Baja, the Long Way

Day 30, 1/29/13
Los Barriles to Todos Santos


Enough with the rest day--what, you need a rest when you're on vacation? That's inconceivable.

Today we would make it to our farthest southern point of the ride, about 5 miles north of
San Jose del Cabo. We had toyed with the idea of going to lands end at Cabo San Lucas
but somehow fighting the traffic and the tourists and grifters just made it seem not worth-
while so we steered clear of it.





But first, the treat of the East Cape Road or Camino Cabo Este.





This is another road not to be missed, great fun on the sandy winding path that goes from
Los Barriles to San Jose del Cabo right along the edge of the Sea of Cortez (despite what my
map says).





We had a great ride through here turning west finally at the little settlement of Boce de la Vinorama
in order to avoid San Jose. Still dirt, we wound our way over some hills and then dropped
down into the arroyo of Rio San Jose, a dry river bed that is just east of Mex 1.

I was following the gps and it showed a HUGE river right in our path, I was prepared to
make a long detour to get around the "river" but when we arrived the road simply went
straight ahead through the sandy river bed and we climbed up the other side and up
onto the pavement of Mex 1.

From there we cruised north on 1 for about 10 miles and then exited west for more dirt and
another ridge crossing. This road was quite possibly the highlight of our trip.





The first part was fast, smooth and graded. We passed several road crews and even a
surveying crew. Clearly they are in the process of paving this. Eventually though, the
road splits and the part that we wanted--the ridge pass--reverted back to typical Baja
dirt.





Mostly two track, rocky, washed out and fun. We felt the tropical heat and humidity
and wondered if this was perhaps a taste of what Central America was like.





Very green, little streams and waterfalls up in the cañons, lots of goats being herded by dogs.

As we reached the summit--the mountain peaks to our south were over 5000 feet, the pass
was about 2600 feet--we had to stop and take in the view of the Pacific Ocean.






Just fantastic.





Our dirt road continued north, we could have taken it all the way to Todos Santos, but it
was getting late so we decided to head out to El Pescadero and rode the last 10 miles on
asphalt.

We pulled into the Pemex on the south side of Todos Santos and I had my first taste of "let's
cheat the gringo." The gas cost 110 pesos, I gave the attendant 150 pesos, and he gave me
8 pesos in change. I stood there waiting for the rest and he just walked away.
I had to follow him back to the other side of the station, explain what I was owed, and again
he just tried to ignore me.

Finally, I went through the whole transaction in Spanish, explained he owed me 40 pesos, and he
reluctantly went to the cash box and got my correct change. Unfortunately this happened 3 or 4 more
times over the rest of the trip, but never to my son. I'm guessing it's a game they try to play on us
old farts...oh well. Part of the problem I think is that the Pemex pumps compute the price to the
centavo, or 0.01 of a peso. Now 0.01 of a peso is roughly the equivalent of a tenth of a penny...no
one really bothers about a penny, much less a centavo. But when you fill the tank it often will show
a price of say $110.34 MXN.

The choice of what to do with that .34 of a peso seems to be up to the attendant.
Sometimes they'll round it off using normal rounding rules; sometimes they'll round it up only.
But I think this causes some confusion with us gringos, and unfortunately some of the attendants
try to take advantage of it. I mentioned this to our host that evening and he warned us to never
buy gas from that Pemex on the south side of town! He went there shortly after moving to Todos
Santos, filled up his 8 liter fuel can, and the gas pump showed 9.5 liters had been pumped. :ddog

This stuff happens in the US as well, but other than this all our encounters in Baja have been
so positive it took me by surprise.

I got ahead of myself a bit, mentioning our host for the evening...

Well, we filled up and cruised through Todos Santos looking for a motel or a place to camp. It is a nice
little town, absolutely teeming with tourists. Tourist traps are just not my thing. Everything was
either very expensive, or if we ventured off the main streets, a dive. No camping anywhere that we could see.
We rode through town and then up the dirt road that followed the coast and just couldn't seem to find anything
at all. One small hotel was full, but primarily the coast north of Todos Santos has been bought up
by real estate speculators, and is full of partially completed McVillas, begging for buyers.

