I’m writing this from Petchanga RV park in Temecula, California, where we have an impossibly slow internet connection that keeps dropping us!! Arggg! We are 147 km from where we cross the border at Tecate, Baja California, Mexico. Our plan is to leave early tomorrow morning (Tuesday December 28th) and head straight across the border. We plan to take a new route from Tecate over towards Tijuana and then south to Ensenada. This route has been recommended on the Baja Pony Express (a Baja newsgroup) as a good alternate to the construction riddled Mex. 3.
Just to back track to the start of our journey in Canada: We celebrated our Christmas with my sister Jo and Brian, our kids and the grand kids on November 28th. We then assumed our duties caring for the grand kids from December 2nd to the 12th. Mike and Kate had a lovely vacation without kids in Maui, and we had great fun taking care of our two very busy grand kids! Between early morning hockey practices, ballet, tap, diving and school we were quite ready to leave Victoria on the 14th. We will miss them all very much and we also plan on having lots of fun on our 5th southern Baja journey.
This year we are taking my old Suziki Vitara with us (I’m driving it) and we will store it in Los Barriles for our return visit next year. It will be great having the car on the drive down as well as having a car when we arrive in LB. There are so many places to explore on the Baja that we have not been able to get to in the motor home or on our bikes. It will also be impossible (and certainly not advisable) to write anything for my blog while Lorne is driving since I will be driving too!!
Our trip began with rain turning to snow and then pouring rain all the way down to Grants Pass. We visited with our friends John and Sharon who live in Bothell, Washington and met them for dinner at the Tulalip Casino just north of Everett Washington. They are happy in their retirement. She continues to work on her family genealogy and her new interest is Facebook where she is able to keep in touch with so many of her family members from all over. They also have a lovely home on the water on Vashon Island that has spectacular views of Seattle and Mount Baker. They would love to sell it, however, with the economy at the moment it remains a buyers, not a sellers market. Any interest out there?
We continued south, stopping at Woodburn Outlet mall, stayed at the RV park there, did a bit of shopping, and visited our Baja friends MaryAnn and Jim who live in Ridgefield, Washington, just north of Portland. Jim is recovering from surgery so it was great to see first hand how well he is doing! Since Jim’s doctor insists that Jim stay home till all tests are clear; they will not be able to get down to their unique and charming home in Los Barriles until April. We will be on our way home by then so may pass them in transit!
As we continued south through the pouring rain we received weather warnings of mega snow in the Sisikiyous mountains so at Grants Pass we headed west to Crescent City, California. This time we drove the Redwood Highway (99) in the daylight (and the pouring rain). Nonetheless the redwoods were amazing and the forest was truly spectacular. We had a great night at the little rv park on the Pacific at Crescent City for $15.
South of Crescent City we had one uneventful night at a very expensive RV park and then on to Fremont (just south of San Francisco) where our other specialist GMC mechanic Jim brought the coach up to standard for the remainder of our trip (we hope).
Then we were off to Los Angeles where we had a wonderful night at Dohenny State beach. There had been a great deal of flooding in the LA area with some of the freeways closed! The campground had been quite flooded out and the water was just finally receding so we were very lucky to get a spot. The rain has finally stopped!!
We enjoyed ourselves so much at my goddaughter Megan and Reginald's home for Xmas. Megan and Reginald had sent her mom - Sandi - a plane ticket so my good friend Sandi was there for Christmas after all. It was very fun spending time with an almost 2 year old. Ethan is a total delight. We all just watched him and played with him all day every day we were there. Ethan loves music very much and he really liked playing my banjo!! He was totally enamored! He also loved to drive the motor home. We had Christmas Eve dinner at Donna and Jun's beautiful home (Sandi’s sister). All three of Sandyi's sisters and their children and grandchildren were there. It was a very lovely family day.
There! That brings us all up to date – who knows when next I will write…..just know that I have some trepidation about doing 1700 km of driving in the Baja. It hasn’t been bad so far but the highway in Baja leaves a lot to be desired and we are taking a different route at the beginning.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Thursday, April 8, 2010
April 5 Heading North
April 5 Leaving Los Barriles
On the road again, early, truly early for us, we were on the road by 7:00. We were aroused by a nasty mosquito, buzzing around my ear, then around Lorne’s, then me, then him…..slap, slap slap, we slapped ourselves awake! Well, we wanted to get going early.
The roads are relatively quiet after Semano Santos. Hopefully all those who have seriously imbibed all weekend are safely tucked in their beds recovering and not driving down the road all blurry eyed!
The cardon are blooming – beautiful white flowers. There is a pink blooming seemingly leafless tree between Los Barriles and El Triumpho, very pretty.on them at all.
