We made the drive from Cabo to Todos in about 90 minutes. The road was bizzare for what we have experienced in Mexico. It was a double land divided highway, with a full shoulder. Very modern. I guess it is because the routes from Cabo to Todos Santos to La Paz are heavily traveled and get the best funding. It’s nice to only have to dodge a few potholes here and there.
We rolled into Todos Santos, a dusty little town near the beaches. It is an oasis town settled in the 1700’s and has been more recently transitioned into an arts town. More history here. We quickly found the Hotel California, famous for inspiring the Eagles song of the same name. We found a place to park and I took the pups for a quick walk to stretch their legs and relieve their bladders. Then we set them off in the camper to sleep the day away, as they usually do so we could explore.
There are blocks and blocks of shops and art galleries and restaurants along the two main streets in town. We walked for 90 minutes or so and checked out the local inventory of tourist finds. We got our sticker for Howie. We stopped for a few beverages and then headed back to the truck. I had checked iOverlander and there were not too many places near the beach to camp. One place it was noted that the local property owner had tried to block the beach access, but was challenged and his gate was removed, so instead some campers have noted him on a bull-horn about 8PM saying “Gringos get off our beach” until people leave. Instead we headed a bit further north to some beaches that were supposed to be open.
It turned out that most of them had no-camping signs on them, so we opted for a cool little campground called Basecamp, managed by a young couple with their 3 year old daughter. It was only $400 Pesos for the night and we got a cool little spot that Howie barely fit in, but had a really nice area under the adjacent tree where we could hang out, read, or nap. The campground was “Dry camping” but it did have showers and flush toilets, which works great on any day for this kind of traveling. They also had a little store made from two containers welded together, and a viewing deck on top to watch the ocean and the sunsets.
The campground was about 1/2 mile from the beach access, so we took the pups down there to run in the sand and play. There were tons of surfers out there and that was interesting to watch. The sound of the waves crashing was really loud on this beach and we could hear it all the way back at camp. We got our feet a bit wet, but did not go swimming here. It was hot with the sun at mid day and the pups needed water. Back at camp we decided on another night stay, paid our bill, and relaxed for the afternoon. I got some of these posts done and did a bit of research on the ferry in La Paz.
Well, I got a bit restless later in the afternoon and took a walk north of the campground. about 1/4 mile up there were really nice stables called Villa Santa Cruz, and next to it was a high-end restaurant called The Green Room. Another resort called Caracara was there, and they had a really nice outdoor bar area. I headed back to camp to pick up my wife for a date night. The drinks were delicious and we met and talked with a younger couple from Pittsburg that was here on holiday. After dark we wandered around the resort and marveled at the beautiful buildings and grounds. We walked to the beach and watched the stars from a two-story palapa with cushioned seating.
We both slept really well at Basecamp as it was quiet and we were still a bit tired from the “vacation” we took in San Jose del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas. Great times. Now on to La Paz to get the TIP and get the truck on the ferry to Mazatlan.
Here are some additional photos from Todos Santos and Basecamp.