Baja California - Dec. 21. 2011 to Jan. 30. 2012:

This crossing is about 30 miles east of San Diego and is very small. On the American Site is no settlement. Tecate is on the Mexican Site. This crossing was recommended to us and proofed good. We had no waiting time and besides our problem (when we left Mexico in April we forgot to hand back our „white paper“ - means to inform about our leaving the country) we had no difficulty to again get 6 months permission to stay. We only can recommend this crossing.

From Tecate we took MEX 3 to Ensenada. Besides the wine area around Francisco - Zarco (the oldest in North America) nothing else is interesting. In Ensenada we used the campground in town. From the down town area is in walking distance. But Ensenada is mainly a port and also cruise ships stop here. So mainly short term tourists stay a few day and spoil the down town area. We didn´t like the place.

The next day we continued driving. Taking MEX 3 east. We crossed the „Sierra de Juarez / Sierra San Pedro Martir“ - nice and picturesque drive on a small road in good condition and little traffic.

In La Trinidad we joined MEX 5 which leads south. It is broad highway in excellent condition and now traffic until San Felipe.

This place is a pure „american touristic enclave“ and only populated in Summer. We continued southwards.

Until Puertecitos the road is paved.

Between Puertecitos and Chapala only dirt road. And in such a bad condition - the worst road we encountered the last 3 years. We were afraid our vehicle will fall apart and we loose all our teeth. Partly frustrated road user have started a new line beside the main road.

In El Huerfanito we stopped and stood totally tired at the beach - all alone.

Next day we wanted to take a short cut and landed in a mining camp. We had to turn back through a very rocky area.

In Chapala we met MEX 1. This paved but narrow main highway (North - South) is quite dangerous. Extrem high traffic with a lot of trucks and when we crossed with another truck at the speed of 80 km/h only few Centimeters were between the mirrors - Rita always closed the eyes.

At the crossing with MEX 12 we turned left towards „Bahia de los Angeles“. Supposingly the most beautiful bay of Mexico.

Here we spent Chrismas at the beach. Unfortunately this place disappointed us. There is no center, and no nice ambiente. Everybody can built whatever and where he likes.

And mainly again only a summer place. Now in winter the place was very deserted. We had the feeling being alone. We stood directly at the beach but due to strong wind (normal in winter) we couldn´t enjoy sitting outside.

Has 12.000 people and has reamined a true Mexican town not changed by the tourist industry. Only one paved amin road - the rest are dirt roads. Famous is the salt producing unit. Many salt lakes - in which sea water is pumped and through evaporation salt is reclaimed. This big unit belongs to a Japanese company and all salt is exported.

The main attraction for tourists are the grey whales. This huge animals migrate from Alaska and Bering Sea to the Baja region und mainly to the Laguna Ojo de Libre to calve and to mate. The time to watch them is January to March. Unfortunately we have been here to early. But south of here there are other good places to see them.

San Ignacio is a sleepy but also a beautiful village. It also lives mainly from the tourist industry - again whale watching. It has one of the nicest old church - the „Mision San Ignacio de Kadakaaman“ which was started by the Jesuits and finished by the Dominicans in 1786. The date palm oasis is the other attraction. This oasis surrounds a beautiful lake. We could stay overnight directly on the lake shore and tasted the dates directly from the palm tree. From San Ignacio the MEX1 leads eastwards and meets in Santa Rosalia the Gulf of California.

At the campground „Cuesta Real RV“ - coordinates: N26.89670 and W111.96611 we stood 2 nights. From here we could walk along the river - which is lined with palm and mangrove trees - to the center.

The small town is nice and very relaxing. The „Mision Santa Rosalia de Mulege“ is on a hill where you have a beautiful overview.

Just south of Mulege is the Bahia Concepcion. With the most beautiful beaches of the Baja. Jade and blue colored water and fine white sand and cristal clear water.

We decided to stay few days - over the New Years Festival. 

We camped at the „El Requeson Campground“ - N26.63525 and W111.83395. This wonderful beach is small but picture-perfect.

After one day we drove north to the nearby beach „Playa Escondido“ - N26.74560 and W111.89574. Here we met other fellow travellers from Austria and the parents of Michi Langer of the company Langer&Bock - the builder of our vehicle.

Together we celebrated New Years Eve with a fantastic „Austrian Gulasch“ prepared by Wolfgang Zellinger and we heard stories from Wolfgang until midnight.

On New Years Day at noon Anni arranged for us at the beach the famous „New Years Concert“ from the  „Vienna Philharmoniker“ and some started dancing to the „Donau Walzer“.

