honda tom - 11-23-2020 at 11:02 AM
went down for a week hitting our favorite dirt trails and beaches.
BOLA.. crowded, Archelon was sold out! stayed at Daggets for 10 bucs a head under the palapas. Shrimp taco stand was open and they were great.
COCOS... he had a large group of motos there from Chihuahua... he was in good spirits.. We left out through Calamuje south.
Mission San Borja ... had a nice tour.
San Rafael... big boat in the bay with a few pangas working, the fisherman said they were taking shark and rays.
San Francisquito... we had 5 vehicles and camping gear... we purchased asada and shrimp in BOLA to bar b que, so I thought I would give Juan at the
old "resort" another chance. No dice! closed signs lined the driveweay in... and a big one on the closed gate finally turned us around. So.. back to
Betos for a good night with hot showers.
Betos brother was handleing things while Beto is away, the "house" was $40 for the first 2 and $15 per head after.
The next morning I inquired with him about the "resort" and he said the signs are probably nothing and he thought there would be people there and
Juan didnt want to many. Several of our group had never seen the place so he said we should go.
As we pulled up to the resort we startled a soilder in the bathroom... he moved out quickly and grabbed his rifle! We noticed another soilder at
the outdoor dining area sitting down behind a wall, no sign of Juan or his family. The soilder approached and told us Juan was gone.... he left for
town and never came back! He then said we could look around and go on the beach... just stay north of the kitchen building. We thanked him and drove
out of the property.
I was there 18 months ago and didnt think it could get any worse... I was wrong! The debris ( Broken trucks missing axles and wheels.... outboard
motors completely stripped of all useable parts... fishing traps.. flat out trash scattered about) all of this is now moving closer to the beach. It
used to be if walked from the kitchec to your palapa you wouldnt notice these things... now you navigate through them. SAD!
Rancho Escondido... Stopped by and got the A tour from the owners daughter. Bought a beer or 2 and sat under the huge party palapa. She confirmed the
story told by the soilder! She said her family knows Juan well and that he was in Guerrero Negro and would be returning... the closed signs will come
down when he returns.
south end of the seven sisters was crowded with surf campers.
villa jesus to el arco throgh the ranches we encountered large groups of military.. brand new trucks.. heavilly armed.. very professional. It was a
little different expierience... almost like they got a "tip" about something. One group was out of Villa Jesus heading SE... one group was NW of Arco
heading NW. It kept us on our toes!
Temps were perfect! Food was great! People were friendly and glad to see us. The higher the population density the more we saw the mask.
Return crossing was Mexicali west 15 minutes, took longer to drive around the detour than to cross.
st 2 people and $15 per head after
AKgringo - 11-23-2020 at 11:20 AM
An interesting and helpful report! Did you happen to notice whether the new looking military trucks had the black and white checkered pattern of the
Guardia Nacional"?
JZ - 11-23-2020 at 11:26 AM
Great report. Thanks for posting!
David K - 11-23-2020 at 12:07 PM
Thank you, Tom.
So sad to hear Punta San Francisquito is so trashed-up.
In the 80s and 90s, it was a real gem!
It was pretty sad looking when I was last there in 2017.
The dining palapa was still damaged from the earthquake of a couple years earlier and the couple of guest accommodation rooms and bathroom building
were looking poorly.
Bajaboy - 11-23-2020 at 12:10 PM
Interesting about the military. We watched the race and then stayed in El Rosario. On our way south to our place in Bahia Asuncion, I mentioned to
my wife all the military vehicles on the road. I have never seen so much movement before.
Thanks for the report.
honda tom - 11-24-2020 at 09:40 AM
The trucks (other than the Hummers) were all new body Chevrolet. East of Villa Jesus we came up on 5 trucks (3 Hummer and 2 Chevy) they had a minivan
stopped and were searching it. The 3 occupants were out and their persons were being searched also... we stayed back about 100 feet... when they were
done they let them go, and waved us through as well (no questions).
the mini van was clipping along at a good pace 50 mph or so on the smooth dirt towards the ranches 10 miles east of town. At a cattle crossing the van
moved aside as an occupant jumped out... I went by.. the van circled than jumped back in behind me... in front of the 5 vehicles with me. As i slowed
to go through the ranch property the van pulled into the ranch and the occupants ran towards the home and an outbuilding.. super strange. Our best
guess was that they thought the soilders were coming there next.
bajatrailrider - 11-24-2020 at 10:08 AM
Thanks for moto report Tom glade you had good time.