Long Weekend Trip

March 2014
Long Weekend Trip
Thursday March 13th we crossed the border in TJ and on our way south my friend BJ wanted to stop at Puerto Nuevo for a lobster dinner. It had been several years since either of us had eaten there. We made our way past several places to the end of main street and decided to stop in at Ortega’s. The dinner was good but not great, the soup was too salty for me.

It’s on to Ensenada and the Villa Marina hotel. We did a little bar hopping before bed and at the Corona hotel bar they had a new bartender that did not know how to make a gin and tonic. It may have been a language problem, later found out he was a sub and his regular job was as a waiter in the restaurant. No need to be alarmed as the regular bartender showed up.

Friday morning its breakfast at the Del Sol as the Villa Marina restaurant was over flowing with tour bus people. Odd thing at the restaurant there was no salt and pepper shakers on the tables. Anyway we’re off going south. Thru San Quintin we turn east off hwy 1 at KM24. Our plan was to go east and pick up the 2007 Baja 1000 course past R. El Cipres and take it south to Arroyo El Rosario. Well we took a wrong turn and got lost. That seems to be something I’m doing more of lately. We picked up race course markers several miles after the hwy turnoff and thinking the course was the road we wanted to follow we stayed on it. The GPS showed we were going too far west.

Map of both routes. The top route started at Hwy 1 KM24 and the bottom route started at KM133


After roaming around going this way and that way we came to another road and after a while it ran into the road we wanted to be on and it matched the GPS waypts on the map I had. The road gets rocky after a couple of miles and stays that way for several miles. We stopped at the abandoned R. El Cipres, not much there. At the B1K jct. we turn south. The road is dirt with some rocky sections. We pass a couple of working windmills. The first had just a corral but the second one had a corral and a small house, maybe for the ranch hands to stay when out and about.

A friend along the way or an old ranch hand



About 12 miles from the turnoff we come to a junction and the road is well graded, in fact very well graded. The road to the right has a large metal gate and the graded road goes beyond it. Several miles there is another T junction with R. Las Manzanos to the left and it too has a large metal gate and the ranch road is also well graded. I assume the ranch owners graded the roads.

Good graded road



The Ranch Gate


About 25 miles from the B1K turnoff we come to a locked gate at a farm just before Arroyo El Rosario. Google Earth showed the road going around the farm to the east. We go to the east and also back tracked from where we came from but no roads were to be found going around the farm. There were workers in the large fields so we go back to the gate to ask about getting thru. Wow!!!, the lock is unlocked. Now I could have sworn the lock was thru a chain and locked to the post. Either I was mistaken or someone unlocked it while we were driving around looking for a way out. Anyway we stop and asked a field hand which way out and he points to the left with a sweeping motion. Soon we are out and on a dirt road meeting hwy 1 at the south end of the El Rosario Bridge.

It’s up to the Baja Cactus hotel but they were full. It’s now down to Mama Espanosa’s hotel and they have rooms available. We unpack and walk over for dinner. We hear noise and laughing in another room so I peek in and see Tim Morton and his dad Tom having dinner with his off-road motorcycle tour group. We chat for a while then eat our dinner. They are why Baja Cactus was full.

Saturday morning after breakfast we head further south to KM133 at Guayaquil and turn toward the coast. After passing Santa Catarina we turn for Puerto Catarina at the Y jct. The road is good all the way. Not much at the fish camp. Some buildings, old RVs and two teepees. Someone may be camping in them. We take the cross over road to Punta Canoas. It’s in really bad shape in several areas from the rains. Also lots of overgrowth vegetation. If you are not familiar with the road and where it goes I would strongly suggest you back track toward Santa Catarina and come down. We followed a fresh set of tire tracks. It’s only about 9 miles across but took us almost two hours and some of it requires 4 wheel drive due to sand.

Directions from locals


Straight it is


A ranch with solar along the way


The fish camp village of Puerto Catarina


Teepees


We turn southeast before Punta Canoas to the corral shown in the almanac. As we get close to the coast we pass a house or small rancho and follow their fence line around over to the coast. The road has been good but now it’s really good. Someone has graded it. We continue toward San Jose de la Piedra. From there we turn north to hwy 1 and Catavina. This last coast section has several places where you are right at the ocean but the beaches are rocky, like baseball and softball type rocks . As the tide goes out there is a sandy bottom for the beach.

Road along the coast


The beach near the road


At Catavina we have dinner at Hotel Mission Catavina. On our way out of the hotel Tim Morton and his group are setting on the steps. He wanted to know about the coast trail and the B1K trail we did. He said he wanted to go thru the farm and up the B1K road but the owner told him he didn’t want motorcycles going thru his property. That evening we move up hwy 1 to San Quintin and the Villa de San Quintin Hotel.

Sunday morning after breakfast its north to Camalu and out to the coast. Up the coast to Bahia Colonet. The old shipwreck is still there along the way. We cross the Colonet to San Antonio del Mar road and pass the Johnson Ranch. We get about 5 miles pass the road crossing and where the road turns inland it gets real bad from the rains, very deep ruts. There was a small truck or SUV that went thru but I decide to turn around. I did not want to get high centered and nothing to hook my winch to.

Coast after leaving Camalu


Ship Wreck still there


Back to hwy 1 and up to Erindira on the coast. We stop in at Coyote Cal’s for a drink and chatted with him for a while. Back up the coast and in to Santo Tomas. We’re back to Ensenada and the Villa Marina hotel. That evening we walk over to the Corona hotel for some drinks. Met a man and wife from North Carolina. He had purchased a commercial fishing boat in California and his crew was taking it to South America. He owns like a dozen or more such boats and rents them out under contract. This was the first time him and his wife had ever been to Mexico. They seemed to like it and were having a good time.

Beach north of Erendira as we start inland for Santo Tomas


On the way back to our hotel at about 11 pm just before the bridge at the Convention Center a cop car pulls up by us and ask where we had been and where we going. We told the two cops we had been at the Corona Hotel and were going to the Villa Marina Hotel. They got out of the cop car and asked to search us to which we said OK. Not much to search since we both had T shirts and shorts on. He took my wallet and pulled my driver’s license and he ask my name which I told him. He then gave me my wallet and driver’s license back and said we could go. They never turned on the police red/blue lights.

Monday morning we got up a little later than usual. Had breakfast in the hotel then left for the Tecate border crossing. Got to the border line at 11:10am and there were two lines starting at the top of the hill. We pass thru the gate at 12 noon. No problems so we head north and home. Traffic on I-5 and in LA was not too bad so we made good time. I drop BJ off at Whitemen Airport at 3:18pm, 3hrs and 18min from Tecate, not bad.

This was another fun and interesting Baja trip.

[Edited on 3-19-2014 by TW]

Oh, the pressure is on!

I try every winter to get some excitement on this project. But, thanks to you we are at least getting closer to finding the 'rock pile'... I think!

Thanks for the ride along ...