The Baja Adventure

April 27 to May 4, 1998

This trip was to do some golfing and fishing in Baja, I'm recently retired from the aerospace industry, and my brother-in-law is self-employed in the accounting business. He had recently finished a very hectic schedule meeting the tax deadline of April 15 and wanted to get away for a few days, so we were on a short schedule.

Road Conditions in General

• From the border to just south of Ensenada the road is in very good condition.
• From Ensenada to Guerrero Negro [the state line for Baja California (North) and Baja California Sur (South)] the road is very rough and in disrepair. Some sections would only allow us to travel at 30-35 MPH (large motor home, 30 ft. Pace Arrow).
• From Guerrero Negro to San Ignacio the road varies from fair to poor. Lots of washboarding and pot holes.
• From San Ignacio to Loreto the road is very good and we were able to maintain 55-65 MPH, except in the town of Santa Rosalia - the road in town is very rough and broken up.

Road Condition Details

• South of Cataviña at KM 200 to 240 is a stretch of very rough road with lots of potholes.
• South of LA Bay intersection, KM 18, there was road construction being done just past Punta Prieta. At KM 42 there were workers filling in potholes manually (we dubbed them "The Pothole Patrol")
• South of Santa Rosalia there were a lot of potholes. Also there were groups of workers alongside the road working on the fiber optic line that is being laid in from La Paz and will eventually reach Santa Rosalia and a link across the Gulf.
• From Playa Santispac to the microwave tower as you leave Mulegé we encountered about 6 large work crews made up of from 6 to 12 men working on the fiber optics cable project.

Word of caution - the road northbound as you leave Santa Rosalia is a very steep and winding section up to about the KM 18 marker. Watch out for overheating if you are using your A/C.

Checkpoints (South bound)

• Maneadero - Army, searched vehicle
• Cataviña - Army, searched vehicle
• Bahia de Los Angeles turnoff (LA Bay) - Army, searched vehicle
• Guerrero Negro - Agricultural inspection, no thin skinned fruit allowed. Paid N$20 ($2.40US) to have them spray underside of vehicle.
• San Ignacio - about 4 KM south of town, Army, waved through

Checkpoints (North bound)

• San Ignacio - Army, waved through
• Guerrero Negro - Army, searched vehicle
• LA Bay - checkpoint was moved from the position it was in when we went south on Wednesday. This time they were at KM 263 marker just north of the intersection.
• Cataviña - Army, thorough search
• El Rosario - Army, waved through
• Maneadero - Army, searched vehicle

Comment on checkpoints - At all the checkpoints the soldiers were courteous and friendly. It helped that we are both Mexican-American and spoke fluent Spanish, this seemed to put them more at ease in dealing with us. Although it was a nuisance at having to stop so often, we must be reminded that this is a result of the US requirements to show that Mexico is trying to fight the war on drugs. According to the Baja Sun newspaper for April 1998 this is working since now most of the drug traffic seems to have moved toward Florida and the Bahamas.

I held a brief conversation with one of the soldiers at the checkpoint just south of Cataviña. The group of soldiers at this checkpoint were volunteers, they serve a 3-year tour of duty. Most of them had participated in the campaigns at Chiapas and in Veracruz against the rebels. They were serving a 1-year tour of duty on drug and arms control in Baja. Each checkpoint serves one month at their assigned post and then trades with another post for one month, and then they do it over again. The post at Cataviña will trade with the one at the LA Bay intersection. Although they have someone who understands and speaks English at all the checkpoints their use of the language is very limited.

"Green Angels" - On our southbound trip we spotted a Green Angel taking a break, he was parked off the road at El Rosario but we did not encounter any for the rest of the trip south. On our trip northbound we spotted one resting off the road near Bahia Concepcion (just south of Playa Buenaventura). One was parked at Guerrero Negro when we stopped for the immigration check, then we passed him a few miles later on our way north, he was travelling at about 45 - 50 MPH, we were going 60 - 65 MPH.

Left Turn Indicator - This was a tip I got from Fred Metcalf on his website for Baja travelers http://math.ucr.edu/~ftm/baja.html. When slower traffic on this narrow Trans-peninsular Highway flashes their left turn indicator and there is no left turn available it means that they are signaling you to pass them. Many of the trucks using this highway allowed us to pass them when they were traveling slower than we were, especially on hills, by using this method of signaling us.

-- The Adventure begins --

We got off to a late start but the adventure finally got started at 11 PM Monday April 27.

Day one (Monday April 27) - We left Los Angeles (Intersection of the I-5 and 605) and drove south entering San Ysidro on State 805. We got off on San Ysidro Boulevard exit and bought Mexican insurance (full coverage for 15 days $79), exchanged $200 for new pesos N$1670 (rate of N$8.349 per $1.00 U.S.). We arrived at the resort of Bajamar at about 2:30 AM and slept in the motor home parked on the golf course parking lot. They normally don't do this, but since we were going to play in a few hours they let us through.