We decided to take the road over to Los Planes from El Triumpho. I drove. That’s right I DROVE the motor home that is 6 inches narrower than the lane! The first part was fine but the second part – from La Ventana up the big hill and part way down was full of extreme potholes, so deep they were through the asphalt and well into the sand below! It was impossible to miss them; very hard on the tires. There were others on the road that whipped on past us, I guess of the belief that if they go fast enough they will succeed in flying over those pot holes. Did I mention that I drove this part!! I am impressed I am. In the past I have been too frightened to drive on these narrow roads. However, Lorne has been dizzy for the past three days so I had to do it as we need to get north now.
Later…
Lorne feels much better today so we didn’t go into the clinic and he is driving now from La Paz to Ciudad Constitution – a 200 km jaunt through the dessert. This is not the prettiest part of Baja. We are aiming for Loreto today. I drove to the Gigantes Mountains after Constitution. Downright amazing! Twice in one day!
The check point right after La Paz was quite serious this time, we had to pull off with a number of others to be searched. They wanted to go in the pod (under the kayaks) which would have been a big deal so I told them I didn’t understand what they were saying; “no intiendo.” After a series of attempts to ask me about that I still did not understand; so they gave up and searched inside. One of them was particularly enamored with a hunting knife of Lorne’s and wanted to know all about it, where it was made, where we got it… When asked they told me they were looking for guns.
We just passed two road workers with shovels loading a truck with asphalt. It is a hot day for such hard work. It’s a hot day for driving! In the past we have also seen two workers filling a pick up with gravel with their shovels, and big rocks by hand. These days we see many more backhoes and dump trucks.
We had a fabulous time in Los Barriles this year. We always do, but this year was even better. Since we were able to spend such a long time in one spot we became more a part of the community and got to know so many gringo neighbors. Unfortunately we didn’t get to see our Ranch Pescadero friends as much as we would have liked; although us girls did go to yoga twice a week together and frequently went for lunch afterwards. There are just so many very nice people and things to do here. We were able to go out to listen to music lots too, as we were so close to town it made it easier to quad in. Most everyone here is our age or older and living life fully. It is truly like club med – there is something to do every day if you want to and lots of social interaction. The live music is excellent; there are a couple of local bands who play frequently at the restaurants and the hotel. Music starts at 7 and the crowd starts thinning out around 9 or 9:30 and the band is beat by 10. The atmosphere is lovely, tables by the pool under the stars filled with friendly faces of people we know and others we are about to meet. Some are familiar because we have run into them so many times. For the most part every one is very friendly and very casual. We have had lots of opportunity to practice Spanish, unfortunately I didn’t take any Spanish courses, next year I hope to.
April 6
Unbelievable, we made it all the way to Santispac in one day! This is an absolute record for us! Normally this would be a two day drive. We got into Santispac about 6:45, just as the sun was setting so good timing! Had dinner played a few tunes and fell into bed.
Yesterday Lorne saw a bob cat and ran over a big rattler on the road. I missed them. This morning a skunk ran across the road.
We won’t be stopping in to see John at San Lucas Cove this time, we need to push on. So, on the road this morning at 7:00 am again. Lorne is feeling ok today with only a very slight amount of dizziness…. Excellent.
South of Santa Innis (at Catavina)
Whew this road just gets worse! It is so rough and patched over we have to drive very slow. Its also incredibly windy. The dry lake bed had lots of water – well I don’t know how deep it is but it covers a large area!! This is the first time I’ve seen that! It is very green here, lush with flowers as well, yellow daisies, white , pink, purple blushes of small flowers, stands of white poppies, the red tipped barrel cactus. Very picturesque – just ask me – I have taken a ton of pictures of this area with my new camera. This is an incredible camera, an excellent deal. Its an Olympus 26X optical wide zoom. We paid about $350 for it. Last years version was $570 – the new version (mine) came out that much cheaper and better.
This high desert is very beautiful and strange. The boojum trees tower and there are some of the tallest cardon I have seen anywhere. Some of these cordons go straight up as tall as a telephone pole without branching. The ocotillos are covered with tiny green leaves and their orange flowers are at the very top. The sun is getting low and the light through the thorns on the cholla is really quite beautiful, even through the dirty windows. With any luck I can get some pics of those when we stop. I think this area is one where I have tons of pictures of cactus and the strange landscape.
Later…
Pulled into Santa Innis just after 6:00 with light enough for a walk. The area is beautiful. The field where we park the motor home is all green, today it looks like a well groomed park. While filling with water a man came by – it was Keith – from Ligui several years ago. Fantastic, he remembered us (but we didn’t remember him right away) … his wife is Betty. They bought a casita this year at Bahia de Los Angeles in Dagetts RV park. They are travelling with Ray and Delaina! What a treat – we met them at Ligui several years ago too. They are a lovely couple from Kamloops who are full timers in their trailer. They have been travelling for the last 6 years all over Canada, the US and mainland Mexico. This year they returned to Baja and while they planned on going further south they stopped at Ligui and didn’t see any need to go any further, the fishing was good, it was beautiful, the people were nice…. They plan on going there again next year so we will stop in there to see them too. Ray is still fishing and playing his guitar. Delaina has quit water color painting and is now focusing on her threads. Not sure what that means other than sewing. I will find out next year I guess.
