Guerrero Negro - San Quintin – Ensenada

We spent only one night in Guerrero Negro because the next day is a fairly long drive, 410 km to San Quintin. For me it’s the worst part of the whole Mex 1, especially the 100 mile long pothole section in the Catavina area. And we wanted to stop in San Ignacio for sure to see the Mission. As usual we stopped in San Ignacio, visited the Mission and had lunch at the beautiful square in front of the church and time goes so fast. The local natives  called it Kadakaamán in their own language, it was founded in 1728. A very interesting building with 1.4 m thick walls, probably that's the reason for calling it in the early years the „Stone Church”. We arrived late afternoon at El Pebellon RV Park in San Quintin and paid for one night. Later we decided to stay longer and ended up with 4 nights, the beach is so beautiful and so long you can’t see the end of it. Today I do this post from Ensenada, tomorrow we probably cross the border back to the good old USA. 

The very nice square in San Ignacio.......

............in front of the Kadakaamán Mission.

Founded in 1728, the inside of the church.

The basic but beautiful campground El Pebellon just south of San Quintin right on the beach.

                                          

You can collect he famous "Sand Dollars" on the 10 mile long beach.

Some lazy folks do not walk on the beach, they drive, then they walk for hours to get a tow truck.

Sunsets like this was the reason we spent 4 days here.

La Paz-Bahia Concepcion.

We liked La Paz so much that we ended up staying a whole week there. Visited the city after the Carnival, lots of vendors still in town but it was much easier to find parking. We visited the Cultural Center of the city, it’s a very interesting building with a nice courtyard and a Cafe. After a week we left and we drove to Ciudad Constitucion, banking, grocery shopping and a nice evening at Misiones RV Park. From there the next day just a short drive to Loreto, we were at the Loreto Shores RV Park early in the afternoon. After a quick set up we called a cab to go and see the Mission. We wanted to see it and it was well worth it, the beautiful church was built in the 17th century. Just one more day and we are at our favourite campground: Santispack at Bahia Concepcion. On the way south we spent a week here and made arrangements with a local fisherman to go for a boat ride around the islands. On the 3rd day we did it and loved it very much. We have seen a lot of wild life, beautiful, clean, hidden beaches. The local restaurant had a pig roast on Friday with a big crowd, the staff was so busy they could barely handle it. Time flies by when you are having fun, after a week we were heading north again towards Guerrero Negro.

The Cultural Center of La Paz......

.....and it's very nice courtyard.

Getting closer to the Gulf of California.

The Mission in Loreto....

....and it's inside..

We went on a boat ride with Chico, a local fisherman......

....and have seen the small islands where the pelicans are hiding.

Cabo San Lucas - back to La Paz

As I said Cabo just wasn’t for us and the next day after we stocked up at Walmart we left. Of course everybody wants to do the Loop so you head north on the Pacific Coast on a very nice divided highway. I’ve heard that almost all truckers use this road ( Mex 19 ) to deliver to Cabo because it’s much better than the other option ( Mex 1 )  We stopped at the Los Cerritos Surf Club, they have an  RV Park behind the resort. The resort is very nice, they rent out bungalows that are built around a huge swimming pool, restaurant and a swim up bar. The beach is very nice but: the RV Park is a dirt lot behind the resort and it’s dry camping, no service at all. 30 bucks a night. They wouldn’t give us a better deal, no wonder I have seen only 1 rv parked in the big lot. After an experience like that you remember all the good places on the way south and want to be there. In about an hour we ended up in La Paz again at the Campestre Maranatha campsite and paid for 4 days. After 2 days we drove into town and checked out the Malecon, ( downtown waterfront ). La Paz is the biggest city on the Baja peninsula,  ( 170,000 people ) right now it was very busy because of the annual Carnival. We decided to stay a couple of more days and visit the city after the Carnival and after all the vendors have moved out, we hope it won’t be too crowded.

Hwy Mex 19 from Cabo to La Paz on the Pacific Coast is first class.

Now you know why I like to spend a few days in La Paz. Campestre Maranatha.

High Tech Granny is calling family. The campground has good Wifi.

A bit breezy but warm at the Malecon.

A few million dollars floating in the harbour.

A new subdivision on a sandy peninsula across from La Paz.

Statue of a shell with a pearl in it. La Paz waterfront.

Los Barilles to Cabo San Lucas

It was not the plan yet but we ended up in Cabo. We wanted to go to the RV Park La Trinidad in La Ribera just south of Los Barilles. Nice and sunny weather when we left and it would have been only a 40 min drive but we got into a real tropical storm and at some places the road simply disappeared, we were only 10 minuted from where we wanted to go but I had to turn around and carry on towards Cabo. 15 minutes later we crossed the Tropic of Cancer and are now officially in the tropics. Of course we pulled over to take pictures, have a coffee and just to have a break. The visitor center even has a room for prayers. 10 minutes after leaving we are in another storm, 10 minutes later it’s nice and sunny again. We drove all the way to Cabo and pulled in to the Vagabundos RV Park. They wanted 30 bucks for a corner spot that looked like a junkyard, I couldn’t even level the camper and after a while I gave up and left. Only a few minutes drive to Villa Serena RV Park, lot of room and we settled in in a few minutes. To be honest with you: I’m not impressed with Cabo at all. It’s a big resort town, fly in-have fun-fly out. Those probably spend a lot more than camper folks. Miles after miles and you can’t even get close to the beach because resort after resort, if not there is construction, the next resort is being built. Will see how long we last here.

15 minutes from La Ribera we had to turn around because of the storm.

A little bit later we crossed the Tropic of Cancer.

The sign at the visitor center.

