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Posted on March 9, 2010 by angela
Every guidebook mentions them. Phrases like “a great campground, but usually empty because of the horrible jejenes.”
My idea was to go to this town and beach but to get out before sunset. We didn’t make it, and Jason is not so scared of biting insects. He doesn’t have my track record.
San Blas is a beautiful beach town with some amazing history, great surf and nice people. It would be on the resort town list if not for the nasty bugs. In most towns around here, these buggers are around before and after sunset, but no longer. Here, they come out at 4, and it isn’t safe outside until 9am.
Why do people come and stay here? Then again, we grew up in Texas with giant mosquitoes. You can get used to anything.
I guess my real question is why I’m covered in bites despite trying to stay in the bus all night. Jason has only a few despite being out several hours around sunset and early this morning, and Bode has none. These voracious flesh eaters left only small marks on our bodies, but they have itched for days.
These guys were having trouble with their VW bug, so we tried to help. But in true bug fashion, once we got there, the car suddenly started and ran just fine. They thanked us profusely and gave us some insect repellent.
We headed further south and found a cool town at Playa Chacala. Muy bueno…but we had to move on. Jason wanted to stay. There is nowhere to camp, but you can generally park and camp outside the restaurants if you buy something. Everyone here is very cool and it is a neat little village crammed into just a few blocks on the beach.
Instead, we went and found an RV park with hot water, laundry and the works. Tough choice. It was absolutely packed full of Canadians and it was “hamburger night” too, so our complete lack of food wasn’t a problem. And, we got to do the macarena with the Geritol crowd. We thought we were sacrificing the cool happening beach town of Chacala for a quiet night’s rest here, but these folks partied late into the night. Watch out for hamburger night in La Penita.
Posted on March 8, 2010 by angela
We heard about this small island village off the coast and we set off to find a boat to get to it. Legend has it that the man-made island city of Mexcaltitan, was Aztlan, the ancient home of the Aztecs. The birthplace of the Aztec civilization. This island is also known as the Mexican Venice when it’s streets flood each year.
We traveled several hours and came in from the north. The last 5 miles or so were down a dirt road with big construction trucks in search of the boat launch. After a while we came upon a bunch of wooden boxes across the road. A guy stops us, tells us this is the end of the road and that we can take a boat from here for 70 pesos. Well, that’s about the price we’d heard, but it didn’t feel right to us. There was no boat launch and the guy looked sketchy. Mostly, we were just afraid to leave the bus behind with him. As we pulled out to turn around, a Mexican family jumped out of their very nice SUV and got in the boat. We started to reconsider, but decided that if something happened to the bus we’d feel very dumb not to trust our instincts. Besides, he just put some boxes across the road.
We decide to try to reach Mexcaltitan from the other side. So, we drove south and an hour and a half later we got to Santiago Ixcuintla. This town had a hotel, a beautiful town square and a large market. It was getting late, so this was the perfect stop for the night.
The best thing is that there are no other tourists, so we got to experience a real Mexican town. No one here seems to care about or pander to a gringo walking around. A nice change from the big tourist mecca of Mazatlan.
The square was hopping on this Friday night and there were lots of kids out and about. We stopped by the Mexican market the next morning for some fruit, pastries and a cheap toy to keep Bode entertained for the day.
Then, we tried Mexicaltitan from the south and had much better luck. A paved road, an obvious boat launch, and water taxis.
Shrimp are the big deal here, and they are drying out on the streets as you walk by. Jason got some shrimp tamales for 7 pesos each and chowed down. Inside, they still had the shell on. He said they were good, but a bit weird. Bode and I passed.
Besides that, there isn’t much to do. It’s a very small town, Jason and I took turns walking around because Bode was having so much fun at the town square. I tossed a football (American) around with a local boy, while another played cars with Bode.
An interesting day of just doing whatever… and it included a boat ride. Nice. We headed back to the mainland and back to our safely parked bus. On to San Blas.
Posted on March 3, 2010 by angela
We roll into La Paz in the late afternoon. We’re not sure how the ferry is going to be tomorrow. Seats? A place to sleep? Can we get food on-board? So, we decide to get a hotel room and try to get some good rest in.
Bode and I go into the room first and he says “I don’t like this place.” Why not? “It doesn’t have anything and it isn’t fun.” Well, that’s true, but I’m already looking forward to sleeping… there’s 2 beds!
We set Bode up to play some video games in the room and Jason goes out to the courtyard we he can get a wi-fi signal. After a while, I can’t stay in the room any longer and determine it is time to get out and walk the town, find some food and kill some time.
