BCS Route 53 connects Route 1 at Insurgentes with the oasis
settlement of La Purisima. At the southern end the road travels
through the northern sections of the agricultural region
centered at Ciudad Constitución and Ciudad Insurgentes.
The northern part of the road heads slightly inland taking the
traveler over some barren desert mountains, finally dropping into
a large valley containing the oasis of La Purisima.
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The paved road ends in La Purisima and its neighboring settlement
of San Isidro. At this point there are a variety of dirt roads
leading off to locations in the mountains and on the coast.
Destinations include: the Comondús (also reached off BCS 53 near
La Poza Grande), San Javier (continuing on past San Jose de
Comondu), Route 1 at Rancho Rosarito to the south of Bahia
Concepción, San Juanico and Scorpion Bay to the north.
In May '00 we took the dirt roads over to Route 1.
In my opinion, this requires a sturdy, medium-clearance vehicle.
The 36 mile trip took us 3 1/2 hours including a few scenery stops.
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March 2004
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Contributed by
Nitas
. . .
Mid-February '04: The potholes have returned on the road
from Insurgentes to La Purisima. Not just isolated, scattered
potholes, but huge minefields spanning the entire width of the
highway. No repairs have been done after the last two hurricane
seasons. This, coupled with washboard the size of the Rockies on
the dirt road to San Juanico/San Ignacio makes for a very slow,
tiring drive.
Only basic repairs were done to the dirt road
after Hurricane Marty in Aug. '03 and, for some reason, it has
not been graded since before that time. Oh how we yearn for the
East Road (Rosarito-La Purisima) which no longer receives any
maintenance.
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October 2002
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Contributed by
Nitas
. . .
As of October 2002
there have been road repairs and most of the giant potholes have
been filled in. Not a bad drive now.
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March 2002
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Contributed by
Cindy
. . .
Most recent trip on this stretch was January and February 2002,
north and south, from Insurgentes to the San Juanico turn-off.
The potholes are on steroids as you travel north from the
turn-off to Comundú. Some span both lanes and must be 6"+ deep.
If we were able to see the crater ahead and had opposing traffic,
we found it safer to slow to almost a stop while the other
vehicle navigated around it before we proceeded. Our
truck/body/camper is on the heavy side so we're a little most
cautious than some, especially on the way out [south] with our
tires still deflated from San Juanico terraceria. Friends took a
motorcycle trip from SJ to Comundú via San Isidro and reported
the road very challenging. Another friend drove this route in his
Toyota 4x4 and said it took hours to get to Comundú. He went out
via the road you described, primarily to save his marriage!
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February 2002
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Contributed by
Fred Metcalf
. . .
We drove from Insurgentes to Ejido Francisco Villa to catch the
graded road over to the Comondús. Route 53 had many small
potholes, a result of the passage of Hurricane Juliette. There
were no repairs going on.
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May 29, 2000
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Contributed by
Fred Metcalf
. . .
The condition of the road was good, although there were
occasional sections of potholes, none of them deep. There was one
crew active at filling potholes.
Watch out for a poorly announced speed bump (tope) in Villa
Igancio Zaragoza!
