TEXT ONLY Baja California Summer 2015 (for slow Internet)

MtGoat666 reminded me that with all the photos I am sharing in my trip report (located here: http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=79730 ) that it makes easy reading difficult with those on dial-up or slow servers.


So here is the text only version:


The following is my trip report with details and photos. I will be adding to this first post as I write the report and download the photos.

Part 1 covers Sunday-Tuesday (San Diego County to Shell Island, south of San Felipe).

The next parts will take us on to Gonzaga Bay, Coco's Corner, Laguna Chapala, San Ignacio, Mulegé, Bahía Concepción and back north. I have lot's of details on the highway condition and route.

From July 19 to July 27, Elizabeth ('Baja Angel' on Nomad) and I returned to the beautiful Bahía Concepción of South Baja California. This was the fifth time camping on the beautiful, desert bay for Elizabeth. The previous times (2007, 2009, and twice in 2012) were all wonderful and each inspired us to make the over 600 mile trip once again.

2015 would be different, and while there were many great moments, a few not-so-great ones really took the some joy out of this vacation! We both love Baja California a lot, and nothing will keep us away from the magnificent peninsula. Sometimes you just run out of luck for a perfect trip, and it was just our time!


Sunday, July 19: We get on the road at 8:14 am, arrive El Centro at 10:30 am and turn south for Calexico/Mexicali. Just inside the border (Red light/ Green light) we pull over to the left, facing the white INM building (first building on the left, inside Mexico). INM is the immigration department where one obtains a ‘tourist card’, called an FMM. This is similar to a visa, and is requested for trips beyond the border zone or any trips longer than 72 hours in the border zone. The FMM is free for up to a 7 day visit and is 330 pesos (US$22) for up to 180 days. The exchange rate was around 15.00 pesos per dollar for this trip. The process was easy… park, walk in the office with your passport, fill the form, pay the fee (if over 7 day duration trip), your passport is stamped and a receipt is issued. In the past, the fee needed to be paid at a bank, and that could be problematic if there was no open bank teller window nearby. Since 2012, the INM office has been able to collect the fee. The INM officer was friendly and because he needed to go get change, it was maybe a twenty minute process. We left INM at 11:16 am.

On the way out of Mexicali, we stopped to pick up some beer. Tecate Light, Dos Equis, and Tecate Titanium (a new 5.5% alcohol brew) and some complementary ice was obtained. 28 cans of beer was 340 pesos (US$22.67). The highway to San Felipe was excellent, of the 125 miles about 1/3 is four lanes wide and the rest is the newer, wide 2 lanes with paved shoulders that could double as bike lanes. A military operated drug and gun checkpoint is just south of the Highway 3 (Ensenada road) junction, 95 miles from Mexicali/ 30 miles from San Felipe. We are waved through with smiles all around, which is typical. Sometimes, usually northbound, we are asked to get out so they can look for any of the forbidden items (guns, ammo, illegal drugs).

The gas station 7 miles north of San Felipe, by the Rockadile sign, was where I topped the tank. The price of 87 octane /Magna gasoline was 13.57 pesos/liter. That works out to about US$3.45/gallon (about 30-50 cents cheaper than in California). We left the station at 1:55 pm and headed south. The traffic circle in the center of San Felipe is where you turn right to head south. The first 6 miles (10 kms.) is on the airport road to where a left turn is made for Highway 5 to continue south. This point is Km. 0, 10 kilometers south of the traffic circle in San Felipe. We go south about 16 miles from the airport road (or 22 from San Felipe).

Our first night camp on the beach that I call ‘Shell Island’, as it is a barrier island beach that is separated from the desert by a lagoon that is under water at the highest tides, and muddy much of the other times. The beach is accessed by four wheel drive and there are two sandy roads to it, south of the Rancho Percebu road which is between the Km. 20 & 21 markers.

Camp is set up at 3:30 pm, about 45 minutes after arriving. The temperature is 86º and we had some rain on the drive down and again after the tent was put up and later that night we got more rain, but nothing heavy. The Coleman Instant tent has been fantastic for us.


Monday, July 20: A perfect, beautiful day! 88º and just a few clouds over the Sierra San Pedro Martir, to the west. We decide to spend another full day before heading to Baja Sur as the weather is ideal.

The Coleman Instant sun shade is also great and I have it put up before Elizabeth is out of the tent. She approves! Shade is critical when camping in Baja, especially in the summer.


Tuesday, July 21: A perfect, beautiful day, again! 92º and no clouds in the sky. We take a daily drive at low tide to see if anything interesting is exposed by the huge gulf tides.


Part 2: Wednesday AM, to Laguna Chapala...