Instead of getting discouraged though, by now we figured something good would turn up, it's just
a matter of finding it, like a treasure hunt. Sure enough, we found a treasure.

We'd ridden probably 5 miles north along the coast before turning back, and we figured
we'd just go back to Todos Santos and pay the price. But about 2 miles from town my son
spotted a small sign that indicated Skin Diving/Whale Watching/Bed & Breakfast --> This way.

Hmm. We turned down the road, found a fascinating house surrounded by a tall iron fence.
We circled around, couldn't tell if anyone was there or not. I pulled up to the gate and noticed a
wrought iron bell hanging next to the gate. So........I rang it. We'd found Iguana de los Mangos, one
of the coolest little places to stay in all of Baja California.





The owners have built an amazing place for themselves, and rent out the top floor with its own
exterior stair access.





The unit is fully equipped with dishes, microwave, coffee maker, refrigerator,
a barbecue, and the nicest, cleanest most comfortable place in all of Baja. We couldn't believe
our luck.





We had to share a bed, but we figured, hey ya gotta make some sacrifices on a trip like this.





They love iguanas.





There were incredible views from the rooftop deck.








And, you can even flush the tp IN the toilet. Woo-hoo!








The owners suggested places in Todos Santos to get a meal, but we'd had it with the town. Bryn
went to a nearby market, bought some frozen steaks, a can of Bush's baked beans, some potatos,
a bottle of tequila and a bottle of grapefruit soda. It was close to his birthday, so we called it his
birthday dinner. While I grilled the steaks on the barbecue, he made us margaritas with the tequila and
soda, we boiled the potatos and heated up the beans. As we sat down to eat he brought out one last
surprise--a bottle of Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon!





It was one of the best bottles of wine we'd ever had.



This was a feast.










We were beyond living like kings now.

Buen provecho !

That sweet road over to Todos is the Rancho Naranja Road.....

Yeah....Todos Santos used to be a nice little town

wow. now we know where to stay in todos. been there once 16 years ago, lots of artist living there thene. we love it. i knew that place will grow but hopefully in a nice way. from cabo san lucas, we took the public bus to get there.

thanks charles for the informative rr. this and the wan thousand are both great. yours is more laid back while the other is filled with thrills....hahaha

now i need 30 days before i can experience your adventure....

:dg

I don't want to give the wrong impression about Todos Santos. It's a great
place--good food, interesting buildings, good surf nearby, interesting art and
artists--did you notice the fascinating things the owners had put in and around
their house? I don't think my son would quite agree with my less than fond
recollections--we're tourists just like everyone else.

But it's being loved to death in some ways...maybe a little bit like Newport
Beach say, in a Baja way. There's a lot of cool things at Newport, but dang it
can get overwhelming sometimes...Todos is still a small town, and the people
there love it. But too much tourism can overwhelm a good place and
sometimes brings out the less...civilized side of people.

I'd certainly go back.

I get it, yeah, this is the boring one...









(dang, these things are addictive)

Yours is definitely not boring!!! It's the LONG way, but defitinitely not boring.

Thanks! I didn't want to fish for compliments, just trying to use a Wan-derful link I found...

Day 31, 1/30/13
Todos Santos to <s>Loreto</s> La Paz


We woke early and packed quickly, almost drooling in anticipation of our breakfast--Iguana de los Mangos
IS a b & B after all. Our spirits were dampened by the discovery that we'd left the DR650's gas valve open
during the night and at least a gallon of gas had drained out-----right onto the macadam drive and directly
at the base of their entry, where Lee and Brenda had graciously allowed us to leave our bikes the night before.


