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Old 03-01-2016, 09:28 AM   #41
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Great adventure, Ron. Glad ur having such a good trip
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Old 03-01-2016, 03:23 PM   #42
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someday i want to go there with my trailer for a month or so... when i retire!
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Old 03-01-2016, 09:38 PM   #43
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So many people down here who have retired and stay a lot longer than a month or two, some come down before Xmas and stay several months.

Up the interior today on the alto plano, if I remember the correct name for high plain. Sort of like the Top of the World highway. The road is the ridge and the land drops off on both sides. Quite spectacular if you can ignore the fact that there isn't an inch of shoulder on the road. Pavement ends, drop off begins. You sort of get used to it. Roads in Northern Baja aren't as good as those in the South. Potholes and broken sections but nothing that did any damage.

Caught up to a caravan of about 10 Managed to pass several but then resigned myself to the fact that I'd never get past all of them. Then they stopped for lunch.

Tomorrow its up through Ensenada and then inland towards Tecate. We''ll stop at the School for the Deaf and cross into the US first thing the next day.


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Old 03-02-2016, 08:28 AM   #44
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Ron, This is great fun following your wonderful adventure, and you may have mentioned it, but what are you doing for drinking water? I imagine ou are using your filter and maybe a purifier. Any issues?
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Old 03-02-2016, 09:30 AM   #45
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Water hasn't been an issue. Water has been good. Just put in the tank and used it to brush teeth with no problems. We use purified water, readily available, for drinking.

On the beach a guy drops off a 45 gallon plastic barrel and fills it for about $5 US.
Good water also.

OK, enough early morning fooling about, time to be on the road again.

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Old 03-02-2016, 10:35 AM   #46
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Good News! Have another good day.
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Old 03-08-2016, 11:31 AM   #47
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OK, made it back home and escaped the horrible weather system in CA. The Baja trip was a huge success without any problems at all. The biggest, most unfortunate incident occurred at the US border and I'll do a separate post on that. It'll be titled something like "Food border crossing woes".

I'll post a small selection of photos in 4 separate posts.

On the way down, each of the first two nights, we met other Escapes also heading South. At this point we were still a bit unsure if we might be making a big mistake going to Baja so it was nice to meet others heading there and who had already been there previously.

Into Mexico, no issues and Mexican drivers are probably better, on average, than LA drivers. Central Baja was warm and sunny and has quite spectacular
scenery.

Further South you come to the border between North and South Baja. Not a biggie. In between there are random military check points, mostly stop and go for tourists, again, no biggie.
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2 Escapes in OR going South_resize.jpg   2 Escapes in WA going South_resize.jpg   Central Baja_resize.jpg   Border between North and South Baja_resize.jpg  
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Old 03-08-2016, 11:41 AM   #48
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Near Guerrero Negro there are the lagoons where the whales raise there young. You can take tours there, and most do, or you can drive out, through giant salt flats, park on the beach overnight and buy your boat ticket there. No kayaks allowed, not that, after being up close and personal with the whales, I'd want to take a kayak anywhere near them.

I have to admit the whale experience was much more than I expected and M. was thrilled.
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Old 03-08-2016, 11:53 AM   #49
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Down the Sea of Cortez there are countless bays, some popular for wintering and some popular for wind surfing etc. There's lots of variety and experienced Baja visitors have their own favorites.

Most beaches operate on a commissionaire system. Someone "runs" the beach. There are outhouses and garbage collection provided and the cost is about $5 US a day. The water drum and 45 gallons of fresh water is provided for $5 US. So, once you're set-up there's no need to move until you're ready to depart.

Loved Coyote Beach and if we go back it'll probably be our #1 spot although there are a couple of other spots we'll also try out. Don't know if we'll go back, that's not our normal travelling style. We usually see a place and move on to something new, and it's a big world. Still, though, it's so fantastic we might just break our own rule.

