Asuncion to Tecate - Sights, Hotels, Cafes, Etc April, 2013

APRIL, 2013 ROAD TRIP REPORT FROM ASUNCION TO TECATE.

”On The Road Again, I Can’t Wait to Get On The Road Again…Making Music With My Friends….”


As a lot of fellow Nomads know, after staying in one place for too long, one begins to see some things far away, and maybe like me, you soon think of getting ”On The Road Again.”:

"I think that travel comes from some deep urge to see the world, like the urge that brings up a worm in an Irish bog to see the moon when it is full."
from Lord Dunsany

Well, that worm’s revelation always brings a smile to my mug….and then Mark Twain tops off my inclination to wander & wonder with his..

"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime."

Atta boy, Mark…you do tell it like it is!


Vizcaino


Hmmm…. you come to Vizcaino before GN, but it’s pathetically boring, so forget it…unless you need to buy new tires.





Guerrero Negro


(Town motto: ‘Si, It’s Cold, but it’s Flat and Foggy, Too!’)







At the regular GN checkpoint & inspection we were all set...and then just waved through without stopping….as oftentimes happens, leaving you feeling somehow left out, y’know? Like, "Hey, I have my FM6 or whatever by now, don't you want to see it!!!"

So….ZOOOOOOOMING past GN’s no-stop inspection station, the Mexican Army base, an Internet Café….and because we had a huge bag of chicharones onboard, WAVING to Carmelita’s Famous Tamales on our way through Jesus Maria… we come to….The Weird Cactus Land in….


THE CATAVINA AREA

…and some familiar landmarks…




On our previous run through Catavina, Gotta Peso was a no-show, but on this return trip we scored with..

GOTTA PESO? IN CATAVINA

Sheesh, I was so relieved this Baja Road character was here…and okay…that I got giddy and handed him a 100 peso note. (Okay, okay… I was glad to see him but I also figured it might help with my upcoming checkup & my fishing karma this summer in Canada??)



(Reminder for Gottapeso: One of these years I’m gonna donate a seat cushion for his perch AND a freshly laundered jacket. He wears his year-round…I could tell…Eeuwww.. )



EL ROSARIO FARMLAND VALLEY

Ranching/Farming is in my blood, and it’s always interesting to see the yearly improvements per se on The Baja Road. Bring water to this parched land and it will surprise you with it’s bounty.






As with every year’s Baja Road Trip, one will eventually encounter many….

ROAD HAZARDS


There are many in this photo. Can you identify them? Hints: ‘HeeHaw! Bang! ...squish, squish.…HeeHaw – HeeHaw! Bang! - Bang!..’





This all-too-common careless practice always makes me shudder. Would you put your child or grandchild in this kind of danger?




For me, these are definitely Road Hazards! But of course I counteract them with a Diet Pepsi! Munch, munch, munch……




KING SNAKE

Seeing this guy squashed on the roadside, I wished someone could have swerved to avoid running over him. It’s a harmless King snake. These are very helpful to farmers/ranchers everywhere….aside from being a beautiful creature.





About King snakes: King snakes are commonly kept as pets, due to their ease of care; they are overall hardy and simple to care for. Kingsnakes are generally docile, curious and gentle, unless they are disturbed.

A stock internet photo of a pet king snake.



Kingsnakes use constriction to kill their prey and tend to be opportunistic when it comes to their diet; they will eat other snakes, including venomous snakes, lizards, rodents, birds and eggs. The common kingsnake is known to be immune to most venoms of other snakes and to eat rattlesnakes, although it does not seek them out as prey. They are known to co-exist.

Interesting sidenote: (at least to me) The majority of kingsnakes have quite vibrant patterns on their skins. Some species of kingsnake, such as the scarlet kingsnake, have coloration and patterning that can cause them to be confused with the venomous coral snakes. One of the mnemonic rhymes to help people distinguish between the coral snake and its nonvenomous look-alikes in the United States is "If red touches black, you're OK Jack; if red touches yellow, you're a dead fellow."



