(Others may visit and have different results.
)I am glad that I went. I learned a lot. The beaches we visited were nice…like the pictures we posted. But I also didn’t take many pictures of the “less” special stuff. Some have asked and for those that are wondering, I headed back out of Baja about when I expected to. Liz and I had talked earlier in the fall about how long we thought we wanted to stay in Baja and we both had agreed that though we wanted to see the Baja peninsula that there were so many places in the southwest that neither of us had seen, we each wanted so time this winter to explore more of the southwest USA.
I met some wonderful people. As we traveled in Baja (Carol will have to share her experiences on the mainland) there seemed to be an immediate connection to other foreign English-speaking travelers. In almost ever stop, there are folks that will share their assistance, their campfires, their stories, recommendations and experiences. Mitch and I both shared our kayaks with folks that started out being strangers. Mitch had folks offering help for her noisy trailer hitch. You find out about beaches and places you might not have considered driving to. You find out about places you might not want to drive to….
For whatever reason, other travelers just seemed more open to sharing their recommendations, knowledge of areas and helpfulness. I never felt scared for my safety. I think I met 9 Canadians (and a few Europeans) for every 1 American. One of the Europeans Mitch and I met in Potrero County Park, after we had crossed back over the border and they were waiting to cross heading south, commented that they have seen fewer and fewer Americans over the past years but that they felt that Canadians don’t get the same “scare” factor from their media. There were other women traveling solo and in small groups.
I don’t plan to go back again. If I had done more of my own research on Baja I may have had a better idea of where I was going. Then again I might not have gone. Then again I might have just headed over to visit Carol and Bill on the mainland to begin with. If I head back to Mexico, I will go to the mainland. (Thank you, Carol for sharing all those pictures and stories….) Baja is not the mainland.
Carol has described the Mainland as being more “civilized.” One of the Canadians we met described Baja as more “rustic.” Remember all those pictures of quaint Mexican villages and streets that Carol posts? You will not find that many in Baja. Once you get past Ensenada, the peninsula is just not that populated. And I was not interested Most of the peninsula is mountain and desert with a few small fishing villages and miles and miles of a two-lane road and few services. The mountains are majestic but then what? There is only one main road down with even smaller roads heading out to other small villages. Most of the highways and beaches are only recommended for 4-wheel drive or off road vehicles. There are not a lot of choices of where to go and where to stay. And many of those listed in Church’s book were not so special.
There really are not many beaches that are accessible without high clearance vehicles or 4-wheel drive. And many of the beautiful beaches you saw in the photographs were changeable from day to day. The pictures don’t capture the winds that were not always there..... but were there most of the time. Observing many of the other tourist/visitors and their rigs I think it helps if you like wind surfing (in that case the wind is a benefit) and or you like to fish. Baja is known for its good fishing.
Be prepared to boondock. There were a couple of beaches that were nice. Several of the campgrounds listed in Church’s book made the boondocking pull offs Nan and I stayed in in Alaska look really good. Even in “campgrounds” electric is often sketchy and ask Liz what she learned about trusting the sewer systems. The two campgrounds in Loreto were the only ones that really felt like full hook up campgrounds with laundry, etc. “Rustic” is neither good nor bad but looking at the pretty pictures we didn’t always share that part….
All four of us ate our several times and Mitch and I often added extra dining out adventures as our part to stimulate the economy. Over all I was not impressed by the restaurants and the food. Sometimes looking around the restaurant I would wonder about the quality and freshness of the foods when many locations had few customers. Baja is struggling.
The folks that Mitch and I met in Bay of LA had been coming down to Mexico for over 20 years. We met many, many folks like that. They return each year either for economic reasons (it is warm and cheep) or because they really like the desolation/isolation…or is that destination? Several people talked about how much the road has been improved in the last ten years. You can witness the road improvement that have been done and are still being completed. You can say quiet thank you’s or shout Hallelujah to a friend over the two way radio when you find a stretch that is smooth and actually has a shoulder. Driving behind Liz’s 8.5 ft wide rig, I can attest that the margin of error for meeting a large semi or Mexican bus on a road with nine foot lanes and no shoulder is not very big. The driving circumstances would not be for everyone or for everyone’s rig.
Carol has shared that the villages that she and Bill visit are most often clean and neat even if when the roads are dirt and dust. Clean is not what I observed most often in Baja. Litter and trash were spread along many of the roads. Few of their highways get adopted by the Girl Scout Troop or Neighborhood Dental clinic. When you did find a wide space to pull off that didn’t have a deep drop off and tried for a potty stop for people and/or dogs, I said prayers for the tires. Broken glass and trash were along most of the highways. The few smaller towns we drove through appeared tired, economically depressed, full of more than their share of trash. I kept remembering some of the sights in Alaska were it appeared that folks just left everything sitting around yards because there were really no dumps and yards were covered with snow most of the year anyway….. It was like that only worse and there was no hope of snow.
Many of the folks that come down year after year have over the years visited different areas and have picked their location where they then return for a month or months at a time. For some it is a time for fishing or their artwork or reading.
There are still so many places I want to explore and visit that I am not ready for that sort of traveling or in this case “not” traveling.
So….I apologize for all the wordiness but I wanted to put all my pretty blog pictures in perspective.
Going to the mainland requires getting a certificate for your vehicle that cost extra $$. This certificate is not required for Baja making a Baja trip a little less expensive. If you are thinking of visiting Mexico don’t let that cost be the factor that deters you from mainland travel. One of the Canadian women we met that has a condo on the mainland said that the insurance might be a little different, too. The mainland does have both small quiet villages and four lane highways that get you through the non-populated areas faster and smoother. It has beaches. It has a wider variety of places and birds and animals. I think I would enjoy the diversity of climate and of the land on the mainland.
My suggest folks read/follow Carol’s blog, do your research and head to the mainland if you want to visit Mexico.
thanks for the honest insight and now you can say "been there, done that"
I had studied the map and wondered what you might find interesting on Baja. Liz, has written some interesting blogs, but she is a teacher and sees history and interest in so much. The one I enjoyed the most was the paintings in the Caves, BUT I could not hike that distance to see, so really appreciated her blog on this area. I enjoyed all of the blogs on this trip, but found nothing in any of them, that I found so appealing that I wish I was there, sorry !!!! Your post just confirmed what I already felt, Tina, appreciate you being so honest. If I ever went to Mexico it would be the mainland too, the color and the people that Carol writes of, sound like it would be a nice trip.
and The William too!
