BajaNomad

Thanksgiving Trip

Trunkrack - 12-16-2024 at 08:58 PM

Just got back from our annual trip down. I caravanned down with my friend, arriving in El Centro the evening before crossing. Got to Mexicali West at about 5:45AM, after a quick check in the back, we were waved on. Parked and went inside to get our prepaid FMM’s stamped, which took all of about 10min. No line, and has been super convenient doing it this way for us for years. We were on our way shortly after, crossing through Mexicali at 6am has been easy each time I’ve done it, no traffic, and knock on wood, I’ve never seen any cops. Helps to be a morning person. Quick check at the checkpoint north of San Felipe, but not asked for FMM (in fact, I was never asked for it during the trip, as usual. Thought this might be the year as there are mentions of it from others, but didn’t happen to me). Gassed up in San Felipe and continued on. Passing Puertocitos, it always seems like a ghost town, and I wonder if it’s just because it’s more of a seasonal place that people go, or did the place just die out? If anyone reading this knows, I’d be interested to hear.

Gassed up in Guerrero Negro, and on down to Viscaino, where we headed west towards Tortuga, but then turned off and headed out to Malarrimo. Turning off the highway, the drive out was pretty cool. On the stretch of pipeline road, there were 2-3 spots where there was a pipe that came up out of the main line where water was leaking (or streaming in one case), creating a little oasis where the vegetation was thicker, and you could tell birds, rabbits, coyotes and other animals came to get a drink. When we got into the wash, the driving was really cool, winding our way through the sand, and smooth for the most part. Saw a lot of wildlife on that drive, coyotes, rabbits, quail, and since we got out there just before the sun set, I even saw a big owl. Had enough time to just wander around and look at all of the garbage washed up on the shore before driving back into the wash to set up camp with a bit of a wind block. That night I stayed up to watch the launch from Vandenburg, but kind of got skunked because of the patchy fog. Didn’t get a great view, but was surprised when I heard the sonic boom of the booster reentry not long after. That was pretty cool.

Next morning, got up and made coffee, then hiked a couple miles down the beach looking at everything that had washed up. Lots of garbage, and a lot of bamboo washed up. We found a nice foam roller that I kept and ended up using later. Also found a small geocache that had washed up. Need to see if I can figure out where it came from originally. As we got close to the lagoon entrance, I saw something at the edge of the water in the low tide and wondered what it was. It was something pretty big, but just couldn’t make out what it was until I was about 100ft away. Somone had driven out on the beach and gotten stuck, and never made it out. Not sure what type of vehicle it was as it was fairly decayed, but I had to laugh as this is my wife’s worst nightmare in Baja, so I snapped a couple photos to show her. Since the wind was blowing and it was kinda chilly, we decided to head on south to warmer weather. I do want to go back when the weather is a little better and explore some more though, was cool to finally get out there and see it.

We got back to the rigs and headed south, trying to make it to Mulege before dark, so we were on it. As others have described, lots of potholes on the way down, which makes for some dodging, as well as some dodgy passing, as people are trying to swerve around holes sometimes even when you’re going around them. Got inspected at San Ignacio on the way down. Guy there was not disrespectful, but he went deep in the cab, looking at everything I had it seemed, and then really wasn’t interested in what I had in the back. No issues though, and were on our way afterward. When we got to Santa Rosalia, the Sea of Cortez was glassy, and it was beautiful out. We were hammer down though, and made it to Serenidad in time to enjoy a margarita on the patio before going inside for dinner, then crawling into our rigs in the parking lot for the night.

Got up early the next morning and drove to Loreto for some groceries and water, then continued south to San Cosme. There’s been some development, and they are building a couple palapas there, and there was a trimaran pulled up on the beach, with a couple staying in it. Weather was perfect. Water temp was 79, air temp in the 80’s, and zero wind. Spent a couple more days there with the same conditions, fishing, paddling, and just enjoying life. We talked to the guy who was in the trimaran for a bit, said he’d hit the rocks and the boat was pulled onto the beach to do repairs. Looked like the work had been done, but they were in no hurry to leave. Bit of a character, and if you happen to run into him yourself down there, you’ll understand what I mean after talking to him.

