We had a quiet Christmas day – Quinn opened a few presents, and we all went out to play on the beach. Walking, making sand castles, and exploring the amazing variety of shells here can occupy many hours in the sun. A big surprise came the following morning in the form of an email from Henry and Kathy, Quinn’s grandparents on the Sparks side. They said they would be driving down to meet us the next day! We were very excited, but decided to keep it a surprise for Quinn.

Our place in Kino isn’t luxurious, but it has a killer view and a giant sandbox out front for Quinn to play in

Playing on the beach

Debbie and Brian have been to Kino several times before, and graciously showed us around town, including all of their favorite restaurants. We really enjoyed the food at the Plywood Palace. As the story goes, it used to be named after the lady who ran the place, but there was no sign up. When she put up plywood walls around what was an open-air patio eating area, the local gringos took to calling the place the Plywood Palace. She embraced the name and had signs made up, and the rest is history.

Dinner at the Plywood Palace

Meanwhile, we were looking for a way to get the van fixed. Other residents at the condo complex we’re staying at referred us to Raphael, a local mechanic who they said speaks English. Witt went to find him on Thursday, and it turns out that the shop where he works is owned by an older American named Dillard. He used to have a shop in Denver, but as he put it he came to Kino one time too many, met a girl, and stayed. That was thirty years ago, and now he owns a small shop here in town.

Raphael took out the fuel tank to inspect the pick-up line for cracks. He didn’t find anything (other than some air in our fuel lines), and suggested that we take it to a diesel specialist shop in Hermosillo. He even offered to ride along to make sure we could find the place and to interpret for us.

When Henry and Kathy arrived on Friday Quinn was beside himself with excitement. He was really happy to see his grammy and papa! Papa wasted no time in starting a game of chase.

Surprise!

On Saturday we went for a short hike at the north end of the bay, followed by an amazing meal at Jorge’s, a seafood restaurant in town. We started out with giant (and very tasty) margaritas for $4, accompanied by a huge plate of steamed clams.

Sunday was the day of Quinn’s big birthday party (celebrated a few days early since our friends and family are leaving on Monday). We made fajitas and tequila drinks, and Jen even baked her amazing vegan Quinn-friendly birthday cake. The piñata was a big hit, although we discovered that it didn’t come with the candy already in it. You have to cut a hole and add your own. Fortunately Jen had bought some candy just in case, so all was right with the world.

Woohoo! Bashing stuff!

The whole Kino crew!

On Monday Witt got up bright and early to meet Raphael. They drove the 100km to the shop in Hermosillo, but the van was running normally. To make a long story (and day) short, we drove 250 miles round trip to the town of Ures in the hills east of Hermosillo trying to replicate the problem. We never could; then van ran perfectly the whole time.

Raphael and Witt had lunch at a great little place in Ures during the test drive.

We discussed what to do next – do we have enough confidence in the van to carry on, or should we head north and re-assess our choice of vehicle, and perhaps try again another time? In the end we decided that we’re not ready to throw in the towel just yet. Next stop Copper Canyon!

Our first afternoon in Los Barriles was spent playing on the beach. The waves were a bit smaller than in Cabo, so we were able to get out into the water a bit. We headed back to the campground and had shrimp in garlic and olive oil (mojo de ajo in español) with chips, guacamole, and tequila in fresh squeezed grapefruit juice. Yum.

Who buried Quinn?

We found out from our friends Brian and Lisa, who spent Thanksgiving in Los Barriles, that there’s a turtle hatchery in town where baby turtles are raised and released into the wild. We went in search of it, but unfortunately they had just done their release the previous day. After lunch of paella at a local Spanish restaurant, we reluctantly packed up to head back to La Paz for our sea kayaking trip the next day.

As we were raising the top on our van for the evening, we heard a sharp crack. One of the steel mounts for the actuator motors had snapped. On the advice of Chris from San Francisco, who was camped next to us, I removed the offending pieces and went to the campground office. The owner made a quick phone call, and within a total of 2 hours a couple of guys showed up, took the broken parts, and returned with them welded back together. I re-installed the part and we were able to set up camp for the night.

We met for our snorkeling and sea-kayaking trip at the tour outfitters’ office in town. A motorboat took us on a two-hour speed boat ride to a sea lion rookery where we were able to snorkel with the sea lions.

Next stop was a beach on Isla Espiritu Santo for a short-sea kayaking tour of the bay. This is the same beach where Ed, Annette, and I camped 16 years ago while on a multi-day kayaking trip here. We enjoyed the warm sand and the beautiful turquoise waters.

Near Isla Espiritu Santo

Quinn enjoyed the bouncy boat ride

Sea Kayaking was also a hit

Pelicans on a boat in La Paz harbor

The next day we had planned to return to Los Barriles and get another shot at seeing the turtles. We were just heading out of town when the van started to act funny, losing power under acceleration. We turned around and headed back to the campground in La Paz. Suspecting dirty fuel, I spent the afternoon replacing the fuel filter.

