Day 2
I set my alarm so that I could cross the border early this morning. It would be the last time I’d set an alarm for the remainder of the trip! Just like I had set up the roof tent in the dark, I put it back away in the pitch black. And I was so eager to get into Mexico that I didn’t even take the time to brew up some coffee. Water & a dry granola bar for breakfast it would be. Since I had crossed in Tecate several times before, I was accustomed to the layout – and this time was just as easy as it had been in the past. I had all of my maps & important documents organized in my OX10 canvas pouch. But the light turned green, so I wasn’t waved into secondary or asked for anything upon driving in. I was hoping to find some street parking closer to the immigration office, but ended up having to drive about two blocks before finding a spot. I didn’t particularly like leaving Carter in the truck so far away from where I would be, but I had no other choice. As I had hoped, there was no line inside the immigration office, so I was able to complete the required paperwork in just minutes. And since it was so early none of the banks were open yet so I would have to look for one later in the day to pay for the tourist permit (perhaps a measure put in place to reduce any corruption associated with those payments being made directly to customs/immigration officials). Total time leaving Carter in my parked truck: less than five minutes. When I returned, he didn’t look too freaked out, so we continued south.
On previous trips I had driven through Baja’s wine country. The highway Mex-3 winds through the hills as it heads south towards Ensenada. I’ve seen the road improve drastically over the past few years – probably an effort to increase tourism in the area. Many of the vineyards here offer wine tours, and some even double as hotels or bed-and-breakfasts. Generally on trips I try to stick to a planned itinerary but on this one I had hoped to be more flexible – stopping or taking a turn whenever I felt like it. So as I approached the sign for a Sito Archeológico at Ignacio Zaragoza I slowed down and made the left turn. But the visitor center was still closed for a few more hours so I was only able to walk around a few of the outside areas. I was hoping to grab some breakfast at a street taco stand that I had stopped at the year before, but it was still too early in the morning and nothing was open. The lack of caffeine and a good breakfast was starting to sink in. I really didn’t want to have to stop to eat in the bustling urban area of Ensenada, but I could see on my GPS that it was rapidly approaching. Then as I was bombing down a curvy mountain pass, I spotted an open restaurant on the left. Not knowing if it would be my last chance for food before Ensenada, I found a safe place to turn around and proceeded back north.
A few locals were inside eating breakfast. The place was very clean, and truthfully, much nicer of a place than I had hoped to stop at. Thankfully the prices on the menu didn’t quite match the classiness of the locale. The first thing on my mind was coffee, and I went for a desayuno muy grande – huevos rancheros, quesadilla, pan dulce – the works. The fellow who ran the place was asking me about my travels, and was able to make some recommendations on places in Bahía de Los Ángeles since he recreationally fishes down there regularly. It was my first extended conversation in Spanish in quite some time, and felt great to be comfortably speaking in a different language again. When he brought out the bill, he even boxed up a slice of cake and half-dozen habanero chilies from the restaurant’s garden. Now well caffeinated and with a full belly, I continued south.
I found a bank just off the main road through Ensenada (one I had remembered seeing on a previous trip) so I stopped off to quickly take care of paying for the tourist permit. And I was back on the road – all still on familiar ground. I really didn’t have a planned stop for the night, but figured I could find somewhere to camp whenever it got dark. I knew there was a beach camp near Santa Rosalía, as well as several camping areas around Cataviña. But I was still on the Pacific west coast of Baja, and my goal was to spend as much time as possible along the Sea of Cortez east coast, so the draw to continue east surged. Looking at the time & estimating how much longer I would have to drive, I figured I could make it to Bahía de los Ángeles at a decent hour. I knew I would be breaking my main rule of not driving at night, but I made a calculated risk. The road into L.A. Bay (as it’s known by the gringos) was not part of the main trucking route, so I had hoped there wouldn’t be much traffic. Plus, I wanted to check out my new auxiliary driving lights!
So as I drove down the last segment of known road to me (the turnoff from Mex-1 to Laguna Chapala towards Coco’s Corner) the sun began to set. And now the adventure really began – an unknown road at dusk… to an unknown campsite. At least I had my SPOT unit tracking. I found the road to be in great condition. And the PIAA lights were amazing. Whenever I would switch back to just my stock low-beams, I felt absolutely blind. As I had hoped, I only crossed paths with maybe 2 other vehicles. And I managed to find the turnoff to the beach camp at La Gringa that a few people had recommended to me. It was pitch black by the time I arrived, so I would have to wait until the next morning to find out what the place looked like. But I was just glad that Carter & I would have a roof top tent to sleep in, and would hopefully awake to a wonderful beach camp the next morning!
