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Paulina
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Summer trip report June - Aug. '07
Dern, Cody and I took off for Baja shortly after school let out in June. We hung out together at the house in Punta Banda for a week before Cody and I
flew out to Texas where she remained for the rest of her vacation.
Our friends Matt y Barb generously offered to pick me up in San Diego on July 5th, and return to Punta Banda. We kayaked one day over at Arbolitos.
Dern and Barb fished while Matt and I collected floating trash. Barb bought fresh sea urchins from the divers and we feasted on the best Uni ever that
night. We all hung out at the house for almost a week before they had to head back stateside.
We had a couple of days after they left to get a few maintenance chores done on the panga and trailer. Dern installed a new pump and hooked up the
bait tank Roberto gave us a couple of years ago (thank you again Roberto, what a difference that makes.) Then the lug nuts would not come off of the
wheels on the trailer because the bolts were spinning, so we towed it down to Mateo Pabloff’s shop where he tack welded the back side of the bolts to
get the lug nuts off. We then dropped the trailer off at Eddie Fisher’s garage and drove into Maneadero to get new studs/bolty things. They were
pressed back in at Eddie’s and we were good to go.
The next day Dern loaded up the truck and hooked up the panga, ready to head out the next morning for Bahia. As he was doing his usual truck service
check up that night, he found a tear in one of the back sidewalls. This was our second problem during this trip with our new BFG projects. After many
unsuccessful attempts at repairing the first tire, which we were going to use for a spare, we knew we couldn’t do anything about this second one. We
now had two bad tires and were driving on our spare, so we had to make a return trip to Chulajuana to buy 4 new BFGs before heading south. Many thanks
to Matt for being our stateside Yellowpages.
After returning from the states with our new tires we had to then re-pack the truck, hook up the panga and we were finally on our way to Bahia on July
14th, where we spent the majority of our time. When we weren’t fishing we visited the whale sharks, there were about five different ones in the south
end of the bay.
I got a pretty good rash on my left arm and thigh from riding them, but it only lasted about a week. We took our friends out one day to see the whale
sharks. They had never seen them before. Bruce kept saying it was like going on a snipe hunt until we found one and everyone got at least one turn
going for a whale of a ride.
Pablito riding surf style:
This one had a bad prop cut on it's back.
Everyday after fishing, or just boating around we would drive the panga into town, pull it up on the sand in front of Casa Diaz, buy a six pack of
Tecate and a bag of chips and talk about our morning. It was a nice tradition. We caught smaller Yellowtail, and the usual bottom fish. There were a
lot of dolphin and even manta rays. We’d then motor back to the trailers to pull the panga out, clean the fish if we fished that day, feed the birds
and take a nap.
The Yellowtail bite was wide open while we were there. No dorado though. (They were starting to show south just before we left, and as of a phone call
I got two nights ago, they are up around Smith Island now. Maybe next year….)
We drove into town almost every afternoon to hang out at the Diaz fish cleaning station to trade refreshments and stories with the pangueros. We had
office hours with our friends Bruce and Pablo, celebrated Pablito’s birthday, and checked out the whale bones from the Blue whale that washed up
around June.
We pulled an all nighter with Doc. (Next time he is bringing a smaller bottle of rum, and don’t worry Doc, Dern lost all the photos) We also met some
very ugly Americans who were fishing out of Diaz, but that is another story.
Around July 24th we thought we’d take a break from the weather to head over to the Pacific side, spending the night at Abreojos, then on to La Bocana,
Asuncion, then to San Roque for lunch. On our way out of Asuncion we came across an elderly local gentleman, his wife and two young ladies. They had a
very flat tire. We tried to offer help as did another truck that came along, but his lug nuts had rusted onto the wheel. While we were stopped we had
a chance to chat with the man. After confirming that we did not have a place in either Abreojos or Asuncion, he confided in us that he felt there were
too many Americanos moving to Asuncion. He was not very happy with that.
We got more $ and fuel in Guerro then headed off to The Wall. We made camp in the big rock house, cleaned out the rock oven where we cooked dinner
while enjoying c-cktail hour at sunset. We were the only ones there. We walked the entire area, checking out the different rock “houses” and
interesting formations. Dern fished for Halibut the next day and explored a few arroyos before heading up to Rosalillita to check out the marina, then
on to spend the night at Diablo.
There wasn’t much of a break in the weather on the Pacific side, it was wonderfully warm. I would have liked to spend a bit more time at each spot,
but we knew we had chores waiting for us back in Bahia and I didn’t want to miss the fiesta. There are no photos to share of this part of our
adventure as someone was playing with the camera and lost all 300 of them...
After three nights on the Pacific we were back on the Sea of Cortez and ready to celebrate Bahia de Los Angeles Days. We went to the rodeo twice,
watched the horse races, and made the dance the last night of the festival. We could hear the music all the way out at our place, 5k from town every
night till about 3 am.
