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"Illegal aliens have
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Pat's March Blog If this is your first time here, you might want to start from the beginning of our fulltime RV Journey with our 2007 Blog's January 2008 Blog February 2008 Blog Photo Gear We Use - Solar Tips, Fact's and Trick's we've learned while on the road
Camper
Check List - A list of things we do before leaving camp.
Again, this isn't gospel, but its a good start for those who might not
already have a list made up. Saturday March 1st 2008 The Return of Cindy With only a few days before we leave for Baja, today was filled with last minute changes on our rig. Jeff and I spent the morning washing the camper with his power washer, getting it looking all pretty. Then we decided that the motorcycle rack should come off. We had made up a design that would hold two plastic bins on the back bumper and would hold our sewer gear, the hoses and a few other miscellaneous things that we normally kept on the Hitch Haul rack. I went over to Mikes shop to get some U-Bolts that he had left over from a project he had just finished, and while working in the shop, I noticed Mike had a Wheel Less Trailer.
Once I had my partner in crime back in the passenger seat, we headed over to La Jolla so I could show her the seals. I had told her about Jeff bringing me here, and she was jealous that she wasn't able to see them. So we sat watching the sun set and the seals grunt along the beach before heading off to find a bite to eat. By the time dinner was done, she was having trouble keeping her eyes open from the jet lag, so we went home and went straight to bed. It was good to have my snuggle buddy back and not have to be spooning Luca. Sunday March 2nd 2008 Cindy brought home some nice weather with her from New Orleans. We sat around the camper with Jeff, Lori and the kids talking with the dogs loving the warm sunshine. This type of weather was what I thought California would be like at all times, not the cold dreary weather we've had the last few days. We all went out for lunch at a nice Irish restaurant before Jeff brought us to a few of the local shops so we could pick up some more stuff for Mexico. I bought the biggest bottle of Imodium there was just incase one of us got some of Montezuma's Revenge. Let's hope that we wont need to open it for the next two months. When we got back to Jeff's house, we were sitting around talking when I mentioned that my big computer wasn't working. Jeff got mad asking me why I hadn't mentioned that since he is an IT guy and could probably fix it in a few minutes.
I tell you, these last few days have been like a dream come true. Between the amazing hospitality and the way everything has fallen into place, I couldn't have asked for a better chain of events to take place. Some times you just know someone upstairs is watching over you. Cindy and I ran up to the store to stock up on groceries and I'm thinking she went a bit overboard. When you live in a 25' camper, $450 worth of groceries just don't fit inside. Everyone has us a bit scared about eating some of the meats and local cuisine in Mexico, so we made sure that we would have enough food to last us a full two months.
Jeff called to let us know that he had thrown some steaks on the BBQ
grill and dinner would be ready when we got back to his place.
Does this pampering
With two full carts of food, we loaded up the truck and headed back. Then came the task of trying to stuff it all in the refrigerator. This is when having the 10 cubic foot Norcold fridge makes all the difference in the world. Buying this much food would just be impossible with the stock fridge. Having the Norcold and it's full size freezer allows us to buy way more items than the normal RVer. Cindy did an amazing job of putting the refrigerator puzzle together, and I'm thinking that there isn't much room left for anything. We had an awesome dinner and more great conversation with our hosts. With full bellies, we limped out the door and into bed. Tomorrow we pack up and ship out. Monday March 3rd 2008 Happy Birthday Donielle
We were up early this morning packing things up and getting those last minute items in order. Jeff gave us his huge collection of DVD's to borrow while in Baja and if Cindy and I were to watch a movie a night, every night we are South of the Border, I don't think we'd watch all of them! We reinstalled the computer now that he fixed it all up, and then disaster struck. When I went to turn the inverter on, it wouldn't fire up? It did this once before, but I was able to reboot it by shutting the main power off and restarting it. Sort of like an Alt/Control/Delete command on your computer. But this time I couldn't get it to turn back on. After numerous attempts, it finally came back on, but this wasn't what we wanted to have happen only hours before we head out.
Cindy started calling around and found a place that could send a repair
tech out right away. In the mean time, we packed everything up and
got ready to go. When the guy got to Jeff's house, I showed him
what was wrong, and how I had been getting it to reboot. He did
the same steps I did, and said there was really nothing he could do
without taking the inverter down to the shop to test
He said that it should continue to work fine and if it keeps doing that, then when we return, we should get it replaced. But all in all, he didn't do anything that I couldn't have done. In fact the only thing he did was what I showed him to do. So after I walked him through how to restart a gummed up Xantrex Inverter, I had to pay him $82 for the service call?!? Something tells me I got screwed on that deal, but "Oh Well!" We needed to run to the bank and get some Travelers Checks just so we wouldn't be carrying large amounts of cash. Most of the places in Baja don't take credit cards, and none of the Pemex Fuel Stations take anything but cash. That was our final errand to run, and once we had that task taken care of, we were ready to roll. Pulling out of Jeff's driveway is a bit tricky. To get the camper in there, I had to jack-knife the truck to get the camper right up against a wall. While driving back to Jeff's house, Cindy and I talked over our game plan which would have her run in and grab the dogs, do one last check of the inside stuff while I hooked the truck up to the Sunline. With the truck at that goofy angle, I wouldn't be able to hook up the sway-control bars, but we would just pull over once we straightened out and put them on. I needed to get it hooked up and out of the driveway fast due to the nose of my truck hanging out into the road. Jeff's driveway is just over a hill, so the cars tend to come over pretty fast and I had visions of one clipping the front end of the truck. Cindy came out an said "I'm ready, how are you doing?" I said "I have it hooked up and we should be ready to go." I jumped in the truck and had Cindy watch from the road to block traffic and make sure while I was pulling out, I wouldn't scrape the block wall Jeff has along the edge of his driveway. Once Cindy said I was clear, she jumped in the truck and said "Let's Go!" I felt a funny knock and asked "Are you sure I'm not hitting anything?" Something didn't feel right to me? She said I was fine and I needed to move as I was blocking traffic. So I threw it in gear and we took off. That's when we heard what sounded like metal on pavement behind us. I knew something was wrong and could feel the blood starting to boil on my forehead. I pulled over right away only to hear more metal scraping along the roadway. We jumped out to find that in our haste, I had forgotten to put the rear jack stands up! They now resembled the Leaning Tower of Piza and were beyond repair. Here you have Cindy and I in the middle of the road yelling at each other over who's fault this was and something tells me it's going to come out that the blame is all mine. I am supposed to be in charge of the outside stuff, but I told Cindy to check my work, and when I stopped and said "I feel something funny", she just told me to stop worrying and get a move on!
