Last month we loaded up the dogs and our trailer and headed down to Baja for 9 days of fun. Our goal was to see the whales, check out rock art and
cave paintings and just plain relax for a bit. Here is how it all went down:
Day One - San Diego to Erendira - 148.6 miles
We got on the road later than anticipated, but had a pretty short drive on the first day. We were headed to Erendira to meet up with our good friends
Greg and Michelle who have a house there. It was a beautiful day for a drive and we got down there just as it was getting dark.
Getting the rig all loaded up...
The big Jesus south of Rosarito Beach...
The coastline near La Fonda. Baja was so green!
Salsipuedes...
Getting some snacks in Ensenada...
We met up with Justin and Bryan from the What Is West Baja walk in Camalu and gave them some toffee ice cream bars, Snickers and peanut butter.
They dug in immediately!
Fletch and Pepita snuggled up in the trailer.
Day Two - Erendira to San Ignacio - 429.6 miles
We got up pretty early and it was an absolutely beautiful day in Erendira. Our friends Greg and Michelle have had a house in Erendira for about six
years and we visit every summer for their baseball game/fundraiser they do for local kids. After breakfast we got on the road and kept heading south.
Our plan was to meet up with my parents at Rice and Beans in San Ignacio...
Greg and Michelle's house aka Casa de Califone
The Casa de Califone patio sculpture
Our rig parked with a really nice ocean view
Fletch and Pepita enjoying breakfast
A herd of goats grazing near the coast
Peeps and Fletch enjoying the outdoors
Our amigos Greg, Michelle, Waits and pooch Kincaid
How do I stop this thing?
The rig about to depart Erendira
Heading south!
Not a cloud in the sky....Baja was beautiful!
This semi was hauling (very slowly) a huge section of pipe and taking up both lanes. Thankfully they turned out and let traffic go through.
Cataviña
Lots of Baja racing history on the walls of Rice and Beans!
Margaritas at Rice and Beans are excellent after a long day of driving!
Days three and four coming up next...David K - 3-26-2013 at 02:20 PM
Most excellent Geoff... BajaGeoff - 3-26-2013 at 02:53 PM
Day Three - San Ignacio to Bahia Asuncion - 120.1 miles
We stayed the night at Rice and Beans and had breakfast there before heading in to town. Morgan had never been to San Ignacio and I really wanted her
to see it in person. Today we had a relatively short drive north to Bahia Asuncion where we would meet up with Shari and stay at her place.
Rice and Beans...always a good option for an overnight in San Ignacio
Fletch and Pepita checking out the town square
The mission at San Ignacio
Morgan and I on the steps of the mission
San Ignacio looking very lush
The road into Bahia Asuncion
Arriving in Asuncion
Day Four - Bahia Asuncion to Guerrero Negro - 146.6 miles
Initially we had planned on staying in Asuncion for two nights, but we got word that bad weather was heading our way, which was going to disrupt our
whale watching plans. We decided to leave in the morning, so unfortunately we didn't really get to spend much time exploring Bahia Asuncion. We
hustled towards Guerrero Negro to get in an afternoon of whale watching.
Heading out to see the whales
The Ojo de Liebre visitors center
A very large whale skeleton
The tide was so low we had to walk out to the panga!
Our panga crew on the way out to see the whales
Woohoo!
Pangas
The dockBajaGeoff - 3-26-2013 at 03:24 PM
Day Five - Guerrero Negro to El Carmen to Bahia de los Angeles - 242.6 miles
Today we had to backtrack to go see the cave paintings at el Carmen. We were going to go see the cave paintings on the way out of Asuncion, but we
were pressed for time to get to the whales. As it turned out, we awoke to wind and rain in Guerrero Negro and were very glad we had seen the whales
the day before. After seeing the cave paintings, we drove to Bahia de los Angeles and checked in at Villa Bahia.
We ended up staying at Don Gus in Guerrero Negro and having two meals there. My chilaquiles were excellent!
The road out to the el Carmen cave paintings
The desert was really pretty
Our rig parked at the base of the el Carmen mesa
My folks hiking up to the cave
It was awesome finally seeing these in person!
Yours truly enjoying the cave paintings
The view from the cave
Morgan showing where we had just hiked to
Boojum trees
Day Six - No Driving - Relax in Bahia de los Angeles
We woke up to a perfectly calm morning and Bahia de los Angeles was gorgeous. I took my paddleboard out for a few hours and got in before the wind
picked up. We spent the day playing with the dogs on the beach and relaxing.
The view from our room at Villa Bahia
The dogs playing ball and enjoying the Sea of Cortez
The dogs were pooped after playing on the beach all day
Villa Bahia...dogs are always welcome
Loncheria Gayro...we did Morgan's birthday dinner here the night we arrived since all the other restaurants were closed!
Baja roofdogsDavid K - 3-26-2013 at 03:49 PM
Great... keep it coming!BajaGeoff - 3-26-2013 at 03:55 PM
Day 7 - Bahia de los Angeles - Cave Paintings and Rock Art
We ate most of our meals at Alejandrina and it was consistently good. Today we were heading out to see the cave paintings and rock art outside of
town. It was an easy drive, but the sand was pretty soft in some spots. We managed to get the 4Runner stuck once, but aired down the tires and dug out
the wheels and we were good to go.
On our way
The rock art was really interesting
Me shooting video of the rock art
More video work
After we got back to town we visited the BolA museum, which I highly recommend. They have a really comprehensive history about the area and a lot of
great artifacts.
