John M - 5-20-2005 at 09:10 PM
This will be a short series of stories about a week or so in Baja in the wonderful weather of May. Is there anything better to look forward to? Our
planning for this visit was limited to just a few ideas of places to see, but mostly geared toward stopping early in the day ? purposely intending to
do less driving than we?ve done on recent trips.
The smoothness of exchanging some dollars for pesos, ease in getting our visas, and only taking one wrong turn in Tijuana were all good omens, I
hadn?t a doubt.
The very light Sunday morning traffic made even the u-turns to return to the ?Scenic Road? a snap. Our small group of four vehicles stayed together
and enjoyed the views of the Pacific as we rolled southward along the coast. Typical early-morning fog had lifted giving us pleasant views most of the
time. The sights and smells helped us to recall these same places we had passed so many times before, changed this time only slightly by more
development and the cause most likely the influence of American visitor dollars.
Even the vendors along Ensenada?s malecon hadn?t occupied their favorite spots as yet, so we paused only long enough to get a little gasoline as we
continued south. We had passed through the first military checkpoint with only a wave. The morning was warming nicely and called us to stop under some
trees near Santo Tomas for a little break from the road, and for a refreshing drink, or two. Back on the road for only a short time and we just
couldn?t pass up a lunch break at a little restaurant at the south end of San Vicente. A local gathering of ten or twelve had gotten there ahead of us
and had the juke box warming up. Lunch came quickly after a phone call for reinforcements for the kitchen crew. We may have stayed in this friendly
spot a little longer than planned, but we were anxious to break the habit of go, go, go the first day.
As has been the hallmark of our recent trips, we had the expected CB radio difficulties right from the start. Spare handheld radios were located, we
tried using different antennas, switching mics ? and it wasn?t too long before we were back in business.
Our first evening was spent at the Baja Cactus Motel in El Rosario, where our reservations awaited us. We hadn?t been here before, and wow! We were
really happy with the roomy rooms, the great showers, very nice d?cor and all. The friendly and helpful staff made this a great choice for our only
pre-arranged stopover. The downside? No lobster at Mama Espinoza?s. The dinner was devoured in spite of not being what we had dreamed of having. And
so it was back to the rooms for a good night?s sleep. Not even the trucks descending the steep hill into town could be heard from our palace.
The next morning Barbara and I were awakened by one of our traveling companions knocking on our door, coffee pot in hand. A quick peek outside
revealed that the second day had dawned as beautiful as we could hope for. Our quest was to have it be as smooth of a day as the first.
It wasn?t to be.
Stay tuned?..
[Edited on 5-21-2005 by John M]
Bajaboy - 5-20-2005 at 09:13 PM
I can't wait for more....
Zac