Once the mangled Jack Stands were off, we were back on the road. This was another one of those long drives where neither one of us spoke. Things like this really bother me because of how simple they would have been to avoid! Another reason why you should never be doing anything in a hurry when hooking up to your camper. We normally never move in a hasty fashion and always walk around checking each other to make sure nothing like this can happen. The one time we are trying to move fast, one of us messes up big time. By the time we got to the meeting spot, we had started talking to one another again, but there is a huge chip on each others shoulders that needs to be knocked off before either of us will fully forget it. You could tell by the short tempers we both had for the rest of the night. Chuck and Sandy met us late in the evening, and tomorrow morning we will cross the border at first light. Us a few jack stands lighter. Tuesday March 4th 2008 We Enter Into Baja Mexico The four of us were up early this morning ready for a big day of driving. Our plan was to put as many miles between us and the border as we could handle driving. The first few hundred miles of Baja are know as the gauntlet, if anything is going to happen to you, this is where it usually happens.
The crossing at Tijuana was one of the trickiest parts since Chuck said "One wrong turn would bring you into the downtown area where maneuvering a large truck and camper would not be fun." A few turns later, we were on Mexico's Transpeninsular Highway, or Mexico 1, and headed South. Passing Tijuana, all I can say is there is nothing I saw that would make me want to visit this city. It honestly looks like video footage you'd see on the news from a bombed out city in Iraq. It's just amazing to me that we had left Southern California only 10 minutes earlier with it's million dollar homes, and now it looked like we were in the middle of a war zone. All I can say is we Americans take so much for granted when it comes to our freedoms and disposable incomes. I had expected the worst when it came to the roadways, but I was surprised that they werent as bad as I thought they were going to be. Granted, they were not good by any means, but being from Michigan, which has some of the worst roads in the United States, we had driven on worse roadways. Within the first few hours of driving, we passed breathtaking scenery along the Pacific coastline. There were quaint villages, run down shacks and million dollar homes. The diverse mix of residents was crazy. One house would look like a movie star lived there and their next door neighbor would be a small house that looked like they had forgot to take out their garbage for the last 5 months. We noticed that our GPS was useless within a few miles of crossing the border. It only showed the direction we were headed with a blank green screen and no roads listed. So we packed it up and put it away for the rest of our Baja adventure. We talked with others who said Garmin has a Baja Map you can download for some of their GPS models, but Magellan didn't offer any I could find on their website. The Satellite radio kept working and we wondered how long we were going to keep that signal? I don't know what we'd do without our NPR and comedy stations to keep us entertained while we drive.
When a semi would come by, there were only a few inches of space between the mirrors and the side of the speeding tractor trailer. Everything everyone had told us about the crazy drivers was 100% true. If there is ONE thing to worry about in Mexico, it's the oncoming drivers. They don't slow down and they don't have a problem passing you on a hill around a sharp turn. I thought Cindy was going to give birth when the first semi truck came flying past us and I hadn't warned her of its approach. It's one thing when this happens and we have a shoulder to blow us onto. Here in Mexico, there is no such thing as a shoulder. If your tire was to fall off the lane, you would more than likely be pulled down into the steep embankment that lines each side of the road. Some places we're talking only a foot or two, while others might be off the side of a cliff!
