BajaNomad - From Italy to Baja

From Italy to Baja

pal57 - 4-11-2009 at 06:10 AM

Hola to all,
we are coming from Italy and arriving at La Paz on april 20. Staying there for only 3 days, going to see the beautiful beaches like Tecolote and Balandra and the second day going for a boat trip to Isla Espiritu Santos. After we have 8 days left and renting a Jeep we are just going to trow a coin and see if going north up to San Ignacio hoping that we can still see some lately whales in the lagoon. Or just stopping to Loreto and relax in Bahia Conception for 4 days and return south stopping at Todos Santos and finishing or trip at San Josè del Gabo.

If there is any suggestions for or trip we appreciate it.

if I can find some internet points long our trip, I'll try to write a trip diary on BajNomad for every day being at Baja.

Thankx Pal57. :tumble:

woody with a view - 4-11-2009 at 06:18 AM

have fun, take fotos!

David K - 4-11-2009 at 06:38 AM

Thanks pal57! Have a fun time!!

BajaGringo - 4-11-2009 at 06:40 AM

Looking forward to your trip report. Have a great time!

pal57 - 4-11-2009 at 07:00 AM

Thankyou all for your replays

Thanks Kat54, nice rental, looking out for it maybe.

Again, thanks

Udo - 4-11-2009 at 07:42 AM

Pal57.
One bit of advice: All the ATM's are in spanish and only spit out Pesos. Be sure you are up on the exchange rates. Do not exchange your Euros at the airport except just enough to pay for some incidentals. Exchange your $ at a bank for best exchange rate.
If you are renting a Jeep, be sure to take some of the dirt side roads. Be sure you obtain a good Baja map. Don't be shy about eating at the road side taco stands where you will find some of the best food in Baja. Also, since you will have a Jeep, drive the dirt roads along the coast from La Paz south. If going to San Ignacio, you may want to stay at the waterside palapas for the night at the lagoon...an unforgetable experience. You will still see some whales. In Santa Rosalia stop at the bakery in town.

On another note, my wife and I shipped our Goldwing and trailer to Milan in 1999 and rode the bike on coast roads all the way to the bottom of the peninsula and up to Venice...fabulous trip and the best of people. Everyone we met wanted us to stay at their house.

pal57 - 4-11-2009 at 08:43 AM

Thank you so much Udo for your advice. I was sure that the best rate for exchanging euro was at the airport, we are arriving at Mexico City Sunday and wanting to exchange it there, but now I'll keep care of you suggestion.
Glad to hear that you had a nice trip here in Italy and that you are also a bike rider.
We have 3 motocycles in our family and we do much rides with our friends. Next time when you come let me know and we will show you the best roads in Tuscany.
We already rented a Jeep at La Paz but it would be great to take a motor trip for one day in the dessert near La Paz.
Thankyou again all of you nomads.

Pal57

Udo - 4-11-2009 at 09:00 AM

Pal57,
I am sure you already have some books on Baja, but buy from Amazon.com Moon Baja and perhaps Guia Roji which is in Spanish, but Italiano & Espanol are fairly close and you should be able to get by OK. Your English is pretty good and you should be OK. You will find many Europeans in that part of Baja at this time of year.
Be sure to carry copies of your passports as well as the original ones. Helps if you lose the originals which happens more than you think.

Bob and Susan - 4-11-2009 at 09:18 AM

richard...thanks for the "plug"

lots of vacationers here this week in mulege
reservations encouraged

when you come so far you really need a "plan"

alot of italians come to baja in the summer

Udo - 4-11-2009 at 10:05 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Bob and Susan

when you come so far you really need a "plan"

My wife works for an airline and consequently we somehow end up with free passes on various airlines. When we flew to the different countries that the airline gave us the passes for, all we did was rent a car at the airport and kind of did like Captain Kirk always did "just take us out there, somewhere." Yes, we had maps and a tourbook. We never went to the typical tourist areas and got the best deals on rooms. When we did our bike trip in Italy, our plan consisted of riding the coast and stop when we saw someplace we liked. We had three weeks to get back to the airport.

pal57 - 4-11-2009 at 11:28 AM

Udo,
Thanks for the tip for our passports, nice idea, for the books (very interresting saw the reviews on internet, written by Joe Cummings and Nikki Goth Itoi) don't know if I have time for ordering them knowing that we are leaving next sunday, maybe when we arrive in Mexico City I'll try to find it.

