Finally made it to the Baja...

[Veg Hed]

Finally made it down...We drove from Tecate to Catavina the first day...Then all the way to Bahia Conception the next...Then we hung out on the beach for a few days, drank beers and got sunburned. Now we are in Loreto drinking more beers and working on our sunburns...

The van ran great on the way down...I even got it up to 96 mph on some straight stretches. Then I started worrying about suicidal cows. We will probably hang out here for a few days and try to bum some kayaks off of a friend. I also need a fishing license...Then south bound...

 

[adventureduo]

Beautiful! Thanks for sharing.

 

[FISHBREATH]

Looks like a nice place to be :b5:




DAVEF :h1:

 

[bitburger]

Great sunset picture!
Safe travels.

 

[deminimis]

Good job Veggie,

If you head south of Cabo Pulmo on the East Cape Rd. to the cross roads and "Cross Roads Country Club", have a shrimp sandwich for me!! Great pics too!

 

[daveb-SMB]

great looking...keep the pics coming. Put in some campsite pics for Saline.

 

[Veg Hed]

Great sunset picture!
Safe travels.

That's actually a sun rise pic. over Playa Escondita...

I don't know if I'll head all the way to the East Cape road this year. We did that last year...However, I really want to hit up the hot springs near Santiago and hang out on the beach south of Todos Santos...Right now we are camped about 20 miles south of Loreto. I found a place where I can surf the net if I buy a beer. It's a win-win... I do have to ride my bike about 2 miles down this rough dirt road though. So the beer taste even better when I get here...

 

[John and Dana]

Veg Head,

I am green with envy. We did Baja last year and couldn't make it down this year due to a project I have going that I couldn't leave.

Just South of you is a great beach camping spot you should check out. Turn off at the small town of Ligui and there is a great little beach where you can camp free and there is an eclectic group of travelers that hangs out there. We spent 3 or 4 days there last year. Turn off at the town and follow the road to the East. The road will fork at a wash and you want to the left.

The beach just to south of the camping area is a paradise for anyone collecting shells. I had a hard time getting my wife to leave it. You can reach this beach by hiking trail along the access road. If you go there is an older couple that stays at the South end of the Beach all winter "Keith and Betty" he is great and has been traveling to the area for many years and is a wealth of information. You may also see a rolling resort (large plush RV) with a Jeep Rubicon, their names are Bob & Liz and they are great people. The leave the RV and explore all over Baja either by Zodiak or Jeep. He will definetley know of trails less traveled. Anyway if you stop and meet any of them say Hi from John & Dana.

Also on the way back if you stop at Bahia De Concepcion I would recommend venturing inland to Ray's Place. It is a restaurant just inland (about 2 miles) from Mulege that is run by a Cuba/American named Ray. The food is really incredible and Ray is an amazing host. He also has a small campground by the restaurant if you want to escape the wind along the beach.

We have more info and pictures on our blog. www.lasswelladventures.blogspot.com

Have fun!!

John :c3:

 

[Veg Hed]

John & Dana,

Actually checked out Luigi and it was mostly full. The areas that were open were not sheltered and well, too open. So we headed back down the beach and found a much more secluded spot. However, there are friendly gringos and kanucks down the beach here as well. So it feels like a safe spot. And a place for the internet is about a 2 mile bike ride to the nearest tienda where I can also buy jugs of water and get my ballenas of Pacifico filled. My buddy was managing a kayaking outfit here that was ran out of an "eco-resort" called El Santuario south of Ensenada Blanca. It was bought up by some developers last year and they are really changing the landscape in the area. There is even a guard house discouraging anybody from driving down the road. A little tip though, you might be able to get through if you say that your are just going to the beach or if you offer them some beers or some sweets. You can see Luigi just to the North and there are some nice sheltered spots to pull a SMB, but I wouldn't bring anything bigger, or without 4wd.

Yesterday we took the kayak out and I caught a spotted sea bass...My first fish in the Baja. We fried it up in the skillet, seasoned it with lime and lemon pepper and served it with cous cous and fresh veggies from the Loreto farmers market. At this pace I'm never going to have to leave this camp spot.

 

[John and Dana]

I think I know the spot you are talking about with the guards. It is just south of Ligui and you get there by going right at the fork that takes you down to Ligui. We were just driving around one day last year and pulled up to the guards and they just waived us through and said it was fine to camp on the beach anywhere we wanted. There were a few rigs scattered along the road in various little spots along the beach.

John :c3:

 

[deminimis]

Need an update Veg Hed. :a4:

 

[Veg Hed]

All right...Took off from Loreto about a week and a half ago and headed out to Agua Verde. We camped on the beach near town but were not able to pick up some delicious goat cheese like we had wanted to. The road in was pretty rough but I just put it in 4wd low and coasted down the hill. We met some cool gringos anchored off the beach and drank some beers with them. Then borrowed some kayaks off some other gringos and fished and paddled around some islands.

