Baja - "brief" summary of the first two weeks

We are currently in Loreto, in Baja California Sur, Mexico. We have been having the most amazing adventures so far!! We are officially in love with Baja.

Yesterday, we drove out the 35 km on a rough dirt road through the Sierra Gigante mountains to San Javier - such incredibly beautiful desert scenery! With views back to the Sea of Cortez as we climbed, and Rupestran rock art greeting us along the way - several stream crossings, a few small ranchos, palms filling the arroyos and cardon, cholla, wild figs, and palo blanco hanging off the steep cliffs. San Javier is a piece of "old Baja" and this small ejido must feel great pride in what they have done - it is so beautiful and clean and well kept - cobblestone streets lead the way to San Javier Mission, which is the second of all the missions in the Californias. It was founded in 1699, and later moved to its current location in 1720 to make room for all the orchards - it is very well-preserved and very old feeling - simple, moorish architecture that I found more appealing that the ornate decor of some. It was really a gorgeous place, warm friendly people, tidy little homes and businesses, in such a beautiful valley in incredible desert scenery!

On the drive back the Jeep started making a horrible screeching noise - it seems something may have been caught in the wheel well, or was scraping on the metal disk brakes - it was awful and echoed in the canyon as we descended the steep rocky road with hairpin turns - we stopped in the road and Devin crawled under to see if it was something he could knock loose, and couldn't find anything, so we kept going a ways to find a better place to work on it - a relatively flat area with good visibility both directions. We jacked it up, and before removing the wheel, Devin did some more diagnostics and was able to pry the metal shield that covers the inside of the wheel away from the disk brakes, where it had been rubbing - probably a big rock got thrown up from the other tire and dented it. No more noise!! And we didn't have to take off the wheel. Yay!! We drove down to Loreto in the dark, seeing the glowing eyeshine of various beasts (mostly cattle, burros, and rabbits) along the way, outlines of Cardon (like Giant Saguaro) cacti, and enjoying the desert night as the lights of Loreto approached.

That was our most recent adventure - among others are when we've been surrounded by whales asking for a scratch on the back - they really do come right up to the small boats and bring their babies - they make the effort to gently float up close enough to the boat so we can reach down and "pet" them - their skin is surprisingly soft! It was amazing to be in this small panga, just us and our capitan, Leopoldo, in the midst of beautiful Ojo de Liebre (Scammon's) Lagoon, surrounded, literally surrounded, by whales - we had FIVE mother whales and their babies all at ONCE surrounding the boat, taking turns in the "line" to get a scratch! Truly amazing! Leopoldo was very good about not chasing the whales, but let them choose to come to us - he would pilot the boat to a place near where we saw spouts, and we would wait at a distance, idling, and if they didn't come to us, he would move on. It was a very moving experience - Leopoldo kept saying "bueno, bueno, bueno!" and spreading his arms as if to say, "see what I have brought you?!" What an amazing day.

More recently, we camped for a few days on the beach of the Sea of Cortez at Playa Santispac, which was just incredible - one of those places, like Saline Valley, that is so relaxing that you feel as if you'd already been there weeks when it has only been 2 or 3 days.

We met some wonderful people there - Alethea and Bernardo camped next to us for a couple of nights - she is a teacher from Alberta, Canada, who had been teaching English in Mexico, where she met Bernardo, who is from Guadalajara, Mexico. They were a great couple! Bernardo was very international - his family is from Germany, and he went to high school in England, so he is fluent in three languages - but he is Mexican born and raised. He speaks English with a British/Mexican accent :-) We shared a wonderful fish dinner with them on the beach one night, from fresh pescado bought from the vendors who came by every morning, and with a marinade that I learned from my former roommate Tom from Wrightwood - lime juice, soy sauce, cilantro, serrano chiles, purple onion, and garlic. Yum!

