DAY 1, Friday, November 17, 2006

Left Carlsbad at 5:15 am, Friday, November 17. Crossed border with a green light at 6 am. Took the toll road with patches of very thick fog. Traffic was heavy along highway 1 near the new Ensenada Walmart requiring patrolled intersections. We stopped at Santo Tomas for coffee to go. Made good time to San Quintin where we filled up and drove out to La Pinta for more coffee and a quick walk on the beach. Stopped in El Rosario to stock up on ice and exchange our empty Coronas from a previous trip. Heading South at this point we began to see quite a few northbound Baja 1000 rigs. Some of them were racing with their trailers crossing the yellow line into my lane. The next stop was the Catavina La Pinta to use the rest room. The place was full of the Baja 1000 crowd.

By 1:30 pm we were on the road again for the longest stretch without a break to Jesus Maria for another tank of gas.

At this point since we were making such good time we decided to push on to San Ignacio before finding bunks for the night. Just after sunset we drove passed the San Ignacio La Pinta, which was a checkpoint for the race and still full of the race crowd and drove into the empty parking lot of the small Hotel Posada.

It has small, quiet, basic rooms with hot showers. Our room had 2 beds and cost $300 pesos. The owner is friendly, does not speak English and watches the place like a hawk. There was one American chain-smoking lady who was in another room who told us the racers were thundering through the night before “ALL...NIGHT...LONG”. From the hotel we walked into the center of town for dinner. Rice & Beans restaurant is too far from town to walk in the dark so we opted for the Taquieria Los Arcos. I had beef burritos, small but pretty good. Wife had garlic fish fillet that was very thick with garlic. Daughter had a bean burrito. The meal was nothing great. Next time we’ll drive out to Rice and Beans.

DAY 2, Saturday

The next morning we were eager to get to the Sea of Cortez, stop by the bakery in Santa Rosalia and finally reach Mulege where we would spend a couple of days. In Mulege we made arrangements at Hotel Las Casitas for a tour to the Trinidad Canyon cave paintings. It was about 11 am and we wanted some of Doney’s fish and shrimp tacos, but were surprised to see his casual taco shop has upgraded to a more upscale sit-down diner. We were too early for lunch so we had huevos rancheros. The electricity was out and big Doney looked pretty stressed out. It was hard to enjoy breakfast when we really wanted tacos. Then we drove down to the beaches of Bahia Concepcion. The weather was warm with a soft breeze. The mosquitoes were ruthless. At the north end of the beach the pelicans were in a feeding frenzy so my daughter and I put on our snorkel gear and went to get a closer look.

The visibility was lousy because there were so many fish. We found ourselves on the outside of a huge school of bait fish with sierra darting in for a meal while the pelicans worked the other side. After the dive we tried to take a little hike inland but the mosquitoes chased us back to the water. Dinner was simple with sandwiches made from the bread from the Santa Rosalia bakery by the campfire. By 8 pm the beach was totally dark and quiet - no stereos, no dirt bikes or quads, no generators, no parties. The only noise was the small swashing sound of the rippling water pushing the crushed shells back up the beach.

DAY 3, Sunday

I was up and about before moonrise, followed by sunrise.

We packed up our valuables, asked our Canadian neighbors to keep an eye on our tent, and drove into town to look for Salvador, our guide. He met us near the playground by the fire station with a couple of groups of tourists. We all climbed into his passenger van and Salvador began telling the history of Mulege. We made our way east through town, then through citrus groves where we stopped to sample and purchase grapefruit and oranges. Evidence of the damage caused by hurricane John in September was everywhere with uprooted trees and branches wrapped around trunks of cardon from the floodwaters. Salvador made a stop in the desert to explain some of the medicinal uses of the plants he learned from his grandmother. He pulled a leaf from a plant that began to drip a clear liquid from it’s severed stem and applied it to my daughter’s mosquito bites. It seemed to work well so I used that plant a few times during our trip. The desert was incredibly lush and the dirt road was very rough at times. After about 45 minutes we arrived at Rancho Trinidad, a modest ranch with cows, chickens, dogs, and the cleanest bathroom for miles. After filling out paperwork at the ranch we began our hike. Salvador lead us through a winding trail into a beautiful canyon with pools fed by a stream of running water. The partial remains of a dam built of rock and wire stand high above a pool of waist deep water. Until the dams are rebuilt the hike up the canyon will require only wading through sections waist deep water. Although the hike is not particularly tough, it does require nimble footing, some balance and the ability to lift yourself up a ledge or out of the water. Salvador lead our group to the first two major cave painting areas. There are more sites but they are restricted to scientists and government officials.

Back at the ranch a delicious lunch awaited us - tortillas, beans, cheese, jalapenos, tomatoes, onions, fruit, sodas and cold beer. Everything was fresh. I recommend this tour to anyone who can handle a moderate hike. Salvador said business has been very slow since the flood.

