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Published: March 13th 2017
We woke up to a clear beautiful sunny morning in San Luis Gonzaga. I think I was supposed to use the outhouse across the road from my palapa, but it was really stinky and awful, so I used the next palapa's outhouse! Not much better, but......when ya gotta go, ya gotta GO!!
So.....a little Baja geography........there is really only one major highway down the Baja..... Highway #1. However, on the top of the Baja there are 3 major highways that take you to different places depending on where you enter the country. We entered Mexico through Mexicali, so we were on Highway #5 to San Felipe. Highway 5 ends just after San Luis Gonzaga (where we woke up this day) and although the highway is "built" further south to intersect with Highway 1 at Chapala, there is about 25 km that is "under construction." T We had thought we would have to back track 260 kms or so on Highway 5, then jump on Highway 1 to continue down south. While we were at Campo San Felipe, visiting and chatting with our fellow campers, they let us know that although the highway wasn't completed we could indeed take the 25
more slow driving
and then water tookms, or so of gravel/dirt road and meet up with Highway #1 to continue south. So off to find the small undeveloped road. Soon after we got on the highway it turned to the dirt/gravel everyone talked about and that 25 kms or so, took us 2.5 hours to complete! The road was often just a dirt path and once again, total washboard, but then to make it even more challenging, the previous days' rain made the road slippery with mud and secret holes filled with water! What a interesting morning. About halfway though this interesting road we stopped for a stretch break at a small restaurant named COCO'S CORNER. Coco is a friendly man in a wheelchair who owns this little place. The ceiling of COCO'sis lined with bras and panties of gals who have stopped in. kind of an interesting thing to do I guess!!! P.S.......I didn't leave mine!!! After a quick stretch and visit we were back on the sand road. We finally made it to Chapala and the meeting of Highway 1. We stayed on Highway 1 for about 1/2 hour we took a smaller highway to another spot called Bahia De Los Angleles.
We
arrived at our destination of Bahia Los Angeles at about 1:00 pm. Rene had thought that the neutral safety switch got stuck so as soon as we got into town we searched for a mechanic. He shut the engine of and the switch did what the switch was supposed to do and we didn't need a mechanic after all. After a couple of taco pescados (fish tacos) We found Campo Daggett's on the beach and parked for the night. We went for a long beach walk, read some and relaxed for the rest of the night!
The following morning Feb 14, we headed back on the road and made our way to another town called Guerrero Negro. We found a little camp spot, popped the top and went to explore the town. Guerrero Negro is known for a huge lagoon (we certainly wouldn't call it a lagoon in Canada......we would call it a bay off the Pacific Ocean), where each year about 2000 grey whales come to mate and have their babies! Campo Malarrimo offered tours to see these magnificent mammals, so we booked our tour for the following morning at 11 a.m.
We spent the rest of
COCO's CORNER
coco and his gifts of bras and panties the day exploring the streets of Guererro Negro and being that it was Valentines Day, my darling husband bought me flowers from a street vendor. We had no vase to put them in so the cut Pacifico beer can did the trick! Also because it was Valentines Day we dressed up a it and went out for a nice dinner. We fell asleep dreaming of the next morning and seeing the whales!
And then.......What can I say?!?!??! The whale watching was something of a dream! Feb 15th, we were driven out to the lagoon and within 15 minutes in the boat we started to see the whales. Every where and in every direction we looked we saw a whale or the blow hole of a whale. Our guide told us that the count right now was 1400 whales! We certainly didn't see that many, but it sure felt like it! Some of the whales were so friendly and they would come right up to our boat and put their noses up to say hello and check us out! They came so close we were able to "pet" them even!!! Well, I'm not sure you call that a pet, or
more construction
one day.......maybe is it just a touch and scatch!!! Anyway.....whatever we did, was SO incredible!!!!There were so many whales watching us as we watched them! What an amazing experience. An experience that brought a tear of gratitude and awe to my eye! That we could be so lucky as to see this event! Thank you is all I can say!
We got back to town, had another long walk on some different streets, and enjoyed some gourmet street hotdogs for dinner. Never had a hotdog so fancy....what a treat!!!
While we were travelling and yakking, we came to the conclusion we were not going to make it all the way south to Cabo San Lucas. From tip to tip is about 1800 kms. In Canada we could certainly do that many kms in a couple days or so, but the roads on the Baja are windy, narrow and some stretches with deep and hidden potholes. So with that in mind we decided to pick Loretto as the town that would be our most southerly destination.
We were up quite early and therefore on the road before 9. We started the day in thick fog so the going
was a bit slow, but we are a determined pair and we kept steady on. Soon enough the sun was out and Highway #1 was smooth sailing. At one point of our journey we got behind a couple of military Jeeps. (A very common site on the Baja, with also about 6 military stops along the journey) Anyway, they were going a bit slower than Rene was going and so we debated about whether we should pass or not!. It's kinda of a weird experience to want to pass open military Jeeps with about 6 armed (really BIG GUNS) soldiers in each Jeep. After some talking and apprehension, Rene gunned our van and around them we went. We both looked in our rear view mirrors for a km or so to see if there was going to be repercussions for our hurried driving.......sure enough.....nothing!!! We had a chuckle and jotted down another learned lesson for next time!!..Our road trip on this day took us past Tres Virgenes (3 Volcanoes), in the Santa Rosalia area! None of them have been active for years but are very accessible and great for hiking and camping .Again the scenery was so interesting. So many
Breakfast
This is how we do breaky on the road.......coffee and boiled eggs......the best outside different types of cacti, bushes, shrubs and even trees. Very subtle changes in what kind of greenery. Some kilometers there is very little of anything, then a couple kilometers later, leafy green trees and then huge "Cardon Gigantes" again. Also some beautiful little purple and yellow desert flowers that in some areas look like a desert carpet. Fascinating!!
We drove through another little town called Santa Rosalia, back to the Sea of Cortez. We decided we might stop and snoop around on our way back north. We then climbed back up inland a bit and were wowed by the Sierra La Gigantica Mountains! Majestic and beautiful!
We arrived in Loretto at 2:30. We found a camp spot quite quickly and pulled out little van amongst the huge trailers and motor homes filled with Canadians and Americans. Lots of professional tour companies who lead groups of folk up and down the Baja!
Great folks and filled with interesting stories to share.
We went walking through town and came upon the Loreto Hostal. Because we have stayed in many Hostals and quite love the Hostal concept, we stopped in to have a look around. Abel the owner met
us and insisted we have a look around. While we shared a coffee with him he told us that his life long dream was to own his own Hostal for travelers and 3 years ago at the age of 71 he opened his Hostal in his home town of Loreto. What a interested man and what a great story!
We stopped for some chips and salsa and wandered around town for the next few hours. Beautiful little town with a historic eighteenth century story. We met Steve and Stacy from Santa Cruz and spent the evening chatting and laughing with them.
Feb 18, we explored more of Loreto and decided to turn our "Marcella" around and start heading north. Good thing too, cause my right arm was burnt bright red because of the sun beating down with my arm out the window! Hehe.
Blessed beyond measure
Rene and Crystal
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