There were all sorts of beautiful shells on that beach, and wonderful bird and sea life. We rented a kayak and paddled out to an offshore island - a true "desert island" - covered in Cardon and Cholla and other cacti, but with Pelicans nesting among the cacti! We saw baby pelicans in their nests - omg they are SO cute! It felt like we were on the Discovery channel in the middle of a nature show - we floated silently through crowds of pelicans as we wove through small islets - close enough to touch, but we stayed silent and only paddled when we needed to, and only one hopped over to the next rock when we got too close. It was a solemn and stately procession of pelicans! American Oystercatchers and Spotted Sandpipers and Eared Grebes down at the shore on the rocks, along with strange prehistoric looking bugs - like giant pill bugs - which all swarmed up to just cover the rocks when we approached!! Below us yellow and black striped "seargent major" fish (I called them bumblebee fish) and a big blue parrot fish, lots of sting rays, dolphin fish (mahi mahi), jacks, and many others swam through the blue-green water, seaweed, rocks and sand we could see many feet down. Overhead, Turkey Vultures, Pelicans, and Frigatebirds made interesting aerial dance partners, and were joined by an Osprey that landed on a Cardon and watched us from on high. No photos of this experience, since we were afraid to bring a camera in case we dunked the kayak - ha. But it is certainly one of the more vivid memories we've had on this trip!

Another night at Santispac, we dined in style on a sailboat that was anchored in the bay - Tony and Marquita, from San Carlos and Albuquerque, came and got us from the beach in their dinghy and treated us to lasagna - I brought a bottle of red wine from Trader Joe's we'd been carrying for just such an occasion, and we stayed out on their lovely 34 foot boat until after sunset, being entertained by sailing stories, listening to the weather on the ham radio, and enjoying fine company. They also picked up Caleb, from a neighboring sailboat, who really looks like an "old salt"! People are very friendly and open down here!

Earlier in our trip, we traveled through the desierto central and stayed at Rancho Santa Ynes outside of Catavina for a few days. We explored some back roads there - went out to El Marmol, an abandoned onyx mine, where huge blocks of onyx have been left laying about like stonehenge, and there is a ruin of the only schoolhouse built entirely out of onyx.

We found when we were leaving Catavina, that our RV had a flat tire! We had probably cut the inside of one of our rear inside tires when we pulled back onto the highway from a rocky pullout before arriving, but since it was a deep slice, and we had had the RV up on its leveling jacks while camping, it hadn't been noticeable. As soon as we were pulling out, though, our tire monitors (a Christmas present from Devin's dad - thank you!) gave an alarm, and when we got out to look, you could hear air just streaming from the tire! Catavina is in the middle of the infamous "gas gap" in Baja - some 200 miles with no gas stations, and very little in the way of services or towns. Catavina itself is not much of a town - there is a hotel, and a few buildings - some guys that sell gas from barrels in the backs of their pickups, and that's about it. Well, we found one of those guys and asked for help - he was great! He and his wife came out to the rancho, had to make 2-3 trips back to get the right size tools, and helped us change our tire - not an easy task in an RV!! We gave them beer, soda, and more money than I think he was comfortable accepting, but we were so very grateful for both his hard work and their kindness. So now we are driving on our 10 year old spare, which still had the label on it, but it has been sitting for 10 years. It seems to be holding up fine, so far!

Which is a good thing, because the highway down here is no picnic! I know it used to be all dirt road beyond El Rosario, but even so, the lanes are MUCH narrower than in the US, with NO shoulders (often a drop off on the edge of the pavement of 6-12 inches that would be very dangerous to hit at highway speeds, especially in a 9 ton RV), guard rails are rare, and where they do exist are often smashed down from people going over them. Little shrines and memorials dot the highway's margins the entire length of the penninsula, solemn reminders of the dicho posted on one roadside sign, "Vale mas tarde que nunca" (better late than never). The roads are winding and often rough or full of potholes, and steep grades (including one that actually is officially named "cuesta del infierno" - the grade from hell - ha!). The lanes are officially 9.5 feet wide (though sometimes seem narrower!), but our motorhome is 8.5 feet wide, not counting our mirrors, which probably stick out a foot on each side, so when trucks or other RVs are passing, we have to have our right tires ON the white line, inches from the edge - quite the white knuckle driving experience!! The trucks don't slow down - they are expert drivers. We, on the other hand, slow to almost a stop when they pass us!! It's not hard to do because, fortunately, there is very little traffic, and most of the other RV's are heading north. The cars that do come from behind, we send around us using the Baja convention of the left blinker to let them know it is clear. People pass readily where most of us would never consider passing!! But the system works, and keeps us from being a rolling roadblock, so we can go as slow as we need to. Our top speed is usually about 40 mph, a nice speed for sightseeing! We typically drive under 100 miles on driving days, otherwise, this wouldn't be nearly as relaxing a trip.