Very nice place Playa Frambes, saw the website and youtube video. Not sure if we are going to stop there but who knows? :biggrin:

Our big doubt is in 8 days how much things can whe see? Is it the worth going up till San Ignacio and then drive all the way down until San Josè del Gabo. It is a long long drive.

Bye Pal57

Marie-Rose - 4-11-2009 at 11:52 AM

IMHO I think the drive to San Igancio and then back to La Paz would fill 8 days without trying to add Cabo and San Jose.
Having said that... you must at least make a day trip to TS :bounce:

Todos Santos has a large Italian community if you do decide to stay for awhile. You would enjoy staying at Hotelito where Jenny could make you feel at home!!!! As well, Sol Caliente is run by an Italian family.

Bajahowodd - 4-11-2009 at 12:01 PM

I realize that you could keep adding places to see, but if you do go to Todos Santos, you will only be an hour from Cabo San Lucas, give or take, depending on traffic. I have made many a day trip to la Paz when staying at Cabo. Since there's two roads, you don't even have to retrace your trip back. That being said, Cabo is no longer everyone's cup of tea. Once a quiet, serene fishing village, it is now hugely overgrown with time share hotels. But the view of El Arco at land's end is worth the trip, in my opinion.

pal57 - 4-11-2009 at 12:02 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Marie-Rose
Todos Santos has a large Italian community if you do decide to stay for awhile. You would enjoy staying at Hotelito where Jenny could make you feel at home!!!! As well, Sol Caliente is run by an Italian family.

Well we are looking foward to stay at least one night at Todos Santos maybe somedays off in north of La Paz. We will keep care of your tips Marie-Rose and in fact Hotelito was on our list of the B&B nice place.

Pal57

pal57 - 4-11-2009 at 12:07 PM

Yes Bajahowodd,
we thought for only passing through Cabo San Lucas and staying at San Josè del Cabo that seems much a smaller and peaceful place than Cabo San Lucas.
:cool:

Bajahowodd - 4-11-2009 at 12:14 PM

Yes and no. Downtown San Jose has a colonial look and feel. But along the beach and the approach to San Jose, it's not much different than Cabo, what with the high rise hotels. In downtown San Jose, a very nice place to stay is Casa Natalia. Owned, actually by a European. Right in the middle of town. The church, town square, art galleries, restaurants all within a short walking distance.

vandenberg - 4-11-2009 at 12:17 PM

Pal57,
8 days doesn't leave you much time for relaxation if you try to do all the things you're thinking off. From La Paz to Loreto is not a very pretty drive, except for the last 40 miles or so through the mountains. Boring actually for someone from Italy. Best bet is, on the way to Loreto, to go to Lopez Mateo and do your whalewatching there. If you leave La Paz early enough you can do that and then continue on to Loreto on the same day. Then make Loreto your base and visit Conception Bay and Mulege. For that length a time I wouldn't travel any farther unless sitting in a car all day appeals to you.
And Los Cabos will remind you of the worst of the Riviera, a great place to stay away from. You can do that at home and pretend you're in Baja. :no:

[Edited on 4-11-2009 by vandenberg]

Udo - 4-11-2009 at 12:45 PM

8 days in Baja will leave you hungry for more!
La paz to San Ignacio will take you most of a driving day. and another day back, plus a day to see the whales. That leaves you only 5 days. If you don't have any reservation plans, I would drive to San Ignacio first and see the whales, if that is one of your goals. Then work your way south and stop at your leisure.
You should have no problems finding a room during the week you are in Baja. Don't walk into a hotel and say you need a room. Ask what the room rates are before you comit to staying there. Tell the clerk you are shopping for room rates. La Paz to Cabo is about three hours drive. If I had 5 days left after San Ignacio, I would stay mostly in the La Paz area.
By the way, visiting Isla Espiritu Santo will be an all day trip, if you drive to Playa Tecolote. There are large pangas that take visitors to Los Islotes for a snorkel dive with the seals, sea lions, and other sealife, then take you on the big island for a picnic. Your fee includes the food and drink. Reservations are not necessary. There is a small restaurant there also.

One of the dive pangas:

Diving rock;

Another part of the rock;

Pic nic beach;

pal57 - 4-11-2009 at 01:07 PM

Tankyou so much vandenberg, I think that your suggestion is very good for Lopez Mateus. Is that near Magdalena Lagoon?.

