Days 21-23

Mile 5213 - Day 21

We ended up in Sacramento and stayed at a hotel a very short distance from "Old Town".  We did the touristy things all evening; went to the museum, wondered around the shops, had a few beers and a good dinner.  On our way home so no more tacos for now…

Mile 5792  - Day 22

Just more pavement today.  We could have made it all the way home but it would have been one hell of a long day.  As it was, it was only a damn long day.  7+ hours found us in Portland.  (Boy is this place getting weird!)  A couple of beers, some dinner and a little wondering around wraps up the evening.  We'll head out fairly early tomorrow and be home soon thereafter.  

Been another fun trip.  There are a few (lots of)  towns in Baja that we haven't yet visited, but they are all pretty remote and at the end of a dirt road/path.  Many of them are nothing more than a guy with a boat and a shack.  He fishes and sells whatever he doesn't need to survive.  If he is married, chances are his wife is at home (with kids?) and will gladly cook you an absolutely fantastic meal.  

We have been down some of those roads.  We have met some of the nicest, and most enthusiastic and friendliest people you could imagine.  I do want to venture out to as many of the others as I can.  …Another time. 

Total Miles 5986  - Day 23

Amazing trip.  Let's do this again!

Adiós

Mile 4827 - Day 20

Traveling from Arizona to California is dull on the best day.  It seemed like a long day today…

We chose Calabasas, CA as a destination for this evening.  No rooms available, but a nice town.  It turns out that the gas leak from the storage tank that had plagued the LA area for so long was just minutes from where we were.  All of the residents close to the leak were staying in the local hotels and consuming the resource. 

We ended up in Simi Valley.  Found a very nice place and walked to a local spot for a bite to eat.  Pretty calm night.  We'll burn up some more pavement tomorrow.  We didn't want to leave Mexico but now that we're heading north, we are getting slightly anxious so see home again (that is, until I see the weather up there!).  

Mile 4365 - Day 19

We have some friends in the Phoenix are that we wanted to pay a visit to on our way back North.  Extremely nice to see them and at the same time, sad to be leaving Mexico.  

Forget the crap you hear about dangerous, it just takes a slight adjustment in expectation to appreciate south of the border.  Everywhere, you'll find some of the most delightful people anywhere.  There's always a smile and a willingness to help (unless they're trying to sell you souvenirs). 

After lots of pavement we see our friends in Phoenix.  

As expected, we had a terrific time with Jack and Ray, laughing our asses off talking about old and new times.  A true delight to see these two again. 

Mile 3946 - Day 18

Well, we couldn't hear the karaoke bar last night…! they had live music in the restaurant just below our room.  It drowned out the karaoke.  Turning the air conditioning up to "super chill mode" helped drown out the group and made sleep somewhat possible.  Actually, they were quite good and if we hadn't been trying to sleep, they would have been nice to listen to. 

We hopped into the truck in the morning and pointed ourselves north, up to the top of the Sea of Cortez, then east across the top where the Colorado River empties into the sea, and then back down south along the shoreline to Puerto Peñasco, Sonora, Mexico.  Puerto Peñasco is located just across the sea from San Felipe. 

The town reminds me of what San Felipe should be.  A vibrant  waterfront,  with lots of activity, shops, restaurants, vendors and people and families everywhere all enjoying themselves. 

The drive was easy once I had the GPS programmed correctly.  At first I had things set for the shortest route, rather than the fastest route.  Reason being, I wanted to follow the coastline rather than just take the major highway.  What I didn't expect to encounter (silly me!) was dirt roads.  This particular dirt road we started out on didn't have a good feeling to it.  There were washouts and holes in the road that you couldn't see the bottom of.  Just a real nasty looking road that had not seen much traffic (we could see tracks where they turned off earlier).  

This doesn't show it well, but it's nasty!

We turned around and reprogrammed the guidance system to avoid those circumstances but still follow the coast.  It worked.  It was fast and scenic.  

Just around lunchtime, we drove past a truck selling shrimp cocktails in virtually the middle of nowhere.  Had to stop; glad we did.  Fresh and good. Filled the bill for lunch. 

A driving tour around Puerto Peñasco to Sandy Beach and on to Rocky Point.  Rocky Point was alive with activity.  Tons of people crusin the street along the malecon and around the block to do it again, while people are laughing and playing on the walk.  The shops and restaurants are all busy.  Nice place. 

We visit a few bars in search of the perfect spot for dinner.  We found it but I suspect they are all good…

By the time we have finished dining, the Malecon is alive with Banda (small musical groups) with, again, clashing tunes emanating from multiple places.  Families enjoying every beat and dancing all around.  Looks like a party, sounds like one too!  (Sure wish we could understand the words to the songs.)

The party continued well past the time we had called it quits for the night.  We could hear it from our room.  Es todo bien…

Tomorrow, we're heading back north of the southern border.  

Mile 3626 - Day 17

Just goofed around San Felipe today.  After a particularly raucous night, we got a bit of a late start.  No problem, we didn't have anything pressing. 

We went to what turned out to be an award winning restaurant for breakfast.   Capricho.  Funny actually, we discovered the place yesterday when an enthusiastic Maitre d' showed around his establishment with the hopes of having us dine there, then.  We explained that we had just eaten but would be back for breakfast.  

We were back as promised and who should greet us, but our bartender from a different restaurant the previous night.  It was like we were old friends!  It seems that he, his wife and the maitre d' are partners in the place and have won an award during last year's shrimp fest in town.  They have a bit of a Cuban twist on things and it's really quite good. 

A little shopping and exploring around the area to work off a couple of calories, followed breakfast.  When we got back to the Malecon, a cancer charity event was taking place. Lots of activities all over.  Center stage on the Malecon, we heard Elvis singing. Not only that, we recognized him.  It turns out we had met him 3 or 4 years ago in Ensenada and went to Baja Mar  (a community a little north of there) to see him perform.  Nice to see him again. 

