We did not have a tour scheduled for the day so we figured we would go out to find some whales along the coast south of San Jose del Cabo. But before that, we had been passing this store near our AirBnB that had a bunch of Christmas stuff and Donna loves Christmas decorations. (You should see her house during the holiday, decorated inside and out, front and back yard, and is the spectacle for their subdivsion.
The store was 3 floors of Christmas decorations and eclectic furniture and decorations. I found this cool chair basket swing that was ultra comfortable and only $500 USD. Back in the states this one would be $1200 or more. They even had a fake (or it could be real) VW Bus that was made into a kind of gazebo. That one was 75% off at only $6k USD. It was definitely an interesting place where Tim and Donna found some Christmas decorations that were one-way mirrors that projected LEDs into the abiss. They purchased 6 of them and had them wrapped for travel. I found an interesting toilet with the sink to wash your hands as the cover… it drained back into the bowl.
We headed south to San Jose and Kathy guided us to a road that took us to where her and the campground girls had gone to a local market the previous weekend. The road started in a wash and then climbed up along the coast on a well aged, rutted, and rocky track. I was a bit nervous because we were in the rental car, not the 4×4, but in the end I did not hit anything beneath the car or damage any of the tires. (I had skipped the insurance with Hertz because instead of something reasonable, like $20 per day insurance, they wanted $600 (half the cost of insuring Howie for 6 months in Mexico). I was betting on chance and that my costco card and other insurance would cover at least some of it. We did see a few whales way off in the distance, but I was more interested in the homes constructed along the beach.
We found a path down an arroyo to the beach and proceeded to see if we could see the whales better down there. And then we found the wild donkeys. Kathy and Donna were quickly up to the herd and were feeding and petting them in no time. All were moms with their yearlings so of course the babies were all fluffy and cute. They spent about an hour getting their fill of animal interactions. Seagulls on day 2, Camels on day 3, and donkeys on day 4.
We got back to the car with the donkey herd escorting us the entire way. There was a restaurant called Zachs that was recommended by Chandra and Koby so we had lunch there. This was probably the most expensive place we had food. Two margaritas, 4 craft beers, two bean and rice burritos, some chips, guac, salsa, fish and chips, and two tacos was close to $100 USD. I talked to this guy I met on the morning dog walks named Carson who has lived in Cabo since 2004, and I asked him about prices. He said when he first moved down there the food was cheap, awesome, and the whole scene was a party atmosphere but in the last 15 years, all the resorts and restaurants have changed everything and the food, drinks, and atmosphere is just expensive. He said he rarely eats out and cooks his own food in the house he is building. Carson was an interesting guy in the several conversations we had.
We headed back to San Jose, stopped at Campoamigos RV park to show Donna and Tim and to say hello to Koby and Chandra. On the way home we stopped and visited some shops at the north end that Kathy wanted to go back to. We then hit up Walmart 1 and Walmart 2 for a few last minute shirts and trinkets for Donna and Tim to take back to their family. Overall it was a fantastic day hanging out with friends and putzing around the cape of Baja California.
We had signed up for a Camel tour and Outback adventure with a local tour group called Cabo Adventures. They have resellers everywhere and we found a guy in San Jose the first day we were there and got it from him on a 2 for 1 price. There was a bit of confusion on the pick up location but eventually figured out it was at the marina again. We stopped at Walmart along the way because one requirement was close toed shoes and we had to pick up a pair.
The tour was about 40 minute drive out of town toward Todos Santos, on the Pacific side. We all shared photos from the day before, took a few selfies, and just watched the lush desert as we drove north. When we arrived at the location, it was a self-contained area that provided side-by-side tours, camel rides, lunch, tequila tasting, and desert hikes along side a lush resort catering to yoga and quiet beach vacations. Of course, we were there for the camel rides, a bucket list for Kathy.
The ride was about 25 minutes and we leaned a bit about the camels before and after the ride. We weren’t supposed to pet them, talk to them, or interact so as to not spook them and buck us off. It was a really cool experience, especially with Kathy giggling the whole time up in the saddle on the camel. At the finish, we dismounted and then moved over where we could pose for some pictures with a two-humped camel. It turns out they have one hump and two hump camels there with the one-hump as the riders and the two hump as the posers for the cameras. The one hump are desert camels with short mattie hair and the two hump are the northern cold desert camels, with more hair. Needless to say, Kathy loved the camel kissing session.
