Bajagypsy - 3-28-2007 at 01:29 PM
Cabo, Here We Come, Maybe!!
We were driving around like a typical bunch of tourists, all that was missing, were the tacky shirts, and the camera attached to our neck, when we
pulled up on an auto body repair shop. Now Todd is a mechanic/auto body hobbyist (actually he is an industrial mechanic/welder by trade), and what he
saw made him cringe. They were sanding, with a belt sander, all the pain off the side of a car, to put a flame decal on. “Mister, Mister, come here
we do flames on your car”, the auto body person called out to Todd. I have never seen anyone get off a one way street so fast in my entire life. We
figured that we could get back to the border if we just went north, so off we went.
In our city, they took out the only traffic circle we had as 98% of the people could not drive it. After about our third traffic circle Todd made the
comment that if this was in Saskatoon, people would go around in circles for hours. He was getting very good at driving them, when suddenly he said
“What the hell is that? A cat?” Meandering across the fast moving traffic circle was a rat. Now in Canada, our rats do not get as big as they do in
other parts of the world. Ours are normal rat size. After explaining to him that it was indeed a Rat, we continued on our way.
After around two hours of traffic circles, swearing, laughing, almost crying (by me I might add), and wondering if we would ever get back to the
border, we finally found the big screen TV’s that announced we indeed were back at the border. I must say that this was the shortest wait time we
have ever experienced in returning to the US. After explaining to the border guard what had happened, and learning from him that we could have gotten
our tourist visa’s in Ensenada, we zoomed down the highway, looking for a way to get back into Baja!!
We got back into the road that shoots you into Tijuana, but this time se stayed to the far right. When we got through we quickly pulled over,
purchased our visa’s got back in the car and looked at each other, and burst out laughing. We had left Canada looking for adventure, and so far 5
hours into our Baja adventure, we had experienced more adventure than most people do in a lifetime. We were contemplating on how we were going to get
to the highway, when a bus driver approached our car with a huge smile. I rolled down my window, and he excitedly informed us that he had a tourist
from Saskatchewan just last week. Now most Canadian’s can’t say Saskatchewan correctly and this gentleman pronounced Saskatchewan like he had grown
up there. He went on to explain, that the person from Saskatchewan was so very nice and polite, and that he himself was so happy to meet us, could he
be of any assistance? Having had enough adventure for one day we both exclaimed “How in the world do we get to the Highway?” After much drawing in
the dirt, and explanation, we had rock solid directions. After profuse thank you’s and good bye’s we jumped in our car and started off for Cabo!!
The first thing that struck Todd was all the shops that we saw in the city/towns in northern Baja. You have to agree that the Mexican’s are a very
resourceful bunch, the can make a store/house out of anything. Then next thing we realized is that we would create our all time favorite Baja game,
yes you guessed it, it is called “name that breed of dog”!!! The most upsetting thing that we saw were the amount of dead dogs that were on the side
of the roads in many towns that we drove through. My first reaction was, we should pull over and burry that poor dog, after that, it became almost
the norm, and that upset me a little.
Once we got out of the hustle/bustle of the populated northern part of Baja, and gave way to the beautiful landscape of the mounts, you could almost
feel the tension leave our bodies.
We drove and drove, for what seemed like forever, how is it possible that 200 kilometers in Canada roughly takes two hours, but in Baja, it takes
four? As we pulled into Guerrero Negro at around 9:00pm, absolutely drained, dusty, thirsty and starving, we realized that it was Valentines Day, or
VD as we call it in our house. We pulled into a little hotel, got ourselves a room and went to go put our bags in our room so that we could look for
a place to eat and have a beer. The first thing we realized when we walked into our room was how clean it was. Sure it wasn’t a five star resort
that is not what we came to Baja for, the room was immaculate, and you literally could smell the bleach radiating from the sheets, and floors. Happy
with our choice we went in search of life giving beer!!!
The next morning, we decided to call the kids as promised, and let both sets of parents know that we were alive, well and still together (my mothers
biggest fear, that we would break up during this trip!!). We eagerly through on sorts, and tank tops, like only a truly Canadian person would and ran
out side. Much to our surprise/shock, it was freezing outside. Well ok, maybe not freezing as in -30 freezing but it was definitely chilly. Back in
the room we went to get sweaters, and then we were off.
