March 27 to April 2, 2008

March 27 to April 2, 2008

Playa Santispac, Baja California Sur, Mexico to Yuma, Arizona

 

Thursday ; Playa Santispac to San Ignacio

Today was sunny and hot again. This morning at 7:30 A.M. I had just returned from walking the dog when a Mexican woman in a little white car drove up beside our trailer and stopped. She was selling freshly made, still hot from being baked overnight, tamales. MMMMM ! I bought 2 chicken, egg, and cheese tamales, and 2 chicken, egg, and pineapple tamales. MMMMM ! ! ! Shortly after that I discovered a small female finch had flown into the truck during the night. I had left the windows open a tiny bit. A male finch, her partner, no doubt, was sitting on the outside mirror of the truck, and was obviously very agitated. The female finch rushed out of the truck as soon as I opened the door.

We departed Playa Santispac and headed north on Mex 1. At Mulegé we stopped to refill with fuel. Just before the village of San Lucas we found our way to The Cove Development, a real estate development on San Lucas Cove I was interested in seeing. We met with the developer, Mr. George Wade, a retired professional golfer, and viewed the development. Bo romped with his dog and a neighbour's dog. At last ... success ! From Bo's perspective ! He finally managed to get to roll on a dead fish on the beach. We weren't aware of that until we had lunch. Joanne wondered what the horrible stench was as she sat eating her lunch, with Bo sitting on the dinette chair beside her, begging. EEEEEUUUUUWWWWW ... he had a smudge of dead, rotten fish on his cheek, between his eye and his ear. At least he didn't return from romping on the beach with a large Tortuga ( turtle or tortoise ) skull, like Mr. Wade's Silky Terrier Charlie did ! What the hell's the matter with these little Terriers ? ! ? We weren't really interested in the real estate development, and declined Mr. Wade's offer to stay on the property overnight in our rigs, and he would take us out fishing in San Lucas Cove in his large boat tomorrow.

We stopped in the village of San Lucas to buy some groceries, but the tiny grocery store in the village didn't have all of what we needed. We drove on to Santa Rosalia, and when we got to the RV park we were planning to stay at tonight, it was closed. Welcome to Mexico ! Joanne and Lorraine were quite interested in visiting the town of Santa Rosalia, and that's why we were planning to stay there overnight. We parked our rigs along the malecon ( waterfront walkway ), had lunch, then walked into and around town. We walked though town, finding the town square, Plaza Juárez, then went to see the Iglesia ( Church ) Santa Bárbara de Santa Rosalia, a beautiful church designed and built by Georges Eiffel, as in the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. The church was designed and built in France, then disassembled, shipped to Mexico, and rebuilt in 1897. Then we walked over to the Panaderia El Boleo, the town's notable French bakery, founded in 1901. Santa Rosalia is the only town in all of Baja California with a French heritage. AHHHHH ... relief at last ! I was having pan dulce ( Mexican pastry ) withdrawal symptoms already. HA HA HA HA HA ! Suffice to say that we stocked up heavily on Mexican pastries. HA HA HA ! While walking back to where we had parked our rigs on the malecon we bought some produce from a truck parked on the side of the road loaded with fruits and vegetables, and more groceries from a slightly larger grocery store than the one in San Lucas.

We decided that since the RV park in Santa Rosalia was closed, we would continue to drive north to the town of San Ignacio. Shortly after we left Santa Rosalia we ascended Cuesta del Infierno ( Hill from Hell ) and bade farewell to the Sea Of Cortez as Mex 1 turned inland, heading northwest. At San Ignacio we stopped for the night at Rice & Beans Oasis RV Park, Hotel, Restaurant & Bar. We got set up in our sites, then had a planning meeting to figure out the rest of our trip north back to the Unites States. The RV park had Wi-Fi, so I spent quite awhile getting caught up on online work. For supper we had the tamales I bought this morning. And because she bought avocadoes today, Joanne made fresh guacamole to accompany the tamales.

