December 15, 2015. Old town, Loreto, Baja California

CAMPGROUND:  Another night in lovely Loreto Shores RV Park

LOCATION:  Loreto, Baja, California, on eastern coast of the peninsula, on the Sea of Cortez

WEATHER:  Beautiful.  Highs in 70s

We explored the old town of Loreto this afternoon.  We started driving down narrow streets, and a policeman stopped us, blowing his whistle, saying it was a pedestrian walkway.  No signage!

The old town is lovely with carefully groomed hedges.

Neat old hotels 

And sidewalk cafés..

We stopped at this bar, as their ad said they make their own beer.  Alas, the bartender said they stopped brewing, so we resigned ourselves to margaritas.  :)

Seafood is abundant here.  I need to remember the English translation for everything....

Jaiba-crab

Filete de jurel-horse mackarel filet

Pulpo-octopus

Abulon-abalone

Caguama-sea turtle

Longosta-lobster

Cameron-shrimp

Almeja-clam

Filete de Pescado-filleted fish

Caracol-conch

Jurel entero-horse mackarel whole

DINNER:  We needed to use up the rest of the horse mackerel filet that I sautéed last night.  I made a fish curry with the fish, piotatoes, and onions.  Added a bit of Mexican "Crema" for texture.  Lots of curry powder.  Side was a garlic pickle, that I found in my spice box, purchased last year when we were in India .  A treat!

December 14, 2015. Mexican To-do List

CAMPGROUND:  Another night at Loreto Shores.  George calculated the exchange rate, and since we paid in pesos, it is $22/night rather than $26.  Nice!

LOCATION:  Loreto, Mexico on Sea of Cortez

WEATHER:  Beautiful!  High about 80.  Cool evening and night for sleeping

We picked up a map of Loreto and then were on our way to get some things done.  First, we drove along the pretty waterfront.  This is one of the cleanest towns I've ever seen in Mexico.  Another difference is that it doesn't have packs of wild dogs roaming around,  

To get to town, we have to drive down and up a huge wash in the road.  It was especially scary the first time, pulling the Airstream. 

We found a dentist for George.  He was whisked in, without an appointment, for a cleaning costing $22.  Next on our list was a haircut for me.  Haircuts on the road are always a scary experience, and doing it in Spanish adds another layer of fear.  The beautician did a pretty good job, with a bill of $4.  

Next up was a pharmacy.  The pharmacy didn't have what we need, so we will have to find a larger one.

After a nice lunch of quesadillas, we went grocery shopping.  We bought cilantro for .$12!  This was an interesting display of various animals' feet, bones and tripe to make menudo....

Our last stop was a fish store to buy fish for tonight's dinner.  The sign advertised fresh jurel, which is translated into horse mackarel.   The shop also had this sign.  Almeja  is clams.  I couldn't figure out the chocolata word.  Surely, they don't dip clams into chocolate?  The fisherman explained that it is just the name for a type of clams with a dark brown shell.  

We bought a half kilo of jurel for $3.  It ended up being way too much.  

Back at the RV park, it had warmed up so we went to the pool.

I did laundry while reading next to the pool.  What a life!  

DINNER:  Jurel (horse mackarel) filets sautéed in a skillet on the stove inside.   The only negative about this place is that there aren't picnic tables or grills.  I used a rub my brother had given me as it was too spicy for him.  It gave a wonderful flavor to the fish.  I added onions and cilantro. We only ate half, so leftover fish is in our future...

December 13, 2015. From Baja's West Coast (Pacific Ocean) to East Coast (Sea of Cortez)

CAMPGROUND:  Loreto Shores RV Park. Absolutely perfect.  Full hook- ups, wifi, beautiful showers and toilets.  Swimming pool. Beachfront. Very friendly people.  5 stars. $26/night

LOCATION:  Loreto, Baja California.  On east coast, Sea of Cortez.  

WEATHER:  Sunny, highs in low 70s

Today's first stop was a jackpot......gas station, ATM, and beer store!  With a full tank, cash, and michelada ingredients, we hit the road....

Our destination today was Bahia Concepcion which had been recommended to us.  We had a long drive across the peninsula, west to east coast.   Once again, we were in the high desert with lots of cacti and rocks.  The terrain is similar to Arizona's. After driving hours through the desert, we came to this  oasis.  

A cute town called San Ignacio settled here.  We drove into the town square where mass was just starting in the mission church.

Since it is Sunday, the square is quiet.

We finally crossed the mountains and approached the Sea of Cortez.

