Christmas Journey 2012 - Part Two ~ San Felipe

Part of me really enjoys rolling into a new place at night. It always guarantees a surprise out the window of the hotel in the morning. San Felipe did not disappoint. For some fun history of San Felipe, check out http://sanfelipe.com.mx/about-san-felipe/history/ .

 

As is the usual morning routine, the kids are up at sunrise, which can often be too early for me, but in this location, it was a godsend. The sunrise over the Sea of Cortez was lovely. The Hotel El Cortez is situated directly on the beach, and was quiet and sleepy during this tranquil morning. Our room was one of the beachside bungalows, and offered us soft, sugary sand to romp around in, while the world woke up.

The Hotel El Cortez was founded in 1959 and is quite expansive. It offers traditional hotel rooms, suites, and bungalows on the beach. The restaurant has amazing food, and is surprisingly inexpensive. We enjoyed running in the sand, finding sea treasures, chatting it up with some kids that were also on holiday, all before our fantastic breakfast! 

Tristan's lizard had a harrowing experience, and found himself stuck in the rafters of a palapa. Luckily, Dad was there to save the day. Whew!

Time to head out of San Felipe, down the malecon. Lots of shops, taco stands, fruiterias, and sellers of all sorts of wares. Of course, there's La Iguana, in case you are needing a table dance!

Atop the hill is the shrine to La Virgine de Guadelupe, who watches over San Felipe and the Boom Boom Room. The lighthouse, or faro, is seen just above the 3 story now defunct disco. As we travel out of the main part of the city, there are more and more expansive homes in various stages of completion. San Felipe offers many vacation rentals, as well as a large ex-patriot community. We know that the road south is paved for most of the way to Gonzaga Bay, but our map is old and shows the road y'ing off in separate directions for the airport and mexico 5 south. To make matters worse, our Garmin shows us that we are off the beaten path as well. Silly us, we decide to turn around and try a different route. Oops.

We drive for mere moments on pavement before the road turns to dirt. And rough dirt at that. It is Baja, and we are on an adventure, so we laugh and continue. Miles turn into more miles, and the pavement seems very far away. If it weren't for the coast in the far distance to our left, we would be completely lost. No worries, we continue down the lumpy, bumpy, washboard road, laughing about how we are merely pre-running for the Baja 1000. Eventually we come to a pump station for San Felipe's water, and the family that watches over it is there. We ask them how far to the paved road and they tell us about 10 kilometers. Off we go....

At about 5 km down the road, there is a well traveled side road, and a streetlight in the distance. We turn, figuring it could meet up with the highway at some point. Nope. Just another pump house for a well. We turn around, and head back the way we came. Just getting our timing right.

At about 5 more km and we find another side road, with a tiny sign that read Rancho Perebu, cervezas, jugos, cazuelas, 11 km. We take the chance and follow the road. If nothing else, at the end of this road are drinks! Woot! We drive the washboard woop-de-do road and finally see the signs of the paved highway in the distance! We survived!! Just another adventure to chalk up to needing a map.

Once we reach the pavement, the travel is much easier. Go figure! We discuss how much a trek this path must of been in the past. In order to get further south from San Felipe, you had to be really committed. Next stop, Puertocitos. We drive past several campos and small clusters of communities before we find Puertocitos, where the hot springs are located. This small community is made up of quite a few gringo ex-pats, as well as Mexican families. It is a lovely spot and we are tempted to stay overnight in one of the locals guest houses. 

This is one of the many properties available in Puertocitos. Ironic that the owner has the same area code as we do! Hmmm. Could be a sign!!

On the way out of Puertocitos, there are parts of the road still under construction. At several portions, we'd get halfway unto a bridge and the construction workers would wave their hands and shout at us to turn around. It was comical and a bit disconcerting that the areas of construction weren't all that visible.

In this picture, you can see the structure of the bridge, not yet built. We started to drive across it, but it was blocked with giant mounds of soil. Thank goodness!!

We finally pull into Gonzaga Bay at, you guessed it! Sunset!!

Christmas Journey 2012 - Part One

As usual, I have been failing to blog all of our wonderful journeys to the Baja and beyond. Sometimes life just goes so fast you forget to write it all down, and other times it goes so slow you want to just sit back and savor it. We had just traveled to Baja in September, returning in October for what we thought would be a few months. However, just a mere week and a half, we were saddened by news that our dear friend and fellow Nomad, Stan Stutzka, had passed away unexpectedly in Bahia Asuncion.

Stan was one of those guys that you have a love/hate relationship with. He was a larger than life character full of jokes, endless teasing, and a heart of gold. His death was a shock, to say the least, and struck me in such a way that I felt helpless, and immensely mortal. How could a man such as this, a man who had finally found his place and purpose on this planet be taken so quickly? I felt myself mourning him day in and day out from our home in Arizona, my heart aching for his friends and family, for the woman he had so recently fallen in love with, for the emptiness that would swallow up his little corner of Baja. It made me realize just how short our time is on this blue and green rock, and how I needed to remember that we all serve a greater purpose, even if we have no idea what that may be. Stan, my friend, you are sorely missed and always remembered.

