Los Frailes to San Diego

Hey Guys! Just got back from driving the Adventure Wagon home from Los Frailes:
The first leg of our journey was a short hop from Frailes to La Paz. We stopped in Los Barriles to get block ice (at the 4th tope in town on your left, if you're north bound) and cash:



We stayed in the Marina Hotel in La Paz, all the way at the end of the Malecon. It was nice as the parking lot is completely enclosed at night with security. We stayed in La Paz for two nights with our friends who were there for the week.
After stocking up for our camping trip, we headed north on the 1 to Agua Verde. Surprisingly, we had no problems going through Constitucion. As We entered town, I stayed to the right and took the frontage road. I stopped at EVERY intersection, even if the light was green. We saw lots of people pulled over all over the place, but all of them seemed to be locals rather than gringos such as ourselves.
After making it through Constitucion and a big sigh of relief, we continued on driving the speed limit, to Insurgentes. I've heard that this stretch is a speed trap. We drove slow and had no problems. In Insurgentes we stopped at a roadside torta stand and ate lunch. The food was great.
Thereafter we banged a right and continued to the Agua Verde turnoff, which was clearly marked. The first half of the road is a typical Mexican dirt road - no problem. After the summit however, the road drops steeply down to the ocean. If you are going to travel this road, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE GOOD BRAKES! Its a series of hairpin, cliff-side turns combined with a steep down grade. The views are breathtaking, but pay attention to the road! We were in an '85 F250 and made it no problem. I would not recommend towing a trailer of any kind into AV. I know lots of guys do, but I don't have the skill or the cojones, personally:


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Camping and fishing at AV was great. We met some folks who had been there for months and traded fishing stories, cervezas and fishing lures.


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After AV, we drove to Punta Abreojos and camped at Campo Rene. There was lots of construction on this stretch, mostly between Loreto and Mulege. The road to Abreojos was fine for the most part, minus some gnarly potholes maybe 2/3 of the way out. Be careful as I hit some good ones that came out of nowhere.
The road to Abreojos:


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Campo Rene was nice as usual. I caught a nice halibut off the point at dusk which we prepared on the BBQ's at Rene. We camped by the far palapa:


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After Campo Rene, we made our way up to San Quintin. We stayed at the Jardines Hotel which was very nice. Unfourtunately we were there on a Monday, the only day the restaurant next door is closed. Bummer!




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We left early the next morning and headed for the border. After Ensenada, we took the toll road and exited at Puerto Nuevo. We continued up the free road to the 2. The turnoff for the 2 was poorly marked but its right after a military checkpoint on the road. We continued along the outskirts of TJ which wasn't too bad, and into Tecate. Crossing the border here took less than 30 minutes and was no problem what so ever! (11am on a Tuesday)

Next I'm planning to take the Adventure Wagon through British Columbia for some back country camping and fly fishing. Then it's most likely going back south to Baja! I'm addicted!

Cheers everyone!