2013 First Trip to Baja

Quote: Originally posted by Ribbonslinger

La Rana tub is the one you want.

Your last pic I can see the Virgin!

Good times.

We reluctantly left the hot springs and were on our way to San Felipe. Drove the Laguna Salada route this time and it was great. Don’t go too fast as there are still some deep ruts along the road.
We came to our first military checkpoint….. I was pretty nervous being approached by soldiers with rifles. I guess I looked like I was going to shi! my pants because the boys all had some big grins on their faces. No problems and we were off to San Felipe. We stayed at Pete’s Camp. I had read it is like a drive in theater on the beach. OK place to stay for a night but not why I drove 2000km from Canada. We filled up with water there, mistake! I wondered why the dog would not drink and the coffee tasted shi!. It was very salty water we put in our tanks, so don’t get water at Pete’s Camp.



Saw this rig there at Pete’s Camp. He was a retired logging truck driver for BC. Pretty impressive.

We got to Punta Finale the next day and we loved it! No other campers there and a great beach. We went kayaking south of Snoopy’s Rock into a small “inlet” to get to some amazing beaches. If you go to Punta Finale you have to have a boat.



That is Snoopy’s rock in the background.




Brian on guard duty.

Our first time out in the kayaks I saw something pretty big on the surface. I paddled over and it was a Hammerhead Shark, about 9ft. Called my wife over after it went under the water, we were both a little freaked out with 4” of freeboard in our kayaks. We soon realized there was a school of these sharks under the kayaks! Tried not to look down and no snorkeling that day.




This is an incredible beach. No road access and you can see Snoopy’s in the background.




This is the view from the back of the “inlet”. I wanted hike from there to the salt water lake but my co-pilot was not as into it as I was. Next time.

We left Punta Finale to see the whales past Guerro Negro. Driving through the desert towards Coco’s was great.



Seeing the large cactus was very impressive for the first time.

At Coco’s corner Coco was not there but we had a beer there and met a guy who was biking across Mexico with 3 dogs! He had a trike that he had modified. He was working for there for the short term before heading out for the rest of his trip. I gave him a bike tool kit we had and some food. Saw him a month later past Coyote Beach. Anyone see this guy further south?
We drove through the salt flats and down to the whale campground. Try camping at the far end where you can see the whales.


Seeing the whales should be on everyone’s bucket list.


Our next stop was Campo Rene on the west coast. This is the restaurant and bar. It is run by very nice family with 2 boys.



Campo Rene is not my kind of place. There are 3 good spots to camp there but I prefer the beach just 300m west.


We had a great time there kayaking in the lagoon and the fishing at low tide in the tidal pools was great. Watch the Pelicans, they will steal your fish from right behind you. I used light gear and a small spinner to fish the tidal pools. You need a small lure that will not make too big a splash to spook the corbina, and it must get action pretty quick since the pools are small. Lots of fun! It is like casting into a fish farm.


One of these fish is a corbina not sure what the other one was. Both made good fish tacos.



This will sound like a bullshi! story for sure. I told it to a few people we met down there and no one has believed me yet. I saw this heron and it did not move even when I was 2m away. I thought it must be caught in fishing net. I threw my shirt over its head so it did not peck my eyes out, and reached under the water to free it from the net. I pulled on its legs and I saw a tentacle wrap around my wrist! I pulled my arm out quick. It was an octopus that had grabbed the bird. I pulled harder on the birds legs and the octopus pulled the bird further down into its hole. Anyone seen this before? We were at the north end of the beach from Campo Rene.

If you go the west coast, bring some $20 bikes and a can of WD40. The beach is hard and biking out there is great. Sand is way too soft on Sea of Cortez side.

Next we headed for San Ignacio. We stayed at Campo Los Petates. The host there Manuel is a very good person. He will bring you water if you have containers he can fill for you at his house.



We camped at Campo Los Petates right on the edge of the pond. It was very beautiful.





