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Jaybo
Nomad
Posts: 240
Registered: 12-7-2009
Location: NW Oregon
Member Is Offline
Mood: Praying for Baja!
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Bouncing down Baja
Since I have internet I may as well start our trip report while we are on the road. Yes, I know, go SEE it while we are here, but I'm waiting on my
sweetie to get ready so I have a few minutes (hours?)
Day 1
We crossed the border with no line or waiting at Mexicali downtown crossing. We got a green light and parking just after was open and getting our
FMM's took about 20 minutes. Driving through Mexicali was easy enough and once we were out of town traffic was pretty much non existent. When we
reached San Felipe we headed for the Malecon for lunch. I forgot the name of the place already, but we had fantastic Shrimp and Fish taco's and my
first ice cold Pacifico of the trip.
We didn't stay very long since I really wanted to get to Alfonsina's before dark and we were already running a little late at least according to our
GPS estimates. We saw what the modern and err.. "authentic" paved roads were like! There was some pretty fun Vado's and I'm glad our Jeep has good
brakes! We also saw that the freshly updated GPS maps on our GPS were not up to date for Mex5.
We stopped at the Valle de los Gigantes and drove on past teh stop sign and took the 4WD road through. it's not very well signed once you were in
there, but once you think you are lost you figure out that it's all good and you are finally circling around to back where you came in. a couple
picture stops and we wwere back out on the road again.
We fueled up at Puertecitos, and found it to be kind of dismal with all of the ramshackle places I'm sure the beaches would be nicer but we wanted to
make some time. The road kept getting nicer and nicer, and the GPS was constantly freaking out about where the location of the road was! The ETA was
all over the place. It got pretty funny to see it bouncing all over the place.
The detour came up pretty quick and we dropped off to the right and under the bridge that is under construction. The military checkpoint not long
after was unexpected and they took a fair amount of time going through everything. The young soldier was really wondering what all of the Christmas
and rope lights were for! Finally another soldier explained to the first what they were for. Once we were on our way we rolled into Alfonsina's.
Check in was simple enough and we were off to pack our bags up to Room #6 and its tiny double bed! Room was nice and clean and of course the view was
incredible. There were already a couple planes there that flew in. Once we checked in a group of 15 dirt bikers on an adventure tour rode in. Great
guys and it was fun to chat with them.
Bar tip here is do NOT order a margarita! Bleh! The Pacifico's were far better but eventually the Pacifico supply dwindled to nothing with all of the
dirt bike guys cleaning them out, and we had to switch to Corona. Our dinner was to die for. I had Garlic and better fish and shrimp and Judy had the
fish. It was just fantastic.
We eventually headed for bed and attempted to get some sleep. We are king size bed people and a queen works OK. A double is just too small for us. It
ended up being the reason we decided to leave in the morning and head for BOLA. More on our next post about Day 2 now that mi Esposa is ready to head
out for our exploring of the area. Pictures will be posted in the next day or 2 as well.
..Jaybo
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64854
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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Thanks Jaybo... great to hear from you on the road. How are you connecting to the Internet? Does Alfonsina's have it now?
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sancho
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 2524
Registered: 10-6-2004
Location: OC So Cal
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Jaybo
We fueled up at Puertecitos, and found it to be kind of dismal with all of the ramshackle place
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Puertecitos must have had a hayday way back when,
decades ago, can't remember if you said this was your
trip down the Peninsula, but my first time or 2 were
memorable
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64854
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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The Puertecitos Pemex is about 52 road miles from the San Felipe Pemex... where everyone going south should top off, as Puertecitos is a maybe. The
Puertecitos Pemex is also not along the highway, but down in the village on the paved side road.
The next Pemex is at Alfonsina's driveway, Gonzaga Bay (97 miles from San Felipe)... and it too is a 'maybe'... they were closed for 2 hours honoring
siesta time (2-4 pm) as well.
The next Pemex after Gonzaga is Bahia de los Angeles/ Villa Jesus Maria/ El Rosario, depending on where you are going.
There are non-Pemex independent gasoline distributors in Central Baja, however. They can be a life saver, too!
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Jaybo
Nomad
Posts: 240
Registered: 12-7-2009
Location: NW Oregon
Member Is Offline
Mood: Praying for Baja!
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| Quote: | Originally posted by David K
Thanks Jaybo... great to hear from you on the road. How are you connecting to the Internet? Does Alfonsina's have it now? |
We are in BOLA now and connected art our hotel. Alfonsina's was nice but one day was plenty... BOLA it's so muy bonito!
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Jaybo
Nomad
Posts: 240
Registered: 12-7-2009
Location: NW Oregon
Member Is Offline
Mood: Praying for Baja!
