March 13 to 19, 2008

March 13 to 19, 2008

Cabo San Lucas to Puerto Escondido, Baja California Sur, Mexico

 

Thursday ; San José del Cabo

Today was sunny and hot. We had a wonderful day, part of it on the most fantastic beach we've ever been to. This morning we prepared to move our trailer to another site, but none came available. By 10:00 A.M. it was obvious that nobody was departing this morning, so we would have to spend one more night in our partially serviced site. We left for a day of exploring. Erbon and Lorraine came with us in our truck. Kevin and Sandra took their toad and followed us.

Los Cabos are the 2 cities of Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo, 20 miles apart. Our RV park, Villa Serena, is between the two cities. We headed east along Mex 1 following the Sea Of Cortez coast line to San José del Cabo. With the assistance of Joanne's excellent navigating we found our way to the town square. We wandered around for a couple of hours, browsing and sightseeing. We had an excellent lunch in a restaurant with a roof top patio. The daily special, which most of us had, was 3 dorado ( fish ) tacos and 2 beers. After lunch we wandered around a bit more before heading back to the parking where we had left our vehicles. As we were leaving the parking lot, a black Mustang backed out of its parking spot and bumped into The Limey’s car. Fortunately, the damage was so insignificant that Kevin chose to just ignore it. We set off for an afternoon of exploring beaches. We found the gravel road that leads east, then north, following the Sea Of Cortez around the southern tip of The Cape. Rough road, tough driving ! We found our way to the beach that Joanne wanted to visit, La Playita ( The Little Beach ) at the village of Pueblo La Playa ( The Beach House ). Lovely ! We walked around awhile, waded in the water, took photos, and enjoyed the sun and warmth. Joanne wanted to see one more beach, at Los Zacatitos.

We drove very slowly for about 20 miles along the rough, narrow dirt road, wondering if we were on the right road. The road twisted and wound around rugged desert. Occasionally we would catch a glimpse of the sea. Finally, we reached the village of Los Zacatitos. WOW ! Multi million dollar homes of the rich and famous. All self sufficient, powered by solar panels, with their own desalination plants to produce fresh water. And on the edge of the little village ... a completely deserted beach, with thatched roof palapas on the beach to provide shade. We walked across the wide expanse of soft, white sand to the water’s edge where the greenish blue surf was crashing. We waded in, laughing like children as the huge waves would roll away, leaving us a hundred feet from the water until the next wave would crash and roll right up over our feet. I walked further out, bit by bit, trying to position myself to where I would be about knee deep when the waves would crash and roll, trying to get some good photos. I had positioned myself in the perfect spot when ... BAM ! A larger wave than most rolled over and crashed right where I was standing. It smacked right into me at about the level of my stomach, smacking me down onto my butt. OOOOOF ! Ouch ! It hit me so hard in the stomach it knocked the wind out of me. I scrambled to my feet quickly and backed away, toward the beach, before the outgoing rip tide pulled me out into deeper water. I thought I had taken a picture of the crashing wave just before it hit me, but pictures don’t lie. The picture is of the sky, as I fell backwards onto my ass when the wave hit me ! HA HA HA HA HA ! Next time we go to the beach, maybe I should wear my swim suit. DUH ! Not very far out into the sea we could see whales blowing and breaching. Based on our location it’s unlikely they were Bellenas Gris / Grey Whales. They appeared to be larger than Grey Whales. We sat on the beach for awhile, marvelling at the experience of being on this magnificent beach.

What a great day to be alive, being here, doing this !

As we left the beach area, beside the village of Los Zacatitos, there was a Mexican man standing by the side of the road, smiling, holding out his thumb, looking for a ride. There was only one way to go, so it was obvious he wanted a ride back to San José del Cabo. I stopped, and he jumped into the box of the truck. Okay ! We drove back to San José del Cabo. I saw in my rear view mirror that he was sitting there smiling and looking quite contented, despite the rough and dusty road we were driving on. Just on the outskirts of the city, Sandra advised us by 2 way radio that he appeared to be getting ready to jump out of the truck. I slowed down, he jumped out, smiled, waved, and walked away. Okay ... adiós, amigo. Hasta la vista !