Wednesday, July 22: Perfect day, again… but the day you leave is typically the best weather day, so we were not surprised! We leave our beach camp at 8:00 am, and once we are off the beach we have the tires aired-up at 8:30. Deflating tire pressure is needed in such deep sand with a heavy load in the truck to prevent spinning the tires and getting stuck. An electric tire pump is used to refill them, and takes about 16 minutes for the four tires to go from 15 psi (back) or 20 psi (front) to the normal street 34 psi.

The Puertecitos road junction is at Km. 74.5, and we pass it at 9:30 am, 52 miles from the San Felipe traffic circle, 30 miles south of Shell Island road. The Puertecitos roadbed was constructed in 1982 and then paved several years later. It is an old style rural road, very narrow, with many steep dips across arroyos (usually dry washes). It cannot be driven at high speed because of these sudden surprise dips (vados). The paving was originally so thin, it was in ruins by the late 1990’s. It was repaved around 2005-2006.

The highway south of Puertecitos is a totally different story. It is a wide, two lane road with paved shoulders, bridges and culverts instead of dips, and a higher speed limit. This new highway construction began in 2007 and has progressed south an average of 12 kilometers a year, so far. The pavement ends 96 kilometers (almost 60 miles) south of Puertecitos currently, and has for the past half year. New construction is ongoing as they blast through mountains for the final 20 some miles to Highway 1 at Laguna Chapala. The alignment is slightly different than of the current road for part of the way. It will be about 2 miles west of Coco’s Corner.

A military checkpoint is located at Km. 148 (in the Gonzaga Bay area), and we are waved through with smiles. We stop at the gas station located at the road to Alfonsina’s Resort, Gonzaga Bay, at Km. 150. The time was 10:30 am. Here gas was slightly different price than all others in Baja, at 14.08 pesos/liter (US$3.57/gallon). Less than 10 gallons tops my tank. On our return trip north, four days later, the station was closed. Never pass an open station without enough gas to reach the next one! Just past the Alfonsina’s road is the Rancho Grande airstrip and road on the left and their market on the right. The market has ice, liquor, food and behind it is a tire shop. We get some ice and beer and leave Rancho Grande at 10:53 am.

5 miles south, Km. 158, the highway crosses the large Santa María riverbed near the junction with Arroyo Las Arrastras. A paved exit and parking area with a construction monument overlooks the large bridge from the north rim. On the trip north we stop here for photos. At Km. 162 is a sign ‘Rancho Las Palmitas’ on the west and Punta Final on the east. Las Palmitas is an oasis 4 miles west along El Camino Real, the California mission trail.

The end of pavement is reached past the Kilometer 170 marker, 12.7 miles from Rancho Grande/ Alfonsina’s Pemex. This begins an area of huge granite boulders for the next 6 miles to Las Arrastras, the site of a gold ore mill and a former ranch. The foundations remain, and in the arroyo below are the stone mills (arrastras) and well. The highway construction uses the well to fill water trucks. Here the new highway route leaves the former road and heads straight south. The current road curves east and goes to Coco’s Corner, 3.8 miles from Las Arrastras.

We arrive at Coco’s Corner at 11:48 am and have a nice visit with Coco and enjoy cold Pacific beer (he also sells Corona). Coco is a landmark here for over 20 years. Diabetes has caused him to lose both legs, but he manages to get around and has an ATV and truck modified for him to drive. He is close to 80 now, and is in high spirit. When I asked him about the new highway bypassing his corner, he expressed pleasure in not having the noise a highway would bring. Coco said the new road is 2.5 kilometers west (1.5 miles). Other visitors arrived and after some photos, we were on our way at 12:27 pm.

New highway construction was reached 3.7 miles from Coco’s and lasted for 3 miles. They crews are taking down whole mountains from the top to create a straight as possible alignment. It may be several years before the last 20 some miles to Highway 1 is completed? The current road is very rough, being used for construction vehicles, trucks, and anyone else. With my heavy load of camping gear and ice chests, I had to slow to 10 miles an hour for some of the distance over the mountain from Coco’s to Laguna Chapala. 13 miles from Coco’s Corner/ 23 miles on dirt, we arrived at Highway 1 at 1:03 pm. I aired up the tires (dropped them to 25 psi for the rocky road to prevent flats), and we had some snacks and beer. Southbound at 1:30 pm.

MAP showing the Coco's Corner bypass route for the new highway (black heavy line, between the blue arrows)...




Part 3: Laguna Chapala to San Ignacio

The Bahía de los Angeles junction (former Parador Punta Prieta) is passed 30 miles from Laguna Chapala, at 1:59 pm.