It
didn't take long to realize that driving on Mexican highways isn't
something to take lightly. I laughed when we were flying through
one tight section on the
After our first Fuel stop, I realized that filling up in Mexico is a joy! Topping off the tank only costs us 50 something dollars, and my only wish was we had a way to bring a years supply home with us. We pulled over for the night in Catavina after 10 hours on the road. This is not the norm for Cindy and I, but Chuck stressed that we wanted to be as far from the border as possible. We found a little roadside camp for only $6 a night. The only accommodations they offered was a dump station, but for $6, who's complaining. We later found out that this isn't the campground you want to stay at while in Catavina. It's noisy and close to the road, so you hear the big engine breaks on the trucks that pass through town all night. If you head a mile or two past the town of Catavina, there is another campground called Rancho Santa Inez. This campground is a mile off the road, and situated in the middle of these amazing boulder fields. The owners of the campgrounds will direct you to some great hiking in the area and the best part is its away from the road, so you don't hear the trucks all night long. The last few miles into Catavina was like driving on Mars. Huge boulders lined the roads and crazy trees that resembled something out of a Dr. Seuss novel were sprouting up between every rock. The cactus around Catavina are like nothing we've ever seen. When Cindy looked them up in our Traveler's Guide to Baja, she found out that they are called Cirio or Boojum Trees, and are unique to the Baja peninsula. No where else in the world can you find these strange looking cactus. It's hard to call Catavina a town as its really only a few buildings, the Hotel La Pinta and the campground we stayed at. There is an old Pemex station, but it looks like it has been closed for years along with every other dilapidated building that lines the highway. Once settled in camp, I got out Cindy's new Weber grill. Just like my normal luck, something between the propane tank and the hose wont allow it to feed propane to the grill. This is another reason that you should never bring anything without testing it before you leave home. This grill, propane tank and hose are all brand new. I only bought them a few days ago, and had yet to use any of them. Sitting in the dark in Mexico wasn't where I wanted to find out that something wasn't working properly. Luckily I had one of those 1 pound propane cylinders which could screw into the grill. With that on, everything worked fine? After a beautiful sunset and some nice thick steaks on the grill, we spent the rest of the night getting to know Chuck and Sandy. Conclusion of Today's Drive = 10 hours on the road, 317 miles of driving, two fuel stops, 5 dead dogs seen on the side of the road, 3 naps for Cindy, much white knuckle driving, 2 Red Bull energy drinks, 3 toll booths (each one a different price?) and one military checkpoint that just waved us through. Wednesday March 5th 2008 We woke to a beautiful morning with nice warm sunshine. After one of Cindy's awesome breakfasts and a short stroll with the dogs, we were back on the road. Hopefully today wont be as long as yesterday was. I checked the stats on the Scanguage computer in the truck which told us that our average speed for yesterdays drive was only 27 mph! Maybe the roads were worse than I had remembered? Today's drive was much like yesterday. The landscape was very diverse and every few miles we would make a 180 degree switch in scenery. At one point we would be in desert like conditions with miles of nothing to look at.
I kept thinking to myself that these roads would be beautiful to travel along on a motorcycle. We had passed a few touring bikes, and I kept thinking to myself that someday I'll come back down here on a bike. Once the highway passed the turnoff for Bahía de Los Angeles, the road got nasty. It went from somewhat smooth asphalt to pot holed, narrow, bumpy trail like conditions. Luckily for us, Chuck knew that this section was very long with nothing to stop at for supplies. We had stopped and topped everything off yesterday afternoon and I can attest that a good guide can be a lifesaver. There were a few places you could stop and buy gas from road side vendors, but none were selling diesel. If we hadn't topped off when we did in El Rosario, we would have been stranded on the side of the road. The stretch between El Rosario and Guerrero Negro is the longest stretch of road without any services we had seen so far on our drive. If we needed it, we could use the multiple fuel cans we carried in the bed of the truck, but hopefully we wouldn't need it. Coming around one turn, we noticed a Cadillac stopped in the road. Chuck slowed down and passed on by, but Cindy and I pulled up behind and stopped. We asked the older gentleman if he needed any help? He said that he had run out of gas and didn't speak any Spanish to ask for help from the locals. I jumped out and said that I had a few gallons of gasoline we kept for our generators. At this point was when we learned that the old man was a bit crazy. He kept questioning Cindy saying "I cant use Diesel fuel!" Cindy tried to explain that we had gasoline for our generators and were happy to give him some. A Mexican woman stopped, but there was too much of a language barrier for either of us to comprehend what the other was saying. I think she was telling me if I gave her $200 pesos, she would go get fuel for him. But when I would tell her that she needed to talk with him since I wasn't with him, she would just shake her head saying she didn't speak English. I started putting my fuel into his car when he said "I'll see if it starts up?" When he started it, he dropped it into gear and took off with me jumping out of the way and spilling gas down the side of his car. His trunk was still open and the gas cap was banging against the side of his car? WTF was the old man doing? I walked back to the truck and Cindy was laughing saying that we needed to get out of here. This whole situation had gotten really weird all of a sudden. You have to remember that this section of road was in the middle of a steep hill that had a lot of turns on it! We caught back up to Chuck and Sandy who were waiting for us at a military check point a few miles up the road. We pulled up beside the guy in the Cadillac and he wouldn't even make eye contact with us. His gas cap was still hanging out the side of the car, but the trunk had closed? The military personnel was searching his vehicle when I had to go back and let the officer look through our camper.
He just looked around the inside, checked a few drawers and gave me a thumbs up. It's times like these that I hate not being able to speak or understand any Spanish. He kept trying to talk with me, but I could only smile and nod since I had no idea anything he was saying? When I got back into the truck, Cindy was all smiles and flirting with the military personnel who had gathered around our truck to pet the dogs. She asked me if I had noticed the one guy who was sooo good looking? I never knew she had a thing for guys in uniform, but as long as her flirting gets us through the checkpoints with no hassles, then I could care less. The crazy old dude in the Caddy was gone, and we wrote it off as just another weird memory. Our next stop was the Agricultural Checkpoint at Baja Sur and the 28th parallel. This is the dividing line between the states of Baja and Baja South or Baja Sur as they call it in Spanish. This checkpoint is where we would normally show our passports and our tourists permits when crossing the border. We all had our passports, but we hadn't stopped to get our tourist permits at Tijuana like we were supposed to. The border agent let us slide without the $20 per person fine, since we had only been in the country for 24 hours. You have 72 hours before you need to have the permit, and Chuck explained that we were going first thing in the morning to get our permits in downtown Guerrero Negro. This is a bit confusing, but the only place you can purchase the tourist permits is at a bank, and the banks close at 3pm. So by the time we will head back out of Baja Sur, we will have our permits and everything should be legal.