We stopped at a large grocery store to replenish groceries and supplies. We bought a lot ! By the time we left the grocery store it was dark. Driving from San José del Cabo almost all the way back to Cabo San Lucas, and then finding our RV park, in the dark was difficult.

 

Friday ; Today was sunny and hot ... temperature in the mid 30's C. / 90's F.. It was perfect for what we did today. This morning I hitched the truck to the trailer, moved to a fully serviced site within the RV park, then unhitched again. What a lot of work for little results. I was tired before our day even really got started ! We drove into Cabo San Lucas and found our way to the harbour area where we parked and walked through the Mercado Marina ( waterfront arts and crafts market ) to the malecon ( waterfront walkway ). We hired a glass bottom water taxi to take us out to see the sights that the Cabo San Lucas harbour area is famous for. The six of us shared our water taxi with a Mexican family who wanted to be taken to Playa El Médano. The water taxi dropped off the family first then took us out to see a large rock covered with a pelican colony, a large rock covered with a sea lion colony, and an underwater reef area teeming with colourful tropical fish right underneath the boat, visible through the glass bottom. WOW ! We even saw some small barracudas under the boat. We passed by spectacular, huge rock formations, and saw a little arch in the rocks through which the Pacific Ocean splashes though and meets the Sea Of Cortez.

We passed by famous Playa Amor / Lover's Beach. And then ... there it was ! El Arco / The Arch at Finisterra / Land's End. WOO-HOO ! ! ! FINISTERRA / LAND'S END ! ! ! We made it ! Our objective has been achieved. Our RV'ing goal for 2007 / 2008 ! And what a spectacular sight it was ! A cause for celebration tonight !

We circled around Finisterra, taking many photos, giggling with delight at the thrill of being there. At least I was ... I don't know about the others. On the way back to the harbour, I asked our water taxi driver to drop us off at Playa Amor / Lover's Beach and pick us up again an hour or so later. Reluctantly he agreed. He pulled the boat up close to the beach and we prepared to jump off the boat into the shallow water and wade to the beach. A Mexican looking for tips ran out into the surf to help us. I'm not sure he was all that helpful. He helped Sandra jump off the boat, then gave her a little bit of a helpful shove towards the beach. She stumbled and fell. OOOPS ! She spent the rest of the day in wet clothes, and wasn't very happy about it.

We spent about an hour and a half on Playa Amor / Lover's Beach. Spectacular ! Our water taxi dropped us off on the Sea Of Cortez side. The water was calm. We wandered through the rock formations over to the Pacific Ocean side, where the surf was crashing in huge waves. A beach vendor came by selling beautiful jewellery, at reasonable prices. Erbon and I each bought a bracelet for our wives. Joanne's is a silver band with inlaid abalone and mother of pearl. I think it's quite lovely.

Our water taxi picked us up and returned us to the main harbour. We browsed briefly in Mercado Marina, then went off looking for a place to have a very late lunch. At the parking lot across the street from Mercado Marina, where we had parked our vehicles, there were a few "fast food" trucks. Kind of the Mexican version of a "chip truck" in Canada. I had the most spectacular fish dish at this food truck ! The man prepared Red Snapper fillets, fried in butter with garlic and lime. It was served covered in cooked garlic. I had never eaten a dish with that much garlic. I rarely eat dishes with garlic. But this was GREAT ! Served with refried beans, Mexican fried rice, and a salad made with lettuce, tomato, and avocado. It was a stupendous meal, particularly considering that it came from a truck !

Kevin, Sandra, Erbon and Lorraine left to return to the RV park. Joanne and I went off in search of a restaurant in a downtown hotel to get more information on a special weekly Saturday evening Mexican Fiesta meal that they advertise. It was a bit too pricey. We returned to our RV park where I napped for awhile while Joanne did some laundry.

Late in the evening I gathered our group together to celebrate reaching Land's End / Finnisterra, with a bottle of Okanagan ice wine that we brought from home.

 

Saturday ; Cabo San Lucas to Todos Santos & return

Gee, in the 36 years that I've known Joanne, I've never seen her this tanned ! Today was sunny and hot again.