A vendor sells gas from cans in front of the abandoned parador building and former gas station (blue truck on right).

Just south, on the east side of the highway is a large fenced area with a sign advertising a future Pemex gas station and Los Pinos market.

At 2:40 pm we arrive at Nuevo Rosarito and pull over to the left to have a meal at Mauricio’s Restaurant. Elizabeth ordered the fried chicken dinner and I had the breaded fish dinner, we both drank the Jamaica (“Hah-My-Kah”) tea. This is a sweet tea, also called Hibiscus Tea made from the dried Roselle flower. It is very similar to cranberry in taste. More at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roselle_(plant)#Beverage . My fish dinner was excellent, and Elizabeth liked her meal, too. The chicken leg was huge, so we guessed it was a rooster of extra-large size!

On the road again at 3:33 pm and the narrow Baja highway begins with a section of newer, wide paving with shoulders 20 kilometers or so. A military checkpoint is reached at the El Tomatal road junction and it is all smiles as we are waved through. At Km. 95, about 27 miles from Nuevo Rosarito is a Pemex gas station and the town of Villa Jesus María (new signs call the town Valle Jesus María). Down the long straight highway we fly and wiz past a truck stopped on the road with a man signaling us… I hit the brakes and back up to see what he needs. His fuel pump is bad and asks if we can seek out his friends at the cattle office (across from the airport road) several miles south, to come help. Happy to assist, we find the office and deliver the message.

20 miles from Jesus María is the 140 foot tall eagle monument, built on the 28º Latitude Line to mark the completion of the Trans-peninsular Highway on December 1, 1973.

South of the line is the newest Mexican state of Baja California Sur (1974), and a change to Mountain Time so we lose an hour on the clock (but regain it on the trip north). The highway has a slight curve right and full stop sign in front of the INM office and agricultural station. We are asked if we have any fruits or vegetables and then asked for 20 pesos to proceed and drive over a missing line that is to kill any bugs from the north that may be under the truck.

There is no request to see our FMM Tourist Cards, as had been the case on many trips south before. Last trip in 2012, the INM officer just looked out from his open door and waved us on, from the stop sign. 2001, 2007, and 2009 trips all asked to see the official paper here, southbound. 2 miles from the state border/ Eagle Monument is the junction into downtown Guerrero Negro at 4:26 pm Pacific time/ 5:26 pm Mountain time. The highway curves to the southeast for many miles and the kilometer markers now are set south to north, in reverse from the northern state.

About 47 miles from the Eagle Monument is the town of Vizcaíno and our next fuel stop, about 190 miles from the last, at Gonzaga Bay. My truck is getting over 16 mpg, and considering the heavy load, speed, dirt section at lower pressure, this is fine. 600 pesos (US$40) tops the tank (44.2 liters/ 11.7 gallons).

SAN IGNACIO:

44 more miles and after a military check is passed through, we arrive at the oasis town of San Ignacio, it is 7:10 pm Mountain time. No matter if you need to go into the town or not, if this is your first time, do turn right off the highway on the paved side road into town (across from the gas station, by the whale bones). It is less than 2 miles to the town plaza and mission church, with a crossing of the San Ignacio River along the way. This large body of water comes out of the desert rocks just east, and disappears just west of the crossing. This oasis was a huge Indian settlement and 11th California mission, founded in 1728.

The giant church made of 4 foot thick blocks of rock, was built in the late 1700’s and is one of the finest Spanish missions to survive the years. Following the independence war of 1810-1821, the Spanish period ended in Baja California. The Mexican government allowed the mission to continue for the local population, and did so until 1840. The building was used after that year as a parish church, and has been preserved with informative signs in English and Spanish.

Continue just past the mission and see a new motel in a large grass field, called the La Huerta. A well-stocked market is located at the entrance, and sells ice. The motel was very good, comfortable bed, air conditioning, ceiling fan, and reasonably priced at 550 pesos for a single bed (just under US$40 at a 14:1 exchange). Three remotes (TV, AC, and Fan) in a box, are provided with a refundable 100 peso deposit. Life is good and we sleep well.

“Hotel La Huerta” hotellahuertabcs@outlook.es Tel. 154-0116


Thursday, July 23: I get up first and take advantage of the morning sun on the front of the mission to get some photos while my bride of 7 years enjoys the rest, on her well-deserved work vacation. A small café facing the plaza by the mission advertises a breakfast of hot cakes, ham and eggs. After checking out, we go there and have a really good breakfast with coffee (180 pesos for both of us). We leave San Ignacio at 11:10 am following a walking tour of the mission with Elizabeth and buying a handmade purse from the lady in the mission, along with a donation to the mission.