The carb float had been sticking for the last couple of weeks. It wasn't a problem as long as we remembered to
simply close the gas valve at the end of the ride. I had thought of pulling the carb and cleaning the float valve,
but it seemed to be a case of leave well enough alone--who knew what other issues could arise opening up the
carb on the road. The bike was running fine and we were pretty good at remembering, but in our astonishment
at finding this place we simply forgot. The odor of gasoline was wafting all through the air, and into their house,
thanks to the winds that had picked up overnight...


Our hosts let on that it didn't bother them in the slightest, but we felt like a couple of bumpkins who'd spoiled
their paradise.


Breakfast was delicious; egg and bacon burritos, fresh fruit, freshly brewed coffee with cream and sugar, and a
selection of British teas that had Bryn oohing and aahing--he'd spent a year in London during college and
knew what good tea tastes like. Lee is British, and the two of them had a nice row going over the best British
football team. (that means soccer for us yanks)


We thanked them up and down, and headed for the GOOD Pemex on the north side, despite having filled up
yesterday.





Our goal was to cross back over the peninsula and head towards Loreto. Despite 4+ weeks of exploring there
were still large swaths of Baja we hadn't even come close to and we wanted to go north along the stretch of
coastline from Loreto to Santa Rosalia.



But, dirt first. There was a big stretch of sand road we could ride from Todos Santos to the northwest and then
head inland and northeast to intersect Mex 1. It was a great ride, lots of winding sandy two track that we could
rail and ride side by side CHP-style. We followed BigDog's tracks along here--the roads get a bit maze-like as
you turn inland, at one point we rode seemingly right through a little rancho. Smiled and waved as we slowly
passed by, hoping we weren't doing something wrong.



The weather had changed. Since we'd left San Felipe about 3 weeks ago we'd had almost perfect weather. Warm,
mostly sunny, and very little wind. But yesterday evening as we had started cooking dinner the wind had picked
up, and all night long we could hear it howling and whistling through the palm trees and eaves of the house.



The skies were gray, and as the day wore on the wind got even stronger. By the time we reached Mex 1 the
winds seemed to be going from the west at about 30 mph, with gusts up to 40 or 50...I think? I could be way off,
but it was not fun to be riding. We headed north on 1, riding leaned over to compensate for the wind. As the road
cut through a small ridge you'd have a momentary calm, quickly correct upright, and then have to lean again
even more as the wind was funneled through the dip on the other side. Southbound 18-wheelers were pushing
a bow wave that would hit you like a bomb exploding. It was grueling.

Besides fighting with the wind I was also worried about my front tire. It was wearing in a strange pattern--every
other center knob-pair was worn down almost to the carcass, while the single knobs in the center were still almost
full height.





We had at least a thousand miles still to go before home and I was starting to think the tire wouldn't
make it. The best chance we had for a tire was most likely in La Paz (we knew there were at least 2 moto shops there)
which was behind us, getting farther and farther away. So, grueling wind, front tire depleted...


There's always a fine line between pushing through difficulties, and saying no, time to retreat and regroup.
I was getting that feeling that this was a time to be smart and turn back. I could see even passenger cars
were having trouble staying in their lanes, and Mex 1 is very narrow, normally no shoulder. Sideswipes are
a common occurence.

After about 15 miles on 1 I pulled over for a meeting of the minds and we agreed-----turn around and head for La Paz.


We pulled into Dagoberto Castro's shop, Motospeed,





and I was shocked--he had 3 tires in the entire shop. One rear knobby and two fronts--both the same, Bridgestone
offroad M603's. That was it. He was extremely helpful though, while we were there he called the other shop in La Paz,
and the shops in Cabo San Lucas, and none of them had any dualsport tires. I found it hard to believe...





Well, I believe it now. The moto business in Baja is very different from the US......and my Baja noob education is
progressing. There was a race scheduled for the following weekend in Bahia de Los Angeles, and virtually every
offroad tire in the peninsula was gone. I wound up putting a call into my lifeline, AKA WoodsChick, who posted here
on advrider, and while some very generous people offered up assistance, the best option was going to be that
Bridgestone from Dagoberto. He was very helpful, friendly and fun to talk to and I highly recommend him and his
shop if you need moto assistance in Baja. He was very proud, and rightly so, of working on Kurt Caselli's factory
KTM a while back during a race, and has a counterful of photos.





