Winter 2006 - Baja Final

The wind blew hard all night and was still gusting when Carl got up at 5:15 to check for a photogenic sunrise. The eastern sky was cloudy so he went back to sleep. Once we awoke, we spent the day relaxing and doing pretty much nothing except for a morning walk on the beach looking at birds and an afternoon run. As the sun began to set, the islands across the bay began to glow reddish orange, contrasting with the deep blue of the water. This is a very pretty spot. There are, in fact, hundreds of miles of beachfront like this on the Sea of Cortez, where you can live for $100 per month, unspoiled by infrastructure like water, telephone or electricity ;-). After dinner, we used the last of our firewood for a campfire then got to bed early. We have a long drive tomorrow, at least by Baja standards.

We are packed up and on our way by 9:30. Our goal is to drive 220 miles to San Quintin. On the way down, we took two days for this trip but this stretch of road is mostly smooth and flat, though still narrow so we decided to do it in one day and spend an extra day in Ensenada. It was an easy, uneventful drive. For the first 40 miles, there was no oncoming traffic! We stopped for lunch at Mama Sanchez where we had the terrific lobster burritos on the way down. They were just as good driving north and we got to check email while waiting for our burritos In San Quintin we camped at El Pabbillon again; right on the Pacific Ocean behind sparkling white sand dunes, although today it is too windy to spend much time on the beach.

After breakfast we walked along the beach, checking out the birds and the fisherman who were returning from their early morning trip offshore. We spotted a snowy plover to add to our Baja bird list. After stops for gas and pesos we headed north to Ensenada, the last stop on our Baja adventure. There were so many little towns with speed limits and speed bumps plus twisty mountain roads with slow trucks, it took almost as long to drive 120 miles as it did to drive 220 yesterday. As we drove along, we found that we needed two things not used in a long time. Heat and Windshield Wipers. Have we come too far north too soon? For our first night in the Ensenada area, we selected Campo #5 on the road to La Bufadora. This small campground sits on a cliff face almost 200 feet above the Pacific. The view is wonderful even through the clouds and drizzle. Once we got set up we drove to the end of the road to see the famous tourist attraction, La Bufadora or Blowhole. It’s a narrow crack in the cliff face and the ocean swells funnel in and send up a cloud of spray. Those who have visited Thunder Hole at Acadia National Park will be familiar with the phenomenon. However, unlike at Acadia, to reach La Bufadora, one must walk a gauntlet of shops with jewelry, T shirts and other stuff. Back at the coach, the rain let up and the sun burned through the clouds to create a bright gleaming patch of ocean offshore. We thought we would have a beautiful sunset but it was not to be. Another band of rain and strong winds moved in and pelted the coach during the evening.

Last evening’s storm continued throughout the night. The rain hammered on the roof and the strong gusty wind shook the coach like a rotweiler playing with a rag doll. Suddenly, our picturesque campsite seemed very vulnerable. We slept fitfully as Sandy worried that the strong wind gusts might blow the coach over the cliff and Carl wondered how much more rain the ground could absorb before we were trapped in a muddy quagmire. At 6 AM we awoke with a start. The drumming on the roof was fearful and we looked outside to see hail bouncing off the ground. Well, at last that explains all of the noise. The hail soon turned back to rain and we went back to bed. We got up at 7 and found the sun shining and all of the hail melted; or did we dream it! Before we finished breakfast the next squall line came through with more driving rain and strong wind. The sliding windows on the motorhome have drains in the slide tracks to allow condensation to drain outside. The wind was so strong that it was blowing the rain up through the drains and overflowing the tracks. A towel in each window took care of the water but it was a novel experience. It was clearly time to move to a more secure site. The ground was very muddy but we drove out easily and headed for the Estero Beach RV Park where we stayed on the way down. The road leading to the hotel has a low spot and a two foot deep river of muddy water was running across the road. The campground was coarse gravel and drained very well but the paved roadway was flooded. Once settled in to our new campground we drove into Ensenada to shop. There was one cruise ship in town but not too many people out on the rain soaked streets. We shopped until lunch then Sandy resumed shopping while Carl found an internet place to get out email. We met at 3 and went to a local winery for a tour and tasting. The tour was short and not too interesting but the wine was good and this wine tasting was pour your own as often as you like. We tried several different reds and whites then got confused and had to start over ;-). We did some food shopping on the way home and settled in for another wet windy night but this time we had plenty of wine.

The ugly weather has passed and we awoke to bright sunshine. We walked the path along the mud flats and watched the birds for a while then did laundry and washed the Baja grime from the car and coach. In the afternoon we made one more shopping trip into Ensenada. Once back at the campground, we spent some more time watching the birds and spotted a mother Elephant Seal and baby on an offshore sandbar. As the sun headed for the horizon, we sat by the coach to enjoy the sunset. A fun way to spend our last evening in Baja.

We began the day looking at and photographing all of the shorebirds right behind our campsite. We headed out right after breakfast and set a new driving record; 120 miles in FIVE hours! The roads were narrow and hilly both in Baja and the US but the biggest delay was in Tecate, trying to cross back into the US. Six months ago they moved the entrance to US Customs about two miles east of its former position. All of our books and maps were wrong and we ended up driving down some impossibly narrow streets getting back on the right road. The line at the border looked long but only took about 15 minutes. Unfortunately, all RVs have to go to “secondary inspection” where they check for meat and fruits & vegetables that cannot be brought back into the US from Mexico. This entailed another 15 minute wait but we knew the rules and only had to give the inspector two potatoes. Once set up into the campground we headed off to do errands then settled in for an evening of wireless internet!