An easy get-a-way weekend for us is to shoot down to El Rosario which is the gateway to so many interesting sites, home of many good restaurants, and
the location of Baja Cactus Motel... a first class motel with a very low price.
We crossed the border about 3:30 Friday afternoon (Otay) and popped in to see Antonio's (BajaCactus) parents and pick up the latest printing of the
'got baja?' stickers (Made in Tijuana, Baja Calif.) that were waiting for me there.
We passed by Ensenada and saw the beached freighter as we headed south on Mex. 1 (near the Cosco)... behind the new Home Depot.
As we neared San Quintin (about 7:30 pm), I thought it was a great chance to try JARDINES restaurant (Km. 2) a mile west of the highway... Glad we
did!!! Great food and atmosphere. See the Restaurant Review Forum for photos and food details.
About 9 pm, tummies full, we rolled into The Baja Cactus Motel... Reservations are a good idea as the place has been discovered and fills up. HBO has
been added to the list of English satellite channels... Until heaters are added, winter nights are chilly, but there is plenty of blankets on the bed
to stay warm.
Saturday morning Rob, Anthony (of Diamante Del Mar) and Rob's girlfriend Karen came by so we all could have breakfast and chat... We went to Primo's
La Bocana Beach Restaurant, which is next door to the Sinahi Motel and RV Park... along the highway as you head out of town... We always have good
food there, and the Agua de Melon (Cantaloupe Juice) is great... we had two pitchers!
Primo told us that he had acquired the Sinahi Motel and RV park and will be remodeling it over time...
Baja Angel wanted to return to the petrified forest we had seen at last year's Baja-Rosario Fetival http://vivabaja.com/705/page6.html The 'forest' is inside Diamante Del Mar property, so permission was first received.
My only quest this day was to do a road log from El Rosario out to La Bocana Beach via the 2WD 'HIGH' road and the 4WD 'VALLEY' road.
0.0 Turn right off Hwy. 1 at the sharp left curve (by Espinoza's)... Continue straight passing the left turn to El Roasrio de Abajo/ Punta Baja/ and
Valley Road to La Bocana.
0.8 Fork, go right.
1.2 Fork/ Road curves right, uphill (road left soon ends).
1.5 Palapas and Banana Trees on left. Road climbs uphill.
2.2 High Point (view of La Bocana)
2.6 Fork, lesser road left down arroyo. Go straight ahead.
2.9 Fork, go left. Road right to closed gate.
3.0 Fork, right to Diamante Del Mar security gate, go left.
3.6 Road to right, better road bends left for La Bocana.
0.0 Turn Right off Hwy. 1 at the sharp left curve. In about 100 yards take the left (south) fork... signed for Punta Baja.
Cross over the El Rosario River culvert and follow main road as it turns right (west) and crosses some water before reaching the south bank and
entering the town of El Rosario de Abajo.
I was surprised that the distance from Hwy. 1 was almost identicle for both routes. The high road being far easier to drive.
Dinner Saturday was at the El Grullense restaurant where they have a mini buffet with three large pots of slowly cooked soups/ stews... We had a bowl
of the beef and a bowl of the chicken... Both were good, albeit the chicken was spicy. Lots of hot tortillas came with the dinner... Tecate beer sold.
Sunday morning we slept in and decided to skip breakfast and go back to JARDINES for lunch... It was very good again! The shrimp salad was great!!!
Ensenada was a nightmare to get through with some big carnival closing off the main street through town... about 30 min. to detour around the mess and
to the back road to the toll highway.
We reached the San Ysidro border line about 6:30 pm, and were inside the U.S. A. in 50 minutes...
Here are the photos of the petrified forest and La Bocana taken Saturday... The hike into the canyon...
[Edited on 3-1-2006 by David K]David K - 2-28-2006 at 06:14 PM
View of La Bocana from canyon trail...David K - 2-28-2006 at 06:14 PM
A cross shape cholla along the trail...David K - 2-28-2006 at 06:16 PM
Petrified wood lines the trail... some being placed as markers and other just exposed from rain or wind erosion.David K - 2-28-2006 at 06:17 PM
more...David K - 2-28-2006 at 06:18 PM
Some of the 'wood turned to stone' has different colors than othersDavid K - 2-28-2006 at 06:19 PM
You can see some entire logs being exposed in places...David K - 2-28-2006 at 06:21 PM
Really a neat place to see pre-history Baja! Do come to El Rosario for the next festival (July 21-23, 2006) for a guided tour to this petrified
forest!David K - 2-28-2006 at 06:22 PM
Baja Angel on the trail...David K - 2-28-2006 at 06:23 PM
Interesting erosion...David K - 2-28-2006 at 06:24 PM
David K on the trail...David K - 2-28-2006 at 06:25 PM
Baja Angel and David K in the petrified forest of El RosarioDavid K - 2-28-2006 at 06:26 PM
Exposed petrified log...David K - 2-28-2006 at 06:27 PM
La Bocana BeachDavid K - 2-28-2006 at 06:27 PM
North end of La Bocana BeachDavid K - 2-28-2006 at 06:30 PM
Toyota Tacoma at the north end... 6 months and 20,000 miles from when it was first here, the day after I got it!