After the camels, we got a quick tour of the desert where we learned of some of the local plants with medicinal and sunblock characteristics. The one with the sunblock, you break off a little bit of the branch and the sap can be rubbed directly on your skin for an SPF 90 sunblock. It is white when you rub it on but quickly absorbs into the skin. They showed us barrel cacti that can be used for water in case of an emergency, and for water filtering if the water in the are is not safe to drink. And the Cardon cacti, in the same family as the saguaro cactus has psychedelic properties if you drink the sap, but it will also give you extreme diarrhea for 2-3 days after consuming. The first part is enticing, but the second is definitely a deterrent, so hence, we did not try.
The third part of the Outback experience was lunch and tequila testing. The lunch included napoli, a cactus that is cooked and then sliced and put into salads. It looked like green bean salad and tasted pretty much the same. The tortillas and salad and ribs and other foods were ok but were definitely buffet food. They have two very large dining areas and we were there on one of the days that very few folks were attending so it was quiet.
The Tequila tasting was definitely not the same caliber as the one the night before, but the we managed 5-6 shots of various tequilas and mescals and one drink that was incredibly sweet in a bottle of a pregnant woman. I think I had had enough at that point and don’t remember the story about that one. I was too busy watching the whales that were surfacing a half mile from the beach.
We headed back to the pick up spot in a Jurassic Park style truck and then headed back in to town to the marina. We wanted to do a bit more shopping for Donna and Kathy as they had tested many many shops and had to go back to one that had some shirts they enjoyed. Tim and I waited at the bar across the road and had a beer before the ladies rejoined us for some cocktails.
It was getting late and they wanted to stop by Walmart again to look for some shirts and then we had dinner at a nice little taco shop across the highway from Costco near the AirBnB. We finally tasted some fish ceviche and it was delicious.
We started the day with packing a lunch for the crew so we could hang out on the beach, which was one stop on the harbor tour we chose. It was a quick drive to the harbor and then finding a place to park. The lot next to the harbor is only $15 pesos an hour so we waited about 15 minutes for a spot in the lot. The tour place was easy to find and we signed in and were assigned a spot on a boat that was leaving in about 15 minutes. We all had to wear life vests and once on the boat and out in the channel we all posed for the obligatory photo.
The tour is a quick guided ride out into the harbor and along the rock formations that is called Land’s End for Baja California. There are several beaches at the beginning of the tour that are good for families, scuba diving, and snorkeling due to the reduced waves and currents. At the snorkeling beach, the glass-bottomed boat allowed us to see fish swimming underneath, however there were more if we just looked over the sides. We spent a few minutes gazing over the fish before continuing on to the other sites, many of which were caves or rock formations with stories or names to make the tours fun. The final beaches were Lover’s Beach and Divorced Beach before we cruised through some of the channels into the Pacific Ocean side. We all took a bit of time to take photos at the famous arch in Cabo’s bay with the hundreds of other boats that stop throughout the day. On the way back we stopped at Lover’s beach, got off, and made a quick camp in the sand for lunch. We spent a bit over an hour there before heading back to the tour boat.
The beach was pretty fun and we made the mistake of feeding a seagull, which of course invited dozens to join him. We gave them crackers and some pringles until one of the more daring birds grabbed the cracker bag out of Kathy’s hand and took off, intending to break the slow feeding into a shared feeding frenzy with dozens of them fighting over the crumbs. We are not sure some of our neighbors appreciated it, but it was fun for us. On the way back, the seals were in the harbor and were following the fishing boats into the harbor to get the remains of the bait that were not used. This of course provided opportunities for some photos.
We exited the tour after about three hours (HAHA!, a three hour tour), and dropped stuff back at the car. We headed into the port to do some shopping and have a beverage after the scorching day at the beach. The first place we stopped for margaritas and mojitos because they advertised 2 for 1 happy hour. It turned out to be not good, which is probably why no one was there, and the price was like $500 pesos ($30 USD) for 4 small plastic cups of badly mixed drinks. We left and crossed over into the town and visited the many shops along the route. We ended up finding the Cabo Wabo Cantina and went in for a hopefully better margarita and some guacamole. The bill was paid for some good (and expensive) drinks and on the way out we stopped by the shop to get some stickers, shirts, and Tim bought a bottle of their Tequila for about $72 USD. (More on that later).