After the repairs were done we decided to take the van for a test drive. It seemed better, but we won’t really know until we can get it on the highway. We stopped at the local Autozone where we tried to find a replacement spare fuel filter. We came close, but it wasn’t quite the right part. We stopped for an early dinner at a local seafood place that was packed. We were the only gringos in the place, and we enjoyed shrimp, beer and margaritas, live music and salsa dancers. Seems like the thing to do on a Sunday afternoon!

On Monday after a leisurely morning we drove to the La Paz ferry terminal to board a ferry to Topolobampo (isn’t that the coolest name?) on mainland Mexico. After an uneventful but crowded ferry ride, we made the short drive to Los Mochis, where one of our guidebooks promised a campground. It was almost midnight when we arrived, and the campground looked deserted. We found a nearby hotel where we paid for a room for a secure place to park and a bathroom.

On the ferry

The next day we headed out on the long drive to Bahia Kino to meet our friends Debbie and Brian and their daughter Maya who had driven down with Brian’s sister and her family to celebrate the holidays. We turned off the main highway (Mex 15) toward Kino on a little used back road – most visitors arrive from the north and use a different road. This turned out to be a mistake, as the road was by far the worst we’ve seen on our trip thus far. It’s one of those roads that had been paved but you wish it hadn’t.

As soon as the road improved enough to allow us to get above 20mph we discovered that the van was again very sluggish. We limped the last 50km into Kino unable to go faster than 40mph. We were very happy to arrive at the condo we had reserved where Brian was waiting for us with some cold beers. We all enjoyed a Christmas Eve dinner at a local seafood restaurant.

Christmas morning in Bahia de Kino

Merry Christmas!!!

After checking into a campground outside of La Paz, we drove into town to get a late lunch and find the office for Baja Ferries, which we would need to visit on Monday to buy our ferry tickets to the mainland. We found the ferry office which happened to be very close to a large playground, which Quinn noticed immediately. We were all hungry, so we promised to visit the playground on Monday and headed off to find some lunch.

We ended out in a place called La Fonda a few blocks in from the beach, on the recommendation of Lonely Planet. The served the traditional Mexican “lunch,” which is traditionally the largest meal of the day, eaten between 2 and 4 pm. It’s a set menu consisting of a soup, a choice of hot entrees, a couple of shots of tequila, and a desert. I had an excellent grilled fish, and Jen had enchiladas in a molé sauce which was also very yummy. The whole thing cost only $15, and this in one of Baja’s main tourist towns.

After lunch we walked down to the Malecón (waterfront sidewalk) and found people setting up for a concert. They even had a bouncy castle which was in the process of being inflated when we arrived. We let Quinn play in it until it started to get dark, then headed back to our campsite.

The Malecón

Bouncy Castle!

On Monday we hit the ferry office first, buying tickets for the following Monday. The whole thing was pretty simple. It took about an hour and cost $320 for us, our van, and a cabin on board. Next stop, the playground. We found a parking spot, and guy offered to wash the van, which it badly needed.

The playground even had a tiny little coin-op Thomas, which Q loved.

Next stop, the taco stand for lunch. We got our tacos to go, which is quite a challenge. The beauty of Mexican tacos is all of the accompanying salsas, which makes a to-go order pretty difficult. They had little plastic bags that you could fill up with the salsas, but unless you’re practiced at it, it’s a big mess. We took our tacos down to the waterfront to eat. It was nice, but we’ll opt for a place with tables next time.

Next we walked to the offices of Mar y Aventuras, a local guiding company, and booked a sea kayaking trip for Saturday. This is the same company that my friends Ed, Annette, and I went through for a 4 day kayaking trip over 16 years ago!

With 5 days until our departure for the mainland, we headed out to explore the rest of the cape area. First stop, Todos Santos, for an amazing but expensive lunch at a boutique hotel overlooking the sea. We decided to go to Cabo San Lucas to camp for the night, in hopes of getting some beach time. The campground turned out to be not so nice, with an ugly walk on a busy dirt road to get to the beach. See, this trip isn’t all roses and sunshine for us!

Lunch in Todos Santos

The next day turned out much better. We drove to San Jose del Cabo and pulled off the road where it crossed a bridge over an arroyo and parked under the bridge for some shade. We found a palapa on the beach and spent a couple of hours playing the waves.

Chillin’ on the beach

The waves here a little too big for Quinn to play in, but he liked it when I held him and let the breakers crash over us.

For lunch we had a choice: The tourist restaurant on the beach with views of the ocean, or the guy who had a stand set up under the bridge serving seafood out of a cooler at his three tables. We’re seeing this a lot: eat where the locals eat and there won’t be a view of the beach, the food will probably be great, and it will be inexpensive. Eat with a view of the beach and the food will also probably be good, the view will be great, the staff will speak English, and you’ll pay US prices. Today we opted for the view. ☺

After lunch it was time for something completely different. We headed inland to camp near a waterfall we read about. It was a great choice. We drove up a dirt road into the hills to a nice, if primitive, campground. The waterfalls were about a 15 minute hike away, and although the water was too cold to play in for long, we had a good time talking to a family on holiday from Michigan. That night we had a blissfully quiet evening under the stars.