The day before we had gotten into a routine, after a bit of trial and error. I am terrified of heights, and we quickly learned that if we ever were
going to make our destination, I would not be driving in the mountains. Todd drove the mountains and I drove the desert, it is a practice we still
use. I am not even capable of explaining the absolutely beautiful scenery that we encountered. It was so beautiful at times I wanted to cry. As we
got closer to Conception Bay it looked like the end of the world, the water was dazzling, and everything was so calm and beautiful. The window’s in
the car were open, the breeze was blowing in the car, we had our tunes playing, and as we were approaching one of the many twisty corners of the
mountains by Conception, I held up the map to get a look, to see if there was anything we needed to know, when whoooooooshh, out the window the map
went. Panic stricken I looked over at Todd to see if he noticed, if he didn’t I wouldn’t say a word. If asked where the map was at a latter time, I
would simply say, “oh, I guess we put it in the trash at our last gas stop”. “Did you just chuck the map out the window?” he asked me, and yes I was
once again the recipient of his “special” look!! Todd slammed on the breaks (looking back now, it was probably one of the more stupid things we have
done), and I ran out on the road to retrieve the lost map!!! We stopped at Conception, and had a lunch of fruits and such that we had picked up along
the way. Realizing that we could have camped on the beach, we were very upset, we could have stayed there forever. Back in the car we went, as we
were pushing on to Cabo.
It was a fairly uneventful trip, until we hit La Paz. Now our directions were very poor, in fact they were down right crappy, looking back we should
have just left them on the road. It seemed every second road sign said Cabo San Lucas This way, with an arrow, and I think we were just going in
circles. By this time it was 5:00 or so in the afternoon, realizing it would be quite late when we arrived in Cabo, we decided to stop and pick up
some more fruit, and beer. We finally got on one road that looked like a highway. To this day, we have no idea what road it was, or if it was maybe
just a dream! Suddenly the paved road gave way to a gravel road. That was ok, as both of us grew up driving and grid roads, we kept on going. It
was getting quite dark by this point, (it was around 7:00 pm) when suddenly, it felt like the front end of the car had slammed into the ground. Now
my first reaction was we have hit one of the many cows that we had seen on the road. I looked over at Todd, with I’m sure a look of fear, and he
looked back at me. We both got out of the car, to see that the gravel road had now given way to a sand/dirt road. What else do two Canadian’s do in
this situation. You sit down, and open a beer. We discussed what we were going to do, if the road was passable, If we should keep going, or turn
around. Will one beer turned into two, which turned into three, so we now had all the courage we needed!!! Onward we went. I have to admit, we were
in the middle of know where, every so often you would see a cow on the side of the dirt/sand. The road was horrid, you could only travel at around 20
kilometers and hour. If anyone know where we were, we would appreciate knowing!!! We went up quite a big sand hill I thought I would have to get out
and push the car up actually, When all of a sudden we see lights!!!! Oh my god, could we actually be in Cabo, had we reached our destination? As we
drove along, I noticed that it wasn’t a very big place, and I was quite sure that Cabo would be bigger. I asked Todd about it and he agreed, we were
definitely not in Cabo. We pulled over and asked a girl at a Taco stand if we were in Cabo. With patience and wisdom beyond her years, she informed
us that no we were not, it was further south. We were to go along this one road and then turn at the end of the road. Somewhat disappointed, we
headed off into the night, it was by now 9:30 pm.
We were on a real paved road, and going at quite a decent speed, when once again, we saw lights of a city, and not just a few lights, it was a bunch
of lights!! We were about to start our real adventure at any time now!!!
As we pulled into this town, we kept our eyes peeled for a hotel, and came across a sign that said, hotel row, we pulled down that street, and
instantly our hearts dropped. They were the massive all inclusive hotels, that do everything for you, and cost your first born child. We were just
looking for something modest, something around the $60.00 usd a night range. We drove up and down the strip a couple of times, each of us getting
crankier by the second, exhausted and beginning to smell once again, we decided that for one night we would pull into the all inclusive and in the
morning we would find something a bit more reasonable, when suddenly out of the corner of his eye, Todd noticed a nice modest looking hotel, he
quickly pulled into the parking lot. It was 11:30 pm by this time, and all the lights were off. Todd walked up to the hotel office, and noticed that
there was a door bell. After several attempts of ringing the bell, a very tired man opened the door for him and he went inside the office. Ten
minutes later, a smiling Todd emerged, with keys. We had our room, and it was $40.00 usd a night!!! Exhausted we fell into bed, eager to start our
real adventure in the morning!!
