Baja Adventure Trip, July 2011 (Part3 - Guerrero Negro to Asuncion)

Part 1. Shell Island Freak Weather (July 2-3)
Part 2. Gonzaga Bay to Norte-Sur border (July 4-5)
Part 3. Guerrero Negro to Asuncion (July 6-8)
Part 4. Southbound to La Paz (July 9-11)
Part 5a. La Paz, Los Cabos and Vicinity (July 12-19)
Part 5b. La Paz, Los Cabos and Vicinity (July 12-19) . . . continued
Part 6. Homeward Bound (July 20-22)



Part 3. Guerrero Negro to Asuncion (July 6-8)

• Crossing the Norte/Sur border, $100 fine for “lost” FMT
• Shari’s hospitality
• The abandoned village of San Roque

Crossing the Norte/Sur border, $100 fine for “lost” FMT

I know my wife has an expired US passport but I thought that would not be an issue. Last year when my daughter and I visited Baja my US passport was expired too, but I was issued an FMT. Five days ago the Mexicali border officer would not issue her an FMT, they are computerized now and the computer would not accept the expired passport information. Since our first camping spot was Shell Island we decided anyway to proceed without an FMT for the wife. We would deal with the problem later, if we decided to go farther south.

We are taking a chance and now is the time to face the problem. The Guerrero Negro immigration checkpoint is open. First, the officer asks if we have fruits with us; the wife says “yes, we have 5 apples”. The officer says “problema”. My wife hands the 5 apples to the officer. Next, the officer asks for our FMTs. I hand him mine; the wife pretends to look for hers. After a while I tell the officer she couldn’t find it. The officer directs us to pull aside and have more time to look for it. After several minutes I get out of the motorhome and tell the officer that my wife must have lost her passport and FMT and we would appreciate very much if she could get another one here with her driver’s license. The officer is a young man and speaks good English. He could issue an FMT for my wife. With my wife’s driver’s license he fills out the paperwork; my wife signs the paperwork. He then instructs us to go to town and pay at the Banamex. There are two fees to pay: one for $260 pesos and another for $1200 pesos. It turns out later that the $1200 pesos is the fine for not having an FMT when in BCS. After paying, we go back to the immigration office and my wife gets issued an FMT. Great, now we can go to La Paz, I rejoice.

From Viscaino, the road to Asuncion, at first, is a pothole-infested pavement. Then it turns to a newly paved road all the way to Asuncion. Nice, but still uneven just like other new road construction along Mex1, not good enough for motorhomes like the States’ freeways. It makes me wonder if even-road-building requires a specialized skill or equipment not available to Mexican road builders. There very few vehicles driving this route.

Shari’s Hospitality

We spot Shari’s Sirena beach camp as we enter Asuncion’s town proper. But instead of fgoing there we decide to drive through the main road first and see what the town is like. We drive all the way to the end of the road, until we almost hit the beach, and then turn around and go back to Sirena’s camp.

There is a young man at the entrance shack and he gets on the telephone immediately and calls Shari. In a matter of minutes Shari arrives in her pickup truck and greets us. I apologize this is a surprise visit, that we were not sure we’d be able to come down this far. She’s happy that we made it down. She shows us the different spots where we could camp in our motorhome. She also shows us the beach house, should we decide to rent it. My wife loves the beach house especially the balcony in the second floor overlooking the beach. Then, she tells us she lives at the end of the point and she also welcomes us to her house, and see if we decide to camp there instead. So many options, I couldn’t ask for more. “Let’s go see your house, we’ll follow you” and we all drive to Shari’s house at the end of the point.

Shari is all by herself, with her 2 dogs and several cats. Juan is in Guerrero Negro for a few days, so we could party all night, so she says! We immediately feel the difference in the temps, the Pacific cool air, and I run back to the motorhome for my hooded sweatshirt; the wife does the same. Shari shows us around the house, the front, the backyard, all the spots where we could camp. I pick the small spot in front of the house, against the wife’s wishes – the spot is just enough for the motorhome and in front of it is “down there” to the blowhole – the motorhome is parked on a cliff! The motorhome looks regal there. I put big rocks in front of the front tires, just in case, and to appease the wife.

To the west, there’s an island that’s a sanctuary of sea lions, the dog pound, as Shari calls it. And to the south, there’s that Vigilantes watch-tower. Vigilantes watch for poachers. To the north is the shore where there are a few pangas parked and can be launched from there.

