akmccowen
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Posts: 9
Registered: 8-10-2021
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Northern California to Eastcape (& back!)
Hola Baja familia!
We are excited to have completed our first drive down the Baja peninsula but sad to report that we are now back home.
This forum was so helpful in our research and planning and we wanted to post our trip and advice we gathered and used and share our experience.
We planned this trip for just about a year and found ourselves to be very well prepared.
Here was our setup:
My husband (59) and I (48), 2 dogs (a great dane & a greyhound), 2018 Ford F-150 (with truck canopy and rack) pulling a 22' travel trailer. We had
upgraded the tires on our trailer, had a spare tire/wheel for the truck on the rack, added air bags on the truck, added light bars on the truck, added
brake lights to the trailer, carried 10 gallons of water and 10 gallons of fuel (filled after the border).
Our destination was Eastcape (8 miles East of San Jose del Cabo) where we have purchased property. We decided to bring our trailer for the drive down
and the drive back up and we rented a house in Eastcape for the two glorious weeks we were able to be there (we had family fly in and meet us there so
a house was more convenient/comfortable than staying in our trailer).
Here was our itinerary:
Saturday, day 1: Left at 5:30am from outside of Sacramento and headed to El Centro. We camped at Rio Bend (a 55+ campground) outside El Centro and
found it to be safe and comfortable. We were grateful for the pull thru site as we were only there for a quick dinner & sleep. This first day was
the hardest day; we started in dense fog and had terrible traffic through southern California. It turned out to be a 13 hour drive.
Sunday, day 2: Left the Rio Bend campsite just after 5:30 for the ~25 minute drive to Mexicali East crossing. As we learned here; we made sure our
dogs were tethered for the drive through Mexicali; they were in the back seat area of our truck and we used two tethers each to secure them to the
seats. We arrived ~6:10a and there was no wait. Just as I had learned from you guys here, we pulled to the right to the declaration area. It was a
couple minutes before anyone came over to us. We gathered our paperwork, got the dogs out of the truck and greeted the gentleman who came to inspect
us. Not knowing what to expect, we were prepared for a lengthy, intensive/thorough deep dive in our truck and trailer. Instead, the gentleman asked
to see our registration for the truck and trailer which I had a copy on hand ready, he verified the trailer vin number on the door to the
registration, asked how much alcohol we had (I was a little worried about this I thought maybe we had too much; we had a bottle of whiskey, tequila,
grand marnier, 6 beers and 3 bottles of wine: apparently it wasn't an issue), took a look in the trailer and wished us safe travels. I asked where to
stamp our FMM's and he pointed to the building behind us. We took the dogs with us into the building and there was a woman at the counter ready to
help us. I had paid for the FMM's ahead of time online; when I presented them to be inspected, the woman said that the payment was only good for 15
days and they were now expired?.... I hadn't caught that, but we paid for them again, she kept the change, stamped the FMM's and we were on our way.
Navigating out of Mexicali was fairly easy. Outside Mexicali it was sad to see a sea of plastic and trash. We had our first close call with a stray
dog who darted in front of us, but thankfully we missed it. As we got closer to the mountains, we saw our first mirage at the base of the mountains.
It was a chilly, crisp beautiful morning and this was the first of the endless breathtaking terrain we were about to experience.
As we had learned on here, our plan A destination for the evening was Guerrero Negro. It was a smooth and beautiful drive and we stopped at the
restaurant at the junction of Hwy 5 & 1 and enjoyed a perfect lunch of rolled tacos. The Valle de Cirios was one of the highlights of the drive
for us and the drive flew with so much to take in. We reached Guerrero Negro ~3:45p and we camped at Mario's. We were the only campers there and
crossed our fingers that it'd be safe. I went to the restaurant to order take out as we didn't want to leave the dogs locked up. The warm &
gracious patrona recommended the seafood combo. The food was good, were we thrilled to be there and enjoyed a great evening.
Monday, day 3: Our destination for the day was Loreto. After reading the thread here about the San Ignacio inspection, I was a little nervous. the (I
think) 2 inspections the day before we were waved through. When we came upon the SI inspection, there were a line of cars. We waited about 15 minutes
or so. We had our windows opened, we masked up and were ready. The gentleman greeted us, asked us where we came from, where we were going. He asked
to see inside our truck canopy (which was absolutely loaded with fishing gear, inflatable paddle board bags, ice chest, bags, gas cans, etc. My
husband got out and opened the canopy, he asked to see in one bag (shoes & hats), then asked to see inside the trailer. He opened a few of our
drawers and the only question he had was on our dogs heartworm pills that we had bagged. It was a smooth, friendly inspection and we were on our way.
