CortezBlue
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Free beaches in Baja, Mexico for dry camping - Merced County Times Article
Free beaches in Baja, Mexico for dry camping
By John Derby
March 20, 2014
In Mexico, there is easy access to undeveloped Free Beaches unlike California where so much access is blocked by homeowners.
Last weekend we teamed up with another couple and spent four days dry camping on the beaches facing the Pacific side of Baja Sur (south).
Our 1969 Ideal trailer was actually ideal for the locations, as was the cab-over-camper which our friends brought with them.
We expected to see heavy overcast in the morning and cool weather, however, to our surprise, the weather was clear most of the time and warm enough to
take a swim in the lagoon located off San Carlos, the first town we visited.
San Carlos is due west of Constitution, which is three quarters the way down the Baja peninsula – a farming area where much of the corn and citrus is
grown.
The park where we camped had umbrella palms set up by the government for tourists like ourselves. There was no charge and dozens of families used the
beach while we were there.
Our camp site was nice, but there was rubbish left by other campers that bothered us, and we spent some of our time cleaning up after the other
campers. Part of the problem was that there was no trash receptacle.
Another minor item was that the sand was damp only feet away from our camp site and we wondered if at high tide the water actually came up that high.
We moved rocks into a circle and made our evening camp fire. We had pre–made spaghetti and meat sauce before leaving home, and with some fresh garlic
bread, we enjoyed our first meal at the camp site.
One thing we have always noticed is that loud music is the norm for those people who frequent such beaches, so we camped at the far end. Our first
night was relatively undisturbed, but on the second night, we had a large group of partiers who enjoyed their music as loud as they could stand it.
Something about the coastal air allowed us to go to sleep in spite of the loud music because we were tired from driving all day.
We woke early to the sound of the sea birds and morning light. Breakfast was an array of fresh fruit, pancakes, bacon, scrambled eggs, and of course,
that home perked coffee.
We fished from the bank after breakfast and well before noon, other campers had come with their children and were swimming in the lagoon.
By mid morning we were ready for a side trip into the town of San Carlos which we hadn’t seen in eight years. It was amazing all the changes. The town
was clean and a large fish factory occupied a site right on the bay.
Homes were brightly painted and the town had grown a lot since the last visit. There was now a gas station in town, when before we had to drive 40
miles for gas.
The town was getting ready for some kind of a festival with Tecate beer tents set up in the middle of the town square. We poked our head into little
shops and bought shells from one vender and ice from another.
Our stay was not long because we left our trailer at the camp site. When we returned another camper had almost parked right on top of our site. We
were a little irked because there was a whole beach, and we went ahead and parked our other vehicle right in back of his.
We played cards and read books the rest of the day. It was another great day as the evening came in cool and clear. We built a nice fire and sat
outside until our eyes started to sag.
Our friends had already built a fire by the time we were up on the second day, and after breakfast we went for a long walk to check out two other
camping sites not far from ours. Both were good possibilities although not quite so convenient from the main road.
A swim in the cool water was a perfect way to get rid of the road dust and the sweat of the day’s walk. Then we packed up to drive to Lopez Mateo,
another town on the coast, where we could whale watch.
Lopez Mateo is located 25 miles north of Insurgentes, another agricultural community on the Mex 1 highway. The road was fully paved, and once again,
we found the tow, neat and clean and the people very prosperous.
There were several brightly colored hotels on the way to the whale watching site. When we arrived around Sunday, noon, there were more than 200 people
, almost entirely Mexican, taking rides by pangas out to see the whales.
These boats had brand new Honda motors and cushions on the seats. They were all well painted and looked to be in perfect shape for the trip. We chose
a camp site not far north of the actual docks where the whale watchers loaded on boats.
The wind had picked up and we kept an eye out for whales which were birthing in the salt water channel out to the ocean. We could see them by standing
on shore, they were so close.
Boat after boat load of whale watchers rushed out and joined the other boats in the channel. We had gone out on similar boats in the past and wanted
no part of this. It seemed to us the poor whales were being harassed by the boats.
Our camp site was perfect from a viewing standpoint, but it was too windy to spend much time outside and we viewed from the trailer while eating our
dinner.
That night the windows rattled as we tried to sleep. We had second thoughts about our location but it was too late. We were off early before breakfast
the next day, and headed back home.
The beauty of the whole trip is that it cost nothing to camp on these sites, and our only expense was gas and food to see another part of Mexico.
“Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe.”
- Albert Einstein
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David K
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Sounds terrible!  Music shouldn't be painful... and he learned how Mexican
campers like to camp as close to possible to others and share their music, all night long... It is the amigo country, after all! 
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DENNIS
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| Quote: | Originally posted by CortezBlue
Another minor item was that the sand was damp only feet away from our camp site and we wondered if at high tide the water actually came up that high.
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Here's a genius who should confine his camping to his back yard.
"YOU CAN'T LITTER ALUMINUM"
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64606
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Mood: Have Baja Fever
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"Lopez Mateo is located 25 miles north of Insurgentes, another agricultural community on the Mex 1 highway"
He needs to get a map, too! Wrong with at least two items here!
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woody with a view
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Mood: Everchangin'
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| Quote: | Originally posted by DENNIS
| Quote: | Originally posted by CortezBlue
Another minor item was that the sand was damp only feet away from our camp site and we wondered if at high tide the water actually came up that high.
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Here's a genius who should confine his camping to his back yard. |
that was the wet spot from where the neighbors releived themselves during the night.
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El Jefe
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Registered: 10-27-2003
Location: South East Cape
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Geez! Tougher crowd here on Nomad than that guy had on the playa.
No b-tchin\' in the Baja.
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wessongroup
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Location: Mission Viejo
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Mood: Suicide Hot line ... please hold
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When I think Baja ... Merced County just pops up every time 
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