Thanksgiving day we got up, loaded up and headed back to Loreto to pick up my wife who was flying in that day. Got a few things at the grocery store and topped off water/gas, then went to the airport, which is way more convenient that San Jose Del Cabo airport. Picked up my wife and we were on the road south by noon, hammer down to make it to Los Barriles by dark. We’d never stopped there before and figured we’d crash there on our way down the East Cape. Got in just before sunset and got a spot at East Cape RV park, which was fancy (for us anyway). Nice showers, pool, hot tub, and the place was really clean. Enjoyed dinner and drinks down the road, then came back and hit the hot tub, and then crawled into our trucks and called it a night. Got up in the morning, made some coffee, and walked around town a little bit to check it out. The pickle ball courts were pretty popular in the morning.

Got on the road around 9am or so, and made our way down to the La Fortuna/9 palms area, and camped out there for 4 days, enjoying the heat of the air and water. Got hassled by a Gringo who looked to be in his 60’s when we temporarily parked between him and the beach. Guy was parked over 100 yards back from the water, in a parking lot, and we parked close to 100ft away from him, so I was surprised to hear him complaining to us we’d ruined his view of the beach. Life can be tough sometimes, and I wasn’t inspired to move my rig before getting in the water for a bit. Figured he would just appreciate the view that much more when we left in an hour or so.

After 4 days of the East Cape and very small surf, we were itching to check something else out, so we packed up and headed to Todos Santos area to see what it was like, as we’d never spent any time there either. Turns out there’s no camping North of town anymore, so we weren’t sure where to go. Stumbled on a “Van Camp” sign and followed it up the road away from the beach, where we met a couple from the US who had purchased a lot and were building some parking places for vans with some shaded areas to hang out in. They were really nice, and they had built nice showers and bathrooms, so we got a place there, and then went to check out town. Very touristy, lots of shopping if that’s your thing, some cool artwork there also. I managed to find a cool mezcal tasting/store which is run out of a local women’s house, and really enjoyed that. She’s really knowledgeable, and you could be there for hours I’m sure if you were a connoisseur, but I’m just an amateur.

Next morning my wife and I decided to head to Conejo and then on to Puerto Gato the next day. Had a great view of the launch from Vandenburg that evening from Conejo. The next day we arrived in PG in the late afternoon, and on our way in stopped to talk to Santo. He was telling us that the land at PG was being sold to someone with a lot of money, and proceeded to show us a video of a pretty good size yacht which had been recently anchored there, along with another big boat which had a helicopter on it which they were using to fly around and check things out. He didn’t know who was purchasing it or what they have in mind to do with it. Kinda sad for us, hope we are able to camp there in the future. We had 4 great days there, doing some hiking, paddling, fishing, and just enjoying the nice weather. Also got to see the international space station go by the first night there.

I had known that winds were going to pick up in a big way on the 5th day we were there, so we got mostly packed up the evening before, so we wouldn’t be battling the wind in the morning. Sure enough, about 4am the wind whipped up pretty good. I finally got up around 5:30 and made coffee inside the camper. When there was enough light, we got out to finish breaking down. Out of the corner of my eye I saw what I thought was a kayak in the water and wondered why the heck someone would be out so early in such bad conditions. A few minutes later I realized it wasn’t a kayak, it was a small dingy with a guy rowing hard to come in from around the corner and get out of the wind. At that point I was wondering if his sailboat had sunk or something. We finished breaking down, and walked over to where he had just pulled his boat up on the sand to see if he was ok. The guy’s name was Rich, and turns out he was rowing his small boat from Gonzaga Bay down to Cabo! He’d anchored maybe a mile up the coast from where we were the evening before, and was getting beat up in the wind before the sun came up. As soon as there was enough light to see, he pulled anchor and drifted down near us, and was able to row in around the corner. Really nice guy, he was going to hold up there for a couple days and let the wind blow out before heading on, but sounded like he was on quite an adventure. He said he was enjoying it so much that he was considering rowing up the west coast also. We wished him luck and headed out.

