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VegasNick
Junior Nomad
Posts: 75
Registered: 4-14-2015
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First day started at 0400 for us. We made a mad dash for the border! We followed a friend that has a place in San Felipe just so we could get a
veterans view on crossing the border, money exchange, and dealing with the PEMEX stations. So we hit the border and had the rig sent through the big
drive through X-Ray booth. (Don't worry, they take you out for that) After that we parked and went to the INM office and got our passports and FMM
stamped, the race to San Felipe was on. We crossed at the east Mexicali crossing BTW. Not a single hiccup! Navigating Mexicali wasn't bad. Our biggest
laugh was seeing a Burger King and McDonalds on the way through!
Once in San Felipe, it was time to get our Fish Taco on!
Maria's place fit the bill!
The famed Mexican Coke! So much better than in the US!
The once famous Boom Boom Room, now all borded up and forgotten:
San Felipe is just buzzing with people and vendors peddling all sorts of goods! yeah, my wife was in love with it!
If you like flowers, Mexico will be your heaven! Bougainvillea grow everywhere here!
So after getting about $5000 Pesos, our bellies full of tacos, and dragging my wife out of the last gift stop she could get to, we headed out of town
just a bit to our first camp spot for the night. It was at Rancho Percebu. Not bad really. Here was the first culture shock for the wife though.
Toilets were pretty much open with a shower curtain for privacy.  The place did
have a rocking bar and a little restaurant. They collected about $200 pesos the next morning for the camping spot.
The tide was out when we settled in:
We had a perfect sunset:
And a hell of a sunrise:
We took our time getting going and then headed south to meet up with the Baja FJ club to be escorted further south. Today was going to be a marathon
run of "haul ass" as they wanted to get to Mulege where they had prearranged some rooms for the night.
[Edited on 4-1-2016 by BajaNomad]
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VegasNick
Junior Nomad
Posts: 75
Registered: 4-14-2015
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First order of business on day two was a gas stop next to Alfonsinas campground. Exchange rate here on Gringo dollars is 15:1 by the way.
Bathrooms.... hopefully you can make a hover shot. But hey, they do have hielo
(ice).
The other FJ guys from TJ met us here and we boogied south.
Lots of long stretches like this in Baja!
Next stop was Coco's Corner. Coco was there and hanging out with everyone:
Marked my map for next time. I really want to go all the way to the coast east of Coco's place. It looked like an awesome camp site, or at least on
Google Earth it did!
Next up was a lunch stop at a little place called Mauricios. Pretty neat little roadside stop and OMG talk about some good food!
And what would lunch be without the autoparts store next door!
Just in case you needed to know where we were:
And now launching for San Ignacio. (Past one more military checkpoint where they barely said a word except Buenos Dias!)
Front row parking:
The mission was built in 1786 and abandoned in 1840. Today it is one of the most beautiful pieces of architecture I have seen.
The interior is breathtaking!
I was told that the wood for the doors came from the ship that they arrived aboard:
[Edited on 4-1-2016 by BajaNomad]
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VegasNick
Junior Nomad
Posts: 75
Registered: 4-14-2015
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Next stop, literally was Mulege...
It was $40 a night for a room. We used the bathroom, showered and then decided to sleep in the camper. Hey, we love our queen sized memory foam
mattress. The next morning we parted ways with all of our new found Baja friends
and headed off to Loreto alone. Sammie wanted to shop, and I quit fishing a long time ago, so it all worked out ok.
We headed off into "downtown" Mulege first. What a freaking cool little town! The streets were tight (and packed with traffic) We found the Pemex
right off and topped off the tank. Met a fellow gringo on a 4 wheeler and one super cute girl on a motorcycle. She was certainly dressed for a long
trek. Again, everyone was just awesome! We also wanted to know where the bank was, so we asked the Policia that was directing traffic. He just smiled
and pointed down the street....about 25 yards and chuckled. I kind of laughed and said, "yeah, I know. Gringo Pendejo". He laughed at that and waved
us on down the street. We finally found a parking spot and got out to walk around. Oddly enough, every time my wife got out of the truck, I could hear
my wallet crying. 