After returning to Mulege we drove out to the mouth of the river to check out the damage and rebuilding efforts. What a mess that must have been and a lot of work to do still. Before heading back to camp we thought we would give big Doney another chance. Other patrons seemed to be ordering restaurant style combination plates. We ordered fish tacos and shrimp tacos. Doney looked more like his old self behind the fire grill chopping carne and frying fish and shrimp. The electricity was on and the TV was showing a soccer game. The score was 2-2 as locals kept spilling in to watch the action. We were finishing up, getting ready to pay the bill when everything went dark and quiet. Doney looked stressed again and slowly started lighting propane lanterns. The tacos were great. We drove back to camp and went to sleep early. It was another very quiet night on Bahia Concepcion.

DAY 4, Monday

I was up before sunrise again eager to get on the road to La Paz. We saw a real bullfight in the northbound lane only 20 minutes into the drive, bought a tank of gas in Loreto from an unmotivated young man, passed a bunch of southbound suicidal bicyclists, then made it to Cuidad Constitucion with no delays.

Cuidad Constitucion was having a big parade or party or something for Dia de la Revolucion on the main street so we were treated to a tour of the dusty back streets. We made one stop in the desert for more sandwiches then it was all downhill to La Paz. The first thing we had to do was find the Spanish Immersion School. Wife was enrolled but we didn’t know her schedule because we couldn’t check our webmail (Thanks Roadrunner/Time Warner!). We found the school easily, took care of business and drove out to Playa Tecolote. The beach was a little crowded and a bit windy so I put the truck in the dunes at the east end and we set up the tent. After sunset a tarantula wondered through the campsite.

We slept well through the night as the winds died down.

 

DAY 5, Tuesday

We played on the beach until it was time for lunch so we drove into town looking for more fish tacos. After three days of rough camping we felt a bit under-dressed for most of the restaurants we saw. We ended up in a nice clean restaurant for shrimp and fish tacos. Mommy had to leave early to walk to Spanish school while we ate our fill. Then daughter and I drove down the malecon the check into Club El Moro.

The room was awesome, spacious, big balcony with views of the Cortez right across the Malecon. I realized it was time to exchange the corona bottles so I bribed daughter with an ice cream. The ice cream was easy to find. She had lime sherbert she said was great. We had a tougher time finding a place to exchange the empty coronas. If anyone has a stereotype of Mexicans at a four-way stop you need to visit La Paz. I’m not sure I ever saw anyone slow to less than 10 mph. If I made a complete stop it threw off their timing and made for a dangerous situation. I had mastered the local technique by the time we were supposed to pick up Mommy. She was not impressed but became used to it. That night we wandered around La Paz for a while then settled down at the hotel. We actually used the air conditioning to lower the heat and humidity.

DAY 6, Wednesday

Daughter had pancakes at the hotel while I attempted webmail again with no luck (I didn’t land on Roadrunner, Roadrunner landed on me). The pancakes were made from scratch and daughter sucked them all up. Her apple juice was made from fresh apples too. After breakfast we drove back out to Tecolote to drop the kayak into the water and paddled around the rocky cliffs to the west. The snorkeling was great with very warm clear water.

There were Cortez Angel Fish, Mexican Needle Fish, puffers and many other colorful schools of fish. Our beach days were cut short during our stay at La Paz so wife could attend the Spanish School. On our way out of Tecolote a caravan of Canadian RV’s were snaking their way out to the beach. It was disappointing to see all the black smoke spewing from the Pemex smokestacks on the way back to town. After Spanish class we went straight to the La Paz Museum (very cool) and wondered around La Paz again. This time we checked out Dorian’s and many other smaller shops. I was amazed at how expensive the electronics were. It seemed like the digital cameras and video cameras were about double what we pay in So Cal. Daughter bought a couple of cool shirts. She was ecstatic to walk into a t-shirt shop to find the owner watching Spongebob Squarepants on TV.

It didn’t matter that it was in Spanish. All this shopping made me hungry for... fish tacos, so we went back down the malecon to look for another eatery. We ate at a half indoor half outdoor place with a cocky waiter who served descent food.

DAY 7, Thanksgiving

This was my daughter’s 10th consecutive Thanksgiving in Mexico. She is nine. We had so much fun the day before we decided to go back out to Tecolote again with the kayak. The Canadian RV’s had overtaken the west end of the beach but we figured there would be room for us. On the muddy dirt road that veered west I saw a small black case lying in the dirty tracks. I pulled over, picked it up and looked inside. It contained a nice digital camera. After backing the truck up to the beach I walked over and asked the RVer’s if anyone was missing their camera. Their’s were all accounted for so I went back to my truck and turned on the camera. The menus were in Spanish. I played the slideshow to see if it had any clue as to who may own the camera. There were about 50 pictures, quite a few nice shots of the Baja 1000 at the finish line, a Mexican family eating lobster, young men drinking coronas and acting silly, taking photos of their full bellies, a family standing around a campfire, and one picture that stuck in my mind. There was a lone gray Dodge Durango parked at the same spot my truck was currently parked.