We were trying to make it to Mulege to meet a friend and get in out of the wind by the end of the day. That wind was whipping out on the ocean as we drove north. If you could stand the wind, there were surfable looking waves at some of the points north of Loreto. Probably the most wind I’ve seen on the east coast. We made it into Mulege and parked next to our friend in one of the RV parks in town, and it was nice to be in a wind protected spot. Spent the afternoon/evening and next morning catching up with them and having a good time.

Since it was still howling the next day, we decided to have a late morning, and then made our way up to Guerrero Negro to knock some of the drive off the following day when we planned on crossing. We got searched again at San Ignacio, similar routine to the way down, but it was a younger guy who was very nice and even apologized for our inconvenience. Got to GN late afternoon and checked in to the Malarrimo Inn. We had never stayed in GN, so we walked around, and found a museum down the road which was interesting. The wind died down in the evening, and I kind of kicked myself for not just heading out of town for a campsite to enjoy our last night in Baja, but it was too late for that, so we walked back and had dinner at the hotel. Next morning we walked down the road to the coffee shop/restaurant to try something different. I forget the name, but the place was pretty good. Came back and checked out, and then it was hammer down to Mexicali East. Looked like some of the potholes going down had been patched, and others were still getting bigger. All day long it felt like we were swimming upstream against a constant Southward flow of overlanders, van lifers, bus conversions, camp trailers, the occasional super overlander, crazy cyclists, some RV’s, and the occasional vehicle that was so overloaded I wondered how they kept it on the road. Seems that for every person that thinks Baja isn’t safe, there are at least a few who aren’t bothered. I think we got to the border around 3:30pm, and with Sentri, our border wait was 7 minutes so we were stoked.

Made it home a couple days later (stopped to visit some friends/family on the way north), and today am going through Baja withdrawals. Had a great trip, but will probably cut the moving/driving back a bit next year and stay a bit longer at each spot. Still, we try to visit at least one new spot each trip, so will have to figure that out.

Timo1 - 12-17-2024 at 08:33 AM

Great trip report !!! Thank you

Epic report

AKgringo - 12-17-2024 at 08:56 AM

I think you have a handle on how to enjoy Baja! I would do the same thing if I had a camper and a wife that likes camping.

As it is, I explore Baja like a homeless guy with a dog living in an SUV. I would rather spend my extra cash on gasoline than air fare and hotel rooms!

BornFisher - 12-17-2024 at 02:22 PM

That was a great read, thanks!

David K - 12-18-2024 at 08:33 AM

Wonderful trip report.
Exciting to witness two SpaceX launches and the sonic boom of the booster returning to earth.
Any chance to see your trip photos?
Thank you!

David K - 12-18-2024 at 09:15 AM

Quote: Originally posted by Trunkrack  
Passing Puertocitos, it always seems like a ghost town, and I wonder if it’s just because it’s more of a seasonal place that people go, or did the place just die out? If anyone reading this knows, I’d be interested to hear.



Good observation on Puertecitos... the owner seems to be anti-people with high costs, etc.
Here is the link to the Facebook group "Puerteciros Happenings":
https://www.facebook.com/groups/400767196648940

Trunkrack - 12-18-2024 at 05:27 PM

Quote: Originally posted by AKgringo  
I think you have a handle on how to enjoy Baja! I would do the same thing if I had a camper and a wife that likes camping.

As it is, I explore Baja like a homeless guy with a dog living in an SUV. I would rather spend my extra cash on gasoline than air fare and hotel rooms!


Ha, yeah, I'm a lucky guy for sure. We have made our set up a bit more comfortable over the years, and we'll hit a hotel every now and then for a nice shower for her, but this year with the couple RV parks we hit, I may be off the hotel program. She was happy with the showers at each of them. I would love to get to a point where I could do a winter trip like today, then leave the rig and fly home, and then fly back down for a spring trip and drive it back home.

Trunkrack - 12-18-2024 at 05:29 PM

Quote: Originally posted by David K  
Wonderful trip report.
Exciting to witness two SpaceX launches and the sonic boom of the booster returning to earth.
Any chance to see your trip photos?
Thank you!


Hi David,
yeah, good times. Shoot me the link with the instructions on posting, and I'll post some photos. I always forget how to do it.

bill erhardt - 12-19-2024 at 07:10 AM

What a great report! After reading it I feel like I was along for the ride.

