Wandering Up & Down Baja

I awoke in a hotel room in Downtown Los Angeles. It was 4 A.M.

Knowing I didn't need to get up till about 7AM - but also knowing I was leaving for Baja the second I got my work done, I pounded some coffee and started my day.

I made it home to San Diego around noon and my wife notified me the truck was packed. We we're off.

Crossing the border we got pulled into secondary (like always) probably 'cuz the truck was weighed down and the tinted back shell. Oh well, the agent waved me thru.

I was in a haze (having woken up at 4AM) and was thinking deep about the fences that divide our beautiful countries.





The Ensenada Flag:





We pulled off the road to let the dogs take a pee, just prior to arriving at Jardines. My wife called Jardines on the way down and we secured the last dog friendly room. Stoked. $40-- or something like that -- with the dog fee.







We headed to the Old Mill for dinner but it was packed. Wait was over an hour for food as there was a wedding going on -- so we headed back to Jardines for a great meal -- as always.










The next day we bailed to Punta Abreojos. This is one of my favorite stretches in all of Mexico:













Shiny bike seen in Guerrero Negro:









Can you tell this is a surf spot? The flies arrived in my truck as I opened the door to take this picture, and they didn't stop infiltrating the truck till we arrived in La Bocana. No, I don't work for the tourism board in Bocana. =)












Reading materials or kindling? You be the judge. Come on, you can take a joke right?






The gas station attendant in Vizcaino accidentally broke my extra 5 gallon gas can cap, resulting in gas spilling all over our ice chest. The gasoline melted shut the lid on one of 'em, and we (my strong wife) had to pry it open with a screwdriver. All of our fruits and veggies we're contaminated. Maybe that was payback for me bringing that reading material/kindling mentioned above.

Here's my wife inspecting the food for MTBE, Benzene, Toluene, and Xylene:





End of day waves still rolling in.......





My wife made the best ribs for dinner. Always nice 600 miles south of the border. We ate the entire rack of ribs and the potatoes were the bomb. A little sour cream and sriracha and we were good to go.





After sunset we stayed up, sipping mixed drinks, watching the moon rise over the cloudy horizon, and talking about the Mars Rover (which landed a few MINUTES earlier - I found out thru a text. Who knew you could get a text in Abre? I didn't). The Rover was up there -- in that sky -- on a rock -- orbiting the sun. We sent it there to examine the Past and the Present. Pretty impressive for our Species. From Downtown LA to Mars in 1 day.




More to follow as I get time........I meet some Nomads, and see the beautiful towns of La Bocana, Bahia Asuncion, and Bahia De Los Angeles.

-Ateo



[Edited on 6-25-2014 by Ateo]

Day 3 brought new adventure and a beautiful sunrise.

We decided to head to Campo Rene on Curt63's suggestion and we weren't let down. Tons of stuff over there to do, and a unique Baja ecological environment in my opinion. We didn't eat or do anything at Campo Rene proper, but chose to explore the sand dunes and estuary outflow. Tons of wildlife everywhere.



Still waves....











Unfortunately we didn't get more photos of Rene proper, but we were too busy having fun to pull the camera out.






The surrounding area is littered with empty beaches. No one around. It would be a perfect place to go skinny dipping -- if that's your idea of fun. Me - I'm a prude. =)

More fun:














Then I headed for a surf:









Of course the only photo my wife snapped in this session was me not making a section (sorry honey):









Of course there were other waves to surf during this swell. Don't fall here. You could really hurt yourself.




What do you do after catching a crap load of waves? Eat fish tacos at Juanitas. A place that deserves to be promoted:















On our way back to camp we noticed some Underground Storage Tank (UST) testing going on at the Pemex in town. Being that I know a little something about this, I turned around and asked the guys if I could take some pictures and take a look. They were rightfully suspicious, but agreed after my wife's request.

This station has all the newest technology -- basically on par with the most current and strictest California regulations. I'd say it would be safer than 90% of the stations in California. Double walled tanks. Hydrostatically monitored double walled sumps and under dispenser containment -- all monitored continuously. The groundwater (if there is any) in Abre won't be getting contaminated by a leaking tank anytime soon!!!! This was a tight system. Sorry I didn't get more pictures -- I was too busy talking and in awe.










After tacos and gas stations I was exhausted. So were the dogs.