Bode won’t have it. The fit begins, he won’t put on his shoes and he throws his sweatshirt at me. The little demon has been unleashed. We’re all exhausted and this is just a result. There are times like these when I miss the house. There’s no way to send him to his room, there isn’t the option to just eat at home or for me to get some space. It’s a “Calgon take me away” moment, but there’s no bathtub, no Calgon, and no towels (?!)
It’s getting ugly in the room, so I go out for reinforcement – Jason. He goes in and deals with the beast while I walk out to the street and wait for him. Things get better, but we walk and walk and can’t find a restaurant.
Finally, after some food we come back to the room. There’s a bedtime struggle, but we all finally crash out around 9:30. I am dead to the world when a lover’s argument starts near our room. With my eyes closed, I think, where are we camped? Who are these people? But then I open my eyes to look at my watch (11:30) and realize where we are. The fight continues for another hour – apparently Roy spent their last $5. And, well, it seems he never listens. “It’s over this time,” she says again and again. “Say it, it’s over!”
Then, not to let any silence linger, another nearby room starts playing Pink Floyd and chain smoking (I can only smell this.)
Once I’m awake, I have a hard time falling asleep. I heard everyone else come in for the night. Every toilet flush. Every coughing fit. Three hours later, I doze off and am then awakened by a woman yelling “Chris!” It was the kind of yell that made think someone was coming into the room, but it turns out he was just snoring. I was still awake 30 minutes later when she did it again. The snoring didn’t bother me nearly as much as her shrieking.
Awake for so long, I realize my poor parenting earlier this evening was probably heard by everyone as well. I just want to get out of here. Well, I just want to see if they have more towels in the morning, take a shower and then get out of here.
I finally fall asleep again when Bode wakes with an itching fit. 30 minutes later, he’s back asleep.
Morning comes early. There’s someone vomiting. There are tourists up and leaving at 6am with their wheeled suitcases grating down the chipped cement floor outside our room.
I’m in the courtyard because I can’t even try to sleep anymore and I’m tired of laying in the bed. There is someone doing cement work outside our room. There are people singing and whistling. Jason says it isn’t the place, but the people. They are attracted to this cheap hotel, though. This place had a bad vibe the minute we walked in.
I tried again to get towels this morning, but the manager goes to the laundry line and hands me 2 wet hand towels. It doesn’t matter because there’s no hot water.
The best part of our stay? We got to park right in front.
I guess I’m a bit worried about what to expect on our upcoming overnight ferry ride, and a bit unprepared for mainland Mexico. I haven’t even cracked the books on it. Sleep, shower and a coffee are all I care about right now.
Posted on March 1, 2010 by angela
We set out on the dirt roads that go around the East Cape looking for our own secret spot to relax for a few days. We’re not the first, of course, but it’s pretty darn quiet out here.
I have to admit, when I mentioned I saw a VW bus as we passed an arroyo 30 minutes east of San Jose del Cabo, and Jason backed up Red Beard and drove in I was a little skeptical. I mean, let’s just pull in to a dry gulch not on any map or in any book because we saw a Volkswagen? When we pulled in we saw a few guys playing horseshoes, and a bocce set nearby and I knew I had been wrong to hastily judge.
Eric, ‘the mayor’ of K85 quickly greeted Jason with a boisterous “Get a tan, man!” in a German accent and the rest of the clan came over to welcome us immediately.
Daphne showed us around. Everyone there were friends, some coming to this same arroyo for 26 straight winters. Amazing. I can see why.
As far as the kid was concerned this place had it all, great beach and sand, big boulders to climb, tide pools, dogs, and surrogate grandparents who didn’t mind a kid playing in their camp. Whales breached and spouted continuously just offshore. Nice.
Two of the women were artists, Frea painted murals at many of the houses in the area, and Maryanne painted whatever she got her hands on. Jordan is a retired history professor and has been coming here for only 23 years. Another couple leaves their orchard in Washington and has wintered here for 26 years.
It’s just boondocking in an arroyo. A sliver of wash between private property on each side. But, it is kind of magical and has a great energy about it. We can see why everyone keeps coming back. It’s the people, for sure. It wouldn’t be the same if we were there alone.
A few photos by Bode at the campfire below. Bode still says ‘remember all those nice people at the camp at the beach?’ Yes we do. See ya in a few winters, guys. Oh, and if Bud the dog is reading this, Bode says hi. Sorry we didn’t see you on the way out, he was pretty upset he couldn’t say goodbye.
