Off road to Cabo San Lucas... *Trip Completed*

durangotang · **Posted:** Sat Mar 06, 2010 8:41 pm

Days 5 and 6- Gonzaga Bay

After a great dinner and good night's sleep... I woke up to see exactly where I was. Wow...

In contrast to the tidal flats of San Felipe, Gonzaga is full of rocky tide pools to explore. All of them are full of hermit crabs, starfish, and sea slugs. This guy was grouchy:

This was the only time on the entire trip that we were somewhere COMPLETELY silent. I only heard the pangas go out at around 0500 and come back around 2000. Someone said they got into a school of tuna somewhere off of one the islands in Gonzaga Bay.

I was more interested in some chorizo eggs to get my day started though.

The family that runs this campground and community are some great people... they will open the kitchen for you whenever you like and make some of the best homemade food we had the entire time. I didn't cook once while we were there... the food was too good.

I had to stay there for 2 days in order to make some trailer repairs on the beach... hmmmm.... doesn't look so good.... one hub got replaced and several broken bolts and brackets got repaired. An Icelandic couple (travelling with their 10 dogs!) who shared the beach with us saved the day when they let me use their generator to run a sawzall and electric drill. One of the residents of Papa Fernandez also offered his power tools and welder if needed... people here are some of the most generous I've met.

FYI: the threads that make up duct tape work wonderfully as loctite!

The trailer got fixed... time to kick back...

My dinner on the second night...

...and this is Foxie... the friendliest of the Icelandic Dogs she came to visit us a lot...

Time to get some sleep and hit the road!!

Fulltimer · **Posted:** Sat Mar 06, 2010 9:09 pm

Wonderful! :pepper:

Terry

durangotang · **Posted:** Sat Mar 06, 2010 9:19 pm

Day 7- Coco's Corner and Mex 1 to Guerrero Negro

We left Papa Fernandez early in the morning and took off into the dirt down Mex 5.

Stopped by the Alfonsina's area to check things out.

On the way to Coco's Corner I finally got to do something I've always wanted to do.... drive the Baja 1000 race course....

We spent about an hour talking with Coco and having a Coke... then he had to get back to getting his can decorations ready for the race. This AMC Eagle of his is awesome...

The lounge...

Speaks for itself...

Then we signed the guestbook and hit the road...

Some nice scenery on the way to Chapala from Coco's...

We finally arrived at Guerrero Negro after a long day of driving and arrived at Mario's Campground... it was packed...

The food there costs a little more... but is delicious... I gave the seafood soup a go... and tried a margarita or two

Diggerfreek · **Posted:** Sat Mar 06, 2010 9:34 pm

The sea food soup looks mighty interesting :BANANA:

kskj · **Posted:** Sat Mar 06, 2010 10:42 pm

I'm not sure I could do the seafood soup. :lol:

Is that squid?

durangotang · **Posted:** Sat Mar 06, 2010 10:53 pm

kskj wrote:

I'm not sure I could do the seafood soup. :lol:

Is that squid?

Lobster, shrimp, fish, scallops, clams, and octopus... is was pretty good... although too much of a jumble of flavors for me...

durangotang · **Posted:** Sun Mar 07, 2010 1:54 am

Day 8- Whales

Our second day at Mario's... had to stay in order to go see the whales...

Woke up to a new sight... condensation... and lots of it... not too fun for a canvas tent

Early that morning we loaded onto a bus with another couple from California and headed out to the bay to see the calving whales...

Sea Lions on the way out...

Guerrero Negro is the only place I've seen where sand dunes come straight out of the ocean.

Baby whale coming to check things out...

...and there were plenty of them... everywhere!

After a long day on the water we headed back to Mario's for some dinner... they were already preparing the meat for the evening...

The awesome people at Mario's...

Things also took an unexpected turn this day... the group disbanded and our companions decided to head back north to the U.S. That changed things quite a bit for us... couldn't quite take the same chances off road anymore... but the journey went on...

durangotang · **Posted:** Sun Mar 07, 2010 2:09 am

Day 9- Flying Solo to Bahia Concepcion

After breakfast at Mario's... we hit the road for Bahia Concepcion... we had run into a caravan from Vagubundos Del Mar and they were really helpful with recommending places to camp and what to expect...

On the road again...

A giant bag of dates seemed like a good thing to have... about $2 per bag...

The road to Mulege (Moo-le-hay)

Entrance to the town of Mulege...

The guard chicken of Santispac Lagoon... awesome place to stay...

Some views from camp...

Little did we know, the restaurant at Santispac "Ana's" gets quite crazy on Saturday nights. I'm pretty sure we were the only people there not eligible for AARP but it was a rocking little party.

This is Bob, the DJ.... awesome guy

So after far too much Tequila, I stumbled back to the campsite and proceeded to fall off of the tent ladder... twice... eventually I made it though...

durangotang · **Posted:** Sun Mar 07, 2010 2:23 am

Day 10- Stopover in Ciudad Constitucion... and the first hot shower

On the southbound road again... had to stop and check out the coast before we headed inland

Oops... this is what happens when a Pemex employee tries to "top off" the Jeep. I get a nice scare...

Our destination for the day was Palapa 206 in Ciudad Consticucion. The town isn't really anything special, but they have a big grocery store and lots of places to restock. The couple that owns Palapa 206 are great and their son (8 or so) is very eager to help with anything you need. They also have a propane water heater!!!

Only downside are the roosters... they seem to think it's always morning...

This is their dog, Archie... he was hilarious... and tiny...

Didn't feel like going anywhere.. ham and cheese for dinner...

The owners had this very cool diesel mitsubishi truck... he said it uses the same engine as the Pajero...

