut
short our explorations and headed for Santa Maria.
By the time we got to my daughter's place I was pretty sick, hadn't eaten in several days, and my doctor sent me to a hospital emergency room, where
after having some tests I was told I was anemic and had other serious problems and would be admitted. A few minutes later the doctor returned to say I
wouldn't have to stay after all. He showed me two lab reports that had arrived at the same time for ER patients, and said the person filing them had
assumed that the one with all the problems was the old lady. [Not a serious mistake, really. Age was listed right at the top of the report, and I'm
sure someone else would probably have noticed that I'm not 28.] So what I've had, apparently, is a serious case of salmonella.
Overall, we really had a wonderful trip, visiting new places as well as well as old ones, and traveling on some challenging roads from time to time.
However, my idea of a strenuous workout these days is reading the Santa Maria Times, so I'm going to toddle back to bed and look for King of the Hill
or something equally educational to watch until I begin to feel more like my old self.
Lera
Neal Johns - 8-6-2005 at 12:02 PM
Thanks, Lera, for your trip report down memory lane.
Thank you Lera!!!!!
jrbaja - 8-6-2005 at 12:02 PM
You are something else my dear! Glad yer feeling better and if you insist on getting things, keep on gettin those things that just "make one
stronger" instead of anthing serious.
Sounds like ya still had a blast!