Part 4: To Mulegé and Bahía Concepción (Thu-Sat)

We pass through Santa Rosalía at 12:14 pm, 45 miles from San Ignacio. There was a dirt detour along some highway work, less than 2 miles long, about midway between the two towns. We arrive in Mulegé (Moo-la-HAY) at 12:55 pm, 37 miles from Santa Rosalía, and take the left fork under the castle-style wall, into town. A one pump gas station is 0.2 mile from Hwy. 1, and I top the tank here. Gasoline (Magna only) is the standard 13.57 pesos per liter.

Passing through town we soon are along the river or estuary. The new concrete road ends 1.6 miles from the Pemex station. The unpaved street continues for 0.3 mile to the El Patrón Restaurant on the water. The sign says open, and I really hope we come back when we are hungry, because it was so good in 2007 and 2009, but closed in 2012.

We are anxious to get on to our camp on Bahía Concepción, so we head on south and plan to buy some block ice at the plant located across from the other gas station south of town. Block ice lasts so much longer than the cube ice sold at most stores in Baja. We are disappointed to find the ice plant no longer in business (the building front is still there). A family has a small beer and bag ice business, so we buy 5 bags of ice and 8 cans of Dos Equis beer, total 192 pesos. We leave at 1:40 pm.

I find the dirt road leading to Santa Barbara Cove and the gate is wide open so we proceed to check out a possible spot. Very soon we come to a truck and boat trailer heading out and are told it is private property and not a camping beach. Great, that saved us from a few rough miles of driving. Next, we go to El Requesón. This is an island with a sand spit that connects to the island at low tide with small palapas on the water’s edge. The sand spit suffered some storm or current erosion and appears to be too low currently to connect. The same palapa or their locations we used in 2007 and earlier I used in 1985 and 1976 are there, and still just above the high tide line. The road to El Requesón now has a large paved ramp off the highway and any vehicle can get to that beach. Even an 18 wheeler was down there! Too crowded, no vacant palapas, so we go ‘next door’ to La Perla and camp at the same place we did in 2009 and twice in 2012. It was 2:21 pm, and other than a day use family, nobody else was there. Awesome!

We set up the tent first, throw in it our close bags and pillows, and then jump in the beautiful bay water. It was warm but cooler than last time, actually it was perfect! The day time temperature was in the mid-90s and felt great.

While floating in the water, we see the typical thunder clouds building up to the southwest, then suddenly we see a downpour out in the bay, and can actually hear the rain hitting the sea with great force! All seems to be moving to either side of us, so no panic… yet. When some big drops begin dropping around us in the water and the wind picks up, I get out and add lines to secure the tent. Knowing these afternoon showers are generally brief, I wasn't too concerned that it wouldn't be much of a problem.

Elizabeth got out of the water as it began really raining steady. We both took advantage of the natural shower and rinsed off before sitting down inside the palapa to wait out the rain. It got harder and harder, the wind got stronger, a large waterfall was pouring off the a mesa a couple miles west, the rain began to blow in sideways, hitting us in the face, as we huddle well under the palapa. The tent is really being pushed on by the strong, tornado-like wind and we can see that the close bags are pressed into the sides, and may be getting wet. Nothing we can do than wait it out.

We estimate the rain event lasted about an hour, and it and the wind moved on. We survived the cloud-burst, but inside the tent, our clothes and pillows were soaked! We had a fire and hoped for a better day tomorrow. A car drove up in the dark and a little old lady named Rosa walked up to collect the camping fee (100 pesos). It was buggy as we were on the beach and even saw millions of crawling bugs come out of the sand around the fire. It reminded Elizabeth of an Indiana Jones movie!

Elizabeth made the best of it for the time, but she was not going to sleep outside that night, and had a comfortable night in the Tacoma. She tried to get me to join her, but I was sure I needed to lay down, so I set up my cot in the palapa, with citronella candles and deet applied (yes, many mosquitos). I actually slept well, unaware the mosquitos were not annoyed by my preventative measures.


Friday, July 24: I wake up early and notice that my lips are feeling weird and there is a puffiness under one of my eyes. The deet and candles were not 100% effective and I am guessing I look like the Elephant Man somewhat? I go to the Tacoma passenger window, Elizabeth is awake and I do my best Quasimodo impersonation. Other than the mosquitos, I slept fine, and Elizabeth was very happy she slept in the truck!

The day is beautiful and sunny. I string up some clotheslines and we basically spend the day drying everything that got wet, with some time swimming in the bay also.

MORE TO COME... stay tuned!

