1-24-05

I crossed into Mexico from the Calexico border crossing. Well, it was just like going into a foreign country. The signs were all of a sudden in Spanish and I didn’t understand which lane to get in and found myself in a express lane on through the border. That was easy, but I wanted to stop and get some paper work done. I wandered around a couple of blocks and made my way back to the inspection station, and that wasn’t easy I can tell you. People had been telling me not to do stupid things, and that is how I got started!

On the US side everything is in both English and Spanish. Across the border everything is in Spanish and hardly anyone will admit to speaking English. Great! I finally was pointed to an office where I could get a Tourist permit for a stay of over 72 hours. That  involved a form with micro size lettering in amazingly enough Spanish and English, but my arms were not quite long enough to read it and finally the guy at the desk filled it out for me and took my passport. That is just the first step. Next I was headed down the block quarto doors to the Banco where I forked over two hundred peso’s and a dollar and got a stamp on the paper and a small coin made of two metals, 50 centovos I think. Then it is back to the first guy who stamps your papers and passport and gives you back your passport. I hate having to leave my passport out of sight.

That worked so well I asked where I could get a permit for the car. I need one for the car if I go to the mainland, which I intend to do. You don’t have to have one in Baja but you need to get the permit at the border and may or not be available at the ferry that would take me across to the mainland. I had to go to another office and found a very young beautiful lady just starting to eat her lunch. She made me get the registration for the car and take it over to the copy shop and get a copy of the registration, the tourist paper, and my passport. I had to fork over a dollar and I held out a handful of change when that wasn’t enough. She pawed through the coins of both countries and left me with a strange looking quarter I had picked up, a nickel and a few pennies. She seemed happy with that and back to see the pretty gal. She had to go see the numbers on the car so we walked out to Lil’ Red and she was shocked. “Are you going to Mexico in that?” Yup, I said. Back to the office and more paperwork and I forked over a credit card this time. 3330 Peso’s I think or about $29. The exchange rate is about 11 Peso to $1.

I am all papered up now and creep out of the border and I am ready this time and pick what I assume is the right road. An excellent choice I made. I am on the road south of San Felepe and the road it starting to get VERY interesting indeed. The first part of the highway was fairly good but after San Felepe the road has progressively gotten worse. There are houses and condos all along the beach. There are signs along the road announcing such and such campo and these are either pay camping areas or housing developments. The places are everything from trailer spaces to huge fancy homes. The signs say that some are for sale, some lots are for rent, and some are for camping with showers. I finally found what I think is a State beach. The tide is out and there is a rather rocky expanse to the water edge, but there is a nice sandy beach above where I suspect the water level will be in the morning.

Just as the sun was going down, the Full Moon started rising over the Sea of Cortez, or is it called the Gulf of California? I never have found out for sure on that. My old map calls it the Gulfo de California but I like the sound of the Sea of Cortez. What ever it is called, the moon rising over the water was surprising and wonderful. I think it must be a good omen for my travels down here.

My first Mexico camp on the beach. You can see the fence wire that hit Lil’ Red.

1-25-05

I woke up with a jolt as Lil’ Red gave a jerk and I heard a loud noise. I came up out of a sound sleep searching for my kitchen knife yelling “get the fuck out of here”. As I gained my knife I sat up and saw I was surrounded by guys in facemasks and rifles. Ahhh, I remember the ol’ saying “never take a knife to a gun fight unless you want them to cut your gizzard out with it” and in this case, anything short of a box of hand grenades, wasn’t going to do me any good. I swiftly put away my knife and started looking around. There was a truck beside me and one behind me (effectively cutting me off from escape) with guys all around and no one was saying anything. Not a sound but the crunching of their boots on the sand. To say the least it was freak-out-spooky. One of the guys tested the fastening on my bike tied to the back on a rack. I then noticed that there was a number 9001142 in white paint on the side door on the truck beside me. I finally decided that they must not be banditos and were instead Federalies. I laid back down and figured that they would do as they pleased and I wasn’t going to get out unless forced to. I did have all the doors locked but the windows were down a few inches for ventilation. I had my cooking gear left out on the hood which I find is a handy table for cooking. I lay there and one of the trucks finally left without a word said and little noise. No lights and not a sound, jeez I finally figured out that I must be in the middle of some sort of drug smuggling sting operation. The truck next to me was the one that stayed put and I could smell the cigarette smoke from the guy that was smoking in the cab. Not a sound, not a whispered word did I hear. There was an open bed on the back of the truck and it had a rack on it and gear stacked on it that looked like duffle bags. Finally all the guys got in the back of the truck and wrapped themselves in ponchos or something and didn’t move. I decided that they must be sleeping. Well, I had a nervous bladder and really had to get up and pee. I finally got out and was peeing when the guy rolled down the window and said ‘good morning’. I went over and tried to talk with him but it was sketchy to say the least. He asked where I was from and I said Montana. Then he pointed to Lil’ Red and said “your house?” “Si my home” that got a chuckle from him and he said “you drive home from Montana?” everyone seems to think that Lil’ Red is very funny and impossible to get here from Montana and travel in Mexico. Humm, am I missing something here? I could see some lights out on the water and tried to ask him if that is what they were watching for. I think he said no but I have no idea what they were doing. I am just glad that there wasn’t any shooting as I was in a bad situation and it almost looked like they were using me as a shield. I have been through a couple of military check points so far and I really don’t know what they are looking for but it makes one feel somewhat concerned especially when a pimply face kid toting a full automatic weapon is looking you over and speaking to you in Spanish. The guy last night seemed to be nice and even offered me a smoke.