OH ! Obviously I misunderstood what the woman said this morning was in her tamales. I thought she said pineapple. What she actually must have said was pimientas ( peppers ). WHEW ... those were some hot tamales ! HA HA HA ! And neither of us could eat two large tamales. As a result, Teddy and Bo now loooooooooove tamales ! HA HA HA < SNORT > HA HA ! Although Teddy had to drink a lot of water after eating tamales ! And Bo thinks a day with both dead fish and tamales is a pretty good day ! ! ! < laughing so hard I have tears in my eyes >

 

Friday ; San Ignacio to Guerrero Negro

Today started out sunny and hot, but became cooler and windier as we drove northwest across the Baja to the west coast, the Pacific Ocean side. Shortly after leaving Guerrero Negro, we came to one of the many military checkpoints on Mex 1 as it winds its way over 1000 miles from San Diego / Tijuana to Cabo San Lucas. This was the first time that the soldiers actually wanted to inspect our rig. In all previous instances, they just smiled and waved us through. The young soldier, toting a machine gun over his shoulder, walked into the trailer, looked left towards the kitchen and dinette area, then looked right, up into the bathroom and bedroom area. He saw Teddy lying on the bed, and he walked into the bedroom, leaning over to talk softly to Teddy on the bed. Teddy scowled ! "Who the hell are you and what the hell do you want and why the hell are you interrupting my nap ? ? ?" HA HA HA ! The soldier leaned close to Teddy, took a look at the name tag on his collar, then turned to me and asked "Teedy" ? No, I explained, it's pronounced "Teddy". That concluded his inspection of the trailer. Maybe their bosses are complaining that they're waving too many gringo RV's through the checkpoints and should be checking more of them ? The soldier who inspected the Dickinson's RoadTrek implied that he surely could use some batteries for his flashlight. HA HA HA ... welcome to Mexico and its rampant petty corruption. The rampant petty corruption amongst Mexico's police and military forces is legendary. It's one of the negative aspects of travel in Mexico to which one quickly becomes accustomed.

We arrived in the city of Guerrero Negro and went to the grocery store before we checked into our RV park. We're staying at the same RV park that we stayed at with the caravan group on our way down south. As soon as we had lunch, I used the Wi-Fi phone to call the man in B.C. whom I've been playing telephone tag with for a week regarding a summer job in the forest fire fighting industry. He wanted to offer me a job in Abbotsford, about a 3 to 4 hour drive west of Keremeos. I told him no, that I was only interested in a job in Penticton. I thought I had made that clear in my initial letter of application.

We decided to have one last nice dinner in Mexico. We had dinner in the Malarrimo Restaurant before, and it was good. So the four of us went out to dinner at the Malarrimo. As before, it was quite good, and reasonably priced. Afterwards, Erbon and Lorraine came over to our trailer for tea. After they left, I went to the hotel, to sit in the back corner of the bar where the hotel's Wi-Fi signal was strongest, and I uploaded photos to my blog. < sigh > Spring break has arrived on the Baja. The bar and restaurant were filled with "spring breakers" from Southern California. I wouldn't have believed that young people could actually be that loud and obnoxious if I hadn't seen it myself. Although, I guess one must take into account ... they were from Southern California !

 

Saturday ; Guerrero Negro to Cataviña

Today was sunny and warm, a bit windy. It seems to always be a bit cooler and windier on the Pacific Ocean side of the Baja than on the Sea Of Cortez side.

We departed Guerrero Negro this morning, setting our watches back an hour as we departed. A few miles north of Guerrero Negro we crossed from the state of Baja California Sur, and the Mountain time zone into the state of Baja California ( implied Norte / North ) and the Pacific time zone. We refuelled as we were leaving Guerrero Negro. We passed through an immigration checkpoint as we crossed from B.C.S. to B.C.. We had to produce our Mexican tourist cards at the checkpoint. Then we came to another military checkpoint, and our rig was inspected again. I suppose the military are more inclined to check northbound vehicles than southbound ones. Once again, the soldier seemed more interested in Teddy, and getting some Spanish to English translations, then checking our rig for hidden drugs, or whatever it is they're looking for. Gato ... cat ! Viejo ... old ! Old cat ... gato viejo ! Amigos ... friends ( Erbon and Lorraine ).

