Here's a somewhat lengthy report of our first trip to Baja in our 36' Motorcoach in June.

We crossed the border at Tecate on Saturday, June 2nd and were waved over to the inspection area. Tom went outside to answer questions, open bays, etc., and I remained on board with the soldier who came on board and looked around the coach (mostly the back) and asked if we had guns or drugs ... very polite and didn't really look at much (and there are a lot of places to look into on this thing). We then left the coach in the inspection area while we went into the building to obtain our visas, which went quite smoothly. The official thought we might find an open bank, so we drove around Tecate and did find one open. I went in while Tom drove around blocks for a half an hour or so while I waited in line ... just to find out I was in the wrong line (I had dollars, not pesos). The other line was even longer, so I went outside and waited for Tom to come by and we headed south towards Ensenada, hoping to get there before the banks closed at 2 pm.

Our first inspection was military south of Tecate; we were boarded and lightly inspected by two soldiers. They asked about guns and looked around the rear of the coach and into the closets, bathroom and a couple of overhead cabinets. They were also looking for batteries, but we didn't have the size they wanted. Very polite and friendly.

Lovely drive down Mex 3 through agricultural areas, and got to Ensenada in time to discover we'd just missed the banks, so went off in search of a place to park. We lucked out and got the last space in the only Campo del Playo RV park; it was the weekend of the Baja 500 and everyone else in that park was involved with that. The park is under major renovation and "full service" was 15 amp; expensive at $20US considering the major renovations the park is undergoing.

On Monday morning we hit the bank and Gigante (huge supermarket with lots of other stuff, including clothing) for some last minute supplies and headed south. We were waved through the PGR/Army inspection point at Maneadero and continued on to El Rosario. We stayed at the Sinai RV Park, $15US/night; hookups were sewer, water and 15 amp. We were the only people in the RV park; there may have been someone in the motel overnight.

From El Rosario, we went to Guerrero Negro where we passed through the military inspection point -- no one was there, and the agricultural inspection where they took my avocados, oranges and mangoes and sprayed the bottom of the coach for 20 pesos. We spent the night at Malarrimo, again we were the only ones in the RV park; there were some folks in the motel. $13US/night with Vag discount, full hook-ups are water, sewer and 15 amp.

We were stopped at the check point north of San Ignacio, pulled over and asked where we were going and if we were Americans - then waved on.

Our next stop was Mulege, where we stayed at the Orchard RV park on the river complete with mangoes, bananas and date palms. Mulege is a lovely town and we enjoyed our stay there. $13US/night full hook-up (water, sewer, 30 amp) summer rates. Aside from the handful of permanents there were several other campers.

We've driven past Conception Bay for years, so this was our next stop. We drycamped for several days on the beach at Santispak, $6US/day, Lydia comes around and collects fees daily, Ray's Restaurant is great! Absolutely beautiful place, a few boaters in the bay and a few other campers; mostly Mexican families on vacation. I had the misfortune of stepping on a sting ray; fortunately it barely got me, so I had only a small puncture wound.

We stayed at Tripui RV Park at Escondido Bay for a night; the permanent section is lovely but the RV park is more like a parking lot with very little space between rigs. We were the only ones there, so we had lots of space. Great place for people with boats who are on the water all day and only sleep on land, I wouldn't recommend it as a place to spend more than a night if one is not fishing. $14US/night with full hook-ups, water, sewer and 50 amp.

Our next stop was La Paz, where we were boarded at the agricultural station and they inspected the rear of the coach again. No one seems to do anymore than look around the coach, maybe into the closets and bathroom and under the bed.

We stayed three days at the Aquamarine RV Park, on the bay with easy access into town. This is the lushest park I've seen in Baja, expensive at $18US/night, water, sewer and 50 amp. Unfortunately their office and laundry had been closed by the government while we were there, but they should be reopened soon. La Paz is easy to get around and we found our first Internet cafe there, where we checked our email on some of the slowest computers I've seen in a very long time! It is easy to get around and has most everything you could want. We even found places that work on diesel engines, transmissions, etc.. It rained while we were there; a hurricane south west of Los Cabos sent some weather our way, not much though.

From La Paz we headed for Los Barrilles where we spent a week at Verdugo's RV park on the beach. $13US/night with water, sewer and 30 amp. Weather was beautiful and not too humid, the beaches are clean and lots of fishing boats to watch come in with the day's catch. The area is easy to get around and supplies are readily available - and the living is easy! I finally stopped into Baja Cellular and they gave me the access numbers I needed for my AT&T service to roam in Baja!

