Cabo Pulmo

Today was our last day in Los Barriles so we drove to Cabo Pulmo, a beautiful beach with the only live coral reef along the Baja. It is a popular scuba diving area but only about 100 people live there full time. Unfortunately, the water is cloudy for snorkeling.

We leave this paradise tomorrow for La Paz and Carnival.

Santiago

We rode with Tommy & Dorothy, in their 4 wheel drive truck, past the small town of Santiago - about 30 minutes south of Los Barriles - to an out of the way waterfall and some hot spring pools today. We had no idea what to expect but, were surprised at how far they were "off the beaten path."

We had explicit directions from friends but were still anxious as we traveled down one dirt road after another with no idea where we were! Finally, we came to an old guy taking money and figured we must be in the right place. He gestured to walk down the path - it soon became a hike up and down rocks on a narrow path - that eventually led to a beautiful pool and waterfall. We swam in the cool water and wondered about such a lovely oasis in the middle of nowhere!

Later we explored on and eventually found the hot springs too. Mother Nature gave us a great day!

We were starving when we got back in town so we finished the day with dinner at The Smokehouse. The guys had huge burgers and fries and Dorothy and I had shrimp - again! - delicious.

I have commented many times about the beautiful sunrises but have neglected to mention the night skies - no light and brilliant stars!

Traveling Down the Beach on the Sea of Cortez

Champagne Breakfast

We started yesterday with a Mimosa/Bloody Mary breakfast on the beach! Fun group!

Later on, Tommy & Dorothy and Roger & I took the ATV's exploring about 15 miles down the beach. We found a sea turtle nest protected by a stick fence with a note saying they should hatch around the end of March.

Sea turtle nest on the beach

Tommy, Dorothy & Champ

We saw a house for sale and the door was open so we decided to check it out. Workers were preparing it for sale and Lizzie, a friend of the previous owner, showed us around. It was originally built by an Italian actress and it is all marble. Built in marble beds, couches, dining table, kitchen - apparently that was a previous style and they put cushions and pillows all around. A gorgeous pool in the atrium and a maid's apartment in the back for a great price of $800,000.00!

We topped off the day with margaritas and coconut shrimp at El Gecko! What a wonderful day!

Today is a "veg" day while doing laundry and Roger works on the RV.

Cabo San Lucas

Carlos and Megan left today so, early yesterday we drove down to Cabo San Lucas – about a 2-hour drive. Tommy and Dorothy went with us and we had a great day. It’s a busy, commercialized city, with too many vendors hawking their wares and services, but the beaches are gorgeous with white sand and aqua blue water. We decided we prefer our “quaint” little, laid back town of Los Barrilles.

We took a glass bottom boat out to the Arch and the tip of the Baja Peninsula. We thought about renting glass bottom kayaks but the water was “choppy” and it looked like too much work! We saw some beautiful fish, a sea lion colony, some sea caves and Lover’s 

Beach.

Lover's Beach-Sea of Cortez on one side and Pacific Ocean on the other            

King of the mountain!

After that we walked along the main beach in town – mainly, restaurants and hotels and of course, vendors! – to a fun place to have margaritas and guacamole. We will have guacamole withdrawal when we leave Mexico! They usually make it fresh at your table and it is delicious! The “Mango Dock” had several contests while we were there – a beer guzzling competition; couples trying to throw hula hoops over each other and muscle men (and one women!) doing push-ups. A happening place!

Fruit vendors on the beach sell mango's on a stick. They shove a Popsicle stick in the end of a mango, peel it, slice it in petals, from top to bottom to make a “flower,” drizzle it with fresh lime juice and then sprinkle it with chili powder! Megan loves them! I had one too – minus the chili powder garnish! Delicious!

On the way out of town we visited the blown glass factory. Many lovely items but mostly glasses and vases. 

Baja - Day ???

I've lost track of the day, date and time!

Our new morning ritual - coffee on the beach, watching the sunrise!

We drove to Tados Santos, on the Pacific Coast, for the day yesterday. Said to be the "upcoming tourist shopping town" with many art galleries. Not really, yet! It rained so many of the small art studios were closed and the shopping was the same as in most of Mexico! But, lunch was great and we had a drink at the Hotel California!

Hotel California

Baja - Day 13

Correction from yesterday! Manatees DO NOT jump out of the water!

We got the ATV this morning – went and picked up Carlos and Megan, then went to the bank for pesos, out for breakfast and arranged for a fishing charter tomorrow morning. A fun little vehicle to get around town – Roger & Carlos love driving it!

 

The locals told us about a waterfall “down the arroyo” so off we went. It was about a 30-minute ride through the canyon and sure enough there is a small flow of water over the rocks!

