After crossing the border on New Year’s day we had the entire Baja peninsula in front of us. We were headed southbound for at least the next week. Our first night was a relatively quiet one, after a couple hours of rough road we found ourselves on the beach near La Calavera. We had thought there would be more there, but an old sign was all that was there to note that we had arrived. We found a spot overlooking the beach and watched the sunset.
The linked video below has some highlights from this portion of our trip south, and what follows is “the rest of the story.”
We were up early and on the road, not knowing exactly where we would end up for the night and wanting to take advantage of the daylight. The first town we passed was Rancho Tampico, population 8. We appreciated the warning for the Chupacabras. There were several small towns dotted throughout the trip, all with a small tiendas, and a Tecate sign overhead. You don’t have to go far for simple supplies.
We stopped to fuel up at El Rosario as we understood that the largest gap in fuel lay ahead, then soon found ourselves among the boojum trees in Valles de los Cirios.
The boojum forest is just stunning. I’ve never seen a tree anything like the boojum, and combine that will all the other stunning cacti in the flora and fauna preserve and you have a pure delight for the eyes. We soon recognized a gap in our trip planning – a Baja plant guide. We’ve since found the “Baja California Plant Field Guide” by Rebman and Roberts that will come in handy in the future.
After a full day of driving we found ourselves being able to make it to the Bahia de los Angeles (or Bay of L.A.) as the sun was going over the horizon.
One thing I really wanted to see is some osprey, the fishing bird, and it didn’t take too long to find them. I tried to discern which ones spent the summer on the Deschutes, but they weren’t talking. This one below appeared to have a halibut or something similar in his grasp, and he wasn’t sharing.
We opted for a developed camp and Campo Archelon did not disappoint. The camp was filled with friendly folks and we enjoyed a dinner in the cafe hearing about their trips to date. Tobi and Steve (https://trucklifeoverlanders.com/) from the UK made quick friends as we both had Four Wheel Campers. They quit their jobs and had been travelling Mexico and a bit of the US for many months and had a lot stories. We also met a couple from Bend who ended up camping next to us, that we’d be unlikely to meet in our own hometown. It’s a small world once you get out of the big city!
We gave some thought to sticking around another day, but after deciding that the bay really required a boat for any fishing we decided to keep up on heading southbound. After a couple dead ends leaving town we finally found the “main” road, and we were soon alone with the cacti and blue sky.
The road south of the Bay of L.A. was rough enough that we ended up breaking it into a two day trip. Finding a nice cliff top camp above the beach at San Rafael that looked like it had shore fishing opportunities helped make the decision, and at the pace we were moving it would be dark before we’d reach our next planned stop.
The next day, we were headed south once again. We crossed paths with Richard from www.jackdaw.love and although we didn’t get to visit long it appears he is travelling full time creating free portraits for families. It looks like a great thing he’s doing.
It took us the better part of the day to work our way back out to Mex 1, but the scenery and solitude were worth it. If we only had another day, we could have taken a left and Puerto San Francisquito. This would be a common theme throughout our trip. What would we do with a another day here, or there? Baja seems to present endless possibilities, with little villages or a quiet beach at the end of rough remote roads.
After a quick stop in Guerro Negro for fuel and food we were off to Ojo de Libre in hopes of a whale viewing trip. There wasn’t a lot of activity when we arrived, but we were welcomed by a couple coyotes right at the entrance gate.
When checking in we inquired about the whale tour and the proprietor told us “manana”, he told us quite a bit of information I think, but I picked up manana. So tomorrow it was. We walked down to the dock, watched the flock of pelicans fishing alongside the osprey, with the whales spouting further in the distance.
Back at our palapa the coyotes were on patrol.
The next morning we were up and reported to the office right at 8, which was the posted time for opening. It looked a little quiet around, but we did track down the man we talked to the evening before. When asking about the tour for the day, there was that word again, manana. Apparently we were a bit early for tours to be up and running. The good thing was we’d be passing by on the way north and we’d be determined to see the whales if at all possible. So , as nice as it was we couldn’t wait for an unknown tomorrow, so one last look at Ojo de Libre, and we hit the road south once more.
It was back across the peninsula again, then south to Bahia Conception. There are a lot of camping options on the Bahia Conception, and after trying a couple we were actually finding it a bit crowded, really the first place that was so far. I suppose the white sand, blue water and easy access may have had something to do with it. We were near the south end of the Bahia and really hoping our next spot on the list had a spot for us, when we encountered a plywood sign, and for some reason it just looked appealing.
When we arrived we were the only ones at La Perla. Roberto from California pulled in not long after, along with a few vendors wanting to make us some ceviche. Other than that it was just Rosa, the local who collected the $200 to stay on the beach, and her dog Oso who seemed to know every time a meal was being prepared.
After all the time on the road, we decided pretty quickly that we’d take a layover day. This beach was what I had in mind when I was thinking of camping in Baja. The next day we wandered the beach, did some casting, and enjoyed the 70’s in January.
The next morning we’d continue towards Loreto, but for today we enjoyed the sun, the waves, and a quiet sunset, content at La Perla. The story continues in Part 3.