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| Quote: | Originally posted by sancho
| Quote: | Originally posted by Jaybo
We fueled up at Puertecitos, and found it to be kind of dismal with all of the ramshackle place
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Puertecitos must have had a hayday way back when,
decades ago, can't remember if you said this was your
trip down the Peninsula, but my first time or 2 were
memorable |
It is our first trip and we are Learning alot. I'm on my phone so I can't do day 2 Right now... It indeed will be memorable for us as well. Truly an
amazing place.
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Jaybo
Nomad
Posts: 240
Registered: 12-7-2009
Location: NW Oregon
Member Is Offline
Mood: Praying for Baja!
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Day 2
I woke up early at Alfonsina's after a night of not the best sleep due to a small bed and 2 grande people sharing it  I got some photo's of the sunrise and took a walk along the beach to check out the
various casa's and then had Coffee and a delicious breakfast of mexican style huevos and papas. I went back to the room and woke up mi esposa so we
could get an early start on the road to Coco's and on to BOLA. We were able to watch the 2 planes take off and they did a low level flyby to the
delight of us and all of the dirt bikers gearing up for their trip.
We had fueled up in Puertecito's so we were just fine for fuel for our trip onward to Coco's and Hwy 1. We ended up meeting a couple groups of
dirtbikers at Coco's our friends from the previous night at the hotel as well as another family who spend every Presidents weekend down here riding
their bikes.
Coco was in town with one of his Amigo's getting supplies I assume so I was a tad bummed I did not have the privilege of meeting him. We had some
pre-tarde beers and bought some stickers and refused all of our change since this place was obviously special. I hope the new road does not bypass him
by very far.
Once we reached Hwy 1 we made good time to the turn off to BOLA. The drive was pretty uneventful until we came over the rise and BOLA came into view.
We pulled off the road by the radio tower and took several pictures of the beauty that lay in front of us. We went on down into town and drove from
one end to the other. We stopped at Guillermo's for a delicious lunch of both fish taco's and shrimp taco's. SO delicious and the best we have had so
far.
We then proceeded to look for a room with a reasonable price, internet and a queen bed! All of the places seemed to be missing one of them and all
seemed remote and empty. Los Viento's was very pretty but there was no one there and the rooms that were within our budget were smoking rooms.
Villa Bahia was another stop and it may be pet friendly but the pets that were there looked to be starving and in poor health. The odor of urine as
you walk into the office courtyard was depressing as well. We rang the bell several times and there seemed to be no one around. The vibe we got with
the pets and the odor was just a total turn off.
We left and went to look at Daggett's and Raquel and Larry's. The latter had no internet but looked OK otherwise. Daggetts was also OK on our list
but we wanted to look at the rest of the places in town. The places in town (besides Guillermo's) were either full or not the right size beds.
We took a drive up the hill above town to Hotel Princess since we saw the crudely painted signs along the road coming in. we were unprepared for what
we found. We found a wonderful place with very clean rooms comfortable QUEEN beds (their website says double which is incorrect) internet access and a
very welcoming host with a couple dogs and cat that were obviously well cared for and did not look emaciated and starving.
I can't recommend this hotel enough. While it is not on the beach and the road up the hill is rather challenging, it has a million dollar view! The
vibe was good so here we are. Oh, $480 peso's /night with internet and plush towels!
Dinner was at Reyna's that was pretty good and met Manny and his lawyer friend Carlos and had a great conversation about all sorts of topics and kept
Reyna up well past her 10pm closing time! Manny also treated us to a bottle of wine he had with him and that was so nice of him since the place does
not normally serve alcohol.
Back to the Princess for a wonderful nights sleep in a very comfortable queen bed was the conclusion to our day!
yes, I know, I need to upload pictures ... soon I promise!
Day 3 coming up in the next day or 2!
..Jaybo
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Jaybo
Nomad
Posts: 240
Registered: 12-7-2009
Location: NW Oregon
Member Is Offline
Mood: Praying for Baja!
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here is my photobucket link...
Jaybo's Baja 2013 trip
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woody with a view
PITA Nomad
Posts: 15939
Registered: 11-8-2004
Location: Looking at the Coronado Islands
Member Is Offline
Mood: Everchangin'
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eat at Alejandrina's south of the turn around. GREAT food!!!
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BajaBlanca
Select Nomad
Posts: 13197
Registered: 10-28-2008
Location: La Bocana, BCS
Member Is Offline
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ditto on Alejandrina's.
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Jaybo
Nomad
Posts: 240
Registered: 12-7-2009
Location: NW Oregon
Member Is Offline
Mood: Praying for Baja!