With the loss of Stan heavy in our hearts, it was more important than ever for our family to be together during the holidays. I desperately wanted to fly home to Florida to be with my mom and dad, and spend the holidays with them, but things being what they are, the financial situation did not give in and allow that to happen. We were faced with a decision, the kids and I could go to Florida, and leave Daddy behind or we could all travel to Baja and spend the season there. I couldn't bear the thought of the kids not being with Daddy on Christmas, so the decision was pretty easy.

Cut to December, no snow in the mountains, and the beach calling our name. We load up Diego, our Baja traveling beast of an Explorer and away we go. With the anticipation that Grammie and PawPaw will be visiting us in January, we are excited to travel a route through Baja that we have yet to discover. Instead of going our usual way, we have decided to travel the Gulf Coast of Baja, along the Sea of Cortez. The end of the world is nigh, so we should probably see a little bit more of it before the final days.

Despite our greatest intentions of leaving early....this seems to be a pattern written in stone....we set off from our home in the late afternoon, dropping off our beloved Teeny Girl cat at her cat hotel respite. As much as we wish to get to Baja in the first day, you know the story, that ain't happening. We pull into the Scottsdale area right at sunset, and the first day is nearly over. Our home for the night is the Quality Inn in downtown Scottsdale, a hotel that we found on our last trip that accepts pets for a mere $10 extra a night, and, since we have acquired a new puppy (a rescue that pretty much adopted us in Asuncion in October) it's necessary that she has a place to sleep indoors as well.

Now, I hear on every trip how dangerous Mexico is, and that we are crazy for bringing our family there on a regular basis, that's putting it mildly. However, we, as an entire family, find "fear" nowhere in Mexico. In fact, the only occasion for even a mild uncomfortableness is when we bunk for the night in the deserts of Phoenix and the surrounding areas. Let me state though, it's not a true "fear" in the sense of knotted stomachs and quivering lips, it's just that the areas are so large and people are anonymous and can sometimes be desperate. Even though I lived in Phoenix for 7 years before moving to the mountains, it's been nearly 9 years living in a small town, and it's a very different environment.

We like this particular hotel because it is old, has a great pool, a courtyard for the dogs, and suites for the whole family to relax in. It's also conveniently located next to a Dunkin' Donuts. This stay was marred by two men conversing outside of our window at 3 am, apparently working on a drug deal of some sort. Sigh. Out of the entire parking lot and hotel grounds, they chose our window. Get us to the beach, pronto!! Thankfully, nothing dramatic came from the conversation and we were on our way, fueled by chocolately doughnuts, coffee and juice from our friendly Dunkin' folks.

About 2 hours into our journey, Erin alerts me that she isn't feeling well, and needs to throw up. I instantly go into nurse mode, grab a plastic doggie poo bag and there she goes.  This continues for the rest of the day, every half hour or so, she tosses her cookies into a doggie poo bag. Thank you God, for whomever invented those! Traveling with an ill child is unpleasant at best, but she's a trooper and at least let's me know when she going to puke so that we are prepared!

Crossing the border for us is usually a non issue. We are generally waved through with barely a second glance. coming across in San Luis for only the second time, we were stopped with a smile and asked to maneuver into Secondary Inspection. The inspection was fairly simple, open the back, what's in that bag, what's in your cooler, where are you heading, where are you from. In the bag is a bunch of stuff to give to our friends and people we meet along the way, some tote bags, some coozies, some plastic cups and frisbees, in the cooler are 2 turkeys, 2 elk roasts, a deer shank and some beer. Okay, bien vaije! Happy travels.

We are sent along our merry way, and navigate our way into Baja and find the highway Mexico 5 somewhat by dumb luck. We consider buying a map, but they are hard to come by. We fuel up at the first Pemex gas station, where a lovely Dona is selling juice handcrafted in Aquascalientes. We sample it, find it delightful and buy a bottle from her. The one we chose was Arandano and Jamaica, and Erin wants to try some. I'm a bit cautious, as she hasn't been able to keep down even water at this point, but I figure, if it's going to come back up, it's going to come back up. I give her some, and Milagro! She doesn't even puke once more after. That juice is now our miracle juice, and it saved my pobrecita from further ailments. Wish we had bought another bottle!

Once on the 5, we travel easily on the well kept road and by sunset, we see the lights of San Felipe. I failed to get a photo of the magnificent archway at the entrance to the city, but I found one to borrow on the web.

It's always a bit of a struggle to find a place to nest for the night when it's dark in an unfamiliar town, but with the aid of our Baja Travel Log book, we narrowed it down to a few spots on the beach. We chose the El Cortez, one of the oldest hotels in San Felipe at the end of the beach in the main part of town. We get settled into our room, order some snacks, some bean burritos, a taco salad and some mantaraya machaca. The room is cozy and we sleep soundly.

On the Road Again!