And, maybe because of the competitive German tanning, Jason got scorched.
Posted on February 24, 2010 by angela
Santa Cruz, CA came up in a recent conversation, and ever since Bode has been wanting to ride rides. He had a 3 stage plan to find them. He would look wherever we drove, Jason was to read the signs as he drove and I would get out and ask strangers where the closest amusement park was.
Luckily, we knew Carnaval was just starting in La Paz. We kept that information from him, so as to seem cooler when we stumbled upon it. His plan was pretty cute and all.
La Paz is the biggest city in Southern Baja, but is not a so much a tourist town – they all go to Los Cabos. That’s what’s great about it. We tried to find a recommended campground near town, but it had closed down. The thought of driving the bus from a boondocking beach outside of town (Tecolote) to the malecon at night didn’t seem too appealing, so we set out to see if we could find a motel. Easy enough, the first one we found right on the malecon was $45 – but not in line with our new Mexican fiscal sensibilities. At first we scoffed at the price, but it was getting dark and then we remembered it was Carnaval and we had the closest hotel to all the action. It’s amazing that we could just walk up and get a room, actually. It was pretty stark, but it did have some awesome owl yarn art on every floor.
We walked around town and had the first obvious experiences with strangers touching Bode’s head. I’ve read that it is a good luck thing. You can see it in someone’s eyes when they spot him…and you know it’s going to happen. As he walks by they try their best to do a nonchalant tap. I was sure to hold his hand and be real close, but the kid was a trooper, and actually most of the time didn’t notice. I swear in one 3 block walk he was touched by 18 strangers. I know a lot of kids would be freaking out, so I’m pretty grateful. The next time we went out though, I made him wear a hat.
It was all about the rides that evening. Bode got to ride a scaled down mechanical bull and fulfill his life-long dream of driving a bumper car. No height or age restrictions here. We were in by 9, but it was a Friday night and the party lasted til 4am.
The hotel was booked on the next night, so we set out to the port at Pichilingue to get our vehicle permission and book our upcoming trip on the ferry. The ferry ticket offices were closed, but we did get our vehicle import permit (you don’t need one in Baja, but you do on the mainland.) I had to persuade the security office manager to make copies of all our documents (something we’ve been meaning to do,) but it all ended well.
We made a few beach stops for cervesas and tacos and we thought we’d camp at the beach this time, but Bode had so much fun at Carnaval we drove back to town. We found another motel 3 blocks from the malecon, this time even cheaper. It was a supposed to be some sort of an art gallery, but looked more like a garage sale. It was great though, and there was no noise from the all-night party when we were ready to be done for the evening. It was a bit funny to be coming in for the night with our kid as the others were just leaving – oh, how times change.
The big parades run 3 nights and start on Sunday. It goes south the first night, then they park and go back the other direction the next night. The whole thing lasted maybe an hour, but in true Mexican fashion started 2 hours later than we were told.
Their weren’t many floats, and no Mardi Gras style beads or flashing to get them. The drinking huge amounts of alcohol part of the festivities is universally celebrated, though. Still, the whole thing was family friendly and there were kids everywhere. We weren’t entirely sure what was going on, but I think one of these gals may be the Queen of Cockfighting?
Coming from the Bay Area, we know that it’s just not a parade without drag queens and we were not disappointed. Somehow they were able to make Carnaval even more festive.
We found La Paz to be very pleasant, especially for a big city, and has a really nice malecon.
Contrary to what we’ve been told by plenty of people on the way down, there are two ferries that run from La Paz to the mainland.
Baja Ferries is the normal passenger ferry that everyone seems to use, but they require tickets for each passenger (including children) and is more expensive. You buy a cabin if you’d like to upgrade from seats on the overnight ferry, the cars are in a cargo only area and can’t be accessed. Everyone here speaks English and there are multiple easy to find offices.
There’s a cargo carrier here too, and we actually had to go through customs at the port to find the Maritima de California ticket office. Communication for us was a huge challenge. We were able to learn that the ship was full today, but I was able to explain we wanted tickets for a week from now. She wrote down our names and the date we wanted to go on what looked like scratch paper. Then, she told us to be back at 1pm on that day and that our names on the scratch piece of paper was our reservation. From what we gathered, it would be a 16 hour trip. No ticket in hand, but no money paid yet.
Maritime de Califonia was about 40% less than Baja Ferries, and the vehicle passage includes the driver. Bode doesn’t need a ticket, so we just need 1 additional passenger fare. Aside from not being sure if we really have a reservation, we think she said we could not stay in the bus. I guess we’ll find out in a week. It could be one very long night.
