BajaNomad

Any favorite things to see in Gonzaga??

Ateo - 12-19-2013 at 07:39 PM

Hello Nomads,

Any favorite things to see in Gonzaga? Planning to do a trip soon...............

Ateo - 12-19-2013 at 07:48 PM

And any favorite places to stay or basic motels? Probably not..............and I did search Nomad before posting this.

woody with a view - 12-19-2013 at 07:49 PM

alphonsinas is about the best place there unless you know someone with a house. lotsa beaches to explore.....

Pacifico - 12-19-2013 at 08:00 PM

Favorite things to see in Gonzaga?

I like to see a plate full of shrimp and a Pacifico in front of me at Alphonsina's! :lol:

mcfez - 12-19-2013 at 10:14 PM

http://www.alfonsinasresort.com/
Has VERY simply rooms......not the Holiday Inn....but it's great. Restaurant is good chow....they will cook your day's fish for you too. Do indeed call in for reservations.

There are other places nearby....many camps. Local store has everything that you could wish for. Plenty of fuel most of the time.

If you fish....this is the perfect Bay. Kayaking paradise ...especially if you go north of Punta Final. Great snorkeling there at PF too.

More info here:
http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=47044


This is my destination most of the time..... that I go to. The ride between San Felipe to GB is really cool. Very little development.

Marc - 12-19-2013 at 10:16 PM

See DK's maps.
Las Palmitas

Hike up the same canyon there's a spring


[Edited on 12-21-2013 by Marc]

redhilltown - 12-20-2013 at 12:11 AM

You can always run out to Cocos or Calamajue as a day trip. If you have 4X4 there are great arroyos and canyons heading into the mountains as you travel south from San Felipe...and great roads to the beach as well (though with the new road I am not sure as to access for some of the old faves.) (possibly a map or two from DK is in order?). El Faro north of Papa Fernandez is a nice beach and the road north from there to Bufeo is fun with a couple of access points to water (once again, I am hoping for 4x4.)

That said: Pacifico really nailed it!!! :bounce:

Casey67 - 12-20-2013 at 01:15 AM

My favorite thing to see in Gonzaga is Gasoline. When I was there in January 2010 they had accidentally dropped the keys down into the main tank or something like that and were closed for several days :o

basautter - 12-20-2013 at 06:35 AM

Gonzaga is one of my favorite places to go in Baja, and I always stay at Alfonsiona's. Great staff, great food, rooms are good. I spend most of my time in/on the water when I am there(fishing/snorkeling). The bay is known for whale sharks, but I don't know about this late in the year. The fishing is also great, but again. Send me an email for more info. One very unique feature is a soda spring geyser. It's about 1/4 mile west of Rancho Grande (you can see it as a white spot on Google Earth). It only blows about once a month, so good luck!

Ateo - 12-20-2013 at 08:23 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Casey67
My favorite thing to see in Gonzaga is Gasoline. When I was there in January 2010 they had accidentally dropped the keys down into the main tank or something like that and were closed for several days :o


Funny. I dropped an entire set of keys into a tank once in LA. Bye bye keys.

Ateo - 12-20-2013 at 08:25 AM

Hello and Thanks All!

I will give this a read when I get home today.

I really appreciate the time you took to post links and photos. Gracias.

David K - 12-20-2013 at 09:53 AM

Jon, on my web page to Baja photos is a whole section on sites to see near Gonzaga Bay... Here's the list, and on the actual page they are clickable links: http://vivabaja.com/tours/index.html


Bahia San Luis Gonzaga Area

Mission-era warehouse ruins on the shore of the bay
Alfonsina's Beach
Onyx Springs create a mineral glacier
Molino de Lacy ruins & grave
Las Palmitas oasis and Santa Maria Canyon
El Camino Real to Mision Santa Maria
Santa Maria Canyon from the air
La Turquesa Canyon
La Turquesa Grade
Calamajue mission site
Campo Beluga (Gonzaga Bay)
Coco's Corner 11-06
Alfonsina's 11-06
more Coco's Corner

ALFONSINA'S MOTEL, on the beach:


ALFONSINA'S GARLIC SHRIMP (being consumed with glee by The Squarecircle):







Private homes at Alfonsina's, south of motel/restaurant. The big hill is the island that separates Bahia San Luis Gonzaga from Ensenada de San Francisquito:



View from the island trail:



Just up Santa Maria Canyon from the end of the road (past Las Palmitas turnoff):



