Keri
Super Nomad
Posts: 1393
Registered: 10-31-2002
Location: La Mision, Baja Norte
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Mood: muy contento
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Info Todos Santos, Los Barilles and Agua Verde
We are going south in Oct need some info on inexpensive hotels and some info in agua verde. I heard there is great snorkling there. Also where is
the live coral reef?Hope to stop by and see Juanita in Loreto and Jimmy in Los Barilles . We haven't been that far south in about 8 years anything we
shouldn't miss? Mike H you posted a hotel list on amigos ,I didn't get it copied before they went down . Could you email me the list? Thanks
mucho,k
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baja Steve
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Registered: 8-31-2003
Location: Bend, or
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Mike H would you post the hotel list here. I missed it also.
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Mike Humfreville
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Registered: 8-26-2003
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A few Simple Hotels
Simple Hotels along the Way
On our recent trip down the peninsula, Mary Ann and I, Debra (Travelpearl) and her son Brendan, stayed in some simple villages and basic hotels to
keep the costs down. Here is a report.
The first night we stopped in San Vicente, there are several nice restaurants (you have to ask). We stayed at the El Camino hotel, about 10 rooms,
some doubles, priced from $15 ? $25/night. We had two rooms for $35.00 total. There?s not a lot to do in San Vicente as a tourist passing through so
we poured a little vino and sat in the small well-tended garden as the sun set.
The second night we reached San Ignacio and stayed at Ricardo?s Rice and Beans. A double room (sleeping all 4 of us) was $45.00. Ricardo has an
attached restaurant. If you?re into seafood, his breaded scallops are the best. His margaritas are tasty too, not killer strong.
In Los Barriles we pulled off the highway in the north end of town. I hit a speedbump too fast and some kids across the road gave us a series of
catcalls and a friendly wave. We were looking for Jimmy Smith, but we knew he was somewhere in the center of the town. We were on the northern edge,
but I turned and stopped to ask the 5-6 kids if they by any chance knew where Jimmy Smith lived. They all instantly gave us directions to Jimmy?s
home. What a surprise. We met with Jimmy for an hour and had a nice visit. He recommended a local hotel/restaurant, called them, but by the time we
got there they were so busy we couldn?t get in. We headed on to Santiago where we stayed in our favorite hotel of the trip, the Palomar. You can?t
miss it, as it?s the only one in the village. Santiago is located south of Los Barriles and several miles off the main road, over pavement. As we
entered town we found a plaza with shops, markets and a single restaurant surrounding. The Palomar is located a few hundred yards south of the plaza,
on the road to the Santiago Zoo. At the Palomar, we entered the room through a restaurant and courtyard filled with tropical growth, mango trees
dripping with fruit, birds cawking in several languages for our attention. Again, we shared a small double room with A/C and a private bath for ~$40
total. The next morning we visited the zoo which was well maintained and had more than enough wildlife to be worth the venture. But I don?t like the
idea of zoos and wild animal confinement and was uncomfortable. We made a point of visiting the lion Mindy (jeans) has addressed, in his tight
quarters. He was lackluster at best but didn?t seem ill. Perhaps he?s just old or his paw is still bad.
In Todos Santos we had trouble finding a small place for the night, it?s so wonderfully artsy and creative we assumed tourists flocking there might
drive the prices up. But we found a nice place, right on the south side of the main east-west street, for $20 per room. We can?t remember the name.