Tioloco - 12-19-2024 at 08:01 AM

Great report, gracias!

David K - 12-19-2024 at 09:28 AM

Quote: Originally posted by Trunkrack  
Quote: Originally posted by David K  
Wonderful trip report.
Exciting to witness two SpaceX launches and the sonic boom of the booster returning to earth.
Any chance to see your trip photos?
Thank you!


Hi David,
yeah, good times. Shoot me the link with the instructions on posting, and I'll post some photos. I always forget how to do it.


It is the top post on the Photo & Video forum: https://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=65085

If you need assistance with my instructions, please contact me. I also can post for you if you email them to me, as a last resort. I look forward to seeing them!

You can insert the photo links into your trip report using edit and add captions under the photos, too.

HERE ARE THE INSTRUCTIONS:

To post photos from your Pictures folder on your computer...

Go to www.Postimages.org, make an album if you want to organize your photos to find them easily in the future (by date or by subject). No cost to use Postimages.org.

Change the upload setting from "Do not resize my image" to 640x480 (recommended for forums) or 800x600 (max. on Nomad). You click on the little arrow to see the size choices.

Click "Choose images" and select the photos you want to put on Nomad from your Pictures folder.

Click on the image you want on Nomad and click on "Share" at the top of the screen.

Choose "Hotlinks for forums" (down next to the last one). You can click the little box at the right end of the link and it is now saved on your mouse.

Go to Nomad and paste that link onto the place where you are typing on Nomad. You can put text in below the photo for a caption for your post and if you double space between photo links (for clarity), you can put several photos and captions in a single post on Nomad. You can click "Preview" on Nomad to check and see how it will look before posting to the board.

If you need to fix a post after it is done, click on "Edit" along the edge of your post, and change or delete your post. If you edit more than once, you can delete the previous Edited on tags so only one edit tag will appear after you edit the post.

[Edited on 12-20-2024 by David K]

BajaBlanca - 12-19-2024 at 09:19 PM

Great trip report and next time, make a stop in Bahia Asuncion and meet Shari! I am pnretty sure she has spots for campers with all the amenities. Don Ramon's for some of the best fish tacos - yummm.

And the trip after that, hit up La Bocana! You can park in front of our hotel with access to an amazing shower and bathrooms for $10 per person. We have a huge supermarket affectionately termed mini costco since it has everything. There is also an amazing restaurant with great lobster, seafood in general and knock your socks off margaritas!

Both towns are villages with the old Mexico charm I think you will enjoy.

Trunkrack - 12-21-2024 at 08:37 AM

upload jpeg

Camping spot near Malarrimo beach




Malarrimo beach



Van Camp in Todos




Mezcal spot in Todos



Lost rig in Malarrimo



Water spouting on pipeline road



One of those days when you hate to be driving and just want to be in the water instead. Santa Rosalia

host images online

Sunrise near San Cosme





Road to Aqua Verde



East Cape



South of Aqua Verde



Little signs of life even after a year without real rain



Sunrise on the Sea of Cortez



Two and a half cows in an old Toyota pickup

Trunkrack - 12-21-2024 at 08:44 AM

Quote: Originally posted by BajaBlanca  
Great trip report and next time, make a stop in Bahia Asuncion and meet Shari! I am pnretty sure she has spots for campers with all the amenities. Don Ramon's for some of the best fish tacos - yummm.

And the trip after that, hit up La Bocana! You can park in front of our hotel with access to an amazing shower and bathrooms for $10 per person. We have a huge supermarket affectionately termed mini costco since it has everything. There is also an amazing restaurant with great lobster, seafood in general and knock your socks off margaritas!

Both towns are villages with the old Mexico charm I think you will enjoy.


Hi Blanca,
During Covid, my wife and I spent about a week at Shari's place, and took the time to explore Tortuga Bay, Bahia San Roque, Bahia San Pablo, and San Hipolito and the beaches between there and Ascuncion. Got a great feel for the area, and will definitely be back at some point. When we get back to that area, we'll definitely check out Bocana and try out those margaritas!