Paradise Found?

The water coming down the waterfall was much warmer than the water in the pool.

Back to the beach again, this time in Los Barriles. We are staying at an amazing RV park here. It’s full of Americans here for the winter, and we can understand why. We only just arrived, and a full report on the town will be forthcoming soon!

Pool time!

Next up, birds, a dance from Quinn, and a little desert driving…

More photos…

After leaving Bahía de Los Angeles we headed south for Bahía Concepción. We stopped in San Ignacio to see the mission church there and have lunch. The town was pleasant with a small, clean central square.

Mission San Ignacio

We arrived in Mulegé early in the afternoon and after doing a bit of grocery shopping we decided to eat out for lunch. It was there that we discovered that Quinn loves tacos! Jen and I enjoyed ours too. The best part is the plate of 3 or 4 different kinds of salsas and pickled onions that is typically served to adorn the tacos.

Mmmm tacos

Two thumbs up!

After spending the night in a campground just outside of Mulegé, we continued south and found a campground on Bahía Concepción. “Campground” is a bit generous; it was really just a beach with a couple of pit toilets. There wasn’t even anyone there to collect money from us.

There were 3 cars on the beach when we arrived. There was a sea kayaking guide and his wife from British Columbia who were scoping out possible kayaking expeditions. In the other camper was a man who we didn’t actually talk to until we were packing up to leave two days later. He rarely left his camper, but starting at about 3 or 4 in the afternoon, he would play his harp or his violin, providing a fantastic musical accompaniment to a very peaceful and quiet beach setting.

We enjoyed two days of amazing stars, campfires and roasting marshmallows on the beach, and general relaxation before continuing south to Loreto.

Sunset on the beach

Turkey vultures keep watch from atop their thorny perch

The road south led through some nice hilly country

We made a side trip into mountains to San Javier to visit the mission there. The road to the mission was paved, but it was obvious that the mountainous terrain made maintaining the road difficult at best. There were many places where the road had been washed away and was in the process of being repaired.

We found a tiny playground for Quinn in the village of San Javier

We spent one night in Loreto, enjoying the company of Josh and Shannon from Steamboat Springs, also on their way to South America. We joined them for a walk into the central part of town for dinner.

The next day we drove to Lopez Mateos hoping again to see whales, but we are still a couple of weeks too early. The town seems to open up only for whale season, and the campground listed in our guide book wasn’t open for the season yet. Instead we paid for a room at a hotel (which cost half as much as the RV park we stayed in at Disneyland!) where we were able to park the van in the courtyard. We slept in the van, but used the shower and bathrooms in the room.

This tiny dog joined us for dinner at the hotel in Lopez Mateos

More photos…

The beach in Ensenada

From Ensenada we continued south on MEX1, stopping for the night in San Quintin. It’s pronounced “keen-tin” and we told Quinn people might start calling him keen. We found a very nice campground complete with a playground and spent the afternoon planning our route south and playing in the sand. On the recommendation of our guidebook and a group of bird-watching Californians Witt ran into while out for a walk, we decided to eat at the restaurant just down the street from the campground. It was an excellent choice, with fresh ceviche and fish stuffed with jalapeno cheese and wrapped in bacon. Mmmm bacon. Oh and the happy hour price for beer was $1.50. I love Mexico.

Playground!

The next day we put in a long day driving to reach Bahia de Los Angeles, a speck of a town on the gulf side of the peninsula about 40 miles off the main road. We were treated to some spectacular desert scenery.

Yes, there is a road amongst the saguaros.

We found a great campground where we could park 20 feet from the beach.

This is a Boojum tree, and looks like something out of Dr Seuss. Apparently it’s only found in Baja.

As we neared the coast, we were treated to amazing views of the bay.

Quinn wasted no time in heading to the beach…

… And we wasted no time in breaking out beer, chips, and salsa.

After a few months of staying at deserted campgrounds, we have suddenly started meeting other travelers. We met 4 or 5 other long term travelers in the campground and shared stories and plans over a bowl of guacamole. It feels very good to meet other folks as crazy as we are! We spent the next day relaxing on the beach and going for walks. There’s ample bird life and the scenery doesn’t get old.

On Monday we packed up and headed back inland to re-join the highway, following a retired German couple in their RV. We were both headed to Guerrero Negro, hoping to see some grey whales. Unfortunately are a couple of weeks too early – the whales are still making their way south along the coast. We camped with Peter and Christa and joined them for an excellent meal at a nearby restaurant.

Mmmm. Camarones in Mojo de Ajo

A good meal with new friends. The octopus is plastic. I thought it was real at first!