STRAWBERRY FIELD PREP – RANCHO LOS PINOS


Have you all noticed the variety of ag products grown these days in the San Quintin area? The Los Pinos operation was once almost all tomatoes, but these days the different crops are almost unlimited. Here is a freshly cultivated field being prepped for strawberries. Had an interesting chat with the foreman about what, when, and so on. Farmers are the same the world over…favorite topic is The Weather, naturally.




Better photo minus Sr. Thunderpants.




I hadn’t stayed at this hotel since ‘back in the day’ when it was one of the El Presidente hotels. 1975ish, I think. From some good reviews here on Nomads, we decided to check it out, plus it was already late in the afternoon and we had earned a good dinner and rest.

(p.s. I have no idea why this lettering is blue…)


SANTA MARIA HOTEL – SAN QUINTIN





This hotel resort was a good choice. Reasonably priced at 570 pesos/double with large balcony con ocean view & ambiance. Secure and convenient parking, pleasant landscaping, valet service, ocean view bar, and a nice restaurant.



In the cozy restaurant we enjoyed a fine breakfast. Fresh coffee and toast appeared right away with some delicious homemade marmalade. I loved the stuff! We ordered: Fresh OJ …and my boring usual of huevos rancheros with CoPilot’s favorite chiliquillas verde. Did we like it? I doubt they would need to wash those plates…but I’m sure they did! Cost was about 22 US and tip.





Next Morning….

For old times sake, we drove by this old time Baja resort on our way out….to take a few photos and recall some past visits. It seemed rather lonely with very few visitors, but maybe that’s just chilly & windy April for you?

CIELITO LINDO HOTEL RESORT



“Cielito Lindo…a little piece of heaven.” Well, okay, but maybe some repair on those entry walls would help that first look? We recall a much earlier trip when we stayed in one of the motel rooms and wondered about the sulfur-smell coming out of the water tap? On the other hand, feeding that fat Pot-Bellied Pig was a real hoot!

Hey, it’s all great memories of Baja, right? If you can’t roll with the punches, you best stay home.

Baja Flashback: Better here than at the ‘pink place’ in Catavina…brrr…I refuse to tell you about a night spent in The Pink Palace resulting in a candle fire, killing my mother-in-law’s cat, and subsequent divorce.




Later that afternoon….we are right outside Tecate and had some bad luck. For some reason, my camera shutter was stuck. Dang it, I had that problem with another Nikon D40...back to the shop! Luckily, it's under warranty.


Now we are almost back in the good ol USA, but it’s late and we hate to leave Baja so soon. My med appt is not for another 2 days in San Diego..so why not make use of the time? Sooo...


RANCHO TECATE SPA RESORT

I have often driven by this place, but never took the time to check it out. It’s right on the south outskirts of Tecate and we’re always in a hurry to head south..or cross back into the US… at that point.

I always like to use only my own photos, but this time had to take these off the spa's website. Sorry, but they do show the place quite well.




It is a world-class health spa and resort. Just what I need…Health! With a RESORT!! Let’s check in, shall we?



The rate is not cheap, but well worth all the comforts and activities. Our room was a suite and very, very nice. The suite was $150/night, but the one I really liked a bungalow that went for $500…elegant, lavish, and included a mirrored-ceiling kingpost bed…(hey, I’m getting old, but not that old). Reality took over and our large corner suite of a twin bungalow was great, and had scenic views. Co-Pilot picked it. The Pampered Pink one. (Oh Gawd! Not PINK again!) Have you ever slept in a Cal King bed that was pink?...and the rest of the place was...pink? Anybody ever done that twice?


A huge plus - included in our room rate were massages with those special heated rocks, golf lessons, scenic hiking trails, guided horseback riding in the mornings, free breakfasts, passes to a wine tasting & art show, and an opportunity to view lots for sale.

Almost too much to do in two days.



If I ever get really sick again, I will definitely be back. It’s a place to recover or improve one’s health. But no Pink Bungalow the next time!!



The breakfasts, lunches, and dinners were first class and I inhaled all of these...and even though I could never spell them, they were superb, but I may have accidentally crushed one or two... con mucho gusto.





TECATE'S CROOKED COPS


Pushing on from Rcho Tecate, we make it thru the gauntlet of crooked traffic cops….almost.