Malarrimo Campground is really nice for a Baja Campground. Incase anyone with a large RV is coming down, they only have 15 amp service to hook up to, but they have full sewer hook-ups and water. We chose not to hook up to the city water just to be on the safe side. But to have everything else was nice for only $20 a night, and the campground is walled in with a full restaurant that had Wi-Fi. It was late in the afternoon by the time we got everything set up, and you know what time that is! Happy Hour! Chuck, Sandy, Cindy and I all sat around talking till the sun got too low and the temperatures got too cold for our taste. It's amazing how far south we are and we all still have jackets on! After Happy Hour was over, Chuck came knocking on the door telling us that there was an Osprey on the pole right by the office. We grabbed the cameras and headed over to see this beautiful bird. It was sitting up there with a fresh catch just eating away and allowed me to snap a few dozen images of it before it got bored and flew away. Conclusion of Today's Drive = 4.4 hours of drive time, 147 miles traveled, 33 mph average, 1 dead cow on the side of the road and another skeleton of a horse or burro, one military check point where we got searched, one agricultural checkpoint where we didn't get searched but had to pay 20 peso's so they could spray insecticide on our tires, one fuel stop and one run in with a crazy old man who had run out of fuel. Thursday March 6th 2008 After two days of long drives, today was just a day to lounge around and relax. Cindy and I got the bikes down and rode through the small town of Guerrero Negro. Our only thing we had to do was go to the bank so we could get our Tourists Permits and exchange some travelers checks for Peso's. Everything after that was just goof around stuff, so we were in no hurry.
This little village is one of the newest towns on the Baja. It's a company town, and the company is Mitsubishi, its main industry is the Salt Flats where salt water is flooded into large holding fields. They allow the salt to evaporate and use it as Sea Salt for cooking. This is the second largest salt production facility in the world. Another new industry they're making money off of is the Whale Watching tourists. Almost every building had an advertisement for Whale Watching Tours. Riding our bikes through these streets is almost like riding along a technical mountain bike trail. Unless you want to ride in the road, which neither of us did, riding on the side walk is pretty crazy. Their curbs can be a foot or two tall, and there are big potholes and obstacles to ride around every where you look. Numerous times would I bunny hop over an open manhole cover which I can only imagine what would happen if you were to fall in at night! When we got to the bank, Cindy said she'd wait outside by the bikes, and left me to try and comprehend this exchange by myself. Once I got to the teller, the fun started. Since I speak no Spanish what so ever, and she wasn't offering me a beer (Cerveza) or telling me where the bathroom was (El Bano), two of the only words I know, I just sat and looked at her with a dumb look on my face. I know she was probably saying nasty things about me, because she kept mumbling to the teller beside her in Spanish and they would both laugh, but I just smiled and tried my best to describe what I needed.
We rode around the city streets just looking at the various ways they make their homes, which is basically out of anything they can find. The local architecture reminded me of my childhood when we used to build tree forts with scrap wood my dad would have lying around our property. I fully admire their ingenuity and resourcefulness and took some notes incase Cindy and I ever want to build another stick house. The Mexican dogs that roam the towns are everywhere and are all very short. We keep laughing that they all have the body of a large dog, but look like they have been cross-breed with a short dog. You'll see a dog that looks like a lab, but has real short legs. Or a Pit Bull body, but with Jack Russell Terrier legs. Some follow along while you ride, others bite at your tires and some just lift their heads as you pass by to see if you have any food for them. All of them are skinny and none have collars. They look like they roam around looking for a meal and any spot they can find to sleep. After riding for awhile, we stopped at one of the many taco stands for some lunch. Since one of the quotes we always use is "If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay home" ~ James Michener
For $10 we got 2 burritos a piece, some refried beans and 2 beers a piece! I like that! With full bellies, we rode back to Malarrimo Campground and grabbed the dogs. We loaded them into the truck and drove out to an abandon lighthouse on the bay. At one time, this was a little fishing village, but now it was just abandon buildings with a few fisherman's boats on the shore. We walked around looking at the buildings and the huge piles of shells, before the wind drove us back to the warmth of the truck. Even though the temperature was in the 80's, being out on the point with the strong winds was quite chilly. From the lighthouse, we drove over towards the salt mines where there are big sand dunes along the sandy road.
The sand was also bone white and very dry. Normally sand gets damp when you bury you foot in it, but this sand was still dry no matter how deep I plunged my foot in.
I laughed and said to Cindy, "I can only imagine what his poop is going to be like tomorrow! He's going to crap out a little sandy log!" With the dogs thoroughly worn out, we headed back to Malarrimo campground just in time for Happy Hour. On our way out of the sand dunes, we spotted a Osprey sitting on the side of the road with a Needle Fish in its talons. The beautiful, big bird allowed us to sit and watch as it tore apart this little fish that was still very much alive. It was quite the site to witness. Once back at the campground, Chuck, Sandy, Cindy and I sat out till the sun set before we said our goodnights. Cindy and I watched one of our new DVD's from Jeff tonight. "American Gangster" with Densel Washington and Russell Crow. This is a great movie and even though Cindy swore she was going to fall asleep, she stayed awake the whole time and never even nodded off. That has to say something for the girl that can fall asleep in the middle of a conversation.
