ursidae69 - 3-5-2004 at 08:31 AM
I was wondering if anyone has driven the 26 mile 4x4 road from San Jose del Castroto to Playa Malarrimo in the Vizcaino recently and what the
conditions were like. Talked some to DavidK on email and I thought I'd post here too. My rig is capable, but I'm wondering about the last bit before
the beach. I don't want to get caught in any of those sand covered mud flats.
Thanks.
[Edited on 3-5-2004 by ursidae69]
MALARRIMO
cristobal - 3-5-2004 at 03:07 PM
I have never driven in from CASTRO'S before. All the fishermen from BAHIA TORTUGAS take the road that is graded by the COOP to get to the two fish
camps along the way. That road, two miles SOUTH of town, goes NORTH-EAST for 18 miles to the second and last fish camp before this famous beach. From
here the road gets a little soft and on a slight up-grade before starting down for several miles and ending in an ARROYO that takes you to the ocean.
Once you get to the beach ...... you are here .... Stay up at the high tide mark .... if you continue to the first estero .... please note the two
piles of rust off shore. These two guys were playing out on the hard sand. They never made it out.
I drove in 18 months ago with a fisherman from TORTUGAS .... he makes the trip once a week.
The hardest part of the drive was past the last fish camp to the arroyo. The only reason it was tough was because we stopped on the up-grade a couple
of times in the soft sand. If we would have kept moving .... there would not have been a problem. FOUR WHEEL drive got us moving again..
Tires are very important but the whole trip could be made without 4x4.
[Edited on 3-5-2004 by cristobal]
TMW - 3-13-2004 at 10:16 AM
I was in there 2-3 years ago. Beautiful country as you drop thru a canyon area and follow the wash out to sea. I never had any problem of mud. I was
aware of it due to an article by Mark Naugle, I think it is or was posted on the offroad.com web site. Anyway we were in my 91 chevy 4x4 and I stayed
on the high side in the sand which was usually the east side as you approach the ocean. I was packing two motorcycles and camping gear and I aired
down to about 25 lbs when I got to the softer sand. It was July. We found lots of stuff to keep us busy on the beach. No booze. Saw a big badger going
in and coming out within a mile or two of the beach. It looked like high tide would bring water up the wash but it never did while we were there. We
camped maybe a 1/8 to 1/4 mile from the ocean at an abandoned fish camp.
Neal Johns - 3-13-2004 at 06:46 PM
A half mile or mile before you get to the ocean, there are sand roads that go left out of the arroyo to a nearby parallel dry sandy road going the
same way to near the beach. Take it rather than splash thru and water/mud that may suck you down.
On the beach,the mud hidden under the sand is to the right a half mile or mile where another arroyo dumps into the ocean. Beware, two of my party got
stuck to the axles with the tide coming in. Broke a lot of straps and carried a lot of driftwood to get them out.
The beach left along the cliffs has no mud and goes to the next arroyo in a few miles. Turn inland and in a short distance a road climbs out of the
arroyo and follows the coast to civilization.