Today begins the Semana Santa holiday - people have been warning us about the craziness of Semana Santa - the beaches, apparently, are where everyone in Mexico wants to be during the holiday, and thousands of people are expected at the lovely near deserted ones along Bahia Concepcion where we camped - in fact, they are moving a carnival onto the beach at Santispac! Playa Coyote will have 3 live bands, and there will be partying all night long. The roads will be full of traffic, and we are warned to beware of drunk drivers. Yikes! We just decided to stay in Loreto one more night so we can get an early start in the morning - we figure everyone who's been partying all night will be hung over and sleeping it off in the mornings, so if we drive early, we should avoid some of the worst of it. We may head north, rather than continue all the way south at this point, and we have decided we are definitely coming back. Next time, though, we will come earlier and stay much longer - perhaps January through March, giving us time for much more exploration and relaxation, and to truly settle into the Baja way of life.

I am going to try to add photos to this post, and maybe go into more detail, but I think our internet will turn off in a short while, and I wanted to get something posted before that happens - likely we won't have internet access until we get back to the US after this.

Some of our more relaxing pursuits other than exploration have been reading - I read Joseph Wood Krutch's "The Forgotten Penninsula" and Devin is reading John Steinbeck's "Log from the Sea of Cortez." I figured out Cielito Lindo on guitar, we've enjoyed birding and I've added several "lifers" to my bird list, and of course practicing speaking Spanish - my Spanish always improves by leaps and bounds in Mexico, of course, but I am still at the internal translation stage - so that when someone speaks rapidly, I can't always keep up, and it's amazing how quickly then Spanish goes from being a perfectly comprehensible language to complete gibberish! Here in Loreto is the first place we've found where many locals speak English, because of all the gringos here. There is an airport with direct flights, cruise ships come here, and many Norte Americanos have bought property and either have retired here or come to fish or vacation. I stubbornly insist on speaking Spanish because that is how I will keep improving!

I hope to post more details on the whales, San Javier, the desert, dogs, birds, etc. I hope I will not forget the soul-enriching beauty of this place.

Thanks for reading our blog!

Ahhhh, Mexico!

Well, we are officially "enamorados" with Baja (in love)! I have a lot to catch up on here in our little blog - so much has happened, so many "little stones of adventure" have been overturned in such a short time, it feels we've been gone for months. This won't be a "once in a lifetime trip" down here, because we are definitely coming back. We would like to come and stay for a few months, like many Norte Americanos in their RVs do - from January through March. There is so much to do and to really relax and enjoy it, it would be wonderful to be here for a longer time. We have plenty of time, but as spring progresses, it is getting warmer, and we would also like to make it all the way to Alaska by summer, with many explorations in between, so our self-imposed schedule sends us back north fairly soon.

We are currently in Loreto, Baja California Sur, and enjoying some city life luxuries along with the quirks of residing in a Mexican town - the Giant Megaphone cars that drive by on a regular basis announcing who knows what to the neighborhood, for example, the water vendor with his Woody Woodpecker horn, the roosters crowing before dawn, and here in the Rivera del Mar RV Park, the sounds of wind in palm fronds, and Orioles and Sparrows singing while building their nests. Oh, and a laundry and internet access!! All for $14 a night - quite expensive by Baja standards, but well-worth it to catch up on things like the blog, emails, laundry, groceries, etc.