Shopping continued and the ladies made their deals while they sent us off for a promotion $1 beer at a tequila shop. We met the shopkeep (barkeep) and she began a tour of the tequilas on display. Many were in fancy bottles and she explained that the tequila was the same in those bottles as in the regular bottles, but people like to collect the ceramic, beaded, or painted collector’s editions. She then asked if we wanted an education on tequila and mescal. Of course! Our experience with tequila is pretty much body shots in college and margaritas (which I recently leaned how to make, properly).
Silver, Reposido, Anijo, and Mescal are three different versions of a similar product. First, the worm story… It was used initially to differentiate between Tequila silver and Mescal Silver in the early years. Mescal has the worm, which we found out should be complete and in tact, otherwise the bottle of mescal is likely old and of poor taste. Tequila is made from 100% blue agave while Mescal is made from any and all other forms of agave. Second, when the agave is shaved and the resulting “pineapple” is harvested, Tequila (blue agave) are baked in ovens until the pineapple is sufficiently dried and the “honey” can be pressed out of the core. Mescal is similarly harvested, but the drying is managed in a pit where a fire is lit above the pineapples and result in an earthy, smokey version of the same “honey”. The different drying method along with the blue versus “any” agave is what distinguishes tequila from mescal.
So on with the tasting. Silver tequila is basically the fermented honey that has been distilled several times, as the initial fermentation yields 160 proof tequila. It is distilled several times and cut with water to make the 38-40% (76-80 proof) tequila we drink. There is a bit of a scandal going on these days in that some of the tequilas are no longer made from 100% agave and are cut with corn, resulting in only 30% sugar from the agave. The ones we sampled were certified 100% blue agave. Lilyanne made us understand that you mix drinks with silver because using reposido or anejo, you were removing the extra aging and flavoring that made those types special. Reposido tequila is aged in barrels for 2-12 months only giving it a rested flavor. Anejo is aged 12-18 months usually, but up to 3 years in a variety of barrels. Extra Anejo is 3 years and above and can contain a variety of spices and flavors. There are a couple of other ones, like anejo but filtered (cristalilo) or Joven (gold) tequilas that are silver mixed with aged…
And how to drink… The lime, salt piece is for a couple of real reasons; or at least the lime. You are supposed to taste the lime to prepare your mouth and throat for the tequila. It causes you to produce saliva that will reduce the burn and allow for full flavor. Good silver tequila is easy to drink this way as is the reposido. When you get to the Anejo, no lime should be needed. You first kiss the tequila, putting a bit on your lips in the glass (not a shot glass) and then breathing in the tequila. When sipping it, you take it in your mouth, swish it around a bit, and then swallow, then breathing out to get the full flavor. It is definitely not the way we have experienced tequila. It is very good, tasty, and warm feeling. Reposido that we tasted was rested 12 months and the anejo was a 3 year. Anejo was very sweet and full flavor, much like a brandy or good whiskey. The Reposido had the best flavor for our liking.
The Mescal is consumed similarly, except that you finish it with an orange slice instead of lime. The smokey flavor is rather interesting and nothing I had ever experienced. It is easy to drink and does not really burn, as we typically experience. It is also a sipping drink that us usually consumed cold or with ice (as with anejo). Lillyanne was a good salesperson as we decided to purchase 3 bottles from her and provided her with a tip for the education.
By that time we had decided that Sammy’s Cabo tequila needed to be returned for a couple of reasons… no taste test for us on the 6 types they sell, and it was $72 ($1200 pesos) where this really good reposido stuff we just experienced was $50. The ladies took Sammy’s back to get a refund. And here is where the story comes in for the Cabo Wabo Cantina. When they came back they were given $140 pesos… two 50’s and two 20’s. We said hold the phone and headed back to the cantina shop to get the correct amount. When we got there the ladies behind the counter tried to accuse them of swapping bills. Kathy saw the cameras and we asked for the manager and said we would wait for the security to inspect the transaction. The sales ladies said something like “they would have to take it from their personal money, but wanted to make it right”. Bottom line, they gave us back two $500 peso bills along with the two $20’s. They still managed to steal $160 pesos from Tim, but at that point we figured it was lucky we got anything back. Sammy, check your people!!!
We finished off the night with more browsing and then a quick bite at a street side restaurant. The tacos were good and the drinks were ok and overpriced, but hey, we are in Cabo at the heart of the tourist money making machine….
We traveled to Cabo and checked in to an AirBnB for our friends visit over the weekend. We were excited to get a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and laundry. The place looked really nice on the app when booking, and after arriving, the lady was really nice and set us up in the 3 BR place. The pictures on the app were a bit different than the actual place, but it was still pretty nice and the location was 10 minutes from down town, 2 minutes from grocery stores, Costco and Walmart.
