Regular “Mexico-goers” would attest that the southern half of the Baja peninsula offers more for the traveller than the north. Having now visited both we’d certainly agree. The north, frankly, for the most part for us was more of a means to an end – the part you had to travel through to get to the south. Ask anyone who has been here and names like San Jose Del Cabo, Cabo San Lucas, Loreto, Todos Santo all come to mind. Not many head to Tijuana, Ensenada or El Rosario. There are nice spots, for sure, several of which we enjoyed, but the main attractions ( and most of the tourists as well as Mexican government tourism investment pesos ) are found in the south. You don’t need to be here long to see it.
Flowering desert plants en route to Todos Santos
Leaving Loreto last week, the Transpeninsular took us up over the Sierra de la Giganta – in no time we had left the coast of the Sea of Cortez and were at a higher, cooler elevation which differed markedly from the mountain range further north – a whole lot greener. Once over the range, the terrain levelled off, with the curvy bends changing to long, straight flat roads that took us through the centre of the Baja and back generally towards the west coast, passing the towns of Ciudad Insurgentes and Constitucion before heading east again towards the outskirts of La Paz then our final 90kms, again crossing the peninsular, to the town of Todos Santos on the Pacific coast.
Lois trying to block the heat on one of our hotter desert drives
The oppressive humidity of the east coast fresh in our mind, we’d looked forward to Todos Santos and cooler Pacific breezes. While it delivered on that, we found Todos Santos leaving much the same impression as when we visited 7 years ago – a bit of a let down. The campground was, without doubt, the most eclectic, run-down, and simply odd places we’d ever stayed at. One of the residents told us he was in the “Witness Protection Program” – yes, that kind of place ! Had there been other choices ( there weren’t ) we’d have gone there. It was incredibly quiet, and not especially clean – pretty much just as we remembered it. The almost uniformly friendly and welcoming Mexican people ( we’d met so many ) were harder to find. A general indifference you might say. A big attraction here is the ( supposedly ) original Hotel California ( of The Eagles fame, where, “You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave” – that one ! ). We walked in and said to the concierge “So, this is the ‘real’ Hotel California, eh ?”, to which he hastily replied, “Well, we can’t prove it”. Kudos for honesty, I suppose but probably not what his boss would want to hear. And so it was with Todos Santos, just generally underwhelming.
Having at this point been 5 weeks in the camper we decided it was time for a break – a holiday from the holiday as it were. The days were great – an air conditioned truck, and sights to see but with humidity oppressive and a lot of things to be caught up on we decided to take a few days off and check in to a nice hotel in San Jose Del Cabo right at the bottom of the Baja. We were long overdue – the original plan was a nice hotel once a week and after almost 11 weeks on the road we were yet to check into a hotel anywhere. Cabo San Lucas itself was not appealing and very touristy so San Jose Del Cabo it was. A full 3 days of relaxing, relaxing and relaxing – not being on the move was bliss !
Los Cabos – approaching San Jose Del CaboMain square, old town of San Jose Del CaboThe food was awesome – teppanyaki in San JoseLoved the Chetraui store in Mexico – automated wine tasting !
One of the things we’d needed to attend to was some vehicle maintenance- a few days earlier we’d gotten a small chip in the windshield and needed that repaired. Left alone it surely would have widened and I did not fancy the prospect of replacing a whole windshield in Mexico or Central America. Fortunately a repair shop was found and our friend had us all patched up and on our way in less than 30 minutes. His work appeared good – I suppose time will tell – for now the “patch” was almost invisible.
In the ‘shop’ for a quick repairRepairing the crack in our windshield
Having reached the bottom of the Baja the next move was north with the great beaches of the Eastern Cape to be explored, along with Cabo Pulmo Marine Park. The road north took us past the Tropic of Cancer – not sure how, but we had obviously missed it on the way south ( we certainly crossed it – perhaps it was not marked very well ). From our start in the Arctic, this would be our second significant “latitudinal marker”, the Arctic Circle being the first. Next one, the Equator, in ( unsurprisingly) , Ecuador !
Following our handy iOverlander app, a great, quiet, secluded beach was mentioned at La Ribera, a mild detour from our route north – it more than met expectations; a clean, white sandy beach, well sheltered and with lots of locals using it ( always a good sign ) . The local Policia advised us we could stay for the night and that it would be “tranquillo, mui tranquillo”. Indeed it was- just us, some fisherman and the seagulls.
La Ribera beachWe were on our ownLooking east – just not the same sunsets as the Pacific side, obviously !
Others we had met advised us of Los Barriles, just a bit further north, and with many white sandy beaches we checked into a full service campground for a few nights. The pool was a nice relief- we were getting used to them – and most of the next couple of days was spent close by. Los Barriles is known as a snowbird favourite and we saw ( and met ) many – also a few Brits who were here for the famous tuna and marlin fishing. While not in evidence during our stay, apparently in November the place is packed with kite-boarders and ranks as one of the top 10 locations in the world – clearly there is more wind in November than in September !