This morning we went to the town of Todos Santos ( All Saints ) with Erbon and Lorraine. Kevin and Sandra didn't go with us, because they are planning to spend a month in Todos Santos later this spring. They will likely be staying in Mexico until September. We drove west then north from Cabo San Lucas on Mex 19, following the Pacific Ocean coastline. Just before we arrived in Todos Santos we stopped in the tiny village of El Salitral to shop at a Mexican blankets and textile "factory" called Chabelin. The "factory" was the owner's home, where she hand wove blankets, tablecloths, ponchos, etc. on a hand loom. Her son spoke English, and was the "salesman". We browsed through their little shop, then were invited into their home to see more selection. Erbon and Lorraine bought two table runners, and a gorgeous cape coat for Lorraine. Joanne bought us a tablecloth. She liked the pattern and colours of the tablecloth in their home. The tablecloths that they had for sale with that pattern were in colours not to Joanne's liking. "No problemo" said the son. He cleared off their dining table, and sold us the family's tablecloth, at a discounted price. HA HA HA !

When we arrived in Todos Santos we saw an estética / hair stylist shop. Erbon and Lorraine wanted haircuts. While they got their haircuts Joanne and I went to see an RV park in town. We did not go there when we passed through Todos Santos a few days ago because our guide book said the entranceway was too narrow for big rigs. They have since widened their entranceway and our big rig could easily enter. Too bad we hadn't taken the time to check it out a few days ago when we first drove through Todos Santos. Darn ! Kevin and Sandra will likely stay there for a month later this spring. We picked up Erbon and Lorraine at the estética and went for lunch to a restaurant called Pitayaha, which I think might be the name of a type of cactus. Erbon and I had the daily special. Tres tacos y uno cerveza por sesenta pesos. Three tacos and a beer for 60 pesos ( U.S.$5.69 ). Uno taco pescado, uno taco camarón, y uno taco carne asada. One fish taco, one shrimp taco, and one grilled beef taco. Joanne and Lorraine had huevos con machaca. Three scrambled eggs mixed with a huge serving of shredded beef, onions, tomatoes, and green peppers, served with roasted potatoes with onions and green peppers. Muy bien ! Very good ! While Erbon's and my lunches included a beer, Lorraine and Joanne were served a pitcher of freshly made melon juice.

We walked around "downtown" Todos Santos, browsing in the interesting arts and crafts stores. We found our way to the Hotel California, the lodging in Todos Santos that allegedly inspired the Eagles' hit. As I was standing on the median in the middle of the street taking photos of the famed Hotel California some of the Baja 1000 race cars came down the street. One by one they stopped right in front of me so that I could take their picture. Or so I thought. Then I realized that each of them stopped not to allow me to take their photo, but so that the navigator in each race car could shoot a photo of the Hotel California. HA HA HA ! It was kind of neat to be there as the Baja 1000 participants passed by. What a concept ! A thousand mile race down the Baja, from Ensenada to Cabo San Lucas, mostly off road through the desert, on the kind of trail that we drove the other day to see the cave paintings, that took us an hour to drive 12 miles ! And the Baja 1000 race is completed in 3 days !

One of the little stores I wandered into was a tequila store. The woman running the store was eager for us to try samples of the various products. I'm not really much of a tequila fan, but ... the chocolate flavoured tequila was irresistible. HA HA HA ... I bought a bottle ! We drove through town trying to find the road on our little map that led to a beach on the Pacific. We thought we had found the right road, but after driving down it, an extremely difficult little dirt trail, we came to the end of the road, and we weren't at the beach. Oh, well ! I drove back through town, refilled with diesel at the Pemex station, and we headed south again on Mex 19 back to Cabo San Lucas. About halfway back to Cabo San Lucas I saw a dirt trail leading off towards the Pacific, and drove down it hoping to find a beach. I did ! We stopped and walked around on the beach for awhile, watching the huge Pacific surf crashing on the beach and the rocks.

We drove back to Cabo San Lucas. Back at our RV park we showed Kevin and Sandra our purchases before supper. After supper we all went over to The Limey's rig to watch the movie "RV". HA HA HA ! Been there, done that !