Day Eight - Bahia de los Angeles to El Rosario - 204.2 miles
After saying our goodbyes to Villa Bahia owner and Baja author Roger Silliman, we had breakfast at Alejandrina's before leaving town. We had a nice
drive north up to El Rosario where we checked in and dropped off our trailer. That afternoon we were going to try and find Justin and Bryan from the
What Is West Baja walk, as they had just started heading south of El Rosario.
The view from the upstairs deck at Villa Bahia
Roger and I with a copy of the book "Baja's Hidden Gold" that he helped write
The family at Villa Bahia with Bandito...the resident dingo
Roger at Villa Bahia
The road out of Bahia de los Angeles
We found Justin and Bryan on a dirt road south of El Rosario!
El Rosario valley
Mission ruins at El Rosario
Day 9 - El Rosario to San Diego - 244.8 miles
We got on the road and really wanted to go out to La Lobera, but the road was pretty beat up from the rains and we would not have made it with the
trailer. We had an uneventful drive back to the border, and arrived at home happy but tired from our 9 day journey! Until next time.....
¡Viva Baja!David K - 3-26-2013 at 04:04 PM
Thanks for the reminder that Roger is the one who wrote down what Herman told him! Herman is a character, living off the hidden gold and dancing at
the Diaz compound every New Year's Eve.BornFisher - 3-26-2013 at 04:15 PM
Yippppeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!! That was great, thanks!Frank - 3-26-2013 at 04:17 PM
Great trip report Geoff. We plan on making it to most of the same places this June. El Carmen and La Shari are definitely at the top of the northern
section list.
Is your 4runner 4wd?BajaGeoff - 3-26-2013 at 04:28 PM
Thanks BornFisher and Frank! My 4Runner is not 4WD...I manage OK with 2WD but sometimes it just isn't enough...Wiles - 3-26-2013 at 05:40 PM
Thanks so much, what a great report.
We are leaving for BOLA April 1.
Vamos a Ver,
Wileswoody with a view - 3-26-2013 at 06:23 PM
great trip.jbcoug - 3-26-2013 at 06:38 PM
Really enjoyed this, thanks for sharing!!!!!!!!
JohnSkipjack Joe - 3-26-2013 at 09:36 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by BajaGeoff
A very large whale skeleton
Here we see their direct lineage from birds. Sheerwaters to be exact.
[Edited on 3-27-2013 by Skipjack Joe]vgabndo - 3-26-2013 at 09:55 PM
Geoff, it was a pleasure to meet you at Shari's. I'm sorry it was so short. We all got 'owned' by the wind and weather for most of Feb. and March!
I'm glad to see that many of your plans went as you wished!Ateo - 3-27-2013 at 07:52 AM
Great trip Geoff. Imagine chilling in that cave thousands of years ago with that view!! Good call on the Lobera turnaround. That road sucked when I
went in there in January.watizname - 3-27-2013 at 08:29 AM
That's what it's all about.
ThanksTMW - 3-27-2013 at 10:26 AM
Excllent report and beautiful pictures, thanks. A great time for sure.BajaGeoff - 3-27-2013 at 11:23 AM
Thanks everyone!
Nice meeting you as well Vgabndo! I was bummed our stay in Asuncion got cut short. Nine days in Baja and my surfboard never came out of the bag once.
Next time...Bob H - 3-27-2013 at 12:19 PM
Geoff, I finally took the time to go through your trip report. I can't tell you how much fun it was going through all of your photos and comments.
Love your dogs !! Looks like you experienced mostly great weather days...BajaGeoff - 3-27-2013 at 01:04 PM
Thanks Bob! The weather was great except for the one rainy and windy morning in Guerrero Negro...other than that it was perfect!bufeo - 3-27-2013 at 02:02 PM
Nice trip photo-journal, Geoff. Thanks.
Allen RHeather - 3-28-2013 at 03:41 PM
Cool enjoyed your photos....especially the one of my friend Michelle! We teach together and talk Baja all the time!elgatoloco - 3-28-2013 at 07:51 PM
Nice trip! Nice report! We drove into Lobera on 3/16 and it was smooth sailing. Tons of pulvo from what must have a day old scraping of the road. I
would not have wanted to be following me. Timing is everything?
Ricardo makes a mean margarita! It was all we could do to stop at two. BajaGeoff - 3-29-2013 at 09:45 AM
Glad you guys enjoyed the post and photos. Heather....so cool you teach with Michelle! We love spending time with them in Erendira.
Yeah gato....that road needed a scraping badly. We are just lucky we found a place to be able to turn our rig around and get out of there!BajaBlanca - 3-29-2013 at 02:18 PM
what a thorough trip report. and the photos are fantastic. BTW the boys really appreciate all your meetups with goodies for them - For sure you
made their trip much more pleasant.
next time add a day for la bocana/punta abreojos and bring the surfboard!shari - 4-2-2013 at 10:44 AM
great report amigo...so much baja, so little time but you guys sure packed alot into your trip!!! We hope to spend more time next time you visit I
love the photo of you guys getting into the panga "Sirenita" at the lagoon....which was named after my daughter!BajaGeoff - 4-2-2013 at 11:40 AM
Thanks Blanca and Shari!
So cool that the panga is named after your daughter! I meant to ask you about that...shari - 4-2-2013 at 08:57 PM
Sirenita is somewhat of a legend there as she was conceived and raised there and her papa was the first brave fisherman to agree to approach a whale
so crazy gringos could see it! the other fishermen thought he was crazy as they always skirted well around whales there as they were dangerous and had
flipped boats and people had been killed there but he and his work companion were muy macho....but both of them eventually got smoked by whales for
their cavalier attitude!
it was the beginning of whale observation there...the only english he spoke was "ten dollars!" but oh did he have other talents!
