Los Barriles

As our journey continues down the Baja we were told to visit the East Cape. The activities include but are not limited to wind surfing, snorkeling, beach combing, and ATV riding the miles of beaches. Also, there is a large retirement community here. So we decided to let our little trailer rest for a while and rent something. Our friend, Pat, sent out an email to her friends in Buena Vista to see if anyone knew of a rental. We received two responses back.  We decided to rent a studio apartment overlooking the beach. The people we rent from have been full time residents here for the last 7 years. They retired from the airline industry where they were based out of Texas. They really don’t miss the states and are fortunate enough to be able to travel back to see family easily. The airport from here is only a 45 minute drive (unless you get stuck behind a slow moving semi-truck) because there are no stop signs between here and the airport. Plus it’s a very scenic drive.

One view along the beach.

Looking toward Los Barriles

Looking back toward Buena Vista.

The house we are staying at (apartment is above the garage)

This area began to grow back in the 1970s because it was the only place in the Baja that an American could get clear title when they bought property. Many of those brave souls who pioneered this place are still here. Most of the people we have met came in about 2004. Everyone has great stories about fishing, driving the Baja, and the hospitality they’ve experienced from the Mexican people they have encountered over the years.

One of the nicer hotels in Los Barriles (Las Palmas)

Overlooking Los Barriles at sunset

Looking out over the Sea of Cortez

We spend our days walking the beach (it’s possible to walk 10 miles in either direction), driving around the small town of Los Barriles on the ATV we rented from our hosts, going to the various events around town (for instance there is “open mike” on Wednesday nights at a local restaurant and the talent is quite good), meeting the other gringos, enjoying the beautiful sunrises and sunsets, and hiking in the desert hills. We attended the local church last week and went to the Easter Service on the beach at sunrise. It was quite spectacular seeing the sun rise as the pastor spoke of Christ rising again. Then we went to a breakfast potluck at a home on the beach. It was a good opportunity to meet some other Christians in town.

Our hosts have been kind enough to invite us over to meet some of their friends. During one of these visits four donkeys showed up at their gate looking for a hand out. Our host, Debbie, accommodated them by feeding them carrots. It was quite a sight.  The other thing we’ve enjoyed is playing cards. Every afternoon at 4:00 a group of about 14 people get together at someone’s house and play a game called “Up and Down the River”. Since Warren and I are very familiar with this game we got right into it!

Hello Donkeys!

Can we have carrots please

One at a time!

All four lined up patiently waiting for their treat

The other thing that our hosts invited us to do is take a long ATV ride out to a working lighthouse. We drove the ATVs on the dirt road to a town called La Ribera about 5 miles away to have lunch first. Then we rode the ATVs on the beach another 7 miles to the lighthouse. Just a few miles south of the lighthouse is the beach house of the infamous Jesse Ventura (he was the controversial Governor of Michigan or Minnesota). Unfortunately he wasn’t around so we parked our ATVs and watched for sea life. Then we headed back and this time we stayed on the beach the whole way. It’s incredible to ride along the beach for that many miles.

The working lighthouse

Taking a break in front of Jesse Ventura's house (Steve and Debbie, our hosts middle and left)

Warren along the beach during our long ATV ride

The reputation for the East Cape is that it is very windy. That is true for the months of January through mid-March. We’ve experienced a few days of wind but by this time of year the norm is to have a couple of days of wind and then 4 or 5 days of calm. When it’s calm the water looks like a lake and it’s easy to see the sting rays jumping and the dolphins playing out in the water. We haven’t seen any whales but then again it is a little late in the season for that.

We’ve made a couple of side trips to the little surrounding towns. One is called Triunfo. It is quite charming with cobblestone streets and an old mission that’s being revamped. There is a good restaurant there that makes artisan bread and pizzas in a wood burning oven. We haven’t tried the pizza but the bread is excellent! The owner is a biker dude who came to Mexico, married a beautiful Mexican woman and is now a reformed restaurant owner/baker (kind of reminds you of the Dave's Bread story). While we were there a bunch of school kids were ordering their pizzas to share. We also were surprised when a 10 year old boy drove up in a little pick-up truck, hopped out, delivered something to the restaurant, got back in the truck and drove away. 