Saturday, July 25:
We pack up the camp and pull out of La Perla at 11:49 am and take the short drive north to visit with Mark & Olivia at Playa Buenaventura Bar & Restaurant. We see that the hotel next door is deserted/ closed, but Mark and Olivia’s place is open and inviting.

They are both there and Mark shares their great news regarding the battle with Muñoz (an out-of-state developer and owner of the hotel next door who has harassed these two for several years with false accusations and physical harm to try and force them off their land, so he could take it over).
Their long nightmare is apparently over. From what I gathered in our brief talk, a judge has awarded them the hotel (for compensation for the years of hell). Mark said that Muñoz had the rooms trashed and pulled the copper wire out of the buildings before being forced away. If they reopen the hotel, it may only be a couple of the rooms or they may sell it?

We need ice, and the place that sold bags in front of the former block ice plant, was out of ice. I had never been out there, but knew about the ‘ice house road’ that heads west from Hwy. 1 in Mulegé. Take the paved road west before the downtown entrance castle. See the signs for Ray’s Place (closed) but keep going straight west. The ice plant is on then right and has blocks or partials for sale. The ice is not clean or potable, just for cooling! In fact, it’s pretty dirty and Elizabeth makes sure we replace it as soon as she sees how bad it looks when some of it melts a day later.

I want to check on the Magdalena mission-era site we visited in 2009 that is a few miles northwest of Mulegé. It remains unclear who or when the project was built. Why it was out in the desert and not in the oasis valley where the water is (today’s town of San José de Magdalena) is also strange. Some maps show the site, but not exactly located, as ‘Santa María Magdalena’ (a proposed Jesuit mission, but much farther north). The Mulegé mission was almost moved to this location after floods destroyed that mission’s fields in 1770.

The site is at the end of a long aqueduct carved into the side of a cliff and across the desert to a pila (reservoir). Stone, rock and adobe building ruins are nearby… or were. This was an important site, but forgotten by time and in a harsh location, rarely seen by outsiders.

Google Earth images show that the Magdalena riverbed widened during a hurricane after our 2009 visit, and took out the building location, but not the pila (yet). The buildings, on both sides of a dirt road were centered at GPS: 27°03'29.9" -112°10'07.4" and the pila nearby (we didn’t go see in 2009) is at: GPS: 27°03'29.1" -112°10'12.3"

What inspired me to investigate was to see if indeed another historic site was washed away, like at Mission Ligüí in 2001, and document what may remain before it too is gone forever.

Here is that satellite images before (2012) and after (2015) the flash flood event. Markers at the building and pila sites:





Just north of the series of bridges, past the Palo Verde airport road, we turn left (west) off of Hwy. 1 just north of Km. 162 (0.4 mile south of Km. 163 if southbound). Some of this dirt road was used recently for an off road race, many arrow signs. Set odometer to 0.

0.0 Hwy. 1 (Km. 162 ½ )
0.4 Fork, go left (southwest).
3.7 Drive out onto riverbed cobble.
Road goes west about ¼ mile, then turns south, crosses water to south side and turns back east passing goat ranch area. See aqueduct along cliff that terminates at the Magdalena mission-era pila, hidden in the desert.
4.4 fork left off ranch road (ends ahead at blue ranch house) into arroyo bed, soon pass by blue house while driving east in arroyo.
4.8 Park by side gully on south wall of arroyo. Walk south in gully and see pila on right. Walk east from pila to see remains of melted adobe walls next to new cliff, overlooking wide arroyo.

We have an easy drive to San Ignacio and arrive at 5:19 pm. Dinner at Rice and Beans was great. Elizabeth had the Chicken Fajita dinner and I had the Garlic Fish plate (yellowtail). Our dinner, with 4 beers, came to 405 pesos (US$31).

Rice and Beans, San Ignacio, an off road racer’s watering hole!

We drove to the La Huerta motel, but a wedding party has filled the place. We stop at the Desert Inn hotel, but they are way too pricey at 1200 pesos for a room. Back to Rice and Beans, and we get a room at Ricardo’s (the owner) for 650 pesos (US$50). Sadly, it is far less appealing than the La Huerta. It has hard bed tops, and live c-ckroaches. The AC and shower were fine, so we toughed out and got some sleep.

Tomorrow Morning, the Devil tries to scare us out of Baja! Stay Tuned!


[Edited on 8-1-2015 by David K]

Sunday, July 26...

Monday, July 27: Going Home!

You might want to compress and re-size the photos before linking them here. People with slow/limited internet will still be tempted to open the pics, can't blame them. Notwithstanding the appeal, it doesn't have to be the size of Mona Lisa