Hope you all enjoyed the report and photos!
Please share yours!!Bajaboy - 2-28-2006 at 07:30 PM
DK-
thanks again for the info....I hope you were being sarcastic about Carnival in Ensenada?!
We headed down to the Halfway House on Saturday for lunch and were amazed with all the southbound traffic. One of these years I plan on hitting the
fiesta.
ZacBOLABOUND - 2-28-2006 at 07:55 PM
killer report and pictures
Thanks for sharing
I love your attention to detail of the driving directionsbajalou - 2-28-2006 at 08:16 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by Bajaboy
.I hope you were being sarcastic about Carnival in Ensenada?!
Zac
I was in Ensenada one year at carnival time and they had many streets blocked off with flatbed trucks each block with a different band on each one -
quite a party.David K - 2-28-2006 at 08:18 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by Bajaboy
DK-
thanks again for the info....I hope you were being sarcastic about Carnival in Ensenada?!
We headed down to the Halfway House on Saturday for lunch and were amazed with all the southbound traffic. One of these years I plan on hitting the
fiesta.
Zac
Here is what I said about Ensenada:
Ensenada was a nightmare to get through with some big carnival closing off the main street through town... about 30 min. to detour around the mess and
to the back road to the toll highway.
That is what was going on, no sarcasm... I am amazed we squeezed through that mess without a longer delay...
How was lunch? What was good?David K - 2-28-2006 at 08:20 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by BOLABOUND
killer report and pictures
Thanks for sharing
I love your attention to detail of the driving directions
De Nada... I Love Baja, and I love writing about the places I visit... Helps the memory of these great trips to stay fresh, too.Bajaboy - 2-28-2006 at 09:11 PM
DK-
I asked about the sarcasm because I would have thought for sure you would have known about Carnival (Latin version of Mardi Gras) in Ensenada. From
what I've been told by others is that the Ensenada version is one of the largest on the West Coast. For more info: http://www.carnavalensenada.com/
Food was great as usual at HWH. I had a cup of tortilla soup and some ceviche with two Pacificos followed by Mexican hot chocolate. My wife had soup
as well in addition to some huge sprimp tacos. My sister had soup and the Sea Bass Veracruz style. Not too sure as to how much it cost as it was my
sister's treat.
ZacDavid K - 2-28-2006 at 09:55 PM
Yes, I heard about carnival from Connie of the Ensenada Gazette... however, when returning north there was no signs or detours warning of the main
course through town being closed... It was crazy to pour all northbound traffic into a dead end that required detouring out of.David K - 12-13-2006 at 10:37 AM
Until Doug has a chance to restore all the photos that were lost when he upgraded Nomad, some of those taken on this trip can be seen on a new web
page I am working on today: http://vivabaja.com/206
I just need to add in the road log for both routes to the beach!
0.0 Turn right off Hwy. 1 at the sharp left curve (by Espinoza's)... Continue straight passing the left turn to El Roasrio de Abajo/ Punta Baja/ and
Valley Road to La Bocana.
0.8 Fork, go right.
1.2 Fork/ Road curves right, uphill (road left soon ends).
1.5 Palapas and Banana Trees on left. Road climbs uphill.
2.2 High Point (view of La Bocana)
2.6 Fork, lesser road left down arroyo. Go straight ahead.
2.9 Fork, go left. Road right to closed gate.
3.0 Fork, right to Diamante Del Mar security gate, go left.
3.6 Road to right, better road bends left for La Bocana.
0.0 Turn Right off Hwy. 1 at the sharp left curve. In about 100 yards take the left (south) fork... signed for Punta Baja.
Cross over the El Rosario River culvert and follow main road as it turns right (west) and crosses some water before reaching the south bank and
entering the town of El Rosario de Abajo.