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Another popular beach area_resize.jpg   45 gallons barrel of water_resize.jpg   Camping on the beach_resize.jpg   Living is easy_resize.jpg  
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Old 03-08-2016, 11:58 AM   #50
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Beautiful, just beautiful......
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Old 03-08-2016, 12:05 PM   #51
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That's an awesome spot, Ron.
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Old 03-08-2016, 12:09 PM   #52
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The real bonus on this trip was discovering that a young whale shark had spent the winter in Coyote Bay instead of moving up the coast with others. Every day we'd go out and swim, kayak or paddle board along with her. A real bonus because a couple of years ago M. was considering a side trip up the Western coast of Australia just to see a whale shark. Won't have to do that anytime soon.

The only negative was that a couple of RVers had drones and they were buzzing overhead completely destroying the tranquillity of the situation. Too lazy to get off their butts and paddle out like others But, hey, I'm a friendly guy, I waved at them. OK, OK, maybe all my fingers weren't completely visible.

There's been previous discussions about the need to carry two spares. Here's a different take. This guy, with a tandem axle, thought he heard a sound but his wife didn't so he kept going. Not as crazy as it seems because sometimes you have to go for miles and miles before you can find a place to get off the traveled part of the road. The concept of a shoulder or smooth transition from the traveled part of the road off to the side hasn't taken hold here. By the time he pulled over the steel cords from the shredded tire had lashed and damaged the tire behind it. So he ended up with two damaged tires and using both his spares. An extreme example maybe, but food for though if you're traveling off the beaten path.

Ron
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Baby whale shark_resize.jpg   Coyote Beach from Coyote Island_resize.jpg   Typical road edge_resize.jpg   Two spare of not two spare_resize.jpg  
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Old 03-08-2016, 12:54 PM   #53
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Wow!! Great story and great pics. Thank you so much for sharing your experience.
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Old 03-08-2016, 01:29 PM   #54
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You have me drooling Ron, thanks for sharing. Would love to see more.
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Old 03-08-2016, 01:40 PM   #55
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Baja

What a great trip report and pictures. I've often wondered what it would be like to drag a trailer down the Baja peninsula. I was in a bike race in 1980 from Tijuana to La Paz, and the road was no great shakes back then when it was relatively new. Glad to hear that it is still in fairly decent condition. The places that stuck in my memory were Mulege, Loreto and La Paz. No chance to visit beaches unfortunately.
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Old 03-08-2016, 01:49 PM   #56
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I look at those Baja pix and wonder how you will cope with the forecast two weeks of rain here in North Van.
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Old 03-08-2016, 02:22 PM   #57
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hughharden View Post
I was in a bike race in 1980 from Tijuana to La Paz, and the road was no great shakes back then when it was relatively new. Glad to hear that it is still in fairly decent condition.
Strange, I don't recall using the term fairly decent condition. They currently cover the range from pretty darn good to OMG. There are stretches where the pot holes and broken asphalt make you cringe. Not a huge percentage but enough to get on your nerves because they sometimes appear without warning.

Roads in the Baja South are generally much better than those in the North. The good news is that there is only 22 km left to pave on the road from Mexicali down the East coast to join up with Highway 1 half way down. That eliminates the worst roads.

One of the strangest things is the speed limit. Some of the best open road sections have a limit of 60 kph Makes no sense at all but when you're a sitting duck in a foreign country you do try and drive the posted limit no matter how illogical it is. Other sections, sometimes not as good, have speed limits of 100 kph.

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Old 03-08-2016, 02:24 PM   #58
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gbaglo View Post
I look at those Baja pix and wonder how you will cope with the forecast two weeks of rain here in North Van.
Driving through California the last few days prepped us for the local weather. Man, did they get hammered. We couldn't sleep one night because of the torrential rain pounding on the roof.

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Old 03-08-2016, 05:57 PM   #59
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Beautiful, spectacular and I'm extremely jealous! Thanks so much for posting the pictures. Looks absolutely fabulous
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Old 03-08-2016, 08:46 PM   #60
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Looks fabulous. Gorgeous place.
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