jrbaja
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4863
Registered: 2-2-2003
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The GPS Story
We left Los Reyes headed for San Evaristo and Las Pocitas with all the stories of the roads ahead rattling around in my noggin. About 75% of the
stories were bad but the 25% good came from the Mexicans who had ridden in the van. They all felt I could make it so off I go.
Picked up a couple guys in El Coyote headed for San Evaristo. They were school teachers headed for Isla San Jose and Los Dolores where they teach
school 2 days a week. They grew up in that area so knew their way around. Again I had lucked out with guides and information.
They showed me where the road to Las Pocitas really is which is not where the maps show it to be. Not to unusual in the more remote areas of Baja. I
think that even Cartographers get lazy at times. Headed straight to the Drumex at San Evaristo, for the uninitiated, this is Pemex gas brought to the
remote areas in 55 gallon drums and sold for mucho dinero. Worth every penny under those circumstances too. After meeting the town, literally, getting
gas and tacos, and making plans with the guides for May, we headed off to the Las Pocitas road. But that is another story.
Arrived in Ciudad Constitucion just before dark, gassed up and re-attached everything that had rearranged itself on the Las Pocitas road, checked in
with home and since my knuckles were starting to uncurl and getting some color back in them, we headed off to Loreto. Great music, smooth road, quiet
dogs, where's Loreto? And what's that smell ? On go the rear spotlights and low and behold, there's that ten mile smoke screen I am getting so used to
seeing. Transmission pan gasket, again. I pull over to the side of the road, get out and see flames coming from the trans. area.
Frantic search for fire extinguisher which had fallen behind the freezer I will find out later. chit!!, blankets? dirt ? beach towel AAAArgh..
Flames starting to die down, time for some dinner. Feed the dogs and myself, and where the hell am I ? Haven't seen a car in hours so let's see if
this GPS works in a situation like this. Let's try nearest city. La Purisima. Hmm, that's on the other side of the peninsula. How about my location.
Uh oh ! Back to nearest city, La Purisima, 17 miles. OK then, am I happy to know where I am even though it's not where I thought I was or want to be ?
Not exactly but these things happen in Baja so I will fix the trans. tomorrow and go home through Laguna San Ignacio instead of Loreto.
So, put dogs in the van, (too close to highway for them to sleep outside) and turn on a movie and finally start to get some badly needed sleep.
Until lights go by and make a U turn. Now what, I hope it's a cop.
The tow truck pulls up alongside and asks where I am going. Not really knowing what to say I said, Loreto. He laughed and said, no your not, your
going to La Purisima and your almost there-hahahahaha.
Why are you here? What's wrong ? The trans. pan I say and is there an Auto Partes in La Purisima I ask. Nope, closest one is Ciudad Constitucion and
for $120.00, I will take you, the dogs and your van there.
Kinda steep considering he was going that way anyway but not willing to bargain so off we go. 100 plus miles back to C.Constitucion. What a wrong
turn that was !
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jrbaja
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4863
Registered: 2-2-2003
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We are now on the way to Ciudad Constitucion, dogs asleep in the van, me falling asleep in the tow truck talking to "Gury".
He wants to know all about where we have been and what we were doing. Fortunately, I had beer and he had tequila so I was liquid energized for the
next hour of tales. When I got to the Los Reyes part, he asked if I met Chayo Sosa and of course, that is where I had been staying. Gury used to have
his truck on the El Centenario-San Evaristo road but it was to hard on him, the truck, and there were not that many cars. So he moved to Ciudad
Consti. 10 years ago and hadn't seen his friend Chayo since.
OK then, now I am invited to stay at his house and he will get the van fixed first thing in the morning. Ta Da. We arrive at Gurys Grua in Ciudad
Consti. feeling (refreshed!) and finally get some sleep.
Wake up in the morning to the sound of the van being worked on with me in it(awesome) and a bag of oranges from Gury to go with my cereal. (self
contained!).
Gury had gone tow trucking or something but the guys had everything under control.
Gury's Grua is also the Army impound yard for the confiscated things that were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Very interesting. While I am
exploring and waiting for the van, 2 soldiers come in looking for Gury. They decide to wait so while we are talking, I ask if they ever talk to the
unit at Agua Verde. They do on a regular basis so I told them about pulling them out a couple months ago. They had already heard about it and asked if
this was the van (pride spewing all over myself !). Yep, and these are the same dogs too. Way cool. The end.
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Mexray
Super Nomad
Posts: 1016
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: California Delta
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Mood: Baja Time
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Hey, great stuff...
Just think about all the 'new friends' we'd never meet if we hadn't broke down or 'threw a shoe' on a Baja back road!
According to my clock...anytime is \'BAJA TIME\' & as Jimmy Buffett says,
\"It doesn\'t use numbers or moving hands It always just says now...\"
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jrbaja
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4863
Registered: 2-2-2003
Member Is Offline
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Thought I'd repost this
while on the subject of GPS.
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