Alas, it was time to start heading back north, so we packed up and headed through Los Cabos to Todos Santos for a day or two. On the way, our generator stopped working and, just a few miles out of Todos Santos, our power steering quit on us. Tom managed to get us into town and we found a store with fluid; as he poured it in one side, it flowed out of the other side of the engine! We had a break in the line, so found a local RV Park El Litro, $10US/night, water, sewer and 15 amp - once again we were the only ones there - and prepared to look for help the next day (Saturday) to repair the break in the line. Tom took off in the morning, dictionary and pad in hand, in search of a mechanic who could help us fix the line; the first few people he spoke to said we'd have to go to La Paz. Finally he found a man who was willing to come out and take a look! Several hours later, the two of them had figured out a way to fix the line and we had power steering again. Major relief as we had a lot of hard driving ahead and it wasn't looking like fun, even just getting to La Paz. Spent a little time exploring the town and do plan on going back and staying longer on our next trip.

On Sunday we headed into La Paz where we hoped to find a local dealer who could supply us with the part we needed for our generator. This time we stayed at the La Paz Trailer/RV Park; $15US/night with Vag discount, water, sewer and 30 amp. Once again we were almost alone in the park; met a retired American couple who are living there year round this year and were very helpful to us in our attempt to deal with the generator. I also gave my first massage in Mexico here! We had no luck with parts (2-3 month delay in getting them), so decided we'd be fine without the generator and decided to worry about it in San Diego.

Stopped again at the La Paz inspection station, boarded and cursory inspection, didn't ask about any fruits, etc., just where we were headed.

Heading north, we camped in Loreto at the El Moro Motel/RV Park, $10US/night, water, sewer and 30 amp. Loreto is a charming little town, friendly people and the first mission in the Californias. And the fishing was hot! The two young men parked next to us had limited out 4 days in a row on dorado and had also caught a marlin! They gave us some dorado and some smoked marlin - all of which I am enjoying still. Everywhere we camp (when there are other people) we meet the most interesting folks. At this time of year, most people we've met are regulars in Baja, living here part of the year at least, with the addition of those coming down to fish for a week or a two. In Loreto we were told the fishing is the best it's been in four years, and we've seen lots of big fish coming in on this trip.

From Loreto, we went back to Conception Bay for a night and then to Mulege for a couple nights before heading across to the Pacific side.

We did a really long day's drive to get to the Pacific coast and were:

• Stopped near San Ignacio, asked where we were headed, where we've been and waved through.
• Same at Guerro Negro, waved through both the Agricultural and Military checkpoints.
• Waved through Military stop south of Cataviña.
• Stopped and boarded at Maneadero, cursory inspection of bedroom closets and one overhead bin and asked about guns.

We camped at The Old Mill, just south of San Quintin. $16.50US/night, water, sewer and 15 amp. Beautiful place on the bay at the end of a long dirt road. Several other campers there, one trailer with several small children, including a baby! Most were overnighters like us, heading north or south.

From there we went north to Punta Banda were we planned to camp for a couple days at Villarino RV Park, $16US/day, water, sewer and 15 amp. After spending most of our time in almost empty parks, we were quite surprised at the number of people there! Mostly people from California down for the 4th and to vote in the Federal elections. Plus the normal holiday weekend crowds. Unfortunately the septic system was overloaded and broke right under us! We left after the first night (they were digging for the lines under our wheels) and went out to see La Bufadora. We ended up boondocking and had a great time. This "town" is no more than a street out to the point where La Bufadora comes pounding up through the rocks. However, this street is sort of like seeing Tijuana condensed into one street of vendors, restaurants, etc! Amazing sight and they have every single touristy thing you can find anywhere in Baja!

On the 4th of July we left La Bufadora and planned to stop again a little further north, just past Ensenada. All of a sudden we found ourselves on the toll road and somehow ended up at the border! Fortunately it was early in the day and we spent less than 1/2 hour getting across and were not boarded or searched. The nice thing about our coach is that the vendors can't converge on our windows due to the height, so we really didn't have to run that gauntlet! The US Immigration Officer looked at our passports, asked a few questions and sent us on to the freeway to San Diego. This was really easy; much more so than we'd expected!

Actually the entire trip was easier than we'd expected; no problems with inspections, no one ever asked us for our visas, a few difficulties (generator, etc.,) that could have happened anywhere, absolutely a great trip. People were friendly and helpful and the road was in really good condition (for this road). All in all, we were pretty well prepared and the entire trip was easier than either of us anticipated I think. Tom's efforts to learn Spanish really paid off - his communication skills were invaluable and my skills are improving (but need more effort). The only things we regret are taking traveler's checks - it's a major task to cash them and ATMs are everywhere, you can only change $200/day in Travelers Checks, but can take up to 4,000 pesos out of the ATM at a time; and not staying longer - next time we go for at least 2-3 months!