Janice
Junior Nomad
Posts: 78
Registered: 10-19-2003
Location: Owens Valley/Alpine - California
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Trip report Nov. 16 - Dec. 5 (part 4) Long
Riviera Del Mar RV park Loreto B.C.S.
Loreto has been a destination for fisherman for many years and the Mexican government has set aside most of the surrounding Bahia de Loreto as an
underwater national park. Some Americans have been going there to vacation for a long time but the heavy handed development of places like Cabo San
Lucas or the wholesale cultural replacement of places like Rosarito has so far not been implemented there. It is still a nice town to wander around in
and the laid back atmosphere makes it easy to feel at home there.
That is why it was so annoying when two groups of gringos, camped nearby, who looked to be in their late 60?s, with huge fifth wheel land yachts and
high dollar tow vehicles started complaining loudly about everything. They were camped several spaces from each other and were having a ?conversation?
which was actually composed of shouting back and forth to each other. They were clearly drunk and that made them even louder and more obnoxious. We
could not figure out why they would not make the 50-foot walk to one of the other?s campsite but instead chose to sit in their folding chairs and
shout their ignorance back and forth.
We find ourselves embarrassed for our countrymen a lot on these trips and here was another example of Americans behaving badly. It must paint a
negative picture of us as a culture when these are the kind of people many Mexicans see. These gringos went on and on in their shouting tone about how
nice it will be when Loreto gets built up like Cabo is. ?Sure will be nice when they build some real resorts here. The French and Canadians are
putting money into the Nopolo development. They?ll get things moving. Can?t wait until this place is like Cabo ?.
They went on about how nice it is to not have to worry about all the environmental crap that they have to put up with in the states (we shudder to
think what they were doing that they were happy about). They made it clear that they take a dim view of all the environmental protection policies that
are forced on them in the states. ?Save the planet, what a bunch of crap?.
We decided that they were not going to quiet down on their own and it was pretty annoying since we were trying to relax. We took the proactive
approach by putting on some loud rock music on the van stereo in the hopes that it would drown out their constant complaining about pretty much
everything, and that they might even be driven into their high-dollar rigs to escape our noise. We could tell they were not rock music fans. After
about 20 minutes they apparently had had it and as the sun began to set, we were able to turn the music down and enjoy a much quieter and more
relaxing evening.
Nobody felt like cooking so we opted for pizza from the same place we got pizza with hotdogs on it last time (We went for pepperoni this time). We got
a good night?s sleep despite the fact that there was evidently a fiesta or holiday being celebrated so music and partying could be heard coming from
town until late that night.
The next morning Rich fired up the computer to finish off some schoolwork and Janice strolled into town to shop for gifts. School assignments finished
and a good start on gift buying accomplished we packed up and headed for highway 1. We headed north.
There is a military checkpoint just north of Loreto and we were stopped as usual and the young military men proceeded to look through our van while
Janice held onto the dogs. One of the young men, sporting an ?FBI? (right?) beanie and speaking very good English asked where we were coming from, why
we had been there and where we were going. We told him Loreto for vacation and that we were on our way home since our vacation would soon be over. He
asked ?So where is your left over beer?? Although I now realize that I probably should not have done it, I handed out a couple of Modelos. What the
heck, just kids having fun. Probably got tired of getting cokes handed to them.
On our way north again we wound through the scenic Sierra Gigante range and found ourselves at the south end of Bahia Concepcion. We enjoyed a
particularly calm day that day and the views of the bay were fantastic. It looked like a huge mirror edged with powdered sugar beaches. We stopped at
Los Cocos beach again and let the dogs out to play in the water. The air was warm and very calm. The water was perfectly still and crystal clear so
Bravo could see all the fish. He began chasing them and Katie, not having a clue what he was doing, began chasing him and barking.
They ran amok for some time while we investigated the large Palapa that on our visit the week before had been inhabited by the gringo couple who did
not like the food in Mexico. It was a pretty nice palapa with a fully enclosed room large enough even for our tent to be set up in. We tried really
hard to talk ourselves into staying there that night.
