BajaNomad - San Felipe to Bahia de LA

San Felipe to Bahia de LA

bajamortal - 3-6-2017 at 05:38 PM

This weekend I had a chance to visit Bahia de LA for the third time. This time however I decided to travel the route south of San Felipe. Being this was my first trip to Baja on my motorcycle, I wanted to try a bit its off road capabilities. The area of road construction in this route was an excellent opportunity to gain some experience.

On the way South, I enjoyed very much the scenic drive south of Puertecitos. It is amazing to me how many times I've been to San Felipe but I did not venture south of Punta Estrella on that side of Baja. I learned of the gas station in Gonzaga bay which I appreciate it since I was low on fuel. I also had the opportunity to meet world famous Coco's corner and signed his visitor's book. What a great guy he is!

About my impression of the trip, I think the ride south of San Felipe to Bay of LA is a great option for novice adventure bikers like myself. It has enough off road, turns and twists to make it engaging. It is also a decent distance round trip my gps app recorded 206 miles each way. That's probably hardly any challenge, news to experienced Baja explorers but being that I'm new to this forum, new to adventure biking all together, I thought I share my perspective.

I also enjoyed my stay at Campo Archelon where I was able to book a cabin through AirBnB app. Even though we arrived quite late Antonio (our host) was very friendly. He showed us the way to our cabin and was all smiles.

The cabin provided with some amazing morning sunset views from the comfort of your bed. It is right in front of the Bahia, I took some amazing pictures from the front porch.

The cabin also provided us with all the essentials and then some. We had comfortable beds, hot shower, fridge, stove, utensils, drinking water. The area is quiet at night and you can rest well. I am hoping to have the opportunity to bring my kids to this family friendly piece of paradise.

While in the Bahia we hired the service of the Diaz brother's, well known boat operators in town. Mr. Veneno (poison) was as usual a great guide. I lost count at how many fish I reeled in. Fishing at Bahia de LA has never disappoint me.

On the way north I did encounter significant wind, wind gusts on the main road that leaves from Bahia de LA, and then again between the road Gonzaga Bay to Puertecitos. The winds sure made me think about getting a heavier Motorcycle for my adventure travels in the future. I also learned there is a Gas station in Puertecitos which is open for business. All in all a great birthday escape.

For your reference, I ride a '09 KLR 650. A couple good friends came along for the fishing experience. They were tagging behind me on a '09 Toyota Tacoma

elgatoloco - 3-6-2017 at 07:22 PM

Good times. :coolup:

fishbuck - 3-6-2017 at 08:09 PM

Nice report. Thanks.

David K - 3-6-2017 at 11:15 PM

Thank you and welcome to Nomad!
That wind was fierce on Sunday. Blew my Tacoma around, south of Puertecitos.

El Jefe - 3-7-2017 at 07:19 AM

After driving the length of Baja again for the Nth time on four wheels I was so Jonesing to be on my bike this time when I drove down a week ago. My bike is also a 650, however quite different than yours. I ride a Suzuki Burgman. In September I and another rider rode our bikes from San Diego county to Banff, Alberta. I didn't shift a gear the whole way! Some of those long lonely stretches in eastern Oregon and Washington reminded me of Baja.

So I'm thinking of doing the ride down and back in the fall. I'll be looking for another rider to go with.

Nice trip report! Thanks for posting.

[Edited on 3-7-2017 by El Jefe]

tunaeater - 3-7-2017 at 02:12 PM

Any yellowtail being caught while you were there ?

Do you know what the water temp was ?

Heading down in a few weeks...

Thank you

gator - 3-7-2017 at 04:50 PM

Fished BOLA Feb 18th and 19th. No Yellowtail. Not sure what the water temp. It was just after a big storm.

thebajarunner - 3-7-2017 at 07:01 PM

Missed you at Archelon,
We were there for 8 days, left last Thursday morning
The young Antonio is a real chip off the old block.

bajamortal - 3-7-2017 at 09:06 PM

El Jeje,

Good to hear from fellow bikers in this forum.

