Central Baja LOOP

This year (2015) in late September early October during our children�s school break we�ll be doing a LOOP in Central Baja so we can stay away from any hurricanes down further south; as always we�ll be traveling on a budget trying to stay at some hotels (suggestions welcome!!!) during our trip but mostly we�ll be camping and spending most of our time on the beach but also getting to visit and explore a couple of the Missions on the way. The First Leg of our journey will start in Chula Vista to Guerrero Negro where we plan to stay overnight and have breakfast (any suggestions?) and then drive to Santa Gertrudis (camp here) via El Arco. From here we drive down to the Gulf and camp in San Francisquito or Punta Ballena (suggestions?). Our next camping stops will be San Rafael followed by Bahia de las Animas; then we drive to BoLA and stay overnight (any suggestions?) and finally drive to San Borja Mission over to Santa Rosaliita (any lodging suggestions?) where we�ll spend the last day(s) of our journey before returning home. Our plan is to do the LOOP in two weeks, we�ll be traveling in a diesel 4x4 and hopefully we�ll have enough fuel to complete our journey between fuel stops with no problems. I have attached an image of our planned route; each color represents a leg of the journey. We will deeply appreciate any and all comments and suggestions for this exciting Baja journey, I plan to stay in touch with a satellite phone: probably buy one on eBay and buy time from a local provider (any suggestions?) then guide our travel with the help of the �BAJA CALIFORNIA ALMANAC� and/or probably buy and use a GPS (I have never used one), if so I would like to get something that is not only useful for driving but also while fishing (another trip) thus any suggestions are very welcome� like always: thanks for your time and all your knowledge BajaNomads!!! We�ll certainly post a TRIP REPORT after our journey.



[Edited on 5-13-2015 by carlosg]



[Edited on 5-19-2015 by carlosg]

[Edited on 9-22-2018 by carlosg]

Quote: Originally posted by Neal Johns

Diesel, huh, take an empty (No fuel allowed into Mexico) can or two across the border and fill up soon, sometimes diesel is not delivered to the stations for a day or two). At Mission San Borja. drive up to the house closest to the Mission and they will give you a great tour of the Mission and the springs, etc. Nice family. Some have learned pretty good English. Nice shady palapas available for camping (renting). Neal Johns

Yes, José and his family are the most kind people who maintain a presence at the mission, which helps preserve the location.
In July, 2009:

Quote: Originally posted by mikeymarlin

hi-- instead of a SAT. phone you might consider a "delorme" unit--- it tracks you , they advertise 100% earth coverage, and instead of speaking , you can only text, which worked for us--- plus they have S.O.S. button for emergency communication just a thought---

Quote: Originally posted by David K

Looks like a good loop... maybe because of my bad/color issue eyes, but I can't read the names, so no spelling issues with me, lol! One place is a must see, and that is Montevideo painted cliff. It is 2 miles south of the L.A. Bay highway on the road to San Borja... then turn east for about 6 miles. The road comes right to the pictographs, no hiking. At Las Animas (2 miles from the fish camp) is the mystery walls reported by Choral Pepper in 1966, she would later believe to be an abandoned mission project, called Santa Maria Magdalena. More details: http://vivabaja.com/109 Las Flores is about 10 miles south of Bahia de los Angeles town... you can see the jail house a half mile west of the road. From there, a railroad line can be followed to the terminal, 5 miles south where ore buckets on a cable tramway brought the ore down from the San Juan mines. The railroad engine was moved to the plaza in town some years ago, but it used to be right near the jail house. See posts: http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=59182 http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=42384 http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=57252

WOW!!!

What a very interesting story. About four years ago we went to BoLA and were invited by the "comandante" of the military base to camp at the palapa by the beach in the base...



the following day we were treated by the "comandante" to a fishing tour around the bay aboard the patrol boat (two 200hp outboards side to side)



after two great days they had an inspection and out we went, so looking for a place to stay we landed at Daggett's Camp,



the thing I most recall is how polite these people are and how good the shore fishing was at the base... plenty of cabrilla



and plenty of strong wind all the time we were there in BoLA.

We certainly will be stopping by to say hi to the Daggett's... and do some exploring around or near the mine... visit the jail as a free man and enjoy all that Baja has to offer... AMO MI BAJA!!!!]/b]

[Edited on 5-13-2015 by carlosg]






[Edited on 9-15-2018 by carlosg]

Quote: Originally posted by Pacifico

Quote: Originally posted by mikeymarlin   hi-- instead of a SAT. phone you might consider a "delorme" unit--- it tracks you , they advertise 100% earth coverage, and instead of speaking , you can only text, which worked for us--- plus they have S.O.S. button for emergency communication just a thought--- I agree! I just bought a Delorme Inreach Explorer yesterday and it looks pretty nice. I looked into Sat phones before and almost bought one. The problem with them is there is a monthly charge for a plan which you can't turn off as needed (this may have changed). With the Delorme, you can activate it as needed so that if you aren't going to be using it, you don't have to be paying for the plan. Unless you want to talk and not text, then a sat phone would be better for you. Anyway, your loop trip looks like a great time! Enjoy!