BajaNomad

Completed my first trip to Baja

US 41 - 6-3-2022 at 08:56 AM

Day 1: Tecate - El Rosario de Arriba

I got my Mexican auto insurance in Tecate, CA and exchanged my currency at the same place (Baja Mex Ins). Then I crossed the border and for the first time received a green light. I drove around the block and walked back to the POE to get my FMM Visa card that cost slighly over 600 Pesos ($30 USD). Apparently paying for it in pesos is less complex than dollars, so I paid in pesos. Afterwards I headed south to Ensenada and stopped at the mirador as you first enter the city and took some good photos of the Pacific.

I recommend getting a good Garmin GPS that works in Mexico. The signs in some of these cities are non-existent. It helped me a lot and my phone's talk and text worked, but I discovered that I don't get data in Mexico with my AT&T phone. So offline maps with a GPS was great. Once I got south of Lazaro Card##as things got a lot better. Before that it was 60 km/h town after 60 km/h town. I filled up my car somewhere around Vicente Guerrero at a Pemex. At El Rosario I stopped for the night at the Hotel Sinai. No AC, but the weather was cool and the room was clean. It was only $450 ($22.50 USD).

Day 2: ""-Guerrero Negro

I stopped at the Lake Chapala restaurant and ate breakfast. Nice little restaurant out in the middle of nowhere. A military caravan pulled into the lot while I was there. I think they were walking their dogs, reorganizing, and one of the soldiers came into the restaurant to use the restroom. Later I pulled off and hiked not to far into the desert and took some photos of the large cacti which I had never seen before that day. Filled up in some small town called Jesus Villa Maria. I stopped for the night at the Motel La Espinita on the north side of GN. It was clean, had wifi, and was $500 (25 USD) for the night. One warning is that there are two dogs there and one of them was pretty friendly, but the other one didn't seem to be, so don't get too close to that one.

Day 3: ""-Mulege

For breakfast I stopped at a restaurant / hotel in San Ignacio called Beans and Rice. It was a nice little place in an oasis with big palm trees. Then I drove to Playa Santispac, rented a kayak, and swam in the water for quite a few hours. $200 to enter and $200 to rent a kayak (or 20 USD total). The water is very clear, which surprised me. I'm sure some of you are laughing, because it turns out it's like that all over the place in Baja. Filled up on the south side of Mulege at a Pemex with a large gravel lot. Stayed the night in Mulege and walked around town. The hotel was La Noria and was $500.

Day 4: ""-Los Barriles

Longest day of driving while I was in Baja. Filled up at Cd Constitucion on the north side of town at a Pemex and filled up at Los Barriles at Repsol. MAde a wrong turn in La Paz somehow, but thankfully I had my GPS that got me through town. The police checkpoints on both sides of town were unmanned. For the night I stayed at the Hotel Calafia. It had a balcony where you could see the Sea of Cortez. It was only $600 (30 USD). I walked to the beach that night and ate at a small pizza place called Chino's. I think it was the best pizza I've ever had and highly recommend it.

Day 5: ""- Cd Constitucion via Los Cabos

I drove past the Tropico of Cancer which was pretty cool. I crossed it when drove to Mazatlan when I drove there 4 years ago, so this was my 2nd visit south of the tropics. Then I visited the beach at Chileno. Highly recommend it. Free parking, showers, and just a beautiful beach. I was there early in the day so it wasn't very busy. Saw some crabs on the rocks (I'd never seen crabs before in the wild). After that I picked up some souvenirs at Walmart and got some American food at Carl's Jr's. Left town and headed north towards Cd Constitucion. The south LP checkpoint was closed but the north one (or west) was open. The Guardia Nacional was curious about a lack of front license plate, but when they saw I had an Indiana plate on the back they sent me on my way without any issues. I think they might have thought I didn't have one at all. A lot of Mexican cars don't, or if they do they only have one on the back, rather than on both sides. For the night I stayed at Hotel Mumai which looked like it had been recently renovated. Very nice and had a garage for the car. $500 + $100 deposit and was easily the nicest place I stayed at the entire trip. I also filled up at the gas station down the street from the hotel.

