Day 137 to 141
| November 20th to the 24th, 2007 |
From San Felipe on the way to Bahia de Los Angeles.
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Everything's street legal in Mexico. (Well, the buggy is, the lady driving
the buggy, not sure...) |
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Everything's street legal in Mexico. |
Leaving San Felipe, we have mixed emotions. Glad to hit the road again but, kinda
worried a little bit. for the first time, we'll be alone in Mexico. We have no idea what
the places we're going to look like, and we keep hearing all kinds of horror stories
related to tourists.
- We should never camp in an isolated place (which we love to do...). Tourists got robbed,
wives raped...
- People had all their belongings (in their car) stolen while they were in a restaurant or
in a store...
- Get the idea? Very reassuring...
On the other hand, good news! We'll be able to ride the beach all the way to
Puertocitos. 50 miles approx.!
Bad timing! It's been nice and hot ever since we got to San Felipe and, now that we hit
the road again, the Santa-Anna winds are picking up. It should be windy for 3 to 4 days,
practically non-stop...That also comes with clouds and cooler air...
Heading south!
Who said Baja did'nt have a lot of road signs?
The following day, in Puertocitos, the wind already died down! It's a super nice day!
The village, although easy to reach via the paved road, looks kind of remote. Electricity
,in town, is supplied via a generator that shuts off at 10:00pm. Typical!
Here's THE gas station in Puertocitos.
They sell gas by the 20 liters only. At $1.00 US/lt, it's the same as in Québec!
Oh! Of course, there's also the brand new Pemex here but, although it was built 2 years
ago, it's still waiting for it's first gas delivery...
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The public restrooms... |
| ...And the aeropuerto internationale of Puertocitos! |
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Habla espagnol?
At the campground:
Marc:" Bonjour,HI! Hola!"
The guy:" Hola!"
M:" Euh..Acampar..Euh, una noche?"
The guy:"Si."
M:" Cuanto?"
The guy:" Baarrrrramblarrrrnisssstomaaarrrmanblarrrrr?"
M:" Euh...Perdone?"
The guy:" Baarrrrramblarrrrnisssstomaaarrrmanblarrrr?"
France: "I think he's asking what kind of RV we have..."
M: "Ah!...Una...tenta? Una...Aaahhh shit, how do you say "tent" in
Spanish???"
The guy:" Baarrrrramblarrrrnisssstomaaarrrmanblarrrr?"
M:" Si, si...euh una...(signs with both hands, a triangle, someone slipping under
the triangle, someone sleeping...) tenta, tenta!!
The guy:" AAHH! Si Si! $20 US."
M:" $Veinte US! Tabarnacos! No Cheapo!"
The guy:" ....."
M:" Euh...electricitade?, power?"
The guy:" ...."
M:" Électricité, power, juice..."
The guy:" AAhh!! Si! Si! Juice! Juice!"
M:" Si! Juice!
The guy:" No No, no juice."
M:" Oh...Well, no juice...Euh...agua, euh...showers?"
The guy:" No, no agua..."
M:" Wow!... Great!...Euh...Bagnos, maybe?"
The guy:" Si! Si! Bagnos! (He points to a half demolished out house with no roof,
door or seat.)
M:"...."
At the restaurant:
M:" Una cervesa muy frio por favor segnor! Eh! Eh! I'm getting better at
this!"
F:" Do you understand anything on the menu??"
M:" Euh...Not really..."
F, to the waitress:" Euh...Quesa this?"
The waitress:" Baarrrrramblarrrrnisssstomaaarrrmanblarrrr.
F:" Ah! OK...Esta hot?...Picante?
The waitress:" Une poco..."
F:" I'll take this! Me comer se, por favor."
M, to France:" How do you say "same thing", in Spanish?"
F:" Euh...Dos???..."
M:" AH! Dos! Dos!"
When the meal arrives:
F:" I don't know what it is but it looks delicious!"
M, after tasting it:" Simonac! It's hot! It's muy picante! I'm
burning! Quick! My cervesa!!"
We stop just south of Puertocitos, at campo Castillo, where Todd Higgins, who we
happened to meet in town, recommended we should camp.
Todd and the whole Higgins family from San diego, invite us for dinner that evening.
It's Sues' birthday (Todds Mom). Deron (Todds brother) cooks hamburgers for everybody!