Returning up the peninsula, we stopped in Puerto San Carlos, along Magdelena Bay. San Carlos is about a half-hour off the main highway at Ciudad
Constitucion but well worth the visit. About 15 miles off the highway we noticed large birdsnests atop the continuing string of high tension towers
working their way toward the village alongside the road. Soon, almost every pole had a huge nest atop. We stopped to wonder and spot a number of
Osprey either in the nests or circling or scanning the desert for rodents. As we watched the parents dive for food we spotted crows trying to sneak
into the Osprey nests while the adults were away, no doubt to steal an egg or a baby bird. For miles we watched the battles ongoing. You had to pull
for the Osprey. In town we stayed at the Alcatraz Hotel. We had a double room for all of us with two separate bedrooms and bathrooms for a total of
$50. We had c-cktails and dinner at their restaurant and shared space with a fellow who operated a large fishing enterprise. He was from Mexico but
had lived almost everywhere Debra had over the past quarter-century (Debra is quite aged, you know!). They shared space in remote Alaskan villages
in, in Seattle, in Mexico. We sat and talked for an hour and met up with the fellow later, exchanged phone numbers. What a small world. San Carlos
is a sizable community, as we expected with all the fishing activities there. We visited the well-advertised Internet caf? when we first had pulled
into town, sending out e-mail to various parts of our shrinking world while marveling that such a small village would have a ten-station server
located on a dirt road at the edge of town. How things are changing, I thought. The Alcatraz hotel was second only to the Palomar in Santiago. Both
offered wonderful and protected courtyards, discrete security, restaurants and nice settings.
Our last night on the road took us back to San Ignacio and Ricardo?s Rice and Beans, previously documented.
I would add one last comment regarding security. As we were traveling with an open topped trailer, I was concerned each night when we stopped and
asked about the security factor. Each small hotel we frequented provided whatever security was required to protect the equipment of their guests.
They each described their security measures. While we were an easy target, we always parked as we were directed and never had a problem. We were, of
course, in small places all the way. Each of the hotels we frequented took exceptional care with their grounds and presentation, even to the point of
the similar placement of specific chairs every hour and the sweeping of stone patios constantly. It doesn?t take a big price tag, we learned, to be
treated well.
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Keri
Super Nomad
Posts: 1393
Registered: 10-31-2002
Location: La Mision, Baja Norte
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Mood: muy contento
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Hotels
Thanks Mike . Just what I was looking for. Did you ever remember the name of the hotel in Todos Santos?. Where do you stay in La Paz? We usually stay
at Las Gardenias. Any place in Loreto? Anyone have any favorite out of way hotels they would like to share? Thanks again Mike , Hope to see you here
at Pyramid Resort soon. Put the booksigning on your calendar for May . at least I know I'll see you again then,k  
[Edited on 9-6-2003 by Keri]
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BajaNomad
Super Administrator
Posts: 4969
Registered: 8-1-2002
Location: San Diego, CA
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Mood: INTP-A
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A little dated perhaps, but:
http://escapist.com/baja
Regards,
--
Doug Means
When I was young, I admired clever people. Now that I am old, I admire kind people.
– Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel
We know we must go back if we live, and we don`t know why.
– John Steinbeck, Log from the Sea of Cortez
Affordable Domain Name Registration/Management & cPanel Web Hosting:
https://www.regionalinternet.com |
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Mike Humfreville
Super Nomad
Posts: 1148
Registered: 8-26-2003
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Greetings guys,
Keri, I can't remember the name of the hotel in TS but it's right on the main street and has an ad for $20 rooms. We haven't stayed in La Paz for
years. We went on down to visit Jimmy Smith. He recommended a place in Los Barriles but it was full so we hightailed it to the Palomar in Santiago.
Doug, Thanks for the info.
[Edited on 9-9-2003 by Mike Humfreville]
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Debra
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Registered: 10-31-2002
Location: Port Orchard Wa./Bahia de Los Angeles BC
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Mike
I believer the hotel in Santiago was the Palomar, not Miramar......
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Msal
Junior Nomad
Posts: 46
Registered: 10-20-2002
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Something different
Hi Keri, Juanita has some interesting places in the Loreto area (south of) to stay. Check them out on her website. If you want to stay in town but not
"IN" town, the Villas is your best bet. It's quiet and funky ,yet clean and comfortable,with pool, on the beach. Views are to die for. I did'nt ask
where to find you (the Pyramid Resort) and we looked and looked.The directions were on the Amigos board...I tried! Next trip down, gimme
directions(again!) No one seemed to know ,and we asked a few locals.
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Mike Humfreville
Super Nomad
Posts: 1148
Registered: 8-26-2003
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Debra
Thanks for the tip. I edited the post.
Baja in October?? 2 days @ Gonzaga then on to Bahia de Los Angeles (Gecko) for rest of the week.
Mike
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