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Day 3
This was a sleep in morning, with long hot showers and a late breakfast at alejandrina's as was already suggested. We took off south of town and
after a couple dead ends found the road towards Rincon. We found the playa at Vista del Mar I think it is called and the small beach there was
beautiful Not sure what the ruins are on the side of the hill there, I assume something to do with mining years ago.
After relaxing for a while and wandering around the area we headed south towards Rincon. It made us think about why people would want to be so far
away from town on an already remote area and rough road. Seems to me you would want to be able to visit with more people and be closer to town.
Different strokes I suppose. At Rincon the security guard was friendly but firm in not allowing us to go in to see the houses there.
It was also incredibly windy out there and when we opened our door for a pit stop our AAA map decided to head east with the wind. Lots of fun trying
to catch up to it which after a couple hundred yards it wrapped itself around a bush ... The wind continued to blow hard all day so we headed back to
our room and had a nice siesta for a couple hours.
We woke up after a couple hours and the wind was still blowing quite hard over the mountain behind us. We decided to go to Guillermo's for dinner
after really enjoying our lunch there the day before. Wechose right as the chef came out and explained their specials and suggested choices in regards
to Judy's dietary restrictions. It was not only incredibly delicious but the presentation was equally muy bonito.
We stopped at the Costa Del Sol for an after dinner drink and see if their internet was up since both our hotel and Guillermos was being troublesome,
and we needed to check for some important business email we were anticipating. The joys of owning your own business, you can't ever seem to get
totally away. Internet was fantastic here so we ordered margarita's and they brought us chips and the best salsa we have ever eaten. We asked for it
to go it was so good We enjoyed our excellent margarita's, caught up on our
email and wandered back to our hotel on the hill for another great nights sleep even if it did sound like the wind was going to blow us away.
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64854
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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What a great trip report and lots of photos, too!
I appreciate that you went to so many of the motels in L.A. Bay and while not near the water, the Princess Motel looks like a winner, indeed! Too bad
about the Villa Bahia, it had been so popular... sounds like the dogs took over?
The food at Costa del Sol was great for us in '09, so it sounds like she is still doing that right, even if its just the salsa! Last summer, we had
breakfast/ lunch at Alejandrina's with Paulina, Dern and Mary Ann.. at their recommendation.
The Las Hamacas restaurant used to be the good place... things do change in Baja... Your report on-the-road is great and valuable. Thank you!
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rts551
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6699
Registered: 9-5-2003
Member Is Offline
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Construction/paving on the road South to the Ricon turn-off is supposed to start this year. power and water as well.
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Jaybo
Nomad
Posts: 240
Registered: 12-7-2009
Location: NW Oregon
Member Is Offline
Mood: Praying for Baja!
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| Quote: | Originally posted by David K
I appreciate that you went to so many of the motels in L.A. Bay and while not near the water, the Princess Motel looks like a winner, indeed! Too bad
about the Villa Bahia, it had been so popular... sounds like the dogs took over? |
It was sad really - The dogs looked starved, injured and uncared for. It was a pretty spot on the beach but the smell and the terrible condition of
the pets that were hanging around just totally turned us off. The Princess really was nice and we enjoyed the peace and quiet. Their animals were
obviously well loved and well fed too. I heartily recommend it!
Costa Del Sol had a great breakfast this morning as well. very delicious!
[Edited on 2-21-2013 by Jaybo]
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Jaybo
Nomad
Posts: 240
Registered: 12-7-2009
Location: NW Oregon
Member Is Offline
Mood: Praying for Baja!
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Day 4 - BOLA to G.N. via San Borla
I got up and let momma sleep in and went down for an excellent breakfast at Costa Del Sol their Muchaca as well as their hotcakes were excellent along
with the fresh fruit included with each. 75 and 55 pesos each, respectively. I went back to the Princess to get ready for our day and get loaded up
to go. It rained a bit overnight and small showers were still coming down. We got all packed up and headed out of town but not before we took a
drive around the old round house? or hotel? that is right on the waterfront. What's the story behind that place?
We drove out to the turnoff to San Borla and we sure didn't know what toi expect. The road was in generally good shape but there were some
interesting spots! The beauty out here was just amazing especially to Judy and too myself as well. Not having been here before and being in such a
remote place on remote roads in a foreign country with no phone service makes you really understand what it must have been like decades ago when the
only roads here were similar in condition. We did stop and take pictures on the way.
