Baja Bound, Part 27. The Good, the Bad , and the Ugly, Baja Sur

November 23rd 2013. Our Mexican experiences on this day were mixed: good, some bad, and some very ugly.

Our Goal today was to drive from Los Barriles to Puerto San Carlos on the Bahia Magdalena on the Pacific Ocean to see if the Grey Whales would be there already, and calving in the bay.

We left Catherine and Lorne after breakfast. We had a wonderful visit, thank you so much!

Sierra La Laguna

It was the third time we drove through the Sierra La Laguna on highway # 1 between Los Barriles and La Paz. Each time it was different. This time it was glorious. The weather was superb. 

From Los Barriles toward La Paz

We stopped again in El Triunfo for coffee, and to see if the friendly artist still had that nice woven Taco basket. No, sorry, she sold it. 
Some guy showed us his place he is renovating for the last 10 plus years. He was off the wall. He thinks he is building a resort, it is simply bad. We were glad to get out of there.

Remnants of the mine in El Triunfo

El Triunfo was a gold and silver mining town in the 19th century. But after a hurricane flooded the mines, they soon closed down. All what is left for the local people of the glorious days of mining is polluted and unsafe water. But the coffee shop in the side alley makes good coffee ( using bottled water ), and they serve wonderful fresh baked goods.

Cafe El Triunfo

El Triunfo Today

Pretty Town El Triunfo

Close to La Paz,  we all of a sudden had the police stopping us. Four police officers surrounded us, casually showing their machine guns and handguns. One came to talk to us, while the other three kept us in check. They accused us of reckless driving. The traffic was heavy, but Anders certainly did not do anything wrong. Anyway the police talking to us said that he will have to give us a ticket, and pulled his ticket book out.

Thanks to Vagabundos del Mar's Travel advice, we asked where we would have to pay this ticket. He said in the police station downtown. We gave him a paper and pen and ask for the exact address. 

He went to his boss in the back, this guy threw his arms up in the air. And his helper came back, saying that they got a call for another accident, and would not give us a ticket. Their trick to get bribe money out of us did not work. That was a very ugly Mexican experience.

On our Way to Ciudad Constitucion

On the way from La Paz to Ciudad Consstitucion, in the small village of Las Pocitas we had a wonderful Mexican experience. Driving by, we saw some furniture and stuff for sale at the side of the road. We stopped and had a look. 

Of all things, Anders fell in love with a handmade knife ( he owns already several ). I looked through everything, and attempted to chat with the old man in my broken Spanish. He had this handmade deerskin coat for sale which looked good on me. 

We negotiated for about 10 minutes for a good price for the knife and the coat. He, writing his price in the sand with his cane, and us, crossing it out until we came to an agreement. We all hugged each-other before leaving. I know, I will probably never wear the coat, but it is the best souvenir we bought on our Mexican trip.

We had beautiful Weather Driving west

We were happy, we had nice dry weather coming closer to Ciudad Constitucion  The road work was still not finished, but this time the 10km stretch we had to drive in the ditch was fine and not under a foot of muddy water like on our way down.

Road toward Puerta San Carlos

The road west from Ciudad Constiticion to Puerto San Carlos is quite flat. We arrived early evening in San Carlos. We were just looking for a motel, when a guy in a truck pulled up beside us, asking if he could help. He said there were no calving whales yet, sorry. But his EcoHotel and restaurant would be the best in town. We followed him, and stayed the night.

At the EcoHotel

Puerta San Carlos

 We were the only guests. The food prepared by Carlos, the chef was very good. The palapa cabin on the beach looked very nice at first glance. Too late we discovered that we had bugs under the mattress. It was  dark out and too late to drive anywhere else. So we sprayed everything, and made the bed with our bedding. We survived, but it was ugly.

Sunset over the Bahia Magdalena

For more pictures from this part of our trip, please go to our Web Album

Baja Bound, Part 26. Los Barriles, Baja Sur.

November 21st to 23rd Visiting Catherine and Lorne in Los Barriles.

Friends from Victoria, Catherine and Lorne invited us to stay with them in Los Barriles. They just built a beautiful home in the Las Brisa's area on a hill overlooking the town and the ocean.

Lorne is gardening in their front yard

It was so nice to see them both. They looked so relaxed and happy. They arrived from Canada not too long ago. They will stay here all winter to enjoy the sunny lifestyle.