Going north from the arroyo, before entering the canyon... EL CAMINO REAL:









GPS Directions (map datum NAD27 Mexico)

Take Hwy. 5 south 7.4 miles from Rancho Grande, turn west: 29°41.094'/ 114°24.566'
3.2 miles west of Hwy. 5, go straight where most traffic curves left for Las Palmitas: 29°41.278'/ 114°27.639'
0.8 miles from above, park at huge boulder: 29°41.68'/ 114°28.20'
Hike to north bank of Arroyo Santa Maria to: 29°41.733'/ 114°28.175' elev. 609' (ECR-1)
Go northwest and climb out of valley, note ocotillos.
Along left side of side valley: 29°42.374'/ 114°28.566' elev. 741' (ECR-2)
On first padre built switchback up: 29°42.669'/ 114°28.937' elev. 906' (ECR-3)
On a ridge, trail continues northwest: 29°42.671'/ 114°29.425' elev. 1308' (ECR-4)
On the Camino Real: 29°42.748'/ 114°29.482' elev. 1391' (ECR-5)
Crossing ridges and little mesas: 29°43.008'/ 114°29.967' elev. 1477' (ECR-6)
Drop along side of ridge, trail narrow: 29°43.074'/ 114°30.128' elev.1610' (ECR-7)
End of today's hike just beyond this last clear sign of the old trail: 29°43.141'/ 114°30.189' elev. 1702' (ECR-8)
Junction of ECR & bulldozed road: 29°43.126'/ 114°31.753' elev.1413'
(End of bulldozed road, on canyon ridge: 29°43.033'/ 114°31.556' elev. 1,615' )
Mision Santa Maria: 29°43.891'/ 114°32.794' elev.1628'

We did not make it to the mission that trip, as we left too late in the morning. Allow 6 hours one way, bring water! The other end of El Camino Real, in the mission valley is shown here: http://vivabaja.com/msm/page8.html















There is no PH (for F sound) in Spanish!:light:

The onyx spring near Gonzaga... very interesting, (looks like a glacier) short hike.




Mission warehouse on shore of Gonzaga Bay (~1769+)


So much to see...

Bob H - 12-20-2013 at 10:22 AM

Great maps David... as usual!! Thanks.

Casey67 - 12-20-2013 at 06:17 PM

Enjoy Gonzaga 'as is' while you can. In 2029 once the road is fully paved to HWY1 it will become the defacto route in and out of Baja for every gringo I've talked to, which means a lot of changes. I'm all for the paving though, no more San Quintin to TJ crawl through the sprawl. :bounce:

David K - 12-20-2013 at 06:49 PM

2029 huh? :lol: Are we taking bets on the last 38 miles to Chapala?

treuboff - 12-20-2013 at 07:10 PM

El Sacraficio is on the web and has a kitchen and rooms. Snorkeling or Scuba at Punta Final. Water is clear, take your own gear. Most of the time just being there is good enough.

Marc - 12-20-2013 at 07:54 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by treuboff
El Sacraficio is on the web and has a kitchen and rooms. Snorkeling or Scuba at Punta Final. Water is clear, take your own gear. Most of the time just being there is good enough.


OK for rooms-not so good for camping

Ateo - 12-20-2013 at 09:30 PM

Wow. I can tell you all love this place by the time you have spent posting photos and giving advice. Thanks for taking the time. I'm taking notes. I think my wife is gonna dig this area. We're either gonna hit it up on the drive south, or the drive back north from, or heading to the Pacific Coast for some waves!!

David K - 12-20-2013 at 11:44 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Ateo
Wow. I can tell you all love this place by the time you have spent posting photos and giving advice. Thanks for taking the time. I'm taking notes. I think my wife is gonna dig this area. We're either gonna hit it up on the drive south, or the drive back north from, or heading to the Pacific Coast for some waves!!


Jon, the beach is perfect, especially at Alfonsina's to Beluga and again at Punta Final (nice sand). There is a beach outside the bay, and over the hill from Papa Fernandez' restaurant (on the outer side of Willard Point for camping.