Day 6: ""- Guerrero Negro

Drove north through Cd C. Apparently stop signs don't mean much to most drivers, but I still stopped at them (or came very close). Every intersection had a municipal policeman (on foot) so I wasn't blowing stop signs. Th truck driver behind me wasn't too happy and tooted his horn. The cops kind of gave him a WTF look. I stopped at Playa Los Cocos south of Mulege a little ways for a 1 hour swim. Normally you have to pay $150 to get in, but it was unmanned with nothing blocking the entrance, so I got in for free. Before I got to GN there was some sort of Mexican version of the DEA/FBI checkpoint blocking off traffic. They were way more serious and investigatory about searching for drugs and whatnot than the military checkpoints. After an extremely thorough search of looking through my stuff, knocking on various parts of my car, and looking under my passenger side floorboard; I was sent on my way. The good thing is that they put everything back the exact way they found it and didn't just tear through my stuff (cough cough US customs in Laredo, TX). Mexican authorities seem to be really good about this though. I ate at a restaurant in GN called Las Cazuelas as you first enter town from the big Y intersection. Good food and they had an interesting sea food type soup that I liked, that they brought out with the chips and salsa. I attempted to stay at the La Espinita again, but the guy that ran it apparently wasn't there this time, so I had to pay $20 MXN to go back into BCS and stayed at the Terra Sal which was $650 (32.50 USD) for the night.

Day 7: ""-Guadalupe Victoria
The Terra Sal had a good little restaurant on site, which was nice. Afterwards I filled up at Villa Jesus Maria again at the Pemex. I then drove on the new Mexico 5 highway to San Felipe. Such a beautiful drive and way more relaxing than 1 coming down from Tecate and Ensenada. I was going to stay the night in San Felipe, but all of the hotels were full which I wasn't prepared for. I filled up at an Arco in San Felipe. My plan was to cross back into the USA at Lukeville, so I decided to try the short cut that avoids Mexicali and SLRC. I got lucky and found a little motel just south of Guadalupe Victoria on the shortcut called Motel Del Valle. It was $500 (25 USD) for the night and they had plenty of rooms available.

Day 8: ""-Lukeville, AZ

Woke up and headed out. Not to far down the road was maybe the most southern bridge over the Colorado River before it completely disappears for irrigation. In a little town down the road I went under the Bienvenidos a Sonora sign, which was the 9th Mexican estado I've vistited. Later I took the SLRC bypass (which is free) and made first sight of the wall at the Hwy 2 intersection. I drove by the wall for about 1.5-2 hours before making it to Sonoyta. Drivers beware, because it is true that Sonoyta is a big speed trap. I knew in advance and slowed way down to the 40 km/h speed limit. The trucker behind me even backed off. Municipal Policias everywhere, but I was not bothered by them. They did have some other folks pulled over though, so make sure you follow the road laws when you drive through there. Most of Mexico seemed like they don't enforce the road laws much, but Sonoyta onviously sees it as a money maker like a lot of American towns of similar size. Filled up my car at the 76 before crossing back into the US which saved me some money. I was able to park my car before the POE and return my FMM visa with no issues. Getting past US Customs was very painless surprisingly.

Other info: As far as masks go it seemed to be up to the businesses. In bigger cities or towns it seemed mandatory still. In small towns it was pretty much optional. At gas stations (at the pumps) and checkpoints it is completely optional. As with the US, if you're outside no one cares about masks period, whether it's at the beach, on the sidewalks, or wherever. At the Tecate POE it seemed optional as well. The INM and Banjercito officer were neither one wearing masks. At Sonoyta they were wearing them. In Sonora at every business I went into, masks were optional at each one. Coming into Mexico and returning into the USA, I was never asked any questions about Covid.

Overall a very fun trip that I'm glad I did. Maybe the best one I've taken yet to be honest. It might be the only time I ever visit due to the distance, but I can at least say that I did it now. I did the trip alone, with very minimal Spanish skills. My Spanish is way improved from the time I went to Mazatlan 4 years ago, but I still have a lot of work to do on it. Some moments I was very satisfied with my Spanish and being able to have some basic conversations with people, but at other times it was just as equally frustrating.

Hope you all enjoy the report and I will check back if anyone has any comments or questions for me.

[Edited on 6-3-2022 by US 41]

AKgringo - 6-3-2022 at 09:10 AM

That is quite a report, thank you very much for the detailed info! On your next trip (you will be back) plan on driving something that will let you explore more of the un-paved parts of Baja.

BajaBlanca - 6-3-2022 at 09:23 AM

Congratulations! Great trip report. I didn't see where you made it into Los Barriles??? And past LB is Cabo Pulmo....an amazing place to snorkel.

For next time, get some of our ideas for the off the beaten path (but paved) roads that lead to unique villages with amazing people, food and fishing!

David K - 6-3-2022 at 09:37 AM

Wow, Baja on the fly! If your goal was to see the length of Baja with little rest, you achieved that! Any photos?

If you ever want to see what you had to drive by, on a future trip, I am sure many here can advise!

