BajaNomad

coastal roads north of Todos Santos

elfbrewery - 12-8-2009 at 04:26 PM

There's not a lot of info about the roads along the coast north of Todos Santos. Are there any reliable and interesting drives to be taken there?
Thanks!

Paulclark - 12-8-2009 at 06:36 PM

North of Todos the road starts great and slowly gets worse as you go north but it is a 2 wheel drive road until you get to Punto Canejo. Some stretches are slow and rough but passable. North of Canejo there are some silt beds and when you get up to Mag Bay there are streches of soft sand which require a 4 wheel drive. After the first fish camp on the bay it is relatively good going and 2 wheel drive. There are regular access roads back to highway 1 anytime you want to return, but we drive from Constitucion to Todos on the Pacific a couple times a year.

monoloco - 12-8-2009 at 09:30 PM

The roads in that area can be confusing north of Meliton Albanez but there are some nice spots like Punta Marquez and good fishing. Up by Agua Blanca there is a large dry lake where in the early 90's a Caravelle jet landed with a load of cocaine. Mostly it's just flat beaches and a whole lot of nothing all the way to Conejo.

vivaloha - 12-8-2009 at 10:15 PM

mostly sandy w/ no view of the water

Thanks for the info

elfbrewery - 12-9-2009 at 04:38 PM

Okay. Will take your suggestions under advisement. Sounds like driving to Punta Marquez or Conejo might be worth the experience, but then back to Hwy 1 after that. Should be some whales in the area when we make the trip in Feb.
Thanks for the info!

TODOS SANTOS ROAD - RANCHO LA AGUJA

rob - 12-10-2009 at 04:14 PM

ElfB,

Despite Monoloco's opinion that our neighborhood is a "whole lot of nothing", it's actually quite beautiful - and yes, the beach IS hard to see from the road for long stretches, especially to the south.

If you pass by Rancho la Aguja (23.988347, -110.901114), please feel free to drop in.

+big-field-and-mesa-2.jpg - 42kB

Rancho la Aguja

rob - 12-10-2009 at 04:17 PM

Here's another shot of nothing. Actually the beach south of the point here is the only safe beach on this coast ("safe" meaning kids, not surfers, can swim in safety - and do!)

rob

beach-view-north.jpg - 15kB

Paulclark - 12-10-2009 at 07:17 PM

It is a great trip and there are great views of the Pacific beaches and farther north views overlooking Mag Bay. In some places you need to take side roads to get out to the Pacific and other areas the road parallels the ocean.

Stickers - 12-10-2009 at 09:39 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by rob
Here's another shot of nothing. Actually the beach south of the point here is the only safe beach on this coast ("safe" meaning kids, not surfers, can swim in safety - and do!)

rob


Looks beautiful Rob, about how far North is that beach?

monoloco - 12-10-2009 at 10:41 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by rob
ElfB,

Despite Monoloco's opinion that our neighborhood is a "whole lot of nothing", it's actually quite beautiful - and yes, the beach IS hard to see from the road for long stretches, especially to the south.

If you pass by Rancho la Aguja (23.988347, -110.901114), please feel free to drop in.
To me a whole lot of nothing is a good thing. Sorry if you were offended.

Rancho la Aguja - TS to Mag road

rob - 12-11-2009 at 09:43 AM

Hi Stickers - that shot is the beach north of the small point at Rancho la Aguja (our point is about 2.5 miles up the beach from the lighthouse on Punta Marquez). Monoloco - your point well-taken! Please drop by next time you pass.

Here is a shot looking north towards Punta Conejo from the hills above the point (on a clear day you can see Isla Margarita in Bahia Magdalena!)

+north-towards-conejo.jpg - 38kB

monoloco - 12-11-2009 at 10:05 AM

Rob, do you do any fishing up that way?

rob - 12-11-2009 at 11:11 AM

Monoloco - yes we do! I am actually a lousy fisherman (as Juan in Asuncion will tell you - actually he wouldn't - he is too decent) but I love boats and the sea, any excuse to get out.

About 38 miles due west of Rancho la Aguja are the Lusitania Banks, seamounts, the shallowest of which is about 5 fathoms from the surface according to the charts (I have to tell you I have never found it). Seamounts or no, the fishing out there is great - similar to the Thetis Banks - and due to inaccessibility, a lot less travelled to. I am waiting to buy a larger boat (have a 15ft Klamath, which is OK but rather small for that trip).

The local experts here do well on the beach as well, and I am happy to share . . .

surf-launch.jpg - 13kB

monoloco - 12-11-2009 at 11:52 AM

Do the pangueros from Punta Marquez make it out to the Lusitania banks? I would imagine it's pretty lonely out there. I have made it as far as the finger banks in my tin boat and that was quite a haul and probably not one of the smartest things I've done but the fishing was fantastic. If you ever want to sell that 15' Klamath let me know, I've been wanting to upgrade from my 14' Klamath to a deeper boat with a long shaft motor.

[Edited on 12-11-2009 by monoloco]

elfbrewery - 12-11-2009 at 11:59 AM

Sounds like a nice trip from TS to Mag Bay avoiding Hwy 1. About how many hours to drive it? What kind of fish can you catch from shore?

TS TO MAG ROAD

rob - 12-11-2009 at 04:26 PM

Monoloco - I love this boat (it has a 40hp Yamaha and a 6hp Suzuki kicker), but the hydraulic tilt control was never designed for heavy surf launching (and its all about heavy surf here!) - when that rigid shaft hits the bottom, something has to give and one day its going to be the lower shaft or transom.

I need a bigger boat with a free-swinging engine - just like the pangeros. Keep in touch, I am almost ready!

Elfbrewery - TS to Rancho la Aguja is about 70 miles up the beach (which the road is not). On an ATV a leisurely 2.5 hours - a LOT longer than that by truck.

Tip - Google Earth it - you can pretend you are in a helicopter and skim along the road.

From La Aguja to Conejo - about 30 mins. From Conejo to Arroyo Guadeloupe about an hour (the road in the arroyo can get really bad). From Gudaloupe to El Estero/Santa Fe (say hi to Jorge/Juanita and the gang) about an hour.

Plan to camp on the coast at El Estero - it's totally beautiful with the estuary and large dunes. You can actually run all the way up on the beach to Boca Rancho Bueno (wrongly called Boca Flor de Malva in the older Baja Almanac), the most southerly of the entrances to Mag Bay - a trip you'll remember!

From El Estero north, my memory gets hazy, I will defer to Paulclark

030510-estuary-at-el-estero.jpg - 18kB

Paulclark - 12-11-2009 at 06:49 PM

From Estero north there are a maze of roads in and out of the fish camps and some incredibles roads following the low lands between the mangroves and the desert, which are impassable after a rain. You can wander all the way to Pozo Grande on the back roads if you are adventuresome.