What a windy night!! It was whistling and blustering so that the old motor home was rocking, and not gently! The straps on the kayaks were vibrating and buzzing. Not much sleep for either of us.
April 7
On our way about 8 or so, into the wind, the road was marginally better than the rugged road into Santa Innis then about an hour out it was paved with a shoulder. Very nice indeed, next thing I’ll be wanting to drive. Ha!
On the road again, early, truly early for us, we were on the road by 7:00. We were aroused by a nasty mosquito, buzzing around my ear, then around Lorne’s, then me, then him…..slap, slap slap, we slapped ourselves awake! Well, we wanted to get going early.
The roads are relatively quiet after Semano Santos. Hopefully all those who have seriously imbibed all weekend are safely tucked in their beds recovering and not driving down the road all blurry eyed!
The cardon are blooming – beautiful white flowers. There is a pink blooming seemingly leafless tree between Los Barriles and El Triumpho, very pretty.on them at all.
We decided to take the road over to Los Planes from El Triumpho. I drove. That’s right I DROVE the motor home that is 6 inches narrower than the lane! The first part was fine but the second part – from La Ventana up the big hill and part way down was full of extreme potholes, so deep they were through the asphalt and well into the sand below! It was impossible to miss them; very hard on the tires. There were others on the road that whipped on past us, I guess of the belief that if they go fast enough they will succeed in flying over those pot holes. Did I mention that I drove this part!! I am impressed I am. In the past I have been too frightened to drive on these narrow roads. However, Lorne has been dizzy for the past three days so I had to do it as we need to get north now.
Later…
Lorne feels much better today so we didn’t go into the clinic and he is driving now from La Paz to Ciudad Constitution – a 200 km jaunt through the dessert. This is not the prettiest part of Baja. We are aiming for Loreto today. I drove to the Gigantes Mountains after Constitution. Downright amazing! Twice in one day!
The check point right after La Paz was quite serious this time, we had to pull off with a number of others to be searched. They wanted to go in the pod (under the kayaks) which would have been a big deal so I told them I didn’t understand what they were saying; “no intiendo.” After a series of attempts to ask me about that I still did not understand; so they gave up and searched inside. One of them was particularly enamored with a hunting knife of Lorne’s and wanted to know all about it, where it was made, where we got it… When asked they told me they were looking for guns.
We just passed two road workers with shovels loading a truck with asphalt. It is a hot day for such hard work. It’s a hot day for driving! In the past we have also seen two workers filling a pick up with gravel with their shovels, and big rocks by hand. These days we see many more backhoes and dump trucks.
We had a fabulous time in Los Barriles this year. We always do, but this year was even better. Since we were able to spend such a long time in one spot we became more a part of the community and got to know so many gringo neighbors. Unfortunately we didn’t get to see our Ranch Pescadero friends as much as we would have liked; although us girls did go to yoga twice a week together and frequently went for lunch afterwards. There are just so many very nice people and things to do here. We were able to go out to listen to music lots too, as we were so close to town it made it easier to quad in. Most everyone here is our age or older and living life fully. It is truly like club med – there is something to do every day if you want to and lots of social interaction. The live music is excellent; there are a couple of local bands who play frequently at the restaurants and the hotel. Music starts at 7 and the crowd starts thinning out around 9 or 9:30 and the band is beat by 10. The atmosphere is lovely, tables by the pool under the stars filled with friendly faces of people we know and others we are about to meet. Some are familiar because we have run into them so many times. For the most part every one is very friendly and very casual. We have had lots of opportunity to practice Spanish, unfortunately I didn’t take any Spanish courses, next year I hope to.
April 6
Unbelievable, we made it all the way to Santispac in one day! This is an absolute record for us! Normally this would be a two day drive. We got into Santispac about 6:45, just as the sun was setting so good timing! Had dinner played a few tunes and fell into bed.
Yesterday Lorne saw a bob cat and ran over a big rattler on the road. I missed them. This morning a skunk ran across the road.
We won’t be stopping in to see John at San Lucas Cove this time, we need to push on. So, on the road this morning at 7:00 am again. Lorne is feeling ok today with only a very slight amount of dizziness…. Excellent.