Some translations: Cabo means Cape in Spanish.
I misunderstood the time Tim and Donna were arriving to be 7 PM when it was actually at 1PM and I had scheduled to pick up the rental car at 12PM at the marina. The airport is 40 minutes from Cabo, and I still had to walk the 2.5 miles to the Hertz location. and it was 10:30 AM. So I took off, figuring it would be close, or they’d have to wait an hour or so. I made it at 11:45 but it took them until 12:35 to get me the car… but on the walk over, Donna texted that their plane was delayed and would not get there until 3:35. It always works out and I drove the little VW SUV to get Kathy.
We picked them up after finally finding where they had walked off to and then drove them straight to San Jose del Cabo. I hijacked the crew and took them to a Birria place that Coby and Chandra had recommended as being the best in San Jose. The place had 3 things on the menu… Birria, Carne Asada, and tripe and two options for shells, soft or crispy. The were pretty good with all the sauces and grilled peppers and onions. Yum. From there we took them to the art district in San Jose del Cabo, which was at night and incredibly beautiful. Kathy and Donna loved walking through all the shops and Tim and I enjoyed the whole experience.
The city is still decorated for the holidays and it was nice to be down there at night. We walked through the art district, looked at some interesting and expensive “art” and furniture, and took in the entire area with a different view than in the daylight from a couple days before. A breeze had come in and it got a bit cold so we headed back to the car. Along the way we stopped and scheduled two tours, one a harbor and beach tour and the other a Camel adventure tour. We finally got them back to the AirBnB around 9 PM where we caught up and had a ton of laughs.
We decided to make our way up to another beach camp so as to not harass the crabs on this beach anymore, plus we were running low on . Packing up Howie takes about 10 minutes; pulling up the jacks, putting away the ground legos, making the bed, putting the chair on the bed, making sure the coffee pot and any extra items are secured in the sink, making sure the dog’s water and food are stashed away, and finally the steps and the tools in the back compartment. The dogs are always sure to be up and ready in the camper/truck so as to not leave them. I no longer have to put the Starlink away as it had found a new secured home in the skylight above the bed.
The drive to San Jose del Cabo was only 31 miles, but the road was really bad. The storms this past September wreaked havoc on this area and they have not really recovered. So we bounced, swayed, rattled, and clunked our way along the coast looking for another site. We stopped in a surfing town because the restaurant called “Shade” was rated highly. It turns out we shared some fantastic fajitas and guacamole in their beautiful outdoor patio. Kathy was enamored with the donkeys running around, begging for carrots or anything to eat. They made their rounds amongst the campers at the beach.
Wild burros wandering the beaches in Baja Sur.
After lunch we headed up to the local store to see about getting some needed groceries. This place was not really a store, but rather a collection of items covered in dust that may or may not sell. The camping there was free, but it is getting close to Cabo so it is a bit more crowded, so we headed down the road again to see about some other sites. Kathy took that opportunity to give the donkeys some sweet treats (some milk candies that were not tasty to us). Her smile when interacting with animals is priceless.
Kathy was all smiles feeding the burros at the beach.
More bad roads for a few more miles as we passed several other beach camping spots, which turns out were already filled up. The last ditch place before San Jose del Cabo was something called Unicorn Beach, but that was filled with locals, with no camping on the beach, and trash was everywhere. So back to iOverlander to find a space in the city. We found a great camp about 6K out of town that was being built by a young couple called Costamigos RV resort. Their location is a bit out of town and right off Highway 1. It is quiet and the stars and sunsets are gorgeous. Their common building is beautiful with a great roof-top area for eventually hanging out.
We were very busy in San Jose. Maggie needed to get a hair cut so we traveled in to town to get her an appointment. We went down town to check out the shopping area downtown and found some cute little shops where Kathy found some shirts she wanted. We had some great tacos and learned a bit of Spanish along the way.
Maggie sporting her new bobbed ears and her short Cabo haircut.
The next few days were filled with chores and great sunsets. We dismounted Howie off of the truck and I got the tires rotated on the truck, the truck washed, the sway bar bracket fabricated and reinstalled, and Kathy cleaned up our little home. Maggie got her hair cut, nails trimmed, and treated for flies and fleas. The groomer was from Uruguay and gave us some tips on where to visit when we get there. We ended up spending 4 nights at Costamigo RV park and met some cool Germans, Canadians, and Americans, which we celebrated Jan 6, Dia de los Reyas (Three Kings Day), with some local bread and hot chocolate. The group even found the baby Jesus in one of the bread slices, a tradition for the holiday in Mexico.