We biked into town from the campsite. Nice town with an impressive church. We met some locals who spoke English. We learned there is a bit of a rivalry over who has the “best” whales, San Ignacio or Guerro Negro. We were told the San Ignacio whales are friendlier and bring the calves right up to the boat. We will go to San Ignacio this year to see the whales and find out for ourselves.

The only negative thing that happened there was our dinner at the Desert Inn. We decided that we deserved a nice dinner out. When we got the bill, were overcharged by 50%. My Spanish was too poor to get things sorted out and I could not get a copy of the menu back to confirm the prices we had looked at when we ordered. The food was not that good anyways. Taco stands for us for the rest f the trip.

The upper fish looks like a mullet. That's very strange because they will not take a lure.

Your observations of the octopus is fascinating. I've never heard of them feeding above water. You would think that bill would have been a formidable weapon for the heron.

[Edited on 12-8-2014 by Skipjack Joe]

Quote: Originally posted by BajaDanD

the bottom fish is a Corvina not a Corbina

An easy way to remember which is which, is CorBina has a mouth on the Bottom. The problem in Mexico is the B and V have the nearly same sound and those two letters are often interchanged, but the fish are totally different (Corvina vs. Corbina).

We left San Ignacio and headed down the road to Mulege. We parked our camper at Cuesta Real Motel. If you don’t need power hook up there is one great spot there where you are parked right on the river. We stayed there to explore the town and stock up with groceries. Mulege is a great little town with friendly people. The best way to explore the town is to park in front of the water / beer / propane store under the highway bridge. Take the first left after you go over the overpass. The people who run it are very friendly and will keep an eye on your rig while you walk around town.

We left for Playa Escondida after a few days in town. The road into the beach is a little rough but no big deal unless you have a big trailer or RV. Great spot and we met a lot of good people there.



This is the view of Playa Escondida from the rock face above the beach.



Nice beach on one of the islands in front of the beach.



No predators on the island so the Osprey are nesting right on the rock.
Lots of great kayaking opportunities from Escondida just leave early in the morning before the wind picks up.

We headed next for Rattlesnake Beach just south of Puerto Escondido (south of Loreto). We parked at the far end where it is very private. Great spot! Good kayaking around the shoreline north of there to Juncalito. There is a very good water source just across the road from the Puerto Escondido turn off at the highway. Go for a hike in Steinbeck Canyon if you are adventurous.



Steinbeck Canyon.



Rattlesnake Beach

Our next stop was San Cosme Hot Springs. We had to drive the road down to Agua Verde to get there. We had heard lots of horror stories about it but it is not really a big deal. It is just narrow with blind corners so don’t leave your wide spot until your partner has walked ahead to make sure no one is coming up the hill. If your only driving a pickup don’t worry about it as it is easier to back up.



Agua Verde road, blind corner.

At San Cosme it is a little village. We asked a local who spoke English how much it costs to camp. He said it is by donation only. We paid him 200 pesos a day and my wife had a bunch of kids coloring books with crayons with animals from Canada that we gave him. Lots of kids there so it is a nice thing to do if you drive there. There is a desalination plant in there now and you can get water if you need it.
The road from San Cosme to the hot springs is really rough. I would walk it first! It is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow if you make it.



Steep side lean, don’t tip!


Low tide access only.



Cross country through an old road. Bring a machete to cut the brush back.



Heaven!



Water was so clear we took this picture of this King Angel from 10ft away.

The hot springs are on the spit that extends out to the island. Water is too hot a low tide but not hot enough at high tide. Do some experimenting. The snorkeling on the reef just behind the hot springs is amazing! The best we had seen on our trip.

Well that is enough posting. I think I had better get a life and start doing something productive.

Quote: Originally posted by wilderone

How far is it from San Cosme village to the hotsprings? Can you camp at the hotsprings place?

Quote: Originally posted by Ribbonslinger

I might have snagged it, can't remember. The tidal pool was thick with fish. Was having a blast catching fish on that light tackle.