Mileage: 74,930

Camping Petates San Ignacio, BCS Mexico

Happy birthday John!!

Our journey today took us across the Vizcaino Desert. The desert is dotted with dotalillo, a kind of yucca, and giant cordones.

The road was initially straight and smooth but very narrow. There were tense moments and terse words as tractor trailers coming from the south, passed us. The best strategy was to hold your breath, pullover as far as possible, slow down, and hope for the best. More than once, the trucks and busses were too close!

Maybe we should have taken the parallel dirt road…no tractor trailers here!

The trip today to San Ignacio was only 90 miles but it was intense. We encountered an area of very dense fog in combination with the narrowness of the road and the tractor trailers, we also had cyclists, pedestrians, and cows that appeared in the fog!

I did see a bobcat along the road today!

We have quickly learned that just because a campground is advertised as having full hookups…it doesn’t always mean that the power supply is adequate or usable. Our fresh water is full and our sanitation tanks are empty and this allows us to dry camp or boondock…especially since we have buddies to camp with.

We pulled out earlier than the Costellos today but with the understanding that we would choose the campground and they would join us. We stayed at Camping Petate under the date palms and along the Laguna San Ignacio. It was very pretty!

After lunch we went to see the town of San Ignacio. It is a clean and quaint place with a town square surrounded by small shops. We bought a kilo of dates and some date cake.

We walked into the mission church of San Ignacio. The mission was started in 1716 by Spanish missionaries. They built a small chapel of leaves and poles. Because of death, drought, floods, typhus, malaria, and other disease, the construction of the stone church was delayed until 1760. It took 26 years for the building to be completed. The building is constructed of hand cut lava stone and the walls are 4 feet thick. The stone work is magnificent.

Millstones used to grind wheat and turned by burros.

This afternoon we decided to explore the road south of town…Where were we going? What is there? How long would it take? What’s the road like? We did not have answers to these questions and for us…that is what makes it exploring…not really knowing where we will end up or what we will find. We refuse to be limited by fears or anxieties and instead are limited by the amount of fuel we have and how much daylight is left.

We drove across the desert and into the marshy area of the peninsula. We traveled across sand and gravel roads along the shore. The view was beautiful…such a pleasant afternoon. We got the Jeep dirty again…a sure sign of a successful adventure!

As we drove back into town, we saw Carol and Brian having an afternoon beverage on a restaurant patio. We stopped to join them and passed a pleasant hour. It was after 5 when they decided to be on their way. We decided to stay for dinner. We had delicious garlic shrimp and vino tinto.

Day 2 Malarrimo RV Park Guerrero Negro, Mexico

We had to set the alarm to get up and get ready for our whale watching tour…but I was awake long before the alarm.  I was very excited to take this trip.  We had heard that sometimes the whales got close enough to the boat to touch them!

A van arrived to take us to the lagoon. 

The female grey whales come to warmer water to give birth.  The lagoon is a nursery.  Mother and calves will stay here until spring.  Currently, there are about 50-60 whales in the lagoon.  Last February, there were approximately 2,000.  Mama whales can be as long as 49 feet and weigh as much as 40 tons.  They live between 55-70 years.  Newborns are about 13-16 feet long and weigh about 1,500 pounds.  It is believed that the mothers bring babies to the shallower lagoons to protect them from sharks and orcas.  All the whales began their annual migration from the north in October. Their roundtrip is about 10,000 to 13,000 miles.  These are baleen whales. 

Today we saw whales in the Laguna Ojo de Liebre.  I am certain that we saw more than 2 dozen whales.  We saw moms and their babies and single adult whales.  They were often within 20 feet of our boat.  It was a rare privilege to be so close to these tremendous animals.  It was amazing to hear and see the whales coming up beside the boat. 

Nothing yet!!

Carol took a video…watch and enjoy!!!

We also saw dolphins traveling along with the whales.

A squadron of pelicans.

Lunch spot.

A bunch of sea lions.

A salt barge.

Back in town we took the Jeep to the car-wash. $4.00 to have the Jeep hand-washed!

Today was an amazing day!!!  I am so glad we had this opportunity! The pictures are not very spectacular…but being there certainly was!!

Mileage:  74,841

Malarrimo RV Park Guerrero Negro, Mexico

During the night we heard gusty wind and rain.  By morning, dense clouds clung to the mountaintops. 

We left Bahia de los Angeles with Brian and Carol in the lead.  We traveled at a comfortable pace with the road curling up and over the mountains and toward the coast. 