At Catherine and Lorne's Place

Unfortunately Anders stomach was not well the first evening. He hardly ate any of the yummy BBQ steak or drank any wine. A sure sign that he was ill. I was fine and enjoyed every bit of it. The next morning Anders was a little better.

Open Range goats are grazing on the empty lot next door

Catherine and I met her friend Susan next morning, and we went on a hike. Susan and her dogs guided us up the mountain to the south of Los Barriles. Great hike and wonderful views back over the town and into the arroyo to the south and the distant mountains.

Hiking above Los Barriles

Hiking with Catherine and Susan

Toward the evening we all went to the beach in town. We witnessed the release of about 350 tiny turtles. 

Turtle Release

The mama turtles apparently just come up on the beach, lay their eggs, cover them with sand, and then swim away. The eggs will hatch in the warm sand by themselves. Unfortunately dune buggies, cars and animals damage plenty of these nests. 

 A caring local couple rescues these turtle eggs from the beach by carefully looking for turtle tracks in the sand in the mornings. Then they put the eggs in a save fenced area on the beach until they are hatched.

The Beach is racked and then the Turtles are released

For the release, they racked the beach and then released the young turtles so they had to wobble about 20 feet down to the water before swimming away. Apparently these turtles will return as adults and will lay their eggs here on the same beach.

Their instincts guided the Baby Turtles to the Ocean

Afterward we went for food at a local restaurant. There was also a fair in town. We walked through the displays and ate some desserts from the street vendors. 
What a great day!

With Catherine and Lorne  in Los Barriles

For more pictures, please click here on our Web Album

Baja Bound, Part 25. Our last Days in San José del Cabo

November 16th to 20th 2013  - -

    We are really getting in the Holiday Mood

The weather has become nice and warm, but the humidity is gone. We enjoy the walks on Playa Costa Azul. And we go for swims to Chileno Bay.

San José del Cabo Estuary

San José Estuary

One morning we went for a nice walk  through part of the San José Estuary. It is a bird watcher's paradise.

Glass Blower

At the Glass Factory in Cabo

We also made another trip into Cabo San Lucas in search of the glass factory. It was interesting, their advertising has no address, and finally after looking on line for ever, I found the GPS coordinates. Then we found out that it is under San José and not under Cabo San Lucas which does not exist on the GPS!! 
The factory is in the commercial part of Cabo San Lucas. We watched how the glassblowers created their art pieces.

At La Panga Antigua

At La Panga

On the way back we dropped into Artisanos along the Corridor just east of Cabos San Lucas. Here at Artisanos one can find all the Mexican handicrafts, handmade artifacts, and even unglazed pottery. I found, that this warehouse just had too many nice things, so we did not buy anything.


One evening we splurged, when we celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary. We dined at "La Panga Antiqua" restaurant in San José    http://lapanga.com/  It is very romantic, and the food was excellent.

For a more casual meal, we walked one evening to "Zippers" just on the western end of Playa Azul. The food was not spectacular, but the setting was. Full moon, right on the beach, and some live music.

At "Zippers" Beachfront Restaurant

On the 20th of November we had to pack all our stuff back into the truck, tomorrow morning on the 21st we are leaving our condo in San José for good. It is time to start our journey back home.

Full Moon at Zippers Beach

For more pictures, please click on the following Web Album

Baja Bound, Part 24. La Candelaria, Baja Sur

In Search of unglazed Pottery in Candelaria, November 15th 2013

Today we felt, we should find another dusty road and a new adventure. The last two days we had just relaxed and went shopping and swimming.

Trail up to La Candelaria

Donna Jones cooked with, and told us about the great earthenware pots she is using, and said that they are still made in Candelaria, close to San Cabo in the mountains.

This is Donna's picture and comments:

We use a variety of ollas and cazuelas, glazed and unglazed earthenware pots that country cooks swear improves the flavor of a dish.  They must be seasoned before use by simmering a chopped white onion and a head of garlic until almost dry.  The practical piece in the picture goes, with its cargo of pollo pibil marinated and wrapped in fresh banana leaves, straight into the oven until the meat is falling apart in the sauce.  Then, banana leaves removed and meat shredded into the sauce, it goes right onto a gas burner to simmer until the sauce has thickened for tasty pulled chicken pibil sandwiches… and the pot cleans up like nonstick!

We found Candelaria on the map, but the GPS had no idea where it was. Country roads around here have no names, and there are no directional signs.

