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carlosg
Senior Nomad
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Registered: 5-28-2012
Location: chula vista, ca
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Central Baja LOOP.... WE FINALLY DID IT.....!!!!! well, partially... ....Sept 2018 ...and here's our Trip REPORT...
Quote: Originally posted by carlosg  | This year (2015) in late September early October during our children�s school break we�ll be doing a LOOP in Central Baja so we can stay away from
any hurricanes down further south; as always we�ll be traveling on a budget trying to stay at some hotels (suggestions welcome!!!) during our trip
but mostly we�ll be camping and spending most of our time on the beach but also getting to visit and explore a couple of the Missions on the way.
The First Leg of our journey will start in Chula Vista to Guerrero Negro where we plan to stay overnight and have breakfast (any suggestions?) and
then drive to Santa Gertrudis (camp here) via El Arco. From here we drive down to the Gulf and camp in San Francisquito or Punta Ballena
(suggestions?). Our next camping stops will be San Rafael followed by Bahia de las Animas; then we drive to BoLA and stay overnight (any suggestions?)
and finally drive to San Borja Mission over to Santa Rosaliita (any lodging suggestions?) where we�ll spend the last day(s) of our journey before
returning home. Our plan is to do the LOOP in two weeks, we�ll be traveling in a diesel 4x4 and hopefully we�ll have enough fuel to complete our
journey between fuel stops with no problems. I have attached an image of our planned route; each color represents a leg of the journey. We will deeply
appreciate any and all comments and suggestions for this exciting Baja journey, I plan to stay in touch with a satellite phone: probably buy one on
eBay and buy time from a local provider (any suggestions?) then guide our travel with the help of the �BAJA CALIFORNIA ALMANAC� and/or probably
buy and use a GPS (I have never used one), if so I would like to get something that is not only useful for driving but also while fishing (another
trip) thus any suggestions are very welcome� like always: thanks for your time and all your knowledge BajaNomads!!! We�ll certainly post a TRIP
REPORT after our journey.  |
PART 1...
Me and my 11yr old left Chula Vista (Sept 26th) around 3am and had to turn back from Alpine... I forgot my fishing gear....??? Arrived at Calexico
just after sunrise and crossed with no problem at all... "que tengan un buen viaje..." drove thru Mexicali without an incident and we had "menudo" for
breakfast in San Felipe at Rosita's" https://www.google.com/maps/place/Restaurante+Rosita/@31.025... on El Malecón.. good stuff well made, there we met two couples from Tj on four
bikes on their way to Todos Santos... we drove to San Luis Gonzaga got a drink at the market...
...and found out we had a casualty...
...from there to Mex 1... stopped at Coco's because we got lost (noticed it when Coco's was on our left hand side) We got lost at what Coco called:
"La Vuelta de los Pendejos" (fool's turn off)... obvious....
| Quote: Originally posted by David K |
I drove as much of the new roadbed as seemed possible. The approx. 1 mile of new road alignment was where it cuts into the canyon to the construction
camp. The detour is rough, just under a mile long, and drops you down to the old route just east of the canyon. If
you turned left there, it would take you to Coco... that would be pretty obvious the wrong way to turn to continue
south.
Here is my GPS track on the new roadbed, except for that last piece on the south end, which is the detour down the hill to the older road:
[Edited on 10-22-2018 by David K] |
...after correcting our course I continued on our way to Chapala: very decent couple of paved miles before the junction to Mex 1.
From here we drove to Punta Prieta and then to El Rosarito, where we turned off to Mision San Borja, we couldn't find our way to the road to the
Mission so we stopped at the "llantera" where some men were working on their truck at the house behind it, I asked one of the guys and he gave us
directions, he told us his relative (José) was in charge of the Mission but that he lived there by himself because his family had left....??? we
followed his directions but we had to ask again and this time a guy driving a car said: "follow me I'll take you to where the road begins... really
nice and helpful people...
Salón Social (club house) at El Rosarito
...leaving El Rosarito
The drive to the Mission is really beautiful... here's some scenes...
El Rosarito in the background
ranchito
we made a pit stop here to take care of nature's call... looking around at the trees it was apparent that when heavy rains occur the water level
raises above 7-8ft in this narrow canyon
...more to come....
[Edited on 10-23-2018 by carlosg]
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David K
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Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Thanks for the start of your report!
