M1Lover

Lessee, left off in San Ignacio, the palm oasis. Got up fairly early and got moving. First, we had to see the square with the catholic church from 17-something. There's a plaque in the yard inthe front that talks about the missionaries who brought smallpox to the indigenous people which promptly killed them all. Nice. Had to back out of the square to get turned around. People are real patient and don't get bent out of shape like they do in the USA. No problemo....
Headed South again. Yes. Well, actually, pretty much due east toward the Gulf of California side of the Baja Peninsula. First town is Santa Rosalia. Settled by the French to mine copper in the 1880's, its a real nice town, with a real old-time European, almost Caribbean look. There's a bank and a bunch of restaurants and Ferry terminal where you can catch the ferry across the Sea of Cortez to Guaymas. After the long trip from AZ to Tecate and down the Baja, we calculated how much time we had left and realized that the Ferry to Guaymas would knock almost 1000 miles off of the return trip. We stopped at the ferry terminal and inquired how much it would cost to ferry the truck, 5th wheel and two passengers to Guaymas. 10,200 pesos or... about 700 bucks and change. Well, the fuel back was going to be half of that easy, plus it would give us 3 more days of beach time. We decided that we'd be back on the 2nd to buy tickets for the trip on the 3rd. Now, here's the catch: If the ferry didn't go due to weather, there was no refund! You could catch the next ferry, but we didn't have time. We figured we'd get back on the 2nd, see what the weather was doing and if it looked iffy we'd start the long trip back North and not risk losing that kind of money. OK, we know the deal with the ferry, let's get to the beach! Mulege is the next town south. We didn't even go into town, but just stopped at the Pemex for beer (yes, Pacifico Ballenas), then we headed straight south to Santispac Beach, the first decent beach south of Mulege on the Bahia Concepcion. 6 bucks per night gets you a palapa on the beach. Got the 5th wheel set up and the lawn chairs out and got into relax mode. Sweet. That's where this image is......


Had a wonderful evening on the beach, temps high 70's during the day, cooler at night, down to mid 50's. Next morning, I hear a squawk and I turn to Charlotte and say: That's a BAGPIPE! Well, next thing is a full serenade by our Canadian neighbors, and she was good! Never would have guessed that there'd be a bagpiper on the beach in Mexico....



So, we got into full relaxation mode for a day or two. I read 3 books in the 10 days. It was awesome. Then, I got fidgety and did the headlight relay mod to my truck. That always bugged me and I bought everything I needed before the trip, knowing that I'd get to it. Did it right on the beach. My wife is a bit nervous, saying, why are you chopping into the wiring under the hood in MEXICO? Now worries, honey, I drew a ladder diagram and I know exactly what I'm doing, well mostly.... I mounted the relays up by the battery and left headlight landing the high and low beam wiring directly on the coil terminals on the relays. Worked slick, VERY bright headlights. Wasn't used to that! Put my tools away and opened another Ballena in celebration. That might have been New Years Eve. There's a bar at this beach. Very busy, mostly Blue-Hair BC Canadians, and, at 53 and 51, we felt VERY young in there. It was great. Had a couple margaritas which were quite potent, then got out of there, walked the beach, then back to the 5th wheel for a game of cribbage before hitting the hay. I swear, we were headed to bed at 8:00 almost every night because the sun was down very early and we were thrashed from the sun and the wind and partying. Didn't hurt a bit getting 10 hours of sleep every night.... More folks showed up in big RV's the next day and crowded us out of our Palapa, so we headed around to the north of the bay and found a new spot without neighbors. RV folks are used to camping on top of one another, I guess, but that is not our scene. the new place was WAY better and we should have gone there the first day. That's OK, better late than never.
View out the 5th wheel door:

One more:

The truck and camper from the water:


On the 2nd of January we wanted to get to the ferry to access the situation and assure a spot on should it sail to Guaymas on the 3rd. We said Adios to Santispac Beach and went back to Santa Rosalia, arriving by 0900. The ferry office wasn't open yet, so we wandered into town. The library has free internet and there's a very cool pre-fab church built in the 1880's, designed by Eiffel, the same guy who designed the Eiffel Tower.