David K - 12-21-2024 at 09:15 AM

Great photos! Thank you for sharing them! :bounce::bounce::bounce:

Geocache follow up

Trunkrack - 12-27-2024 at 12:06 PM

A footnote to this story about the small geocache I found in Malarrimo. My cousin is an avid geocacher, and I sent him a photo of the paper log inside to see if he could figure out where it had come from. He called me a few hours later to tell me that the cache was originally located on the bank of the San Lorenzo river near Santa Cruz. The last time it was logged was in 2020, so sometime after that, one of the big rains mush have flushed it out into the ocean, and it ended up at Malarrimo eventually. Thought that was pretty cool, even though I know people have found things there from a lot further away.

David K - 12-28-2024 at 01:00 PM

Quote: Originally posted by Trunkrack  
A footnote to this story about the small geocache I found in Malarrimo. My cousin is an avid geocacher, and I sent him a photo of the paper log inside to see if he could figure out where it had come from. He called me a few hours later to tell me that the cache was originally located on the bank of the San Lorenzo river near Santa Cruz. The last time it was logged was in 2020, so sometime after that, one of the big rains mush have flushed it out into the ocean, and it ended up at Malarrimo eventually. Thought that was pretty cool, even though I know people have found things there from a lot further away.


Incredible! I hope he posted the find at Geocaching.com. I don't know of other geocaches that were moved by Nature, a thousand miles! :light:

watizname - 12-29-2024 at 08:01 AM

Boy, does that bring back memories. That's exactly the kind of trip that my wife and I loved to do back in the 80's and thru the 90s. So much fun. So much to "discover" and see. We would plan the same way---Travel, stop, camp for a while, fish, explore, enjoy, and on to another adventure. Baja has changed quite a bit, but you proved that the stoke can still be found. What Fun. Great read, thanks.

Lee - 12-29-2024 at 09:58 AM

Quote: Originally posted by Trunkrack  
I would love to get to a point where I could do a winter trip like today, then leave the rig and fly home, and then fly back down for a spring trip and drive it back home.


Totally doable. Cabo airport area for long term parking. Also a place in Pescadero down from the main intersection (pharmacy on the corner). Great idea storing and flying.

Just read your trip. Great report.

elgatoloco - 12-30-2024 at 11:23 AM

:cool:

AKgringo - 12-30-2024 at 02:28 PM

I am in Guerrero Negro right now. I was thinking about checking out Malarrimo, but I am having some issues with my Honda Element that I need to check out before I get off the main track again.

Of course my problems show up on holidays! I lost an alternator in April on my Trooper on Easter Sunday, and now I am getting weird noises from my drive train on New Year's Eve.

I have already had a mechanic come by and check out the car (thank you Shari for the contact!) and hopefully my car will be on the rack tomorrow, or the day after.

I should have time later to answer any questions some of you may have about the road south from Bahia de Los Angeles, Las Animas, and the road out to Mex 1 from San Francisquito.

advrider - 1-1-2025 at 07:52 PM

Trunkrack, thanks for the cool report and pictures. Did you take the road outside of Tortugas that splits left and right? Or did you go out in the playa el varadero, more in the direction of the Esterro? Looking to head out there in February.

Trunkrack - 1-2-2025 at 08:08 AM

Quote: Originally posted by advrider  
Trunkrack, thanks for the cool report and pictures. Did you take the road outside of Tortugas that splits left and right? Or did you go out in the playa el varadero, more in the direction of the Esterro? Looking to head out there in February.


We took the paved road from Vizciano, and then turned right onto the dirt about halfway between the turnoff to Asuncion and Tortugas, eventually putting us into an arroyo that led down to the beach, not far from the Estero.

advrider - 1-2-2025 at 05:48 PM

Thanks, that's where I was thinking as well. We are in 4x4's with offroad trailers, anything to watch out for?

Marty Mateo - 1-4-2025 at 10:28 AM

Sounds like a great trip and thanks for sharing it along with the pictures. We’ve left some stuff in Barriles with a friend who lives there now and have been doing short fly in trips but hope to start driving down again soon. My jam is dirt biking and have down sided to a van to carry them and sleep in. Still working on balance of creature comforts for my wife but those remote beaches sure go a long way to distracting her from the fact we have no running water 😁

Ps your license plate looks familiar I think 😎