Once we got to the mission Genaro (?) came out to great us and took us on a tour of his farm and give us the real history of the mission not just
what is printed in the books. What a super nice guy he was and he knew hi place well. The Lady that gives tours was not there (turned out we passed
her going the other way on the road to Bahia) so we were not able to go inside the mission. It was still beautiful to see and the history and
remoteness gave us great appreciation for Genero and the family who have tended the place for generations. What a place and lifestyle to grow up in.
After a nice tip for the wonderful tour and history lesson and an exchange of emails we took the road out to Rosarito. For being a supposedly better
road it had obviously seen a lot of rain and was quite rough and rugged in some areas. Whoever it was in another thread who said they could drive the
whole thing in an hour either had better road or a built long travel buggy! Nothing terrible just some pretty rough and rutted sections and some
fairly deep sand in the washes.
There was a military checkpoint just before Rosarito on the dirt road and the soldiers were very friendly and we chatted for a while with what we
assumed to be the person in charge. It was very unexpected for us to see them there but it also made sense to us as well.
Once out to Hwy 1 we stopped for a soda and bag of chips and proceeded down the hwy. Another military stop that was short and we were waved on. I
don't know how people with big trailers or the truck drivers do it. my hands were numb from gripping the wheel so hard at how narrow some of the
section to GN was! The $2 spray the car stop and next thing we know we are in GN at the Cowboy and greeted by Shari with a big hug for each of us!
Carne Taco's and Pacifico's for dinner with all of the folks going on the whale watching trip tomorrow was a good time. Well, at least we hope to
make the trip. It may be stormy but we will see what happens in the morning. Great internet here and I am uploading todays photo's to my photobucket
account.
We're going to bounce off to bed since we are meeting in the parking lot at 6:30am for our morning pow-wow and if the weather is good make it out to
kiss some whales
..Jaybo
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Jaybo
Nomad
Posts: 240
Registered: 12-7-2009
Location: NW Oregon
Member Is Offline
Mood: Praying for Baja!
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Link to our pictures on Photobucket
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MMc
Super Nomad
Posts: 1679
Registered: 6-29-2011
Member Is Offline
Mood: Current
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Great report thanks for sharing. Never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, believe a road condition report unless it is less then 1 month old and it
hasn't rained. The road conditions change all the time.
I have had to help more then 6 or 4 folks out from info. they have received from this site. Go in expecting one thing and discovering a S@#t storm
they we're ready for. Good news, is they earned a good story.
It sounds like you could explore more if you want.(see your first request for info.)
I hope you only have fun and happy stories!!!!
"Never teach a pig to sing it frustrates you and annoys the pig" - W.C.Fields
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shari
Select Nomad
Posts: 13048
Registered: 3-10-2006
Location: bahia asuncion, baja sur
Member Is Offline
Mood: there is no reality except the one contained within us "Herman Hesse"
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It was indeed a pleasure to be in the company of whales with you and your wife...who wins the prize for the most questions asked!!! She will forever
be remembered as the whale pig...she really hogged that calf!!! just kidding...the calf LOVED her!
and here is Jaybo communing with the momma as her calf looked on
we look forward to hanging out with you more on your next trip kids...cheers
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64854
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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Great photo of the baby resting its head on mamma's back!
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Jaybo
Nomad
Posts: 240
Registered: 12-7-2009
Location: NW Oregon
Member Is Offline
Mood: Praying for Baja!
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Day 5
This day we were up bright and early to meet Shari and our group for the whale tour at Ojo de Liebre. A quick stop for breakfast burrito's and fruit
cups and most importantly, COFFEE! started our trip out to the Lagoon. 45 minutes later we were getting our life jackets on and headed out to the
boat.
I really don't know how to describe it. It was a total Mind. Blown. experience. I had never seen so many whales in one place ever. No matter where
you looked there were whales! Once we were out further out in the bay they were right next to us and it was totally amazing. Such beautiful and
majestic creatures and to have shari being our guide and to see the emotion from her I could tell she really is one with the whales.
The trip was just so totally amazing to us. We have been on large boats out to see the whales but this experience was like no other and it was just
magical. If you ever have the chance to do it, it is or at least should be a #1 priority. Shari, Thank you so much for sharing and yes, Judy will ask
questions until she can't talk but she wants to know and understand about everything! You are a special person and it was so awesome getting to meet
you and for you to share your love of the whales with us.
A side note here - all those who scolded me for planning so much were partly right, I wish I had not already made reservations in Mulege as I would
have went out to see and spend a night at Shari's place, so lesson learned -
Rest of the day was spent sharing photos with each other and then Judy and I went driving out to the old lighthouse and back to the room for an early
night in. Lets see if I can link the youtube video...
Whale Petting with Shari!
Here is the link to the pictures I took:
Whale petting With Shari!
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