I looked up and down the beach but didn’t see a Durango.

We dropped the kayak into the warm water again and paddled west, past the RVs and around the rocky cliffs to a more secluded beach with clear calm water. Daughter and I put on our snorkel gear and kicked out toward the reefs. We didn’t get far before we both noticed the burning down our arms and legs. We swam through virtually invisible jellyfish tentacles. We’d done this before but this time it seemed worse. We kicked back to shore as quick as we could and began dousing our burns with vinegar. Mommy is always prepared. It took about an hour for the red bumps and burning to ease. At this point we were ready for the hotel pool so we kayaked back to the truck. Before heading back to town I drove out to the east end of the beach looking for a gray Durango. I felt like that dude from The Gods Must be Crazy who wanted desperately to get rid of the coke bottle.

I kept my eyes peeled on all the beaches we passed with no luck. Daughter and I lounged around the pool and hot tub while Mommy walked to her last Spanish class. When Mommy returned we all walked down the malecon to hang out downtown and absorb our last evening in La Paz. The owner of the T-shirt shop was happy to inform us that SpongeBob would be on in 45 minutes. We thought we would celebrate Thanksgiving with fish and shrimp tacos so we went in search of a place I’d been eyeing for a while. It was a casual backyard-type eatery surrounded by wrought iron fence. The waiter was so quick with the ice cold beers I don’t remember his face. Before I knew it I had a large shrimp cocktail in front of my face.

Daughter was happy with fish tacos while mommy’s shrimp tacos rounded off a great meal. This place closed at 6 so mommy was sharp enough to order 2 more cold ones and la quenta. This was the best Thanksgiving meal in years.

A group of local schoolgirls interviewed us outside the restaurant. We strolled all the way back to the hotel looking forward to falling asleep to Cartoon Network in Spanish.

Day 8, Friday

Daughter ordered a fruit platter with granola and yogurt for breakfast while I checked our email. She gave her breakfast 2 thumbs up while I gave our internet service provider 2 thumbs down. Checkout time was 1PM and we were in no hurry to leave. The hotel had laundry service so we took advantage of that while daughter took advantage of the hot tub and pool. At around noon I made a trip to the truck to load some bags when I saw a grey Durango make a U-turn right in front of our hotel. I memorized the last 4 digits of the plates and climbed into the cab of my truck. I pulled the camera from it’s case and fumbled through the Spanish menu to play the photos. This time I went backwards on the camera menu and found the Durango photo pretty quickly. I zoomed in ... and in... in...in...down...down...in...down. First I was surprised that the camera had enough resolution to pick up the license plate, then I was shocked that it was the same plate I just saw heading west on the malecon, I grabbed my keys, made a hasty U-turn and caught up with the Durango after some Baja1000-type driving. I put my truck next to her Durango as we rolled westward on the malecon and start screaming “Tengo camera!” She looks quite scared. I am 6’2” 200 lbs and look kinda like a ratty-haired, homeless, surfer and I was chasing this lady downtown La Paz with a big Dodge Ram 4X4.

After a couple of blocks she stops dead in the #2 lane heading west. I notice she has an elderly man in the passenger seat, I assume her father. The next few minutes are a blur because of my bad Spanish and her bad English. In the rush to track her down I lost track of the camera so I went up to her window to explain that I found a camera that may belong to someone she knows. Well, that did not translate well so I ran back to my truck and began digging for the camera. It had fallen into the doorwell on the passangers side. I brought the camera to her, the old man staring straight ahead, she slams her right palm on her steering wheel, facing her left palm to the sky, glaring up at me, “WHAT... DO...YOU...WANT?”

I show her the camera case. She looks at me like I’m crazy. I pull the camera from it’s case. She is about to lose control. My shaking hands start to fumble through the Spanish menu of that damned digital camera searching for photographs. Finally, images of the family at the beach appears and her jaw drops. She see’s images of her family and finally realizes that I found her son’s camera. She began blowing me kisses, the old man cracks a smile, staring forward. She got out of her Durango with a piece of paper and demanded my email address. We were still blocking the malecon so I frantically began digging my hands into my glove box for a pen. I groped hard for a pen but apparently groped a razorblade. I stepped back out onto the malecon with blood dripping down my arm onto my T-shirt and shorts. “No tengo pluma!”.