The hardest thing about a vacation is that it ends. We had gone from being way too intense and stressed out in the beginning to being way to laid back
and relaxed at that point. We had transformed once again into moving and living at the speed of Baja so it was amazing when we actually made the
decision to continue north. We had a lot of ground to cover and even though we did not have a firm destination in mind we decided it would be best to
push on. We toweled off the dogs and reluctantly headed back onto the highway.
We stopped in Mulege because Janice wanted to stop in at the shop we had been to on the way down. We were convinced that we would need a blanket for
the trip north (to avoid having to steal one from the dogs again) and she wanted to take one more look at a silver necklace she had seen there.
Necklace, blanket, and various souvenirs purchased, we turned on to the highway once more. We had no intended overnight destination but we had
considered trying to make it to Guerro Negro. As the sun began to dip low in the sky we realized that we would be driving in the dark if we tried to
make it all the way there.
We came to a hotel that sits on the cliffs overlooking the Sea of Cortez just south of Santa Rosalia. We have noticed this place on previous trips and
we decided to have a look at it. The place turned out to be very nice, a very Mediterranean place with a great view and a nice looking restaurant. The
rooms were 300 pesos so we decided to stay there. Our room was nothing fancy but it was enough to make us comfortable and even had a TV, something we
had gotten used to not having. We wandered around the hotel and took a few sunset pictures.
We then went to the restaurant for dinner. Our waiter was a very distinguished gentleman of clearly European ancestry who introduced himself as
Florenzio. As we have mentioned, Santa Rosalia was founded by a French mining company, so there is a lot of European blood in the people there.
Florenzio did not speak much English but by this time we were pretty used to speaking Spanish anyway. He told us that the Langosta (lobster) was very
fresh. Rich needed no further coaxing and ordered lobster. Janice went for the shrimp. We had margaritas and enjoyed a very nice dinner.
There was a baby shower being held there and the main dining room had been rented for the party. Our waiter explained to us that in Mexico, there is a
shower before the baby is born and a ?baby welcome? is held after the baby is born. Sounds like a good excuse for the new mom to get a night or two
off. Our dinner was great and the lobster really was very fresh.
After dinner we went back to our room for a shower and a good night?s sleep both of which we managed very well. We have been pretty negative about
Santa Rosalia in the past but on this trip we found something to like about it. We will be staying at the Hotel Morro again.
The next morning we awoke refreshed having slept well. We started our northward journey again after trying to find coffee in downtown Santa Rosalia.
What a surprise, nothing was open. What is with that town? Without coffee we set our sites on Gurrero Negro and proceeded out on to the highway once
more. The climb through the mountains north of Santa Rosalia is steep and winding. Getting behind an 18-wheeler makes for a slow drive. We always seem
to and this time was no exception.
At one point on the steepest part of the grade, the truck we were following dropped to just above a speed that would be considered going backward. The
driver put on his blinker (a signal that it is safe to pass), began waving for the cars behind him to pass and even blew his horn to signal that it
was clear ahead. Rich checked his mirror and pulled out to pass the truck. Just as we were pulling back into the northbound lane after passing the
truck, a Federal police car which had come from the south at a very high speed, pulled up beside us and before passing shouted something
unintelligible into his PA. He then sped up and vanished around the next curve. Not sure what had just happened we drove the next several miles
expecting something to happen but nothing did.
The wind began blowing pretty hard out on the Viscaino Desert beyond Santa Rosalia. Due to our van having the aerodynamics of a sheet of plywood,
driving turned into more of a wrestling match and even though Rich kept it safe he put considerably more effort into just staying on the narrow road
than usual. A half hour or so down the road we did see the Federal police car again. He was writing a report at the scene of a truck crash. The wind
had blown the unfortunate big rig off the road and into the desert where it lay on its side. We figure the officer was yelling ?get out of the way you
stupid slowpoke gringos? when he passed us back on the hill. The wind was very strong and more or less straight in our face for the rest of the drive
into Guerro Negro and we saw another truck along the way that had been blown over.