Getting a new sway bar bracket manufactured and installed.
This post was done partially on the 8th and then finished the 11th. We have friends visiting in Cabo for the weekend and we are doing some local tourist activities and I will get the pictures and narratives posted as soon as I can. Lots of fun, lots of laughs, and the best tequila we have ever tasted.
We headed down Highway 1 and turned off on the road to Cabo Pulmo. We had been recommended this place by Arnold in La Paz as well as some friends of Kathy’s. We looked on the iOverlander map to see about camping and there was one place north of town that might work, but since Cabo Pulmo was a marine preserve, no beach camping was allowed. The road was paved and pretty good until all of a sudden it was not. The pavement ended and a dusty, washboarded, and rocky road replaced it. We bumped along for 30 minutes or so until we made it into Cabo Pulmo.
This town is busy and full with snorkeling, scuba, and wildlife tour groups. There are lots of cabanas to house the divers and only one campground that was charging $60 per night to stay. We looked at the free spot north of the town but it was filled with long term campers already, so we took the pups on a walk along the beach, and then had lunch at the local taco shop. The food was ok, and the place was pretty busy. It was really windy and the waves were pretty bad, so snorkeling was out for the rest of the day. We decided to head ot another cove south of there to see about camping, but when we got there, the place looked like a junk yard and the noted price of $100 pesos per person to camp in their lot was actually $210, meaning $25 USD to camp in essentially a small parking lot. We opted to continue on as we did not feel great about this place.
We found a nice beach at the bottom of the park called Los Frailes Fishing Camp that had good reviews and apparently had a seal colony that lived at the rock outcropping. We set up camp about 50 yards away from campers on each side of us and took a walk along the beach. The wind was still high and there were tons of campers out here, but it seemed a nice place. But as we walked back to Howie, I noticed a beat up truck right behind us, literally 10 feet from our back door. As we approached, this old Ford Escape, beat to hell, had a big pit bull tied to its bumper, and looked as if the contents of the vehicle had spilled everywhere, including undergarments draped over some logs, was parked right at our back end, not 5-10 feet from our camper. I was astounded that someone would set up so close with so much room out here. I should have snapped a picture, because my description probably lacks how close and nasty his setup was.
And then this short, scrawny, little dude came up dragging more stuff from the beach and said, “I’m Daveed and this is my family”. I said something to to the effect that they were camping a bit close and he said he was off taking a shower and had been there for a month, like it was us that camped on top of him. Likely he may have been there, but not likely given his lack of gear/indicators someone was or had camped there. What I do know is that setting up in someone else’s camp is pretty rude no matter where you are from. If this was his month-long camp, there was nothing left at the site when we pulled up, and nothing at all indicating someone was there for a long period, so I know I did not invade. I was going to move a little down the beach, but decided to just leave instead to find something a bit more remote. Another strange feeling at this beach, so we left.
We found a nice remote spot next to a property called “Los Dunas” in Santa Barbara. We camped at the effluence of a wash right off the beach. There was some traffic here, as this was an access point to the beach, but it was relatively quiet for the two nights we stayed here. There is a big dune just past the big house that had some turtle nests at its base. We still haven’t seen any turtles, but lots of egg shells. The moon rises here are spectacular, as are the sunrises. I did get to try out the new snorkeling mask and snorkel at this site. I enjoyed swimming several times at this site. I can’t wait to get to a reef where more fish are.
Our beach camp at Santa Barbara, BCS.
The beach sand is always interesting to me, especially here with the wind erasing the previous day’s visitors’ tracks. We saw tons of these little tracks here, as well as at some of the past beaches, and I was trying to figure out what they might be. A quick Google search revealed they are hermit crab tracks. Now when I say tracks, they are everywhere and these little guys do several hundred yards each in a night. The second night we were here I got the flood light out and started my hunt. It took about 5 minutes to find one. We then collected about 7 of them in a bowl, took some pictures and movies, and then set them off. I wonder what makes them pick the direction they go. Two went west toward the wash and the rest headed east back toward the ocean.
Some local wildlife making their way from a day at the beach. See notes below of the house in this picture.
It was fun at night with the flood light to see all the little tracks. I even found the tracks of some snake out here that crossed from the bushes next to the truck across the wash. Kathy and I tried to track it but lost it at the other side of the wash with the snake never revealing itself. In the mornings I can find lots of little critter tracks including what I think are rabbits.
