May7-May17 California to Concepcion

Well, we just got back a few days ago but the details are already getting fuzzy so I better get them down. It had been over two years since our last trip south so we were feeling the pull of the peninsula. This website and the trip reports were helpful in keeping the dream alive through the drought so I figured I better repay the favor and relate some of our adventures to the next readers out there.

So, on May 7th we crossed over at night into Tecate. There were only three of us this trip (well four with the dog). My wife and I and our five year old son. We tried to entice more tripmates but had some last minute cancellations. We’re from northern California and always make the mistake of thinking we can just wing it and find a campground space around San Diego. But, being Friday night, of course everything was full and instead of paying $50 for a state park campground we settled on a $20 room at Hotel Paraiso in Tecate (probably just should have gone with the campsite because the Hotel Paraiso doesn’t make you want to linger at all). Backtracked for a tourist card in the morning and then headed south on 3 towards Ensenada. Just outside of town we spied what looked like a BMX track down in a quaint valley with kids riding their bikes on it.



Next, we cruised through the Valle Guadalupe and picked up some local olives and honey to liven up our supplies. Stop for our first tacos deliciosos in Maneadero and continue on. What do you know, it’s getting dark as we pull into El Rosario so we decide to try out this place we haven’t been before called the BajaCactus, some of you might have heard of it before. Anyway, for only $30 our bad memories of the night before were soon melting away. We caught a free production at the town hall right off the plaza by a traveling group of singers and actors from TJ.

Next day, we awake refreshed and head south for the desert. Before Catavina I notice some cool looking rocks (imagine that) I haven’t seen before so we drive a little closer and then hike out to them. We climbed up to this amazing formation that can best be described as a giant eggshell rock that was hollowed out on the inside and looked as if it might collapse at any second.



Well, we enjoyed some PbandJ then hiked back. Bay of LA was our next stop so we turned left and of course arrived there in fierce wind. Well, the conditions quickly made us abandon thoughts of a tent and we got a room with a great vista at Casa Diaz.



Guillermo supplied us with some tasty dinner and then we fought the wind on the walk back to our place.

The next morning we stopped by the museum and browsed a bit, and what caught my eye but the new Baja Almanac. I had just discovered a couple days earlier that I had (conveniently) forgotten our trusty AAA map somewhere on the journey so I convinced myself that I was meant to finally lay down the big money ($25) for a real map. Wow, I spent the next half hour drooling over it in the park while Wade took advantage of the playground. So, after stocking up on food and water we headed out of town south on the dirt (finally some real road). We were cruising along for awhile and had just passed camp gecko when I wanted to get the new Almanac out to examine my surroundings. Try as I might I couldn’t find it anywhere in the 4runner. Oh no! I just realized I left it in the park. Doohh! Do we backtrack? Will it still be there? So, reluctantly we turned around and sped back into town, but luck was not with us and the Almanac was nowhere to be found in the park (someone else was really stoked). I still can’t believe I did it, but I went back inside the museum and bought another! Boy was this Almanac getting costly.

Problem solved, we headed out again and enjoyed the magnificent desert for the next couple hours. We pulled into the first turnoff to Playa San Rafael and my wife said let’s say. I was a little nervous because of the hellacious winds the night before but rock/paper/scissors settled the discussion. Thank goodness she won because we had an amazing three days and two nights of Baja heaven.



Not a soul around (just a brief visit from Pancho who lived a mile or more down the beach) just us and the sky, ocean, and desert. Caught some fish, did some beach combing, and played some wiffle ball with the fam.



Unfortunately, we ran out of water, ice, and beer after three days so we had to continue on. Of course, we had the obligatory getting stuck and having to dig our way off the beach. It only delayed us by a half hour and was good exercise. We didn’t detour to San Friscisquito and instead turned right towards El Arco. From the map it looked like a short cut but the road got pretty rough and we soon found ourselves moving a big boulder out of the rut. Ate the last of our tuna and crackers while visiting the cool church in El Arco.

As usual, San Ignacio was our oasis. After being in the harsh desert for a few days that place always seems to soften things up. Got a nice room at the Hotel Posada and soaked up the culture on the plaza after rinsing off the salt and sunscreen in the shower. The next morning we took the kayaks out for a paddle on the lagoon. I’ve always wanted to but never got around to it. Well, it was really cool, went farther back there than we thought. We met a nice family up at the source creek so we let them borrow our kayaks while we explored on foot. Next stop, Mariscos Pepe in Santa Rosalia (most of this trip was exploring new places for us, but we just can’t pass up our favorite fish taco stand).

Stocked up with more water, beer, and ice in Mulege and then landed on Santispac for four days.



We chose the site down by the lagoon, even though it’s closer to the road, it has such undeniable paradise quality. Of course it was perfect. The swimming, the kayaking, the hiking, the lounging, all great. The best part was, we had no idea what day it was, we were just living in the moment. It’s strange how satisfying that simple state can be.



Some of the highlights were watching our five year old master kayaking by himself and his beaming smile (we had to drag him out of the boat at the end of the day), seeing a sea turtle swim past the kayak, and hiking to some of the little peaks for a marvelous breathtaking view.



Well, my hands are getting tired of typing and we had to turn around and head north after relaxing in concepcion. We are left with lingering, satisfying, vibrancy and a renewed approach to enhance our normal life (we’re also left with a bunch of little itchy gnat bites from santispac, they help remind us of the good times!)

I don’t think I’ve done the destination justice with my words, it’s just hard to describe. This trip was one of the best. We didn’t even have to repel any crooked cops looking for bribes. We also got the feeling that the military checks were a little more lenient this time. Maybe that’s because we are looking more like the wholesome family and less like the partying college kids with every subsequent trip. The only incident that was out of the ordinary was coming into TJ on 1 libre from Rosarito there was a police roadblock of about thirty cars just after La Gloria on both north and south lanes of the highway. They funneled the traffic down to one lane each direction and were doing searches of some vehicles. Besides that, it was no worries and the most injurious thing to happen to us was a nasty cut from a hastily chewed chip at Guillermo’s. I better be more careful next time.


[Edited on 5-23-2010 by LotsaRocka]

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