After an awesome supply of unlimited hot water I was useless and laid in the tent... down here a hot shower becomes somethign to reflect on

durangotang · **Posted:** Sun Mar 07, 2010 2:38 am

Day 11- Cabo or bust...

Off we went... we had a long day ahead of us and had to navigate through La Paz and Los Cabos...

This is reason #1 why you don't drive here at night...

North of La Paz... stands like this are the places to eat... the best food comes from the little guys here...

My $2 lunch...

On through La Paz... no pics from in town... we were too busy trying to figure out how traffic works

CABO SAN LUCAS!!! a.k.a Gringoville.... it was an amazing culture shock after being in so many small towns. After walking through Cabo for an hour we had been offered Marijuana, Cocaine, Ecstacy, and various prescription drugs... it didn't take us long to get tired of the area....

How to not fit in: bring your RTT and Jeep to the Vagubundos Del Mar RV Park

The Vagubundos do have an awesome taco tray though!

durangotang · **Posted:** Sun Mar 07, 2010 2:57 am

Day 12- Cabo Pulmo

Started the day out with some espresso... after almost 2 weeks it was nice to not have camp coffee.

Then we had some unfinished business in Cabo San Lucas...

That's right... parasailing... booya

Can't beat the view from 600ft...

After that... we were out of there... after we stopped for burritos...

Destination: Cabo Pulmo. We wanted to do come snorkeling and people told us that Cabo Pulmo is the place to do it... we chose to go the long way down a very rough coastal road.

One downside was that the wind went crazy when we showed up... we had to park the Jeep back in an arroyo to get out of the wind.

Investigating some snorkeling spots... look at the big palm tree as a wind gauge...

This is the trail to an awesome snorkeling area... unfortunately the wind created some nasty conditions and we couldn't go.

Dinner for the evening... a seafood salad... not really sure if everything was cooked or not... oh well

With no snorkeling to be done and sand blowing everywhere, we decided to leave our south-facing beach for a north-facing one tomorrow.... back up to La Paz.

durangotang · **Posted:** Sun Mar 07, 2010 3:11 am

Day 13- Back to La Paz

We were supposed to spend this day snorkeling but we were off on the road again... off to Tecolote Beach, just north of La Paz.

Mission at Santa Rosalia on the way...

Stopped to check out some seafood... then felt too lazy to prepare anything...

Off to the beach...

Looks like a good enough spot...

Then I spent the rest of the day trying to catch grouper off of a rocky point... no luck...

So I resorted to eating fried octopus...

Playa Tecolote

Not bad for a free place to stay...

durangotang · **Posted:** Sun Mar 07, 2010 3:26 am

Day 14- Back to Santispac

After some discussion, we decided that we liked Bahia Concepcion and wanted to go back there for a few days... it was a decent day on the road but it's a gorgeous drive north from La Paz.

Lunch at another small stand... awesome Carne Asada

A ways from where we started...

Some areas look like Arizona Desert

Back to Bahia Concepcion...

Many people kept telling us that we should camp at this beach... only a Jeep (or something similar) can make it across the sand to the other side. The sand bridge is underwater at high tide and your camp is isolated across the water until the tide goes back out.

Our camp back at Santispac... there's a remote corner that the big RV's can't get to.

Only in Baja

durangotang · **Posted:** Sun Mar 07, 2010 3:38 am

Day 15- Fishing, Missions, and Mulege

This was a very laid back day to explore the town of Mulege, do some shopping, and be lazy in general...
Some buildings in Mulege...

The old mission overlooking town...

Not a bad view from the mission...

Then it was time for some afternoon snorkeling...

...and I was determined to actually catch a fish...

...and I did... the smallest fish in Baja

durangotang · **Posted:** Sun Mar 07, 2010 4:08 am

Day 16- Tecate, Scallops, Spearfishing, and Jellyfish

We came across an opportunity that we couldn't pass up... head out with a local guide for some lessons on how to catch the local seafood.... sweetness...

Started off the day with some freshly delivered tamales from Roberta (a local)... they were beyond good

We took off while I practiced posing for my Abercrombie spread...

Not bad to start the day... a big bag of ginormous clams.

...and an octopus... plus 6 fish for cooking... and 8 large scallops

We were being watched closely...

Daniel, our trusty guide. He only drinks Tecate Light because he says normal Tecate makes him too drunk to drive the boat

After we had our catch for the day (an I had been stung by a jellyfish)... Daniel took us to this isolated beach out on an island to cook what we caught.

The guy had come out here years ago and hollowed out these rocks for cooking... pretty sweet...

The goods...

The group... at left are the Canadians that were camped near us. Then is John from Colorado (solo dual sport rider). Then Nicole and Daniel.

We were all stuffed... so we sat around, drank Tecate, and relaxed...

I think we got our poses down on the trip back...

ATXKJ · **Posted:** Sun Mar 07, 2010 11:38 am

Wow - That looks like fun - neat story and some great photos.

kskj · **Posted:** Sun Mar 07, 2010 1:54 pm

Taylor and I have been siting here for the last half hour enjoying your trip report. Thanks for posting

IceColeNH · **Posted:** Sun Mar 07, 2010 2:10 pm

What an spectacular trip..
Some of us just live vicariously through others.

Thanks.

Diggerfreek · **Posted:** Mon Mar 08, 2010 1:06 am

Thanks for the full report Ben! :JEEPIN:

durangotang · **Posted:** Mon Mar 08, 2010 10:43 am

Oh there are a few more days coming... I just needed a break :5SHOTS:

Off road to Cabo San Lucas... Trip Completed

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