Nice Photos Udo cann't wait to be there to see the sealions. :-)

Pal57

David K - 4-11-2009 at 03:03 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by pal57
Tankyou so much vandenberg, I think that your suggestion is very good for Lopez Mateus. Is that near Magdalena Lagoon?.

Nice Photos Udo cann't wait to be there to see the sealions. :-)

Pal57

Lopez Mateos is on the giant Bahia Magdalena... the north end. It and San Carlos are the two ports reached by paved road from Hwy. 1. (Lopez Mateos is the prefered place to see whales from of the two ports)

See your maps in the Moon guide or whatever you have. Baja travel is really all about maps, IMO!

Hola pal57

fixtrauma - 4-11-2009 at 04:26 PM

My wife and I are on a trip right now to La Paz. I have been keeping a blog of the trip with pictures. I invite you to find the thread titled "Follow trip to La Paz". Hope you enjoy it.

I will certainly follow the report of your trip with interest.

pal57 - 4-12-2009 at 07:02 AM

Well David I think that it might be better going there to Lopez Mateus, instead of losing, maybe, a day or two going that far up to San Ignacio.

Fixtrauma your blog was my input of doing the same thing, in fact your diary and the photos you attached of all the places you been are lovely.
I'll be doing this also for my boys here in Italy so they can know where we are or have been during our trip.

Bdw I'm not coming with a pc and I'm not sure if there are internet points where we will stay, e.g. La Paz, Loreto, Mulege, Todos Santos, San Josè?

Pal57

David K - 4-12-2009 at 07:15 AM

There are Internet places all over Baja!

Have a fun time... and the town of San Ignacio (2 miles off Hwy. 1, paved) is worth going to! The lagoon of San Ignacio is many dirt miles away.

Mulege and Bahia Concepcion are beautiful places you want to see, too! Baja Angel and I were last there in July, 2007... following the Baja-Rosario Festival (El Rosario) and a trip along the cold Pacific coast known as the 'Seven Sisters': http://vivabaja.com/707

MULEGE:

EL REQUESON on Bahia Concepcion:

SAN IGNACIO:

San Ignacio Mission church from the 1700's:

[Edited on 4-12-2009 by David K]

pal57 - 4-12-2009 at 07:50 AM

Beautiful fotos, David!
Can't wait to be there.
To many places to see in a couple of days, it seems that we will have to come back in a next year. LOL
My wife and I like to travel, now that the kids are big enough to stay at home by them selfs, we can take longer trips (depending still on or jobs at home).
In 2006 we have been in Yucatan and Chiapas, moving place to place with the mexican bus. An amazing trip, many things to see, the only pity was that I lost my digital camera on a bus at San Cristobal.

Hoping not to do the same thing here in Baja, or my wife will really kill me!

Thanks again.
Pal57

David K - 4-12-2009 at 08:15 AM

De nada Pal57!

Are you a native born Italian and learned English, or did you move to Italy?

I am in California... born here (1957) and lived here except for 6 months in Australia (1970) and lots of trips to Mexico and around the world, too. Italy in 1985! Loved the food there...!!!

BajaNuts - 4-12-2009 at 08:36 AM

Hi pal57,
do you have a place to stay in la Paz yet? If not there is a great little place just north of La Paz (about 10 minutes from the airport) in El Centenario. There is a place called Villaggio Turistico Mar de Cortez, it has bungalows and a restaurant run by an Italian. If you already have a place to stay, at least go there for dinner, Attilio makes the BEST cabrito! and other stuff. It's in the Comitan neighborhood. I'll u2u more info.

Also, there are panga trips to the sea lions that leave from the malecon if you don't want to drive to Tecolote to get the boat.

Two other things to try and see are the Weavers and Ibarra's pottery. I can describe where they are but maybe some La Paz locals can give you the address, it's easier that way.

have FUN!

BajaNuts - 4-12-2009 at 08:56 AM

Pal57, I just sent you a U2U,
click on the U2U button at the top right of the page, right below where it says "logged in as...."

Also in case others may want to know about Attilio's place I mentioned above, here's a link to it-

http://villagelapaz.com/

pal57 - 4-12-2009 at 09:24 AM

BajaNuts you are so kind, all of you.
Just read your u2u and I've answered you, we found a B&B Gemma's Inn they are from Italy too. We will try Attilio's restaurant. The pottery may be very interresting when we will leave our way back home, for not breaking any dishes on our trip in Baja.