Friday March 7th 2008 Whale Watching in Guerrero Negro One of my only requirements for visiting Baja was to go out on a whale watching tour. Guerrero Negro is one of the mating grounds for the beautiful California gray whales and we were told Guerrero Negro's Ojo de Liebre, or Scammon's Lagoon would be our best bet to see them up close while visiting the Baja peninsula.
These giant creatures hole up in the big blue lagoon where they give birth to their young in the thick, salty water before heading back up to the rich waters of Alaska. We were told that the water's salinity is very high here, and this helps the calves with their buoyancy in their first few months of learning how to swim. Cindy and I were up early and very excited for today's activities. We almost missed the bus because of our clocks being an hour off? I guess when we crossed the border for Baja Sur, we switched back into Mountain Time which is an hour behind what all our clocks were set for? We also very rarely go by a clock's strict schedule, and normally just go by the sun or how we feel that morning, so this was very confusing for us to be back on a time schedule.
Every whale we could see was way off in the distance, and I thought maybe this wasn't going to be as cool as I had imagined. But the captain never slowed down and kept speeding out into deeper water. At one point I saw a gray whale come shooting out of the ocean with half of its body out of the water. Almost everyone on the boat saw this beautiful sight, but none of us were ready to take the picture because it happened so fast.
Capturing an image like this was my main goal for the day, and multiple times I would see a whale do it and just sit and watch. Every time it would happen, I would just sit with my jaw open not thinking to pick my camera up in time to snap the image. I'll tell you right now that when you see a 50 foot whale come screaming out of the water, to have your mind comprehend the fact that you are supposed to be taking pictures is more than I could register. So like I said, to see these pictures I wanted so bad to copy, I instantly put them up on a pedestal. As we were motoring farther out into the bay, we spotted a few whales getting closer. The captain slowed down and before you knew it, two giant mammals were only 20 feet from the bow of the boat.
I asked if anyone else had seen it, and only Chuck who was standing beside me said "I'm not sure, but I think that's what I saw?" I could type about this experience for days, but I'll try and keep it short by saying the next few hours were spent with more whales than I could count breaching and frolicking in the surf all around us. It was way more than I had expected to see, and something that I'll never forget. To get soaked with salt water from a whales blowhole and hear the sound of this giant beast scratching the barnacles off it's back against the bottom of our small boat was more than I could have asked for.
With out getting too graphic, I'll say that when a male whale rolls on it's back and exposes his manhood, there is no way not to feel inadequate. The man tool was larger than the front section of the boat, and the female who kept putting her tail in the face of the aroused stud wasn't looking like she was afraid. Everyone on the boat was making jokes that we were intruding on a very special moment between two whales, but no matter which way the boat drifted, the whales seemed to be attracted to the bottom of the small vessel.
When our time was up and we had to head back in to the docks, Cindy looked at me and said "This would have cost a few hundred dollars in America! We just witnessed so many unforgettable memories for only $50, that I could do this every day and not get bored!" We got back to the campground and packed things up. All four of us took showers to get the salt spray off of us before getting on the road. Today's drive would only be a few hours or right around 100 miles. The southern half of Baja is much different than the northern half. All the deep greens and blooming flowers were gone, and replaced by the dry cactus fields of a true desert. From talking to a bunch of people who had visited Baja for multiple years in a row, everyone of them said something about the landscape right now and how green and lush it was.
When we pulled over tonight in the small village of San Ignacio, we werent ready for the amazing sight we were in store for. For the last few hours, we had driven through dry, arid desert, but when we pulled into San Ignacio, it looked like we had pulled into an Oasis in the middle of the desert. This small village is surrounded with large Date Palms and looks like something out of a jungle movie set. There are a few different campgrounds to choose from, but we found one right on the lagoon. It had no amenities, but a million dollar view. Chuck and I were both able to pull right up to the waters edge where we spent the rest of the afternoon just sitting around chewing the cud. Oh, I should mention that when we pulled into San Ignacio, we all jumped into Chucks Jeep to drive around and check out the campgrounds and decide which one we wanted to stay in for the night. While driving through the very small town, we heard a loud bang on the roof while bumping down the rough road.
We both joked that "If you want to test any piece of equipment, just bring it on a trip through Baja!" If it can make it down here on these roads, then it can make it anywhere. So we took the kayaks off the top of Chuck's Jeep and loaded them onto the top of our truck and headed down to Lakeside Campground for the night. Conclusion of Today's Drive = 2.4 hours of drive time, 90.5 miles driven, one dead cow along the road, 36 mph average, 10.4 Miles Per Gallon averaged, one military checkpoint that just waved us through, a beautiful campground straight out of a movie set and a broken roof rack on Chuck's jeep that added two more kayaks onto our roof top. Saturday March 8th 2008 Cindy and I were up early and decided to take the dogs for a jog before we would go visit the San Ignacio Mission. While jogging down the road, I heard Cindy yell and turned to see her tumbling along the asphalt.
At
first I thought this was one of her jokes, but when I saw her grab her
knee which was already bleeding, I knew she wasn't joking. By the time I
got back to her, her ankle was already swollen pretty bad and she had a
nice gash on her
After sitting on the side of the road for a few minutes, we got her up and limped back to the campground. She iced her ankle down and I cleaned up the knee with some peroxide and Neosporin. We wrapped the ankle with an ACE bandage, and limped her into Chuck's jeep. Rather than unhook our truck and trailer, Chuck said we could take his classic little CJ-5 into town so we could see the Mission Church of San Ignacio. This is one of the nicest Mission's in Baja, and was built in the 1700's with local lava rock. The walls are four feet thick and the church was surprisingly still in very good shape.