Finally, a shaded camp site – scarce as hens teeth in Mexico ! Los BarillesBeach at Los BarrilesCampground at Los Barriles was part of a hotel – hence the poolAnd requisite beach-side bar
Los Barriles also provided us some time to think about our upcoming crossing of the Sea of Cortez. Few travellers fancy the drive all the way back up the Baja and fortunately a ferry exists just north in La Paz which gets travellers to the mainland in 6 hours. The Mazatlan route was not running ( low season ) so it would be to Topolobampo, 4 hours to the north. Having booked it for Tuesday next week we left ourselves a few more days to explore La Ventana and the Bay of Balandra before heading into La Paz for the crossing.
And a very warm welcome to Mexico it was – in more ways than one ! A stifling hot day at around 38 degrees but wonderfully welcoming and friendly Mexican authorities who made the border crossing a breeze. On display at all times was the typical Mexican charm and friendliness that international visitors invariably receive when arriving. No line up – we were automatically ‘approved’ via their red light/green light system and drove right across ! Were it not for our need to disclose that we would be there longer than 7 days and also exploring beyond just the Baja peninsular, that would have been it. The T.I.P. ( temporary import permit ) for the vehicle required a $400 USD deposit ( the amount is based on the age of vehicle – newer means more expensive ), refunded when we left as long as we did not stay more than 180 days. We also paid $30 USD each for our tourist cards because of our extended stay. The documentation process was seamless, if a little repetitive, and with a wad of papers in hand, 45 mins later we were on our way. We spent much longer getting in to the US ! While one can travel the Baja without a TIP, we will need one when we ferry from LaPaz to Mazatlan and others had advised that it was simply much easier and faster to do it as we entered in Tecate. Also nice to have that administrative detail out of the way early.
Was this part of ………the infamous “wall” ? Border crossing at Tecate
Tecate, on the US side, is a proverbially sleepy “one horse town” while on the Mexican side it is a much bigger place. We were easily able to re- stock our supplies ( having thrown out our remaining meats, veggies and cheeses before crossing – a complete waste as it turned out, since the Mexicans never asked if we had any with us ). The supermarket was stocked with everything we needed, including all the pancake mix and maple syrup Lois insisted we buy before leaving the US – “Jeff, I know they don’t have this stuff down there”. Well, we now have 10lbs of the former and a full litre of the latter – should see us through to Christmas !
Plenty of this stuff in Mexico as it turned out !
The goal on day one was to get in to Mexico, get the TIP, get stocked up, get cashed up ( ATM’s everywhere – and in English ) so with all that done before lunch it was on to Highway 3, the “Ruta Del Vino” through the Vallee de Guadalupe and on towards Ensenada. The original plan was to stay at a campground near Guadalupe – as we stopped in we noticed it was right on the highway. Having had our fill of sleepless nights in such places, we checked another spot nearby on iOverlander – it referred to a great winery ( “L.A. Cetto”, founded by an Italian in 1928 and one of Mexico’s oldest ) that offered tastings and wine sales (of course!) and through its participation in the Harvest Host program, allowed visitors to stay overnight. We had experienced the same routine at Tillamook, back in Oregon ( the Blue Heron Cheese Factory ) so knew the drill well. Not only was the wine tasting a lot of fun, and the wine good, but the young server there ( Adrian ) also gave us some great Baja tips and was very excited to tell us he was about to head off to Canada for 2 weeks. Not just Canada, not just BC, but right to our home town of Kelowna where he was going to work in the same capacity at the “Off The Grid” winery – talk about a small world ! And, we had the winery to ourselves for a night. Peaceful, quiet, and watched over all the while by their 24 hour guard. The drive through the Ruta Del Vino was scenic but otherwise uneventful – in fact, until just before we got there we had no idea Mexico even had a wine industry so we were amazed at all the vineyards- this is where most of their wine comes from.
Lois at LA Cetto winery with AdrianGrapes at LA CettoCamped at the wineryLA Cetto winery
In Ensenada we picked up a new SIM card and were astonished at how generous and flexible they are in Mexico – lots of data ( 3 MB ) along with unlimited calls, and texts within Mexico, the US, and Canada with no contract all for 200 pesos ( $10 USD ) – you cant touch that where we live ! Ensenada itself is not especially appealing – we knew we had to get further south for the good stuff so used the rest of the day to get through the series of small, dusty towns that line Highway 1 to the south. It quickly became obvious that it would be pretty slow going on the Baja, at least the northern half; seemed like we spent most of the day in the truck ( we actually didn’t ) and only travelled 200kms. Lots of road work, lots of towns but the scenery did start to improve with glimpses of the coast here and there.