It was just fantastic. Many thanks to Anni&Wolfgang, Waltraud&Jürgen, Christine&Hans for this wonderful and unique time.

Besides this we could hike along the very beautiful beach with a lot of strangely formed rocks.

Around 75 Miles south of Mulege (in the MEX1) is Loreto. As per anthropologists the oldest settlement on the Baja.

Loreto has a small but beautiful down town (even a pedestrian zone) and a nice harbour road. And some very delicious restaurants - especially for fish.

We stood few nights at the campround „Riviera Del Mar RV Park“ - N26.01760 and W111.34557 - a quite new, clean and nice RV park. Few minutes walking distance from down town.

Shortly after Loreto  we turned right to the mountains. We were surprised to find half the way paved.  You pass through a mountainous, beautiful rugged and wild landscape, passing streams to the old Mission which is like it was built 300 years ago. Behind the Mission are nice little gardens (even a vineyard) and a 300 year old olive tree. Also the small village around the mission is very nice.

From here we continued the gravel / sand road towards south - a narrow washboard surface and a lot of dry river crossing with holes and rocks. So in the washboard areas we tried to go 60 km/h and in the river crossings we had to slow down to 10 km/h.

Near Santo Domingo we met MEX53 and travelled south (paved) to Ciudad Insurgentes and here turned right to Puerto Aolfo Lopez Matea on the Pacific.

We stood overnight at the docks and here we met  Karen&Lars. Both came from Nicaragua (with a Toyota 4x4). Karen worked 8 years and Lars 6 years in Nicaragua and both were on their way home to Canada. So we had the possibility to get a lot of insider informations about Nicaragua and Honduras.

We didn´t like Lopez Mateo and also the planned whale watching was not possible - the permission from Mexico City had still not arrived here.

The next day we drove to San Carlos - also guarded by the long Isla Magdalena. The warm bay „Bahia Magdalena“ and the „Canal San Carlos“ attracts many whales in their calving time. But also here wrong timing - the permission not yet there for the fishermen to take tourists out for whale watching. And as we heard not enough whales yet.

We stood overnight at the beach near the town. When we arrived we were the only one. But slowly all the places around us filled up with Mexican families (it was Sunday). And everybody had a radio and enough tequilla and serveza. And after few hours the noise level increased.

Later at the evening the family beside us (having kids and even a very small baby) turned the radio so loud that our whole motorhome vibrated. We are wondering how the baby can bear such noise pressure???

La Paz is the capital of Baja Sur and the main ferry port to the main land Mexico. Besides there are many language schools and a very pretty shore promenade. Besides this La Paz didn´t impress us much.

The target was to go round the cabo and we decided to do this clockwise. Leaving La Paz via MEX 1 towards Los Barriles.

This small but very clean and beautiful town on the „Bahia Palmas“ impressed us. Of course it is totally in the hands of Americans and Canadians. We camped at the large and spacy „Campo Norte RV“ which is north of Barriles (N23.70156° / W109.70134°) but still within walking distance (for Europeans).  It has all facilities including WiFi.

Additionally at this weekend was the „Lord of the Wind“ festival - a famous kite surving and wind surivng competition. We had a lot of fun watching this fast races.

And here a short movie about the festival:  "Lord of the Wind"

And then the pelicans which showed the „aerobatics flight - we had the impression in competition to the kite surfer. Besides we saw them fishing. They are fantastic good fisher.

They free fall from 10 m into the water and nearly everytime catch a fish.

And here a short movie about fregat birds and pelicans: "Movie about this birds"

Drive:

In Los Los Barriles we said „good bye“ to the paved road. The route along the „Gulf of California“ to San Jose del Cabo is only gravel. Up to Cabo Pulmo quite nice - because a grader is used from time to time to level it - but than very bad washboard with rocks and holes. We reduced air pressure but still were feeling bad about our „baby“. But the landscape is very nice.

In Cabo Pulmo we drove to „Los Arbolitos“ and hiked to „La Sirenitas“ - a beautiful hike woth fantastic views to blew water and white beaches. With rocks formed round like footballs or other totally bizarr formations.

Los Frailes:

Is a very small and simple fishing village with about 5 - 10 huts in dry river bed.

Additonally 30 snowbirds from Canada and USA. We found directly at the beach a nice place to stay (N23.38111° / W109.4297°). We wanted to stay one night an finally stood 3.

