We spent the day after leaving La Paz driving on some narrow sandy roads to find a camp spot to enjoy Christmas and several more days. I had found a place on iOverlander called the Biosphere, which was a property set up by a young couple with some tents and a place to put a van or two. After missing the road and heading to the beach, we found a nice spot near a tidal pool, but it was quite a ways from town and I apparently was not ready to park yet. We headed back on the road, which was in this large flood plain area that looked like it would be nasty when it was wet. I almost got Howie stuck while turning on to one of the tracks and the surface broke and the mud underneath bulged through. I quickly put it in 4wd Hi and rocked it out. Kathy laughed when looking at the tires since they were all caked with the mud and coated with sand on top.
I did manage to find the biosphere camp but they had three large, pretty aggressive dogs, and we felt that would be a hazard to our little pups. So we turned around, headed back up the dirt road and back toward the highway. We drove into the town of La Ventana, a busy and dusty place filled with winter tourists. There were three campgrounds that I had noted, but after driving by them, they were all packed to the gills, and I did not want to deal with the people and the crowded area with the dogs. I had seen a road at the start of town that said something about “beach community” so I pulled up the satellite imagery on Google and found the roads to the beach. We found a great spot on the top of a dune overlooking the bay. It was not totally remote with mountain bikers, ATV’s and vehicles passing every hour or two, but it was definitely great for swimming and beach combing.
The nights are beautiful as the wind calms down and we can see the town of La Ventana several miles in the distance. The morning sunrises are stunning as well. We have camped here two nights already and will probably stay one or two more. I’ve been getting a lot of reading done with a book Kathy picked up at Arnold’s place called “Monkeys on the Road” by a first-time van-lifer Mary Hollendoner. It is quick reading and gives a good overview of traveling down Baja and into Central and South America.
We opened Christmas presents from my parents yesterday. Kathy and I both got a bit teary-eyed with two of the ornaments my parents give. My mom likes Hallmark ornaments and finds themes that fit each of her kids. This year she got us a compass ornament that is inscribed “On to new adventures – 2025”, which fits our new journey. And the second ornament was one of a dog’s paw and collar with Oscar’s picture in it that said “In our hearts to stay”. We miss that little guy.
We got to FaceTime with Kathy’s sister, niece, and her parents; my family (Rick, Terry, David, Leslie, Seth, Phoebe, and Mom and Dad); and my son Riley in South Dakota. We miss being with family and friends over the holidays; one of the down-sides of the travel life; but it was great seeing them live on camera. Kudos to Starlink and it’s worldwide network access.
Merry Christmas everyone.