Chapter 2: Starting Over (a.k.a. Does 'Plan B' stand for 'Baja'?

Updated: Thursday, 11 October 2012

Baja California, Mexico
17 - 20 November 2010
San Felipé, Puertecitos
& Baja 1000 Off-Road Race

Contact Me

Maps

Videos

Photographs

The Missions of Baja California

Google Earth Placemarks

With Lionel & Judy from Vancouver, BC --- the other BC, British Columbia, Canada ... watching the Baja 1000 race, driving the new road, memories of 1993, panga fishing.

Other TRIPS

Wednesday, Nov. 17	Thursday, Nov. 18
Friday, Nov. 19	Saturday, Nov. 20
Nacho's Camp (aka El Huerfanitos / The Orphans) and White "bird guano" Island as seen from about 10 miles inland.
Sunday, Nov. 21 ... sick as a dog (at home)

Google Earth Placemarks

Fun Facts

Maps

Southern California
Set terrain = 2x for best effect.

Missions of Baja History
Set terrain = 3x for best effect.

Ever wonder why Loreto, San Felipé, Los Cabos and other select Mexican destinations come into being and grow like crazy? It's not luck or coincidence. It's all very well-planned. Thanks to Fonatur, the "institution responsible for the planning and development of sustainable tourism projects." And with respect to the Baja Peninsula specifically, there is the vision of the Escalera Nautica, the Nautical Ladder --- a mega project. As of August 2009, this project was HALTED by the Mexican federal government.

Yippie! The new Baja Almanac is out! After being out of print for 4 years and losing both my copies, I ordered 4 to make sure I have a backup and give two away as gifts.

Video Clips

LARGE (high-resolution) Apple Quicktime MP4 format	LOW (low-resolution) Microsoft WMV format	Description / Run Time (mm:ss)
Baja 1000 Race, Checkpoint 3, Mile 230, Km 52 42± Mb	Baja 1000 Race, Checkpoint 3, Mile 230, Km 52 6± Mb	Twilight bikes south of San Felipe (02:16) *18 November*
Baja 1000 Race, Checkpoint 3, Mile 230, Km 52 16± Mb	Baja 1000 Race, Checkpoint 3, Mile 230, Km 52 2½± Mb	Twilight bikes south of San Felipe (00:52) *18 November*
Baja 1000 Race, Checkpoint 3, Mile 230, Km 52 55 ± Mb	Baja 1000 Race, Checkpoint 3, Mile 230, Km 52 8 ± Mb	Daytime bikes south of San Felipe (02:55) *18 November*
57± Mb	9± Mb	Overall video, south of San Felipe (03:02) *18 November*
Band-spankin' new super-duper Highway 5 near (new) Km 283 7± Mb	Band-spankin' new super-duper Highway 5 near (new) Km 283 1 ± Mb	"San Felipe Trail" South of Puertecitos (00:22) *19 November*

Photographs

Wednesday, November 17

Desert Hot Springs, past Salton Sea to Calexico, California to meet Lionel & Judy from San Diego for carpooling through Mexicali, BC to San Felipe.

Wannabe racers. Both the models and the anonymous owners of these cars. And, of course, Ramon who serenaded us with Guantanamera.

Thursday, November 18

Race day

Checkpoint 3

Mile 230

Km 52

About ½ way between San Felipe & Puertecitos

Unknown campo. Dead dogs in the trees?

Friday, November 19

After a leisurely breakfast, we shopped for a few hours before setting out for points South.

And a quick haircut for Lionel at the local tattoo-haircut salon ... Lilly-Ana's. $8 bucks.

Nov 2010

Oh yeah, and re-creating August 1993 in front of the Beachcomber Restaurant on the Malecon.

Aug 1993

With Barbara & TJ, 17 years ago on the way to Los Cabos for the first time on the 1993 grand peninsula trip.

See the hawk on the pole? Maybe an osprey. This guy's house used to have a huge banner advertising it for rent ... www.bigassbeachhouse.com (yuck, yuck).

Mex Hwy 5 --- watch out for the REALLY big deep VADOS!

Welcome to the village of Puertecitos, where the paved road once ended and the most hellacious, lava rock road began. Ref. 1993 Peninsula trip.

We took the old dirt road through the village and joined the new paved super-duper highway here at the south end of Puertecitos.