On the Way up in Search of La Candelaria

So we drove out of Cabo San Lucas toward Totos Santos. About 15 km passed Cabos we started looking for a dirt road. We spotted one and turned off. There was even a local man we could ask if this was the way, and even if the sign says "no trespassing", could we still drive through? We got strange looks and two yes nods.

This Rattler did not Make it

After about 15 minutes we arrived at the city dump! Again, a nice attendant confirmed in Spanish that Candelaria was in this direction. We understood to drive 7km on this road, then at the T, turn left, drive about 10km through 2 rivers and over 3 mountains and then we would arrive.

The Riverbeds ( Arroyos ) were dry

Guess what? We did. The bumpy drive through the cacti and mesquite to this village was beautiful. The rivers were dry, and at one bridge repair our truck just fit by an inch on each side.

Road Repair

In Candelaria, surprising around the church there was concrete pavements for about 100 meters on each side. Amazing, it must have been poured all by hand, because no cement truck would make it up here. This small Rancho village has about 85 people living here and it has a nice elementary school and a church. Life up here seams to function like years ago. Quiet, no stores, no restaurants, just ranchers tending to their animals and raising some crops. 

La Candelaria: the Church, the school,and the ranch

We never found any traces of unglazed pottery. Too bad. The municipal building was under renovations. When we were there, the people must have been taking their siestas. The village looked deserted.

First Road Sign, Right here in the Village

We looked around, ate our lunch sandwiches, and drove the same country trail back down to the highway.

Beautiful Drive

No pottery, but we had a wonderful drive into the Sierra La Laguna.

Whales Spouting Along the Pacific

On the way home along the Pacific Ocean we spotted some whales spouting along the shores.

For more pictures of this day trip, please click here

Baja Bound, Part 23. East Cape, Baja Sur

From San José del Cabo along the East Cape to Los Barriles and El Cardonal

November 11th and 12th 2013 we were ready again to travel on a sandy and dusty road. It is about 80 km from San José to Los Barriles along the coastal road ( El Camino Rural Costero ) of the East Cape. It took us all day admiring the grand vistas over the sandy beaches and the Sea of Cortez and enduring the very bumpy and narrow trail. The Mexican government planned several times to pave it. I hope they never do.

Along the East Cape

This is the least developed part of the Cape. Interesting, this was the area first visited by tourists, the fly-in Hollywood celebrities like John Wayne, Errol Flynn and Bing Crosby flew into Rancho Buena Vista just south of Los Barriles.

La Paryita 

Puerto Los Cabos

 We drove from San José north. La Paryita, the old fishing village is still there, but the mega project Puerto Los Cabos is sprawling over this area, and  encroaches on San José's nature sanctuary. Here they built a US $ 50 million marina, some golf courses, and luxury accommodations. Sad, but the marina is hardly used, and some of the condo developments have stalled. The views from these places is wonderful.

Camino Rural Costero - The East Cape Road

As soon we were passed the developments, the pavement ended, and the road was mostly very poor, washed out, with soft sand and very narrow stretches. We enjoyed glorious sunshine and Anders loved to drive on this remote road.

For Sale

We took it easy, stopped at view points and wonderful beaches. We passed many luxury homes, a lot of them for sale or abandoned, due to the North American economy and some land disputes with the locals along the East Cape.

Crossroads Hotel and Restaurant

We stopped at the Crossroads for a light lunch. What a beautiful spot for a restaurant and hotel.

Los Frailes, Cabo Pulmo National Park

Cabo Pulmo National Park with its gorgeous undisturbed beaches from Los Frailes to Playa Miamar are unique. Snorkeling and scuba diving must be amazing around the corral reef. 

All along this Cape drive there is open range, so cattle walk freely on the road. Horses and donkeys  preferred the beaches.

We drove all the way to Los Barriles and stayed there at Martin Verdugos Beach Resort. Great place to stay if you are a fisherman. They have a RV Park and a motel. The views from our room was wonderful. We went for a long walk in the morning along the beach.

Martin Verdugo's Beach Resort

Next day we continues north along the beaches to El Cardonal. More great beaches and Gringo waterfront developments. Punta Pescadoro Paradise has its own airstrip.

El Cardonal is a sleepy little village. We took the paved road back through the mountains to Los Barriles. We picked up some coffees and goodies and decided to drive back to San José over El Triunfo and Totos Santos all on paved roads and even some freeways.

Looking back to the East Cape

For more pictures of the East Cape, click on our Web Album