One did pull me over just before the turnoff to the Border Wait. The officer walked up to my window, asked for driver’s license and registration. I said "What’s the problem, officer? Why did you stop me? I wasn’t speeding and I stopped for every sign just as I have done for 30 years."

“Your reigistration is not current”, he say, glancing at my papers. I was a little agitated and dumbfounded at the same time…and also found that pretty funny.
Let’s see now….He had stopped me for an ‘expired’ registration violation... ‘before’ he even had seen them. I then showed the guy how to read the regs and how it showed clearly on the top the correct expiration date of 12/31/2013…about nine months to go.

About this time the guy was looking a little agitated himself … and to top it off, Co-Pilot wanted to take his photo with her cell phone. “No, best not rile him.", I quickly said, shaking my head.

The cop then said, “Are you wearing your seat belt?” I replied pleasantly, “Of course, I like living too much to do anything else.”
“You must wear seat belts the whole time you are driving in Mexico. It’s a fine of $120 dollars.” He was almost salivating, glancing at our seat belts.

Snapping my shoulder strap, I said…”Yes, sir. We are. Thank you, sir.”

He walked back to his patrol car and drove away. I think the Montana license plate driving by distracted him.


‘Whew! I wonder what he would have said about driving in my bare feet?’
Probably this, “Carumba! That’s a fine of… “Give Me All You Have, Senor.”

My two cents: The town of Tecate, and all border towns, has got to start cleaning up it’s patrol car act regarding tourists and mordida. This experience backfired on this crooked cop because I would not be buffaloed. How many other innocent tourists would simply pay the bribe and drive away? It’s an old story.

THE 1 HOUR 45 MINUTE WAIT AT THE BORDER…WITH ENTERTAINMENT!

Now we are in line at the long fenceline and get in line with about 4 blocks of cars ahead. Not so bad, but it’s gonna still be awhile before our turn to enter US Customs. Might as well sit back and relax. “Hey, amigo, bring me some of those churros!”

A WILD AND CRAZY EVENT!

We stop and go for about a half-hour when something wild and crazy happened. All the cars heading for the US Customs are lined up in two separate lanes..with about 10 feet of open space between the lines and everyone was keeping their safe distance from one another.

All of a sudden, this smaller silver-colored 4-door car comes zooming from behind and passes us all down the middle! What the..?! The car speeds up towards the end of the lines….knocking over a couple of red cones right next to some startled Mexican soldiers carrying automatic rifles. As I watched in wonder, the car zooms straight ahead, past the customs entry, and smashes through 2 tall metal mesh gates..one right after the other….and also past a couple of troop carriers parked at the last gate. The car swerves around a far corner and disappears from sight. NOW…at last…there is some flurry of activity as soldiers begin running here and there, and the troop carrier takes off after the speeding car.

Now that’s as strange an occurance at the border that I have ever seen in 40 years of crossing. Nobody seemed unduly alarmed by it, though. No further action by soldiers, nor did the US Customs guys know anything about the event (that they cared to discuss, anyway..) We continued making our slow way to the Customs gate, taking a total of 1 hour 45 minutes from start to finish before it was our turn to answer the pretty agent’s questions:

Nationality?
Where do you live?
How long in Mexico?
Bringing back anything?
You can go.

Why are you still here? No, you can’t have my number..…get moving.

In closing this trip report, from Asuncion to Tecate it took us a total of 13 hours of driving time. Not so bad at all. Sorry I had to cut the trip short.

The good parts are…THERE'S NEVER A DULL MOMENT..AND..WE HAD FUN IN BAJA AGAIN!

Now….where to for the next Road Trip? !




[Edited on 4-23-2013 by Pompano]

C'mon Roger...fess up amigo....I simply cant believe that border guard didnt give you her number!!!! Great report and glad you earned your 100 pesos worth of karma points for fishing this summer....que lo via muy bien compa!

I still want to hear the divorce, cat, mother-in-law story. JH

Nice report ^ great pictures I always wanted to try that spa place at Tecate but haven't had a chance yet Glad you check in Txs for sharing pix

[Edited on 4-22-2013 by BajaLucy]

Wonderful trip report -thank you

Great report!! But...I, too, want to hear about the "night spent in The Pink Palace resulting in a candle fire, killing my mother-in-law’s cat, and subsequent divorce."