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carlosg
Senior Nomad
Posts: 504
Registered: 5-28-2012
Location: chula vista, ca
Member Is Offline
Mood: Just like in Baja: No Bad Days...
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We arrive at San Francisquito in the late afternoon...
...and are greeted by this old timer..
I talk with Leonel, the son of the guy in charge and he tells me that we can camp anywhere we like...
... so we find a spot on the beach and set up camp, enjoy the evening watch the stars and the milky way before moon rise... sooo peaceful and
beautiful...
...in the morning I wake up to last night's leftovers and enjoy a morning break with fresh coffee... ahhhh.... saaalud....!!!
Its a beautiful clear morning, no wind and the temperature probably is in the mid 80's....
Rosa's clouds are starting to appear on the horizon, during the night there was lots of lighting activity far away in the ocean's horizon...
My son enjoys every moment of the day playing and walking up and down the beach...
[Edited on 10-18-2018 by carlosg]
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motoged
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6481
Registered: 7-31-2006
Location: Kamloops, BC
Member Is Offline
Mood: Gettin' Better
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San Francisquito.....one of the coolest places in all of Baja....the roads in are great as is the varying terrain....the lack of tourists pleasing,
and the solitude intoxicating.
People complaining about the facilities should stay in Cabo
Don't believe everything you think....
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64848
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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Super good trip Carlos! I see you also got a Coleman Instant Tent... they are super!! Have had ours since 2011, and while a bit worn, still works fine
after so many Baja trips recently! Great you introduced your son to the wonders of Baja!
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carlosg
Senior Nomad
Posts: 504
Registered: 5-28-2012
Location: chula vista, ca
Member Is Offline
Mood: Just like in Baja: No Bad Days...
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San Francisquito's UBER, actually this is their working mobile for getting around the area
The place looks abandoned but they still offer meals, coffee, sodas and cold cerveza. The people in charge are relatives to the couple that used to
tend the place. The toilets are clean and have running water, AC power is available for a couple of hours as well. There were a couple of fishermen in
charge of ice packing the catch staying there while the other guys were out fishing on the panga...
Remnants of the old Lodge started back in the day by the Valladolid brothers, today its been sold to a group from Mexico City that from whats very
obvious they don't care or invest in the present operation: waiting for the right time to start a big resort... http://www.bajaexpo.com/cities/puntasf.htm
...so the only thing to do around here is loaf around and wait for the next traveler to stop by...
Everything is much abandoned but in working conditions, not a clean place but usable...
...WiFi is excellent and beer is cold...
So with not much more to do and with "Rosa" on our toes, we head out on our way passing by Rancho Escondido on a Sunday... pretty much abandoned
today....
...this is the only thing around to wave us by...
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Pacifico
Super Nomad
Posts: 1299
Registered: 5-26-2008
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Great trip report, Carlos! San Francisquito used to be super clean and had nice cabanas on the beach back when Chari and Javier ran the place back in
the early 90's. Most of the cabanas have fallen apart due to storms, termites, and lastly a big earthquake. I was there during the earthquake which
took down the bar area and did major damage to the cabanas... Still my favorite place in Baja!
"Plan your life as if you are going to live forever. Live your life as if you are going to die tomorrow." - Carlos Fiesta
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gueribo
Nomad
Posts: 458
Registered: 10-16-2014
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Great report! Thanks for taking the time to post so many photos.
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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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Fun seeing all the pictures. Thank you. Love that zone
TT
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carlosg
Senior Nomad
Posts: 504
Registered: 5-28-2012
Location: chula vista, ca
Member Is Offline
Mood: Just like in Baja: No Bad Days...
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Rancho Escondido is a working cattle ranch with nice and clean corrals...
....leaving the ranch this guy is there to wish us a good drive
The drive is nice and we just keep on driving on a smooth sand surface with the occasional spot with gravel and stone...
There's a lot of life along the roadside, so its better to keep a watchful eye just to be safe....