 

Sunday ; Cabo San Lucas to Los Barriles

Today was sunny and warm. It was a bit windy at Los Barriles ( Bar reel ace ... roll the "rr" ). We left Villa Serena RV Park in Los Cabos this morning and headed north on Mex 1. The northward migration has begun < sigh >. We'll be home in a month and a half. Even without the constraints of many rigs in a caravan, it's slow driving on Mex 1. Today we led our travel group, with The Limeys in the middle and the RoadTrek in the rear. We arrived in Los Barriles about noon, and found our way to East Cape RV Park, arguably the nicest RV park in the Baja. Perhaps the most expensive, as well ! We got set up in our site, had lunch, then napped. After napping we walked over to the nearby beach on the Sea Of Cortez. It was about a 10 minute walk to the beach. It would have been about 5 minutes if we hadn't had to fight our way through a construction zone and construction debris. Much of Mexico seems to be a construction zone. And construction debris is not cleaned up. Even long after the construction ends. It was windy on the beach. There were some kite flyers on the beach and wind surfers in the water. When we returned to the RV park Joanne went to the pool and hot tub. The hot tub wasn't working. It's not at all surprising in Mexico to find things not working. Yeah, I remember our wagonmasters' advice. We're in "Flexico". Here in Los Barriles, there is no water available after 5:30 P.M.. Irregular / intermittent water supply and electricity are just a couple more of Mexico's "endearing" eccentricities.

Our small travel group gathered for a communal barbecue dinner. One of our contributions was dessert. Joanne’s beloved Cajeta ice cream, served with my chocolate tequila poured over it. MMMMM ! It was very good. Our group sat around chatting until late in the evening.

 

Monday ; Los Barriles to Cabo Pulmo & return

Today was mostly sunny, warm, and a bit windy. I was feeling exhausted today. I need some rest soon, particularly from all the difficult driving, but also from frequent hitching and unhitching, and daily outings. I need a "day off".

This morning we headed for Cabo Pulmo, a small beach front town on the East Cape. Our guide book said that the Cabo Pulmo area has the most spectacular scenery in all of the Baja. We were a bit disappointed in that regard. We drove south on Mex 1 back to Las Cuevas, then turned off the highway heading east to the village of La Ribera, then south to the village of La Abundancia where the road turned to dirt. It was a slow, difficult drive on a narrow, bumpy dirt road to Cabo Pulmo, a town of about 100 people, with a few dive shops, and three restaurants, one of which was not open today because the owner had to go pick someone up at the airport in Los Cabos. We explored the beach. It was rocky. The wind was blowing, so the surf was high. Cabo Pulmo is notable for the coral reefs that start right at the beach. We walked around the town, and stopped at El Caballero Restaurant for lunch. The food was good. The service was not. After lunch we wandered on the beach a bit more before leaving.

We continued driving south on the dirt road, wondering if we could find a nice soft sand beach. Just before reaching the little village of Los Frailes we found what we were looking for on Bahía Los Frailes. We explored and rested for awhile on the beach before tackling the tough drive back to paved roads. On the drive back, when we got back to Mex 1 we turned south again, and drove a bit beyond the town of Santiago, to the spot on the Transpeninsular ( Mex 1 ) where a concrete sphere marks the Tropic Of Cancer. We had passed it yesterday driving from Cabo San Lucas to Los Barriles. We stopped and took photos, then drove back north to Los Barriles. We stopped in town for a few groceries, then drove through town to a different RV park than the one we're staying in, to see some of our Baja Winters caravan group who are staying there. We chatted briefly, then returned to our RV park.

I'm tired !

 