South of Santa Innis (at Catavina)
Whew this road just gets worse! It is so rough and patched over we have to drive very slow. Its also incredibly windy. The dry lake bed had lots of water – well I don’t know how deep it is but it covers a large area!! This is the first time I’ve seen that! It is very green here, lush with flowers as well, yellow daisies, white , pink, purple blushes of small flowers, stands of white poppies, the red tipped barrel cactus. Very picturesque – just ask me – I have taken a ton of pictures of this area with my new camera. This is an incredible camera, an excellent deal. Its an Olympus 26X optical wide zoom. We paid about $350 for it. Last years version was $570 – the new version (mine) came out that much cheaper and better.
This high desert is very beautiful and strange. The boojum trees tower and there are some of the tallest cardon I have seen anywhere. Some of these cordons go straight up as tall as a telephone pole without branching. The ocotillos are covered with tiny green leaves and their orange flowers are at the very top. The sun is getting low and the light through the thorns on the cholla is really quite beautiful, even through the dirty windows. With any luck I can get some pics of those when we stop. I think this area is one where I have tons of pictures of cactus and the strange landscape.
Later…
Pulled into Santa Innis just after 6:00 with light enough for a walk. The area is beautiful. The field where we park the motor home is all green, today it looks like a well groomed park. While filling with water a man came by – it was Keith – from Ligui several years ago. Fantastic, he remembered us (but we didn’t remember him right away) … his wife is Betty. They bought a casita this year at Bahia de Los Angeles in Dagetts RV park. They are travelling with Ray and Delaina! What a treat – we met them at Ligui several years ago too. They are a lovely couple from Kamloops who are full timers in their trailer. They have been travelling for the last 6 years all over Canada, the US and mainland Mexico. This year they returned to Baja and while they planned on going further south they stopped at Ligui and didn’t see any need to go any further, the fishing was good, it was beautiful, the people were nice…. They plan on going there again next year so we will stop in there to see them too. Ray is still fishing and playing his guitar. Delaina has quit water color painting and is now focusing on her threads. Not sure what that means other than sewing. I will find out next year I guess.
What a windy night!! It was whistling and blustering so that the old motor home was rocking, and not gently! The straps on the kayaks were vibrating and buzzing. Not much sleep for either of us.
April 7
On our way about 8 or so, into the wind, the road was marginally better than the rugged road into Santa Innis then about an hour out it was paved with a shoulder. Very nice indeed, next thing I’ll be wanting to drive. Ha!
Friday, April 2, 2010
Los Barriles 2010
Lovely Lizard if you click on him you will see he has is mouth open, he must be eating something! This was the bigget iguana I have seen here, although I know there are bigger - or so I have heard. His body is at least 6 inches long.
Oriole in the tulip tree, also eats grapefruit and oranges right off the tree!! Before they are quite ready of course.
Heidi the Queen who announces her arrival before she is at the door so it will be opened for her. She then must be accompanied down the hall to her freshly filled food dish whenever she wants it. When ready she must be immediately let out. This of course is night or day. I can't hear her when she does this at night....
Heidi the Queen
Heidi the Queen
Squeaker the Cat lives outside and is the sweetest cat who loves to cuddle, if you stop too soon she will attack you. She is a Baja cat.
Checkers the Dog - does she look familiar? She is a wonderful Baja dog found at the Milles Flores gas station when about 6 months old.
Squeaker the cat
Squeaker the cat
Checkers the dog Los Barriles
I have been very negligent in writing my blog since being here. I guess we have settled into the process of living so its similar to being at home…. We are busy with life and the many activities that lead to a full one.
So what’s making us so darn busy?? Yoga, music - listening to, dancing to, and playing, the animals, gardening, cycling, walking, kayaking, Mah Jong, shopping, painting, looking for stuff on ebay, quading, looking for a house or property to buy....la, la, la.
I am going to yoga twice a week which is so great, I was doing that at home and was very pleased to find a good yoga teacher here. She is not Karen, but has much to contribute to my practice. It has been great cycling into class as well. By the time I’m back home I am quite tired with my morning of exercise. The girlfriends and I often go for lunch after yoga so maybe that’s a contributing factor to the tiredness. The sand road leaves a lot to be desired. Even though I have a mountain bike with the big knobbly tires it is not at all easy. Fortunately there are only about 2 miles of that before reaching the paved road. There are however, two large sand arroyos to pass over as well as a good hill before arriving at class. It takes me about 35 minutes so all in all its not far. Certainly not far at all when I think about what I have to do to get ready to cycle to Seattle when I get home!!
Lorne has been cycling with me on alternate days to yoga, as does the wonderful dog Checkers. We usually ride out the sand road to the paved one then ride up the big Los Barriles hill (apparently written about in cycling magazines) and then come cross country down to our place. Checkers loves running along beside the bike. Lorne has her very well trained. He has a pocket of yummy treats and she will just about do anything for him (well, for the treats). The first time we took her out with the bikes she took off after a quad and ran a long ways. She came running back looking very pleased with herself. Needless to say, she has never done that again!!