They're pretty curious to hear our story. We thank them ever so much for inviting us and
for sharing their dinner with us!
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Part of the Higgins family.
Thanks for everything guys! |
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Daybreak at the campo.
The nice weather is back...
...But so is the wind...
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Here's the water delivery truck that brings the precious (non_potable)
water to the campo. Everything is street legal in Mexico! |
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We decided to stay one more day near Puertocitos to enjoy the
hot springs on the beach. They're a big tourist attraction. After paying our $10.00 US and
staying about 20 minutes, we re-classified them as a big "tourist trap"... |
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Yeah ! Riding 50 miles on the
beach !
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Enjoying the ride along the sea of Cortez. |
| Bof... |
We missed Coco.  |
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Heading south, some more...
From this point, we won't be able to follow the beach anymore, simply because there is
no more beach! The barren mountains of rocks end abruptly in the Sea of Cortez.
Did you note that there are absolutely no guide rails?
One must be careful or else...click
here...
This is one of the good secondary roads of Baja...
Typical Baja road signs. This means: Caution! Dips!
Baja.
Our quads are definitely the ideal machines to drive/ride here.
Polaris
Industries - Canada
Polaris Industries - USA
What a strange natural phenomenone. A white rock, standing alone between all the other
brownish, blackish rock. Wonder why it's white? Here's a hint: It's called "Birdpoop
rock"...
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For sale: Ford Explorer '98. Ex-4X4, never driven off road. Needs a couple
of adjustments. Ideal as a fixer uper. |
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1-800-goRVing. |
Here we are at Bahia San Luis Gonzaga.
An absolute must here: You have to go eat at Alphonsina's!
Two reasons:
- First:The food is excellent!
- Second: It's the only restaurant in town!
Gonzaga Bay, as it's called.
With only about 20 seasonal houses, there are two landing strips here!
It's most definitely the ultimate way to get down here...
The Gonzaga Bay mini-market...
...Offers a shower service where, for $30 pesos ($3.00 US), you can take a...cold
shower...of course...Note that, for the price, you also have access to the gymn...Click here to see the equipment.
The mini-market also offers another service:
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The Baja edition of the portable johnny's. Yeah, but, where does the stuff
go?? |
Our campsite on the bay
Say Hi! to Jean-Mark (in red), his wife and friends (from San diego) who we met on the
trail and again at Alphonsina's.
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Minnie's getting bigger by the minute! |
We are getting near a legendary place in Baja...
...Coco's Corner!
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Here's the legendary Coco! Very well know figure here, Coco
built himself a corner and a reputation from scratch. |
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Coco collects Stickers... |
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...Hats... |
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...and underwares... |
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...preferably feminine...! |
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Coco has a color TV! |
What a shame! We have to leave Coco's corner without having the priviledge of having
our picture taken with him...The single legged legend is in the hospital...Seems his other
leg is giving him troubles...Lets hope it turns out OK.
And I thought WE were carrying too much stuff...
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Quite a kit! |
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Only in Baja! |
OK, back to the desert, between Coco's corner and Bahia de Los Angeles.
Pretty remote, is'nt it? Note what you see is a secondary road, not a trail...Very
secondary...
Without really noticing it, we end-up at the bottom of a canyon where some water flows
year round...The Baja 1000 came this way. It might explain the shape the "road "
is in.
"Think you better put it in 4X4, Hon."
Where there's water, there's a palm tree! It's so nice that we decide to set-up camp
here for the night. Our first night alone in an isolated place in Mexico! It should be
pretty safe since nobody hardly ever comes this way. We also find a spot far enough from
the road so, even if there was somebody coming, they could'nt see us. Here at least, we'll
be out of the wind!
| For sale: For collectors only! Very rare, convertible VW bus. Originaly
from california, needs new tires... |
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OK Now, we take so many pictures that we can't remember where this one was taken...It's
pretty anyway...
The scenery is constantly changing. We discover new (to us...) varieties of cacti.
A little lunch break. You'd think we're in the middle of a landscaped back yard! Very
few people see this side of Baja, it's the beauty of off-roading.
Back in the saddle after a quick lunch. There's only about 5 miles of
trail left before we hit the paved raod that will bring us to Bahia de L.A.
The trail is kinda rough with big bumps swinging the trailer left and
right when, all of a sudden...
BANG!!
OH! SHIT! The TENT!!
...T.B.C...
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