It was margarita time when we returned, so off we went down the beach! We planned to grill steaks at Carlos and Megan’s place but they didn’t have any propane so we had a “progressive dinner” – salad at their place and steaks and baked potatoes at ours. It was a beautiful evening so – no wind – so we ate out under the stars. We joined our neighbors for a bonfire on the beach later. A great day!

Baja - Day 12

We have been enjoying our morning coffee while watching the sun rise – a beautiful part of the day. 

The manatees jump out of the water – as high as 2 feet – and do a “belly smack” – you can hear it from the shore! We saw a whale spout late yesterday afternoon and it came up out of the water a couple times before disappearing.

We picked up Carlos and Megan at the airport in San Jose Del Cabo around noon. They rented a cute place just up the beach from us for a week. We are so looking forward to spending time with them. Of course, we had to have margaritas and dinner at El Gecko!

We have seen jeeps and cars driving down the beach so, you know Roger, “if they can do it, I can do it!” NOT! 100 yards and we are stuck in the soft sand! We tried to push it out with no success. Finally, two guys in an ATV, with a wench on the front, stopped to help. They wouldn’t take any money but, Roger told them where we were staying so they came over for a beer!

We rented a 4 seat ATV for a week, will pick it up this morning. Anxious to explore the quaint towns up and down the beach! We miss the fish mongers coming to the RV with their fresh catch!

Baja - Day 10

Enjoying our morning coffee watching the sun rise along the Sea of Cortez.

Our view along the beach

Home sweet home for a couple weeks!

The internet cafe!

Here are the washers.......

Here are the dryers! Kay would love it!

Baja - Day 9

The road leading out of Ciudad Constitucion was horrible – we were driving in a bumpy, dust fog for miles – but we finally came upon a nice, straight highway and were happy campers! Unfortunately, it didn’t last long. It has been a good news – bad news kind of day! The good news – when the roads were good, they were very good. The bad news – when the roads were bad, they were VERY bad! We will be glad to arrive at our “freedom time” park in Los Barrilles tonight.

The wagon master announces oncoming traffic on narrow roads - because most of us are taking our half out of the middle. This morning Becky said there was an oncoming truck with only one headlight. I responded “we used to call them pididdles – and when we were dating you got to kiss your boyfriend when you saw one!”

In the U.S. you often see crosses along the roadside to commemorate someone who died in an accident there. In Mexico they build shrines and sometimes small chapels decorated with Catholic statues and/or pictures and plastic flowers (even a beer bottle in one!) – many of them much nicer than the houses they live in!

The Mexican government recently raised the price of gas - actually, just lowered their subsidies – and we have seen a few trucker blockades at Pem Ex stations in protest. But, we have not had any problems purchasing gasoline or diesel fuel. It is just weird when they say “5,000 pesos!”

We arrived at Playa Del Norte and our RV site right on the Sea of Cortez beach around 4pm. There is restaurant next door, the El Geiko, so many of us went over for a margarita. We figured we not only wanted one but needed and deserved one! It was happy hour so the waiter brought us all two for one – OMG – I can’t do that again! We ended up eating dinner there – they made guacamole at our table and my coconut shrimp were as big as pork chops! Yum!

Baja - Day 8

We got up early this morning and enjoyed our coffee while watching the sun rise and dolphins in the bay.

It’s a good thing the drivers had a nice 3 day respite because this morning’s drive has been challenging - through the mountains and along the Sea of Cortez coastline. Can’t begin to describe how beautiful and yet how desolate and vast this country is! Mexico could be a rich country if they could figure out a beneficial use for cactus and old tires!

We stayed in a campground with fine thin dirt/dust – it’s only redeeming quality was their WiFi connection and Ciudad Constitucion had a decent grocery store!

Baja - Day 7

Today was a lazy day. Roger & I went into town, enjoyed breakfast at a little bakery with WiFi and checked emails etc. We rode our bikes around the bay, relaxed and baked beans in the dutch oven  for the potluck tonight. A truly lovely place but we would be bored here all winter! Cool in the mornings and evenings but hot when the sun shines! Beautiful moonlight evenings on the beach!

Baja - Day 6

We are camping on the beach at Santispac – gorgeous! – about 12 miles south of Mulege (moo-la-hay.) It is on a protected cove so there are several sailboats moored around the small islands. We are here for 3 nights but many of the people we have met are spending 2-3 months. Of course, we had to try the margaritas at the little restaurant here and Roger and Tommy are tasting all the salsas on a quest to find the best! We grilled steaks and had a candlelight dinner at our table on the beach last night – a full moon and stars added to the ambiance! This morning we watched the sun rise and bought fresh fish and vegetables from a vendor in a pickup truck selling his “catch” to all the newcomers!

Dorothy and I went into town to check out the market and internet. Look at this gorgeous bougainvillea!