Thank you, sir!

We found a quiet, secure, colorful, almost-but-not-quite-dive hotel in La Paz just outside the Malecon, unloaded,
and flopped down on our beds. Whew, kind of a stressful day but we'd landed just fine. Found a tire, found some beds,
found some great tacos that night, and slept just fine.





Got up that morning and hopped in the shower-------GAH!! no hot water. I let it run for a good 15 minutes. Nada.
Went to the front desk, "No hay agua caliente?" The desk girl smiled and said, yes, I know.





OK. Time to move on...

HWD,
Yeah....that newbie learning curve :huh

MT21's are famous for wearing like that....I don't buy them anymore.

Baja deserves a good long-lasting dirt tire on front (Pirelli makes others than the MT21 that are superior for Baja: Scorpion XCHD and Scorpion Pro)....so that Bridgestone is an appropriate choice.

I have used them on the 450 and 690 in Baja and have had 2500 kms on them.

As for your ride pace compared to others....I respect your "laid back approach" (it is never laid back in deep sand or silt).....as you aren't racing the clock or a schedule that leads to broken bones....you are enjoying your first time there with your son......

Some Mexican hotels may not be up to the standards some folks expect.....but their rates often reflect that difference. I have stayed in over-priced accommodations in the US and Canada that are "dives" and over-priced.

My attitude has always been that I am happy to not be sleeping outside on the ground, even if I have to be in a room that reeks of disinfectant, on a rock-hard mattress, no heat, locks that don't work, no hot water, and sometimes watching rats scurry along the rafters of a palapa roof, and keeping an eye open for scorpions hiding under a pillow.

It's all part of the adventure.....

Looking forward to more.....

Just finished reading from the beginning. Great RR HWD!

Thanks, and welcome!

Yeah, I'm going to see how the M603 works out, keep experimenting. I will say the MT21 never
spit me off, and lasted well over 5000 miles/8000 kms. Just......looked very odd. :eek1

I'm not ready to call it la llanta del diablo, yet.



The thing about motels------I'm very comfortable camping, so if I'm paying good money for what
you describe------well, I'd rather be out in my tent, on my comfortable mattress, breathing fresh
air, safe from all the bugs and critters and save my pesos for a couple more tanks of gas!

Thanks for sticking with me on this epic saga...

oser

HWD, great report. You've packed a lot into this trip. Congrats.

Yeah finding any moto parts in Baja is tough. Try finding a chain or even a tube between La Paz and Ensenada is impossible. You'd think a tire shop somewhere would have a used tire or tube, but I've never found one.

A trip like this with your son is 'DYNOMITE".

Speaking of losing fuel, I once lost a couple gallons out of my aux tank in a state park parking lot in Alaska. I came back to the bike, and the rangers had put an absorbing ground cover under my bike. I was so embarrassed....

<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/9CrKN_Ot4XttRdbRkn3YrdMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-3POcAUqmPM8/TTXxdQFAUSI/AAAAAAAAXtY/3___YSB85ow/s288/P1040673.JPG" height="162" width="288" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/105133432232392762779/MotoTrailer?authuser=0&feat=embedwebsite">moto trailer</a></td></tr></table>

Charles, you've got me pulled in to this one too. Great report, and great trip (so far, don't let us down). I get to do a lot of cool stuff with my son, but this has me feeling the pangs of jealousy. We both started jonesing for something like this while we were down there pitting for the 1000. Looking forward to the rest of the story.

Tim H

Hi Ratman, happy to see you here, I've lurked through a few of your reports and stuff while researching for our trip.

Thanks for the kind words!

Hey Tim H------is this Tim H as in rmd Tim H, Idaho Spodefest Tim H???

I'm.......honored that a mere 5 years after joining, MY report was the cause of your first post.

I won't let you down.

