Drive from Ensenada to Coyote Beach south of Mulege
After three nights in Ensenada, shopping (stocking up for a few months) at Costco and Walmart, doing maintenance work on the truck and trailer, we are ready for the road again.
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| Anders adjusting the Hijacker Autoslide Hitch at Estero Beach, Baja, Mexico. |
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| Heading south from Ensenada, Baja Mexico. |
Today we plan to drive from Ensenada to Guerrero Negro.
It is only about 610 km, but pulling the trailer on this road is pretty slow going. We will only average about 60-70 km per hour.
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| South of Ensenada, Baja Mexico. Lots of green houses and horticulture. |
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| Workers in the fields. Baja California, Mexico. South of Ensenada. |
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| Lots of taco stands along the Mex. 1 Highway. |
Driving down here you really have to keep an eye on the road, many roads do not have any shoulders at all.
However, they are doing improvements, and the roads are getting better and better every year.
You also have to watch for cows, goats and horses on the road.... this is mostly open range.
Most drivers, including the truck drivers, are courteous but they all drive very fast (if that makes sense at all).
Liz is not too fond of all the up and downs, and all the "curva Peligrosa" or dangerous curves.
Along the way, it seems to us that there are more and more green houses and plantations, among others: Driscolls and Los Pinos the largest companies.
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| Wonderful landscape along Mex 1, Baja California, Mexico. |
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| You will be a pro at "White Line Driving" after a while. Baja, MX. |
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| The landscape is ever changing and beautiful. |
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| Pit-stop along the road. |
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| Cardon cacti along the road. Hwy Mex 1, Baja |
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| Entering Baja California Sur (BCS), Mexico |
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| We arrive in Guerrero Negro just as the sun sets. |
The last two hours of driving before Guerrero Negro are on very narrow and windy roads.
Just north of Guerrero Negro we cross from Baja California (Norte) to Baja California Sur (BCS).
Here at the check point, everybody has to stop and pay 20 pesos. It is for spraying your under-carriage of your vehicle.
Also, you are not allowed to bring citrus fruits into BCS. Here you also turn your clock ahead one hour.
Once we arrive in Guerrero Negro we check in at Malarrimo RV Park. We are both tired. We decide to take advantage of their really nice Mexican Restaurant on site.
The RV park is pretty basic, but has full hook- ups with 30 amp power.
As in many places in Mexico, the water pressure in parks is on the low side. Some places there is no water at all for a while, so it's a good idea to keep at least half a tank of water in your RV.
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| Drive from Guerrero Negro to Mulege and Coyote Beach, BCS, Mexico |
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| Stunning landscape, BCS. |
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| Liz is enjoying a quick stop along the road, BCS. |
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| You will really enjoy this drive. BCS. |
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| Just before Santa Rosalia is a really steep and long hill with sharp curves. |
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| Sea of Cortes or Gulf of California, just north of Santa Rosalea, BCS. |
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| We can now see the Bay of Conception or Bahaia de Concepcion. BCS. |
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| Bay of Conception or Bahia Concepcion,is part of the Sea of Cortez. BCS |
He informs us that the east coastal route or highway number 5 is almost completely paved all the way except for about 30 km.
In the future, when this is completed, we will consider crossing the border at Mexicali. From there, we could just head south on number 5 towards San Felipe and onward to Chapala where number 5 joins Mex.1. That is excellent information.
I questioned him, about his banged up driver side rear view mirror. He smiles, he lost it to an on-coming semi truck.... Yes, he warns us that the roads ahead will be even narrower.
We fill up Diesel, and then hit the highway at 8:30 am. The highway south bound from Guerrero Negro cuts across the peninsula from the west coast to the east coast from the Pacific to the Sea of Cortez or the Gulf of California.
The landscape is flat, flat, flat through the Desierto de Vizcaino. The roads are very, very narrow. According to Liz, I have now become an expert "White Line Driver".
We again see lots of green houses under a cloth-like material. The weather is nice and warm at 25C or 77F.
Once in San Ignacio, the landscape changes. By the way, if you have some time, go into the old town of San Ignacio and have a look around. It is very quaint.
From San Ignacio towards Santa Rosalia the landscape is beautiful with hills and huge boulders.... pretty fascinating actually.
The last 20 km before Santa Rosalia can be a bit stressful to drive.
Steep hills up and down and windy roads. It is mostly paved, except for one little part, where they were working on the road. We had to drive through a ditch with huge rocks in 4 x 4 mode; the trailer just tagged along, not sure how, but it did.
The long hill down to Santa Rosalia is steep, and did I say long? Make sure to gear down, or your breaks will be smoking at the bottom of the hill.
Santa Rosalia is an old mining town. The architecture in town is very European, mostly French.
I belive the church "Iglesia de Santa Bárbara" in town was designed and built by Gustave Eiffel who also designed... you guessed it, the Eiffel tower in Paris.
The road through Santa Rosalia is pretty rough with lots of pot holes. Drive slow.
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| Coyote Beach, Baja California Sur, Mexico. |
Actually, the scenery is close to the top in beauty that I have seen.
We arrive on Coyote Beach around 2 pm. We are welcomed by our good friends Dave and Lynne. Big hugs.
We set up camp on the beach and later get invited by Dave and Lynne for supper. Life is good!
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| Views from our campsite on Coyote Beach, BCS. |
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