What I will try to do is update in installments - separate posts throughout today detailing the last week or so of experiences - look for posts on beautiful beaches, great food, flora and fauna, deserts, jeep roads, whales, towns and people! Some preview photos are at Devin's Picasa album, at http://picasaweb.google.com/riley.devin/MiscBajaPics

This has been a wonderful trip so far!

More to come soon!

If it's not one thing...

It's another!

Okay, we are STILL in the U.S. ... but TOMORROW is D-Day! Departure Day...

We had to delay a day because the "check engine" light came on in our new Jeep. Pretty much something you want to check out before driving the Baja and exploring some of the backroads of the Vizcaino Penninsula and other places we've been reading about.

It was an error, according to the Jeep Dealer in La Mesa, so no worries. We thought it could have been a stuck thermostat because we bought one of those OBDCII readers that hook up to the on board computer and tell you what the problem is. Nice to have! The code was something about the cooling system, and it came on when the car was cold, but went off when it was warmed up. Of course, it went off before we got it to the dealer, and hasn't been back on since!

This is a lovely campground (Potrero) - it's too bad that although this will be our third night, we haven't really had a chance to enjoy it much. Folks here are very friendly, and pretty much everyone is either going to or coming back from Baja. We had a good test of the new Banks exhaust system in the moho just getting to Potrero - some steep grades towing the Jeep! It did great. We are really glad we got it.

We had planned to go to Tecate yesterday in the Jeep and head over with the moho today, but when the check engine light came on, we went to La Mesa instead - the Jeep dealer couldn't see us then, but said come back in the morning, so we went back up to Camping World in San Marcos and bought a spare water pump... we've been a bit worried that ours is about to konk out, so we figured we'd buy it now and then if ours doesn't die, we'll have an upgrade (we got one that is variable speed, and more powerful yet more quiet - so higher water pressure for showers, and quiet for midnight bathroom breaks).

That was a long day, and today was another - we got up early (for us) and went back to La Mesa and the Jeep dealer, got a rental car from them, went to Sport Chalet to get some "cheap" snorkel gear (at the recommendation of friends Tonya and Rich Mandl, who gave us a great list of Baja people and places we look forward to getting acquainted with!). Of course, we had a guy helping us who was a dive instructor and was super helpful and funny - and he showed me the mask HE uses, after which all of the other masks were just not good enough!! So I got a really nice mask. And a cheap snorkel and fins. I'll probably want a better snorkel... but the fins should be fine. Devin found a nice set he liked with short flippers, which work better for him, and he bought some webbed gloves, since most of his power is in his arms. I look forward to trying them out in the water!! (I tried them out in the RV when we got home - ha).

After we got the Jeep back, we went to Tecate and got our FMTs (tourist cards) and some pesos, and scouted the road through town we'll take with the RV tomorrow. Tecate is Mexico. I mean, it's really Mexico. I was expecting a border town to be a little more, I don't know - Americanized... but it feels like a small town in central Mexico - you cross that border and you are immersed in a completely different culture!!! No one speaks English, all the signs are in Spanish, everything is different. From the colors of paint on the buildings, to the music pouring out of the buildings, to the street signs and stores... although there was a McDonald's! That was the ONLY sign of Americanization I saw. Oh, and drivers are much nicer there! Twice in a short period people stopped and let us into traffic. I didn't like the traffic circles - I've never liked those. Too many variables! But I made it through twice, though I freaked out a bit the second time because a truck went through with us and the lanes are NOT well-defined. I'm okay now, though. Yay beer!

Speaking of beer, we decided not to go to the brewery - too long of a day already. It smelled just like the Miller Brewery up off the 210, by Irwindale. Our friend Graci would have liked it!! We'll drink plenty of Tecates, I suspect. Maybe we'll take a brewery tour on the way home.

So tomorrow, we go through the border and head to Ensenada. We are staying at the high end Estero Beach Resort there, which will be a nice way to start - we will have plenty of time for boondocking on beaches farther south, but up in this region, a high end RV park is more appealing.

