WestyWanderer
Nomad
Posts: 276
Registered: 10-24-2014
Location: San Clemente, CA
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La Bocana/Punta Banda
The family and I snuck off for a quick two night trip to relax on the beach. Our goal was La Bocana because we had never been out that way so shortly
after 10 on Wednesday we shoved off. The drive down was rather uneventful and the only delay was the x-ray machine at the border and the five
thousand signal lights in Ensenada. (Side note: it seems that I have just enough time between drives through Ensenada to forget how long it can take
to get through there.) The La Bocana road was, in my opinion, better than highway 1 which could be, in large part, due to the motor grader that we
passed on the way home. La Bocana greeted us with a howling wind but otherwise beautiful day. We set up camp but unfortunately the wind was blowing
so bad that our daughter couldn't even play on the beach because she was getting sand blasted. We made the most of the afternoon by taking a long
walk and enjoying the sunset. After a restless night due to the howling wind we decided that we had come and we had seen and chose to head back
towards Punta Banda and the warm sand of La Jolla Beach Club where my wife grew up going with her parents. The drive out was just as easy as the
drive in and La Jolla welcomed us with an empty campground and a light breeze which made for a very pleasant day. We set up camp and took a drive
over to La Bufadora to check out the blow hole doing its thing before getting back to La Jolla for some swimming and a big hole in the sand which
quickly turned into our own personal hot tub until almost sun down. Our alarm clock (my daughter) likes to be up around 5:45 so we packed up and
headed north hoping to beat the Friday rush at the San Ysidro border. We normally cross with SENTRI but because we were towing our trailer we had to
wait in the normal line. After an hour and ten minutes which felt like ten hours and ten minutes because we couldn't use SENTRI we were through and
home free.
Quick diaper change on the way in to La Bocana:
La Bocana sunset:
Nothing beats a bath on the beach:
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Udo
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6321
Registered: 4-26-2008
Location: Black Hills, SD/Ensenada/San Felipe
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Mood: TEQUILA!
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Nice!
Next time through the Punta Banda area, send me a U2U.
Udo
Youth is wasted on the young!
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TMW
Select Nomad
Posts: 10659
Registered: 9-1-2003
Location: Bakersfield, CA
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Nice, it's been a long time since I've been to La Jolla camp. We use to dive across the hills at Kennedy's camp in the late 70s and 80s. The Kennedy
family were lobster fishermen. Old man Kennedy drown while tending to his lobster traps. Got washed over the boat wearing heavy rain gear. His sons
may still run the operation.
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del mar
Banned
Posts: 1057
Registered: 7-23-2016
Location: the cantina of course
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Mood: lil' fuzzy
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my buddy and I camped at la bocana tuesday night, we stayed up on the bluff just before the artichoke (I think they're artichokes anyway?) fields.
perfect weather but was getting blustery as we left. sure appreciated the bladed road! 
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DanO
Super Nomad
Posts: 1923
Registered: 8-26-2003
Location: Not far from the Pacific
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Thanks for the reports, good to hear the road's been bladed. And yes, the farm south of the river mouth is cultivating delicious artichokes. Not
that I would know from personal experience, of course.
\"Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible.\" -- Frank Zappa
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64478
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Mood: Have Baja Fever
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Nice report and photos!
Does anyone dig a hole at low tide on the beach near La Joya (Agua Caliente/ Punta Banda) and enjoy the hot springs that are below the sand?
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DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 29510
Registered: 9-2-2006
Location: Punta Banda
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Quote: Originally posted by David K  | Nice report and photos!
Does anyone dig a hole at low tide on the beach near La Joya (Agua Caliente/ Punta Banda) and enjoy the hot springs that are below the sand?
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From a distance, you can see steam coming to the surface in the sand, even without digging a hole.
On the west side of Campo La Joya, the have a maintenance room with a well sunk down, maybe fifteen feet, and a bucket on a rope. Drop it in, and
pull up a can of steaming hot water.
Can't understand why this feature hasn't been exploited, but Don Alejandro is getting up in years, and his sons may have more creative
ideas......soon.
"YOU CAN'T LITTER ALUMINUM"
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WestyWanderer
Nomad
Posts: 276
Registered: 10-24-2014
Location: San Clemente, CA
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DK, we did, that's the primary reason why we chose to stay at La Joya. There was one other older lady that had also dug a hole, she appeared to live
in one of the houses in camp. DENNIS, my wife and I were saying the same thing. An industrious Mexican with a backhoe could make some good money on
any given weekend when the campground is full.
[Edited on 9-11-2017 by WestyWanderer]
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BornFisher
Super Nomad
Posts: 2103
Registered: 1-11-2005
Location: K-38 Santa Martha/Encinitas
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Thanks for the report. Precious alarm clock you have there!!!
"When you catch a fish, you open the door of happiness."
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64478
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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Thank you for the hot sand springs confirmation!
Lots of hot springs around Ensenada...
#1 San Carlos*
#2 Agua Caliente* (RamÃrez)
#3 Marconi
#4 Uruapan*
#5 Punta Banda (low tide in sand)
#6 Cantu
#7 Rancho Gilberto
*= public facilities, other locations are natural, undeveloped, or limited bath sites.
Not included, just north of the map is the 'Russian Hot Springs' east of Guadalupe Valley.
Information on these hot spring locations available from Baja Nomad reports or this excellent 2004 guide:
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BajaBlanca
Select Nomad
Posts: 13165
Registered: 10-28-2008
Location: La Bocana, BCS
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That is a wonderful report on a part of Baja I have never been to. The photo of your daughter is just precious.
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