They stayed next to me for three hours or so and I think they might have been hiding out and catching a quick nap. Who knows? I was glad that they were gone, and in a way I missed them. It was like I had an armed guard on my camp and now I was back to my kitchen knife. I found peelings of garlic on the ground where they were parked, so I guess that they were having a little snack of raw garlic as well as a smoke.

It has turned out to be somewhat overcast and it wasn’t a perfect sunrise but beautiful nonetheless with the cloudbank and orange skies. I took a little walk early this morning and will go out now for an extended walk down the beach. I found a few nice shells and am pleased to find that there isn’t a bunch of trash along the beach.

I stopped by a family of campers about 200 yards down the beach and had a talk with them. They had wondered about me down there being alone when the military guys came. I told them the story and they said that they came down to their camp but were on foot. These folks have a small inflatable boat with motor that they use for fishing. The family was the mom and pop and two grown kids. The girl was camped in a tent and was scared she was going to get raped. The old man finally got woken up and went out to talk with them. He speaks Spanish (it turns out he is from Chile) and they were interested in what they were doing with the boat and just looked around camp. They said that they were talking very loud which was totally different from my experience. Evidently they are assigned to this area and were just keeping an eye on things. These people have been coming down to Mexico from LA area where they live for 25 years. They said that a lot of young people from the US come down there and get drunk and obnoxious and get in the face of these military guys who then give them a good going over. They said by the looks of my outfit and my attitude I shouldn’t have any problems. Humm, there that reference to my little rats ass micro motor home again. They said that on Baja that I shouldn’t have any problems as they don’t wasn’t any problems with tourists and that should be the same on the mainland as long as I keep to the coast where the tourists go. They had heard scare stories about the inland areas, but I think it is like TV. Only the bad things get reported on and mostly good things happen that never get reported on.

I started down the road going south and the road just got terrible. There were fifty yard stretches that weren’t bad but then it was a dodge ‘em and dive off the road to escape the huge pot holes. After fifteen miles or so I decided that if I had to go over a hundred miles, I didn’t want to beat Lil Red that bad, after all she had to get me a lot of miles yet and back  home. So I turned around and made it back  to a little grocery store where I went in and bought a Dos XX’s beer. As I walked out a big fancy Ford pickup pulled up and the wife went in to shop and I wandered over to talk with the guy. He said that they have a reall nice house that they built and stay until July and come down in November. That seems to be the season down here as July through September is hot and humid. There are lots of folks that live here year round. He said that he didn’t own the land but rented his lot for $800/year. I said something about having your ass hanging out a little when you only rent the land that he built a house on. He said you have to do something with your money before you die and he didn’t foresee any problems. He pointed out that around San Felipe they were building houses that cost over $200,000 and if they were doing that they must feel very safe in their investment. I told him that I had turned back because the road was so terrible. He said that that road is the worst in Baja and it gets better after fifty miles and I should not miss the adventure. His wife was back by now and thought that it might be best to go back as I could have a hard time making it. Jeez, what is it with these women? The guy said, “ah hell go for it, you will love it!!” He had a recent AAA road map that he gave me ( a very nice map). They had been all over Baja and said I would love it. he pointed out several bars I just had to stop at and have a few beers. I didn’t let on that I am a beer wimp (you tell ‘em Dr. Greg). He also pointed out the place to see the whales that Tova or was it Anna said I should not miss?