The Baja Badlands desert area is much more colourful than it was a few weeks ago. Everything is green or yellow. Spring has arrived in the desert. We stopped for the night at Rancho Santa Ynez, another campground that we stayed at on our way south a few weeks ago. It's near Cataviña, in the desolate 200 mile stretch of Baja Badlands that doesn't even have electrical service, let alone gas stations. I napped for awhile after our arrival, having been awakened this morning at 6:00 A.M. by the Southern Californian parked beside us with the very loud diesel truck that was departing at 6:00 A.M.. And after our clocks were set back, it was as if I had been up since 5:00 A.M.. We visited with Erbon and Lorraine for awhile, then Joanne, Lorraine, and I took a brief hike over to see the airstrip and remote medical clinic beside the ranch. Once a month a flying doctor flies in to provide medical services for the locals for two days. We're really in the "outback" here !

Yesterday Joanne had carne asada for supper in the restaurant at Guerrero Negro. She had a steak bone that I wanted to bring back from the restaurant for Bo. We didn't have anything to wrap it in to bring it back to the trailer, so I wrapped it in a tortilla. All Mexican meals are served with a stack of warm tortillas wrapped in a cloth in a tortilla serving bowl. Tonight I wanted to give the bone to Bo. I took the tortilla wrapped bone out of the fridge and handed it to Bo. He grabbed it, started to trot off to the bedroom to eat it on the carpet, then paused, uncertain of what it was I had just given him. He slowly took it to the bedroom, and unwrapped the bone from the tortilla. HEY ... just like unwrapping a Christmas present. HA HA HA ... he was very happy. He ate part of the bone, took a break from the bone to eat the tortilla, then returned to the bone. HA HA HA ... good dog, Bo ! Bo likes Mexico ! HA HA HA HA HA !

We chatted tonight with a couple from Reno, Nevada, travelling with a fifth wheel trailer. They had a sideswipe accident on the highway yesterday while attempting to pass a slow moving truck. The awning on their trailer, likely worth more than U.S.$1000, was ripped off, and they gave U.S.$500 to the truck driver to settle for the damages to his truck. It's common practice for gringos who are involved in a minor automobile accident while driving in Mexico to reach an agreed cash settlement on the side of the road, to avoid police involvement. Having an automobile accident in Mexico is a "crime", and getting the police involved usually results in at least a few hours in a local jail, frequently an overnight stay in the jail, while the accident is "investigated".

 

Sunday ; Cataviña to San Quintin

This morning we prepared for departure from Rancho Santa Ynez then walked around the ranch for awhile taking photos of the lovely desert. The desert is greener than we've ever seen a desert, and filled with tiny yellow and red leaves and flowers on plants and cacti. Desert plants never have large leaves or flowers. They're always small to prevent loss of moisture through evaporation. When we got into our vehicles and turned on our CB radios as we departed, we heard Becky, Baja Winters' wagonmaster instructing the caravan to pull over for a Lenny break. Our caravan group was a mile or two down the road in front of us. We stopped and visited with the caravan briefly, but did not join up with them for driving. We prefer independent travel. John and Becky are leading the caravan on the return trip back north to the United States, but they are covering in three days what we are going to take six days to drive. Shortly after we left the caravan group we stopped at a non-descript little building on the roadside that John and Becky had told us sells articles made of lovely onyx, mined nearby. WOW ... gorgeous work ! We and the Dickinson's each bought a set of onyx wind chimes. Ours is a series of figurines of cacti and coyotes.

The desert was much more colourful than when we drove through it a few weeks ago in the opposite direction. The ranch owner explained this morning that this winter there was more rainfall than usual, and they were light rains which allowed the water to soak into the ground, rather than just run off like it does during heavier rains. We stopped quite often to take photos. We arrived in San Quintin in mid-afternoon and filled up with fuel before finding our way to Cielito Lindo Motel & RV Park where we stopped for the night. When Joanne and Erbon registered at the bar for 2 sites in the RV park, they were told that the electricity would come on in the RV park around 4:00 or 5:00 P.M.. When we still didn't have power by 6:00 P.M. Erbon and I went to the bar to inquire. Apparently, once again, the rules get made up as they go along. No power in the campground tonight, señor ! Oh, well, we had water, albeit a very weak supply, and sewer. I'm content with that. Inability to get fresh water in and waste water out are more constraints for us than a lack of electricity. As RV'ers go, we're water hogs, not power hogs.

