BAJA PREZ DAY WEEKEND 2007 (Part 3, Campo Beluga to Shell Island)

Continued from Part 2 at http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=22806

Saturday Afternoon:

Laguna Chapala to Coco's Corner (13 mi.) was very good 40-50 mph (Toyota Tacoma)... Coco's to Gonzaga (23 mi.) was rougher 20-30 mph... About 36 MPH average as it took me about an hour from Hwy. 1 to Gonzaga Bay.

We stayed at Campo Beluga (1.2 miles south of Alfonsina's Pemex/ Rancho Grande store) and Baja Angel and I were VERY IMPRESSED! Palapas, flush toilets, showers(not heated)... $15 per night.

Campo Beluga GPS (NAD27): 29 degrees 46.47', 114 degrees 22.97'
Campo Beluga from space

The owner’s name is Rafael Diaz who told us about the future plans that include a restaurant (nearing completion for Easter ’07), as well as Internet and phone service for guests. Sport fishing and boat rentals are also listed on his card.

Another campo is signed as ‘Sacraficio’ (sp?) to the south of Beluga and advertises rooms… Between Campo Beluga and Alfonsina’s is Rancho Grande which is a store and tire repair on the highway and palapas on the beach... gas available usually when Pemex is closed.

Sunday:

We almost hated to leave Campo Beluga, but we didn't want to have to drive from Gonzaga Bay all the way back to California in one day... We left about 11 am.

Pemex at Gonzaga Bay (owned by Alfonsina’s) was open and selling at 6.47 pesos: litre, but the exchange rate at this remote location was just 10 pesos to the dollar, so gas was $2.45/ gallon... No complaints from me, as we are lucky to have it in Gonzaga and that's still cheaper than in the U.S. where I live!

I was checking my Tacoma’s mileage this trip and from home to El Rosario I got 17.2 mpg and El Rosario to Gonzaga (with some four wheeling) I got 16.4 mpg.

Gonzaga north to Puertecitos was as rough as last time I drove it (November) and it took 2.5 hours for the 48 miles. NO LOW CARS or motor homes between a point 8 miles south of Puertecitos where it gets very rocky to Gonzaga Bay.

We stopped for about an hour at the 'rock house' on the cliff north of El Huerfanito for lunch and photos... This is an unfinished project right on the side of a 1000' (?) cliff to the sea!

As last November, the rocky road became smooth 8 miles from Puertecitos where a mine is being worked just inland... the road is maintained for the mine access.

Puertecitos to San Felipe is all well paved except a 1.8 mile section starting 0.7 mile north of Puertecitos. As many of you know between San Felipe and Puertecitos there are many short, steep vados (dips) you will get almost no warning for are on this road... So don't be flying too fast!

We headed straight for Shell Island (Km. 26) for Sunday night and arrived around 4pm after negotiating some sea water that separates the barrier island beach from the rest of Baja… (It’s why I call it Shell ‘Island’). There were some SUVs at the end of the former elevated road to the beach that appeared to be stuck. I used the original access road which cuts to the island at a diagonal, but was full of water from the New Moon high tide!

Staying in the deepest water covered road (indicates the most compact/ lowest roadbed) at a slow pace, we drove right onto the beach at which point I deflated my mud tires to 10 psi for floatation on the bottomless sand beach. There were two other groups of campers on the island we passed by as we drove north to my favorite spot in the dunes.

We enjoyed a stroll on the beach and a fantastic sunset… dinner, wine, campfire, the love of my life by my side… who could ask for anything more?

How about asking for no wind!!!??? Sunday night, all night the wind blew… and we had the tent bungeed and weighted down well, but all the flapping still was noisy and sleep was not easy!


Photo is sunrise over Punta Final from Campo Beluga, Sunday.





[Edited on 2-22-2007 by David K]

One more...

Our palapa at Campo Beluga

We were in the 3rd from the north end palapa. Here is the rest of the palapas looking south...

Looking towards Alfonsina's... at low tide there are rocks exposed then sand bars. The beach above the high tide line is sand.

Our palapa from the beach and the final two palapas on this end of Beluga...

[Edited on 2-21-2007 by David K]

One more look at the beach south...

With zoom, I take a photo of the onyx springs as seen from Campo Beluga... looks like a glacier! Up close photos of the springs (and other Gonzaga Bay area sites) begin at http://vivabaja.com/1102/page2.html

A look back at San Luis Gonzaga Bay from the road to Puertecitos.

Love that Toyota! 48,000 miles in one and a half years, still no repairs!

The road doesn't look so bad... but the rocks in it keep you from flying. I used the parallel tracks when they existed, north of Gonzaga.

Enchanted Islands

Between Puertecitos and Gonzaga

Enchanted because pieces of the islands break off and float to shore! (pumice)

Fishing is supposed to be great!

OKIE's LANDING was here in the 1960's

At El Huerfanito (Nacho's camp) the road climbs over volcanic ridges for 20 miles to Puertecitos... This was a very tough 4WD route before the current graded road was built in 1985!

From the rock house, a look at Isla el Huerfanito (The Little Orphan Island)...

The other islands lay far off to the south of Huerfanito...

The Gulf of California/ Sea of Cortez

Looking north past Cerro Prieto volcano (a crater is at the top) towards Puertecitos

Baja Angel and David K 2-18-07

Where we had lunch... some view, eh?

Rocks in the roadbed will make driving slow and keep out big RVs and low cars until a new layer of sand or class 2 is applied again.

[Edited on 2-21-2007 by David K]

Puertecitos, 1 of 3 photos (right to left)

2 of 3

3 of 3

Arrive on Shell Island! Life is good!! The breeze is a bit strong, but that usually dies out at sundown (not)!!

Looking from the island across to the peninsula of Baja! That's Laguna (Rancho) Percebu, in the distance...

Sunset from Shell Island, Sunday

Baja Angel and I take a walk out onto the low tide exposed sand bar....

Pretty sky

There's Diablo Mountain, highest in Baja at 10,154'

Wow...

Thanks David K.

David and Hook-----

Anchoring off shore over sand bar------

I have a lot of 3/8" nylon line, but not that much.

Besides the anchoring problem, the shallow water and resulting exposure of the bottom, really limits when you can take to the boats and go fishing, as well as returning-----you are at the mercy of the tides.

We used to always camp between the east/west runway and Alphonsina's, just south of the houses. Good deep-water there. (but you deffinitely need 4 wheel drive.)