Baja - Day 5

I was finally able to publish my blog last night and this morning – good internet at the Rice ‘N Beans restaurant. More breakfast tacos for Roger & Tommy!

The last military stop took forever because the guards came into our rigs and “snooped!” Our guy just acted like he was curious to see the inside – opened the pantry, the frig and the freezer but did not take anything. One tried to take two beers and Wally told him “no, they are mine!” Tommy’s guy picked up his two Bluetooth speakers, handed one back to Tommy and put the other in his pocket and said “mine?” – Tommy let him have it but, John, our wagon master said he shouldn’t have because they’ll just expect bribes from the next group.

We went into St. Ignacio this morning to see a lovely old church on the town square. The local ice cream shop served as breakfast for many.

The weather is beautiful – in the 80’s with a breeze.  We only drove about a 100 miles today – past the Volcan de Tres Virgenes or the 3 Virgins Volcano and then down the Cuesta del Infierno or as all of us called it “The Hill From Hell!” As we passed through the town of Santa Rosalia we caught our first glimpse of the Sea of Cortez – deep blue water with Caribbean blue and sand beaches.

Baja - Day 4

Dorothy and I walked over to the kitchen this morning and got the guys breakfast tacos.

The road turned inland today so we only saw glimpses of the Pacific Ocean – miles and miles of pristine beach. Whenever we got close to the water we saw osprey nests on electric poles.  When was the last time you saw glass insulators?  The road was less mountainous and straighter. The pot holes are bad enough but all the small towns have “topas” which just adds insult to injury!

A weird driving rule here – you never turn your left hand turn signal on when making a left hand turn – you only use it to let traffic behind you know it is clear to pass! Go figure!

Fruits and vegetables are not allowed to be brought into Baja Sur so we all cleaned out our RV’s and gave everything to Maria at the ranch last night. Today we passed through an inspection station where they charged us 20 pesos ($1.00!) to spray our tires, axles and undercarriages with pesticide.

Reminded me of Emily, in Kuala Lumpur, running into the house and shutting all the doors when they sprayed for mosquitoes, saying “you can’t breafth that stuff!”

Dinner tonight at the RV park – excellent food and margaritas!

Baja - Day 3

Today’s travels have been up and down the mountains. Scary driving but beautiful country. We are amazed at how green everything is – we anticipated Arizona like desert. There are several plants that are indigenous to the Baja.

We passed through our second military check point with no problems. Guess a bunch of white hairs in motorhomes doesn’t fit their “profile!”

We hiked up to a small cave, this afternoon, to see pictographs and learn about the varied plant life. Interesting – unfortunately, my camera battery died!

We are “dry” camped at Ranchero Santa Inez, a private two thousand acre cattle ranch, near Catavina, where we are parked near two huge mesquite trees. The long drive to the ranch house used to function as a private airstrip used by medical teams from the U.S. that staffed a medical/surgical/dental clinic for local residents. It is no longer open – not sure why. They have a small bunk house kitchen that served us dinner -two tacos, an enchilada, beans and rice for $6.00. Good food in a very rustic setting – no power, limited water and far away from any sizable town! Cows and horses roam freely through our area. The night sky is gorgeous!

We are towing the Buick and had about a half tank of gas in it yesterday but, when Roger checked it this afternoon when we parked it was empty! We think someone stole it last night while we slept!

Baja - Day 2

Just because the brochure says we are going “straight down the Baja” does not mean the road is straight down the Baja!  When we weren’t going through towns the terrain was mountainous with winding roads! The main highway is the only paved road – everything else is dirt! The roads are narrow with non-existent shoulders! A little scary when 18 wheelers pass us! We quickly learned the Spanish word for “bump in the road” – topas. Many of them are “grande topas!” In the small towns, they park an ambulance near them and then stand in the road to collect donations. Hard to know whether the money is used to support the emergency services or a scam!

When we descended out of the mountains we entered the main agriculture area of the Baja – miles and miles of “green houses” –  growing primarily, strawberries, tomatoes and what looked like kale or brousel sprouts.

The standard of living is low in this area – cement block houses are high end – most are a hap-hazard combination of wood, sheet metal and plastic wrap. Feral dogs and chickens are everywhere! Tommy wanted to stop at one of the many road side stands for some menudo – it is traditionally only served on Sundays! People routinely riding in the back of pick ups.

We camped at El Pabellon RV Park – right on the Pacific Ocean. Shells and sand dollars galore on the beach. Unfortunately, it was cool and windy so our margarita/tamale party was cancelled. But, John, our wagon master, delivered fresh tamales to each of our rigs. They were huge and delicious – stuffed with chicken, jalapenos and a green olive! We could hardly believe our luck when the satellite dish locked on and we watched the Super Bowl! We got our fire pit out, turned on our outside TV and a few of us braved the weather. What a game!