Wednesday – Tuesday, October 1-7,
2014: Baja Road Trip, Bend to La Paz
Fall, 2014 brought us back to Mexico
for unfinished explorations in the Sea of Cortez. Last May our
northern turn-around point was Punto Pulpito north of Loreto. This
season we plan to go farther north to Bahia Concepcion. The water in
the Sea of Cortez is warmest during the month of October making the
snorkeling so much more pleasant so that is why we planned to be here
in October and November. We had some boat parts to bring with us
including a large solar panel so plans for a road trip gelled early.
We left Bend October 1
st, a week later than originally
planned due to Hurricane Odile, which passed directly over Baja with
its eye just 35 miles west of La Paz on September 14
th.
Fortunately, the boats in marinas in La Paz and in Marina Costa Baja where we left our boat had no
significant problems even though a number of dock cleats pulled loose. Boats in the anchorages suffered the most damage as we discovered
during our road trip.
 |
| Another boat's cleat that pulled during Hurricane Odile |
We took a week to drive from Bend to La
Paz via the Tijuana border crossing with stop in Carlsbad, CA to
spend a couple of nights with John & Reiko along the way. We left
Carlsbad October 4th for a hassle-free, green light
crossing at the border about 11 AM. Online instructions indicated
there would be a parking lot on the Mexico side of the border where
we should park, then walk over to the immigration office to get our
tourist visa but we missed the parking lot and found ourselves
immediately on a fast highway south. It took a couple hours by car
and foot to find and return to the correct office to get our visas.
The parking lot is now located on the U.S. Side of the border! After
that, it was smooth traveling.
Highway 1 is the Baja Peninsula Highway
that runs from Tijuana all the way to La Paz and on to Cabo, about 950 miles altogether. It is a
paved two-lane highway in pretty good condition, well-striped with a
good shoulder in sections but no shoulders much of the way – and
narrow.
 |
| ...and miles to go before we sleep... |
Watch out for vehicles that hover over the center line! There are literally hundreds of tight narrow dangerous curves - "Curvas Peligrasas".
 |
| Dangerous Curve ahead! |
There
are ample opportunities to refuel with gas or diesel at Pemex
stations in almost every small town along this stretch as shown on
our National Geographic map. The highway follows the water on the west side of Baja until
Ensenada, then goes inland to the east across a very dry landscape
filled with cactus, and back west again to the coast south of Lazaro
Cardenas. For the next three days it would curve through the
countryside presenting contrasting landscapes: boulder fields, lush
green grasses, many kinds of cactus, dramatic mountain ranges and
splendid sandy beaches.
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| Our first view of the "cardon" cactuses. We're back to Baja! |
As we approached Lazaro Cardenas in the
early evening, 146 miles south of Tijuana, we spent about a half hour
searching for a hotel. We found Hotel Mision de Santa Maria, an older
hotel on the beach full with two bus loads of medical students except
for one last room which we took, then headed to the beach just as the
sun was setting.
 |
| Beach at Hotel Mision de Santa Maria |
The next day we crossed some interesting terrain
that was very dry and covered with an unusual cacti we had never
before seen. It was tall, skinny with short spikes all around, then a
tuft of longer spikes at the top. What is this cactus called?
 |
| Mystery cactus towers above the cardons |
A most unusual landscape surrounds Catavina: a boulder field that extends for several miles with
graffiti here and there. The map notes cave paintings nearby but we
didn't stop to find them. Farther down the road, the landscape
changed to a vibrant green, evidence of the recent summer storms. We
were traveling right down the center of Baja through the Valle de Los
Cirios with the Sierra la Asamblea to the east and Sierra Colombia to
the west. At the same time, ominous dark clouds were building until a
light cloudburst covered the area in the early afternoon under a big
sky full of lightning in the distance.
 |
| Bad weather ahead |
We drove through several
“vados” or washes but all were shallow.
 |
| One of several washes on the road |
We passed over many more modern well constructed bridges than washes, and surprising at how many dry washes we passed over ("arroyos" in New Mexico) completely full of a river of gravel and boulders.
