We are in the process of setting dates for our yearly Baja trip and with the loss of Camp Gecko we are trying to figure our alternatives for the BOLA
leg of the trip. It looks like we will have a couple of our friends tagging along in their own rigs too. On a past trip we drove out to Punta La
Gringa and I put it on the list of places I want to try snorkeling at. I also noticed a few folks camped in the vicinity. That was a couple of years
ago so what I am wondering is what is the current situation regarding camping out there? We will have our cabover on our 2wd truck so creature
comforts and supplies are not an issue. Anybody have any current info on that spot?David K - 10-10-2006 at 07:19 PM
type in La Gringa as the subject in the Baja Nomad search engine... Also try it with Mike Humfreville as the author... He recently went out there from
his home near Camp Gecko and reported on conditions and the new fence surrounding the area (it's open, don't worry).Janice - 10-10-2006 at 08:29 PM
I did the searches and didn't see the report from Mike H. How long ago was it posted?Janice - 10-10-2006 at 08:31 PM
Hey RR - I sent you some stuff I found on a couple other sites...check your lycos account.David K - 10-10-2006 at 08:48 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by Janice
I did the searches and didn't see the report from Mike H. How long ago was it posted?
I just now entered La Gringa and Mike Humfreville and got a page full of posts! Did you use the Nomad search or another???
HERE is ONE of Mike's posts on La Gringa fence:
Author: Subject: Latest on La Gringa
Mike Humfreville
Posts: 1138
Registered: 8-26-2003
Member Is Offline
posted on 4-4-2006 at 03:18 PM
Latest on La Gringa
Don?t Fence Me In
In Bahia de Los Angeles they?ve been doing some paving and grading. We took the La Gringa road yesterday. It?s paved now, well paved up to and just
beyond Daggets and Raquel and Larry?s.
Many years passed since we, Mary Ann and I and our two young boys, used to drive home between the village and our tiny hut north of La Gringa at Las
Cuevitas. In its glory days the small track ran along the shore, rising and dropping with the sand of the beach and the few desert cacti on the inland
side, climbing toward the desert.
Then, for a time the La Gringa road was graded, wide and patched with washboard. It remains that way today. There is, however, one major change that
has occurred within the past several weeks, while we were away to the north: La Gringa is now closed.
It?s nothing more than a gravelly and sandy beach and a small lagoon that fills periodically with water during universal and solar system events that
I don?t fully comprehend. So how could they close it? We all recognize that the Mexican Federal Zone protects everything approaching a body of water
or a border. So how can this beach be closed?
There have been numerous propositions about La Gringa, made by both the Mexican government, the local constituency and foreign governments and wealth.
Many of us never thought anything would have come by all this noise. Escalera Nautica indeed.
But there the fence exists. I?m momentarily taken aback, not just surprised by the actuality of a barrier but given cause for reflection over the
times many of us have spent there.
I?m not certain how long the fence will last. Plans here, like to the north, often have a way of running the show, taking off on their own. Concepts
form in talking heads, are strewn in the directions of investors who may or may not choose to speculate. Did anyone ask beforehand?
But the fence is there for the moment. I ask several people in town what?s up and get no meaningful answer. It?s not that they know and don?t want to
share. It?s just that a rumor mill is in full swing and no one really knows outside the confines of the selected few. I wish them well; I hope they
are thinking primarily of their constituents and secondarily of me and mine. No one wants to see Mexico succeed more than I do.
But it is a lingering question in my mind. What will become of La Gringa? We all know change is in the offing, can?t be stopped. But how will it
occur?
Following is a short post I made concerning this issue when Escalera Nautica was still the new kid on the block. I originally wrote this in around
Y2K, but have been proven wrong. That?s good! I hope it doesn?t happen this way.
La Gringa, 2010
April 14, 2010
Mary Ann - just a short note.
I passed by Bahia de Los Angeles yesterday. I decided to go out to La Gringa and ended up spending a week there. It's has really changed since we were
last here. I remember La Gringa from her simpler days, the days before her contemporary, high rise hotels were built, towering into her backdrop of
blue sea and sky; before they broke up the tan landscapes looking west across the thin peninsula, where no one came. I remember the sand, south of
Roberto's hut - the only permanent structure then - sand for miles; the myriad stingrays that idled and played there in the warm shallows. This was,
of course, well before they built the first of the many piers, pilings and protrusions that now house the hundreds of shops and restaurants drawing so
many folks here today. Now we have a nice collection of tennis courts and lawn bowling instead of the open desert.