One of the old buildings in Triunfo

The little famous restaurant

A neat art-deco house being built across the street from the restaurant

Hand carved wood doors (impressive)

Another thing we did was visit a family in Los Barriles that owns a house that they have turned into a kind of funky art museum. Over the last ten years they have created sculptures, furniture, and art work out of rocks and wood they found in the desert and on the beach. They see a rock, picture a face or an animal in it, paint it so the rest of us can see it, and voila-a new piece of art.  It’s pretty incredible. Their house was filled with these rock creatures. Most of the furniture is made from materials found in the desert. Apparently they only open their house to viewers once or twice a year. We were fortunate enough to be in town during one of the open houses. It was  so amazing I've included all the pictures I took and wish I had taken more.

This is a little spot the owners created in their yard

This depicts a story of the lost gold that is supposed to be hidden somewhere in the hills around here

The guards of their entry way

Some gecko lizards and an alligator head

Donkey sculptures

A sitting area in the yard

Some friends from Vancouver came to Cabo for Spring Break. We spent the afternoon at the pool at the Villa Estancia Resort where Don and Tammy were staying and then went to dinner at a restaraunt called Solomon's Landing located at the marina in Cabo. It was good to see familiar faces.

Dinner at Solomon's Landing

Tammy and Chris  (a couple of hot mamas)

One thing that we hope to do before leaving this area is visit Cabo Pulmo National Park. It is the only living coral reef in the western North America. We hope to snorkel there but the locals tell us to wait until May or June when the water warms up so you don’t need a wet suit.  Another thing we would like to do is go to a working ranch and ride horses. If you arrange it ahead of time, they even provide lunch. The owners take you out on trails in the hills where you can see some waterfalls. Yes, you read that right, waterfalls in the desert. Incredible! When or if we do these things I will definitely report back.

The End of the Baja Journey

We pulled into La Paz after a four and a half hour drive from Loreto. This was the first time we drove without our friends (and it was perfectly fine). The road was good but narrow and curvy heading out of Loreto with beautiful views of the Sea of Cortez. Once we reached the town of Ciudad Constitucion it was literally a straight shot to La Paz. We rented space at an RV park just North of La Paz called Maranatha Campestre. The story behind the park is kind of cool. The owners are missionaries from the states. Her father came down in the 1950s and bought land with an airstrip on it. They converted it into a campground where they not only rent RV spaces but have church retreats on weekends and day camps for local kids in the summer. There was a youth retreat one weekend during our stay. It was nice to hear Christian music. Even though we couldn’t understand the words the tunes were recognizable. There is a swimming pool (unheated) and on days when the wind wasn’t blowing Paula talked herself into taking the cold plunge to swim laps. She even admitted that after the initial jolt the water was refreshing.

Paula and Pat attended an international ladies luncheon that's held the first Thursday of every month.It's a kind of networking for the business women of the surrounding area and a way to get connected if you are new to La Paz. The entertainment was a guitar player and a couple who performed traditional Mexican dances.  Pat was taken from the audience to participate in one of the dances. It was very entertaining. The food was a wonderful sample of the local dishes.

Pat with the dancers

Our stay in La Paz was more low key than some of the other stops we made. Warren needed some dental work done so we stayed two weeks to accomplish that. He has one more appointment left but the work was good and the price was even better.

La Paz is the capital of Baja California Sur (the southern state). It has a population of about 250,000. There is a large cross section of Mexican families because a lot of people that live here are employed by the government. They call it a real Mexican town. The people are very friendly.  One of the best things about La Paz is the Malecon. It is a boardwalk (here it is made of concrete and tile) made from a sea wall. It is about 5 miles from one end to other.  The street is dotted with hotels, restaurants, real estate offices, and rental car places. Along the beach you can hire a boat to take you fishing, snorkeling, or touring around one of the islands. People jog, roller blade, ride bikes, and go on family walks. There’s a flurry of activity all hours of the day and night. Just off the Malecon is the town square with more restaurants, shopping (including a large Sears department store), offices, book stores, and the tourist information office.

The mission in La Paz

The sun setting over the Malecon

One of many sculptures along the Malecon

A beautiful sunset in La Paz

Our friends  (Bob and Pat) that we traveled down here with own a beach lot about 10 miles north of La Paz. We were invited to come out and “dry camp” there. The beach is a wonderful walking beach, flat and firm. We wandered down the beach collecting colorful shells and watched the dolphins play about 100 yards out in the surf. The night skies were absolutely incredible. It's not often that you get to see stars that are so bright and clear. We enjoyed a camp fire and watched shooting stars. Wow!