Headed back to the ferry terminal. Yes, the ferry was scheduled to sail tomorrow. OK, here goes. Paid for the tickets and went out for some lunch. Little cafe, great food, asked the owner where we could buy some shrimp. Well, as it happens, the cook's husband is a Pescadero (fisherman)! How much did we want? Well, 2 kilos would get us started. She went back inside. I swear, 3 minutes later, a car pulls up and the Pescadero gets out and says: Shreemp? Yes indeed. 4 kilos, worked out to about 6 bucks a pound. Charlotte boiled half of them up in the camper. We stayed in the parking lot for the ferry. Well lit, security guards, no problem whatsoever. Next morning, the ferry arrives, about an hour late, it takes then another 2 hours to unload and get us loaded. I asked the ferry crew if I could keep access to the door on the 5th wheel. No problemo. We were the last to get on, they had us back on, as the ferry only had one entrance for autos. The crew was great and let us into our camper for the the 10 hour trip across. We walked on deck, talked to the captain, sat inside for a bit, on the stern, back in the camper for a sandwich. It was gorgeous weather and a beautiful trip across. Apparently its not always like that. Sometimes, the trip gets real rough and there's a lot of pukers. Nice. Also, they don't usually let you back to your truck and trailer. We just hit it right I guess. Guaymas at 20:30, an hour late, breezed through customs, headed to San Carlos where there's a gringo RV park loaded up pretty much with, you guessed it, Canadians. Can't blame 'em. Its COLD where they live! As I parked, I saw that we had a flat on the left rear tire on the camper. It was dark and I was ready for a beer. I'll look at it tomorrow. Next morning, here's what I found:


There's a mecanico in Guaymas missing a 13mm wrench. I found it. The front tire must have kicked it up and it jabbed right through the rear one. Went out to find a Llantera (tire shop) to get it fixed. While it was getting repaired we found some more shrimp to buy and had yet another killer fish taco lunch. Back to the rv park. Mounted the new spare and wheel we bought in El Centro and headed north again, headed to the border at Nogales, via Hermosillo. 4 lanes and divided highway the whole way. Sweet. The road to Nogo is a bit hammered and there's construction, but at least there's no oncoming traffic! Filled up before the border, 10 pesos per liter, still under 3 bucks per gallon. Got to Nogales, it took about an hour and a half to cross including the perfunctory check of the 5th wheel. Back in the USA and headed to see Baja Dave and Sharon in Tucson. Got there about 22:30 and they were kind enough to be up and waiting for us. Pacifico and posole for a late supper and a re-cap of the trip. Next day, back to Cottonwood, AZ where we left the truck and trailer. Man, what a nice trip. We can't wait to get back. Every local we met was friendly and helpful. No problems with the police or army personnel at the checkpoints. Everyone was professional and polite. Food was great without exception. No Montezuma's Revenge issues. The stars must have been aligned because we didn't have anything but fun. I recommend it wholeheartedly. The Baja Peninsula is not a drug corridor and had been cut off from the world until the 70's when the highway went through. Its said that this is exactly why its so sweet down there. With the exception of the big towns, Ensenada, La Paz, Cabo San Lucas, its pretty rural and remote. Very much Old Mexico, as it were. The old Blue Moose did its job efficiently and effectively. I think the truck is VERY reliable. Of course, pre-trip maintenance and spares are in order. Thanks to everyone here for sitting through this tale. I'd do it again. Probably take the ferry back across to Santa Rosalia to save the miles. If we were going for 2 or 3 months, though..... I'd drive the length again. Its a gorgeous trip. Just gotta get good at lining up the rig on the skinny highway.