And more meat for dinner:




After that it was good night. More to follow...................Blanca and Shari are on deck.

[Edited on 8-14-2012 by Ateo]

Day 4:


Woke up to more surf. Size was still the same as yesterday.


We decided to head to La Bocana and visit Blanca and Les. The salt flat road out there is awesome. Only took 15 minutes from Abreojos.


















We arrived in La Bocana and I used instinct to find Blanca's Bed and Breakfast. Just look for the place in her avatar! We were just in time for lunch - even though we had a lunch packed we couldn't turn down her Brazilian Chicken Stroganoff (that was the name right Blanca?), veggies, cole slaw, and rice. IT WAS EPIC, and I didn't know this lunch was to help raise $$$ for the school kids trip to London next year!! Sorry Blanca, I didn't donate any cash!

Anyways, somehow during lunch I obtained the large serving spoon and was using it to shovel loads of food into my pie hole. Les noticed and gave everyone a good laugh at my expense. I was even redder than usual -- blushing like crazy!

We also got to meet another Nomad -- Bobby (don't know his screen name) and his wife(?) Wendy. They were super cool and we felt we bonded with them instantly. They were escaping the La Paz heat, and headed for San Juanico. Hope they made it!











After lunch, Blanca gave us a tour of La Bocana. It was like the president giving you a tour of Washington DC. -- she knew town quite well.




Abalone Farm



Panga launch.







Local Catholic Church w/new tall steeple.



Blanca's cactus garden. The back yard was awesome too (check David K's report for photos).



More Blanca's B&B:










After the tour we decided to check out La Bocanita Beach:












We scheduled a dinner at Joaquin's and bailed back to Abre for some ice cream and a razor.








More to follow..................when I get time. Had a great time in La Bocana!! Next time we're staying at the B&B.

Day 5:

SUNRISE!!!






Scorpions were everywhere..............here was tiny bugger:








Dead Dolphin




Extraction for mi ninos.











Back to La Bocana for dinner at Joaquin's. Don't know what to say about this except it was quite possibly the best meal I've ever eaten in Mexico. Great conversation (although I need to get better with my Spanish), great company (Blanca y Les, Co-Op president, Co-Op inspectors, and a few more that wandered by. I won't forget this meal.

















We drove the salt flats back, in the dark, very carefully and with full stomachs.

very nice! awesome surf for days, good people around every turn, and a store that sells canned good stuff!!!!

good times.

Yeah Woody. I bought you a can of Jurel, but I really don't want to part with it........

My new pal "Cholo" in LB set me up with half a dozen cans of both the smoked and the marinated. We bought several more. Around here the cans are opened for special occasions only. The canned Bonita is good too. And the frozen lobster....and...and...

Quote:

Originally posted by vgabndo My new pal "Cholo" in LB set me up with half a dozen cans of both the smoked and the marinated. We bought several more. Around here the cans are opened for special occasions only. The canned Bonita is good too. And the frozen lobster....and...and...

must be the caracol. it is pretty damn good also. tell mama to run and hide when you open the can. it has a certain afrodeesiac quality about it!

Day 6:

Here we go..........................time to pack up camp and start working our way home. We stopped by Blanca's to say bye, dropped off some sausages for Les (no more camping for us and can't bring back across the border) , and bailed to Bahia Asuncion.







New water pipes coming in from Vizcaino (David K mentioned this in his recent report - some overlap here!)





We ventured off the beaten path to San Hipolito looking for surf.............








We arrived in Bahia Asuncion and headed over to Shari's. Some photos here are a little blurry due to my camera being infiltrated with sand at Abreojos and no longer focusing correctly.





Shari makes some kick ass jewelry. We bought some earrings for my daughter and a necklace for my son.









Unfortunately we had to bail Asuncion too soon. We really wanted to stay in the Rock room, but I promised mi esposa that I'd take her to Bahia de los Angleles before we headed home. Shari offered a beer and gave us a tour of the B&B. Really quite impressive. The new upstairs they're working on is going to be amazing. We're coming back Shari!

We got some ice cream on the way out of town. I think this is the place you recommended Shari?










I wanted more Jurel after the kick ass sandwich I had earlier so we stopped for re-supply.









Off to B of LA..............I know, we're crazy for going there in AUGUST. A promise was a promise tho.............







The road lived up to it's bad name. Actually it wasn't too bad except for a few areas.






