A week or so ago, we met a great group of people that winter in the San Felipe area.  We had forgotten the exact Campo (usually American/Canadian communities) where they reside, but we knew the general area.  The next little while was spent driving through the various Campos look for them, which was an excuse for us looking at the properties with a possible interest in purchasing.  Didn't find either but nice exploring just the same. 

We ended up at Pete's Camp, a popular and well established camp with a great little bar full of delightful residents.  We have been here before and have always enjoyed it.  This time, just as nice.  Great conversations and cocktails. 

Back in town that evening, it was out for a nice dinner and a stroll around the Malecon afterwards.  Music, vendors selling food and people were everywhere.  Largely groups of brass instruments filled the air with fast paced tunes, each group clashing with  the next.  Chaotic, but everyone was having fun. 

Mile 3591 - Day 16

A little over 400 miles of twisty, narrow Mexican highway finds us at San Felipe in Baja north.  Luckily uneventful.   

We turned off of Highway 1 to catch Highway 5 which is a much faster route to town.  The first 20 miles are dirt road which is only semi rough.  They have been working on this road for years, paving it section by section. At present they are in the construction phase of this last section. It shouldn't be too long until it's smooth (+\-) pavement all the way. 

A large section of the stretch of road being worked on had some of the most interesting cactus and rock structures I've ever seen. I would always stop to appreciate and take a few pictures.  With the construction in full swing, the terrane of the past is now unrecognizable.  Perhaps the new road will provide a new splendor. 

San Felipe is located near the top of the Sea of Cortez, just below Mexicali. Before the 2008 crash, this place was a party spot for spring breakers and quite a boom town.  Partially built resorts are evidence to its once vibrant nature.  It still hosts the Baja 250 and is a stop off point for the Baja 500 and 1000 races.  And, any excuse for a celebration draw lots of people to town. 

We've noticed a few more business in town and people are saying that the economy is picking up a bit. 

We checked into a hotel that we had stayed in before. La Hacienda de La Langosta Roja (The House of the Red Lobster).  It is located just a block off of the Malecon, in the center of town.  

There is a restaurant and bar below the hotel and a Karaoke bar just across the street.  Neither of these had disturbed us the last time we were here.  This time, however, the karaoke bar didn't get into full swing until just about the time we went to bed and continued to howl until at least 3:00 in the morning, when all of the open exhaust vehicles made way to their own residences. 

That cackling was accompanied by a rusted fan motor strategically located inches from our bathroom window.  The motor loudly hummed with the occasional, painful, rotation of the fan blades.  Just enough to interrupt the rhythm of the straining motor.  All in all, not the most restful night. 

Mile 3167 - Day 15

I At breakfast we inquired about the guide to take us to the cave paintings.  I was given the phone number of Salvador Castro, the local expert guide.  I called him on his cell phone only to find out he was already about 10 minutes out of town beginning a tour. It seems we missed the bus!  Oh well, perhaps mañana.  

With our schedule now free, we take a stroll to the Mulege Museo (museum). It is the old prison.  Happens to be quite an interesting place.  They kept men, women and locos there.  The women had a separate area of the prison where they stayed 3 to a room in very small cubicles.  The male prisoners were housed in a larger courtyard.  The center area was locked to keep the locos in. Outside of the center, the surrounding area housed the non-loco prisoners.  The normal male prisoners were let out to go to work everyday to provide for their families. They would remain out to have dinner with the families before a whistle was blown at the prison to signal time to return and spend the night.  Strange…

We left the museum and strolled down the road that parallels the river and followed to where it meets the sea.  A 2-1/2 mile stroll it turns out!

When the hurricane hit in 2014, it caused a huge flood. Apparently the river camp up 12 meters (40 feet) and washed out most of the low area.  Many of the houses along the way were severely flooded if not washed away. The road we were following was heavily damaged and debris was everywhere.  It's nice to see the area largely repaired.  New road, houses looking good; normal returns to this tranquil area. 

At the end of the road is a perfect little restaurant and bar, La Patron.  Sitting mere feet from the waters edge in the most peaceful and relaxed setting imaginable.  How could we not stop in for a little refreshment and relaxation? We sat for quite a little while sipping a drink or two and sharing a huge seafood cocktail.  

We found ourselves on the verge of a siesta after sitting and watching the small waves lap the shore and the birds catching a snack of the fish swimming too close. 

A lazy afternoon found it's way into a calm evening.  Prior to dining we made way to a local bar and chatted with several of the local personalities.  Easy to get to know some people down here and always entertaining and educational. 

Janet had taken a stroll during the afternoon and consulted all of the online authorities to find a marvelous restaurant for the evenings meal.  Los Equipales rated highly on the websites for good reason.  Excellent food and atmosphere.  

The seafood combination with Yellow Fin, scallops, shrimp and lobster. 

Ribs

We have decided to press on tomorrow and not spend the day in the mountains.  We have seen enough artifacts and pictures to satisfy our curiosity enough, plus we will be traveling through some of the most beautiful cactus forests imaginable on our way to San Felipe. 

We stopped in to El Candil again, our local bar here, for a nightcap. Darned if we didn't run into Steve (we met yesterday) who has been in the area for a while, looking for the perfect piece of property to purchase. We chatted.  He left and we were just about to leave when Eddy and Kerri, who we also met yesterday) stopped by. We ended up talking to them for quite a little while before we actually did call it a night. 

Just outside our room at the hotel is the most fragrant grapefruit tree, that has some of the biggest fruit we have ever seen.  We went to a local Panadería (bakery) today and bought some pastries to go with one of these gigantic grapefruit for breakfast.  Looking forward to it.