I've only been the entire length of Baja three times on four wheels. I did visit some of the missions along the way on my car during past trips, these days I dream of a trip down while visiting most of the missions, if not all, on my motorcycle. A couple of friends and I have talked about the trip but I'm aware it requires a bit more planning, experience. For now I'm pleased to be able to put some training miles under my belt in Northern Baja. We will se if we are ready for a longer adventure ride come this fall.

Tunaeater,

FYI, the fishermen were reporting some high winds in past days, we were lucky to catch a break and were able to head out. We did not catch any yellow tail ourselves however another party did catch at least four or five. My impression is their guide, I believe his name was Chato originally from La Laz, seemed more aware of the yellowtail whereabouts. I would definitely discuss goals with your guide before you head out. I don't know the water temp, it seemed a bit cold for swimming along the shore. I guess I'm spoiled, after having enjoyed some pretty high temps in San Felipe from before.

thebajarunner,

It just occurred to me to post on this forum before I head out, maybe next time I can meet some of you while in paradise. Good to know some already visited Archelon. it's a special place.

Gulliver - 3-8-2017 at 03:23 PM

There obvious tradeoffs when thinking about a larger bike than KLR650. I can't speak to wind sensitivity. I'm not sure if a bigger bike would help or not. I suppose you can carry more stuff.

I can speak to ridability off of the pavement. There a lot of not THAT bad of roads that are just too much for anything larger. Any bike is a pain to pick up but it gets harder as they get bigger.

bajamortal - 3-8-2017 at 07:15 PM

Gulliver,

Like you said it is not clear a heavier load/bike would help. But I thought it might prevent the seemingly excessive jerking of the bike specially while riding through the canyons. I suppose it comes with the territory. It might be a matter of getting use to it while riding on highways in Baja.

One thing is clear, I will be hauling more stuff in the future. For this trip I was not planning to camp while in Bahia. On other trips I expect the bike to be 20-50 pounds heavier. For now I don't plan to change/trade my ride. In the short term though, I do need to make use of a thread locker. On close inspection, looks like four bolts fell off while on this ride. :-/

thebajarunner - 3-8-2017 at 07:42 PM

Only four bolts??
You were not going fast enough to only lose four :biggrin:

KurtG - 3-9-2017 at 09:45 AM

Quote: Originally posted by bajamortal

Gulliver,

Like you said it is not clear a heavier load/bike would help. But I thought it might prevent the seemingly excessive jerking of the bike specially while riding through the canyons. I suppose it comes with the territory. It might be a matter of getting use to it while riding on highways in Baja.

One thing is clear, I will be hauling more stuff in the future. For this trip I was not planning to camp while in Bahia. On other trips I expect the bike to be 20-50 pounds heavier. For now I don't plan to change/trade my ride. In the short term though, I do need to make use of a thread locker. On close inspection, looks like four bolts fell off while on this ride. :-/

I've got around 150k miles on my 91 KLR and while I have improved it's suspension quite a bit and appreciate the versatility it is the absolute worst motorcycle I've ever known when it comes to riding in a cross wind. My wife's DR650 is much better in that regard as well as being much easier to pick up.

KurtG - 3-9-2017 at 11:03 AM

Quote: Originally posted by thebajarunner

Only four bolts??
You were not going fast enough to only lose four :biggrin:

I haven't lost a bolt in years, they are all rusted firmly in place!

motoged - 3-9-2017 at 11:49 AM

Bolts ???? What are these things you speak of ?

JB Weld-Zip-Tie Inc.

bajamortal - 3-10-2017 at 08:11 AM

Quote: Originally posted by motoged

Bolts ???? What are these things you speak of ?

JB Weld-Zip-Tie Inc.

I noticed while trying to find replacements, two of the missing bolts on the rear rack actually broke. I spent quite some time removing the broken screws. I don't see myself doing this while on the road. You bet I'll be carrying a bunch of zip ties and J B weld in the future.

Gulliver - 3-11-2017 at 04:09 PM

When I go camping and hang way too much stuff up high and to the rear the beast wants to swap ends in a cross wind.

On any given bike you just fix what breaks in such a way that it doesn't bust again. After a while I just stopped fixing things. Or in the case of my chain guard on the DR I gave up on it. Runs fine without it and is much easier to get the wheel in and out.