We arrived in B of LA around 7PM. This was one of those Baja experiences that tests your resolve. Highs and lows. This was my first time in town and I had no idea where to stay. We went to 6 different hotels, looking for the one with the best AC. All the AC units looked ancient. We we're very unimpressed at the accommodations. I figured with all the gringos coming here over the years there'd be a nice hotel to stay at. I was ready to pay the money to have some slice of luxury. Did I miss a hotel somewhere? Does a decent hotel exist here? We ended up back at Los Corales, across from the Pemex. Very new, clean, and a decent AC unit. We headed to Alejandrina's for dinner and asked if they new anyone who would take us for a ride in a boat. 10 minutes later a dude showed up and said he'd meet us at 8 AM the following day for a tour of the Bay.





Last day to follow.............

[Edited on 8-19-2012 by Ateo]

[Edited on 8-19-2012 by Ateo]

Final 2 days:

Crazy dog:





We woke up early to meet Bacilio (our panga man). Our neighbors were gonna go with us and split the costs but they said they were too dehydrated from the day before. WTF? Mix in some water for chrise sake. =) They were young Europeans. We we're old Americans. We sacked up and drove to Bacilio's. He decided to take the big panga out, and we we're stoked cuz we had it all to ourselves. Cost a bit more, but it was well worth it.






























And sorry to all the Vegans out there............
















Back at Hotel Los Corales. We asked for a late checkout and they obliged. Then we hit the road and stopped outside of Catavina for some photos:







8 more photos to follow after I eat breakfast.................

Heading into El Rosario............always feel this is the stretch that brings you back into civilization. We headed to Jardines, got a dog friendly room, and headed over to happy hour at the restaurant. I pretended to not know my wife and pick her up in front of the other gringos in the bar. It gave me quite the ego boost and was pretty fun.

FYI the bar has been expanded since I was last there.












We ate at the Old Mill. Not as good as last trip, says my wife.









I always get a special feeling at Jardines. When there, I'm either headed southbound at the beginning of a trip, or coming back northbound, about to head home.


Here's the new bypass North of Santo Tomas:








Mexico beat Brazil:







And like that -- our trip was over. It was a great time. Time away without the kids was very fulfilling. Got to meet some Nomads. Explored regions of the peninsula that were new to me. Most importantly, we had no hard times, flat tires - nada!

Adios!

Villa Bahia is pretty cool. get the upstairs unit and the wind helps to keep it cool. that's my boat on the hook.

Quote:

Originally posted by woody with a view Villa Bahia is pretty cool. get the upstairs unit and the wind helps to keep it cool. that's my boat on the hook.

Quote:

Originally posted by Ateo We checked this place - twice!! Looked like a sweet setup, but the rooms they had were enormous and had 1 small AC unit. It was super humid on the water too. Thanks for the advice. That place was definitely unique. Quote: Originally posted by woody with a view Villa Bahia is pretty cool. get the upstairs unit and the wind helps to keep it cool. that's my boat on the hook.

Great report! Dude, you've got to know how much I love that shirt! I could wear it for every single occasion!

Quote:

Originally posted by Ateo We checked this place - twice!! Looked like a sweet setup, but the rooms they had were enormous and had 1 small AC unit. It was super humid on the water too. Thanks for the advice. That place was definitely unique. Quote: Originally posted by woody with a view Villa Bahia is pretty cool. get the upstairs unit and the wind helps to keep it cool. that's my boat on the hook.

Quote:

Originally posted by vgabndo Great report! Dude, you've got to know how much I love that shirt! I could wear it for every single occasion!

Some great pics.....and food, by the sounds of it.

BUT .... you couldn't find a place to stay in Bahia de los Angeles Que lastima....it's full of choices.

http://www.bahiadelosangeles.info/accomodations.htm

I have always stayed at and liked Costa del Sol.

Sometime I would like to check out a few of the places north of town....

Quote:

Originally posted by motoged Some great pics.....and food, by the sounds of it. BUT .... you couldn't find a place to stay in Bahia de los Angeles Que lastima....it's full of choices. http://www.bahiadelosangeles.info/accomodations.htm I have always stayed at and liked Costa del Sol. Sometime I would like to check out a few of the places north of town....

Fun report, great pics.

x2 on the Bahia Villa upper unit. VERY dog friendly. Our lab had a great time with the owners lab.