3200 plus miles from 12/22 through 1/7. Helluva nice trip.
Adios Amigos. El Cazador.

sooty

great story and great job! its all about the good time, the media reality ruins a piece of heaven it really is, thanks for the desert of beauty update

KRB

Do most speak English or do you have to use Espanol?

M1Lover

KRB, to answer your question: Yes. Or Si. It helps to speak Spanish, but its not absolutely necessary. Everybody seems to speak a little English and you can get by without a word of Espanol. That said, the more you know the better, but don't let that stop you from considering a trip South.
Spanish is probably one of the easiest languages to learn BTW.... H

sooty

heres your language lesson, tacos cervezas your good to go, one of my favorites was conception bay, we went out with the locals on their pangas nailing yellowtail, coming back in, pulling lobster from the traps, it dosent get better than that, you might want to add langosta to the vocabulary

M1Lover

KRB asked about drug traffickers and other nasty's. We didn't see a shred of evidence on the Baja that any of that was taking place. At the police and Army checkpoints, you could tell the cops and kids in the army (pretty young guys, all) were somewhat nervous. Can't blame them a bit. Once they saw we were just Gringo Sun-Worshippers they relaxed. I gave everybody a soda pop and Charlotte bought blister packs of Christmas cookies to give them. They were all very appreciative of a cold pop and a snack. Baja Dave gave us good advice: When you get stopped, one person stays with the truck, one person goes back to the camper. Everything is cool that way. Yes, I am a pistol packer and am a bit uneasy without a sidearm. Anywhere. In Mexico, you DO NOT bring firearms, ammo or even empty casings. If you get caught with a weapon, you will rot in a Mexican prison that makes US prisons look like a tennis ranch. Yes, you are somewhat vulnerable in this condition. I carry an aluminum baseball bat and a Machete. This situation forces one to be somewhat more, uh... amiable and agreeable. Again, we had no issues whatsoever. Gotta be smart about it: Don't be a drunk dumbie anywhere in any town. Don't leave all your expensive toys laying around your campsite. Be polite to everyone without exception ( I know, tough for some of us). Don't camp way out in the boonies all by yourselves. These simple rules are pretty much universal. Be smart, be polite, be aware of your surroundings. Security and personal safety in the Baja Peninsula is probably better than in most US cities. Our rig is pretty modest compared to the massive motor coaches we saw down there. Helps to be the low profile set up - there's way better targets out there....
I highly recommend the Baja California Sur for camping Mexico travelers. I know that WE'RE going back! H

M1Lover

Hey Mark, maybe its because our fellow 1st Genr's all know it was my first trip and they just want to hear how I made it there and back alive with no hassles..... H

M1Lover

Mark, I went through that long thread and, while there were definitely a few pretty negative and ignorant exceptions, I saw mostly folks that are on the same page....
Keep in mind: If you want everyone to share the same (your) opinion and agree with you on every topic (based on fact or NOT), you're in for a major disappointment. Keep it on 1st gen Diesels and your odds are much better....
As Gen George S Patton said: "If we're all thinking alike, somebody's not thinking." H

sootnsmoke

I have been to many of the tourist destination cities by air travel. By land, I have only driven to Ensenada and Rosarita many years ago. Nothing but friendly people during all my experiences. The Federales can be intimidating just by virtue of the serious hardware they carry...automatic weapons and some large bullet collections on their person. This was many years ago so not sure if they carry the same hardware collection. I would love to do that long trip but I think I would coordinate with another traveling partner that wants to RV it as well, just in case of break downs and such. It was always weighing in the corner of my mind when I went through Alaska in 2007. One less stressor to think about if you know what I mean. I only had one minor radiator leak develop that I was able to keep on eye on during the final 800 mile stretch home.

M1Lover

Caravans are real common and you're right: Safety in numbers. Check out bajanomad.com for all kinds of trip reports and travel info. H