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carlosg
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Location: chula vista, ca
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The desert is green, quiet and beautiful... great drive to Misión San Borja. This road leaving Punta Prieta is A LOT BETTER than the one going to
BoLA from the Mission.
we came across to what appears to be an abandoned ranchito
and suddenly we drive thru this man's beautiful rancho, he grows vegetables and has some livestock as well... and... plenty of water...
once again we encounter this nice valley...
the road to the Mission is well signaled.... but you MUST read the signs and check your GPS (if you have one): we went past the entrance to the
Mission for about 5 miles when I got a text message from DavidK on the inReach advising that I should turn around and head back... which I did... I
was already on my way to BoLA....
...sure beats any day at work...
we finally make it to Misión San Borja in the evening just before sundown... nice and quiet.... only the wind and the birds... and José... who was
very helpful and welcoming, he started a fire on the old wood stove for us to cook our dinner and chat with him under the main palapa where we camped
. There's clean restrooms available and many campsites with palapas ready available for tourists to use...
Magestic view of the Main Facade of the Mission...
[Edited on 10-16-2018 by carlosg]
[Edited on 10-17-2018 by carlosg]
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fishbuck
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Thank you.
"A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for." J. A. Shedd.
A clever person solves a problem. A wise person avoids it. – Albert Einstein
"Life's a Beach... and then you Fly!" Fishbuck
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64493
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Great report so far. Next trip, pair your inReach with your smartphone (download the Earthmate App) which gives you very decent topo roadmaps and
shows where you are on the map. You won't miss any more 256-year-old missions that way! Glad I was home on the computer when you messaged me your
location!
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carlosg
Senior Nomad
Posts: 504
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Location: chula vista, ca
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just as the sun is rising thru the mountains it starts to greet us on our second day of our journey...
first full light of the day upon the Mission
so we start a tour thru the premises
and José walks us thru the Mission
View of the campground and oasis from the rooftop
entrance to the Mission Site and view of the valley beyond
stairwell to the choir, bell and roof top
view of the altar and barrel vaulted nave from the choir
According to José most of the restoration work has been done by him and his family under the supervision of and Italian priest who lived here for
several decades and to whom José was a very close friend. The INAH (Instituto Nacional de Antropología) has also kept a very close and watchful eye
on the site.
[Edited on 10-17-2018 by carlosg]
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carlosg
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View to the Main Entrance of the First Mission Site, built with adobe bricks
Mission Courtyard, the building on the corner...
...this building, is the "molino" (mill) where the grains would be processed, today unfortunately during the Festivities people who come here use it
as a toilet....
El Cementerio (graveyard) in the background: to left the Original graveyard and to the right the communitie's new graveyard where according to José
many of his family members rest today
Some Architectural pieces salvaged along the years, the first piece sitting at the right to the door is the Arch's Clue from the Original Adobe
Building entrance: it was almost stolen during one of the Patrons Festivities a couple of years ago, someone in Jose's family spotted the thief and
was able to save the Clue...
Doors to the Courtyard from Priests Dormitories and work areas,
Getting ready to leave. A view of the Rental Palapas and the Mission in the background...
Our journey to BoLA begins...
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David K
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It is spectacular given the energy and people needed to build the huge church. Hard to imagine there were once well over 1,000 members of this mission
church. About 40 Native families lived at the mission while the others traveled to it from their rancherias (Indian villages) on rotation.
San Borja is the furthest north stone mission church on the peninsula and well worth a visit, just 22 miles from either Hwy. 1 or the L.A. Bay
highway. The desert gardens along those roads are some of the finest in Baja!
José has a collection of mining artifacts at his house. They were from the San Juan mines, to the east.
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carlosg
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I just found a way to post vertical pics: cropping and resizing, so here's some pics from before our departure to BoLA:
This marker was on our way from El Rosarito to Misión San Borja next to road on the arroyo
Cardón (elephant cactus)
Main Entrance to the Mission
Main Facade
Baptismal Font at the Main entrance of the Mission
View from the Altar to the Main Entrance and Choir above with Bell in the background
View from the Priests Wing
Main Entrance to the Original Adobe Building, the pieces of the arch sitting on the floor is the door frame which is missing the Clue that sits inside
the Mission (the one that almost got stolen)
[Edited on 10-17-2018 by carlosg]
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carlosg
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The road to BoLA from Mision San Borja is rough for the first couple of miles, some uphill and downhill grades make it interesting...