Posted on February 23, 2010 by angela
Bahia Concepcion was great, but we needed some internet action so we were forced to leave the next day. We make the tough decisions around here, so on to Loreto. There’s not much in the way of camping or boondocking right near town, so we found an RV site that was set up mostly for long-termers. We were packed into spots right next to each other – some giant rigs the size of tour buses – but everyone was friendly. Some folks were pretty much moved in permanently – their rigs essentially built-in and immobile. Not exactly what we are normally looking for, but it sure was convenient.
The place was quite nice, with a restaurant, internet access and washing machines…and some of the best showers we’ve had in a while. Bode now asks in advance, “Does this place have plumbing? Internet?” Not always in that order.
We were only a few block from the center of town, so it was great to walk around and have a home base right there. Loreto is a pleasant little town, though I don’t think I’ve ever heard of it before now. It has an airport so lots of folks fly straight here.
We headed over to Mc Lulu’s taco stand for dinner. I’m not sure who Jason is more surprised by, me or Bode at our fish taco eating abilities. It’s been really great to have a kid-approved standby meal for about $1.25. I’ve stopped stocking up on lunch supplies. Lulu was great and helped us with our Spanish some more – maybe we won’t need to find a school after all if we can keep meeting such nice folks.
There are several things to get used to in Mexico (we can discuss toilet paper later.) One is the perpetual drive-by’s of vehicles with speakers on top of their car announcing something !muy importante! We still haven’t figured it out – maybe an election coming? A big sale at the supermercado?
Every single town, no matter the size, has one. Sometimes several. It is pretty interesting to see all the variations and what kind of car get’s pimped out with a PA system. We all joked about getting something like this for the bus and handing Bode the mic when we roll into a new place. It just looks so cool – maybe we’ll get one and just crank out the tunes whenever we’re in the mood.
Also, we just got an e-mail from Jad at GoWesty – we’re supposed to be featured on the Daily Driver section on their site today. Thanks Jad!
Posted on February 21, 2010 by angela
Santa Rosalia is an interesting place. It was a French-owned mining town and they sent their copper to the Pacific Northwest. There, instead of returning with empty ships, they filled them up with lumber to send back to Baja. As a result, the town is mostly wooden buildings with large wrap around balconies. Quite different than the usual stucco and cement we see everywhere else.
The big attraction here is the Eiffel-designed church. It is a prefab metal building that is actually rather plain on the outside. Inside, it looks like a regular Catholic church. The church was revealed at a 1889 Paris World Exposition, where Eiffel also unveiled the famous tower in Paris. He won an award for the church. It was later bought by the Frenchies in Mexico for this town.
The other attraction is the French bakery. Bode had fallen asleep in the car, so I ran in. They had several French/Mexican goodies without egg and butter, so I bought a couple. He was awake when I came out, immediately ate 2 of them, and I went back in for more.
Also, if you’re missing your firetruck in Fresno, it’s here.
We continued on to Mulege, which had been recommended by several people. It was a really nice town, and everyone is pretty accustomed to seeing norte-americanos. It was getting late, so we found a cheap motel next to a very clean laundromat and headed out for pizza. Yes, it’s that easy here.
From what I’ve gathered, usually this time of year Baja is packed with snowbirds from the US and Canada, but not so this year. Most places are empty, and I’d say 90% of the gringos we do meet are Canadian (and 90% of those are from British Columbia.) I think the bad publicity and economy have kept out the Americans.
So far, we’ve felt very safe here – everywhere in Baja. Most of Baja is set up for travelers, but not over-built like so many destinations on the mainland. For the most part, the Mexicans speak English (or at least enough to do their business.) They are also very accommodating when I’m trying to practice my Spanish. It’s sort of a mixed blessing when I try really hard to ask questions in Spanish and they respond in English.
The next day we headed a few miles south to Bahia Concepcion. We were all hungry, so we pulled into the first beach/campground that we thought had a restaurant. The restaurant was closed, but we ran into Kassandra and Justin, whom we met at the Bay of L.A., and pulled up near them for the night.
They were cool enough to entertain Bode and play cars and trucks in the sand. They hosted the bonfire later that night and more folks (more Canadians!) from down the beach came over to swap stories.
The Bay of Conception was beautiful, and the water was safe for a 4 year old. There were nice sailboats lazily moored off the beach – something we haven’t seen yet in Baja.
There are lots of great looking beaches around here and we’re starting to see more and more campers lining the miles and miles of clear blue water. And, it’s getting noticeably warmer.
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