We wandered around the campground and motel grounds. Joanne took Bo for a "Bogility" session in the playground. We walked down to Playa Santa Maria, the beach on the Pacific Ocean, over sand dunes that were "carved" by the strong winds and drifting sands, both light coloured and black sands. Very interesting formations ! We've been allowing Bo to be off leash a lot lately, so he ran and ran and ran on the beach and in the water. We picked up some pretty sand dollars on the beach. I saw a couple of viejo vaqueros ( old cowboys ) unloading musical instruments from their vehicle outside the bar, so awhile later I went inside to see if there was a Mexican cowboy band playing in the bar. No ... there were three old cowboys / tres viejo vaqueros wandering around the restaurant, playing Mariachi music from table to table.

 

Monday ; San Quintin to Sordo Mudo ( translates as Deaf Mute )

Today was sunny and mild. We departed Cielito Lindo Motel & RV Park, drove through San Quintin and continued heading north on Mex 1. The further north we got, the heavier the traffic became. We were once again approaching "civilization". As we passed through the village of Maneadero I spotted a panaderia, slammed on the brakes, and ran in to buy some pan dulce. I still think I should get a bumper sticker that says " I brake for Mexican bakeries". HA HA HA !

We passed through yet another military checkpoint today. When the soldier who was inspecting our trailer opened a kitchen cupboard, he discovered my stockpile of ulcerative colitis medications in plain sight. I was worried because I had ignored the regulation that permits Norteamericanos ( gringos ) to bring only a one month supply of "foreign" medications into Mexico. Since our trailer is our full time home, and we are away from Canada for 6 months, I have far more than a one month supply of each of my medications. He asked a few questions, and was satisfied. He spoke English quite well. Most of the soldiers we have encountered do not. Or pretend not to, as do many English speaking Mexicans when dealing with gringos. They think it puts them at an advantage, and indeed it does. Another irritating quirk of Mexico ! On the other hand, our caravan wagonmaster advised us to pretend that we do not speak a word of Spanish when having to deal with soldiers or police. I guess turnabout is fair play !

< huge sigh > Getting through the large city of Ensenada without the guidance of our caravan wagonmaster was a very trying ordeal. The driving styles and habits of Mexican drivers in large cities are different, but about as bad as the drivers around Los Angeles, California. And the roads through Ensenada are not Interstate freeways ! It was a difficult challenge and we dealt with it poorly ! We missed a turn, had to backtrack, do a couple of u-turns, etc.. We got angry and upset, squabbled and sniped, and made ourselves feel foul towards one another for the rest of the day. Once through Ensenada we turned off Mex 1 ( adiós ! ) and onto Mex 3 heading northeast. We plan to avoid driving through Tijuana to cross back into the United States at San Diego. We're going to cross east of Tijuana / San Diego at Tecate, a much smaller and hopefully easier to manage city.

We stopped for the night at Rancho Sordo Mudo, a school for deaf children in the Valle de Guadalupe ( Guadalupe Valley ), a grape growing and wine producing area. Evidently the little village here is named the same as the school, Sordo Mudo ( Deaf Mute ). Somewhat of an odd name for a village, but I guess there are many small Mexican villages that are named for the most prominent business or activity or industry or church or geographic feature nearby. The school operates a small, very nice, serviced campground. The nightly fee is by donation. The campground was originally developed to accommodate gringo volunteers / WorkCampers, but I don't think they utilize WorkCampers any more.