..then it starts getting smoother...
...and smoother as you get closer to the highway...
We passed this cattle ranch on our way thru...
Our first glimpse of the Bay
....and theeere's BoLA....
We stopped for gas at this "new" (for us) Pemex Station at the entrance of town... here's where we found out about "Rosa" and its near path; some
young guys working with SEMARNAT (EPA for US) put us up to date, we also met a guy from the company from Ensenada that's doing the maintenance-repair
of the road heading to El Arco and Santa Gertrudis: new "vados" (dips) some with galvanized culverts and concrete surface others with gabions (stone
baskets) and also smoothing out the road. These guys were actually staying at Pancho's place.
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carlosg
Senior Nomad
Posts: 504
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Location: chula vista, ca
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| Quote: Originally posted by David K | | Great report so far. Next trip, pair your inReach with your smartphone (download the Earthmate App) which gives you very decent topo roadmaps and
shows where you are on the map. You won't miss any more 256-year-old missions that way! Glad I was home on the computer when you messaged me your
location! |
I did paired it with my phone... the ONLY thing is to be disciplined and to check it and follow directions... well... next trip: The
Turkey-Surf-Trip.... to the Seven Sisters.... Thanks for all David...!!!!
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BajaBlanca
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That is a great trip report - so many photos!
Next time, have your son take photos and put together his own trip report. It will remind him of his trips with you for the rest of his life!
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carlosg
Senior Nomad
Posts: 504
Registered: 5-28-2012
Location: chula vista, ca
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| Quote: Originally posted by BajaBlanca | That is a great trip report - so many photos!
Next time, have your son take photos and put together his own trip report. It will remind him of his trips with you for the rest of his life!
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Actually, George took most the photos... ALL while driving and any involving dogs, cats or live stock.... it was a great adventure with him as my
copilot....
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Skipjack Joe
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Good report. And the best part is that it’s actually about the journey and not about mechanical issues with vehicles. We seem to get a lot of those.
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David K
Honored Nomad
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| Quote: Originally posted by Skipjack Joe | | Good report. And the best part is that it’s actually about the journey and not about mechanical issues with vehicles. We seem to get a lot of those.
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Carlos drives a Tacoma> Good choice for Baja!  
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ehall
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Great pictures. Thanks for posting.
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carlosg
Senior Nomad
Posts: 504
Registered: 5-28-2012
Location: chula vista, ca
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After filling up on gas we head into BoLA were we had a delicious fish lunch at "Alejandrinas" https://www.google.com/maps/place/Restaurant+Alejandrinas/@2...
After lunh we stopped at "Mercado Isla" https://www.google.com/maps/place/La+Isla/@28.9516967,-113.5... to buy some supplies, among other things other than cerveza, soft drinks and some
munchies we bought "Su Carne" skirt steak (marinated and vacuum packed) https://www.sukarne.com/producto/arrachera-marinada-pieza (this meat grilled is just delicious) We used the WiFi (poor connection probably due to
over load of the signal) to call back home and let them know every thing is good...
We start our drive south of BoLA and enjoy every moment of our drive...
The road is (was) in good condition, a little bumpy but a good drive
We make it to San Rafael and drive to Pancho's Place...
I wanted to camp there on the beach but it seemed kind of risky driving on the sand: at the moment I didn't remember that there's a dirt trail from
the road that leads to it....
So we wonder around the place for a couple of minutes take some pics...
and notice the people from the road construction crew have taken over the shade at Pancho's to set up their kitchen (notice the green tent beyond the
cabin: there were a couple more scattered around the yard)
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carlosg
Senior Nomad
Posts: 504
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Location: chula vista, ca
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So we leave Pancho's and start our drive to San Francisquito...
Up and downgrades along the way but road still in good condition
I just have to stop and enjoy the scenery from this vantage point...
I think this is the longest grade on our way to San Francisquito
We finally make it to "signalization"...
And head to "Cabañas Playa San Francisquito"....
...at the end of the airstrip...
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David K
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Great trip report... the road surface is nicely re-scraped in your photo on the one big grade. It was rougher last year!
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TMW
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Great report with excellent pictures, thanks.
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