 The road is really shitty but I took my time at around 10 mph =/- and came to a great sign made out of an old Scout which I thought was pointing the way to Cow Patties, which advertises cold beer and camping. It turned out that it wasn’t Cow Patties that I ended up at but a group of houses along the beach. I saw a gal just pulling out of her parking spot and asked her if this was Cow P’s. No she said, it was down the road a couple of miles. As I was getting back into my car a guy came up on a cane and asked what I was doing. I told him and he said just pull down there by that camp and park your car next to the patio and come on up for supper. I thought “what the hell, why not?”.

 I parked and wandered up to his place with a package of Tortillas I had just bought as a contribution to supper. It turned out the lady I had talked to was his wife and she was going down to get the fixings for supper from a neighbor down the beach who was coming for supper. He invited me in, handed me a Dos XX and we sat around the table visiting. He has been here 35 years and is a full time resident. It turns out he is from Minnesota/ North Dakota and knows Miles City. He is 72 now and had a stroke 12 years ago which explains the cane and  his limited use of one arm. His name is Jay and his wife is Carol and the friend who came for supper was Ray. Jay and Carol were celebrating their 35 wedding anniversary. It was a nice evening except for the damn TV that they had on the whole time.

One of the best things about this camp is that it comes with three dogs!! What a deal. It rained a good deal last night and has been cloudy and cool in the 60’s which I understand is very unusual. Normally it is clear and sunny. Sounds good to me. Al and Carol had to go to town this morning to meet with the landlord’s representative as he had a stroke as well which left him disabled and turned over the control via power of attorney to wife (who has new boy friend, and worthless bastard of a son). They had been told to get out like an eviction notice. They have built quite a few buildings as you can imagine after 35 years they don’t want to just pick up and go. So, today they are meeting with lawyers. Grrrr….

1-26-05

I went for a walk this morning down the beach looking for shells. Al has been covering some of his  buildings with shells, he said it is better than paint. I will have to wait until he comes back to get a tour around the place.

There were lots of lights out on the water last night and this morning I see the shrimp boats way out there. I didn’t find a lot of shells but did come back with a few. I am looking for shells for the young girl (Megan) that took such good care of e dog while I was gone on a motorcycle ride. She has three (I think) hermit crabs for her pets. She is not allowed to have a dog or a cat, so she makes do with her crabs (These are different kind of crabs than your daughter had MikeJ.) She has the shells all painted up and they are really cute. I don’t know if they can use only a certain kind of shell, but these shells are kind of nice and different than the ones she has now. I need to find out if she can use them and what size she needs. Do hermit crabs have babies? Does she have them fixed?

I can imagine taking a crab into the vet and asking Cal to give it a vasectomy or spay it. If they have babies does she need little shells? How many babies do they have, one, two, a litter?

There is a little trash on this beach but on the whole it is fairly clean but plastic trash lasts a long time.

The Dogs:

Shadow dog. No tail, wary but likes pets, slow to make friends.

Piss-oola. Medium length tail, makes friends easily, loves pets, jealous of the old dog that I don’t know the name of yet.

No name dog. Long tail, very friendly to pushy, old dog quality, likes good hard pets. Jealous of Piss-oola, but they get along well as long as I pet both.(later I find out this dog is named Zoom-ah)

The dogs waited patiently all day for Al and Carol to get home. Around four o’clock they came down to camp and needed pets. I think they must get fed around this time of day. Shadow dog didn’t come down but watched from the hill.

Al and Carol screwed around all day in San Felipe dealing with the landlady and lawyer. They seem to be positive about the day’s events but say that they will have to go back on Saturday for more paper signing. Their friend Ray came by this afternoon looking for the beer that they were supposed to bring back for him. he was forced to go to the bar (Cow Patties) down the road four miles.

