Mileage: 74,609
Rancho Santa Inez Catavina, Mexico
We purchased fuel this morning before leaving San Quintin. We knew that gas stations would be few and far between on our drive to Catavina. There is one main road in Baja and that is Mexico 1. The road hugged the coast as far as Rosario.
As the road turns east and inland, the scenery began to change. We took the winding road through the mountains. The road was in good condition for the most part but extremely narrow with no shoulder in some places. The driving was intense but the landscape was unbelievably beautiful…unlike anything else we have seen.
Our breakfast spot.
The road took us through the Sonoran Desert Vegetation Region. We began to see cirios or boojum trees. There are all kinds of cacti, many species grow only here.
As we approached Catavina, we drove through the boulder field. Great granite boulders mixed with the cacti made for fabulous pictures.
Our campsite.
A boojum or cirio tree.
We had lunch and rested and then headed out in the Jeep. There were several dirt roads very near our campsite. This was every bit as beautiful as the ocean yesterday.
We stumbled upon an archeological site where we hiked up the hill to see cave paintings. There was a wash far below with pools of water…probably the reason that people chose to live here long ago.
We went to the small restaurant at the campground to use the WiFi. There we met Matilda. She spoke no English but that did not prevent us from talking. I realized then that my Duolingo Spanish lessons did not prepare me for having real conversation with real people, but Matilda was patient, gently correcting my grammar and vocabulary as we “conversed”. I did understand far better than I was able to express myself.
She told me of the recent passing of her husband on December 24th after a 30 year struggle with diabetes. She spoke with pride about how the two of them had worked together to manage their small ranch and the campground. She spoke of her 4 daughters, her one son, her 24 grandchildren, and 15 great grandchildren. Her family is very important to her. She explained that for the past 2 years there have been very few tourists and far less money. In the years before there were lots of caravans and visitors. I wished her a goodnight or buenas noches with a heartfelt hug.
We watched the sunset over this sweet little ranch.
Tomorrow we will take a side trip off Route 1. We will get our first look at the Gulf of California in the town of Bahia de los Angeles and we plan to camp on the beach!