Then headed to La Paz. We camped at the Casa Blanca RV park last night to prepare for another week or so in the mountains near Santiago. We filled up the water tank and topped off the batteries. It was Sunday so the office was closed and nobody was around to collect money, you gotta love Mexico sometimes...We headed into town last night and tried to hail a cab, then tried to call a cab to no avail. Then we decided to flag down a bus...I asked the guy, "Centro?" and he said, "Si" but he took us all over the different neighborhoods of La Paz. We got out at a supermercado and finally found a cab stand and took it the rest of the way into town near the Malecon. I had been fishing for the last 8 or 9 days so I was really craving some carne and liquor...We hit up the new beach side "Papas and Beer" restaurant and got our fill of margaritas and Mexi/Gringo food. We loaded up on supplies at the CCC today and headed south. I needed to get on-line to take care of some stuff (the internet at Casa Blanca does not work so well) so now we are at the East Cape RV park in Los Barilles doing laundry and exploiting their pool and hot tub. I'm going to bike around to try to find a Mexican phone card and call the states; wish me luck.

Tomorrow we are headed to Agua Caliente to further work on our sunburns, soak in the springs and do a little hiking in the mountains. We may head to Todos Gringos (Santos) after that to see if we can catch some late whales but who knows?

I took a bunch more pics but I'll have to post them later...

One negative note...It looks like we have a mouse living in the van with us. The only thing I could find in La Paz was one of those inhumane sticky traps but I can't stand that little mofo eating up any more of our rice, oats or triki-trakes (cookies). The cupboard is cleaned out and the trap set...We'll see if we catch our new friend tonight.

 

[Veg Hed]

South of Loreto...Not a bad spot

 

[deminimis]

Man oh man I'm jelous. My work is at a near stand-still right now, so was hoping to head down there for a week of dirt biking, but my riding buddy can't make it. Sounds like you are having a blast with the Topolino-mobile. Wait, that's Italian. "Raton'-mobile!"

 

[Veg Hed]

Caught the two little mice that were traveling in the van with us so now all is well. I don't think I will ever travel to the Baja again without mouse traps. What a headache....Anyway, spent about a week at the hot springs near Santiago then opted not to do the loop to Todos Gringos (Santos) and instead visited some folks in La Ribera that we met last year. Then drove to Punta Conejo for a night on the Pacific...There was nobody around and the camping was great. Now we are back in Loreto heading out to a campsite for a night or two and then maybe north to Mulege tomorrow.

The weather here has been spectacular this year...I think it's just about time to pop open a Ballena of Pacifico and try out my new neoprene Ballene coozy. It is the size of an American Quart of beer and it has the Rockstar energy drink logo all over it with the words "Party like a Rockstar!" I found it at a Pemex in Ciudad Insurjentes for 50 pesos.....It was a purchase I couldn't resist.

 

[lisajsiegel]

I too had two mice living with me in baja in my sportsmobile!!!!!!!!!! Funny looking back on it now, but definitely not at the time.

 

[jage]

When I was a kid we picked up a colony of ants in Texas on our way into Mexico. A little over two months later, back at home, when we were unpacking the emergency only supplies and blankets from under the rear seats we discovered a huge colony of fire ants including a queen, which had made themselves a nest under the driver's side rear seat. How none of us got bit or ever saw an rogue ant during the trip is a mystery to me, but the shock at pulling off that seat and seeing 1,000s of ants going about their nest is something I'll never forget.

 

[scatter-SMB]

Mouses :a7: hate the little suckers. (I'm a Donald fan!!!) Anyway, a few years back we were camping in our plane and unbeknownst to us one set up house keeping somewhere. Didn't want the dirty rat :a1: chewing thru anything important (and there's not much unimportant in a plane) so set a trap when we got home. Smap, bam :tomato: and the dasterly deed was done.
Then around nine months later, during the annual inspection, I pulled up the floor to check out cables etc. and there were four little babies (yes dead 2: ) all curled up in a little nest. Hate for anything to go like that, but they weren't paying rent and the thot of me making a fire ball from 10,000 feet kinda harden's one's heart.

 

[Skywagon-SMB]

Scatter-
How'd you get that old beater 172 up to 10,000 feet :a2:
Bill

 

[scatter-SMB]

Hey, with that hopped up engine, I had the beast over 16,000 to clear a storm in Baja. And that was with the missus, a motorcycle, inflatable boat, outboard motor, and camping gear. At least I didn't drag my tail all over the place.... :a1: