DEC. 16, Sunday, sunny
Up early and, after saying our goodbyes to everyone, we got on the road heading for Mulege from Guerrero. Made arrangement with Ronald and Louise to meet again in Mulege (mooh-lah-hay)
We headed east on Mex 1. It was fairly straight and flat until we reached St-Ignacio. The desert had little vegetation. We began to find more rolling hills and around a corner, we found ourselves again in front of yet another military check-point. These are getting boring but I guess with that much gun power, the bandits stay away, right!? This time they stopped us and asked us a bunch of questions. We said "no comprende" and they waved us through. He did try to open the back door to the truck but Tucker was right there and he backed off ( the soldier) It was kind of funny in a sense...Tucker just wanted to lick him. 2 miles further we came upon St-Ignacio where I fuelled: 61.732 Litre @ .567 Sure can't beat these prices. St-Ignacio is an oasis with hundreds of date palms. We did buy one bag of dates and they were really good. It is a small village and very typical Mexican style. Further down the road, we came upon the "Three Virgins", an extinct volcano, last erupted in the early 1800's although we did see a couple plumes of what looked like steam from the side of it.
A bit further we came upon an escarpment where the whole valley opened up on us and we began to descend to the sea of Cortez or the California Gulf. The hill consisted of grade between 4 to 12 %. It zig-zag down and I had to gear down to first gear and the Jake was working full time. I still had to use the brakes once in a while. IT WAS STEEP!!!! The hill is call "Custa del Inferno" ( the hill from hell) and it wore its name well!! It will be interesting to climb on the way back!??
We arrive in Santa Rosalia safe and sound after following the sea for about 5 km. This is where one can take a ferry to the mainland. You end up in Gaymas but it is expensive.
An hour later, we arrived in Mulege. Our campsite, Villa Maria RV Park, was situated about 1.5 miles from the town along a small river which disgorges into the sea. It consist of 7000 people and all are very friendly to RVer's. We barely got set up when 2 Mexican showed up with all the wares for sale. GOOD GRIEF!!!!!!
Our new friends arrived an hour later and after they set up, we all went into town with our bikes by following a trail along the river. We went to the bank and got some cash and found a laundry where we can wash our clothes tomorrow as the one is the campsite is not working. We had a beer than headed back. After dinner, Ron and Louise came over for a visit. We chatted and told stories than it was time for bed.
There is another camper beside us. A single man with a van. Friendly guy and informative about the region. We paid $20. per night which seems the standard price for any camping in the Baja.
N 26* 53' 50" W 111* 57' 51"
Alt: 3 feet
Distance today 280 KM at an average of 40 MPH (60KPH)
DEC 17, Monday, clouds/sun
We all went into town to do laundry. We took my truck as I had to drop off one propane tank to be filled and get fresh water. After laundry we wandered through town and looked into a few shops. Ron and Louise went to use the phone and we all met in this little side street cafe where we had tacos and beer. Louise speaks fairly good spanish so it's a great help.
After lunch, Ron and Louise decided to walk back to the site so we drove back and checked out a couple of other rv places. From here, we drove to Los Cocos, a beach along the Bahia Conception where a fellow we met at the laundry, was staying. WOW! What a beach. White sand and calm blue/turquoise water. We chatted for a while and through our conversation, I found out that he knew Pat Muldoon, a friend of mine from my previous life! What a small world, I keep saying.
Came back home, dropped off Val then headed back into town to pick up my propane tank. Cost: $20. for 30 lbs.
There is now 2 other rigs here. Canadians we met back in Guerrero. We had happy hour together then Louise made Val and I sushi for dinner. It was absolutely delicious! We had a few more drinks afterwards with more stories and laughs than it was bed time again.
A very nice evening and we exchanged addresses and e-mails to keep in touch. We also made arrangements to meet again in January on our return from Cabo.
DEC 18, Tuesday, sunny
We left at 8:30. It was hard to leave Ron and Louise but we had to. We drove along the Bahia Conception for about 12 miles then headed inland. This area is absolutely gorgeous and pictures don't do it justice! We are looking forward coming back this way.
The road to Loreto was easy rolling hills then we headed west towards the Gigante mountains. We began climbing and at some points, I had to gear down to first as it was so steep. We even met 2 cyclist climbing this hill and they didn't look very happy. There were a few switch backs and at the top (2500') we found ourselves driving along a plateau and slowly make our descend towards CD Insurgente which is situated in a fertile valley. Just before we got there, we again had another military check point. this time the soldat wanted to check the inside of the rig which I unlocked for him but didn't take the slides out. He seemed happy just to look in the bedroom. The second sldier took my name and license plate on a piece of paper. We stopped in town for lunch and took on fuel: 56.442 litres for $32. From here, we headed south to Ciudad Constitucion and a 4 lane highway....LUXURY!!!!
About a hundred kilometre later, we found ourselves in rolling hills again and narrow roadway. We finally turned left and began a long descend towards the Sea of Cortez and LaPaz, capital of Baja. Yet another military check point as we arrived near the city.
Casa Blanca RV park was $20 per night with full hook-up (sewer, low water pressure and 15 amps power). It is a nice park, well secured and within walking distance to the harbor front. The place is almost full...mostly Canadians again.
N 24* 07'51" W 110* 20' 31"
Alt: 19 feet
Distance today 483 KM in 8 hours, our longest yet
DEC. 19, Wednesday, cloudy/sun
Got up to a balmy 50 degree F. We went into town in the morning to mail a letter and get more cash. We then walked the water front and Val bought herself a nice little sleeveless top.
From here we drove south to a neat little village where we saw this pretty little church. We looked around then decided to drive on to Los Barriles and I am glad we did. Found out that the site we were looking at is too small and full as it is. There is no other suitable site so we will definitely have to go to Jose del Cabo tomorrow.
Came back and fuelled in LaPaz: $53.30 for 94.014 Litres. I think I was almost empty!?
Tomorrow, we leave for the Cabos, our final destination before heading back north.
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