Day 32, 1/31/13
La Paz to Loreto



Today's plan was to get to Loreto--if we could. This was a part of the Baja peninsula we had skipped
on the way down and were looking forward to seeing. It was going to be primarily a pavement day and
we were a bit anxious about how the day was to go. It was still very windy, I'd gone to an internet cafe
to check the weather forecast and it was calling for 30 mph winds, gusts to 50 mph for the next few
days, the skies were gray and heavy looking, we'd just have to use our heads and get through it as
best we could.


Retracing our path from yesterday we headed back north on Mex 1. It was just as windy as yesterday
but I had a better attitude about bulling our way through the wind and we did it with no issues.







Our one bit of fun dirt was between Ciudad Constitucion and Insurgentes where we snaked to the east
and followed another of BigDog's tracks through some small ejidos along a state water project. That
was a good break, and the skies began to clear and the wind subsided a little the farther north we rode.






Mex 1 between Ciudad Insurgentes and Loreto is actually a great stretch of pavement and we took
full advantage of it. It climbs over the backbone of Baja in a sweeping twisty ribbon and then drops
you down along Loreto Bay with a stretch of curvy coastline road that rivals Highway 1 through
California's central coast.


We kept our eyes out for some place to camp--preferably with showers--but didn't spot anything
promising until we hit Loreto. Filled up at Pemex and then followed some signs for an RV campground
that I've forgotten the name of...


We pulled in and the place was cheek-by-jowl filled with massive motorhomes, apparently there was
some convention of sorts and there was no room for us. The fellow at the counter did say there was
another place--"La Ribera" he called it--about 6 blocks further north. Sounds good, and I carefully
measured off 6 blocks. We turned toward the water and--------nothing, just a residential neighborhood
with some construction blocking the end (they are in a massive project to rebuild their Malecon).


OK, where's the treasure this time?



As we're sitting on our bikes wondering what the next step will be I spotted a gringo walking up to his
massive fifth-wheel hauling dually F350 so I raced over and asked if he knew where La Ribera
campground was. He got a puzzled look on his face, then the lightbulb went on----"Oh! You must
mean Rivera del Mar! I'm driving right past it on my way home, follow me." And away we went.


Six blocks my butt! It was a good 2 miles away, and we snaked our way through 1-way streets,
down cobblestone alleys...past some cool squares and a church, markets, there's simply no way
we could have found this place on our own.








It was truly one of the nicest campgrounds we stayed in the entire trip. Highly recommended. Blazing
hot showers, clean bathrooms, tables for us tenters, 110 volt outlets, soft sand beds for the tents.






And best of all, the greatest neighbors in all of Baja. We started cooking our dinner and pretty soon
one of them comes by--hey, we've got some extra homemade cornbread--would you like any?

10 minutes later, someone else--oh, by the way, we just finished dinner, would you like this pot of
homemade baked beans (that was at least half full of carne asada)?

Another 15 minutes-----hey, my specialty is fresh cole slaw--care to try it?



We had a feast.



And----------once again, the king's life for us.

HWD, still following along on this most excellent adventure. It is deffinately not Boring! yes i am reading the Wans trip as well. I am planning a May trip for two weeks, so all if the info is greatly appreciated.

Keep up the great work!

Richard

That's the Hotel San Bernardino - a great place! Just wait till you stay in an-actual-dive hotel in Mexico:>)

CS, hate to say it, but I think FB is the cause/impetus for this... He got dragged in kicking and screaming too, if I recall...

Cool, hope the trip goes well, good luck!

Yeah, I was being a bit over-the-top, it was secure enough. But great?...I'd have to disagree. Not very clean, mattresses were lumpy and about 50 years old, no hot water, towels were like what they used to give us in junior high gym class, door was sagging and scraped the floor...actually now that I think about it, it was pretty great!

sheesh, poor guy. I feel for ya, Tim H :eek1

Won't be posting a new installment for a couple days, going to be on the road for a bit...


on 4 wheels, not 2...