Our daily exercise routine is towards the end of each day – around 4. So when not cycling we walk up the hill or along the beach with Checkers, for at least an hour or more. Lorne’s knees have been very good this year, no problems at all for him to cycle, even up the hill.
I have found a number of people in town that play music by putting an ad in the Pony Express (an online local newsletter) for anyone interested in playing Bluegrass. Turned out there are lots of people interested in Bluegrass. So we have been getting together a few times a week and now have a regular Wednesday night open jam at one of the restaurants in town, the owner is one of the players. Two of the musicians play in a local band called El Viejos…. (the old ones). The restaurant is not usually open in the evenings. However, since we have been playing they are open for the people who are listening. This Wednesday they will be open for a special dinner. Yikes! Sounds an awful lot like performing to me….
Our first music get together was at one of the musicians home. When we walked into the house there was a woman (Pam) there who took one look at me and knew me immediately from Banff!! Hilarious! That was some years ago – like life before children years ago. I can’t believe she recognized me just like that, she didn’t look at all familiar to me.
I took a 5 day water color painting class. It was very interesting and fun. Once I had sat down and got myself organized at the big table I realized I had sat down right next to Pam! Neither of us knew that the other was at all interested in painting. We had a great time together painting and her husband (Bruce) and I have a great time playing music together. They are both interested in investing and Bruce taught at UVIC and Pam at Camosun College, so Lorne has lots in common with them too. Not only that – they live in Victoria!! Small world. So we have more new Victoria friends that we have met in the Baja.
I was quite pleased with how much I learned about painting in that short time, so now I am all enthusiastic about painting and am very busy researching paint, brushes, paper and looking for good deals on it all on ebay. Pam taught me how to bid so I can win and not pay more than I want to. Lorne says he wishes that I spent as much time learning about investing as I do learning about brushes and messing with ebay…..!! Well, I’ve saved tons of money on art supplies by buying on ebay – never mind how much I spent!!
We planted a little garden here, it came up almost immediately and we have been harvesting beautiful leaf lettuce and radishes. The first head lettuce was ready today. We have cilantro up and we are eating that. The corn, peas, broccoli and cantaloupe are up and growing like topsy but won’t be ready before we have to leave. The grapefruit, oranges and little Mexican limes are over, I still have some in the fridge, and the big lemon tree has been producing like crazy! While the fruit is almost all finished there are beautiful aromatic flowers and lots of new baby lemons growing. I make fresh lemonade – its very delicious.
We have found a very nice real estate lady (Carlene) who has been very helpful showing us lots of property. I think she can’t quite figure out what we want. Of course we haven’t figured that out either! We have found lots to think about and some very nice and acceptable places. However, we have decided to not buy anything this year. Lorne is certain prices have a long ways to drop yet and we should be able to get an even better deal next year. We have determined that it is much cheaper to buy a house already built than it is to build one right now, materials are very expensive. There are some very nice homes but…. Most need some renos to me. We shall see. Failing that we are content to rent or continue to house sit for friends. I know Paul and Renota want to go camping next year so we may be here again house sitting for them. And realistically, if we can rent a nice beach house for say $2,000 a month for three months each winter we are way ahead financially anyway without any of the worries of owning a home down here.
Much to think about, and now off to play Mah Jong – great game.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Mulege
All is not lost in Mulege, here are Kita, Lorne and Dawne under a beautiful bougainvillea. It is still a very beautiful lush oasis. Many of the homes appear undamaged and many are in various stages of repair.
Thought I would enclose some not so pretty pictures of the remaining hurricane damage to Mulege.
This casita has severe damage to the roof - of course then the rain and the rising waters of the river visited as well, leaving quite the mess. They are repairing many of the casitas, however, Lorne noticed that they do not use hurricane ties that we use in our construction in Canada.
Many friends have visited this city and love it, aren't we glad we don't have property along the river....?!
Friday, January 15, 2010
January 12 Los Barriles
We arrived in Los Barriles the 12th stayed at the East Cape RV Park for the night and on to Paul and Renota’s on the 13th. They left on the 15th to drive up to the US for needed medical treatment. We hope all goes well for them.
We are very fortunate to be able to stay in their beautiful home a block from the beach. It has a beautiful garden with palms, fruit trees including avocado, mango, papaya, guava, fig, lemon, lime, pomegranate and grapefruit. The later 5 have ripe or ripening fruit! Yum! Lovely to pick a ripe grapefruit right off the tree for breakfast! We have two cats and a very cute dog to care for. There is also a pool and hot tub. It will likely be too cool for the pool but the hot tub I can handle. It also comes with a gardener twice a week and a housekeeper once a week. A tough job but you know, as they say, someone has to do it.
Yoga starts tomorrow for me, classes twice a week, just like at home! I am quading into town with the girlfriends.