The bay was so quiet in those years. We listened to the gulls and pelicans working bait all night long. We were often the only ones here for miles.
The dolphin and sea lions patrolled a shore so pristine the sun's reflection was as bright and pure as the sun itself. Now, the bay is so full of
docks, moorings, boats and ships that you can hardly see the water at all.
This morning I disposed of two dead pelicans from the tiny strip of sand that has yet to become populated with some other tourist attraction - the
last open 25 feet of beachline on the entire bay. The Great Grey Herons that once lived in the lagoon, and the egrets, are gone now. A parking lot
leveled and filled that tiny void. The green reeds and delicate water plants that were here have been replaced by curbed and manicured planters
housing fichus that can, ignored by man, survive the heat. The old dirt road that used to lead northward to Las Cuevitas is now an international
airport, bringing the thousands of visitors here weekly from the north and east. It is quite an accomplishment. La Gringa has become the new Cabo.
It's quite realistic, really; it's much closer to the border by car or by plane than the cape. And the money has been rolling in since the development
was begun, just a year or two ago. Property values are through the roof. The place is really thriving.
Remember back, in the early mornings, when the tide was out, we used to sit alone, just here, and inhale the sweet smell of seaweed drying on the
stones? Now in the morning we are treated to the oily stench of breakfasts, prepared for thousands, and to the rancid dankness of diesel from the
hundreds of boats that pull in or out throughout the day. It's a good thing there's often a strong breeze here; else the fumes would choke a horse.
The La Gringa spit, where we used to walk arm-in-arm collecting small shells is still here, of course. They've built a concrete breakwater that is
much tougher than the natural gravel bar that had served for so long. The breakwater, like the piers along the beach, is packed with tourist
businesses. It's rather nice, from either the beach or the breakwater you can look toward the other front and, in the evenings, see the thousand
lights, strung along the waterfront, reflecting off the ocean, when you can catch a glimpse of it. The Mariachi's play in the small streets until
midnight. After that the discos rule, loud throbbing and raw music pulsing off the hardwood dance floor, out the open windows and into the night air
where previously we had camped on smooth round stones, just north of the old pier. There was never a sound in those days except a few lapping melodies
caused as the small waves raked the stones. Back then we went to bed early, sweethearts, children, friends. Only a few of us endured the hardships of
the myriad stars and satellites. Now, with all the new activities, I am the one finding an early bedtime. Speaking of which? On the way back to my
room on the tenth floor of the La Gringa Ritz-Carlton I spotted a single pelican, squatting alone, along an unattended place on one of the boardwalks.
He wasn't supposed to be there, the folks here don't like the messes they make. Doesn't he know he not supposed to be there? Doesn't he know his place
in the order of things?
I'll be home soon.
All my love,
MichaelJanice - 10-10-2006 at 09:02 PM
I did use the Nomads search, but for some reason, did not come up with this post. Thanks.Ranger Rich - 10-10-2006 at 09:28 PM
Thanks David. I did see that one by Mike H. but it is old. I am looking for the current situation since things change year to year (i.e. no more Camp
Gecko). I did hear the fence is still up but what about the trailer and the guys charging for camping there ( I saw that post too) ? Anyone been there
recently?
Ranger Rich
Mike Humfreville - 10-11-2006 at 07:57 AM
La Gringa is open but there is now a fence running here and there as a result of what I was told is a land dispute. Other than the fence (which still
allows entry to La Gringa), everything is the same. If La Gringa isn't to your liking, there is a road just before you enter La Gringa that wanders
about a mile west (through the old dump) and if you take a north fork off that road you can get to even more isolated beaches if you do a little
exploring. Take care and have a good trip. Let me know if you need further, more specific information.wilderone - 10-11-2006 at 08:25 AM
Last year I passed a place called Los Pinos and checked it out (en route north, past Daggets). It seemed to be abandoned or maybe the caretaker/owner
was away temporarily. But I was great. Palapas with BBQs, right on the beach. Small operation - maybe only 6 palapas and one much larger "hut".