We have a couple of friends headed down to meet us in Cabo in a few days. We will break camp here and head south. We are about 2 hours by dirt road from San Jose del Cabo, so we will stop at this little surfer village called Nine Palms.
Note on house next to the camp: I was intrigued by the collapsing structure at the edge of the arroyo and it seemed it could be part of this massive house behind, or it could be separate. I opened Google Earth and investigated over the past 25 years of satellite photos. The structure used to have a palapa at the top and a small building to the north. It looks like the house was started in 2003-2005 time frame. Some more research on Los Dunas and I found that is is for sale for $12M. The house is part of an eventual subdivision, but the entire property is 72 acres (or maybe hectares). I found the MLS listing if anyone is interested, where they say it is only 31 miles from San Jose Los Cabos but fail to mention that it is 31 miles of rough dirt road to get here with nothing at all nearby. I guess if that is what you are looking for. Here is the MLS listing. The house is stunning.
We traveled down to the town of Los Barriles, or the lost barrels, which only took an hour or so from our last camp in the mountains. There was a water station on the way so we stopped by and purchased 25 gallons for $80 Pesos (about $5) and then headed in to find a camp spot. We had looked on iOverlander and there was not much for free camping in an around this town that was close enough to shopping, etc., so we headed to a campground in the center that had reasonably good rates. They were full, but had two overflow spots, which turned out to be really nice as they still had power and water and were 10 meters from the pool, showers, laundry and bathrooms. They charged $30 USD per day, but with showers and a pool in the center of town, we were all in.
We took the pups for a walk around the campground to get our bearings while Kathy headed out to the street to start looking at the shops. Once the dogs were walked, I met her along her parusing and then we set out for something to eat. The street that the campground was on was very busy and narrow with people parking on one side or the other. The traffic worked its way in and out and for the most part the drivers found ways through the congestion. We walked along the sidewalks, checked out one of the local grocery stores and several more curio stores. We eventually found our way to Smokies, a bar and restaurant about a quarter of a mile south, where we learned how to make proper margaritas. The food was good too and our spanish is much better as we can now pretty much read the menus. We headed back to the campground and hung out for the afternoon and then took the pups on a long walk along the beach, which they thoroughly enjoyed. We enjoyed a nice dinner at another place just up from the campground and talked with some long-termers and bartenders before heading back to camp.
It was now New Year’s eve and we found out the town had two places that were celebrating. We ended up again at Smokies for our lunch and margaritas and then headed back to camp. I took the pups for another long walk along the beach and saw one of the venues, where some areal spotlights were dancing in the mists and some reggae music was playing. It was a bit crowded with cars running along the beach, so the pups and I headed back to camp. A couple of fireworks blasted off around 8PM and of course the pups were a bit nervous, so they took some pills and we all just watched movies for the night. The fireworks at midnight were nonexistent, which we were thankful for (for the dogs).
The pool and hot tub at the campground in Los Barriles. You can see Kathy taking with her sister and Howie in the background.
The next morning I got up a bit later and took the pups for a really long walk, rather unplanned, along the southern beach. We passed one of the exits and I thought there was another a block or two further, but everything was blocked. I ended up walking them through a resort to get back to the street. Maggie had her tongue out so far it was half the size of her head. Zuzu was loving the 2.5 mile walk, but Maggie lagged a bit and was carried for a bit of it. Needless to say, the pups slept the afternoon away in comfort.
We ended up at Smokies again for lunch, and then headed further into town to find a bank to get some more Pesos. It was about 3/4 of a mile down the road and up the hill, but we enjoyed the afternoon walk. We found the big grocery store and I left Kathy there to browse while I walked the 100M further to the bank. When I got back, she had a handful of things already. We ended up with a basket half filled and had to purchase a bag to carry the load back to the camp. We spent one last night in Los Barriles and then pointed Howie south on Highway 1 for some free beach camping. We did not take many photos in Los Barriles. I can tell when the scenery hasn’t changed much as we don’t take as many photos. LOL.
Kathy and I spent three nights here at Jimmy and Yuda’s Hotel and RV park in El Triunfo. The town is a short distance from the RV park and it is very quiet other than the chickens and the cows and horses with bells on roaming the forest. We spent the first day there doing laundry and just hanging out. We did head in to town to look around and ended up having lunch at this really beautiful restaurant. We got there a bit early for their Paella, which the cook was in the process of making. It was fun watching him put the ingredients together into the large pan over the coals. By the time our food came out, I could have just ordered the paella. Maybe next time. It was Sunday, and we asked if they make it on Monday, and of course it was a no. Oh well.
