BajaNomad - Gonzaga Bay 1964 My first date with three sisters

Gonzaga Bay 1964 My first date with three sisters

Mexitron - 6-22-2010 at 10:49 AM

Great story! My first time to Baja was Gonzaga too, 1975, except we got to fly in and miss "the road"...only hassle we had was at immigracion where to everyone's surprise my birth certificate had my date of "Death", not Birth...after going through several layers of Mex Immigration, Link Grindle made a donation to someone and we were on our way...what a beautiful place, I've been smitten ever since.

BajaBlanca - 6-22-2010 at 11:27 AM

amazing story !!!! fantastic ..... Baja just grows on you and whoever said Baja vacation anyways ????? an adventure is always more fun ...well...almost always .....
tell us about more adventure-vacations ..

My first Baja adventure was in 1989 driving San Diego to San Felipe ... and I remember seeing so many cars ditched by the side of the road and prayed the whole trip for the car to be safe ... it was ... and San Felipe had warm water and fish tacos - all you could eat !!!! heaven ... :bounce:

[Edited on 6-22-2010 by BajaBlanca]

bonanza bucko - 6-22-2010 at 04:50 PM

My first trip to Gonzaga Bay was in November 1979. I had never flown in Mexico before that. Adventure! My buddy, Woody, was gonna build a place at Alfonsina's on the beach. His airplane was in the shop for annual inspection so he asked me to fly him down there. I had a 1957 Cessna 182...good airplane but with small gas tanks....only 52 gallons useable and a burn rate of about 12 GPH.

I when we took off from TJ I asked Woody for the course...he was gonna go to sleep. He pointed at El Diablo and said "fly over that mountain...place is on the other side." I did...but Alfy's was about another 30 minutes flying after I flew around El Diablo's 11500 foot top.

Landed on Alfy's beach runway...a first for me.... looking for Juan Pablo who was gonna pour a salt water pad and build a palapa on the lot the Woody thought he had leased from Alfonsina...wasn't quite sure about that because he had never met her...his secretary, Stella, was best friends with the only lady bull fighter from Spain who was then performing at the TJ bull ring....she told Stella that Alfy would lease Woody the lot when she got down there.."sometime."

Juan Pablo wasn't at Alfy's so we flew over to Punta Bufeo where we found him. He came walking up the sand runway...again, my first...wearing zapatos and shorts with a big floppy Mexican hat. We started to explain what we wanted in pigeon Spanish when he said, "That's OK man..I went to San Jose State."

Woody gave him $300 to take a barge around Willard Island and pour the pad and to start on the palapa. We flew back to Alfy's for lunch in her cantina. Had turtle...there was a turtle tank out behind the cantina. Concha Fernandez was the cook...a great one.

Then it was time to go home...about 1500 and it was gonna get dark about 1700...November. I had calculated that we couldn't get back to TJ unless we could buy some gas....couldn't....none around. So we took off and flew to Mexicali with the mixture as lean as I could get it without engine stoppage. At MMML I put 52 gallons into those two 26 gallon tanks.... Got back to Montgomery Field in San Diego about dark. Had a good stiff drink in the hangar. That started a tradition that lasted 25 years.

When we flew into Alfy's, the next time in both our airplanes, about a month later Juan Pablo had finished the work and told us the price was wrong...he gave Woody $125 back.

Been flying into Alfy's now for 32 years...got a Bonanza now with bigger tanks. We have since built two houses on Alfy's beach. She died about two months ago...that is a great!! loss.

Woody doesn't fly anymore. But he should....he could fly a C-182 while asleep as long as it had some gas in it.

Tricky213 - 6-23-2010 at 01:42 AM

Good storys, like to here everyones baja aventures. I'm 37 and been going there for 30 years. My grandpa built our cabin in 1958 or 59 its was the 4th one built. I just joined u crazy nomads, but been on here alot getting updates. I will try to get my grandpa on here and he could tell u guys some good storys to.

David K - 6-23-2010 at 07:44 AM

Love it... Gonzaga Bay (Alfonisna's) was our first Baja 4WD destination back in 1965... south from San Felipe in a Jeep Wagoneer pulling a tent-trailer. People at the cantina in Puertecitos told my dad the road ended there (in Puertecitos)... For most, it did... not us!

Bob H - 6-23-2010 at 08:41 AM

Baitcast.... loved your story! One of the best quotes I've read in a long time here....