We made it to Guerro and cruised down the main street to our Friend Jesus? Taco Stand, ?Tacos El Gordo?. Jesus was there and the place was hopping.
His business seems to be doing very well and he seemed happy. He introduced us to his brother who told us that he has been to the Eastern Sierra. We
exchanged gifts, we had brought a scenic calendar and a chart showing trout of the Sierra (Jesus likes to fish) and Rich got a ?Tacos El Gordo?
Baseball hat. Rich considers the hat his prize souvenir of the trip. We ate Carne Asada Tacos and are still amazed at how good they are there. It is
always a treat to stop there.
We filled up the gas tank and headed north intending to go for San Quintin before dark. The wind made for slow going and we pulled into El Rosario
with our gas tank pretty much empty and the sun going down behind the coastal mountains. Rich was pretty spent from driving in the wind so we decided
to see if there was any place to stay in El Rosario, a place we had never considered staying before. We have stopped at Mama Espinoza?s a number of
times and it is a good place to eat. It is famous among the Baja 1000 racers and their autographed pictures cover the walls inside the restaurant.
Interestingly we noticed that there was a motel next to the restaurant. On closer examination we discovered that it was owned by Mama Espinoza?s too.
The rooms were pretty large and the dogs were allowed. 300 Pesos per night seemed like a bargain so we got a room and had a beer to unwind after the
long days travel.
El Rosario is close to the Pacific coast and far enough north so that the temperature was a lot lower than we had become accustomed to. The room had
no heater but did contain a small wood stove. We had one Duraflame log left so we put it in the stove and lit it. It took the edge off of the evening
chill very nicely.
We naturally decided to have dinner at Mama Espinoza?s and we wandered over there after a bit. We had noticed on moving into our room that there was a
couple in the room next to ours. We saw them at dinner and they remarked that this was their first night ever in Mexico. They explained that their
friends and family had tried to scare them out of going (Banditos etc) but they had decided to go anyway and were on their way to Cabo. We assured
them that they were going to have a wonderful time, no there are no Banditos that we have ever seen but watch out for the timeshare mongers in Cabo
(they steal time from your vacation if you let them) and that they needed to tell their friends that it was scary and not to come so it doesn?t get
too crowded.
Rich had been craving scallops and Janice had a quesadilla both of which were very good. Since El Rosario is close to the ocean everything was fresh.
Janice discovered that there is now an Internet computer in the restaurant and she sent off a few short messages. When we got back to the room the
small fire had warmed the place up and after a very nice hot shower we drifted off into a sound slumber.
The next morning we got coffee from the restaurant and tossed our stuff back into the van. Packing up after staying in a motel is soooo much easier
than breaking camp, even when just sleeping in the van. Just north of El Rosario is another military checkpoint and at this one a young soldier tried
to get Janice to "sell" him one of our Mag lights. She was firm though and ?No!? means the same in both languages (even though she had to repeat it a
few times). This is the first we have seen of this behavior among the young militarios but we have heard of it. They gave the van the once over and
waved us on.
In San Quintin we stopped at the park to have fish tacos for lunch. On our first and second trips this particular stand made the best. Prior to
leaving we had heard that the quality had gone down some and we were disappointed to find that it had. They had stopped using the delicious Baja style
white sauce they used to have and were now using plain mayo. The tacos were OK but not nearly as good as they were before. Too bad, they used to be
the best.
We found a Banamex bank and went in to pay back the General by depositing the money into his account. We added an extra 100 pesos as interest and the
bank teller seemed impressed that we obvious gringos were friends of a Mexican General. I don?t suppose we will forget that part of our adventure any
time soon.