Day Two (Tuesday April 28) - We arose early and had breakfast at the golf course. We were on the course by 7:30. Breakfast was limited to scrambled eggs and ham or bacon, the regular cook was evidently out sick according to our waiter. We played the Lagos and Vista courses. We are both 25+ handicap so we were not out to blister the course but to enjoy the scenery and enjoy a game of golf. Fortunately we were able to go out as a two-some and could take our time.

We left the course at 1:30 PM and stopped for the night at Cataviņa at 6:30 PM. The RV park is just north, and across the highway from the La Pinta Hotel, it offers overnight parking with no facilities. The lady in charge wanted $6.00 but we offered her $5.00, which she accepted.

Day 3 (Wednesday April 29) - After a quick breakfast we were back on the road by 7:30 AM. At KM 176 marker we stopped for an Army checkpoint. They searched the vehicle and let us proceed. This procedure was repeated many times (See Checkpoints on previous page).

About 13 miles from Guerrero Negro we spotted the large Mexican flag that was flying over the eagle monument, it is a huge flag. We were stopped for an agricultural inspection, no fruit is allowed south of this stop. We were forced to eat two of the four apples we had, and threw away the other two. A group of surfers in the vehicle ahead of us ate one orange apiece (4) and threw away about a dozen more. It was also mandatory that we pay N$20 ($2.40) to spray the underside of the vehicle.

We stopped for gasoline in San Ignacio and were charged N$3.60 per liter ($1.63 per gal). Pemex station is just north of town on the left side. Magna Sin Plomo (Unleaded 87 octane according to the sign on the pump). To be safe we added octane booster every time we filled up the tanks.

After passing Santa Rosalia, as you make your way down from the mountains toward the coast, we saw our first view of the Sea of Cortez. We then pulled into Mulegé and stopped for lunch. We enjoyed a marvelous smoked yellowtail salad at the Hotel Casitas restaurant on the main road in town. Two generous portions of salad, two tecate beers, avocado dip and tip came out to N$135 ($16).

We arrived in Loreto at 6:30 PM. First we checked out two RV parks, then had dinner of fish tacos in town. They were not great, but edible. The two RV parks about 1/2 mile south of town are Villas de Loreto (a class A RV park), and Loreto Shores RV park (a class B RV park). We opted for Villas De Loreto, $13.75 per night. This RV park has rooms for rent at $55 per night, double occupancy, a pool, showers and restrooms, and a laundry.

Villas de Loreto
APDO Postal (PO Box) 132
Loreto. BCS Mexico 23880
Tel/Fax 011-52-113-50586
E:Mail Villasdeloreto@Infosel.net.mx

A Canadian couple Ron Bellerive and Wendy Wilchynski runs Villas De Loreto. Ron and Wendy run a very clean place and it is a No Smoking facility (we did not inquire as to whether you could smoke in you RV since we are non-smokers). Ron and Wendy can also set you up for any side trips you may want to take as well as with any services you may need, such as fishing trips or repairs you may need. When we checked in we inquired about fishing guides, Ron brought over Sr. Gregorio Murillo R. (Capitan Deportivo Tel. 011-52-113-5-04-15). We agreed on a price, he asked us what we were after, and he informed us of what was available this time of year. The agreed on fee was $110 for a half-day of fishing. We actually fished for 7 hours, some of which was spent trolling for sailfish since we had spotted one.

Day 4 (Thursday April 30) - We met Gregorio on the beach in front of the RV park at 6:00 AM. We bought some bait from a bait boat, then caught some additional bait on our own (mackerel and huachinango). Gregorio then proceeded due east until we reached Point Lobo on the island of Carmen, then turned north for about 2 - 3 miles. Within a couple of hours we had landed 4 yellowtail, they were 20 lbs. for the smallest and 26 lbs. for the largest. My brother-in-law would like to make them 40 pounders (a true fisherman, tales and all.)

When we got back to shore Gregorio offered to fillet and clean our catch so we went to his home. There he skinned and filleted the yellowtail and drove us back to our RV. I would highly recommend Gregorio, many of the American residents that live there for part of the year know him very well and highly respect his honesty and ability. He and his son have available up to 6 pangas (small fishing boats).

Wendy at the RV park also suggested that we go see Yolisma about cooking part of our catch, she runs a local restaurant about two blocks from the RV park. For N$ 50 ($6) we enjoyed a great yellowtail dinner, served with beans, rice, fried potatoes, and hand made flour tortillas. They are not allowed to serve liquor in the communities (only in town), but Yolisma suggested that we could bring our own, so we brought our own cold Tecate.. Yolisma's is one block east of the RV park (away from the beach) and then one block towards town.

At the RV park there is a fellow by the name of Bob. He has been living on and off at Villas de Loreto for over 7 years and owns one of the two houses that Ron and Wendy had built there. Bob is a soon to be retired Defense Attorney from San Jose California. When he wants to stock up on fish he uses bottom fishing with live bait. Most of the time Bob likes to fish for sport using a lightweight fly fishing outfit designed for ocean fishing.

Bob told us a story about hooking up on a large dorado that snapped the rod, he was able to save the reel. The next time he went out with a stronger rod and a large fly fishing reel and was able to catch a 300 pound dorado that took him 4 hours to bring in. Being a true sportsman he released it. This story was confirmed by Gregorio who told us the story about the bearded Americano that lives at the RV park.