Camp Gecko was empty. We took a stroll over there to check things out.
We’d like to fix up our trailers, about time after 15 years of neglect. There are a couple of places over there that have done things right, so we
took photos and notes.
We reluctantly left Bahia on Aug. 6th to return to Punta Banda. After a quick stop in San Quintin to drop off a baby gift, we thought we were making
good time until we came across an over turned truck blocking the highway on the back side of the Santo Tomas pass, heading south. Traffic was stopped
on both sides for about 45 min. Even with that delay we made it back to the house in Punta Banda in about 9 hrs.
The next morning I took 5 king sized pillow cases stuffed with dirty laundry to the lavamatica in Cantu. For $225 pesos we were the cleanest smelling
we had been for weeks. After unpacking everything Dern was back to working on the house.
He took a break one morning to kayak fish at Arbolitos with our friends Jeff and George.
Another week flew by before we were driving up to San Diego again on Aug. 17th to pick up Cody and my mom from the airport. Fortunately they were put
on an early flight due to Texas weather, so we were back in Punta Banda by 3pm.
Gordo’s Chili cook off was the next day. Dern and I were judging again, so Cody and Nana did the tourist shopping walk. We saw Jose, bought him a beer
and gave him the photos we’ve been carrying around in our truck since last Christmas. Cody has had her picture taken with him since she was three
years old. He has the original photo in his trailer and brings it out every once and a while to show us that he still has it. He is 78 years old.
Dern finally finished all he wanted to do on the house for this trip so we did absolutely nothing for the last two days before heading North on the
25th. This was the longest time Dern and I have spent in Baja during the summer, and it went way too fast.
Edit: resizing photos
[Edited on 2-9-2007 by Paulina]
\"Well behaved women rarely make history.\" Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
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Bedman
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P. y D. y C.
Sounds like you had a wonderful trip. Great report and pictures.
(Jejejeje..... Sounds like someone does the same thing that our Camera Gremlin does. "Where'd those pictures go?  I always get the reply, "I dunno??":no
Are you going to make it down for the 1000? New Years?
Hope to see you soon.
Bedman
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Cypress
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Paulina Thanks for the report and the pictures. 
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DianaT
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| Quote: |
While we were stopped we had a chance to chat with the man. After confirming that we did not have a place in either Abreojos or Asuncion, he confided
in us that he felt there were too many Americanos moving to Asuncion. He was not very happy with that.
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Nice trip report, and enjoy your pictures. My favorite is you biting the fish! Fun pictures, and really sorry you lost so many pix----just have to
go back and take them again. 
Not counting Shari since she is married to a local, right now in Asuncion there is Paul who lives there full time---that is it. Then there on a part
time basis are Dave and his wife, and us. That is changing, however.
We are very aware that while many people in the town have welcomed us, there are those who don't want any gringos in town. For them, the paving of
the road is a mixed blessing---easier for them, but it will mean change for the town, and probably more gringos.
Hope you have more time to enjoy that area next trip.
Diane and John
[Edited on 9-2-2007 by jdtrotter]
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BajaBruno
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Great report. I always miss the whale sharks in Bahia. Seeing them is on my "to do" list.
BTW, sometimes those deleted photos can be recovered. Give the chip to a geek with file recovery software and s/he may be able to reveal them.
Christopher Bruno, Elk Grove, CA.
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Minnow
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Paulina
Gordo’s Chili cook off was the next day. Dern and I were judging again, |
OK, now I get it.  wink wink.
ONce agian we are jealous as hell. Great report!
[Edited on 2-9-2007 by Minnow]
Proud husband of a legal immigrant.
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Ken Bondy
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Paulina
What a great report!!! Your photography is outstanding and I love the way you write. Your experiences with the whale sharks were fantastic, I am
very envious. We missed you in Morro Bay last week but it looks like you are having a much better time . BTW the Rock coffee shop is now a hangout for Gary and I every morning before the dives, thanks for introducing it
to us. Hope the rest of your summer is good. Will you ever be back in MB??
Saludos, y un gran abrazo,
++Ken++
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Natalie Ann
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Well Paulina.... this trip report is just too much fun! The minute I saw you'd posted it, I was excited... went to the kitchen and mixed up s little
tequila/lime/ice, took off my sandals and got real comfy... a terrific read plus pix was comin' up! And you did not disappoint. It just all looks
and sounds like so much fun!
Seems you've got a regular get-close-to-the-sea-life fetish, amiga. First you showed us a photo of you pulling and poking around an old dead whale...
and now we see you involved in a minor fish orgy. Try to remember this is a family board.
Honestly, Paulina, your return is Baja's loss but our gain. Thanks for sharing an excellent vacation.
Nena
Be yourself, everyone else is already taken.
.....Oscar Wilde
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Paulina
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Thank you everyone for such nice replies.