This driftwood looks like a howling dog

View from the campsite out onto the Sea of Cortez

Under the Palopa (spelling?)

Dry camping on the beach

One of the big events that happens in the Baja is a race called the Baja 1000. It's a race through the desert in dune buggies, Volkswagen bugs, and trucks outfitted for desert driving. A friend, who we met last year in Cabo, was competing  and we were invited by another friend to come and watch. The vehicles race each other on a short track completing 10 laps. This is done to accumulate points that are used to qualify you for the big race in November. It was truly exciting to watch these vehicles loaded with horsepower screaming around the track. Now I think I get the Datona 500 craze just a little bit more. We did get to see some crashes. No one was seriously injured so it was just part of the fun. 

Warren checking out the truck

It is a very big event here in the Baja

We did get a chance to golf on two of the four golf courses in the area. The Costa Baja and the Paraiso. Our favorite was the Costa Baja because it is overlooking the marina. The views are spectacular. The other course is located on a sand bar that was at one time a very big development. However, as so many before it, it was developed at the wrong time. It's a shame because it's a really beautiful piece of property.

Golfing at Costa Baja

The marina

View of the Sea of Cortez from Paraiso

Condos at Paraiso Resort

Warren enjoying a Coke at the Beach Club

Infinity Pool at the Costa Baja Beach Club

 

As we come to the end of our Baja journey we want to thank all of you who have taken the time to follow along. It has been an incredible time and we feel truly blessed to have personally experienced it. Before starting out we were warned of the risks and we heeded those warnings. However, now that we’ve done it we would have to say that there is little truth to those rumors. The roads are narrow and the trucks pass you when they shouldn’t but the people are warm and hospitable and the weather can’t be beat. The landscape is so varied and each stop had its own surprise. Our advice to those of you who want a real adventure is if you get the chance to drive the Baja, DO IT! However, we also recommend going with someone who knows where to stop and what to do at those stops. We believe you won’t be disappointed. We definitely were not.  Signing off for now…Adios! The Double Edge Travelers!

Loreto Bay

Our next stop along the Baja was a small town on the Sea of Cortez called Loreto. It is a quaint town with lots of good restaurants and shops. We met the owners of the RV Park and the man arranged for us to hire a boat for the next day to explore the island of Coronado east of the harbor.  On the way around the island we encountered a school of dolphins. Every time we chased them they would dive under the water and disappear. This happened about 3 or 4 times until finally they allowed us to run the boat alongside as they swam around and under the boat. What a spectacular experience! The rest of the boat ride around the island consisted of seeing beautiful rock formations, watching pelicans fishing, interrupting some sun bathing sea lions, and watching a baby Osprey and mom flying around their nest. Then our captain took us to a sandy beach to have lunch and enjoy the sun. It was another amazing day.

Unusual rock formations

Sea Lions bathing in the sun (a little annoyed with us)

Paula and Warren enjoying the ride

Stopped at a nice sandy beach to enjoy our lunch

Pelicans fishing

The rest of the time in Loreto was spent exploring the town. It is the oldest established town on the Baja. The first mission was built  here in 1697. I don’t know if the mission located in the square is the same one that was built back then but it is a very cool building. Also, the square around it is really quaint with shops, restaurants, and a neat old hotel. One night we went to the top floor of the hotel by way of a winding staircase located in the inner courtyard. On the top floor there’s an outdoor patio which has a bird's eye view of the main square. We also discovered a pool on the roof. It was very impressive. The decor was old Mexico with  lots of rod iron and old wood. Beautiful!

The town square of Loreto

The mission church

The trees are shaped to make a tunnel for the walkway

The old hotel with the viewing patio and rooftop pool

One incident that happened while staying in the RV Park (located in the middle of town) was there happened to be a girl’s 15^th birthday party (called a quinceanera). If you know anything about the Mexican culture you know that this is a very important birthday. So, as it happened, the family hired a band, invited all their friends and commenced celebrating the birthday. They had a microphone which they allowed the girl to sing what must have been her favorite song. She probably sang it a half dozen times. Unfortunately she wasn’t much of a singer and the music sounded all the same except for a variation of the tempo. This of course went on until 2 AM! Try sleeping through that. I didn’t work very well. Most everyone woke up the next morning blurry eyed and a little grouchy but we had a great story to tell.

The next stop…La Paz!