[Edited on 4-1-2016 by BajaNomad]
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BigBearRider
Super Nomad
Posts: 1299
Registered: 4-30-2015
Location: Big Bear, Punta Chivato, and Cabo
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Mood:
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¡Fantastico! It looks like you had a great trip.
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Ateo
Elite Nomad
Posts: 5896
Registered: 7-18-2011
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Yeah, nice trip report and photos. Gracias Nick.
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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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Wonderful! Enjoy the ride along! If you want to know more about any of the 27 missions, I can help.
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4x4abc
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4243
Registered: 4-24-2009
Location: La Paz, BCS
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Mood: happy - always
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how did the trailer do?
Harald Pietschmann
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VegasNick
Junior Nomad
Posts: 75
Registered: 4-14-2015
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It worked like a champ! No issues at all. Some scratched paint from rock chips. 
We accidentally launched it and the FJ once on the road leading out of El Arco to our camping spot. It landed well. 
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VegasNick
Junior Nomad
Posts: 75
Registered: 4-14-2015
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Thanks David! I want to get your book before we go back in October.
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VegasNick
Junior Nomad
Posts: 75
Registered: 4-14-2015
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A view of our little spot in Mulege:
Mission Santa Rosalía de Mulegé was built starting around 1766. It sits on a bluff above the city.
Again, there are flowers everywhere!
From there we wandered back "down town". Mulege is a busy, busy place! I loved it. You have to be careful navigating the tight one way streets though.
We found parking and got out and wandered around. YES my truck was safe, and YES we felt safe! The blue sign far ahead is the local bank.
Local police directing traffic.
The PEMEX station in town.
The bank, and plenty of places to spend those freshly obtained pesos.
Ice cream seemed to be a big deal in some of these towns.
So after spending an hour or two in Mulege, we headed off to Loreto, but not before bumping into our friends from TJ and out local Vegas peeps one
last time. I think they were stalking my primo parking spot so they could get to the bank.
A quick view of Santispac as we passed by on the way south.
[Edited on 4-1-2016 by BajaNomad]
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VegasNick
Junior Nomad
Posts: 75
Registered: 4-14-2015
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So we made it to Loreto and found Paco's place! (Not sure who Paco is, but he sells Tequila)
We found a nice shady parking spot..
Loreto is a pretty busy little town. The Malecon was jumping and every spot you looked had people going and doing.
This is a cool motel in Loreto. We'd like to stay there next time and give it a try.
A peek into the door showed an open courtyard
The bank sits in the open courtyard
And looking back out at the mission.
When she had her fill of shopping, and a great lunch at one of the local spots in the center of town, we headed back north. Originally we were headed
to Aqua Verde to camp, but after talking to a local there we decided to go north to explore the Bay of Concepcion and see if we could make it to the
lighthouse I have been scoping out for some time. We took heed to the warning about Aqua Verde when the local said "There willl be so many Mexicans
you will be tripping over them and we don't go there on this weekend". LOL We had a good laugh and headed out.
I didn't get any pics on the trail to the lighthouse. We made it about three quarters around the bay of Concepcion towards the lighthouse and ran into
a fence across the trail. Being alone, and not really knowing if it was ok to proceed we turned back and headed for Playa Santispac for the night. I
marked the spot on our GPS track so I can get some help from the Baja Nomad folks. Hopefully in October, we can get to the point.
[Edited on 4-1-2016 by BajaNomad]
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VegasNick
Junior Nomad
Posts: 75
Registered: 4-14-2015
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We arrived in Playa Santispac after dark. It was packed! We scored the last open spot next to some Canadians who had been traveling Mexico for the
last 6 weeks!
The view the next morning was great! The crowd thinned a bit, but by noon they were packing back in again. We had to ask people to move so we could
pull out. The Federales arrived shortly before. Seeing soldiers walking the beach in fatigues and carrying automatic weapons may be unsettling at
first. The two that were under the palapa next to us were trying to escape the sun for a bit. I carried over some cold bottled water and chatted with
them for a few minutes. We shook hands and parted ways. Remember, they have a job to do too.