After wandering around the beautiful Mission, we had some breakfast at a
little
A small town square lined with monstrous trees and surrounded by small brick buildings that look like they have been here for hundreds of years. Breakfast was very good and even though we had no idea what Cindy ordered, it was excellent along with the service from what looked like a nice family that ran the place. Again, I wish we could speak Spanish so we could communicate with these very nice people. They go out of their way to make you feel comfortable, but I wish we could speak to them and learn some of the local culture without so much of a language barrier. After breakfast, we drove back to our campground, which by the way was advertised on the side of a truck door at the entrance...LOL We packed up camp, and got back on the road headed towards Mulegé.
Chuck had
warned us that this stretch of road would be some of the tightest we
have seen yet.
We needed to come up over a mountain pass and down
The tight turns can be a bit dangerous if a semi is headed up the hill at the same time. The roads are so narrow, that the approaching trucks have to come across the lane. We only passed two and both times we just came to a complete stop way before the turn to give them as much room as possible. Even with us stopping, one truck almost hit the side of Chuck's rig and all of us were holding our breath for a few seconds. Once into Mulegé, we just rolled on through only stopping for fuel. The town of Mulegé itself is too small and the roads are too tight to pull into with our RV's, so this is why we didn't stop except for fuel. $43 to top of my tank put a huge smile on my face. I'm loving these Mexican fuel prices. We plan on camping just outside of town along the beach at Playa Santispac for the next few days. This beach is beautiful, and only $7 per night for drycamping. The back of our camper is only 10 feet from the crystal clear, turquoise water of Bahía Concepción.
We parked right beside a palapa and got out the beach chairs. Cindy and Sandy were in their bathing suits and applying the oil within minutes while Chuck and I set up camp.
With a warm salty breeze blowing off the water, we all lounged under the shade of the palapa sipping on some cold beverages. This is as close to perfection as you can get. This tropical paradise is what I had envisioned when I thought of Baja, and we were finally there. After a few hours of just lying around on the beach, the dogs had calmed down after a few dips in the water and a good sunbath, Cindy and I walked down to Ana's, which is a small bar on the Playa. They were having a pig roast tonight with the theme being Senior Prom. Senior being the keyword...LOL Most of the women camped along the beach had used this as an excuse to break out their jewelry and fancy dresses, where most of the men were in shorts, flip flops and tuxedo shirts.
I got up from my stool at the bar and she climbed up so Cindy could pin the bottom of her dress so it wouldn't drag in the sand. We met another couple that was from Michigan and lived only a few towns away from where we used to live. The world is a small place, and the more you travel the more you realize how small it is. Our cute little Mexican bartender was serving the drinks like a champ, and before long, I could tell the tequila was getting the best of Cindy and I. We excused ourselves and headed home. By this point, I'm not sure who was helping who, Cindy with her gimpy ankle, or me with my tequila buzz. The sun had set and the afterglow was just beautiful on the water. After our long day, Cindy and I were in bed by 8:30! I'm not sure if we were just really tired, or if the bottle of Tequila had anything to do with it, but we were snoring soundly for the rest of the night.
Conclusion of Today's Drive = 3.2 hours drive time, 97.8 miles, 30 mph Average, 11.8 MPG average, filled the tank up for $43, saw one dead cow on the side of the road, made it to the Gulf of California! Sunday March 9th 2008 Don't forget to change your clocks! There is nothing better for a hangover than a good paddle in the Ocean. Even though we slept for 9 hours last night my head felt like those little Mexicans that made all that Tequila were still pounding away on their tambourines.
Early in the morning, the bay is as calm as a pane of glass. There was no wind to speak of and the crystal clear water was just calling for us. The first few hundred feet the water is only knee deep, but then it drops off fast. There were so many fish in the crystal clear water and more stingrays than I had ever seen. There are little islands just across the bay, and they're filled with cactus and thousands of birds. Big pelicans were on every rock barking and calling to their mates. These pelicans have different colors than any I've ever seen. Yellow heads with red fur down their neck.
Cindy said her ankle was throbbing, so we paddled back across the bay so she could take some Advil and get it up in the air. The rest of the day was spent with me on the computer trying to edit some of the thousands of pictures we've taken in the last week, and Cindy lying on the beach with her feet in and out of the cool turquoise water. Chuck and Sandy drove into town to get some supplies and do some exploring on their own and most of the campers on the beach had packed up to head to some other destination. So for most of the day, we had the whole beach to ourselves. A group of 4 RV's all from Canada pulled in beside us late in the afternoon. Their large black female German Shepard was full of energy, and within minutes her and Luca were running up and down the beach playing with each other.
After Luca was good and worn out, he came inside the camper and snuggled up in bed with Cindy. He's now sprawled out across the bed lying on his back and snoring so loud, you'd think it's a diesel truck idling. The funny thing is he's sleeping so soundly that his mouth is open and he's showing all of his teeth. Cindy and I are laughing at him and taking pictures, and he doesn't have a care in the world. Ah, a dog's life, wouldn't it be great if we could all live one. After going into town yesterday to upload our blogs to the website and check our emails, I wanted to let everyone know that I can receive emails just fine, but for some reason, I can not reply to any of them. My outbox is filling up fast, and every time I try to send anything, I just get an error message? So I apologize to everyone who is sending us emails, keep them coming and we'll be in touch as soon as we return to the States. Monday March 10th 2008 Cindy woke up early this morning all freaked out because she remembered our Credit Card bill was due today. We try and never carry cash with us and use the credit card for everything. If we're late, they tack on a huge percentage and a stiff late fee, so she was all worried that we were going to miss the cut off time. The company is on the East Coast, so we were way behind their schedule.