Tuesday ; Los Barriles to Ciudad Constutució n

Today was sunny and hot. This morning we said goodbye to The Limeys / Kevin and Sandra, and departed East Cape RV Park in Los Barriles. We hope to see Kevin and Sandra again in December 2008 in Texas, and hopefully again in British Columbia in the summer of 2009, if and when they head for Alaska. We headed north on Mex 1 towards La Paz. The first hour or so of driving was the most difficult stretch of highway driving we have encountered so far in the Baja. Mex 1 was very hilly and curvy, and as always, very narrow. Halfway to La Paz the road flattened and straightened, and the driving became easier. Well, as easy as Mex 1 can be, and that's not very easy. We stopped in La Paz to refuel, have lunch, and discuss whether to stay in La Paz tonight or continue on to Ciudad Constitución. Obviously we decided to continue. At the Pemex station we chatted with a couple from Michigan who had left East Cape RV Park 10 minutes after us, and arrived at the Pemex station 10 minutes after us. Later in the afternoon they arrived at Palapa 206 ten minutes after us. All daylong they were 10 minutes behind us. They had been travelling with a caravan group called Vagabundos del Mar ( Vagabonds of the Sea ). Their caravan wagonmaster recommended that they not travel from the night before Good Friday until the day after Easter. He also advised that the camping beaches near Mulegé will be filled from Thursday evening until Monday with young tenters partying all night. As a result, we are going to revise our travel plans for the next week.

We drove a long distance today. There weren't any campgrounds between La Paz and Ciudad Constitución, so our choices were to drive less than we wanted to in one day, or more than we wanted to in one day. We arrived at Palapa 206 RV Park, and while I got our rig all set up in our site Joanne went in the RoadTrek with Erbon and Lorraine into town to do some grocery shopping. I discovered that I had lost a hub cap off the trailer, probably due to brake heat build up in the first hour of driving the section of Mex 1 with a lot of hills. It has happened before. The trailer hub cap is functional, not just decorative. Without it dirt would get into the trailer wheel bearings. So I had to fabricate a "Tennessee hub cap" using a lot of duct tape.

Shortly after Joanne returned home from the grocery store, the lady from Michigan invited us to an impromptu Escapee "Happy Hour". We met under a palapa in the RV park and munched on Joanne's guacamole and tortilla chips, and the Michigan lady's bruschetta and melba toast. We invited the people from the only other rig in the park, a couple in an old Volkswagen camper, from Vancouver Island, to join us. HA HA HA ... that reinforces Joanne's theory that all the old Volkswagen campers in Canada have retired out to Vancouver Island.

 

Wednesday; Ciudad Constitución to Puerto Escondido

Today was sunny and hot. This morning we departed Palapa 206 RV Park, drove through Ciudad Constitución, and headed north on Mex 1 towards Puerto Escondido.

Last spring, just after having some work done on the trailer wheels in Albuquerque, New Mexico, I lost a trailer wheel chrome trim ring. Previously, when I've lost trailer wheel chrome trim rings I've been able to buy used replacements at Mexican operated tire ( llantera ... "ll" sounds like "y" ) repair shops along the Mexican border in Arizona or Texas. I decided this morning that since we're heading back north already I should start looking at llantera shops for a used replacement trailer wheel chrome trim ring. The first town we came to after leaving Ciudad Constitución was Ciudad Insurgentes ( Seeoodad Insurhentays ). Sure enough, the first llantera shop I stopped at had what I needed. Cincuenta ( 50 ) pesos, por favor, señor.

This coming weekend is a 4 day long weekend. We were planning to spend Thursday and Friday boondocked on one of the lovely beaches near Mulegé , then spend Saturday in Mulegé . But the stories about young partiers on the beaches, and heavy traffic on the long weekends persuaded us to hunker down here in Puerto Escondido until Tuesday. We'll get some desperately needed rest, and do some day trip exploring over the next 6 days.

We drove to Puerto Escondido, a short distance south of the city of Loreto, and found the Tripui Hotel, Restaurant & RV Park. We checked into the nice, cheap RV park, and went to explore Puerto Escondido. How odd ! In the 1980's, the Mexican government tourism development agency, Fonatur, started to develop a 5 star luxury marina resort development on the Sea Of Cortez waterfront at Puerto Escondido. They developed all the infrastructure, roads, street lighting, parking lots, docks for yachts, a waterfront promenade ( malecon ) and began constructing a huge, luxury resort hotel complex. And then ... they abandoned the project ! There is a partially constructed building, about 2 stories tall of crumbling concrete blocks. The roads are collapsing. The docks are okay, for the most part, and there are a few yachts tied up there. But the whole development is ... abandoned, deserted, and crumbling ! We returned to the Tripui and wandered around the hotel and restaurant grounds. Very nice ! The restaurant has a Mexican buffet special tomorrow evening. I think we'll go !

 

DSK