June 2016 (by Pat)
We set out with another couple and their daughter on a 9 day trip driving south on the Baja peninsula. Federal Highway 1 extends from Tijuana to Capo San Lucas, over 1000 miles. We had some hopes, eventually abandoned, of reaching the end. In any case, I had never been south of Ensenada (60 mi. south of Tijuana) before and was looking forward to the adventure.
We got a somewhat later start than planned and had a late lunch, early dinner in Tijuana then continued on to Ensenada where we spent the night. Above is the view from our Airbnb apartment near La Bufadora.
The next day we did little but drive down the west coast of Baja, 400 miles to the town of Guerro Negro. The town is a hot spot for whale watching in the winter, but not much to see in the summer.
The next morning we turned east, across the central desert, approximately 150 miles to the mining town of Santa Rosalia on the Gulf of Cortez. We stopped for lunch there. As I got out of the air-conditioned car, I felt like I had stepped into a furnace. It was brutally hot.
From Santa Rosalia we drove south about 125 miles to the town of Loreto where we spent two nights at a resort south of the city biking and kayaking and eating at a beachside shack (above) that served chocolate clams. Chocolate refers to the color of the shells and the clams come from the local waters. The beach is covered with clam shells.
We were still over 300 miles from the tip of the peninsula and realized this was as far as we could go. We headed north to an Airbnb on the water just south of Mulege. The property was owned by a middle-aged American couple who had built two round buildings each of which was a two bedroom apartment. They had also converted a lighthouse on the grounds into a two bedroom apartment. The photo above was from the lighthouse.
We spent two nights there and the owner allowed us to take his speedboat out to a deserted beach on an island in the bay. It was a lovely couple of days.
After this delightful and relaxing stay, we set out back through the desert, spending one night at a hotel in the middle of nowhere. A few notes:
In both directions we were stopped several times at federal police checkpoints. I was told that on the way south they are looking for weapons and on the way north they are looking for drugs. I don’t know whether this is true or not, but, going south they just glanced in our car and sent us on. On the way north they had us all get out of the car while they searched it.
This created a potential problem as our friend Yoon Hee is a tea master and travels with many interesting teas. She was prepared however with photos of her work and cookies to give to the police. We had no problem.
The only services that appear with some regularity on this stretch of road are tire stores. At one point we had occasion to stop for a tire repair. Inside the shop were three men smoking cigarettes and a young boy. The work fell to the boy. The cost – 50 pesos, about $3. David gave him 80.
Among the services that do not appear are gas stations. There are occasionally, however, roadside businesses with gas cans on tables (photo through the windshield.) God knows what’s in the cans.
We spent the last night of the trip outside of Ensenada and the last day driving through the Ensenada wine country, with tastings and purchases. We had dinner that day at a wonderful restaurant located in a vineyard.
There was one remaining problem. David had lost his passport, now necessary for crossing between Mexico and the US. We decided to cross in Tecate, less congested and, we hoped, more tolerant than Tijuana. Still, it was an hour of inching forward before we got to the border guard’s booth. David handed over 4 passports and a photocopy of his, explaining that he had lost his. Other than me there were 2 Kims and 2 Chos in the car. The guard looked at the documents and said: “We do not have too much of a problem here with Koreans sneaking over the border. I’m not sure about this Gallagher guy, though.”
Three more hours and we were home.
Small Wide World 