Bedman, we are not sure about the 1000, but you can count on us for New Years. How's retirement treating you?
Baja Bruno, thank you for the geek info. I'm going to look into it. Until then, Dern's not allowed to touch the camera!
Ken, call us the next time you're up here, we'd love to meet you and Gary at the Rock again.
Diane y John, this was our second time to Asuncion, it's a nice town, has a good vibe. That whole area is just beautiful. Asuncion is a bit too big
for us, we're more the fishing village type people.
Minnow, Jealous? You get to spend more time down there than we do. Get over it. Ja ja ja. Let me know if you enter the chili cookoff next year...we'll
be SURE to judge that one.... Hello to Yho.
Nena, thanks for the kind words. I left out the "other" fish photos keeping the famiy content of the board in mind...it got pretty wild after that!
Here are a few more photos. I hope I'm not going to have to edit and fuss with the photo sizes again. Crossing my fingers...
P<*)))><
Too much fun wore them out.
Whale shark cruising by
Head on shot, I love the Remoras, how they would let go and fuss about when out of the water.
Three whale sharks in one shot
\"Well behaved women rarely make history.\" Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
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Paulina
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Jaripeo
It was $5. per person. The first night we both didn't pay to go in. Dern parked the truck along side the make shift fence with most of the locals and
he watched from there with a couple of friends. I paid the $5. and walked in. The next night this area was roped off by the policia.
The second night after we watched the horse races from our truck (with binoculars) we drove a whole 100 yards from where we were parked and paid to
drive in for the rodeo. We parked right up next to the pipe corral and walked across the street to have dinner at Las Hamacas, getting back in time
for the jaripeo to start. We sat on the front bumper/hood for the event. We shared the hood of our truck with a couple of little boys until their
interest went from bronco bulls to inventing a wrestling match that took place all across the hood of the truck.
It was very entertaining. The band from the dance was there and played between riders. A town local, Kiki, gave it a shot. He rode the brahma very
well, staying on longer than the cowboys could. My camera batteries died so I didn't get very many shots.
Kiki climbing aboard
[Edited on 4-9-2007 by Paulina]
\"Well behaved women rarely make history.\" Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
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David K
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Thanks Paulina for the photos you share... Wonderful to see Baja from other's eyes on Nomad...
It was fun bumping into you guys in Asuncion, too!
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Paulina
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Bonehead me, I was turbo-ing a trip report and after it was posted Dern reminded me I left something out...Duh! Lo Siento.
Baja is a small, one way highway at times!
We had just finished having lunch at San Roque and contemplated camping there, but it was too crowded for us. Shari's house had campers there as well
as campers parked at the other spots one could stay at. Had we known one was "Fishin Rich" we might have been stalled out a bit longer, but we beat
feet for the Seven Sisters.
When we were just coming into town I thought I recognized that Toyota with all the stickers on the back window! We followed your tire tracks
(Coopers?) on our way in to The Wall off of the highway, but at one point you took the high road and missed the rock houses.
From reading your trip report I see that you had too much fun down south to head up early and stop by Bahia. Coulda had a whale shark ride. Maybe next
time!
P >*)))><
edit, darn spelling
[Edited on 4-9-2007 by Paulina]
\"Well behaved women rarely make history.\" Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
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David K
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Wow, swim with the world's largest fish? That would have been great!!! Thanks again!!
Please recall the great experience you and Mike Humfreville had swimming out to the whale shark at La Gringa in July, 2001 while we watched that
Frenchman in a kayak attack you both!
Yup, we didn't see 'The Wall' rock feature or stone houses... But that wide sand beach closer to Santa Rosalillita was sure nice!
[Edited on 9-4-2007 by David K]
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Iflyfish
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What a treat, great pics, thanks for taking us along!
Iflyfish
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elgatoloco
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Nice stuff. Felt like I was right there. At least for part of it.    :
MAGA
Making Attorneys Get Attorneys
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Paulina
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| Quote: | Originally posted by elgatoloco
Nice stuff. Felt like I was right there. At least for part of it. : |
Weird, kinda felt like that for us too....
\"Well behaved women rarely make history.\" Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
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CaboRon
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Paulina,
Enjoyed your trip report very much.... and some really great
pics !!!!!!!!
CaboRon
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cpg
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Wow ! what a photo of the whale sharks
[Edited on 9-4-2007 by cpg]
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Minnow
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The BEST trip report in YEARS! That last series of pictures thew it over the top. A two year old on top of a bull, while it was in the chute. Gotta
love MX.
What kind of camera did you take the pics with? They are awesome!
Proud husband of a legal immigrant.
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Yakfishing
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Paulina,
Great report and photos.
I'm bringing my kids (10 and 12 years old) to Bahia for first time later this month. We’ll be camping at Bety and Antonio’s place. I hope the whales
sharks and the dorado are still around. Your report makes me want to leave town NOW!
Thanks again.
Joe O.
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