Day 5 Playa Norte RV Park Los Barriles BCS, Mexico

Each day at dawn, the mourning doves are cooing, urging us to get out of bed and begin the day.  Our walk this morning.

Each day, people from the campground leave fruit peels and bits and pieces on this concrete pad. The cows, goats, birds, and other animals come here for treats!

Today the clouds were heavy and grey. We went first to get water from the water purification store.  After fueling the Jeep, we went west on Route 1 though San Bartolo and into San Antonio.  The view from the overlook.

We drove through the small town square.

We continued on the winding road to El Triunfo.  This is a very old historic town.  Some of the buildings are from the 1700’s.  There is an abundance of beautiful and unique masonry.

There are two chimneys in the town.  The smaller one La Julia, is older, built in 1860.  It was used for smelting silver that was mined here.

When people became aware of the polluting effects of the shorter tower, they built the second chimney, La Ramona in the 1890’s.  This is one of the few industrial chimneys from the 1800’s that still stands. A lot of effort has been made to preserve it.

We wandered through the side streets.  We bought sweet empanadas from a small street stand.  We found fresh French Country bread that smelled like heaven…we bought that too!

We were looking for our lunch spot and found this small palapa restaurant.  The food was cooked on this brick stove/oven.  The woman walked us into her kitchen to show us our choices.  She made us quesadillas with machaca and frijoles.  They were the most delicious quesadillas we have ever had. 

There was a small ice cream stand and Tim needed to stop there as well.  He had frozen yogurt with bananas and he was extraordinarily happy!

This evening we went into town to see the movie 1917.  It was shown in La Laguna Parque.  We brought our chairs.  The weather was mild and pleasant.  The movie was intense and fast paced and the evening was quickly over. We drove back through town to the RV Park at 9:30 and the streets and shops were quiet and closed.

Day 4 Playa Norte RV Park Los Barriles BCS, Mexico

Morning walk.

Today we took the paved road north along the coast. We went back to the beach where we had met the family from Alaska. They were not out on the beach today. Tim had chosen some markers and a notebook for the children…we left them on the steps of their trailer with a note.

It was another glorious day. I spent the day walking, reading and sitting in the sun…some of my favorite things!!!

This frigate bird was just coasting on the wind current. They are so graceful in flight. They spend the majority of the day flying and roost only at night.

We took the sandy/gravel road back along the coast…just wonderful!

Day 3 Playa Norte RV Park Los Barriles BCS, Mexico

With the cooler packed, we went south below the La Ribera Beach. We found another long beautiful isolated stretch of sand. I took a long stroll gathering shells for the grandchildren as a walked. Tim walked after I got back. We had our lunch and the longer we stayed, the more blustery it became. We sat behind the Jeep, out of the wind.

We went to the produce market on our way back home, gathering some fresh fruits and vegetables.

This afternoon at 3:30 I had a hair appointment in town at Salon Blue. Tim asked me if I was nervous??? It’s only hair…right??? Heather, the stylist, was from Colorado. She was an experienced stylist who did a great job. She even blow-dried my hair into a flip…so cute!! The doors to the salon were open…the flies were inside…the dog came from the sidewalk into the salon and licked my toes first and then my hands as I was having my hair shampooed…welcome to Baja!!!

When I got back to the RV, Tim’s first comment was”Your hair is green!” Haha!

He took me to dinner at Triny’s Compestre Restaurant. I had the best chicken enchiladas there…the margaritas were also quite tasty!

Going to a new stylist…definitely outside my comfort zone!

Day 2 Playa Norte RV Park Los Barriles BCS, Mexico

Happy happy birthday David…our gentle, strong, amazing doctor, son, father, and man!!!

We went to the grocery store early this morning to stock up…we definitely needed eggs after yesterday’s fiasco!!

Looking at the map, we found a Jeep road near Los Barriles that we had not yet explored. It was a cool, cloudy, breezy day and not such a good beach day. We took the dirt path to see what we could find. At first, we passed the garbage dump…which was pretty trashy…but we kept going. Soon we were ascending and traveling into the mountains.

We were sorry that the road was only 6 miles long…we were both enjoying the ride so much…we would have liked to keep riding!

I really think these trees are cool.

Look how the roots have wrapped themselves around the rock.

The canopy is so large. If this tree is allowed to continue to grow it will spread and can eventually resemble a copse of trees.

Cool moth.

I love to see life sprouting from what appears to be nothing.

The views were spectacular.

We went to Los Barriles to a small taco shop for lunch.

Tim found an article citing scientific evidence for our current state of happiness and contentment….”experiencing the wild side of nature.”

Read in Ladders: https://apple.news/AU8ibm9b9TSGymgVG0-lmJQ

More laundry and chores this afternoon.

Day 6 Cabo Pulmo Playa BCS, Mexico

Today we went Jeeping. We hadn’t explored too much of the inland portion near Cabo Pulmo. We found a dirt road in an arroyo and took it as far as we could. It was another picture-perfect day. The trail started off pretty easy and got more challenging as we traveled into the foothills.

Lunch spot.

This is a banyan tree. I have taken pictures of them before and did,t know what they were…just thought they looked cool. Banyan trees are a species of fig trees. Birds eat the fruit form the tree and drop the seeds in a crevice in the rock. When the seeds germinate, they grow roots toward the ground. As the tree ages, they develop aerial prop roots that form a woody “trunk.” These trees are also sometimes called “strangler figs.”

View from the hill near our campground.

After dark, we went back on top of the hill. First, I looked for scorpions with the black-light. Unfortunately, I found no scorpions…however, giant moth like creatures and batlike things were very attracted to the light. Tim yelled at me for scorpion hunting in my flip flops…maybe another day!