So, if the weather isn't good for beach activity all day, then Gonzaga has all these other places to see... and more. As you saw in the photo from Marc (location on my hand drawn map), Las Palmitas is an oasis... I mean Baja is like magic the places water comes out of the ground, and thanks to birds, palm trees grow there! The El Camino Real comes the closest to sea level by Gonzaga (at Arroyo Santa María) since leaving Loreto! Gold ore was milled at Molino de Lacy (originally called Molino de San Francisquito before William Lacy died). The processed gold was shipped from the beach by today's Punta Final resort (then called Puerto de San Francisquito) on Ensenada de San Francisquito (the bigger half of 'Gonzaga Bay').

[Edited on 12-21-2013 by David K]

Just great places... from BajaTaco in 2002

David K - 12-21-2013 at 12:55 AM

I remembered Chris talking about his run up Arroyo Alfredo... this is the wash the new Hwy. 5 bridge crosses right before Papa Fernandez' driveway.

The Franciscan Padre Serra cargo trail from Gonzaga to the Camino Real goes up this way (how supplies were brought to San Fernando de Velicatá mission). It saved a bit of travel by not detouring south to Mission Santa María from Gonzaga Bay.

Baja Bucko traveled the cargo trail by mule in 2001 and recorded a Geo-Cache at an oasis up that way: http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC8C7_no-wheels-need-appl...

You can see the 1769 built mission road on Google Earth between the area of the oasis and where it joins to Camino Real (overlaid by the 4WD road to Mission Santa María from Santa Ynez.

[Edited on 1-17-2014 by David K]

Casey67 - 12-21-2013 at 11:10 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by David K
2029 huh? :lol: Are we taking bets on the last 38 miles to Chapala?


Heh, just being conservative. Most likely it will be 2-4 more years. They may speed up a bit once it gets a lot closer to being done and can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Coco should have a lot of new friends if the road still goes near him. I hear conflicting reports about the new road being a mile west of him.

TMW - 12-21-2013 at 11:17 AM

Do stop by Cocos and introduce your family to him. By the way he really likes chocolate chip cookies and instant coffee.

As a side note many including me thought Coco had diabetes. As per the lady he stays with in San Felipe he does not, he has poor circulation and that is why he lost his leg a few years ago.

brewer - 12-21-2013 at 02:33 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by TW
Do stop by Cocos and introduce your family to him. By the way he really likes chocolate chip cookies and instant coffee.

As a side note many including me thought Coco had diabetes. As per the lady he stays with in San Felipe he does not, he has poor circulation and that is why he lost his leg a few years ago.


Really? I always thought and heard it was diabetes. That is why you don't bring him sweets. He also likes corn tortillas, not flour.

[Edited on 12-22-2013 by brewer]

David K - 12-21-2013 at 03:57 PM

Brewer...

Las Palmitas... lower left of this map... see mileages between road junctions, it is NOT on the Almanac, nor is the arroyo in the Almanac called Las Palmitas related to the oasis in Marc's photos.

BajaLucy - 1-11-2014 at 08:19 AM

Thanks, everyone for posting and taking time of sharing your adventures with us much appreciate...
It help us and others to find our way into Beautiful Baja take care everyone

Cliffy - 1-16-2014 at 05:19 PM

Haven't been to GB in 30 years. Actually had dinner with "Old Man Papa" (he was WAY old even then) and played with the little kids (gave them balloons that they really enjoyed). We ate fried turtle. Yes that long ago. Flew my plane in there several times and landed on Papa's air strip. I can't see any evidence that it is still there, probably gone a long time ago. May have to return soon.

David K - 1-16-2014 at 07:21 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Cliffy
Haven't been to GB in 30 years. Actually had dinner with "Old Man Papa" (he was WAY old even then) and played with the little kids (gave them balloons that they really enjoyed). We ate fried turtle. Yes that long ago. Flew my plane in there several times and landed on Papa's air strip. I can't see any evidence that it is still there, probably gone a long time ago. May have to return soon.


Papa Fernandez' runways have been closed for a long time. I guess John Wayne couldn't help him keep them forever!?



1969 page in the 1972 edition of Airports of Baja



Just one runway in the 1974 Baja Traveler (by Airguide Publications).

[Edited on 1-17-2014 by David K]

Alphonsina's

bajaguy - 1-16-2014 at 07:31 PM

Took a drive down there from the San Felipe South Campos last Sunday

Airstrip at Alphonsina's was in great shape, fish tacos were good and Pacificos were cold. Bay looked inviting, no wind.

On the return, stopped by Cow Patty's for a cold one.

David K - 1-16-2014 at 07:44 PM







A very special place to me because it was my family's first Baja-Jeep destination, in 1965!