 

Tuesday ; Sordo Mudo, Baja California, Mexico into and across California to Yuma, Arizona

Today was sunny and cool when we started out in Sordo Mudo, but became increasingly warmer throughout the day. By the time we got to Yuma, it was hot. We were both feeling very disheartened today, the lingering after effects of yesterday. And I underestimated how far it was from Sordo Mudo to Yuma. We drove a long distance today, and I felt exhausted when we arrived in Yuma about 5:30 P.M..

This morning I walked across the highway from the campground to the deaf school's campus, dormitories, and administrative office to make a donation to pay for last night's camping fee. The buildings and grounds were very nice, with a lovely view of the Guadalupe Valley. Nice setting, nice school. I found the office, made my donation, and chatted with the woman working there. I asked a few questions about the school and students, then offered to do a magic show for the 30 or so students, but only if I could do it within the next hour. She wasn't able to adjust schedules and plans that rapidly, so she declined my offer.

There were a few Escapees in the park this morning preparing to depart. They had been part of the Escapees Mexican Connection, an Escapee caravan group that tours Mexico annually. I chatted with an Escapee from Nova Scotia, and one from Texas. We compared caravan experiences. Their caravan was 50 rigs, far too large for my tastes. And not surprising, given the size of their group, they had more breakdowns and accidental damage to rigs.

We departed Rancho Sordo Mudo and continued heading northeast on Mex 3. At today's military checkpoint we were just waved through. We stopped to refuel shortly before reaching Tecate, and the U.S. border. The border crossing at Tecate was physically very difficult for large rigs to manoeuver through. The inspection by the border guard was cursory. We drove northeast on Hwy. 188, then Hwy. 94 to Interstate 8. AHHHHH ... what a relief to drive on an Interstate after 5 weeks of Mexican roads. We drove east on I-8 to Holtville, California where we stopped to have burritos for lunch, then bought Mexican pastries. Our friends Gil and Maria from back home at Riverside RV Park Resort in Keremeos, British Columbia had previously taken us to Holtville, to the little taco stand in town with the best burritos. I didn't need their help to find the best Mexican pastries in town. HA HA HA !

After our late lunch we continued east on I-8, across California, west to east, until we crossed into Arizona at Yuma. We arrived at Kofa Ko-op SKP Park after their office was closed for the day, so we had to spend the night in the unserviced boondock area. Bo was very excited as soon as we drove into the park and he recognized it. He loves the 2 acre fenced dog park here. Joanne took Bo for a play session in the dog park. I napped. In the evening Joanne did laundry. I went to the clubhouse, got online with Wi-Fi, retrieved month end investment updates and bank statements, retrieved and sent e-mail, etc..

 

Wednesday; Today was sunny and hot. As soon as the office was open this morning, we registered and got moved to a serviced site. We were surprised, when we checked the Kofa Ko-op site lease waiting list, that we are now no. 78 on the waiting list. When we got onto the waiting list 26 months ago, we were no. 160. So it seems probable that we will get a permanent site in this park by the winter of 2010.

This was the third day that Joanne and I have been unable to resolve our "personal differences". I'm already physically tired from 5 weeks of travel through the Baja. Now I'm emotionally drained as well. I'm eager for this turmoil to end ! ! !

Today was mostly a day of chores. That's what most of our week in Yuma is going to be. After draining the waste holding tanks and unhitching the truck from the trailer, we went Wal-Martin'. We had lots of replenishment of groceries and supplies to do. While we were at Wal-Mart our friends Barry and Marty from San Felipe in Mexico left a note on our trailer. We were planning to visit them in San Felipe before leaving the Baja, but they needed to come to Yuma for a couple of days of medical tests. Maybe we'll get to see them before they have to return home. Joanne continued doing laundry this afternoon. I read and napped, trying to find relief from my feelings and fatigue. I wasn't successful. I gave Bo a bath. What a stinky little dog ! Must have been all that beach time, finding and rolling on dead fish. I delivered some gift items to Erbon and Lorraine for them to deliver for me in Ottawa. I exchanged some books at the clubhouse. I prepared notes for the Dodge dealer that I am taking the truck to tomorrow afternoon for service the next day. I printed investment updates and bank statements. I barbecued cheeseburgers for supper. MMMMM ... "regular" food !

 

DSK