Chef making Paella in El Triumfo
I had the Pork ribs, and yes they were delicious, but not as good as the ones my dad and brother make. They were slow roasted over a fire and had a nice flavor. The BBQ sauce was a bit different than I am used to and they were not as tender as I am used to, which is probably why Dad’s still win. Kathy had a cranberry and pecan salad that she enjoyed very much. We strolled around the building, took in some of the exhibits and the artistry in the courtyards, and just enjoyed the early afternoon. It was all really beautiful. But laundry was in process, so we headed back to get another load in the washer.
Slow roasted ribs and a beautiful salad.
I did get a bit of work done in the afternoon on the Palapa covered kitchen and patio area. I was a bit far from the Starlink so the internet was a bit slow, but I did manage to get posts updated on the website and get some of the security bits updated as well. I am still working on the contact forms, comment forms, etc that just aren’t connecting to the email services. We retired toward the pool a little after 5 in hopes of some adult interactions, but the weather had cooled and the owners retreated to the indoors; although we did manage to order a Margarita. We did find a nice indoor common area where we could get out of the cold wind, and we ended up ordering a pizza from Yudy. Kathy had befriended a couple from New Mexico and talked them into coming down for a chat. We enjoyed exchanging stories of travel with the. This is their 4th time down in Mexico and the third in Baja and had lots of advice and reassurances for us for the mainland.
Some of the art at the restaurant
The second day we were there, we wandered through the town on a couple of hour walk with the pups. The streets are a mixture of pavement, cobblestone, and dirt in this old mining village. There is a huge museum and mining tour (including the underground) and quite a lot of the old buildings have been restored. Part of it is because of the town’s history and partly because it is said the land surrounding the town is owned by Sam Walton’s daughter and she has a vested interest in the area. Either way it is really nice.
We relaxed the rest of the day, mostly inside as the weather had dropped to the low 60’s and it was a bit cold. I worked on some of the mapping issues I am trying to work out for the website and got a bit more reading done in the book that Kathy had picked up in la Paz. We decided to take it easy on the budget and make lunch and dinner, so Kathy made her famous bean dip and I made that Olive Garden parmesan chicken slow cooker recipe with rice. Both were delicious. Looking out the back of the camper at the campsite is a beautiful site.
These saguaro like cacti are abundant in B.C.S.
Ok, now some nerd stuff. I am typing this to download my brain a bit, so skip this portion if it bores you. Here are some photos of the past few days:
I am still working out the power patterns on the solar panels. In this camp we are dry-camping, meaning no water, no sewer, and no electricity. Generally we start the morning with 60% power in the battery, meaning we have used approximately 1500W of power in the past 24 hours (not counting what is used when it is charging). With a full day of sun, I can barely get the batteries from 60% to 100% this time of the year at the angle of the sun. In La Ventana, I pointed the camper south and we seemed to get enough sun to charge it up. But add in clouds and a different angle, and it will not charge completely. It intrigues me with 600W of power on the roof, we should be able to get it done. With the panels in parallel, 3x200W, assuming 85% efficiency, we should be seeing 18A coming in @28V, but it rarely gets to 12A. Maybe I need to assume 50% efficiency, because that seems to be where the current is: getting only 300W from the 600W panels. So in El Truinfo, we were facing southwest and that seemed to be nearly the same as facing south. I am not sure if a tilt would be better when we are stopped. To make it worse, I use a DCDC/MPPT converter that “prioritizes renewable energy”, meaning when the truck is running, it is fully capable of pulling 50A from the truck and using it to charge at 50A into the battery, but it never seems to get above 35A, and usually runs about 25-30A. It seems that the solar is killing the alternator current. Generally we need 5 hours to charge the battery when driving, which seems the case. As long as I park in the sun and make sure solar is charging, it will still fill the battery, in full sun, no clouds. I might just disconnect the solar one of these drive days to see if I can get more power from the alternator source.
I need to go back to the calculations to see what I should be getting with this setup versus what I am actually getting. I thought about getting more batteries during the stop back in AZ in November, but that would just get us several more days out of the battery use, but it would also take longer to charge. On the 5th wheel trailer, the same 3 solar panels are in series and push 10 amps (@115V), which ends up 50+ amps charging. Plus we have 7.2KW of storage compared to 3.6KW in Howie. I am thinking I might need to use a DC/DC charger direct from the alternator without the solar, and get something that will push up to 70A to charge. That would fill the battery in 2 hours of driving. I need to put this in a diagram and the calculations on paper to figure this out. I don’t want to be down in Central America needing to use the AC to keep it cool in the hot hours and not being able to keep the batteries charged.
