Adios Baja

Our last night in Baja was spent at a little cottage about an hour south of Ensenada - in the area of  Erendira. In the early morning it was great to watch small fishing boats (4 man) going out to different areas of the bay to collect mussels, put crab pots down and lay fishing nets. We'll miss Baja as we've enter back into the cold zone (PacificNorthWest) for the rest of the winter. I have a feeling we'll be back next year..............

La Poza

We spent our last full day in Todos Santos at La Poza ( an area about 10 minutes from town ). A very special place, which has a beautiful boutique hotel tucked down at the lagoon. The walk from the hotel takes you past a lagoon along granite rocks and cactus to the beach. Only saw one person on our two visits to this area ( more whale sightings than people ). Lots of different birds because of the lagoon and the steep cliff that the birds like to get lift from. I think this area is the most beautiful in Todos Santos. We looked at a 1/2 acre lot about a 15 minute walk along a ridge down to the lagoon - who knows, maybe we'll take up residence here next year!

The Lagoon is what you see first walking down the trail from the hotel...........

La Poza looking South towards Cerittos (other side of point)

Granite Rock goes down into the ocean

Pelicans soaring............

After a day at La Poza it was time to get Pescado (fish) Taco's at our favorite taco stand in Todos Santos and then begin the packing for the long drive up north. Will likely take about 4 days to reach California so we can enjoy a few small towns and sights we rushed through to get here...... Adios Todos Santos!

The Road to Cabo

Cabo is only about 40 miles from Todos Santos but they are putting in a new 4 lane highway that has over 1/2 the road in construction. In Baja that means off-road conditions, and tricky. I mentioned that we had to leave Cabo to return home well before Sunset so that we didn't need to drive that road at night. Of course we left Cabo right at sunset and had a challenging drive back but not quite as bad as I had feared. It will be nice when the road is finished next year, making the trip about 1/2 hr rather than over an hour. Cabo had a music store that fixed my guitar for about $25. The harbor was fun to walk around. We saw some expensive yachts, sailboats, and other interesting craft. Lots of vendors trying to sell you stuff, but always with humor. Had best lunch yet in a little off the main drag restaurant - smoked marlin tacos with salsa bar. About $1.50/taco with free salad, condiments, even onion rings !
Went to San Jose for shopping and beach time. Nicer than San Lucas, I thought. Breezy today so surf not too good at Zippers. Breeze is unusually high now because of all the wind up north. But keeping things cooler. We went from 80's to 70's and now it's nicer for exploring....
Cabo SL Harbor

Fish Taco's

Pelicans are thick in the harbor

Marlin Prep

La Pastora Beach

The swell is still up but La Pastora holds it much better. Very glassy conditions and fun waves. As the morning ended they had gotten too big for me as the swell grew another couple of feet and a breeze ended the glassy conditions. Once the glassy conditions ended the 'crowd' went from 12 to 3 surfers. I was one of those 3 not bothered by the breeze but down here they expect only '10''s, I guess. Onto Cabo tomorrow after some more morning glass.

The Beach............

The Glass - Right

The Glass - Left

Town

After walking the dogs on the beach today we finally toured the little town of Todos Santos. Lots of restaurants and shops to visit. Not crowded at all. Prices are a little higher here ( meals vary from $5 - $20 depending on local vs. upscale ). Produce was really cheap ( lettuce, avocados, cukes, rads, onion, peppers for about $3 ) Tomorrow we might go to Cabo ( about 45 mins south ) for some beach/surf time and grocery shopping at one of their gigante markets. Also will be looking for a guitar shop in Cabo since my guitar tuner is having a problem and I can't get 'D' string to tighten.
Ex-pats down here are very friendly and helpful. Met a few on our dog walks in San Sebastian area which is between where we are staying and Todos Santos. Tortuga is their beach and its a beautiful turqouise color with white sand and no people ( saw 3 today, the most since getting here ! ). But so far , water too dangerous to enter because of the large swell hitting this week.

Hotel California is very cool............restaurants, hotel, shops and beautiful design and construction.

Todos Santos - Tortuga Beach

Today we went to a few beaches. Tortuga beach is a protected beach about a mile from where we are staying. Saw no one on the beach. It was a very steep beach with powerful waves crashing onto the beach. Not safe for swimming. It is a turtle hatching area. Saw a number of whales just off shore.
Drove to Cerritos Surf beach but the swell was too big today. The air temp was 80 and water temp 80. Perfectly sandy bottom and water felt even better than Hawaii. Just need the waves to come down a bit. Lifeguard had to go into the surf to save one guy who got too far out.
More Cerritos tomorrow and if it's too rough we'll look at Las Palmas. Will also explore town more and do a bit of shopping.

Loreto to Todos Santos

Had a wonderful evening in Loreto. Dinner was first class at a restaurant above the Sea of Cortez. Best steak frijita ever (mesquite brisket). The drive from Loreto to Todos Santos was about 5 hours on a good road. The last hour into Todos Santos was on an Interstate 5 like road with very few cars. They are pumping money into this little town's infra-structure. If only they'd put street signs up we could have found the home we're staying in a little easier. It appears to be a wonderful, historic old town but we drove by looking for the home. Finally pulled in around 4pm to our beautiful casa for the next 2 weeks and unloaded the van just before sundown. Sleeping weather was perfect. It went from 80 to 50 last night. A great breeze kept things cool. Off to the beach and town soon.

