Articles from August 2015

After the deserted coast of Baja, La Paz was a great place to stick around for a week, although unintentionally.  The 40 degree temperatures meant not much more than swimming or sitting in water could take place during day hours, not that otherwise was not attempted but once again mother nature won.  But as the night approached the Malecon beamed with activity.

Aside from beach and city wandering, time was taken up with scheming the upcoming route on mainland Mexico.  While the original plan was to follow the west coast highway, warnings from numerous people convinced us to go inland towards Guadalajara and Mexico City before heading south.

Wednesday morning ready for change we packed up and headed to the ferry, only to find out that this would not be happening.   The truckers ferry (which we chose over the passenger due to dogs being allowed on deck) did not allow women on this particular occasion.  Thinking this was some funny or not so funny joke we persisted trying various avenues but ended up in the same place.  We then decided to convince the passenger ferry to allow us to keep the dog with us.  This also, did not work.   But it did spark an idea.  We figured it was about time Ella got a job, or at least the title.  We went back to the city and visited a  vet who without much or any conviction seemed on board with the idea. However as Mexico does not seem to have special provisions for service dogs,  we compromised with having a health certificate that stated the dog had to stay with us for medical reasons.   Whether dog’s or ours was undisclosed.

On Friday we were back at the ferry terminal and shortly thereafter on the ferry itself.  The next 20 hours were spent sweating uncontrollably while we absorbed our surrounding.  Dolphins came around every so often and we squealed with excitement.    The sleeping arrangement which once again did not lead to much sleep consisted of a fully ventilated van to try and cool us down.  Both of our fans were running full speed and all windows, trunk and our side door were left wide open.  While the sea looked calm, the wide swells none the less rocked the ship, sometimes less gently having Brett almost fall out of our side door.  Morning confessions included worries of our van (which had a prime location next to the lowest side of the ferry) sliding overboard.

 

 

 

The problem with having an incredibly comfortable bed for a while is having to adapt to anything less then that.  I guess fixing my thermorest (which got a hole in the first week) would help, but realistically this will probably not happen.  We did figure out that having Ella squeeze on the front seat makes for a more comfortable sleep and she seems to like the privacy and space or there lack of, but in 35 degree heat we cannot banish the dog to such tiny quarters. 

After ten days in San Diego, doing not sure what, we finally mustard the courage to stop reading internets horror stories and just drive across the border.  We found Tijuana’s border to be a largely non existent entrance into Mexico.  There was no passport check, no any kind of indication that anyone cared we were coming through. It was almost a bit rude after getting ready for so long.  We did manage to back track and get the tourist card and car permit which we knew would come in handy later on, once we actually get to the mainland, which is apparently the real border crossing.

First stop was El Suazal, a small town just outside of Ensenada.  We found a hostel on a hill overlooking the ocean.  This was our home for three days while we practiced Pimsler’s Spanish Lessons in the local stores and relaxed.

Maria the hostel owner directed us to a mechanic specializing in radiators, as Brett predicted that are continuous overheating problems were due to a dirty radiator.  He was correct, three hours and forty dollars later Astrid was a new and improved van, we would never (so far-knock on wood), see her temperatures rise above 100.

We continued down Baja on its one and only Highway 1, which is the only road connecting north to south Baja and  veers from west to east coast.  While the road itself is in good condition the lack of the shoulder and narrow lanes make for an interesting drive.

Luckily we caravanned up with Brendt who was heading South to surf.  This proved to be a good idea as for the first two days the drive was deserted in terms of traffic as well as landscape. 

We created make shift meals from food we bought back in Ensenada for dinner and mostly fasted during driving hours.  Evenings were spent gazing at stars.

First stop was the desert of Catavina, where we stopped and filled an RV camp with our two vehicles.

Next was San Andreas, a small town next to Rasaliita, itself a small town of about 7 homes and two stores. The road to this deserted beach camp which was about 7 km, took an hour of offroading.  Again having a companjero with a sturdy pick up definitely gave us a bust of confidence to keep going.

The camp was a deserted beach with 2 homes and five folks visiting, we were three of those.

Brett and Brendt’s fishing excursion proved a success.  Brett caught a 5 pound Crooker on his ice fishing rod and we had a feast.

The east side of the coast, which we were warned multiple times was hot, really was as hot as they said.  The Sea of Cortez, I would underestimate was about 28 degrees celicius, perfect temperature for my liking. 

The next morning we parted with Brendt and with a short 2 hours drive stopped in Loreto a normally touristy place in season but currently deserted by both tourists and locals who seek cooler temperatures. Next stop: La Paz.