Tim had taken the top off the Jeep. He sat on the roof and I reclined in my seat. As we sipped wine, the stars popped out. We could barely see the Milky Way because the moon was so bright. I saw a shooting star. It was incredibly romantic, and very beautiful.

“The pleasure we derive from journeys is perhaps dependent more on the mindset with which we travel than on the destination we travel to.” -Alain De Botton

Mileage: 75,595

Playa Norte RV Park Los Barriles BCS, Mexico

We took a walk early this morning. We could see the clouds gathering along the horizon and though the forecast did not call for rain, we decided to shorten our walk and leave quickly.

We decided that I would follow the RV in the Jeep so that the RV would not have to strain to tow the Jeep up the steepest hills. Again, Tim could not drive more than 3-5 mph. Since I was moving very slowly, I had plenty of time to take pictures as we trundled along.

We got to the paved section where we had intended to hookup and proceed the remainder of the way to Los Barriles. Instead, Tim waved me to the RV. While I was moseying down the road, listening to 60’s music, belting out tunes, and taking my photos, Tim had taken a hard bump in the road. The result was that the pantry, the kitchen cupboard, and the fridge all opened and contents spewed forth. I walked in to see a jumble of shattered glass, broken eggs, with oranges and black olives rolling about…with all manner of other things mixed in…it was a giant mess!!! Nothing to do but start to clean it up!!! This stuff happens…gotta just keep a positive attitude and move along. We got the big stuff picked up and I followed Tim to Playa Norte.

We spent a lot of the day getting everything scrubbed and gleaming. The RV needed to be cleaned anyway and we had water and electric enough to get it done. We started some laundry while we were at it and then while the clothes were drying, I worked on the blog. We got lots done so we can play tomorrow!!!

In the meantime, Tim invited me to dinner. We went back to La Playa where we had our best meal in Los Barriles. We sat at a beach table and enjoyed the evening!

Day 5 Cabo Pulmo Playa BCS, Mexico

We began the day with a hike up the hill adjacent to our campground. I love the juxtaposition of the mountains and the desert and the sea. We have spent most of our time in Cabo Pulmo looking at the water. It was nice to hike on the other side. The trail map was extraordinarily useful…

Lots of cacti and some wildflowers.

At the top, the view was breathtaking.

We packed our cooler and drove south to a deserted beach where we spent our afternoon.

The waves had carved a high bank. This is where I sat, watching the whales and the birds. The last many days have been hazy. Today the haze was gone and the colors were so vivid, a dozen shades of color light green to the deepest darkest blue.

Some creatures.

The sky turned lavender this evening as the sun set. Hasta manana.

“To explore is to get out of your comfort zone, to venture to new terrain, to try new things, to explore the places that excite you, and frighten you a little.” Unknown

Day 4 Cabo Pulmo Playa BCS, Mexico

My morning walk.

And his.

Yesterday was a long day. We decided to do something a little closer to home today. We started at Playa Miramar with a nice walk to the cove with the rocks.

What creature is this??? We could see where he had stopped to dig in crab holes, his footprints a long trail in the sand.

We headed to the lighthouse beach. It is much closer to here than Los Barriles. We stayed on the south side of the cove to get out of the breeze. We picked up shells, read, walked, picnicked, and rested in the gorgeous sunshine.

This evening we went back to La Palapa for dinner.

The restaurant is outside…the Mexican dogs are outside…why wouldn’t they be welcome?!?

Afterward, we walked around town.

The history of Cabo Pulmo National Park.

Day 3 Cabo Pulmo Playa BCS, Mexico

Once again, we began our day with a walk to the cove near our campground. The wind had died down a little bit so instead of winds at 24mph…it was now less than 20mph…

Our plan for today was to take our lunch and head south. We wanted to take the sandy coastal road all the way to the tip of the peninsula.

We were unprepared for the beauty we would find. There were no less than 20 beaches along the road. We stopped at many…but not all. Some beaches were occupied by surfers, others by a camper or 2. But most of the time, we were all by ourselves on one beautiful beach after another.

So…we took another dirt road…and saw some more beaches…I want to try to explain…as we were bumping along on this rough road in the desert…suddenly we would see the brilliant glimmering water and it was just so lovely. I was repeatedly awestruck.

As we got closer to Cabo San Lucas, the views were incredible.

I had been missing the whales. Today, we saw many spraying and breaching but very far away.

Some very palatial homes.

A really cool tree.

See the goats on the ridge.

We saw this Uber Eats driver in Cabo.

A trip to Walmart for the stuff we can only get there…and we were wiped out.

Day 2 Cabo Pulmo Playa BCS, Mexico

Sunrise.

Fish for breakfast.

We began our day with a walk.

The beach here in Cabo Pulmo is comprised of smooth round rocks. In front of the RV the stones are rather small and as you walk, you can here the tinkling sound of the rocks tumbling in the curling waves. It is rather musical. In the cove on the other side, the rocks are larger…more like small boulders. It’s very windy today and the waves were crashing thunderously onto the rocks. The clattering could be heard above the noise of the surf…a symphony in its own right.

We drove north to get gas for the Jeep. On our way, we drove down every sandy road to walk along the water.

It was much to windy for a picnic on the beach. We had our lunch at a community park in the town of La Ribera.

I spent my afternoon hunkered down in the RV, talking with family.

While I was on the phone, Tim took the fish I had out of the freezer for dinner and put it back…he was taking me out to dinner. Cabo Pulmo is a national park. There is a tiny town here with a couple of shops and a few restaurants. We ate at La Palapa, an open air restaurant right on the water.

The town is focused on preservation of the reef and marine habitat. There are no plastics in the restaurants…metal straws and real dishes. There are conservation messages posted in town as well.

Sunset on the mountains behind us.