Kathy and I decided to stay a total of 3 nights at the bay. I started swimming in the sea on day 2 because it was a bit warm on the shore and the water was really nice and refreshing. Kathy was a bit nervous for me since we had seen a couple of Portuguese Man of War that were beached. That day when I decided to go out, it was high tide and the wind had been pushing the water all morning so the waves were 3-5 feet tall. It was a nice swim/float in the water and felt really nice and I did not see any of the dangerous floaties in the water.
Portuguese Man of War stranded on the beach.
The wind on the bay is famous for wind surfing, kite boarding, and wind sailing and in the afternoon, sitting out in it feels somewhat exhausting. There are numerous schools in La Ventana that will teach you how to do any or all of the three, but I decided this was not the time for me to take this one. We were sitting and relaxing and averaging out our travel expenses on this lovely beach. It was actually quite busy here despite how lonely it looks when driving up. Quite a lot of bikers, hikers, 4×4’s, vans, and regular cars come out here to take pictures or just enjoy the scene. There were dozens of mountain bikers on the trails out here, which extend all the way to the lighthouse at the end of the bay. One of the trails is named in a funny way, caca de vaca, as evidenced by the small herd of cows roaming out here. They walk right past Howie in the evening to graze on the berm.
Sundown vaca silhouette.
I watched an interesting hour of night time activity on the last night where a large F250 backed down to the actual waterline. I was sure he would get stuck. The driver and passengers hung out in the cab for a while smoking something as I watched the lighter glow followed by clouds of smoke. Then the donned head lamps, emptied the back of their truck and put the contents on the roof. They proceeded to use buckets to scoop sand into piles, with two of them selecting the sand while the other fished a bit. Then then lined the truck bed with a plastic sheet and scooped the piles of sand into the back. I was sure they’d get stuck now, but they ended up pulling it out and moving it 50 yards down and doing it again. I wondered if it was legal, since at one point a car came up and parked on the rim with the lights brightening up their activity, and then stood there for several minutes behind the truck watching the car. Then proceeded to fill the rest of the truck with sand, place the contents from the roof back into the truck, and then drove off into the night.
Soon afterward this little Ford Ranger with two light bars and side lights pulled up right behind Howie and opened their doors. I was a bit concerned when they turned music on, thinking it was a bit rude, but after a minute the music shut off and then hung out for about 20 minutes and then headed back in to town. Friday night is apparently a great time to head out to the beach.
Saturday we headed in to town as we needed supplies, like beer and veggies. I also wanted to pick up a snorkeling mask since that morning the sea was calm and I went swimming again and wanted to see what I was missing under the water. We drove through La Ventana, El Sargento, and finally stopped for some veggies and beer. We managed to also find a hotel/scuba/wind shop that had some masks for sale. I just bought one for now as I want to make sure it fits well, plus we’d be in Cabo in a week or so where selections would be better. This place had two mask styles and one snorkel. We did stop for lunch at this cute little hotel/restaurant that used 8′ cement pipes as rooms, stacked on top of each other. There was room for a bed and a shelf on the side, but the place used communal bathrooms and showers, had a place for nomads to do work (office space), had a pool, fire pit and meeting area. It was definitely built for modern nomads who work where they play.
The bay is filled with wind enthusiasts.
I had planned to move the camp to the lighthouse area, but more specifically to a cove called Ensenada del Muertos Cove, but after traveling out there, the lighthouse beach was crowded and the other coastline was blocked off by private roads. We instead turned back and headed to the low mountains to camp for a few days. We pulled in to the town os El Triunfo, an old gold mining town and after turning down the first place on iOverlander that was a bit overpriced ($400 Pesos per person, no dogs) we found Jimmy and Yuda’s place, a hotel/RV park that has showers, dry camping, and a washing machine for $500 Pesos. Jimmy and John were hanging out watching the NFL games and were incredibly inviting. We paid for the night and decided to extend it to 3. It’s a great little place, beautiful and quiet and filled with trees and mini saguaro type of cacti. Its a short walk to the town of 300 people. Gonna use this time to get a few things done online that I have been putting off.
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 local trails are great for off-roading, bicycling, and hiking.
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.