The little restaurant that I had found yesterday is like a little resort. Being as yesterday was Sunday, when I had gone into town to try and find a Wi-Fi signal, everything was closed and I thought I was out of luck. But on my way back towards Playa Santispac, I saw a sign for a campground/hotel/restaurant and it said Internet Available. I pulled in and asked if I could pay to use their wireless connection and the American owner said "I wont let you use the wireless connection, but you're more than welcome to go sit in the bar and plug into a Ethernet cable that we have sitting on the tables. That was even better! So I ordered an ice cold Corona, sat my butt down and while everything was uploading, I had a nice conversation with the Mexican man who runs the restaurant. When he saw Cindy and I walk in as his first customers this morning, he smiled and said "Senior, you back so soon?" I told him "I liked the place so much, I thought I'd bring the wife to show her." While Cindy did her thing and paid the bills, we ordered some breakfast and had a great conversation with the older gentleman. He speaks great English and was filled with information on the Peninsula.
He brought her over an empty beer bottle and laid a newspaper on the ground. He told her to stand up and roll the bottom of her foot over the bottle to stretch out the sprain. Cindy did it a few times and said that it hurt like hell. He said "Well I wont charge you $200 like them sons-a-bitches in the states would!" He told her a few more tricks she could do with the last tip being "When you in the shower, pee on yo' foot!" He said "Pee-pee helps everything!" We thanked him for all the info and headed back to the beach front campground. By the time we had returned, it was mid-afternoon, and the winds had picked up. It's like clockwork at this location. You wake up to dead calm with glass like water on the bay. Around noon of everyday the winds pick up and for the next few hours you have to batten everything down or it'll blow away. Then as the sun starts to set, the wind dies down and you have a nice calm night.
We
sat under the palapa just relaxing in the hammock watching the breeze
When I told him I couldn't get it to work off my external propane tank, he told me that he had the same problem. He suggested I try tightening the hose connection where it meets the regulator on the grill soo tight that I think I'm going to break it. He told me he used his for two years before he found that out. I walked over and got a set of Channel Locks and tightened the crap out of the thing, and what do you know, it fired right up! See why it pays to be nosey and ask a lot of questions. So in honor of a new working grill, Cindy grilled up some chicken breasts with some grilled onions and mushrooms for a scrumptious dinner. We then went to bed and watched "The Notorious Bettie Page Story" which was a really good movie. I've always loved the pin-ups I've seen of her, and we had heard an interview with her after the movie came out where she said the movie was good, but not 100% factual. For anyone who grew up with pictures of this Pin-Up Queen on their walls, it's a great DVD. Tuesday March 11th 2008 I woke up before the sunrise this morning and felt great. The weather has been perfect the last few nights for sleeping. You know those nights where you have a cool ocean breeze blowing through the windows but the temps still hover in the high 60's. Well I threw on my running shoes and went for a nice long jog around the beach. By the time I got back, Cindy had a snack packed up and the four of us were ready for a paddle around the islands.
After an hour on the water, Chuck and Sandy said they were headed back in for breakfast, and Cindy and I headed farther out to another island. This one had a nice shelf that dropped straight into the ocean that was just filled with tropical fish. I've never seen so many stingrays in my life, and I'm not lying when I say that there are hundreds of them that'll swim right up to your kayak. Star fish, sand dollars, puffer fish and we even spotted a big sea turtle while paddling around. This area sure is beautiful and I could see spending the winter here with no qualms about sitting still. Just this little beach area that we're camped at has mountains to climb, islands to explore, dozens of little coves to fish and plenty to keep you busy without ever leaving the protected cove.
| ||
He
said he had bought it for his dad, but they never ended up using it.
I asked him if I could rent it off of him for a month or two while we
were gone and would drop it back off on our way out of Baja. So
the storage bin idea was solved very easily, and I was ready to go get
Cindy from the airport.
Next
thing you know, he has the computer out of the enclosure and is working
on it in his office. Within an hour, he had it back up and
running. I guess one of my hard drives went bad, and once he
removed it, everything works like new. 
ever
stop? I'm not sure if this guy knows that he might have two new
people living in his driveway for good if he doesn't kick us out soon.
Today
is our daughters 22nd birthday and it really makes me think of how fast
time flies. It seems like only yesterday when we were attending
school plays, band practices or teaching her to drive a car (she still
cant do that last one any good). Now she's all grown up and makes
us very proud to be her parents. I just hate not being able to
celebrate important days like today with her..jpg)
the
circuit boards in it.
So
this was how we started our trip to Baja. Me lying under the back
end of the camper and we're not even 20 feet out of Jeff's driveway.
I guess we can only go up from this point. 
We
all sat in the Wal-Mart parking lot going over our directions and game
plan. We were on the road by 8am and since we had stayed only a
few miles from the border, within a few minutes, Sandy was asking over
the radio if we wanted one last time to back out since we were now in
line for the Border Crossing.
The
further we got away from the border, the narrower the roads became.
Chuck had warned us of the narrow Mexican roads, but I thought he was
only exaggerating at first. After our first stop, which was
about 150 miles into Baja, we noticed that Chucks rig was having a hard
time staying between the narrow lines. 
downhill
side of a mountain, and Cindy was telling me to look at the wild trees
that line the hillside. Without looking, I told her to take a peek
at the roadway in front of us and she instantly yelled for me to keep my
eyes on the road with both hands on the wheel. 
