Tunaeater and Family trip to Baja

July 2015

My wife Karla and two boys JP and JC loaded up the F-150 and were ready to begin our adventure down Baja. We were one truck out of four that would meet up in San Ignacio and continue down to Loreto. A Summer vacation to celebrate my son JP's and my birthdays. We started our Baja trip on my son Juan Pablo's birthday Friday July 10th. Crossed the border at San Ysidro 5:15 am. Our destination this day was San Ignacio 530 miles South of Tijuana, reservations were made at la huerta hotel behind the mission. We made good time and didn't have any issues on the way down. Made the drive in 11 hours. Stopped by the lonchera Descanso between El Rosario and Cantavina for breakfast burritos to go. They were out of machaca but the egg&ham and bean burritos were excellent and only $15 pesos each. Arriving in SI we stopped by the river and the mission for some photos.




At la huerta hotel ($650 a double) in San Ignacio we checked in and waited for friends and family that were coming in from the hwy 5 side of the peninsula.. The hotel was recommended by TW and it was very comfortable, new and they provided excellent service. Fresh coffee in the morning and plenty of bottled water. The wifi worked in the office but not in the rooms. The court yard was a nice gathering spot with shade tees and tables and chairs. Kids finished watching team USA game in the copa de oro.



Dinner that night was at Ay Chipotle in the town square with a great setting with the mission in sight and all the tress and sounds of the birds. However the food was not as good as the atmosphere it was actually pretty bad. Most had carne asada which was fried in a pan and tasty pretty bad. My son had the chicken fajitas which were good but they need to figure out the carne.



Saturday morning I noticed my rear passenger tire low on air and knew I had an issue. I pumped it up and packed up the truck but wanted to get some breakfast before dealing with it. To our surprise we didn't find any restaurants open while walking through town about 8:00 am. We decided to hit the road and find breakfast and a llantera in Santa Rosalia
My wife and kids jumped in my dads truck and went to breakfast while I got the tire fixed.

The llantera found there were two holes caused by picking up a screw along the way. They patched them up and remounted the tire and reinstalled on my truck. The bill was $50 pesos, unbelievable. I kicked him down a nice tip and an ice cold sports drink and he went back to work on another vehicle.


We found a restaurant in SR and it was delicious.

Hitting the road we were off to Mulege and Southbound. We stopped in Conception bay to let the boys swim and get to know the area.



Arriving in Loreto we stopped in town to purchase some groceries at Ley and meet up with a friend of mine. We arrived at our hotel Villa del Palmar South of town . Nice resort with modern and new amenities and appliances.Many pools and gathering spots, it was very nice. Wifi worked on the balcony and common areas but not in the room. We took a nice kayak tour which included snorkeling and enjoyed the amenities they had to offer..






We took a drive up to San Javier Mission, the road was in good shape with just one small part of repair going on.





We fished 7/13 & 7/16 with Manuel Torres out of Juncalito. I've fished with many captains and Manuel stacks right up there with the best of them. He was very friendly and really set us up for success. He was very patient with the kids and ensured they were successful in hooking and landing their fish. He did an awesome job bleeding the fish immediately after they were gaffed and tail wrapped them to the side of the boat until they bled out. The fish were then immediately placed in a kill bag with blocks of ice. These steps are necessary to preserve the freshness of the meat and not spoil. The yellowtail were deep 200-250 ft deep. We fished with live and dead mackerel which we purchased for $1 each. We fished two days and caught 6 yellowtail to 40lbs each day along with a snapper and too many bonita. A blessing to fish with three generations on one boat.







Shark came right up to the boat and I was able to get a good picture


Manuel Torres took us island hoping and snorkeling one day.





We did some exploring and hiking around the mountain next to the hotel. This led us down to a nice snorkeling and shore fishing spot. We caught some small grouper needle fish with freshwater Rapalas. We saw octopus, eels and tons of fish
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The drive home was uneventful with a stop at Mama Espinosa's for dinner .We made good time to San Quintin where we would spend the night at Los Jardines another little baja treasure. The big room (room 12) upstairs was $ 700 pesos. We saw some friends at the bar there so that was a special surprise. I loved having a morning coffee in the garden with all the birds very peaceful and beautiful




The clam shack South of Loreto on the beach was a great place to eat clams, they were excellent both raw and cooked. One night they cooked our yellowtail three different ways with a few plates of sashimi. Sand floor and kids can fish before and after dinner.




Magna Sin was 13.57 a litter and we received 15.11 pesos to $1 at the casa de cambio in San Ysidro before crossing

Military check points were all polite and professional, though a couple searched the inside of the vehicle they never opened any bags or storage containers in the bed of the truck.

Total trip was 10 days and 1650 miles

Truly a great vacation and time well spent with family and friends.

Making memories!

Awesome ! Thanks for taking us along