Looking North, Puerecitos is down the hill on the right.

The first 20 miles go through rugged, steep, fragmented rock & lava hills. Very heavy grading to construct cuts and fills and culverts.

Much of the old "San Felipe Trail" was obliterated by the construction service road. In actuality, that road was much improved over the old trail.

Heading south, the new road starts before & bypasses Puertecitos.

South end of Puertecitos.

Lionel & Andrew need more practice at this.

The Km markers are in the 200’s, presumably zero being the USA-Mex border. Currently zero is reset south of San Felipe at airport turnoff.

I forgot to note which Km we were at for these photos, but was in the high 200's.

I decided to take these two shots of Judy in perfect lighting. Nice, huh? I mean the photo quality. Oh, okay, you too, Judy.

Nacho's Camp (aka El Huerfanitos / The Orphans) and White "bird guano" Island as seen from about 10 miles inland near El Marmol mine & El Volcan springs on the Baja Nomad "Lost Mission Expedition" of April 29 - May 1, 2011.

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Blast to the past. Memories of the 1993 grand peninsula trip, that got off to a rough start after a few wonderful days in San Felipe.

End of the Road!

Barbara (audio) reminiscing

Off the grid, but opulent water-saving bathroom.

*Nov 2010*
I was elated that this part of the old road was not obliterated.			It was just where I left it. And in the same condition.
*Aug 1993*

*Nov 2010*		Ditto for the magnificent vistas.
*Aug 1993*			Note the gnarly, crazy location of the old road along the volcanic slope. Yes the rocks are sharp! Note the layering of both sedimentary (uplift) & igneous (volcanic flows) materials.

*Nov 2010*
Once again, some left this part of the old road for me to visit again.			Huerfanito Bridge.
*Aug 1993*

Thanks Lionel & Judy for helping make this wish possible!	End of the road. Brand new super-duper Highway 5 (paved but blockaded before construction zone). Sheesh, it looks like a traffic jam around here (post-race support teams).	Pavement continues several miles beyond Nacho’s Camp but is blockaded by dirt barriers for safety of construction crews further south. Exit onto old dirt road here.




Nacho's Camp		It used to be the first house coming down the last hill into Nacho's Camp, but Pete & Olivia Martina are now a bit more crowded than in 1993.	It's a year-to-year land lease. And the property owner has closed the air strip. And the new road road is a "game-changer." Who know what will happer to the "old Baja?"
*Aug 1993*		Barbara & Pete. TJ is having a field day sniffing about the beach.
*Nov 2010*
	Lionel, Judy, Olivia, Pete	Judy, Andrew, Olivia, Pete	Judy, Olivia, Pete, Lionel
Massages for everyone. Okay, almost everyone.			Olivia & Pete Martina

Evening cocktails on the hotel balcony before walking one block to the Malecon for dinner.

Saturday, November 20

Beautiful sunrise at 6:30 am.

Right click to view this animation full-size.

Today is "Day of the Revolucion" holiday in Mexico. After the parade and donating P$200 to a "fisherman" to get "gas", we went fishing for reel (get it? reel, yuck, yuck).

Return to shore with sick passenger (sorry, no pics of the sickness). Then go out again --- at least until pee pee time (onshore). About 7 miles out & 30 meter depth.

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What a sky! What clouds! What a view!

Fish of the day? A few Corvina. Then 20+ Croaker. The bait? Diced Sardine.

Judy's first Croaker.

Captain Raul Meza (same as last year) and first mate Marcelino "Meastro" also did a great job fishing sans pole, simply the fish line. One line. Two hooks. Two fish.

Off on the distant horizon ... Picacho del Diablo (Devil's Peak), home of the national Observatorio Astronomico high in the Sierra (over 10,000 feet) within Parque Nacional de San Pedro Martir.

Bird Rock, about 23 miles out to sea.

Filleting the fish is a 2-man operation requiring skill and sharp knives. Feeding the scraps to the pelicans becomes a community event for the kids.

A bit more of Picacho del Diablo at sunset. And moonrise over the Sea of Cortez at Pete's Camp N/o San Felipe.

We ended the day with some jumbo shrimp purchases & a late lunch / early dinner before heading back North and purchasing Kahlua at the Mega store in Mexicali.