"I have always thought that stupidity must be blessful, for in those days I was my late 20,s and still stupid but happy..."

Your report is a great read dude.
Bob H

PS: By the way, how was the fishing?

baitcast - 6-23-2010 at 09:42 AM

There must be a road in there somewhere,the last grade

Bob H

wessongroup - 6-23-2010 at 09:48 AM

Thanks baitcast... now that is the way I remember Baja, too... it was not a day in the park.. but, it was really an adventure.. you were on your own.. pretty much.. people would help.. when they came along...

and really like the part about sliding down backwards.. and keeping the wife calm.. wow.. your hide must be really thick.. :lol:

Really enjoyed, thanks for sharing...

David K - 6-23-2010 at 08:25 PM

Coming north from Gonzaga on a steep downgrade... 1974:

scan0003r.JPG - 40kB

David K - 6-23-2010 at 08:28 PM

Another shot of the road in '74... It didn't get 'really' bad until a couple years later... and when I drove it in '79 is was barely passable. All traffic for Gonzaga was coming in from the (new) Hwy. 1 since 1974, and the road south of Puertecitos ceased to get maintenance.

The new graded road was built in 1986...

scan0004r.JPG - 36kB

capt. mike - 6-24-2010 at 03:18 PM

Great tale Bruce.
them must have been fun trips, i started about that time too with mainland flying then got right to it with camping landing style all along the SOC and down to Cabo.

doradodan - 6-24-2010 at 04:28 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by bonanza bucko
My first trip to Gonzaga Bay was in November 1979. I had never flown in Mexico before that. Adventure! My buddy, Woody, was gonna build a place at Alfonsina's on the beach. His airplane was in the shop for annual inspection so he asked me to fly him down there. I had a 1957 Cessna 182...good airplane but with small gas tanks....only 52 gallons useable and a burn rate of about 12 GPH.

I when we took off from TJ I asked Woody for the course...he was gonna go to sleep. He pointed at El Diablo and said "fly over that mountain...place is on the other side." I did...but Alfy's was about another 30 minutes flying after I flew around El Diablo's 11500 foot top.

Landed on Alfy's beach runway...a first for me.... looking for Juan Pablo who was gonna pour a salt water pad and build a palapa on the lot the Woody thought he had leased from Alfonsina...wasn't quite sure about that because he had never met her...his secretary, Stella, was best friends with the only lady bull fighter from Spain who was then performing at the TJ bull ring....she told Stella that Alfy would lease Woody the lot when she got down there.."sometime."

Juan Pablo wasn't at Alfy's so we flew over to Punta Bufeo where we found him. He came walking up the sand runway...again, my first...wearing zapatos and shorts with a big floppy Mexican hat. We started to explain what we wanted in pigeon Spanish when he said, "That's OK man..I went to San Jose State."

Woody gave him $300 to take a barge around Willard Island and pour the pad and to start on the palapa. We flew back to Alfy's for lunch in her cantina. Had turtle...there was a turtle tank out behind the cantina. Concha Fernandez was the cook...a great one.

Then it was time to go home...about 1500 and it was gonna get dark about 1700...November. I had calculated that we couldn't get back to TJ unless we could buy some gas....couldn't....none around. So we took off and flew to Mexicali with the mixture as lean as I could get it without engine stoppage. At MMML I put 52 gallons into those two 26 gallon tanks.... Got back to Montgomery Field in San Diego about dark. Had a good stiff drink in the hangar. That started a tradition that lasted 25 years.

When we flew into Alfy's, the next time in both our airplanes, about a month later Juan Pablo had finished the work and told us the price was wrong...he gave Woody $125 back.

Been flying into Alfy's now for 32 years...got a Bonanza now with bigger tanks. We have since built two houses on Alfy's beach. She died about two months ago...that is a great!! loss.

Woody doesn't fly anymore. But he should....he could fly a C-182 while asleep as long as it had some gas in it. BB, Juan Pablo is a great guy, starter went out on our 23ft T-bird out at Pomo Island about 7 years ago, got on the radio, JP came out in a panga towed us in and took the starter off a jeep there at bufeo so we could make it back to ptcto, what a life saver, good builder as well, saw some of the homes he built in that area, very nice.