The sun rises were just unique and the fresh fish from the fishermen just delicious. We had so much that we started smoking a big portion and still enjoy it after days.

Besides we met a German which we met first in Ossoyos in Sept. 2010. When we arrived he saw us and immediately came to see us again. We had a good time together with Lolita  & Wolfgang. And we got good help to by the right fish and to get the right wook for smoking and a lot of hints for Mexico and Central America. Thanks very much Lolita & Wolfgang.

Hiking Tour:

Rudi made a hiking tour to the mountain peak. Across rocks and around cactus to the peak with a great view on a fantastic coast with fantastic colours.

This town has a very nice old center with a great „zocolo“ and many and good restaurants,  Besides this many galeries and we were lucky because on Thursdays is the log galery day. Everything is beautifully iluminated and music plays in the streets.

We stood overnight on a big and fenced parking lot (50.-Ps / day) besides the Blvd. Mijares and walking distance to everything (N23.05854° / W109.6945°). We stood spontaneously one day longer. Excellent food we got at the „Baja Brewing Co“ with top class beer and at the „French Riviera“ with Cuban musik and dances.

Cabo San Lucas has definitely 2 faces: on one site a beautiful landscape with the Cape (southern most part of the Baja), the surrounding mountains (here especially the wild „Sierra de la Laguna“), scuba diving and snorkeling areas and on the other hand many „all inklusive Hotels“ and beaches with tourists enjoying being watched and Mexicans trying to sell their stuff aggressively. We didn´t like the whole atmosphere.

We stood overnight at the „Club Cabo Motel and Campground“ and also here we have been disappointed: The price / performance relation was not ok (25.-US$ / night) for this place is much too high. But it adds to our picture of Cabo.

Here a total different picture. A still unspoiled town with very colorful and nice houses, good restaurants and a nice ambience. Partly still dirt roads and many artists (mainly painters) who settle down here. And the price / performance ratio is still intact.

We stood overnight a the parking place of the hotel „California“ - after asking.

Beach of Todos Santos:

And than we discovered this paradise - Posada La Poza. A extraordinary beautiful hotel / restaurant (only 7 rooms) directly on a sweet water lagoon and on the Pacific. It has standard rooms up to a „honeymoon suite“ with own whirlpool. All are fantasticly furnished by Libusche Wiesendanger (a Swiss artist). Each room is different. 

And than the restaurant - managed by Jürg Wiesendanger - the Swiss owner of the complex. The quality of food is excellent and the dishes are special. The restaurant ambience again extraordinary and than this beautiful terrace - what a view across the garden, the lagoon and the pacific ocean. To have here a sundowner and watching the whales and the sunset is something unforgettable.

But the best of all is this tropical garden with the pool. Libusche has spent years to develop this paradise. You find all palm trees and all the different tropical plants and flowers. We never saw something like this before.

And the owners allowed us to use the pool and the garden even without staying at the hotel. We enjoyed the restaurant and we were thankful to get the permission to park our big motorhome at their small parking place. And they told us that also other motorhome owners are welcome. We can only recommend this place.

Here the adress:

Hotel & restaurant „Posada La Poza“

Jürg & Libusche Wiesendanger

Todos Santos B.C.S 23300 Mexico

Tel.: 011-52-612-145-0400

email: reservations@lapoza.com

homepage: www.lapoza.com

coordinates:  N23.44033° / W110.23765°

We stood 4 days at the Playa Tecolote. This very pretty beach is especially for free camping and offers still good restaurants, and the possibility to make boat tours to the island of „Ispiritu Santo“ and or go for hikes.

The only disturbing thing is the strong northeast wind (luckely we had one day no and 3 days less strong wind).

Since we were here over the weakend we could again participate in the nice game: „other countries other habits“. The Mexicans love to picknick and also love their cars.

So they intend to take their car as near as possible to the picknick place. 

One fellow drove his car on to the beach and very close to the water - until he got stuck. He spotted our truck (with the big wheels) and decided that this must be his rescue vehicle. It took Rudi quite a while to convinve him that our 15 tonne monster would sink into the sand right away to the axis. So Rudi offered to help with his nice (German) shovel.
In the meantime a rescue vehicle came (a small pickup with a even smaller winch). He drove so near that also he got stuck. So first we had to shovel him out. And than after his not at all successfull trials to pull the victim out we decided to use the 3 shovels and to dig him also out. And finally with 5 „strong men“ we pushed him out - he was already with his rear axle under water. And in 1 hour the vehicle would have been flooded.

Unfortunately we didn´t make any fotos - we were too busy.