It has been a while since my last post about our journeys ~ and a few journeys have gone undocumented :( but, I promise to do better! We are preparing for another trip to Baja (shocking, I know!) and we leave on Monday, February 21. Our plan is to get there quickly (haha!) and relax for as many days as possible before coming home. For the first time, we only have two weeks, so we have to make it good!

Usually, we casually drive to our destination, wherever that may be, sometimes taking four to five days to get there! This time, due to our shorten vacation time, we are making a "Beeline to Baja". We hope to get to Baja on the first day (fingers crossed) so that we can spend a day watching the whales in Guerrero Negro (they estimated there are over 1400 whales and calves there right now!) and then get to our new Baja home in Bahia Asuncion.

Hahahaha! The road to where? was paved with the best intentions. We, of course, did not make it to Baja on the first day (I know some of you are thinking ~ yeah, we know you and the way you travel, we didn't believe it for a second!). Perhaps it had SOMETHING to do with the snow we've had the past few days; perhaps it was because we still had some packing to do this morning; perhaps it was because we had to take Mr. Peepers (our canary) and Squeek (our cat) to their respective vacation homes; perhaps it was because I forgot our Mexican cell phone and we had to go back for it. I suppose it really doesn't matter what the reason, the result was the same. We did not make it out of Arizona and are currently snuggled in for the night in Yuma. Oh well, as Lionel often says, "We were just getting our timing right."

At any rate, we will head for Baja in the morning (Lionel thinks we'll be leaving at the crack of dawn ~ I would like to offer a betting pool for when we actually leave :) ) and we will cross in Tecate and drive as far as we can before dark. We may or may not get to Guerrero Negro, but we will enjoy the trek as we make it. I will keep you posted as I can...
XOXO
thefamvangurp

Day Twelve: Todos Santos!

Mister was up several times during the night, feeling miserable - pobrecito! He finally fell into a deep sleep, just in time for everyone else to wake up. Lionel went to the store to pick up some essentials - coffee! And he returned with fresh corn tortillas, still warm! Ah, the beauty of Mexico once again...even the corner market has fresh homemade tortillas!!


Mister slept for another hour or so more, then we had breakfast of chorizo, eggs and potatoes. Today we are going to look at a property that Lionel has had his eye on for quite some time. In is located just north of town, and it was originally $275,000 USD for 316 acres, but has dropped as of late to $125,000. He decided to ask about it at the realtor's office to get the scoop, as well as directions. The only problem, the realtor said, was that there was a squatter on 2 acres and that they had been unsuccessful on moving her. We were sure that an old lady in a shack wouldn't be too much trouble, and if we liked the property, we could work something out.

The above picture is of a "flat cow" we found along the way. And Lionel is toasting to the "Maestro". It is a Baja 1000 tradition.

Armed with a map and directions, we set out. The drive was a gorgeous tour through many thriving examples of indigenous flora. Several small ranches, cattle farms, and even a tiny village were plopped down this dirt road along the way. We chatted with a gentleman tending his beautiful garden, in awe of the pristine location, and then...we found the property.

Two abandoned homes mark the entrance. One was completely collapsed, full of the personal effects of the former resident, including a gorgeous hand carved bedframe. If we had had the space, I would have taken the headboard with us, for sure. The other house was empty, with no signs of use in a very long time, but it was livable, and locked up tightly. At least the bedroom and living areas were. The kitchen was open on one side and full of pots, pans, and an old propane stove...all still appeared to be in working order, although covered in dirt and dust. The living space/bedroom area was neat and tidy...beds made, stuffed animal on the pillow...as though the residents would be right back. But no one had been here in ages. I wonder what happened to them?
We hike our way down a path to the water - water! Yes, water flows, and by appearances, often gushes through this part of the property. This is important in Baja, well, anywhere really, access to water. The fruit trees are thriving - grapefruit, figs, oranges, mangoes, and a few others we were unable to identify. This would make a lovely retreat.


We explore further, wondering where the old lady's shack is and how we would be able to work with her, around her. We pile back into the car to drive further up the property, hoping to find the small waterfall that was pictured on the MLS listing. Instead we find the old lady's "shack"...all seven houses, multiple animal corrals, cattle, chickens, goats, and multiple families!!!
The "little problem" was not just a little old lady squatting in a shack on the creek, this was a thriving community. They aren't going anywhere! And no one is going to make them.

The picture below is a family we met after we left the property. We do not know if they are part of the family that lives there. They were kind enough to pose for a photo.


Oh well - to the beach we go- vamos a la playa!!

Above is Sis in the surf shop, El Diablo Blanco. Below is Mist, obviously enjoying the beach!


We head to Playa Cerritos - once a "secret" surf spot - now flanked by hotels and even two surf shops. The kids and the mutts splash and play, enjoying the last of the day before heading back to the hotel for dinner. Tonight's menu, grilled lobster with chayote squash, onions and corn tortillas. The kids and I cool off in the pool while Lionel makes dinner, then we eat and ZZZZZZZZZZZ!