The DirtDogs tour of All-inclusive resorts

Sorry for the late posting, Follow along @ http://www.spotadventures.com/trip/view/?trip_id=182880

The DirtDog’s annual Baja trip was a tour of all inclusive resorts in central Baja, Catavina to San Ignacio. By all inclusive I mean that we could drink, eat, and sleep while staying in one resort and pay for everything on one check at check-out time. We had been wanting to explore this area for a few years but starting in Tecate we always seemed to run out of time to get very much farther South than Bahia de Los Angeles. So this year we drove straight through to Catavina, 20 hours from the Bay Area.

It started when we pulled into the “Pink Place” in Catavina where we would stay the first night and then leave the motorhome and trailer in their secure compound. Of course being in Catavina we could not pass up a chance for a c-cktail in the lounge at the Desert Inn. We also met an interesting gentleman who wrote most of the Beatles songs along with some of Sinatra’s. His stories were interesting but I cannot remember all the details. It was eerie how quiet the town was, seemed like we were the only tourists in town.

The next morning we got an early start, we were packing gas in either Tide bottles or I had 6 liters in my MSR fuel bladder. I figured we had about 160 miles worth of gas if we shared. The road West to the coast was in great shape, it’s nice to get away from the hacked-up stuff up North. South of Punta Blanca we turned East on a little used trail that kicked my butt. Between a backpack with 5 days worth of gear and a BRP with a big tank I had to stop and rest a few times, but the thought of a cold beer kept me moving. We pulled into Punta Prieta about dusk. There we got both gas and that cold beer before riding the pavement into Bahia de Los Angeles and the exclusive Costa del Sol. It is wonderful to ride in, get that first Margarita and then be escorted to your room. There was another group of riders staying there so service was a little slow, but it is Baja! After dinner and a nightcap we soon fell into a deep sleep.


After breakfast and settling our tab, about $280.00 for the four of us we loaded-up with more gas and headed South. Out plan was to stop in San Francisquito and get more gas and make reservations for the following night. Our travel agent had not been able to confirm our reservation and I was a little concerned. No problem! We were all set for dinner and a bungalow on the beach the next night. Then off to San Ignacio and Ricardo’s Rice and Beans. The ride to El Arco was a little boring but after passing through El Arco we found a faded two track that worked South and hit the pavement about 15 miles above Vizciano. It was a real cool two track that had not been used in years, no ruts or whoops but lots of cactus.

San Ignacio was also quiet even though the Mulege 500 was in two days. There was one other guy in the restaurant and I don’t think he was staying in the hotel. In the Morning Ricardo apologized for the slow service (we did not notice), his crew was getting ready for catering the race party the next day in his orchard. Our tab for that night ran about $300.00 for the four of us. Our plan today was to head South and then ride the “No Whimps” trail. We had figured it would take a full day but we got to the coast quicker than expected and also I was surprised that we followed a faded two track the whole way. I had thought that when we got to the coast it would be a graded road North to San Francisquito, wrong! The riding was not difficult but was slow with all the deep sand. This ride has some spectacular riding and views.

We were getting low on gas but found some at “Rancho Escondido” about where El Progreso shows on the AAA map. This would be the third day where we finished just after dark, if you have good lights why not use them. I have always said it’s a good day when we “use all the gas, all the daylight and you can lay it out on a globe”. We have had three really good days.

I have wanted to stay at the Resort at San Francisquito for many years and although I hear it is a shadow of its former self it still was wonderful. Cold beer, good fish tacos and a room with a view. It’s a toss-up on who has worst plumbing, between here and the Pink Place however. I was able to strip down and go for a quick swim before breakfast instead of a shower, very invigorating! Once again the tab was about $280.00. The accommodations were not nearly as nice as Costa del Sol but I guess we were paying for the view and onsite re-fueling?

We had not confirmed our reservations at Costa del Sol so the plan was to make a quick trip back to Bahia de Los Angeles and grab a room, maybe dump the backpacks and explore towards San Borja. About 15 miles South of town we dropped into a sandwash that was reminiscent of the wash North of Laguna Diablo without the whoops. Confirmation that starting in Catavina got us into stuff that was not all hacked-up from overuse. I have to warn everybody that you don’t want to try to duplicate this ride, it’s scary with lots of Bandidos, Chupacabras and no gasoline for miles and miles. We had been riding the soft sand along the edge of the washboard gravel road when my brother hit a vado and endoed. Nothing broken but his thumb was sore. We got to the resort and they had cold beer, fish tacos, and a couple of rooms for us, life was good.

Then the Dilly-Dally hit us! This is a common problem we run into when it’s not a full day between resorts. After a beer and lunch our motivation was gone, Roger took a shower and my brother was rubbing his thumb. The day turned into an afternoon of drinking beer (and tequila) and playing “toss the glove into the ceiling fan”. We did patch our used tubes and do some minor bike maintaince.


It was now our last day and I wanted to get back to the Motorhome in time to get to El Rosario before dark. But we did have time to do the trail past Window Rock. This may have been the best of the week, not as tight as the first day and easier to get a rhythm going. As we stopped to take the required photos of Window Rock it started to rain, not enough to knock down the dust, just enough to mess up our goggles. But it was still great. We had hoped to do Calamajue also but had not packed enough gas and it was getting late and the clouds were dark. So as we slabbed it North the F)(&$$$ing hail started! It was hailing so hard we had to stop for cover at Chapala and put on all the gear we had. I put my pack on backwards for more protection. It was coming down so hard we could only do about 20, but I was laughing at the way Baja throws a curve at you.

Back at the Pink Place had lunch and hot coffee (with a little Tequila). Loaded-up and were headed home right on schedule. Just glad we survived the Bandidos and Chupacabras!


[Edited on 1-1-2010 by DEVEAU]

Looks like a good time was had by all

Thanks for sharing, looks like a blast...

I never saw any myself, but my brother claims to have seen one.





[Edited on 1-2-2010 by DEVEAU]