Thank you for sharing your findings and this post is sure to cause many to offer suggestions, advice, or share their experiences at the same locations. I will restrain my urges, for now!! LOL

Viva Baja to you!
:light::bounce::cool:

advrider - 6-3-2022 at 11:58 AM

That was a fast trip for sure, but Baja fast is better than no Baja! Good report, some pictures would be wonderful for sure!

Purdyd - 6-3-2022 at 01:34 PM

Nice!

StuckSucks - 6-3-2022 at 05:44 PM

Nice report, photos would be a huge bonus.

Had to look up US 41

basautter - 6-5-2022 at 05:03 AM

Great report, thanks for sharing!

Paco Facullo - 6-5-2022 at 03:29 PM

That was a whole LOT of driving in such a short amount of time, My butt hurt just reading this :wow::wow:

Butt, to each their own. As long as you enjoyed yourself, that's all that matters.

Nice write up though, THANKS.....

US 41 - 6-5-2022 at 07:54 PM

Quote: Originally posted by BajaBlanca  
Congratulations! Great trip report. I didn't see where you made it into Los Barriles??? And past LB is Cabo Pulmo....an amazing place to snorkel.

For next time, get some of our ideas for the off the beaten path (but paved) roads that lead to unique villages with amazing people, food and fishing!


I stayed at the Hotel Calafia in Los Barriles and ate at Chino's Pizza right down the road.

Photos: I will attempt to post a few photos at some point soon. Not sure how to do it, but hopefully I can figure it out.

[Edited on 6-6-2022 by US 41]

David K - 6-6-2022 at 07:25 AM

Quote: Originally posted by US 41  
Quote: Originally posted by BajaBlanca  
Congratulations! Great trip report. I didn't see where you made it into Los Barriles??? And past LB is Cabo Pulmo....an amazing place to snorkel.

For next time, get some of our ideas for the off the beaten path (but paved) roads that lead to unique villages with amazing people, food and fishing!


I stayed at the Hotel Calafia in Los Barriles and ate at Chino's Pizza right down the road.

Photos: I will attempt to post a few photos at some point soon. Not sure how to do it, but hopefully I can figure it out.

[Edited on 6-6-2022 by US 41]




To post photos from your Pictures folder on your computer...

Go to www.Postimages.org, make an album if you want to organize your photos to find them easily in the future (by date or by subject). No cost to use Postimages.org.

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US 41 - 6-7-2022 at 09:39 AM

Here's some pics that I posted on the forum AARoads. I linked to the topic below. I've used that site for a long time and know how to post pics on there without issue. I use the same username "US 41" there as I do here.

https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=29013.0

David K - 6-7-2022 at 11:55 AM

Quote: Originally posted by US 41  
Here's some pics that I posted on the forum AARoads. I linked to the topic below. I've used that site for a long time and know how to post pics on there without issue. I use the same username "US 41" there as I do here.

https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=29013.0




Nice photos... I will show one (using Postimages.org):

HeyMulegeScott - 6-7-2022 at 05:45 PM

Quote: Originally posted by US 41  
Quote: Originally posted by BajaBlanca  
Congratulations! Great trip report. I didn't see where you made it into Los Barriles??? And past LB is Cabo Pulmo....an amazing place to snorkel.

For next time, get some of our ideas for the off the beaten path (but paved) roads that lead to unique villages with amazing people, food and fishing!


I stayed at the Hotel Calafia in Los Barriles and ate at Chino's Pizza right down the road.

Photos: I will attempt to post a few photos at some point soon. Not sure how to do it, but hopefully I can figure it out.

[Edited on 6-6-2022 by US 41]


Chino's Pizza is great. Loved the habanero cilantro sauce.


Mateo-Feo - 7-12-2022 at 02:36 PM

Photos wouldn't load for me. Congrats on the first trip though, sounds like a great one.

Mateo-Feo - 7-12-2022 at 03:39 PM

Quote: Originally posted by David K  
Quote: Originally posted by Mateo-Feo  
Photos wouldn't load for me. Congrats on the first trip though, sounds like a great one.


I can help... let me know!


Just clicked the link, tried different browsers, nada

US 41 - 3-13-2023 at 03:01 PM

I apologize for not doing this long ago. I will try to remember to add details later, but I'm guessing many of you will know where these pics are from anyways.



















































[Edited on 3-13-2023 by US 41]

[Edited on 3-13-2023 by US 41]

boe4fun - 3-13-2023 at 05:48 PM

AT&T has a free add on phone plan that includes international calls between USA and Mexico and also free data up to one megabyte. Just have to call and ask for the plan as part of your package.