We are very fortunate to be able to stay in their beautiful home a block from the beach. It has a beautiful garden with palms, fruit trees including avocado, mango, papaya, guava, fig, lemon, lime, pomegranate and grapefruit. The later 5 have ripe or ripening fruit! Yum! Lovely to pick a ripe grapefruit right off the tree for breakfast! We have two cats and a very cute dog to care for. There is also a pool and hot tub. It will likely be too cool for the pool but the hot tub I can handle. It also comes with a gardener twice a week and a housekeeper once a week. A tough job but you know, as they say, someone has to do it.
Yoga starts tomorrow for me, classes twice a week, just like at home! I am quading into town with the girlfriends.
Perfect Under the Palapa
January 11 Ciudad Constitution
We have had a wonderful time so far. We are currently in Ciudad Constitution, about a 4 hour drive north of La Paz. We are here for the night in a lovely RV park that has a swimming pool, fruit trees and lots of tropical plants. It’s run by a delightful Mexican couple, Patty and Jaime. We stay here when we pass through coming and going and they have become friends. Their daughter Aimie wants to attend the College of the Pacific in Metchosin. I wrote all about them in my blog last year.
There was a terrible hurricaine in Baja last summer that did a lot of damage in this city, fortunately the RV park survived well. The city has been cleaned up for the most part but you can still see the twisted remnants of metal roofs and walls around. I just can’t imagine how frightening it would be. Eight hours of howling wind in a little Mexican home with roofs flying off, windows breaking and trees falling. They were without power for several days and without water for over a week – then when water was trucked in it was very expensive to buy. The hurricane didn’t bring rain to them, only wind.
Mulege was severely damaged and many people lost their houses. They got a lot of rain causing lots of flooding. The river is much wider now… This is the third time they have been hit by a hurricane in 5 years with this year by far the worst. Dawne's friends in Mulege had lots of damage to their home. However, it is still standing, unlike a lot of others.
We have had a wonderful time so far. We are currently in Ciudad Constitution, about a 4 hour drive north of La Paz. We are here for the night in a lovely RV park that has a swimming pool, fruit trees and lots of tropical plants. It’s run by a delightful Mexican couple, Patty and Jaime. We stay here when we pass through coming and going and they have become friends. Their daughter Aimie wants to attend the College of the Pacific in Metchosin. I wrote all about them in my blog last year.
There was a terrible hurricaine in Baja last summer that did a lot of damage in this city, fortunately the RV park survived well. The city has been cleaned up for the most part but you can still see the twisted remnants of metal roofs and walls around. I just can’t imagine how frightening it would be. Eight hours of howling wind in a little Mexican home with roofs flying off, windows breaking and trees falling. They were without power for several days and without water for over a week – then when water was trucked in it was very expensive to buy. The hurricane didn’t bring rain to them, only wind.
Mulege was severely damaged and many people lost their houses. They got a lot of rain causing lots of flooding. The river is much wider now… This is the third time they have been hit by a hurricane in 5 years with this year by far the worst. Dawne's friends in Mulege had lots of damage to their home. However, it is still standing, unlike a lot of others.
More South
Sun Rise at San Lucas Cove
A Posing Vulture on Top of a Palapa
Pelicans and Friends Ater a Fish Ball
January 8
Today we got to San Lucas Cove while it was still light! This is good. Dropped off our laundry and headed into camp to visit with John. As luck would have it there was a big jam planned for tonight starting at 5 and going till 9 (Baja Midnight). We rushed through dinner and headed out in the dark to search for the campground called Dos Amigos. It was too dark, we couldn’t see the road to this campground – sob – so Dawne and I gave up the search and were happy that we found our way home in the dark and played on our own.
The next afternoon we played in one of the little buildings in the campground and were soon joined by another couple who played fiddle, harmonicas, mouth harp and a bass ukulele. We played all afternoon, took a quick supper break and played again all night. This made up for missing the previous night. It is such fun to play with others! Dawne was leaving us in Mulege the following day – I will miss playing with her for sure. She has been such a fun travelling companion! She is planning on staying Mulege for a few days and then taking the ferry over to the mainland.
After one short night in Santispac we are now in Ciudad Conception. Tomorrow it will be La Paz to stock up on some food, then on to Los Barriles. We need to be there by the 14th so we are on schedule – although I don’t know where the time has gone! We were hoping for lots more opportunities for kayaking. Well, perhaps on the way back with any luck.
A Posing Vulture on Top of a Palapa
Pelicans and Friends Ater a Fish Ball
January 8
Today we got to San Lucas Cove while it was still light! This is good. Dropped off our laundry and headed into camp to visit with John. As luck would have it there was a big jam planned for tonight starting at 5 and going till 9 (Baja Midnight). We rushed through dinner and headed out in the dark to search for the campground called Dos Amigos. It was too dark, we couldn’t see the road to this campground – sob – so Dawne and I gave up the search and were happy that we found our way home in the dark and played on our own.