We came to the city of Santa Rosalita.  It is an old European mining center.  As we neared the city, the highway forked.  There was no signage, so we went right.  Wrong!  This took us into town.  So, at the next fork, we went left.  Wrong again!  This time because it was an unmarked one-way street!  We had to back up and wind through the narrow streets of the city.  At least we got to see their mission church, designed by Eiffel, of Eiffel Tower fame.  Trying to get back to the highway, we turned left, only to discover it was another unmarked one-way street going the other way.  I had to get out, stop traffic, and guide George in backing up and turning the other way.  What a relief to finally make it to the highway again.

We have been intrigued by truckers, the main users of this highway.  They are very courteous on the road.  They blink their left lights when it is safe to pass them, generally right next to the "no passing zone" sign.  They go very slowly up the steep mountain roads.  They do a lot of their driving at night without their headlights on.  We found out that they like to do this to better see the cows that roam onto the highway.  They say that their eyes get conditioned to the dark and they can see the black cows' silhouettes better.  Not sure how well this is working, as we passed 3 dead ones along the highway just today.  We also see many shrines honoring truckers killed on the road.  At this one, the trucker had died in 2000, but the family just happened to be there paying their respect.   Many have little trucks decorating the memorial....

Bahia Concepcion 

 is a set of beautiful coves.  Big RVs line several of the beaches.  We stopped in 2, planning to stay the night, but they have no facilities, or useable facilities at all. 

 So, onward we went until this town of Loreto. We saw a sign for a RV park, and turned off the highway. What a find!  It is right on the beach.  It is gringo land.  There are about 25 RV sites, and several condos, all owned by people from the USA and Canada.  Everyone is friendly, coming out to welcome us. 

DINNER:  More of the chicken thighs we grilled in California with potatoes cooked  in the last of the Thanksgiving gravy, and broccoli.  I want to finish up using everything in the refrigerator, so we can start buying Mexican food.

December 12, 2015. Traveling on Baja's high desert

CAMPGROUND:  Mario's RV.  Full hook- up. Right off highway. Good showers and bathrooms.  Not much atmosphere.  $16/night.  4 stars

LOCATION:  Guerrero Negro, Baja California, Mexico

WEATHER:  Sunny.  Highs near 70

We chatted with our RV neighbors.  They come to this beach a lot, and have befriended the folks in the village.  They are going to host a party for them later today.  We gave them a bag of Goodwill donations to give to the people.

Our destination today was Emerald Beach, Playa Esmeralda.  We drove about 250 miles through a high desert.  The vegetation was very interesting.  All kinds of cacti.

 

It was pretty desolate.  Not much traffic, except semis.  We passed one that had just fallen over on its side, taking a curve too fast.  The road is pretty narrow, with deep ditches.   Every town has serious speed bumps to slow us down.  We had to put pillows under our liquor box so the bottles won't break on the bumpy road.  Trucks pass on impossible curves.  Scary!

We drove through Catafina, famous for its boulder fields...

I've never seen cacti like this.

We were stopped twice by military police.  The police with big rifles around their necks at the second stop were more serious, demanding that we get out of the truck for an inspection.  

We are low on cash.  We stopped in a town to get gas and they said there weren't any ATMs around. People had warned us to get gas there, as the next station was about 280 miles.  Glad we have a big tank!

We never found Playa Esmeralda.  At another inspection, this one for agriculture products, I asked and they said we missed the exit which wasn't marked.  So we are staying here.  We will probably stay here on our way back, as they take people on while-watching tours.  The whales are supposed to be here about the time we will be passing through again.  

DINNER:  Pasta with shrimp and capers.  Salad on side.

December 11, 2015. Camping on the beach in Baja

CAMPGROUND: Pabellon RV Park.  Full hook-ups available, but we dry-camped closer to the beach.  Ok bathrooms with hot showers.  $9/night.  5 stars

LOCATION:  South of San Quentin, Baja California, on Pacific

WEATHER:  Rain overnight, turning nice. High 70.  

During the night, it stormed.  As we were perched on a cliff, we rocked a bit in the wind.  That always scares me, but George snoozed through.

We drove about 160 miles.  It is slow going, as there many small villages to drive through.  We passed through huge fields of greenhouses and vineyards.  Unfortunately, there is a lot of litter on the road.

We stopped here at Pabellon, as it was recommended by the folks last night.  It is beautiful.....right on the beach.  This is the view from our front door....

The boats remind me of the last scene in the movie "Shawshank Redemption". 

We walked along the beach, collecting sand dollars.  We had the beach to ourselves, other than a few Mexicans digging for clams.  It was very windy, and the sand blew fiercely.

I'm drying the sand dollars, and hope they don't break in the truck, on the bouncy roads.

We had drinks with our neighbors from California.  He is Mexican, and knows this area well.  He gave us some tips on more places to stay.  He served us some crab cocktails from crabs he had bought from a fisherman.  Yum!

DINNER:  Hamburgers.  The last of the ones George had grilled when we were on Bainbridge Island.  Side was cucumbers in Greek yogurt.  