1-27-05

I listened to the radio this morning coming out of San Diego. The announcer was saying that the State Dept. just announced that it was unsafe to travel to Mexico because of robbery, murder, hostage taking, etc. Great! Perfect timing again…. Other than that, it was a beautiful morning after a moonlight night. There is just a light breeze coming off the sea. I took a long walk this morning down the beach to the south. I found a few shells and a carcass of a dolphin. Those guys have some serious teeth and I was surprised as they are always portrayed as the nice guy. Well, I can tell you, you wouldn’t want to piss one off or you would have a lot of holes in your hide. After I got back I saw one loafing along just off the beach headed north. The tide was out again this morning and it  is a strange beach compared to the Pacific beaches. There are almost no sea critters and very few tide pools. The beach is sand at the top but a band of rocks along most of the beach. I found a starfish with 24 legs/arms and I picked up a nice shell that I thought might make a new house for Megan’s hermit crabs. I looked in to see for sure that the snail had moved out and saw way inside a hermit crab looking out at me. ‘Buenos dias senor’, no comment.  SO, they will live in those kinds of shells, at least Mexican hermits will.

I broke camp after a nap and headed south. The road continued shitty for about two miles and then it is graded gravel. That is much nicer than the potholed road but the washboard surface kept my speed down to ten mph or so.

this is an interesting way to make a truck box trailer out of one of those unibody pickups. I think this was a VW pickup. The hitch part held up but one of the hubs broke off. It must have been way overloaded.

 There were several outfits that passed me going fast but they had huge tires and probably new shocks to handle it. I took my time and enjoyed the ride. I am now just across from several small islands. I think these are the islands my friends Pete and Rita visited on one of their visits down here on their sailboat. I see now, about dark, that one of  them has a lighthouse on it. The other small island seems to be covered in seagull shit and it is ghost white out there. I am camped in a very lonely beach and I am the only one here. I have lil’ red backed up in a hollow where no one can see us. We are hid out. J

1-28-05

A beautiful sunrise and the water is calm.

I think I am just a few miles north of Bahia San Luis Gonzaga where I hope to get gas. There are very few places to get gas and I was advised to get gas at every opportunity. I will see if what the store has to offer as well. If my brother were writing this log, it would be nothing but a log of what fine food that they had to eat along the route. Dan is a gourmet cook along with his wife Bette and they really enjoy food. My menu is not something I think I should discuss,

as it would be very boring and bland, but after four full days in Mexico I still haven’t gotten sick. Knock on wood.

A nice little campo at a small bay. The big palace place on the hill has a sign that says it is for sale.

I finally made it to Gonzaga and met a couple of guys that gave me some advice on roads and where to go. they also recommended I reduce the pressure in my tires which I have done and seemed to help. I will pump them back up when I get back to pavement. They pointed me to a water station out by the gas station/mini market. This is a reverse osmosis setup and they were running it while I was there. They run it until it fills up the tank on top. There was a guy up there looking to see how full it was when I pulled up. it had about three feet to go until full.

I headed south into some of the nicest desert I have seen. The road climbs some hills and the vegetation starts to increase. There are cactus that are similar to the ones in Arizona but the large ones have no spines. The trees are short and very fat with short limbs. The ocotillo are in full leaf and I see some buds on the tips and hope that they will be in bloom when I get further south.
 

Not far from these photos I came across an old mining mill site where I am making my camp tonight. There are four old arasta’s here. They are an old way of grinding ore. The ore is put in the round enclosure and one or two rocks are drug around which grind the rocks into very fine particles. They usually had a burro that would walk around in a circle that connected via a long lever attached to the rocks.

This arasta had two stones and an old car hub in the center for a bearing. You might be able to see the smooth rounded surface on one rock that is upside down. The other rock has a couple of bolts and chains that attached to the long lever that the burro pulled. They usually had two or three inches of water in the container and there is a drain at the bottom to let the slurry out that contained the ground ore.

this close-up shows the wear that has taken place. These rocks are made of granite and are hard as hell.

Here is a overall view of the arasta camp.

It looks like someone has installed a submersible electric pump and this well is still in use. I think whoever uses it comes with a tank truck and electric generator.

1-29-05

After leaving this camp I the desert changed and I started seeing these weird trees that have few limbs and grow extremely tall.

This is somewhat high country and there was a mark at the aristra that said 1027 ft? that could have been meters but I think feet is correct. I made it back out to the pavement and it seems almost sinful to be traveling along at 50 mph and not have to have my eyes glued to the road. I turned off the main road to see Bahia de San Francisco as it is supposed to be very nice. It is all down hill and is quite windy today. I just came into town and am at this little store. As you can see it has internet and fax available, so I thought I would see if I can get this through.

it is really nice down here and I see why it is so popular.

Cheers, Rx