She goes back to the Durango to look for bandages and a pluma. I turn around to see a La Paz police car behind my truck with the swirling lights. The lady runs over to the cops to explain the whole thing. The cops are sitting there like this happens every day. I get dizzy. Lose my keys. Find paper towels to absorb the bleeding. Find my keys. Say goodbye to the lady, the old man, the cops, drive back to the hotel to pick up daughter and mommy. I love La Paz.

We stopped off at Pemex on the way out of town. Right rear tire had a valve stem leaking at the base so we drove across the highway to a llantera who made quick work of replacing the valve stem. The tire has to be knocked off one side of the rim for this. The man was all work, no chit-chat.

Less than 10 minutes we were on our way. He had the nerve to charge $4 US. I let him keep the change of $5.

The drive up through Cuidad Constitucion was easy and uneventful, beautiful and sad. We didn’t stop until sunset as we dropped back down into Loreto for another tank of gas from the same unmotivated young gas pumper. We promised daughter we’d find her an ice cream before getting back on the road to the beach on Bahia Concepcion. We stopped 3 times with no luck. Daughter and I probably both have the same impression of Loreto, undeserved I’m sure. There was no traffic whatsoever between Loreto and Concepcion on this pitch black night. We were glad to see our Canadian friends were still comfortably camping on the shore. We set up camp trying to avoid disturbing the silence of the beach.

Day 9, Saturday

We tried to savor this day by getting the kayak out early.

Daughter and I snorkeled for about an hour and saw all of the regular cool stuff.

We absorbed the sun as long as we could then drove into Mulege for a last night of wholesome decadence. Wife wanted to check out a couple of shops but the electricity was out again. The dive shop closed early but a little store just beyond had the door open so we found our flashlights and head lamps and went inside. I don’t know the name of this little shop but it has lots of cool original ceramics, glassware etc. It is upscale for Mulege and the same lady has been there for years. I sat on the sidewalk hanging out with the local dogs while the shopping was done. Then we walked back toward the center of town. Every store was dark and quiet except for one. At the west side of the town square a generator growled while locals sipped Tecates wrapped in brown paper bags. This little market earned our money by having ice and ice cream - at least 10 different flavored bins. We sat on a bench in the town square while daughter lapped up her ice cream in the warm November air.

Day 10, Sunday

We were all grumpy as we broke down camp, climbed into the truck and headed north. We made a coffee stop in Santa Rosalia. We bought some bread at the bakery but it was not fresh. Maybe you shouldn’t expect the freshness on Sunday. Topped off at San Ignacio and made it to Guerro Negro by 12:30. We ate sandwiches with stale bread at the dunes northwest of town. The cold pacific wind was slapping us in the face. Now I just wanted to get home. It took me a while to figure out what seemed so different about this part of the drive. I didn’t even notice the new power lines on the drive down but now it seemed to change the whole landscape. A quick stop at Catavina required flashlights for the rest room as their electricity was also out. We made it to El Rosario at around 5pm and bought another tank of gas. We found some fish tacos and I had my first Corona from a can. I decided to check out the Baja Cactus motel. I’ve seen it from the road before, unimpressed. Nomads give it great reviews so I thought I would find out if people are just patronizing their friends. Wife was not optimistic, but she went into the office to ask to see a room. Daughter and I caught up with her in the room and “WOW”. This place is NICE. We dropped 350 pesos for 2 king size beds, The Simpsons in Spanish on TV, an awesome bathroom with a nice hot shower. The bed was very comfortable. By far the most comfortable motel bed I’ve slept in. I was worried about road noise, but that was not an issue. If this hotel were on a beach it would go for $200 US a night easy.

Day 11, Monday

After a solid sleep we cleaned up and moved on. We hit our first and only manned checkpoint of the entire trip. It was the standard questions. They were very friendly but we still can’t figure out why they were laughing so hard. We blew through San Quintin and didn’t stop till Santo Tomas for coffee. We made it to the Ensenada fish market by about 12:30. It is nice to be in Ensenada when the weekend crowd and cruise ships are not around. We had fish and shrimp tacos that were the best of the entire trip. We ate at one of the little places at the entrance to the fish market. It's the one with a huge shark tail hanging on the back wall. The ladies seemed extra generous with the portions and the table was filled with all the fresh toppings. After lunch I bought a kilo of nice looking shrimp for 100 pesos and we got out of town. We took the toll road because we’ve had bad luck with the Tecate crossing lately - secret’s out I guess. As we pushed north from Ensenada it began to sprinkle. We saw a view of San Diego as we approached Tijuana and wife said “Ah, the real world”. Sarcasm isn’t always subtle in our family. We made it to the carpool lane which saved us at least half an hour. A blonde female customs officer greets us:

“Drivers Licence... What’s in the back?”

“Camping gear, 2 bottles of Kahlua, groceries, no fruits or veggies.”

“No beef or pork?”

“Nope”

“Thanks for making my job easy”

The total wait: 40 minutes

Total miles: 2188

We made it home by 3:30.