Into Mexico January 18

We crossed at Tecate without seeing anyone at the inspection booth, however, we got the green light so drove on through. Drove around and around looking for a parking place so we could go back to the border and get our Visa. Our usual method getting it ahead of time through Vagabundos (Mexico RV club) didn’t work this year for some unknown reason so we needed to get them ourselves at the border. Only trouble was no one was home. Really, no one knew where the Immigration guy was (or more importantly when he would be back). We were directed to Tijuana or Mexicalie but they said we could get them at Ensenada so we continued on our way. Turned out we had to pay a $7 fine and it took at least an hour, have to go one place to buy the forms (in triplicate), another to get the form stamped, over to the bank to pay and get another stamp, back to Immigration to get another form filed out and get them all stamped and to pay our fine. Oh my! Next year they tell us, we will not be able to get a Visa in Ensenada, it must be at the border.

Onward to the Black Market (that is the name of the Fish Market) on the Malecon to pick up some #1 camerone, about 4” long without the heads on (1kg for $14) and some beautiful crab claws (2 kg $10). I’m sure others dicker to get a better price but we were so thrilled to have it that we didn’t bother and paid what they asked. The crab looks a lot like the stone crab from Florida but its not the same, don’t know what kind it is, certainly not Dungeness. A great dinner! We love Mexico! And Ensenada is a great city.

Down the highway we motored and turned in at Las Canadas Campamento – a beautiful park with three swimming pools, water slides, mountain bike trails, fishing and boating lake and lots more. We were the only ones there – I think they cater to Mexicans in the summer time. They were very pleasant.

Tonight we are in El Rosario and off to the internet café, which was closed!

January 20, 2007
Onward to Santa Inis and Bahia de Los Angeles today– at last some water to get the kayaks in! I can hardly wait! Hope for no wind! It can really blow there, sometimes for weeks at a time. They also have an internet café within cycling distance of where we camped last year at the turtle beach.

This is a very twisty road and much of it on the ridges of the high hills. Lorne the engineer is busy redesigning the road as we drive along. I am trying hard not to look at it, paying attention to the cactus and the terrain is enough for me. Lorne is not fond of my gasping as the wheels practically go off the road – particularly when we meet an oncoming semi.

This is the area of huge cardon cactus and the tall strange blooming boojum (cirio) trees. In spite of all the rain we heard the Baja had this year the desert looks quite dry and not as green as last year. So far the roads are no worse than last year. This is quite extreme desert, far from any major town, there are occasional small pueblos and ranches. It’s a puzzle what the people do here to survive. There doesn’t appear to be any veg. gardening going on and not many cattle around.

The further we drive along the road gets somewhat straighter and less extreme up and down; the cardon and boojum grow taller and thicker and stretch on for miles in all directions, and the larger and more numerous the boulders become; until they are as big our motor home. It is a very strange and beautiful area called the Catavina Boulder Field.

Once a bit south of Catavina the boulders thin out and the desert is much more desolate. This section of the road has a yellow line, not in the center of the road but a yellow line none the less. Have I mentioned that the lanes are 9 ½ feet wide and the motor home is 8 ½ feet wide? On the Baja And there are no shoulders, there are more consistently white lines on the edge of the road that our first trip down two years ago, but truly that is where the road ends. Usually dropping off to a sheer cliff that is frequently decorated with the skeletal remains of a vehicle below. It could be that the height and width of our motor home makes this road much more scary than it would be in a small car. Lorne is getting so casual at driving he drives along with one hand on the steering wheel and the other with a glass a coke, and this is gong around corners with a semi coming at us. I try not to look/gasp/shriek for fear of distracting him…..

Heading for Bahia de Los Angeles, great road barely any traffic (one car passed us), mostly flat and straight comparatively. Lots of diverse vegetation, boojum, datilillo, ocotillo, some blooming its orange flowers, cholla, elephant trees, cardon cactus, brittle bush blooming its daisy like yellow flowers, lots of the agave is flowering. There was one section where the boojum were covered with ball moss (gallito). It is a flowering plant related to the pineapple family.

There was a group of turkey vultures feasting on a dead cow. As we drove by the all flew up and away except for...Ooops, we came very close to having a turkey vulture on the windshield!! Yuk – that would be quite disgusting!

Arrived at Bahia de Los Angeles. Now, if only the wind would stop blowing we could make our maiden voyage in our new kayaks!