Pal57

pal57 - 4-12-2009 at 09:38 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by David K
De nada Pal57!

Are you a native born Italian and learned English, or did you move to Italy?

I am in California... born here (1957) and lived here except for 6 months in Australia (1970) and lots of trips to Mexico and around the world, too. Italy in 1985! Loved the food there...!!!

David I was born in New York (1957) and my farther was an italian immigrant from San Marino and in 1971 he decided to go back to his native country with his family.
Nice to hear that you have seen Italy too.
I came back to the States for a trip with my family an to visit my cousins, some in Atlanta and some in Florida and friends in New York. It was in september 2001 and the 1st of sept. we where on top of the twin towers, ten days before it all happened.

I want all of you to know that I appreciate all of you nomads for giving me hints for our trip in Baja. You are all kind. It is an awesome forum and when I get back I'll try to make a forum travel guide for San Marino, so that I can help who wants to know more about us.

Pal57

David K - 4-12-2009 at 11:11 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by pal57

Quote:

THAT would be fantastic!

Do see the links listed below all my Nomad posts that are to give Nomads some ideas on places to visit, vacation or explore Baja California.

I would like to return to Italy with Baja Angel and see your Most Serene Republic of San Marino, this time!

Here I am doing the tourist thing in Venice (gondola ride) in 1985...

pal57 - 4-12-2009 at 03:13 PM

Woh David that foto looks great!
Now a days it would be better and cheaper if you buy the gondola instead of going just for a ride.

Some of your links I already visted and I got some idea for our trip.
Next time coming to Italy and to San Marino I'll prepare you a motocycle and make a trip in the Tuscany regione, visiting wine cantinas. :bounce:

Pal57

bajaguy - 4-12-2009 at 04:28 PM

Please check your u2u message

Udo - 4-12-2009 at 08:37 PM

Just curious, Pal57...
how did you find out about the Nomads?

pal57 - 4-13-2009 at 12:04 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by udowinkler
Just curious, Pal57...
how did you find out about the Nomads?

Don't remember very well, Udo, maybe on google searching sites with "forum baja california".
It's about a year that we are planing for this trip, then another couple from Novara, our friends meet ed at the Maldives Islands, ask if they could come with us, why not. So it's about three months that I'm navigating on the web and reading anything that talks about Baja.
We have talk to the few people that has visited Baja and everyone was entusiastic of there trip. Here, Baja California is not known very well as a tourist meta and most of them, especially my mother are convicted that it is part of U.S..

Pal57

pal57 - 4-13-2009 at 12:08 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by bajaguy
Please check your u2u message

Read your message and answered.
:yes:

Pal57

[Edited on 4-13-2009 by pal57]

pal57 - 4-17-2009 at 04:28 AM

It is almost time for our trip to Baja. :bounce:

.....

We will arrive in Mexico city sunday for going to La Paz monday late afternoon.

Will there be any one to say hello?

Pal57

Marie-Rose - 4-17-2009 at 06:31 AM

We will still be here in Todos Santos. Let us know if we can be of assistance. Have a great trip!

David K - 4-17-2009 at 07:12 AM

pal57, have a great trip to Mexico's California Peninsula and please give us a report upon your return!

I look forward to meeting you in San Marino when the time comes for Baja Angel and I to travel to the Italian Peninsula where your republic is located!

pal57 - 4-18-2009 at 03:35 AM

Tanks for everyones advices.
David I'll be waiting for you here in San Marino and when I'm coming back home I write our trip.

Asta la vista.

P.S.: coming back home I'm going to put up a forum for San Marino and Italy travel guide similar to Baja Nomad, so we can help people from the world to know better where to go, what to see, where to sleep and where to eat :biggrin:

.
Ciao

David K - 4-18-2009 at 07:28 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by pal57
Tanks for everyones advices.
David I'll be waiting for you here in San Marino and when I'm coming back home I write our trip.

Asta la vista.

P.S.: coming back home I'm going to put up a forum for San Marino and Italy travel guide similar to Baja Nomad, so we can help people from the world to know better where to go, what to see, where to sleep and where to eat :biggrin:

.
Ciao

Thanks... maybe we all can learn more about San Marino that way!