This leg of the drive was absolutely incredible. The terrain from SI to Santa Rosalia was breath taking. I learned on here about the grade into
Santa Rosalia but it didn't register then the amazing elevation changes that we'd see. Santa Rosalia was everything I had read it to be and I couldn't
get enough - rugged, industrial, charming, personable, vibrant and decked out with amazing holiday decorations. THEN we had Mulege and Bahia
Concepcion not long after?!!! INCREDIBLE! It was a beautiful day and were were wide eyed with sore cheeks from smiling.
We had reservations to camp at Romanita's; I had loved that I was able to make the reservations on-line. Google maps took us there easily but as it
is tucked away a bit, it was a bit challenging navigating there. It was very close to the Malecon and the roads were narrow. We found a place to park
and I walked into Romanita to check in. It was SMALL and very very very full. Apparently the man who runs it was out, I found someone camping there
who spoke english. I explained that I had a reservation and was there to check in but it looked very full. The man explained that he had the same
issue when he checked in two weeks ago... that apparently the gentleman doesn't check his reservations. The kind camper suggested Rivera del Mar a
mile or so away. I was grateful for his help and more than a little worried about finding a place to stay. We easily found Rivera del Mar, we parked
and I walked in to check in. It is also small but it appeared to have a couple spaces available. The woman at the check in was super friendly and
had a spot for us - whew! We got set up, chatted with other travelers and set off to walk the dogs and find dinner. Loreto is amazing! The people
were so friendly, a ton of dogs, felt warm, safe and inviting. While trying to navigate to Romanita's, we saw a restaurant close to the Malecon with
outside seating. We found it again while walking (we took a picture of it so we could remember the name, but the name isn't in the picture). We had a
great dinner of fish tacos and the owner's son was kind enough to bring a bowl of water for our dogs. (Which later turned out to not be such a great
idea... we had been giving our dogs filtered water. I believe it was this water that gave them stomach issues the next day.) After dinner we walked
through the square, chatted with quite a few locals as our dogs get a lot of attention. We had a great time in Loreto.
Tuesday, day 4: Headed to East Cape! The drive out of Loreto at sunrise was breathtaking and blinding. Amazed again at the elevation changes. We
loved driving through Ciudads Insurgentes & Constitucion. We didn't love the drive skirting around La Paz. After 3 days of driving in Mexico
with light traffic, the chaos of the traffic and traffic signs/ controls was a little nerve wracking. We learned that 4 way stops are 'suggested'...
I was torn between being afraid to get pulled over by cops and being afraid of being hit because we stopped. My husband was awesome at getting the
right flow and we figured it out. After La Paz, it was smooth sailing with wide open roads and knowing our property was close!
Northbound:
We waiting until we made the trip south to figure out the north bound trip. We ended up taking the same route:
Eastcape to Loreto: stayed again at Rivera del Mar. This time we had dinner at Casa Carmen that had been recommended to us and was only a few blocks
away. It was an absolutely amazing meal. We had the most incredible dessert; chocoflan. I keep thinking about that dessert and will return just for
it. If you are in Loreto, make a stop; it's worth it!
Loreto to Guerrero Negro: We were waived through the SI checkpoint this time. When we arrived at GN, we scoured the town for the famous fish taco
truck. We never found it but we nearly kidnapped a very skinny dog. We ended up with the same seafood combo, although it was my husband that the
patrona convinced this time!
Guerrero Negro to San Felipe: We stayed at Pete's Camp and I read the mixed thoughts about it. We chose it for the northern location, and that it was
on the beach with great reviews. We arrived around 1:00pm and had a blast playing in the water with the dogs, watching the tide come in (300 yards?!)
had a great meal at their restaurant. We paid $55 but were fine with it; the hookups were highly functioning, it was very clean, it wasn't crowded and
we were happy to see security drive by multiple times through the night. We had a great time at Pete's but we wouldn't be fans if it was crowded with
partying folks.
San Felipe to home: We took off about 5:30am knowing we had a long ass day ahead of us. Google maps skirted us through the outskirts of Mexicali
through their industrial area which was interesting to see. It dropped us right into the lane for the border and we skipped a ton of traffic. It was
a Friday and we arrived right about 8am at the border. The line/wait was almost exactly an hour. The border agent took our passports, chatted with us
about the trip and wanted to see inside the trailer. We were on the far right lane and it was still really narrow, we had to move up about 20 yards
so we could get our door open and the trailer steps down. He barely glanced in and we were on our way! We made it home in 14 hours.