Then
all of a sudden you would start seeing the cactus start popping up and
next thing you know you would be in a thick cactus forest. At some
points you could see the beach while other sections were tucked into the
steep mountains. Who ever knew that Baja was so diverse? We
were only 300 some odd miles into the peninsula, and it seemed like we
had traveled through multiple eco-systems.
The
military officer searched through the vehicle and sniffed a few of
Cindy's panties and we were good to go! Just joking.
Within
minutes of the check point, we were pulling into Guerrero Negro and the
If
you spend American dollars, not everyone will give you the same exchange
rate. Some places charge a little more and then pocket the difference.
Chuck explained that
it's just easier if you have Peso's to give the exact amount.
When I finally came out, Cindy said "How'd that go?" I said "I
have no idea? I know that I have a pocket full of peso's, but the
last 20 minutes were so confusing, I could have just signed our lives
away!" From the bank we rode away looking for something to
keep us occupied in this small port town.
We
figured we might as well practice what we preach and sample some of the
local food. We found a little road side stand and ordered a few
burritos. I walked next store to a beer stand and grabbed a few Corona's in a can.
It's very rare to see Corona in a can, and couldn't remember the last
time I had seen them. 
We
stopped where the dunes came right to the edge of the roadway and let the dogs out without their leashes
on.
This is a rare occurrence for them, so you know they were using it to
its fullest potential. Luca was running so fast that he would
stumble in the soft sand and tumble along the drifts. The sand
dunes werent really normal sand. The sand had the consistency of
Flour and walking along it you would hit sections where you would sink
up to your shin with no warning. 
It
reminded me of when we were back in
Once on the water, we had our cameras ready for the day ahead of us.
The small Panga took us (there were 10 of us in the boat) out into the
bay and once we got a ways off the shore, we instantly started seeing the
whales breaching
and releasing their air into the ocean breeze. 
Thinking about all the times I've seen fantastic images of whales doing
this, it just makes me realize how random it is to capture with a camera. To catch a
whale jumping out of the water is one of those things that is just being
in the right place at the right time. After seeing it a few times
today, I hold much more respect for any photographer who has been able
to capture this magnificent feat. 
Looking through the lens, my jaw dropped for a second time when I
thought I saw a bright pink penis on one of the whales. Could we
possible be seeing two whales in the middle of a mating session?
Some of the lucky people on the boat were able to reach right over and
pet the giant whales. Two of the whales sat right beside the boat for the
next few hours courting each other and rolling over and over in the
water. It was almost like the boat was part of their courtship.
They were so close that the eyes of these majestic beasts were larger than my
head. 
For the record, I went through two batteries in one camera, one 2 gig
Compact Flash card in another camera (that's 300 pictures) and more "Ohh's" and "Ahh's" then I
can remember in the past few years. 
I
guess the deep blanket of green that covered the mountains and all the
blooming flowers that we saw running down the roadways on our drive
south
is not the norm. So I guess we should have been stopping and
taking pictures way more than we did. Actually we didn't stop at
all, and now I'm kicking myself in the butt!
We
pulled over to find that one of the support arms on Chuck's kayak holder
had broken and fell off. We stopped and picked up the broken
arm and just as we were pulling back up to the RV's, which we had left
in a Pemex Station parking lot, the second arm
broke off. 
kneecap.
In case I haven't mentioned it before, Cindy is one of the clumsiest
people I know. 
cafe
that sits right in the town square. The small village of San
Ignacio is just what you would imagine the small villages of Mexico to
be like.
A
local Mexican guy was walking down the beach selling some handmade
crafts, and I bought a woven hammock from him. Cindy and I had
been talking about getting one for some time now, and I'd rather give my
money to a local merchant than a corporation any day.
We
bellied up to the bar and started mingling with the locals. One
woman, Suzanne, who has lived here for the last 15 years sat down beside
us and started chatting with us. She knew all the local gossip and
was hilarious to talk with. Another woman who owns a local Bed &
Breakfast came up and asked if we could help pin her dress in the back?
We
got up and unloaded the Kayaks from the roof of the truck. Cindy's
ankle is just gross today and looks like a plum sitting on the side of
her foot. We joked that she looks like she has a bad case of
Kankle, but she was a trooper and was up and at em' bright and early.
Paddling
in and out of the lava rocks that lined the shore, we were all pointing
out the dozens of starfish, stingrays, and large schools of colorful
fish in and around the underwater caves.
The
owner Dave, said that she is so full of energy, she usually wears out any dog
she tries to play with. That was just what Luca needed. For
about a half hour straight, these two young pups sprinted up and down
the beach jumping and playing and running through the shallow surf.
We
jumped in the truck and headed back into Mulegé so we could go to the
restaurant where I had uploaded everything yesterday. They only
charge $2 an hour, so it's not like it's a hassle or anything, it's just
a reason for Cindy to create some excitement in our lives. 
When he saw Cindy gimping around, he asked "What happened to your wife's
foot?" I told him the story and said that it was healing up, but
now just looked real ugly. He laughed and said "As long as it
doesn't smell, then who cares what it looks like!"
blow
ripples along the water. What a way to spend an afternoon.
When it got closer to dinner time, I was talking with one of the
Canadians camped beside us after I noticed he had the same Weber Grill
that we do. 
The
water was its usual pane of glass this early with the sun throwing great
reflections off the surrounding mountains. We all paddled out to
one of the farthest islands pointing out the different fish
and underwater life that thrives in this area.