Among the people we met at the park were Ed and Carol from Carmel California who have a home in Mulegé (they spend 5-6 months here), and have been coming to Baja for 6 years. Bert and Christine who are both Swiss born but are now Canadian citizens, who have been coming to Loreto for about 3 years.

According to Ed and Carol there is side trip that is worthwhile taking. This trip requires a 4x4 or other off road vehicle. The road leads you away from the Sea of Cortez up into the mountains and towards the Pacific Ocean. There are several small towns back in the mountains where the Jesuits built missions including one that has the best kept museum of artifacts from that time, there is also what Ed referred to as "the Grand Canyon of Baja". This canyon has a stream and several small lakes and ponds that are spring fed and are the grandest sight to behold, especially on a starlit night. Some of the tree limbs hang down so low that Ed had to lie on top of his truck camper and push the limbs away while Carol drove through. The truck and camper shell combination was obviously too high for this purpose but they were able to get through.

Bert and Christine we met at Yolisma's while we were waiting for our food to be prepared. Bert retired from the horse business; he worked all over the world at the racetracks (including Santa Anita, Hollywood Park, and Del Mar in California, as well as Hialeah and Aqueduct). After he took early retirement he went to work in Canada as a snow ski guide at Banff and Jasper specializing in helicopter trips into rugged ski areas, as well as a mountain climbing instructor and guide.

He and his wife had spent this last vacation visiting some of the islands off the eastern coast of Baja (in the Sea of Cortez) using a Zodiac(tm) boat. They had explored and camped in the islands in Bahia Concepción and in Loreto. They thoroughly enjoyed the rugged beauty of this area and plan to make it their home away from home as often as they can.

Day 5 (Friday May 1) - We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and started our trip northbound. We filled up the gasoline tanks in Loreto (Pemex station as you enter town). They charged us N$3.40 per liter ($1.50 per gallon), when we told them what we had been charged at San Ignacio they were surprised. Their only comment was that it is harder to get gasoline there.

We stopped at Bahia Concepción and camped overnight at Playa Santispac ($5 per night). On our way down south we had passed these campsites and they looked very interesting. The water is typical Sea of Cotez, emerald green on the shallow parts and blue where it gets deeper. All the campgrounds at Bahia Conception are on the beach and some of them have palapas (sun shades) available. There are no hookups but they have showers (N$10, about $1.20), and flush toilets. There is also a hot spring on the right side of the campground (right side as you enter from the highway), two restaurants, and a bakery. On this day there was a very brisk breeze that blew west to east from 1:30 PM to 9 PM, according to people we talked to this was unusual for this time of year.

Day 6 (Saturday May 2, 1998) - We had a leisurely breakfast and headed north at 7:30 AM. Our original intent was to make an overnight stop along the way, but decided to reach Ensenada by nightfall. We actually got to Baja Seasons RV park at KM 72 (from Tijuana) at 9:00 PM. This was a long 13-hour drive with a half-hour lunch stop. We checked into the RV park.

Baja Seasons is a class A facility with full hookups. It is very pricey at $48 per night away from the beach, and $60 for sites on the beach (rates for 3/16 through 11/1). Facilities include a mini market, pool, jacuzzi, security patrols and gated entrance, restaurant and bar, showers, sauna, steam room, laundry, miniature golf, two tennis courts, and a putting green.

Day 7 (Sunday May 3, 1998) - After a leisurely breakfast we went back out to Bajamar golf course. This time we requested to play the Oceano 9 course. As it turned out this is the most beautiful 9 holes of golf we have ever played. We were teamed up with a professional golfer who had played the Australian tour, Gerry Simioni, and the Vice President of marketing and sales for Tri National Development Company, Jim Vernes. All of us agreed this course is the "Pebble Beach" of Baja.

As we approached the first hole on the ocean (Oceano 5), there was a pair of whales frolicking in the surf about 1/4 mile offshore (a cow and her calf). We were captivated and watched them for about 10 minutes before we took our tee shots. Along the four holes that front the ocean (Oceano 5 through 8) the scenery is spectacular, with rocky shoreline that is splashed by the waves. This time of year there are whales making their long journey home (5000-mile trip from Scammons lagoon, outside Guerrero Negro, to Alaskan waters).

According to Mr. Vernes Tri National has purchased Bajamar and will be developing time share properties, new housing ranging from ~$170,000 to $600,000 for ocean front property, as well as a full retirement community that will have condos, townhouses, houses, and managed health care. This will take place in the next few years with marketing starting in the next 120 days.

Day 8 (Monday May 4, 1998) - We have breakfast and head for home at 11:30 AM. We decided to cross the border at Otay Mesa since we had never crossed through there before. From the time we get in line at 12:40 PM to the time we are inspected and allowed to cross takes us 20 minutes. After a major traffic jam in Anaheim, due to the construction work that is taking place along I-5 for the Disneyland expansion, we arrive at our point of departure at 3:40 PM (intersection of I-5 and 605)

-- Adventure Ends --