Bye Bye Baja

It was almost dusk when we crossed the border at Tecate. We drove east on Hwy 94, then took Church Road to the Golden Acorn Casino off of I-8. After eating dinner in the casino, we spent the night in the back of their parking lot.

This morning, we said our goodbyes early and the other three women headed for Arizona and I back-tracked to a campground near San Diego.

La Bufadora

La Bufadora blow hole was our last stop in Baja. Waves rushing into an underground cavern force spumes as high as 80-100 feet up through a hole in the top of the cavern. This is a very popular tourist spot and we felt a bit of culture shock when we first encountered the crowds. The road leading from the parking area to La Bufadora was lined with vendors. Several of them were giving samples of churros and I accepted every offer.



On the way back we stopped at a place selling fish tacos, and again... very delicious and only $1 apiece.

~~~~~~ La Bufadora postcard ~~~~~~

Punta San Jacinto

This is a popular surfing location NW of Camalu. There are several permanent trailers and small cottages owned by surfers, though the place was not very inhabited at this time.

Just offshore is the rusted-out wreck of a big freighter. It's a great hangout for the birds.

We drove to the north end of the rocky beach near a fire pit and enjoyed the warmth of our campfire tonight.

Wet Buzzard

We stopped at Gypsy's Beach Camp near Camalu, thinking that's where we would spend the night. We didn't care for the ambience though - just a big fenced dirt parking lot and too far from the beach. However... the restaurant, Laura's Zopilote Mojado (Wet Buzzard), served delicious fish tacos for $1 each. We ate a few for lunch then ordered more to go so we could have them for dinner.

Catavina

We arrived at Rancho Santa Inez in Catavina late yesterday afternoon and, after eating in the small restaurant there, we enjoyed sitting around our campfire.


This morning Kai, Toni and I got up early to hike in the desert for awhile. The morning light was lovely on that grand scene of boulders and cacti.

Toni and Kai are dwarfed by this big cardon.

Laguna Manuela

We left Santispac by 9:00 and stopped in Mulege to fill up our tanks and jugs with purified water before heading north. We've been using walkie talkie radios to communicate between our three rigs while driving. It's especially handy for calling out to the lead car "Need a pee break... pull over when you can".



Toni only has a 13 gallon gas tank, so sometimes she has to add fuel from one of her gas cans.

After stopping in Guerrero Negro for groceries, we drove north to Villa Jesus Maria. From there we headed west on a washboard road for several miles until we arrived at Laguna Manuela. We didn't venture too far out on the beach because Toni immediately got stuck in the sand. She was prepared though; she had brought 4 or 5 foot lengths of textured plastic runner which she placed behind the rear tires and she was able to back out.

Looking down the beach we noticed hundreds of gulls circling and saw a fish camp there. We walked down the beach and watched the men gut the fish and throw them in the back of their pickups. The sight of all those gulls circling over them was awesome and we later kicked ourselves for not having brought a camera along. There was also a pod of large dolphins swimming offshore.

Breaking Camp

Today was our last full day at Bahia Concepcion. We spent much of it packing up, taking down the Tibetan prayer flags and other camp decor, and loading kayaks. It's been a mahh-velous 2 weeks here. No cooking tonight... we went to Ray's for another delicious calamari steak dinner. We will cross the border by October 30th because Kai needs to get back to Arizona to pack up for a diving trip - to Belize, I think.

Attack of the Jejenes

Jejenes is Spanish for no-see-ums. There must have been a new hatch in the mangroves because over the past week I've been bitten at least 50 times on each arm and leg. Truth.

They come out in the late afternoon and evenings if there isn't a breeze. It's not as bad in my screen room but they eventually find their way in. We learned to put on long sleeves, pants and socks before dinner if there isn't a breeze. We talked to someone who used to camp here, but started staying elsewhere because of the jejenes. It's the mangroves on the lagoon I think. It's probably not a problem on the other side of Santispac.
There's usually more of a breeze by the water - keeps the jejenes inactive while we eat.

Creatures of the Back Lagoon

There is a small lagoon behind our camp and the entrance is right next to our row of palapas. At low tide it's possible to walk back on the sand spit, though it's easier to explore by kayak at high tide. Donna and Toni found the hot spring back there but said it's pretty muddy and not very appealing.

There are four different types of herons that live in the lagoon. The Great Blue hangs out and fishes at the back, though once I saw him perched on top of our kitchen palapa. The Black Crowned Night Heron (or was it the Yellow Crowned?...hmm) comes at dusk to stand in the shallow lagoon entrance to fish.

There are about 6 or 8 Green Herons that fly out of the mangroves at dusk. Before taking flight, they squawk an explosive sharp 'skeew' that reminds me of Jurassic Park. Remember the flying flesh-eaters (can't recall their proper name) that eerily called out from the jungle?