Back on the road we found ourselves at yet another military checkpoint, this time just south of Ensenada. This is a very busy one but the young
soldier who was inspecting the back of the van found time to hold out our one remaining small used propane canister and ask if we would sell it to
him. The fair market value of a used propane canister cannot be much so we told him that if he needed it just to take it. He was grateful.
We stopped at the really big supermarket in downtown Ensenada and bought some tequila (they have the lowest price we have seen) and used our secret
route to bypass the rest of downtown. Just north of Ensenada we turned on to Highway 3, which is apparently now called the ?Calle de Vino?. Sounds
like the tourism guys are at it again. The highway does run through the wine country between Ensenada and Tecate.
We did not stop for wine tasting this time but if you have a chance to it is worth it. Once in Tecate we discovered that the border crossing access
had been moved and after a bit of driving around we found it. As we pulled up to the border we could see that the border agents were pretty busy.
There was a dog being used to check out the vehicles as they pulled up to the kiosks. Just as I was starting to answer the very neatly dressed and
very serious agent?s questions, Bravo noticed the DEA dog being led around our van by his handler and proceeded to go completely berserk.
I don?t think we made a very good first impression. We were asked to open the doors of the van, something that has never happened at the border
before, but after a quick look we were told to go on through. I guess they realized that no illegal immigrant would dare get in a van with a crazy dog
like ours.
We made for our usual motel in San Diego and got a room for the night. It is interesting to note that there is a big difference between how relaxed
and ?safe? we feel after coming back from being in Baja only to become ?aware? and edgy once back in the US. That is not to say that we are oblivious
when in Baja, but the potential threat level, for the most part, there is a fraction of what it is here. I know people who fear Mexico. This is
strange to me because I always feel a lot safer there than in southern California. Go figure. We decided to stretch out the vacation one more day by
going to dog beach in the morning after doing some Christmas shopping at the nearby mall. Two things we can?t do at home.
It was a good trip. The adversity that preceded this trip just made it nicer to be away, a good diversion. The van gave no trouble once under way and
got decent mileage too. We met nice people, ate great foods, saw fantastic sites, did fun things, and got back to a more natural rhythm of living. We
will be going back to Baja as soon as we can to stay as long as we can.
Best wishes in this holiday season and we hope this finds all of you happy and well.
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Fatboy
Senior Nomad
Posts: 716
Registered: 6-28-2005
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What is it with Mag Lights and I just KNEW Rock music was good for SOMETHING!!! Another evening wasted away reading about BAJA, THANKS! 
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Barry A.
Select Nomad
Posts: 10007
Registered: 11-30-2003
Location: Redding, Northern CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: optimistic
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Janice------Great report!!!!!
This is my type of report, and I really enjoyed it. It brings back so many great memories of trips past, and hopefully in the future, too. Very well
written.
Thank you for sharing your wonderful experience, and adventures.
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64545
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Mood: Have Baja Fever
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El Rosario has three motels and one bed & breakfast... (from north to southbound on Hwy. 1): Baja Cactus (between the gas station and Mama
Espinoza's), Las Cabanas (Espinoza's motel), the Sinahi, and Baja's Best Bed & Breakfast.
Great report... the kind that tells all and informs and entertains... Thank you!
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Tucker
Senior Nomad
Posts: 664
Registered: 10-31-2002
Location: El Centenario, BCS
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Dogs! When I went through the Tecate crossing last year, the border patrol agent almost had a panic attack when the agent with the dog started to open
the side door on my van. He shouted "there's a dog inside", my dog was small, I said "he wont bother them". He said "our dog is vicious with other
dogs", I would have liked to taken the time to ask why the government would risk the liability, but I didn't.
\"I think it would be a good idea.\"
-- Mahatma Gandhi, when asked what he thought of Western civilization
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BornFisher
Super Nomad
Posts: 2103
Registered: 1-11-2005
Location: K-38 Santa Martha/Encinitas
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Gracias for those reports! Outstanding and I loved it all execpt that hot needle thru your fingernail, YIKEEEEESSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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