Here's some of our takeaways:
- We were very well prepared for any possible situation that we could think of and most of it wasn't needed and probably overkill. I think I would
still do the same the next time. The preparation gave us a lot of peace. Like I had learned on here... if we have extra gas, we probably won't need
it. We appreciated the recommendation of the
Wavian gas cans!
- The worst part about the Northbound trip was meeting so many people headed South; we wanted to turn around multiple times!
- I think there are 6 military checkpoints each way; out of the 12 only 1 (in SI) asked to see inside the truck canopy, only 1 asked me to get out of
the truck and looked in the glove box and around the passenger side, none asked us to take the dogs out, 3 looked in the trailer, none asked to look
in the trailer storage area. It was interesting what they chose to inspect. ALL of them were perfectly polite.
- We found the roads to be in better condition than many in California! Although narrow, we only had one close call. On an inside curve, one of our
trailer tires dragged on the edge of the asphalt. Thankfully there was a pull off shortly after and we stopped to check it and it was fine.
- Learning the rules of the road really helped. The warning lights for hazards ahead alerted us to many potential dangers: a cow in the road on a
bend with a cliff, idiotic tandem bike riders that caused an absolute traffic jam of semi's on a blind corner, & topless female cyclists stopped
for a rest. Learning about the left blinker for 'ok to pass' came in handy many times, too.
- Y'all advised that taking our trailer maybe wasn't a good idea and we debated it for months. Ultimately we are happy we did. It gave us a very
comfortable bed after long days of driving, it gave our dogs a familiar and comfortable place after a long day of uncertain places, dogs, people, etc.
It provided a welcome place for pit stops along the drive. The only regret was that it was hard to pull over and check things out when we wanted to.
I wish there were more pull outs!
- We hated to see so much trash and also so much vandalism on the boulders, etc. Do you think Gina and Luis are still in love? What made them
desecrate such beauty?
- There is so much that we loved about our drive, the terrain and our adventure. One thing my mind keeps going back to and I'm looking forward to
researching more are the many descansos or roadside memorials. They added such an intoxicating haunting element to the alluring terrain. They
are elaborate, thought provoking... it made us wonder about the people lost, and the loved ones who lovingly tend to many of them. I wish we were
able to see more up close. The majority of them are well off the shoulder without a place to pull off. I found myself hoping that there is some type
of book that captures them... does anyone know if a book exists?
We already had the Baja bug and now that we have had the privilege of driving the length of it has only enriched that love. As business owners it was
a luxury to take 8 additional days of vacation to drive. We won't be able to do it often but will look forward to doing so again as soon as we can and
to take as many different routes as possible. Thanks, all, for the input you've added to this forum so folks like us can plan, navigate and travel
safely experiencing so much wonder. Salud!
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64864
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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Thank you for the detailed report... and for double-spacing the paragraphs for reading!
Glad it all worked out for you.
Will you explore more of Baja or just concentrate on your East Cape/ Los Cabos region purchase?
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AKgringo
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6035
Registered: 9-20-2014
Location: Anchorage, AK (no mas!)
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Mood: Retireded
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Thanks for taking the time to write such a detailed report! You made much better time than I would have expected, factoring in pulling a trailer, and
doggie stops.
I have seen a lot of strange things on my trips, but topless ladies on bikes is not one of them.
I see that you left from near Sacramento, so you aren't too far from where I am now in Grass Valley. For what it is worth, I dislike driving through
Southern California so much that I cross over to Nevada and drive down highway 95.
If you are not living on the edge, you are taking up too much space!
"Could do better if he tried!" Report card comments from most of my grade school teachers. Sadly, still true!
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boe4fun
Super Nomad
Posts: 1040
Registered: 1-22-2006
Location: Margaritaville
Member Is Offline
Mood: Circling the drain........
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Great report, thank you.
Two dirt roads diverged in Baja and I, I took the one less graveled by......
Soy ignorante, apático y ambivalente. No lo sé y no me importa, ni modo.
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Marty Mateo
Nomad
Posts: 104
Registered: 12-7-2019
Location: Vanisle Sur
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Thanks for the detailed road report, it is such a stunning drive. We’re looking forward to a drive south in the not so distant future.
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BornFisher
Super Nomad
Posts: 2108
Registered: 1-11-2005
Location: K-38 Santa Martha/Encinitas
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Thanks for the report. Are you a travel writer? You write so well!
On the memorials, once I was on the road near La Paz on the Day of the Dead. Wherever there was a cross, there were people playing music, cooking,
building alters, drinking and just celebrating the life of a friend. Made me realize what a special occasion Day of the Dead is.
"When you catch a fish, you open the door of happiness."
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