We turned again onto Mexico 1 and the road longer and straighter, though still very narrow.  When tractor trailers passed the RV in front of us, we could see that there was just a foot of space between the mirrors.  We suddenly came upon this huge amount of water in a wash. 

We passed into Guerrero Negro at the 28^th Parallel.  This is the border between Baja California and Baja California Sur.  We had to go through an agricultural inspection station where we expected that they might take our fruits and vegetables and where we might be required to present our travel documents.  They fumigated our tires, charged us 20 pesos, and allowed us to pass through. 

Once we were settled in at the Malarrimo RV Park, Carol and I set out to find the lavanderia so that we might wash our clothes.  For 135 pesos, I was able to do 2 loads of laundry. 

The four of us ate dinner tonight at the hotel restaurant.  I had delicious scallops in an herb and butter sauce and Tim had a steak.  We enjoyed our meal but even more so we enjoyed our company.

We are looking forward to our whale watching trip tomorrow!

Day 2 Daggett’s Beach Bahia de los Angeles, Mexico

Happy Birthday Debbie!!!

We woke up in time to see the sun rise.

A walk along “our” beach.

We packed the cooler with lunch and set out to explore the gravel road south of town. This road goes for 132 km eventually arriving at the destination of Punto San Francisquito. We had no desire to go that far. The gravel washboard surface allowed us to go only about 10 miles an hour.

We stopped at this secluded beach. We took a short walk, soaking in the sunshine, and enjoying the views of the turquoise water and the rocky coast.

As we traveled further south, we found a soft, sandy road that took us through the desert. We passed no one else. The sky was super blue, the clouds feathery, the mountains around us cast alternately in light and shadows.

We stopped for a picnic on our new Jeep table.

At this point we had rejoined the main road.  We had been 24 km.  The end of the road was still more than 100 km.  We decided to head back to town. 

We stopped at the small mercado where we purchased water and crackers and nuts all for $4.00. 

I spent lots of time in the afternoon trying to work on the blog with very spotty WiFi that kept booting me off.  I was reading though, as I tried to load pictures, sitting in a wooden rocker with a nice view of the beach. 

Today we met Brian and Carol from Vancouver Island.  In May they began their journey, traveling all the way across Canada to Newfoundland and Nova Scotia and then through Nashville, Tennessee and on to Florida then across the south coast of the United States into Texas and Arizona.  They will also be spending the winter in Baja.  They have visited many of the same places we have and we enjoyed sharing stories with them as we sat on the patio sipping wine.  As dinnertime approached, Carol invited us to share fresh yellowtail that they had been gifted by some fishermen.  We cooked some corn on the cob and sweet potatoes, Carol made a salad and sliced some strawberries. We feasted and chatted.  They are truly kindred spirits.  They also travel without a schedule, enjoying the freedoms of this crazy life!  We are all following the same path through Baja and if it works, we will travel together tomorrow to Guerrero Negro.

Mileage:  74,716

Daggett’s Beach Bahia de los Angeles, Mexico

Congratulations Megan and Tristen on your engagement. You are a special couple and we wish you every happiness!!!!

We continued across the desert through the Valle de los Cirios.  Route 1 was initially rough and narrow just south of Catavina. 

At Punto Prieta, we turned left onto a nicely paved road, straighter and smoother. 

By lunchtime, we were in Bahia de los Angeles.

The Gulf of California is beautiful!!

We found a campsite on the beach.  $30.00 a night with electric and some limited WiFi.

We took the Jeep on a gravel road to the north…more splendid views of the water!!

A drive through town.

Tonight, we went to a Mexican restaurant for dinner.  250 pesos or about $15.00 for our dinner. I once said that I could eat Mexican food every night of the week…that may get tested here!!

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!

Mileage: 74,493

Don Eddie’s Landing San Quintin, Mexico

Our first challenge this morning was to fuel the RV.  We had scoped out a large gas station with diesel fuel yesterday on our way in.  The attendant could not speak any English but she was very kind and patient with us.  We got 66 liters of fuel for 1,346.56 pesos.  This translated to 17.4 gallons for $72.00.  Some stations do not accept credit cards but this one did.  We set off with our tank topped off. 

We passed through our first military checkpoint just south of Ensenada.  One of the officers asked for permission to board.  Between my very poor Spanish and his English we were able to answer all of his questions satisfactorily and we moved along. 

We rode over rolling hills, through vineyards and olive groves, through small villages and through bigger towns.  As we moved further south, the traffic was less and the drive more enjoyable. 

The road was mostly good.  We did have an area of construction and to pass by we had to drive on a dirt and gravel bypass. 

