Post for Woody

Returned about a week ago from 8 days in Baja. The kids and I were lucky enough to have Mommy join us this year for a trip to see the whales. We crossed at Tecate on 3/27 around 4 with no issues. We noticed new road construction north of Valle de las Palmas which will be a huge time saver when completed. Basically, one will bypass the windy route along the ridgeline. We stayed at Hotel Villas de San Quintin which we like as we can make reservations online with little effort.

We arrived at Scammon's early afternoon on Friday. The highlight of the trip down was crossing paths with buen amigo El Gato Loco in Cativina. The kids were excited to be back with the whales. It's always cool checking out the salt fields as well.


We picked out a camp site and then played a bit.







The next day we were up early and ready to head out. We had heard all the whales were gone but were still optimistic. As it turned out, we had an epic day on the water. Here are a few shots of many

The kids with their whale smiles


una ballena



a friendly whale saying good morning



My son up close and personal




In all, it was about as good of day as we could have imagined


Afterwards we headed to our place in Bahia Asuncion. We had some tile to deliver and also wanted to just enjoy some family time. Our stay was pretty uneventful outside of watching the drama unfold with Udo and Mr. Verduzco.

I did manage to get in one long run even with a banged up foot.



We had planned on staying a night in Bahia Gonzaga on our return trip but the wind was blowing. Instead we stayed in San Quintin instead. As it turned out, the morning of our departure, I happened upon an elderly man by the name of Ray. We spent a good 15 minutes chatting before I realized he was the owner of the hotel. He spoke of the good old days before the highway when he would travel up and down Baja as a salesmen. We ended up talking for a good 30 minutes. It was definitely another special moment of my time in Baja.

Anther wonderful trip in the books


[Edited on 4-10-2014 by Bajaboy]

Thanks for sharing

No they didn't check papers. Last time I was asked was a few years ago. But, we always get them.

[Edited on 4-16-2014 by Bajaboy]

Dog papers or people papers?

Good idea to have one (people papers) if you are going to be in Baja for over 3 days or if you travel south of the 'border zone'!

In July, 2012... a stop sign was just south of the state border on Hwy. 1 (Eagle Monument, near Guerrero Negro) in front of the INM office alongside the highway... The officer looked out the doorway at us and waved us on without looking at the FMMs we bought. In 2009, 2007 and 2001 the officer there did look at the papers.

In July, 2011, at the same INM office, edm1 (Art) had to pay a US$100 fine for his wife not having a tourist card. The INM in Mexicali would not sell her one because her passport had recently expired, so only Art had one.

Thank you Zac... sound like Mexico knows how to make some government more efficient!