Then Shari shows us her B&B rooms, should we decide to sleep in a “real” bed tonight and take a “real” shower. She also shows us the “other” B&B rooms that are under construction, and she’s supervising. The lady is busy, she seems to have so many things going. Good for her. My wife and I decide to take the B&B option and we’ll be going to dinner tonight at 7:00 with Shari at Loncheria Mari.

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On our way to Loncheria Mari, Shari gives us a tour of the town, pointing at significant landmarks, establishments and businesses - where we could buy ice and there’s a place to buy abalone sausage. We also stop over to buy bags of concrete for her B&B project.

At Loncheria Mari, Tomas (the owner) is happy to have us. He has new stickers for his loncheria and he hands one to Nora and one to Shari. We decide on, as Shari puts it, pate de atun, crab tortas and my favorite crab pillows... and of course Pacificos. The food is great! Shari and I have 2 Pacifico’s each; we’re both responsible drinkers . Tomas joins us with his guitar and sombrero and we take photo-ops. It is a fun night. Tomas is a swell guy.

Photos
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After dinner, we make a stopover at one of Shari’s other houses. This lady has many houses and properties in this area! Shari has a couple, Alfred and his girlfriend, guests in the house. Alfred lives in Mulege and is looking for a summer place and it sounds like he’s found it in San Roque. He was in San Roque earlier in the day. He would be driving back to Mulege tomorrow morning to get his 30-foot + motorhome and would be back within 48 hours or so, but not after he drives back to San Roque early in the morning to see appreciate San Roque again. So, we decide to also drive to San Roque in the morning, caravanning behind them. Shari invited all of us to have breakfast together at her house in the morning.

All night we hear the sounds of sea lions, but not loud enough to bother tired visitors. We sleep safe and sound through the night. We wake up early and that take our dog for a walk. It is chilly at first but it warms up as soon as the sun rises. We walk up the Vigilantes watchtower to take pictures. We walk along the shore where the wife gets fascinated by the seaweeds. We learn later from Shari that the Japanese import the seaweeds to Japan; the seaweeds are the wakame type.

Photos:
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It is already almost 9am when Alfred and his girlfriend arrive for breakfast. Shari serves lobster omelet, guava juice and coffee.

Photos:
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The Abandoned Village of San Roque

After breakfast we follow Alfred and his girlfriend to San Roque, a 16 minute drive. We walk along the long beach and look for caracol, a rather big pretty seashell. As usual my wife is again fascinated by the abundance of seaweeds. Alfred shows us his “spot” where he’d be parking his motorhome in the summer. Alfred has already obtained the verbal permission of the Vigilantes. The spot is right next to the beach, next to a building with no roof, next to something that looks like a gravesite, although there are only half-dozen graves standing. I too think it’d be a cool place to spend summer.

San Roque is an abandoned fishing camp. There are five houses/structures there but only one is lived-in, just the one used by the Vigilantes (lookout for poachers). The fishermen who regularly fish here come over from other towns including Asuncion. Shari and Juan has a house here too!

Alfred and his girlfriend leave us behind to enjoy the beach. They are heading back to Mulege.

In the afternoon we drive back to town and buy some ice and abalone sausages. We briefly see Shari and inform her we’re camping in San Roque for the night. We would rest and enjoy San Roque in the morning.

We drive back to San Roque late in the afternoon, back to our previous and now favorite spot. This time there is someone, a Gringo, drinking from his mug, watcing the sunset. I introduce myself and ask what he’s drinking. Beer, he says. I go back to the motorhome and grab a Pacifico for me and one for him too. We chat. His name is Bud, but Mexicans call him Felipe, since his real name if Philip. He’s from the states and has relatives there. He’s been in San Roque for several years and he fishes with Mexicans; he doesn’t own a panga. He has built a pad for his truck and trailer, where he lives alone. He says he occupies the piece of land only on the verbal permission of the vigilantes. He’s the only one that lives there fulltime, besides the vigilantes. He says he gets his necessities (banking, groceries, etc.) from Viscaino.

Photos:
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End of Part3



[Edited on 11-1-2011 by edm1]

Shari,
She was great company while recuperating....




and she enjoyed the attention of that tough-looking-but-kind dog...




and the dog is just a big baby...