Iflyfish - 6-24-2010 at 04:57 PM

My twin brother and I got bailed out of the Volvo we burried head first into thevado heading into town from Hwy 1. The engine filled with brackish water and we ran for our lives to see if anyone could help us. We met a wonderful couple there who towed us out in his Yellow Gigantic Dodge 4x4, filled the engine with WD40 from a drum he had there and we spent a wonderful time with them and at Alfonisna's eating those great fish tacos.
For years we communicated with those wonderful folks, they had left California when Nixon was elected, thought the country was going to hell, lots of peope felt that way and they may well have been right. At any rate they had an old 8' wide trailer with palapa attached and a garage full of various types of booze that the pilots left when they departed. This couple did not drink themselves. Their water was from a sand spike and their potable water from a truck that came once a week. $100 a month to rent there at that time.
One year I sent them a Living Off the Grid magazine and then received a card from them starting out with "you have ruined our lives", my heart sunk and my mouth dried as I read those dreaded words. Then as I read on they told me how they were of course living on 12 volts and how they had found and purchased a 12 volt blender from an add in the magazine and how it had changed their lives. They would take their blender, ice, tequilla and limes out to fishing boats and swap fresh marguaritas and daquiries for fresh fish!! I laughed my burro off!
Time has passed and I have lost touch with these wonderful people who I hope will be reading this, or perhaps one of their friends from there will read this. I would love to either talk with them or find out what happened to them.

I am Ricardo, one of the Volvo Brothers.

Iflyfishemegamelaesnombrecarlosemiespanolesmuimaloperomicorzoneespuromexicano

edited for grammar and generally poor writing which the editing hasn't helped much.

[Edited on 6-25-2010 by Iflyfish]

Iflyfish - 6-24-2010 at 05:01 PM

I hope one day we can meet Baitcast and tell each other more lies and stories about our adventures in Baja. Great story! Brought back lots of wonderful memories.

Iflyfish

wessongroup - 6-24-2010 at 05:01 PM

Cool story thanks.. that is when it gets fun....

[Edited on 6-25-2010 by wessongroup]

Skipjack Joe - 7-11-2010 at 12:58 PM

I just went through that area and thought about your experiences. We were in an air conditioned vehicle and still arrived exhausted at San Felipe.

Driving a VW down THAT road in July in THAT state of disrepair is really something. Your wife was a saint. You can destroy a marriage that way.

I once saw on German television a group of Germans frying an egg on the fender of their vehicle during a heat wave. I have no doubt in my mind you could have done that this July in Gonzaga.

But what beauty. The heat made those islands appear as though suspended in space over the water. It's an almost mystical experience.

Floating Islands

Natalie Ann - 7-11-2010 at 02:19 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Skipjack Joe
.... what beauty. The heat made those islands appear as though suspended in space over the water. It's an almost mystical experience.

I've seen 'em like that and you're right, it is mystical.
If not for clouds who would know which way up.

nena

baitcast - 7-11-2010 at 02:39 PM

Without the clouds you would never know where the water stopped and the sky started or did you already say that, beautiful pictures,THX
Rob

Lots of dirt!

baitcast - 4-1-2020 at 03:36 PM

Once upon a time there was nothing but dirt :lol:

Rob

David K - 4-1-2020 at 04:39 PM

Thanks for bumping this up!

Happiness is... this thread.

Feathers - 4-1-2020 at 06:11 PM

My love story fails by comparison. I became enamored with Baja in 2008. A 2 week vacation to Mulege/Bahia Concepcion turned into a 9 week vacation.

I felt a sense of loss... bereavement... when I went stateside.

I finally came "Home" (for good) in 2010. GOD BLESS MEXICO!!!

[Edited on 4-2-2020 by Feathers]

freediverbrian - 4-2-2020 at 05:09 PM

I have been going to Gonzaga since the late 60s as a kid with my parents. Driving up the Three Sisters area on the Buick grade my dad would drop my mom and the kids at the bottom of the grade. He would make a run up and then we would run up the hill and jump back in the truck.
It was a 64 Chevy pickup all four of us would cram in the cab for the 14 hour trip South. Fast forward 50 years I have a house in Papa's and have been taking my kids down all of their lives. I love it could not imagine not going to baja

Feathers - 4-2-2020 at 05:35 PM

Quote: Originally posted by freediverbrian

I have been going to Gonzaga since the late 60s as a kid with my parents. Driving up the Three Sisters area on the Buick grade my dad would drop my mom and the kids at the bottom of the grade. He would make a run up and then we would run up the hill and jump back in the truck.
It was a 64 Chevy pickup all four of us would cram in the cab for the 14 hour trip South. Fast forward 50 years I have a house in Papa's and have been taking my kids down all of their lives. I love it could not imagine not going to baja

Beautiful. Thanks for sharing. <3

Pacifico - 4-2-2020 at 05:58 PM

Rob, where's the original story?

advrider - 4-2-2020 at 06:47 PM

What Pacifico said?

geoffff - 4-3-2020 at 03:25 PM

Quote: Originally posted by Pacifico

Rob, where's the original story?

