Neal Johns - 12-9-2006 at 03:08 AM
Dec. 28-29
Back across the racecourse road east to Tres Pozos for lunch. Returned to San Felipe for gas and headed toward Canyon Matomi via Valle Chico. We
camped for the night a few miles out of San Felipe at the small cave-filled hill area called Cuevitas. Many clamshells in the area spoke of ancient
Indian inhabitants also camping there. The road up Matomi was far better than a couple of years ago when we chickened out.
Near the end of the canyon, at Rancho Matomi, Rodrigo, the vaquero who had been there only a month, greeted us warmly and showed us around. The high
point was the waterfall and pool that Baja friend David K. had mentioned. It was like Shangri La. My current wife reminded me that many years ago
(before we were married), we had come here. In those days, I was, of course, an incomplete person and prone to forget things. Now I get reminded
incessantly!
Rodrigo's only transportation was a horse and the nearest town was 30 miles away so it is no wonder that he was proud of the deer he had shot for
food. Poor Bambi. After affixing a David K’s "Viva Baja" bumper sticker to the door of a defunct pickup, we headed down canyon.
Rather than retrace our steps or go down Parral Canyon, we elected to go down Matomi. The only problem was the dreaded squeeze through the narrow
rocky part call White Rock. Surprise! It was like a freeway. Either the rains had cleared it out or the Baja 1000 people had worked it over. The crew
mutinied at Puertocitos when we stopped for gas, so we camped in the palapas next to the restaurant, had dinner there that night and breakfast the
next morning. Wimps. Marian was served beef burritos instead of the shrimp ones she ordered and took a bite out before she realized it. No problem.
The waiter took her bitten burritos to another table that had ordered them.