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ehall
Super Nomad
Posts: 1906
Registered: 3-29-2014
Location: Buckeye, Az
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Mood: It's 5 o'clock somewhere
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Cool seeing the hammerheads. How about whale sharks? I have seen them twice in a row from Alfonsinas porch.
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Ribbonslinger
Nomad
Posts: 131
Registered: 12-15-2013
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We did not see a whale shark. I hope to snorkel with one this year!
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64739
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Mood: Have Baja Fever
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So did you catch 'Baja Fever' on this trip?
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Ribbonslinger
Nomad
Posts: 131
Registered: 12-15-2013
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You know it! I hate being a tourist. Exploring baja is much like driving bush roads in BC. We went to Hawaii and I hated it. Just too crowded.
Sometimes I don't want to share some great places we find but the only reason I found out how amazing baja is, was from this site and posts other had
made.
Great site! Other than the truck bashing but that is entertaining to read.
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Ribbonslinger
Nomad
Posts: 131
Registered: 12-15-2013
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We left Punta Finale to see the whales past Guerro Negro. Driving through the desert towards Coco’s was great.
Seeing the large cactus was very impressive for the first time.
At Coco’s corner Coco was not there but we had a beer there and met a guy who was biking across Mexico with 3 dogs! He had a trike that he had
modified. He was working for there for the short term before heading out for the rest of his trip. I gave him a bike tool kit we had and some food.
Saw him a month later past Coyote Beach. Anyone see this guy further south?
We drove through the salt flats and down to the whale campground. Try camping at the far end where you can see the whales.
Seeing the whales should be on everyone’s bucket list.
Our next stop was Campo Rene on the west coast. This is the restaurant and bar. It is run by very nice family with 2 boys.
Campo Rene is not my kind of place. There are 3 good spots to camp there but I prefer the beach just 300m west.
We had a great time there kayaking in the lagoon and the fishing at low tide in the tidal pools was great. Watch the Pelicans, they will steal your
fish from right behind you. I used light gear and a small spinner to fish the tidal pools. You need a small lure that will not make too big a splash
to spook the corbina, and it must get action pretty quick since the pools are small. Lots of fun! It is like casting into a fish farm.
One of these fish is a corbina not sure what the other one was. Both made good fish tacos.
This will sound like a bullshi! story for sure. I told it to a few people we met down there and no one has believed me yet. I saw this heron and it
did not move even when I was 2m away. I thought it must be caught in fishing net. I threw my shirt over its head so it did not peck my eyes out, and
reached under the water to free it from the net. I pulled on its legs and I saw a tentacle wrap around my wrist! I pulled my arm out quick. It was
an octopus that had grabbed the bird. I pulled harder on the birds legs and the octopus pulled the bird further down into its hole. Anyone seen this
before? We were at the north end of the beach from Campo Rene.
If you go the west coast, bring some $20 bikes and a can of WD40. The beach is hard and biking out there is great. Sand is way too soft on Sea of
Cortez side.
Next we headed for San Ignacio. We stayed at Campo Los Petates. The host there Manuel is a very good person. He will bring you water if you have
containers he can fill for you at his house.
We camped at Campo Los Petates right on the edge of the pond. It was very beautiful.
We biked into town from the campsite. Nice town with an impressive church. We met some locals who spoke English. We learned there is a bit of a
rivalry over who has the “best” whales, San Ignacio or Guerro Negro. We were told the San Ignacio whales are friendlier and bring the calves right up
to the boat. We will go to San Ignacio this year to see the whales and find out for ourselves.
The only negative thing that happened there was our dinner at the Desert Inn. We decided that we deserved a nice dinner out. When we got the bill,
were overcharged by 50%. My Spanish was too poor to get things sorted out and I could not get a copy of the menu back to confirm the prices we had
looked at when we ordered. The food was not that good anyways. Taco stands for us for the rest f the trip.
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Skipjack Joe
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8084
Registered: 7-12-2004
Location: Bahia Asuncion
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The upper fish looks like a mullet. That's very strange because they will not take a lure.
Your observations of the octopus is fascinating. I've never heard of them feeding above water. You would think that bill would have been a formidable
weapon for the heron.
[Edited on 12-8-2014 by Skipjack Joe]
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BajaDanD
Senior Nomad
Posts: 745
Registered: 8-30-2003
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the bottom fish is a Corvina not a Corbina
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64739
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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An easy way to remember which is which, is CorBina has a mouth on the Bottom. The problem in Mexico is the B and V have the nearly same sound and
those two letters are often interchanged, but the fish are totally different (Corvina vs. Corbina).