The next afternoon we played in one of the little buildings in the campground and were soon joined by another couple who played fiddle, harmonicas, mouth harp and a bass ukulele. We played all afternoon, took a quick supper break and played again all night. This made up for missing the previous night. It is such fun to play with others! Dawne was leaving us in Mulege the following day – I will miss playing with her for sure. She has been such a fun travelling companion! She is planning on staying Mulege for a few days and then taking the ferry over to the mainland.
After one short night in Santispac we are now in Ciudad Conception. Tomorrow it will be La Paz to stock up on some food, then on to Los Barriles. We need to be there by the 14th so we are on schedule – although I don’t know where the time has gone! We were hoping for lots more opportunities for kayaking. Well, perhaps on the way back with any luck.
Sleeping with the Whales
Next stop was Guerro Negro to coordinate with son Michael by telephone so Lorne could help him while he installed the new inverter Lorne had ordered. The internet is truly a wonderful thing. He could research it, check out the specs, find out if any of the solar stores in town had one, order it, write out a simplified version for installation and then follow along while Michael was doing the work. There were detailed pictures of the inverter in the specs so he could see what it looked like to further help Michael. Very cool. All is well now. The house is once again up and running. Thank goodness for kids.
Once that the instalation of the inverter was complete we headed out to Laguna Ojo de Liebre (aka Scammon’s Lagoon) had lunch and hired a panga to take us out to view the whales. Very awesome. We had them right beside the boat surfacing and spy hopping! Very large fishies! One mother had a huge chunk taken out of its back, the panga operator said that this was the second year he had seen her there and she seems fine although the wound looks gross. She showed us her baby. If you double click on the pictures you should be able to see a larger image and then if you can zoom in you should be able to see what I mean by the huge chunk out of her back, its like a saddle. The first whale to spy hop was right beside the panga - he was huge! and none of us expected him - he just rose up and peered at us - of course my camera was not ready..... I have some great pictures of where the whales were.... I didn't want to take our new camera as it might/would get wet with all the spray from the whales. The whales are late this year and there are only about 10 in the lagoon and only 2 mothers with their babies. I think we saw them all! It was nothing like our last trip here when there were over 300 whales in the lagoon and we could see them spy hopping and breaching all over the place. We couldn’t hear them at night like we did last time either. I guess its better to go on the way back home?
None the less it has to be one of the very quietest places on earth. That night the sky was clear, the stars were brilliant, not a breath of wind and the water was completely still. It was so quiet it felt like my ears were almost ringing. Perhaps this is what is meant by "the silence was deafening".
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Bahia de Los Angeles
We did spend 3 days – I think - in Bahia de Los Angeles, we camped in town at Tony’s place – he also has the motel across the street. There were no other people in this park, however it was nice to stay in town. While Dawne and I were playing, Lorne cycled out to the RV parks north of town and there were very few people camped there. As Lorne said he saw more dead dogs on Mex 1 than motor homes on this trip. Yikes!
With Dawne with us we played lots of music every day. Following a leisurely lunch under the palapa at the motel she stayed at we played the rest of the afternoon and then again in the evening. Very fun. Lorne and I had a few nice paddles in the morning and in the late afternoon. We paddled with a school of dolphins and a couple of sealions popped up to check us out too. There were no whale sharks. They arrive in the late summer and hang around the bay. They are huge. They are also very peaceful, one can swim with them – cool – maybe someday we will be here when they are. I'd like that.
One afternoon while we were playing music in the motor home Dawne’s dog Kita was waiting patiently outside. Close to dusk someone let off a few firecrackers (leftovers from New Years) Kita took off, dragging her leash along with her! We searched for her till dinner, stopped for a very quick dinner then searched again. I saw some kids and ran over to ask them if they had seen a little dog - in my very best Spanish of course. Dog in Spanish is perro. Well one of the boys earnestly said that he had indeed seen a perro and it was at the tienda (store) around the corner. (At least that’s what I thought he said). Off we went at a run as I was so concerned about finding her before she ran further. We got in the store and I saw no perro. I asked the teens in the store if they had seen a chico perro and they looked confused. The young boy told them what I was looking for and one of the teens went to the freezer and lifted the lid – well I was quite agast! To my horror I thought they had put the dog in the freezer and had visions of a poor little dead Kita to return to Dawne! The teen held up a bag of ice (hielo) and said hielo? Now to me when I say perro it does not sound at all like hielo, however when I said perro and the boy responded with hielo? I truly thought he said perro and he truly thought I said hielo. Good grief! And here I thought I was getting much better with my Spanish.
Well, just as I was returning to the beach area someone called from across the street at the motel where Dawne was staying that Kita was over there. Some one had brought her back. She is the only dog in town with a halter style leash and I guess Dawne had been seen walking her so she was returned! Excellent! What a relief! We had a good – if somewhat morbid – laugh about the hielo perro!