Again, if you expect five star dining, stay home. If you expect some damn good
food from places like this, then welcome to Baja!
Campground bathrooms were in a block outhouse. No doors for the men! If you don't mind doing your business and chatting with your neighbor, then
you'll be ok.
After we got moving, it was off to Santa Rosalia to see the Eiffel church. Same warning here. SR has tight streets and is busy busy! 4 ALTO is just a
suggestion in most places. Just be cautious and courteous and you will be fine. You could easily spend half a day wandering just this town.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iglesia_de_Santa_B%C3%A1rbara_...)
The design of the church is like nothing I have seen. What a beautiful place!
Again, street parking is at a premium
Santa Rosalia is a mining town. Copper has been the main mineral for many years from what I understand. Recently a Canadian company started fracking
here and not everyone is happy about it. It is also theplace where you can catch a ferry to the mainland.
I had to stop and get a pic of the old mine workings on the way out of town.
Whatever you may think Mexico may be lacking, it does not have a shortage of tire shops!
Now we are headed north to get on the road to El Arco.
[Edited on 4-1-2016 by BajaNomad]
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VegasNick
Junior Nomad
Posts: 75
Registered: 4-14-2015
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By the way, going into and out of Santa Rosalia, take your time. There are spots where two semis cannot pass each other going opposite directions! It
is a tight winding road. At the top, you are graced with views like this:
Apparently, you can still get your Saturday Night Fever on in Baja:
We stopped for the night in San Ignacio. We were happy to get to spend some time in this little town. Great street side dining!
This is a great town to get out and wander:
Corner Market:
One last shot of the Mission before we headed off to find a hotel
The town was pretty crowded, and we had a tour bus beat us to the Desert Inn hotel so the only place left in town was Fong's. It was cool. $19 a night
and pretty much Mexico standard for a cheap spot. We showered and sat outside in our lawn chairs for the evening. BTW, there is a great little taco
stand right across the street.
The guy running the place was nice enough to let me back the FJ right on into the courtyard:
(Senorita not included)
[Edited on 4-1-2016 by BajaNomad]
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4x4abc
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4243
Registered: 4-24-2009
Location: La Paz, BCS
Member Is Offline
Mood: happy - always
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add a few maps and this forum will start eating you alive.
Harald Pietschmann
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BigBearRider
Super Nomad
Posts: 1299
Registered: 4-30-2015
Location: Big Bear, Punta Chivato, and Cabo
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You've done well, Nick. You've managed to see a lot of nice stuff in one trip.
You commented that Mulege and Santa Rosalia were busy. Most of the time they are not. It's a good thing, I think.
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BornFisher
Super Nomad
Posts: 2107
Registered: 1-11-2005
Location: K-38 Santa Martha/Encinitas
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WTG Nick! I`m loving following you along, looking forward to more.
"When you catch a fish, you open the door of happiness."
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micah202
Super Nomad
Posts: 1615
Registered: 1-19-2011
Location: vancouver,BC
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thanks for taking us along 
....love the rooster sunset silhouette in Percebo(near top)
...but sad to hear 'bout the fracking. 
[Edited on 3-27-2016 by micah202]
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rhintransit
Super Nomad
Posts: 1588
Registered: 9-4-2006
Location: Loreto
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great trip report...so nice to see all the old to me places through the eyes of a newbie and remember the wonder of seeing it all fresh again.
ps, yes, disco, karaoke, and mega boom boxes are alive and well in Mexico, as Semana Santa reminds us every year.
reality\'s never been of much use out here...
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TMW
Select Nomad
Posts: 10659
Registered: 9-1-2003
Location: Bakersfield, CA
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Excellent trip report and great pictures, thanks.
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DianaT
Select Nomad
Posts: 10020
Registered: 12-17-2004
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Enjoyed your trip report --- really love to hear all about Baja from people there for the first time. Thanks for sharing it.
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