While our first night camping near San Quintin was not especially memorable ( except for the sunsets – such beautiful sunsets here ), a short drive the next day had us just north of El Rosario where we pulled into a site that other overlanders had raved about. Canyon Camp was a privately owned piece of beachfront in a secluded canyon whose owner appeared to be preparing it to be a formal campsite. Meanwhile, overlanders were welcome to use it at no cost. Complete with basic toilets, palapa and BBQ areas, it was indeed a great find. Bonus – we had it all to ourselves for the time we were there save for a visit by some local fisherman and the owner’s brother who had come to water the palm trees. Truly memorable spot – beautiful, quiet, easy to get to and with no city lights in the area it was a wonderful night just to star-gaze. Managed to get the drone out and got a couple of great shots from above before a minor mishap occurred and the drone went off on its own – fortunately landing safely on land and not in the Pacific !
While we could have stayed longer at Canyon camp, we had left ourselves short of some necessities so drove on the next afternoon making our way south on the “Transpeninsulare” ( the main, and really only, road through the Baja ) through what one might describe as the spine of Baja – a long stretch down the middle, neither the Pacific ( to the west ) nor the Sea of Cortez ( to our east) visible most of the time. Very typical Baja scenery in this part – dry, rocky hills, lots of cactus everywhere, very hot and very long stretches between towns. There is a real abscence of shade trees here so, absent a good air conditioner it is hard to escape the heat. At least in this part of Baja it was ‘dry’ heat. That would soon change !
Lots and lots of these !
The town of Guerrero Negro divides the Baja peninsular in two – to the north, Baja California and to the south ( an hour ahead and on Mountain time ), Baja California Sur. Apart from being the beginning of generally better quality roads than in the north, it is as non-descript a place as you will find anywhere and was no more than a pit stop and simple overnight here….Mulege and the famous beaches of Bahia Conception lay just beyond.
Welcome to Baja California Sur ( south ), Guerrero NegroTypical southern Baja sceneryA small part of the long straight stretch, Guerrero Negro
Mulege is somewhat of an oasis town and very popular with gringo “snowbirds” ( retirees escaping the northern winter ) but they come down in November – not August. It’s easy to see why – in Mulege, as pretty as it was with palm trees and cobblestone streets, it is stiflingly humid this time of year. Brutally so in fact. That and the blitz storm at 2.00 am made for an unpleasant layover. We’d load up next morning and explore the beaches, where, we figured, it “had to be” cooler. The beaches were stunning indeed – and, again, we had them all to ourselves. At every turn on the road south a new vista opened up more white sand, more palapa’s, more stunning turquoise sea – and no people. If you wanted privacy, this was indeed your place ! Some friendly locals advised us that the Sea of Cortez side of Baja, not getting a true ocean breeze, is always hotter and much more humid than the Pacific side. The humidity here was not going to change so we decided we’d spend our beach time on the west coast – lots of options further south !
Typical scenery, Guerrero Negro to MulegeCampsite at MulegeYou can get this close to the beach at Bahia ConceptionPerfectly clear and warm water – and the air temperature was 38 degrees The turquoise waters of Bahia ConceptionCoyote beach, Bahia ConceptionScenery en route to Loreto from Mulege
Prior to getting to the southern beaches of Cabo San Lucas, Todos Santos and others, we did get to enjoy a restful couple of days at what must rate as one of Baja’s real gems – the town of Loreto. Picturesque, easy to navigate, filled with history ( the original Spanish settlement on the Baja occurred here in1697 ), great food and friendly people it was delightful. Making life much easier for us, the campground was located right downtown – a 1 minute walk to the Malecon, town square and all the sights including Loreto’s signature 250 year old “Mission”. A great spot for those who like a laid back feel and who want to walk everywhere.
Loreto, downtownHotel LoretoOriginal Loreto churchInside the church, much still original
Our week drew to a close in Loreto – we’d really enjoyed this place, and got great tips on the southern Baja from Ed, a resident American living in Loreto. Ed had a peculiar talent rare among Americans ( in fact, rare even among Australians ) – he played the didgeridoo! After beers one night he said he’d surprise us – not in a million years did I expect to hear an American play the didgeridoo !
Ed, playing the didgeridoo !
We’re always on the lookout for interesting signs and while we don’t generally pay much attention to local graffiti, this one caught our eye – as we all know, much of the western USA once belonged to Mexico and the fellow who scrawled this one certainly had a creative solution for Mr Trump’s problem with unwanted immigrants from the south; check this one out !
Too many Mexican immigrants in the US …? How about this !
Jeff + Lois
We are Lois and Jeff, of Kelowna, BC, Canada. Recently retired with a serious overlanding travel bug, we hit the road in our truck camper in May 2019, initially tackling the Pan American highway. The PanAm completed in April 2022, and truck camper sold, we plan to continue exploring again later in 2022 in our Sprinter 4×4!