Bahia Concepcion

An easy travel day, finally, brought us to Bahia Concepcion . Wonderful beaches just outside of Mulege. We stopped at two of them and passed by a dozen more as we drove to Loreto ( only 2 hrs away ). Dogs had their best day yet in the waters of the Sea of Cortez.

At Playa Requeson we walked across the white sand and knee deep water to an island with Mangrove trees. The picture is looking back at our van (on the far left) from the island.

Evening at Mulege

Got to Mulege on the Sea of Cortez in the late afternoon ( we are in Mountain time zone now and it's light until 6:30 ). Mulege is a small town and everyone is very friendly. Found a book store to get an English/Spanish dictionary and were told about a campground along the river in an orchard. The evening was like a summer night (finally) - a warm breeze, crescent moon and quietness made for great sleeping here in the tangerine orchard. A night of camping, hot showers, and all the tangerines you can eat for $8. I'm loving Baja.....

Dates at San Ignacio

We had a challenging drive to San Ignacio only because about 4 miles of the road was being repaired and we had to drive on the old Baja off road. We got very dusty. After that we breezed into a wonderful oasis called San Ignacio. Had lunch there and learned about how the Franciscan monks spread date seeds from the town to the coast ( about 30 miles ). The palms were beautiful. The dates were drying at the restaurant. The owner talked with us about his orchards and his town. Best stop of the trip so far............

Evening at Catavina

Drove thru some amazing granite boulder fields that I didn't get pictures of ( luckily we are travelling back thru on our way home so I can capture them then ). We stayed overnight in a primitive campground surrounded by cactus, burros, and horses. Evening sunset was another spectacular one.............

Lunch at San Quintin

Our first full day in Baja brought us to a lunch stop in San Quintin. About a dozen family run restaurants were along the side of the road. Each one specialized in a particular seafood. We picked a clam specialty mainly because they were cooking the clams out front in a refrigerator turned on its side. We had clam soup with a tomato base and lots of peppers, onions,ect. Delicious !! About 4 dollars for a huge bowl. The whole family was working there from Grandmother to granddaughter.

Awoke to a couple of Baja dogs playing in the campground. They were recently rescued by one of the resort residents. We are off to El Rosario or Catavina today, about 250 miles. Then theres a long stretch without gas of about 200 miles. No clouds today and expected to be about 75 degrees. (Todos Santos was 90 degs yesterday). The nights are very cool but the day time is perfect. There's a very fertile valley just over the mountains, about 30 miles away, that we'll shop for our first fresh fruit. Probably no wifi for a few days......

First evening in Baja. Staying at Estero Beach, a beautiful estuary on the coast just south of Ensenada. Dogs can run free and lots of Pelicans, Osprey, Sandpipers and other birds. The island of Todos Santos is just off shore. Have met many nice people already who have shared travel info and tips with us. We are looking across the bay at city lights, now that the sun has gone down and enjoying the quiet and solitude at this magnificent campground and resort ( with wifi !). 

Stayed on the coast at South Carlsbad State Park for Thanksgiving eve. Many more campers there than we expected over the holiday but still had plenty of room. Good surf in the morning that I missed out on since I was consumed with border crossing thoughts. Pelicans and surfers.......

Great meals, conversations and fun for all at the Manheim house! Stede's sister, Wendy and husband Rudy along with their dog Lola and cats Annie and Fifi welcomed us in their wonderful Agoura Hills home for several days.

Santa Barbara was sunny and warm. We stayed with our niece, Shelly, her husband Steve and daughters Alexi and Reese. Wonderful day on the beach -  Dolphins, otters and dogs - oh my............

Hospital Rock

Just before the road climbed to the summit was 'Hospital Rock'. An area where Indians lived and helped heal a few early pioneers back to health after they injured themselves (usually from gunshot wounds they inflicted on themselves). Amy is on top of the rock that was a bit hollow below - allowing you to get out of the weather. Lots of mortar holes all around he rock that Indians used to grind acorns into meal and picturgraphs on nearby granite ( circa 1840's ).

Sequoia Aquaduct Trail

Right in the campground there was a trail that traveled along an old aquaduct. The aquaduct was currently being used to control water from the river. We saw a huge black bear in the campground right after we returned.

Sequoia National Park

We rolled into Sequoia National Park on a very foggy, overcast day. We stayed low in the Park after hearing that snow was on the road around the Big Trees. The lower level was rich with Indian picturgraphs and history. We want to revisit this park when the weather is better.........

Where's the Kitty Hiding ?

A feral cats home. Walked right by and didn't notice the kitty until I walked by again ...........

A Day At The Beach

Northern Pygmy Owl Pup

Today a Northern Pygmy Owl baby crashed into our window and was stunned for a few mintues. It was nice to be able to watch it recover and fly off.

Yachats Arts & Craft Fair

The fall Arts & Craft fair in Yachats is going on today......... Amy had a lot of sales !!

Looking South from Alsea Bay to Cape Perpetua

Background pic -- looking South, our direction of travel in 2 weeks....to Baja Sur.
It will be a busy two weeks.

To warmer water..............