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Bob H
Elite Nomad
Posts: 5867
Registered: 8-19-2003
Location: San Diego
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Great trip report and photos! Enjoyed it.
The SAME boiling water that softens the potato hardens the egg. It's about what you are made of NOT the circumstance.
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Tomas Tierra
Super Nomad
Posts: 1281
Registered: 3-23-2005
Location: oxnard, ca
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Mood: Tengo Flojera
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San Ignacio is such a great place to visit with the whales!! See "Rana" at Pacheco's Eco Tours for the old school, original whale watching
experience...
Upper fish is a "Lisa" (mullet), bottom fish is an orange mouth corvina.. Definately strange that the Lisa ate the metal? Did you snag it maybe?
Great report! I bet you can't wait to get back!!
TT
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Ribbonslinger
Nomad
Posts: 131
Registered: 12-15-2013
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I might have snagged it, can't remember. The tidal pool was thick with fish. Was having a blast catching fish on that light tackle.
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Ribbonslinger
Nomad
Posts: 131
Registered: 12-15-2013
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We left San Ignacio and headed down the road to Mulege. We parked our camper at Cuesta Real Motel. If you don’t need power hook up there is one
great spot there where you are parked right on the river. We stayed there to explore the town and stock up with groceries. Mulege is a great little
town with friendly people. The best way to explore the town is to park in front of the water / beer / propane store under the highway bridge. Take
the first left after you go over the overpass. The people who run it are very friendly and will keep an eye on your rig while you walk around town.
We left for Playa Escondida after a few days in town. The road into the beach is a little rough but no big deal unless you have a big trailer or RV.
Great spot and we met a lot of good people there.
This is the view of Playa Escondida from the rock face above the beach.
Nice beach on one of the islands in front of the beach.
No predators on the island so the Osprey are nesting right on the rock.
Lots of great kayaking opportunities from Escondida just leave early in the morning before the wind picks up.
We headed next for Rattlesnake Beach just south of Puerto Escondido (south of Loreto). We parked at the far end where it is very private. Great
spot! Good kayaking around the shoreline north of there to Juncalito. There is a very good water source just across the road from the Puerto
Escondido turn off at the highway. Go for a hike in Steinbeck Canyon if you are adventurous.
Steinbeck Canyon.
Rattlesnake Beach
Our next stop was San Cosme Hot Springs. We had to drive the road down to Agua Verde to get there. We had heard lots of horror stories about it but
it is not really a big deal. It is just narrow with blind corners so don’t leave your wide spot until your partner has walked ahead to make sure no
one is coming up the hill. If your only driving a pickup don’t worry about it as it is easier to back up.
Agua Verde road, blind corner.
At San Cosme it is a little village. We asked a local who spoke English how much it costs to camp. He said it is by donation only. We paid him 200
pesos a day and my wife had a bunch of kids coloring books with crayons with animals from Canada that we gave him. Lots of kids there so it is a nice
thing to do if you drive there. There is a desalination plant in there now and you can get water if you need it.
The road from San Cosme to the hot springs is really rough. I would walk it first! It is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow if you make it.
Steep side lean, don’t tip!
Low tide access only.
Cross country through an old road. Bring a machete to cut the brush back.
Heaven!
Water was so clear we took this picture of this King Angel from 10ft away.
The hot springs are on the spit that extends out to the island. Water is too hot a low tide but not hot enough at high tide. Do some experimenting.
The snorkeling on the reef just behind the hot springs is amazing! The best we had seen on our trip.
Well that is enough posting. I think I had better get a life and start doing something productive.
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64739
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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These are great reports and photos. Thank you for sharing! That fish looks like it is flying through air!
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wilderone
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3814
Registered: 2-9-2004
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How far is it from San Cosme village to the hotsprings? Can you camp at the hotsprings place?
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Maron
Nomad
Posts: 458
Registered: 4-14-2014
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WOW, what a trip.
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64739
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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It's about a mile, along the high tide line, edge of cliff/ water. The tide was too high when I was last there, bummer!
How long before the ('reported') sea level rising will vanish the hot springs there, or at Puertecitos, or at Concepcion, and the other places???
Thankfully never during my life or my children's, or my grandchildren's (I am thinking).
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rts551
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6699
Registered: 9-5-2003
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Quote: Originally posted by Ribbonslinger  | | I might have snagged it, can't remember. The tidal pool was thick with fish. Was having a blast catching fish on that light tackle.
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They can be snagged easily as there are lots of them. You see them jumping through the air a lot.
Also lots of corvina, halibut, and grouper to be had. if you can get back in there, you may catch a snook.
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