A great first trip to Baja

Sorry for the delay in posting....but I wanted to report back and thank everyone here for the advice I got before our trip to Baja over New Years. Overall, a great trip!

We left San Diego at 6:30 AM on the Saturday before New Year's - at the border no one stopped us at all, and despite my specific instructions printed out, we managed to drive past the customs parking lot where we should have pulled over, and ended up in Mexico without even stopping. We pulled over near where all the taxis wait on the Tijuana side - two of us went to get our tourist cards while the other two waited, then we switched. This was pretty straightforward, and pretty quiet so early in the AM, and we were on our way by 8 AM.

We took the toll road all the way to Ensenada, no problems at all, easy drive. We got a little turned around in Ensenada - we stuck to the coast and ended up on a small road nearer the water than the main highway, but eventually we figured it out and continued south. Stopped for some oranges at a stand somewhere before El Rosario, and then in El Rosario stopped for lunch at the little restaurant in the bus. The woman there was very nice and we ate some great fish tacos (served w/ avocado and great homemade salsa).

It was about 1 by this point, so we had made pretty good time - after lunch we drove about 1.5 more hours (including photo stops) to Catavina. We stayed at Rancho Santa Inez, camping. Got a nice site and had time for a small walk before sunset. This place makes a great halfway point between San Diego and Mulege - the people were nice, it felt very safe and the scenery (and stars) were beautiful. We bought some firewood and made a fire, though it got very chilly and breezy in the evening. We had dinner at La Enramada - like Lonely Planet claimed, they had excellent hot chocolate made w/ real chocolate and cinnamon, and the chimichangas were good too.

Next day was about a 7 hour drive to Mulege - no problems really at all. We did encounter a tipped over truck south of Catavina - luckily everyone in the truck was okay, though gasoline was spilling everywhere...it could have been much worse. We were careful driving, since it's dangerous with the raised road - often no place to pull over, and a serious problem if you drive off the road....it also took us a while to figure out that the left blinker is the signal to indicate that you want someone to pass you - but once we figured this out we used it all the time

There were several boring flat stretches, and many beautiful stretches too - with four of us taking turns at the wheel and plenty of good music, not bad at all. At the military checkpoints, we were waived through every time.

We spent 4 nights in Mulege. We had reservations at Las Casitas, and I was pleased to see that they had kept them for us and that the rooms were ready when we arrived. Things were busy for the hotel and restaurant - big wedding in town on the 30th, then NYE the next night. Our rooms were comfortable and the showers at Las Casitas were awesome - lots of pressure and hot! Our rooms were 40 dollars per night for each double. We had been planning to spend some time in the hotel and then camp for a few nights, but seeing what the weather was like in Mulege (kinda windy and cool) we decided not to.

We spent the 31st at Santispac Beach - we looked around for the hot springs, finally found the really hot ones amongst the mangroves, but they were so hot we were afraid to get in! Did a little snorkeling too - saw pufferfish, stingray, zebra fish and lots of starfish. The water was cold, and I couldn't stay in for more than 20 mins. That evening we went to the big party in Mulege, which was a lot of fun. Everyone we met was very nice and welcoming, and it was a random but fun place to spend the new year.

On the 1st we mainly hung around Mulege, and on the 2nd it was back to Santispac (though we walked around the bend to a smaller beach w/ a cave and hung out there for the day). The beaches near Mulege are beautiful, and if it had been warmer out, it would have been really amazing. Next time I'll plan a trip for a different time of year.

I wasn't super impressed w/ any food in Mulege - my favorites were the chicken tacos at the place near the gas station in town, and the paletas at the ice cream place....nothing else was that special really. But people were nice and Mulege was a great destination for us.

Drive back was also pretty uneventful. Got stopped at the military checkpoints, but never for very long and we only had to get out of the car once (they patted down the seats of the car). Never had to empty the trunk, which was a relief since it was packed very full! Had lunch in Guerrero Negro at a small restaurant there, near the gas station in the town. I had a disappointing mole, friends had pretty decent chile relleno. This was some of the best food we encountered on the trip though. Spent the night at Rancho Santa Inez again and this time opted for the dorm room (10 dollars per person) since we needed to get up super early to head back to SD the next day. We ended up leaving the next day at 5:30 AM, just before dawn, caught a beautiful sunrise before reaching El Rosario, and then continued on. We stopped for little burritos and champurrado at some point (both were great) and also before that stopped for gas in El Rosario (which somehow had cheaper gas than anywhere else.)

We got to Tijuana at about 2 PM and had a bit of trouble figuring out how they were directing/diverting the traffic. We figured it out eventually though, after navigating several rotaries in traffic, but once in line the wait to get to the border was about 1 hour. Not too many problems here either, and by 3:45 PM or so we were back in the USA.

Thanks again to everyone who gave me advice about Mulege vs. Bahia de los Angeles - I think we made a good decision, and despite being a long drive, it was a fun one and definitely worthwhile!

Hopefully this report will be helpful to people thinking about making this trip in the future.

Happy 2008!

Bruce

Baja fever?

You are spot-on with the food in Mulege. Stick to the places that specialize in tacos. They are consistantly good.
I hear the water is cold(er) this winter in Mulege. Did you know that Stanispac was chock full of homes a year ago?
It is great to hear you had a positive experience. See any bicycles on the road?

Bruce, Thanks for the report. Rice and Beans is a really nice cafe with good food, a couple of buildings east of Las Casitas.