[Edited on 3-29-2007 by Bajagypsy]
[Edited on 4-10-2007 by Bajagypsy]
Bajagypsy on the beach at Conception Bay
Bajagypsy - 3-28-2007 at 01:30 PM
[Edited on 3-28-2007 by Bajagypsy]
Packoderm - 3-28-2007 at 02:09 PM
I get where you're coming from regarding the dogs. For years, my wife has brought down dry dog food for the doggies in Baja. The looks on the macho
bajacalifornios was priceless one time when she stooped down to give a little, skinny dog some morsels.
I especially liked the part of the report where you commented on the beauty of the landscape. You just have to see it first hand; no words will
convince you otherwise.
It sounds like you had an off-road adventure on your first outing in Baja. How cool is that?
Love your story.
vandenberg - 3-28-2007 at 02:11 PM
You have the " gift " girl. I'll call you Erma Bombeck II.
Hotel in Guerrero Negro
Bajagypsy - 3-28-2007 at 02:19 PM
Sallysouth - 3-28-2007 at 05:32 PM
Great Bajagypsy!Wow you guys did a lot of driving in a short time.Too bad you didn't spend some time at Conception, maybe on the way back? OK now
waiting for the next part of the story....
Bajagypsy - 3-29-2007 at 01:58 PM
Part 5 Cabo San Lucas, Finally?
We awoke on the morning of February 16, 2004 eagerly anticipating all the adventure that we could handle!! The sun was shinning, you could hear birds
outside, I looked over at the alarm clock and it read 6:45 am. I was totally stunned. In the planning of this vacation, all we could talk about was
how we were going to “sleep till noon, no kids to wake us up, it will be great!” Here we were up at 6:45 am. What else do you do when you wake up
that early, but go in search of coffee. After locating some coffee, having a wonderfully scalding hot shower, we went outside to drink our coffee by
the pool.
Now like all good Saskatchewan tourist, we had made sure that our skin was extra pale and near death looking, before we put on our swimsuits and head
down to the beach!! The hotel we had picked was perfect as all we had to do was cross a road, go between two of the monster all inclusive hotels and
we were at the beach!!! Once we saw the surf, and smelt the smell of salt, seaweed and rotting fish, we were off and running to the waters edge!!!
We settled down on the beach and smiled at each other, and were all set to relax. After about 5 minutes, both of us with sly grins said at the same
time, “Beer we need Beer”. I was sent on the quest to find beer. After about 10 minutes of walking around, I found a corner store, bought some beer
and high tailed it back to the beach.
The next morning started out the same as the previous day. It was now February 17, and we practically ran back to the beach, with beer in hand.
After playing in the surf for half an hour, we launched our selves onto the beach, cracked open a beer and sat in the ever warming sun. About 30
minutes later, this couple who were staying at the all inclusive behind us, pulled up their deck chairs and started to talk to us. As we got to
talking about our trip, (They thought we were absolutely crazy, they flew down, and would never dream of staying anywhere but an all inclusive), we
soon realized that we were not in Cabo San Lucas. I’m sure the look of astonishment on our faces was priceless. Some further discussion had us
realize that we were in San Jose Del Cabo, and that Cabo San Lucas was about half an hour south of us. After more chit chat, and a near fight between
the other lady and Bajagypsy (I do not want to get into it, as it still makes my blood boil, I will just saw however, that it was in regards to the
beach/store vendors “pretending” to not speak English), it was time to go and check out what Cabo San Lucas had to offer.
We jumped into the car and headed south! Well, to our amazement, Cabo, was a huge city!!! We toured around, found a place and made arrangements for
Todd to go diving the next day, and went and drank tequila at the Cabo Wabo. We got back to our hotel in San Jose Del Cabo, and decided that San
Jose, was more to our liking, we could always drive into Cabo if we so wished.
Todd Playing in the surf
Bajagypsy - 3-29-2007 at 02:07 PM
bajagypsy at hotel
Bajagypsy - 3-29-2007 at 02:08 PM
Paula - 3-29-2007 at 02:28 PM
Don and I also prefer San Jose to San Lucas. And we love hotels under $40 per night, especially the ones where they wash the sheets between
guests!
(be careful in San Quintin)
Hope there is more coming, love your writing!