After Ensenada, we will head to San Quintin to camp on the beach, then El Rosario for lunch at Mama Espinoza's (where we will say hi to Roly from Rich and Tonya, and be sure to try the spicy lobster soup!) and Catavina area may be a camping spot - beautiful cacti and rocks, an old onyx mine (El Marmol) which our rockhound friend Greg Arnold would surely love, may be some side trips we'll take, or perhaps we'll save them for the way back so we can get to see the whales in Scammons and San Ignacio Lagoons before they migrate back north.

Bahia de los Angeles is one of the areas I know we'll want to spend some time, but maybe we'll go there on the way back north so we don't feel rushed to leave to catch the "tail of the whales." So after San Quintin, we may power through to Guerrero Negro and camp right on the Lagoon (called Ojo de Liebre in Spanish - Scammons is the same place). So we are about 3-4 days from whales, and after than, whatever we feel like!

The water situation will be interesting. We are going to fill our water tank at RV parks, and chlorinate it ourselves for washing, but buy bottled water for drinking and maybe for cooking. I wish they made "Potable Aqua" in large quantities for 75 gallon tanks, so we could use the neutralizer tablets like I do for backpacking - no bad taste! And the Iodine tablets kill even viruses. We have some good filters that we use to fill our tanks - some people add Chlorine before filtering, some after. I like the "pour the bleach into the hose before connecting and filling" technique, since it sterilizes the hose, and some of the bad Chlorine taste should get filtered out that way.

Well, I'm going to get back to my duty as trip photographer tomorrow! And I'd better get to bed soon, since it will be an exciting day and our first day in Mexico in the Moho.

Wish us Bien Viajes!!

Still in Southern California...

But not for long!!!

Okay, the whole month of February is missing - I realize that and have a draft started, but so much happened!! I have photos and lots of stories to tell - moving out of our apartment and into the tiny storage with the big old truck, working on the Jeep installing base plate for towing and wiring braking system, redecorating the interior of the moho, errands and more errands, visiting family and friends - it's been very busy!! But we are ~almost~ finally ready to head over the border, so I thought I should do a quick update to the blog before we do.

First, one more excuse besides the busy one - my laptop died and we've sent it off to the Apple Mothership for a new hard drive, so updating the blog depends on when I can wrench Devin's laptop from him - ha. We'll pick mine up after Baja, so updates should start being more frequent. We'll at least attempt to post photos on Picasa or other photo sites and link to them from here!

Right now we are in San Diego at Campland on the Bay, trying to wrap everything up! The RV was in the shop at Camping World most of the day Saturday getting the SmartTire monitoring system fixed, and yesterday we ran more errands. Today we got new off-road tires for the Jeep and will take care of other items we forgot or were thinking of not doing - like putting together a camping kit for Baja in the Jeep. I just found out the 5th tire (spare) for the Jeep won't be ready till around 4pm, so it looks like we may stay here one more night, then head over to Tecate in the morning.

We plan to camp at Potrero County Park which is right across the border from Tecate, and head over to Tecate in the Jeep to explore and get our FMTs and visit the Tecate Brewery, scout the route through town, etc. Then the next day we'll cross in the moho with the Jeep in tow, and head straight down to Ensenada. A night or two in Ensenada, then on to points south - we look forward to exploring the Catavina area, Vizcaino Penninsula, Bahia de los Angeles, Scammons Lagoon, San Ignacio, Mulege, Bahia de Concepcion, and on down to Cabo and Land's End. Hope to find places to kayak and snorkel, side trips in the Jeep, take lots of photos, improve our Spanish, and just relax!!

More updates on the lost month, and on the coming weeks in Baja, as time and internet connections allow!

Oh, email if you'd like to hear from us in person - a lot of my contacts are on my laptop and not in online address books! And our phones may work in Baja - we updated to the North America's Choice plan which includes international roaming and long distance, so you can call either of us, too!