We keep on driving and finally notice we're getting closer and closer to the ocean... we took the wrong turn AGAIN.... and end up at El Barril which
is not unpleasant at all since we took it off our route because of Rosa
We drive into the village and park by the Old Stone House, the fish processing plant is down by the beach, today is Sunday and it seems like its
operating normally...
...this view is looking north...
The village is quite and not much activity around... probably because its Sunday
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64848
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Mood: Have Baja Fever
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Thank you Carlos! El Barril was just a family rancho/ fish camp in the 1960s run by the very tall Villavicencio brothers. Erle Stanley Gardner spent a
lot of time there and published many photos of them and the place in his 1967, Off the Beaten Track in Baja. The stone Ybarra building was much older
when this was a supply port for the gold mines of Calmalli. The large dirt runway makes it a pilots destination and there are a few large homes by the
runway.
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carlosg
Senior Nomad
Posts: 504
Registered: 5-28-2012
Location: chula vista, ca
Member Is Offline
Mood: Just like in Baja: No Bad Days...
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We drive around El Barril, this is the local School...
...but here at this corner is where all the activity happens when there's a festivity: the local "Cancha" (basketball court)... every town or village
has it's own everywhere in Mexico... is a gathering place....
We keep on driving around, get direction as where we can buy beer: at Lalo's....
And head back to the beach...
To visit the fish processing plant and get some ice... where the men are busy cleaning up the sharks...
...filleting with surgical precision and dipping them in brine in the bucket at the right...
...and finally after drying there packed and ready to go to the local distributors... your local market....
Its a nice visit to El Barril and time to head out on our way back to our intended route...
[Edited on 10-21-2018 by carlosg]
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64848
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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GREAT!
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carlosg
Senior Nomad
Posts: 504
Registered: 5-28-2012
Location: chula vista, ca
Member Is Offline
Mood: Just like in Baja: No Bad Days...
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We find our way back to the intersection we missed and get back on the main road..
As we drive we reach this upgrade that has a concrete surface... nice...
As we're driveing we rach this nice ranch on the side of the road....
The people are very warm and welcoming, I ask if they have any cheese for sale but they tell me they don't make cheese....
...probably because the young ones get the first pick....
We say goodbye and keep on driving our way on a nice sand road
We arrive at Pozo Aleman...
...take some pics...
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carlosg
Senior Nomad
Posts: 504
Registered: 5-28-2012
Location: chula vista, ca
Member Is Offline
Mood: Just like in Baja: No Bad Days...
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...and scout the place...
...this must have been quite an operation back when it was "alive" and working...
Some funky caves all over the place...
...living spaces...? ....they're just one after another....
Dug deep into the earth...
Seems like the place was used to keep cattle in this corral as well...
As we head out of Pozo Aleman we stop by the local cemetery...
And we head out for El Arco...
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64848
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Mood: Have Baja Fever
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Yes, Pozo Alemán is where some miners lived in underground rooms... ca 1910.
Read more: https://www.bajabound.com/bajaadventures/bajatravel/pozo_ale...
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64848
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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Happy Holidays Carlos!
Just having a fresh look at your report and wondering if we might get to see and read about the rest of your trip?
Gracias!
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TMW
Select Nomad
Posts: 10659
Registered: 9-1-2003
Location: Bakersfield, CA
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Love the pictures, thanks.
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drzura
Nomad
Posts: 320
Registered: 7-1-2006
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Thanks for sharing your experience. I really enjoyed the pictures. 
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drzura
Nomad
Posts: 320
Registered: 7-1-2006
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Thanks for sharing your experience. I really enjoyed the pictures.
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64848
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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I hope to see Carlos' next trip report soon... He shows the side of Baja many of us enjoy, off the grid, with personal interaction.
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carlosg
Senior Nomad
Posts: 504
Registered: 5-28-2012
Location: chula vista, ca
Member Is Offline
Mood: Just like in Baja: No Bad Days...
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...retaking the trip report as another is coming up soon....
As we try to get to the safety of Highway 1 due to the proximity of Hurricane Maria we drive past El Arco...
And continue our drive past the beautiful dessert noon..
We Arrive in Guerrero Negro and it feels like lunch...
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