Closer to San Quintin, we passed though miles of farmland with acres of greenhouses and lots of busses loaded with farm workers.  We could see men and women bent over in the fields picking “fresas” or strawberries.  We stopped at a small stand and got a quart of strawberries for 40 pesos or about 2 dollars. 

We settled into a campground along a bay. 

After lunch we took the Jeep across the farm fields and over the dunes to the ocean.  Driving over the crest and arriving at the edge of the cliff above the water was like getting an incredible gift.  It was breathtaking!

Tim found a path down to the beach and we drove along the water and then got out and walked.  It was about 64 degrees and sunny and gorgeous!

On our way out, we spotted a touring cyclist.  We stopped to offer him water.  He was Michael from Canada, pedaling across the desert back to the town where he planned to stay the night at a mission.

There was a restaurant a short distance from our campsite. 

I had shrimp Molina…shrimp in a savory Spanish sauce…so yummy and Tim had shrimp fajitas.  Again, with drinks our dinner was very cheap…$35.00.  We had a mariachi serenade us as we enjoyed our cocktails.  Today was a very nice day!

Mileage: 74,359

Campo #5 La Bufadora, Mexico

It was very cold last night.  When we got up, the outside faucet and the hose were frozen!!  Time to go south!

We are really and truly in Mexico.  After weeks and months of preparation and research and planning, we crossed the border at Tecate this morning.  The border crossing was fairly smooth and so much easier than I had imagined! 

We traveled through town.

Route 3 is a fairly good road that winds its way through wine country and across to the west coast of Baja Norte at Ensenada. 

Our guidebook suggested a campground on the beach just 6 miles south of town but when we arrived at the Estero Beach Resort, we were told that they no longer had a campground.  Tim looked through the book and chose a place in La Bufadora.  A camping spot on the mountainside with spectacular views of the beach and water below.  It was 150 pesos or $9.00 for a dry campsite. 

We took the Jeep for a ride on a dirt road.

This is an agave.  As it blooms it begins to die.  The weight of the flowers will eventually pull the plant out of the ground.  The blossoms will become new plants.

We went into town but this afternoon the busses from the cruise ships were parked and the whole vendor area was swarming with tourists.

We spent the afternoon watching the water, reading, and napping.  After 4pm we could see many of the busses leaving.  We headed out again to see the town.  It was nearing 5pm and the restaurants and shops were all closing.  We were able to walk to La Bufadora Blow Hole.  This is the second largest marine geyser in the world.

The sun was setting as we headed out.  There was one last restaurant on the outskirts of town.  We toasted to our new adventure!  We had a good meal with 2 beers, 1 margarita, chicken enchiladas, and fish tacos for 25.70 USD or about 500 pesos.

There was a cat in the restaurant…

What a great day and a great way to begin this new adventure!!!

Mileage: 74,259

Lake Morena County Park Campo, California

We haven’t just been preparing in Yuma…we have also been waiting. My mother has a tumor in her parotid gland. We have been waiting for biopsy results before we traveled even further from home.

We took a walk in the campground while we waited. We heard from her at lunchtime. The second biopsy results are negative. She is still facing a surgery to remove the mass sometime in the near future.

We decided that we would travel to Mexico as planned. We visited R L Jones Insurance company in Yuma and got our Mexican travel insurance. Back at the RV, we applied for and printed our FMM visitor cards. We wanted to travel closer to our border crossing in Tecate. We fueled up the RV and drove into southern California. The drive was initially all farmland. The air smelled like cabbage and broccoli and pesticides and fertilizer.

We passed Ocotillo and the landscape changed dramatically. Windmills and great mountains of crumbled rock comprised our scenery as we climbed to 4,000 feet.

We arrived in Campo in late afternoon. We camped at Lake Moreno County Park. We took a nice walk as the sun fell behind the mountains. We saw a flock of more than 40 wild turkeys. They were skittish when we got too close and so I had lots of pictures of turkeys backsides…these are the best pics.

The park is quite pretty…though the lake is very small.

Tomorrow we begin another grand adventure and we are very excited!! We know that many of you will be worried if you don’t see our blog up every day but we already know that we will NOT always have service…so be patient, and we will post as soon as we can! If we know ahead that we will be out of service…we will try to warn you! We also plan to be in touch with our family every day that we can.

Day 3 Arizona West RV Park Yuma, Arizona

Taxes have been mailed to the accountant, groceries have been procured, and we are nearly ready!!

Tomorrow we will get our FMM tourist visitor cards and our Mexican travel insurance.

We had sushi for dinner…not sure if we can get that south of the border!