December 10, 2015. First day in Baja California, Mexico

CAMPGROUND:  Campo 5. Perched on a cliff over the ocean.  Dirt lot with space for about 10 campers.  Barking dogs (security system) tied to trees.  Awful shower with one pipe flowing cold water.  One toilet working. $7.  Rating:  1 star for facility, 5+ stars for view and price.  Would return

LOCATION:  South of Ensenada, about 60 miles south of the border, on the Pacific

WEATHER:  Beautiful. Highs about 70

We crossed the border at about 11:00.  It was more "official" than the crossings last year in Arizona.  The customs guy looked in our refrigerator, but nothing else.  Then, we had to stand behind a cement wall while they X-rayed the trailer.  Very strange.  Then after some paperwork, we were on our way.  

We will follow highway 1 all the way south to Cabo San Lucas, about 1000 miles.  The views are even more spectacular than on the California (USA) highway 1.

We had tried to buy THE campers' guidebook for camping in Baja, but couldn't find it.  So, we are depending on a map that has icons for RV parks.  We drove through the city of Ensenada.  We were in search of an ATM to get pesos.  They are hard to find, and then, parking near one is even harder.  We finally located one and were able to park in a grocery store lot.  

I spotted this campground icon south of Ensenada in an area 12 miles off the road that is famous for its "blowhole".  We decided to give it a try.  As we drove to the blowhole, we passed several RV places that looked dumpy and/or impossible to get to.  Then we saw this one with 2 European RVs parked there.  It looked like a possibility.  

We drove on to the blowhole.  It is pretty amazing.  It is the highest one on the Pacific.  The waves come up and spray really high in the air.  The Spanish word for it is La Bufadora which means "The Snorter".  

We were practically the only tourists there, but on weekends it fills with Mexican tourists.  The street on the way to the blowhole is lined with shops.  There are several pharmacies selling drugs to gringos.

 Some say, "Great Viagra here that will make you feel good "

After the blowhole, we drove back on the same road and decided to check out this campground.  I talked with some guy that appeared to work here, although he was just lounging outside.  I gave him the pesos and we set up.  As we were getting settled, a bus came by and the guy left!  Did I just lose my money?

Our RV neighbors are from Switzerland in a military-looking van.

We talked with them, and they said the guy is legit.

The view from our site is magnificent.

We watched the beautiful sunset.

Two huge motor homes pulled in.  They invited us for a drink.  These motor homes are huge and plush!

This couple has made this trip around Baja 13 times, so they gave me some tips about camping and buying gas.  They have lived on the road 16 years.  They have a second camper they store in Europe for traveling there.

DINNER:  Chicken thighs that George had grilled last night, cooked in leftover Thanksgiving gravy, potatoes and broccoli.   

December 9, 2015. Making our way through Los Angeles

CAMPGROUND:  San Clemente State Beach Park. On the coast. Full hook-ups.  $42.  Picnic tables and grills.  Coin showers.  3 stars

LOCATION:  San Clemente, California south of Los Angeles

WEATHER:  Nice. Highs in 70s.  Fog in PM

When we woke up, at the "campground" along the highway, we encountered high tide.  The waves were right up to the rocks.  This is the view from our door.....

We showed the Airstream to a couple, then hit the road.  Some locals here at the roadside campground gave us some suggestions to avoid the worst traffic going through Los Angeles.  I was quite nervous.

Their suggested route took us on Highway 1, the Pacific Highway, along the coast through Malibu and Santa Monica.  

We passed fabulous mansions perched precariously over the ocean and others on sheer cliffs.  I can see why mudslides are devastating here.

After Santa Monica, we got on the freeways.  The 6-lane racetrack was uneventful, thank goodness.  We did have one boo-boo.  My google map instructed us to get off the interstate to get to our campground.  As we approached the entrance to this highway, we realized it is a toll road, and one that does not accept cash.  So, we quickly exited.  We ended up on the campus of UC-Irvine!  We were able to drive through and return to the interstate, 

We stopped at this campground around 2:00.  We had to do some shopping to get ready for tomorrow's crossing into Mexico.

Unfortunately, as we returned to the campground, a thick fog rolled in. It really cooled the temps, and limited our view of the ocean.

At the supermarket, I had given George his part of the grocery list including chicken or pork.  Without my supervision, he came up with the 'family pack" with 10 huge thighs.  Where will I put them?  He was proud that he got a deal.  :). What a shopper!

While we had a great grill, we made a fire and grilled all the chicken.  I will use it in the next week or so.  We didn't eat it tonight as I had other food that needed to be used up.  

DINNER:  Grilled paninis using leftover Thanksgiving turkey, provolone cheese, bacon and avocado.  Salad on the side,