Driving into town we saw two cars in the ditch turned over on their very crushed roofs. There were people standing around and the police were there so no need for us to stop. As we drove along two tow trucks passed us. We were speculating how this accident happened – both cars on their roofs, and both on the same side of the road right next to each other. As chance would have it Dawne checked into the same motel as the people who were involved in the accident. One guy was driving and towing the other vehicle which was loaded with his friends' belongings and their dog (a great dane). His friends were following along with their four other dogs. Thankfully, no one was hurt, and both cars still ran! They had the cars towed to a mechanic in town who was going to bash the roofs up so they could be driven again. However, the dog was missing. They went back every day to look for it but didn’t find it. So sad. We saw them leaving to drive on to Cabo with these two cars – no windows and a very rough job on the body work! They were wearing helmets with face guards! Just like the Baja 1000!
Valley of the Ciros
The Cirro or Boojum cactus has got to be one of the strangest ones. It is indigenous to Baja. It looks like an upside down carrot covered with roots. When it rains it grows leaves on its trunk and flowers on its top. When its dry it just looks like a silver carrot. It has a very thick bark and is pretty useless, although some unique furnature is made from it. It can grow to be over 30 feet tall and it will take ovder 300 years to get that tall. So, these cirros are very old cactus,double click on the picture and you will see Dawne and I standing at the base of a very tall cirro. These are very rigid plants, like many cactus they do not move in a strong wind which I guess is how they have survived many hurricanes.
Early Start - for us
These photos are taken from Estero Beach at Ensenada. The water was a bit chilly to me for swimming, however it was the Christmas/New Years holiday and there were many Mexicans enjoying the water. The dot of light you can see in one of the sunset pictures is the light on the ship - taken with my new Olympus camera.
We were on the way to the border by 9:15 New Years Day, had our visas stamped by 10, and were on our way! We were a bit worried that there would be no official in Tecate to stamp our visas, or even the possibility that the border would be closed New Years Day – but no – it’s a very functional border now, it even has new lights.
We had an early lunch at our usual stop and thought we would be in Ensanada shortly thereafter – no such luck. Most of the remainder of the road into Ensanada was under construction – what a mess! It took us forever. Well, we arrived about 2:30, made a quick stop at Walmart and were set to go on to Estero Beach (a nice resort on the south side of Ensanada). We met an Oregon man in the parking lot at Walmart who was completely beside himself. He was lost, was waving a map around and was quite desparate for help He had no Spanish and much to his dismay no one he spoke to could speak English. He was so glad he found us! He did have some info about El Faro Beach RV park next to Estero Resort. We had already been thinking of trying this park out so we escorted him there since we knew where we were going and he definitely did not.
Ensanada is a confusing city and its easy to get lost there. This would be something I would not like to have happen if I was this guy – he had a big truck with a huge hand built container on the back and was towing a 22 foot trailer. Not exactly a city vehicle. Also, in his state of mind he really needed to find a safe spot to just relax and chill out. He admitted he was a worrier and he had all his worldly possessions with him. He was planning on moving to Mexico. Interesting since he didn’t seem to have any idea what he was doing… and he spoke no Spanish. He was a victim of the recession and his response was to take off.
Meanwhile back at home…
We received a text message from Natasha to call her about the house. The inverter wasn’t working and she was concerned. Lorne had Mike go up to trouble shoot it, he turned it off since it was not working properly at all. Lorne set about finding a replacement on the internet since its toast. Good thing for such responsible kids! Michael has been requisitioned to install a new inverter once Lorne figures out which one to buy.
Onward
Next night at El Pabilllon – a beautiful white sand beach 4 hours south of Ensenada (at mile 16.5). We went for a quick walk to see if there was any progress on the new restaurant at the campground right next door. We met Fidel who practically begged us to stay at his place. The restaurant is not open, he and his wife are living in the building. There have been very few tourists and he was feeling quite discouraged. We promised we would stay at his place on the return. He claims his water is not salty like it is at El Pabillon. I had a very salty shower this morning – I guess similar to a salt scrub - I should appreciate it – women would pay lots for this kind of shower!! Well it was hot and wet and the showers are very clean and bright and roomy. I do feel much cleaner for it.
I watched the pangas come in this morning with fresh langosta (lobster) He offered it to me for 270 pesos a kilo. When I told him it was too expensive for us he told me it would be 400 pesos in Ensenada. This may be true but still expensive for us. (about $27 per kilo) We could never have got them any fresher however! Yumm!
Off through the Vale de Cirios to lunch and a walk at the Catavina Boulder Field near Santa Inis. Then on to stay a few days at Bahia de Los Angeles. We are hoping for a campground in town as there is a protected area to launch the kayaks and a beautiful sandy beach for an easy entry and exit.
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