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| One of the many bridges over arroyos |
We took note of passing
through Los Palomas since it is on the same exact latitude as Bahia
Tortuga to the west, our first overnight stop last year with the
Ha-Ha. Gas stations were 250 miles apart on the second day, quite a
change from the first leg of the trip. It came as no surprise as they
are all well-marked on our map. Highway 1 passes many very old missions. Most are visible from the highway but way down a long unpaved road. We continued on through San Ignacio to Santa Rosalia on the east
coast of Baja and found the Hotel Morro. This hotel was full of
electricians who were working on the hurricane damaged power lines.
 |
| Utility trucks working to restore Santa Rosalia |
We secured a room for the night, went to town for dinner but left the
touring for the next day because it was a very rainy night.
Fortunately, we woke to a sunny dry day and, surprise! There is an
Old French Quarter left over from the days of French entrepreneurs investing in the copper mine. Their picturesque row houses are plantation
style homes that are still inhabited.
 |
| Famous bakery in Santa Rosalia |
Along the waterfront, a few
damaged boats remain on the rocks from Hurricane Odile where the
town's old dock was demolished. A new dock with a few boats remained
intact.
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| Remains of old marina in Santa Rosalia |
The day's drive took us to Mulege. We
stopped to look around the little town and found people hard at work
cleaning up mud packed streets and lots from Hurricane Odile.
 |
| Washed out road and resort in Mulege |
We
scouted out the waterfront for a possible anchorage where we would be
able to meet visitors in November but the whole area near town is
very shallow. We looked over the next anchorage south of town, Playa
Santispac in Bahia Coyote, and learned that taxis operate from
Mulege to Playa Santispac but not in the other direction.
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| Bahia Coyote, in Bahia Concepcion |
It's supposed
to be easy to either hitch a ride back or talk a local into driving
there. We drove through more dramatic landscape changes during the
day from very green covered large hills to impressive mountains and
through many washes. Highway repairs were being made in many areas
where the boulders and rock fields washed down hillsides, through
washes and across the roads.
 |
| (Tiny) workmen rappeling down road cut south of Loreto. |
All was passable and in
surprisingly good condition. We waited in a line of traffic for one
accident, the only one we saw on Hwy 1. A tow-truck was trying to
retrieve a semi cab and flatbed that had gone through a guardrail and
a short way down an embankment while rounding a curve. No injuries!
 |
| Tow truck unsuccessfully trying to raise semi. |
We drove on to Loreto, checked into the restful-looking Oasis Hotel,
a small quirky place on the beach.
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| View from our room in the Oasis Hotel |
Loreto was deserted! We counted
about 20 other tourists all afternoon. The main street and malecon
were very clean and tidy with little evidence of the recent
hurricane. In the evening we walked to Agave Restaurant for a welcome
return to a Mexican fish dinner and a margarita.
With just 225 miles to get to La Paz,
we left at the leisurely hour of 10 AM, stopping along the way at
Puerto Escondido to check out Odile's carnage. We saw several boats
on the rocks that had been in the anchorage though those in the
marina looked fine.
 |
| Odile victims, Puerto Escondido |
We talked with a couple from Louisiana who rode
out the storm on their boat which had been tied securely to a mooring
ball in the “Waiting Room”, just outside the main anchorage. When
the winds kicked up to 130 mph, an unattended boat broke loose and
wrapped its mooring line around theirs, so they cut their own boat
loose and then motored for several hours in 6'-8' waves inside the
Waiting Room. The guy either fell off or was washed overboard by a
large wave astern. His wife took over the helm to find
him, miraculously, in the limited visibility of a torrential rain
and a rough sea. After that, the rest of the drive to La Paz was
completely uneventful. The road was generally good, except for the
areas under construction.
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| Entering La Paz on Mexico 1 |
We were anxious to get to Costa Baja and
check on True North for ourselves. Ahhh, all looked calm and in great
shape. We later heard stories from others who had remained on their
boats inside the marina during Odile that they got a bit of a rough
ride.
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| The trusty Toyota at Marina Costabaja, La Paz |
It is unusually humid in La Paz and
very hot once the sun reaches the marina. It's still early in the season for cruisers and so kind of quiet. We spent the past
week getting True North ready for leaving the dock, mostly working in the cooler mornings. By mid-day it is
too hot to work, by mid-afternoon we head for the pool for an instant cooling off.
Fortunately, the evenings are balmy and beautiful. We wrapped up the projects today and hope to be out on the water in a
day or two. Stay tuned!