A room for the religious folks for a  prayer.

A few minutes later we hit another storm.

20 minutes later in Cabo is nothing but sun.

End of the day: Villa Serena RV Park, Cabo San Lucas.

Ciudad Constitucion-La Paz-Los Barilles

We did a big grocery shopping in Constitucion before we left at the Lay Supermarket and we were surprised how well the market is stocked. A bit pricey but you can get everything you can think of. We had to go to a bank as well, seen the sign and pulled over. It was an electronic warehouse and in the back of the store: the bank, a very unusual setup for me. Made it to La Paz  early in the afternoon, it’s only a 210 km drive and met a group of bikers from Montana the second time today. We pulled in to Campestre Maranatha and  today I was surprised again: the place is simply beautiful, spotless clean and very well organized. Wifi worked all over the park, the whole park is like a garden with a lot of flowers and a nice pool. As soon as we pulled in I’ve seen the same German convoy we have seen in Santispac. Next day was the 13th of February and a Friday but we decided to carry on, it’s only a 2 hr drive to Los Barilles but on the way back we want to spend more time at this beautiful park. In the hills about halfway to the ocean is Santa Rita with a very old but nice church. My wife went in for a prayer and I walked around to take pictures. There were a busload of people visiting the local Museum of Music. We made it to Los Barilles early in the afternoon, pulled in to Playa Norte RV Park and it was a big disappointment right away. Front row, still 200 feet from the water, full hook up for 42 bucks a day, no thanks. After driving around we found a spot, power only for 20 $, Wifi works in the laundry or at the office only. It wont be long  before we take off . I have to admit I’ve read a lot of good things about the park, that’s why we came here but it’s not for our budget. They give you a better deal only if you stay for a month or longer, it looks like they make money on those who spend the whole winter here.

Bikers from Montana at a gas station in La Paz.

The very nice RV Park Campestre Maranatha in La Paz......

............with a very nice pool....

.....and the whole park looks like a garden......

.......a very nice garden. 

A very old church and a very new bus in Santa Rita, Baja Sur, about half way to Los Barilles.

The entrance to Playa Norte in Los Barilles.

The park is a bit out of our budget, 20$ for a dry spot.

A spoiled dog in the park.

Emilio works in the park and was very happy to make a bit of extra cash by washing our camper.

Bahia Concepcion to Ciudad Constitucion

A week flew by so quick but we wanted to see more and had to leave Santispac. We had a wonderful time with a couple from Quebec and one from Portland, Oregon. One morning we woke up to German occupation: 10 rental RV-s showed up next to us, a couple with a German RV they shipped over to Halifax and been on the road since last June, after Mexico they want to see Alaska. An RV also showed up from Switzerland so it was a real international beach for a day. We did not know how far we are going to go, were thinking about Loreto. We have seen a cruise ship in Loreto and after we drove down to the Malecon it was so crowded we decided to carry on and maybe visit the town on the way back. We drove a bit further south to Puerto Escondido but didn’t like the beach ( it’s a very nice port but not a „ beach” ) so we drove another 2 hrs to Ciudad Constitucion and parked for the night at Misiones RV Park. It was built by an Austrian guy: Manfred but he sold it to a Mexican family a few years ago. A nice park with lot of trees and a pool. The funny thing is with the dish: today was the second time I set it up according to my data and it worked right away. Wife is watching Tv, I’m working on the pictures and the blog, don’t know when I have a chance to post because Wifi works here only at the office.

Fun at the beach

German RV in the middle of Mexico.

German occupation of Mexico: they came with 11 rental RV-s

4X4 RV from Switzerland.

1,40 $ delivered to your door.

Cruise ship in Loreto.

Dinner in a Mexican restaurant. I had fish, wife had shrimp.

Not a bad spot at Misiones RV Park in Ciudad Constituciones.

( Formerly Manfred's )

Baja South

Had a nice dinner in the campground’s restaurant and talking about the next day we decided to stay another day. Interesting thing with the Wifi at Mallarimo: in the evening it’s frustratingly slow, in the morning it’s super fast. We were able to use Skype, Voip Phone to call family and even do some banking. Were able to upload to the blog, Facebook and send a bunch of e-mails with attachments. We had to go to the bank just to figure out they have a limit of 300 USD to exchange a day. This little city also has a casino and in the same building a surprisingly well stocked market. The next morning we just had to empty our bad tanks, fill up our nice tank and we were ready to go. It’s only a 4 ½ hour drive to Bahaia Conception, but there is an incredibly long and steep slope going into Santa Rosalia. I bet it would be illegal in most countries, at some points it’s way over 12 %. We stopped at the Eiffel built church for a prayer and headed out to our favorite beach: Santispac. We have been here last year and wanted to spend some time here this year too. You still see some damage from the hurricane from last year but most of the buildings have been rebuilt. So we set the brakes and paid for a week at

100 pesos ( 7.50 US ) /day. It’s easy to stay here 20 km south of Mulege because every day a bunch of vendors show up selling just about everything from blankets to produce, bread, we even arranged some purified water delivery, the campground has a dump station. You can arrange for fishing charters, rent a kayak, dig some scallops, lot of things to do. It happened the first time of her life that my wife wanted to go kayaking, we did and she enjoyed it. Only minor problem with the camping: no Wifi, not even cell reception but that’s why it’s called vacation. We have to go to town to do some laundry and we will use the restaurant next door to do a „post to keep you posted”.

At Mallarimos in Guerrero Negro

No Comment. ( sticker on a Mexican truck )

We buy purified water at places like that.

The long slope going down to Santa Rosalia.

Wife is working on dinner, cleaning shrimp.

Went kayaking in Bahia Concepcion.