Maybe it got deleted? Anyway, the story is still on Google's cache:

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:AeAX2Fv...

David K - 4-3-2020 at 04:35 PM

Quote: Originally posted by geoffff

Quote: Originally posted by Pacifico

Rob, where's the original story?

Maybe it got deleted? Anyway, the story is still on Google's cache:

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:AeAX2Fv...

Great link to see the original opening post by baitcast... Wonder why he removed it? Nice story.

del mar - 4-3-2020 at 04:57 PM

Quote: Originally posted by freediverbrian

hey Brian any word on our old friend Oscar?

freediverbrian - 4-4-2020 at 07:31 AM

Not much news of Oscar since he left Papa's. Last I heard he was working on pangas in San Felipe and getting in to fights. Looks like you have better news than me,is that Oscar? A better use of fighting .

del mar - 4-4-2020 at 01:29 PM

Quote: Originally posted by freediverbrian

Not much news of Oscar since he left Papa's. Last I heard he was working on pangas in San Felipe and getting in to fights. Looks like you have better news than me,is that Oscar? A better use of fighting .

after pulling nets scrawny oscar got big and strong and was an upcoming boxer in san felipe, god knows where this excitable boy is these days!

advrider - 4-4-2020 at 08:34 PM

Wonderful story... Glad someone found it again..

motoged - 4-5-2020 at 09:43 AM

Hmmmmmm ..... not sure I should share my pics of the first time I dated three sisters..... a wet but cold experience.

Pacifico - 4-5-2020 at 11:44 AM

Quote: Originally posted by geoffff

Quote: Originally posted by Pacifico

Rob, where's the original story?

Maybe it got deleted? Anyway, the story is still on Google's cache:

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:AeAX2Fv...

Great find! Thanks Geoff!

David K - 4-21-2020 at 12:19 PM

I feel so privileged to have been able to experience the "Gonzaga Grades" both as a child passenger (1965, 1967) and as a driver (1974, 1975, 1979).

After 1973, commercial traffic to Gonzaga Bay began coming in from the south, using the brand new Highway One, to avoid the grades. No longer was anyone doing maintenance on the grades, so they got worse and worse. My final drive over them was in 1979... and I barely made it to Gonzaga!

The new graded dirt highway replaced the old road in 1986 and for almost 20 years, it allowed 2WD vehicles to easily get to Gonzaga from Puertecitos. However, the final years of it also saw no maintenance and it became too rough for passenger cars. I drove it several times from 1986 to 2006.

In 2007, a paved highway project began from Puertecitos and inched its way south over the difficult volcanic terrain. Averaging about 6 miles a year, it reached Gonzaga Bay by the end of 2013. Twelve more miles beyond Gonzaga were completed and then work on paving halted as they had another mountain to get through to reach Highway One at Laguna Chapala.

The work was not consistent and long periods passed when nothing was done during the years between 2014 and 2019. In 2019, suddenly a great deal of activity was observed and in early 2020, the highway from Puertecitos to Chapala was completed. 13 years to build and pave a 77 mile highway!

Marc - 4-22-2020 at 09:38 AM

Drove 'that road' just before the 2007 project began. Glad I did it.

David K - 4-22-2020 at 10:10 AM

This map, from the 1970 Cliff Cross Baja Guide, details the SIX VERY BAD grades, very well...

JZ - 4-22-2020 at 07:27 PM

First time we went to Gonzaga was December of 2001. A couple days after Xmas.

Brought my boat from LA to San Felipe. We made it from SF to Santa Rosalia with stops in Gonzaga and BoLA.

JZ in the white.

[Edited on 4-23-2020 by JZ]

David K - 4-23-2020 at 08:42 AM

Nice to meet you! :cool: