timperkins
Junior Nomad
Posts: 52
Registered: 12-28-2003
Location: San Diego
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Gonzaga Trip - Full Report
SUMMARY
Here?s a summary report of our trip to Gonzaga Bay? I?ll release a more complete report similar to the one I posted last year (with embedded
pictures) when I have more time. In a nutshell, we had a blast. This was my first trip to this part of Baja and I'd do it again tomorrow. Again,
thanks to everyone for the advanced info... It really helped to make the trip successful.
ROUTE
We traveled to the Gonzaga Bay area between April 2nd and 7th. From San Diego we drove our F250 with a Lance Camper to Mexicali, then San Felipe and
Gonzaga. From Gonzaga we returned by driving west through Coco?s corner to Hwy 1, then North to San Quintin for a night and home the next day.
PHOTOS
You can view photos of our trip at the following URL... Click on the ?2004 Baja Trip? Gallery: http://www.pbase.com/timperkins
ROAD CONDITIONS
SD to Mexicali : Very Good 
Calexico to San Felipe: Very good, even in the foul weather
San Felipe to Puertocitos: As hellish as advertised... Possibly the worst road in the world. Wife and kids still haven?t forgiven me (oh,
well)
Puertocitos to Gonzaga : Bad, though not as bad the pot-hole hell just north? Much slower than I thought it would be (10-15 mph in most
places) with our rig.
Gonzaga to Coco?s : Good. A mostly flat, smooth dirt road. I averaged 35-40 mph and got up to 50 mph in some parts.
Coco?s to Laguna Chapala (Hwy 1) : More hills, but not bad and much shorter than I expected
Laguna Chapala to San Quintin: Good
San Quintin to TJ: Good, but missed the turn off to Otay Mesa turn off (damn!)
BORDER CROSSING
Mexicali Border Crossing: Not too bad? maybe a 15 minute wait to cross over into Mexico
San Ysido Border Crossing: Sucked, though the wait was only 45 minutes.
CAMPING
We camped at 4 different spots. The last (Cielto Linda) was a stop for the night on our way home.
Nuevo Mazatlan: Very nice, clean, right on the beach. Didn?t use the facilities, but they looked quite nice!
Papa Fernandez: Very nice, very secluded. The hills surrounding the campo were fun to hike and offered spectacular views of Bahia Willard. $5
US for the night.
Campo Beluga: Quiet, very nice, VERY clean, cold showers, pricey. Great view of Punta Gonzaga. For us, it was worth the extra money to be
away from the crowd. $20 US per night
Cielto Linda: Chilly and windy in the late afternoon. Hot showers (nice!) Great food at the Wet buzzard (dinner and, of course, breakfast).
$5 US per night.
RUNNING
For those of you who run, here?s a brief summary of the conditions near our campsites.
Nuevo Mazatlan: The beach is soft and tough to run on. I ran north of the camp, then turned east and came back south on the main road (much
better). We hiked south on the beach later in the day and found the same conditions. Side roads might be a better option than the beach for running.
Papa Fernandez: The beach is too short for running, but you can run out of the park and towards the main road to get more distance.
Campo Beluga: Soft sand on the beach, but if you catch the tide when it is low you can head North towards ?town? and get 6-7 miles in a round
trip. Lots of dirt road running available.
Cielto Linda: From the camp ground, take the dirt road to the North West. Run through the fence and you can go at least 4 miles on very hard
packed sand before turning around.
GEOCACHING
We only had time for 4 geocache hunts, but they all served as nice rest points.
Baja Geode Geocache:
http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=3a6c6...
Cache is in good shape and took us about 5 minutes to find.
Cinco Islas:
http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=cade9...
Cache is in good shape and easy to find.
Baja Coco:
http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=2d9ae...
Coco told us that the cache was stolen? We didn?t look for it, but who are we to argue with Coco?
WEATHER
We had on and off rain at first, then gorgeously warm, clear skies in Punta Gonzaga. Bring sunscreen, you?ll need it. As expected, it was cooler on
the Pacific side of the Peninsula.
FUEL
We had no problems getting fuel. The Pemex at Rancho Grande has no gas, but you can get it across the street at Rancho Grande. The station at
Catavina appeared to be closed when we went through on Tuesday, but we didn?t stop for a close look. The Pemex on the North side of El Rosario was
open and there are many places to fuel up in San Quintin.
MILITARY CHECKPOINTS
As usual, all of the stops were friendly. I think the camper adds an additional amount of curiosity with the patrols, although I?m sure they?ve seen
it all before. Our kids get a kick out of the stops and the soldiers always smile and wave back.
South of SF: Waved us on due to rain
Puertocitos: Brief stop, no check.
Gonzaga: Stopped and inspected our camper. Very friendly
Laguna Chapala: Another inspect of our camper. Also, very friendly.
South of Ensenada: A brief stop (no inspection) and a wave through. Just asked where we were coming from.
PROVISIONS
Not counting Coco?s, we only stopped once for food and water at Rancho Grande. The mini-market there is very nice. They had a nice selection of
vegetables (great avocados) and everything else we needed except some olive oil.
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Bajaboy
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4375
Registered: 10-9-2003
Location: Bahia Asuncion, BCS, Mexico
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Now that's my kind of trip report. I especially enjoy the running report. I'll have to include that in my future reports.
Sounds like a great trip.
Zac
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bajapablo
Nomad
Posts: 226
Registered: 1-27-2004
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Nice report tim
Thanks for the report. We'll be making the same loop and staying in the same places (mas o menos) the first of June (School teacher time frame).
\"changes it lattitudes, changes in attitudes\"
J.Buffet
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timperkins
Junior Nomad
Posts: 52
Registered: 12-28-2003
Location: San Diego
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Next time I go...
... I'll take the TJ -> Laguna Chapula route both ways. It's a much easier route on the fillings and would afford us more time to explore the Gonzaga
area.
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tim40
Senior Nomad
Posts: 574
Registered: 3-29-2004
Location: Manhattan Beach
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Mood: There yet?
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The road from 1 up through Coco's to GB was excellent. Made it this past Monday in our 93 4runner with speeds averaging 45 miles/hour.
Coco was delightful and full of stories....a couple of degrees colder on the beer would be worth raising the the price for 1.50 to 2.00.
GB was just perfect. Alfonsias had great food as long as you wanted shrimp tacos (litterally the holiday w/e wiped them out of everything else.
GB to downtown SF took 3 hours. Small scare in the the first Pemex approaching town was out of gas and I was on fumes already..
Been traveling all of baja for 25 years and I still get that 'I'm home again' feeling each time I go....
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