After a 2 week breather in Large Marge (our rv), we packed our bags, stuffed Lola (our car) to the gills, and headed South of the border. Baja has been on our list for years and this was the first time it made sense to go.
Our point of entry was just South of El Centro, CA. A small town full of everything you need. Like most towns in the Southern part of the US, it's packed with snowbirds. Every rv park was packed and tenting spots are hard to find outside of BLM land. We left Large Margeback in New Mexico. After reading about the roads in Baja, it wasn't worth the risk for this trip. Plus we scored big time at an REI garage sale with a 6-person tent and air mattress.
We topped of with gas, grabbed some road snacks, and an extra drive belt for the car yesterday to complete our to-do list before crossing.
There are 2 crossings in El Centro. We took the East entrance solely due to the travel guide's advice of being less crowded. A slow trickle of vehicles made their way across to Mexico. The Northbound border into the US was bumper to bumper for miles. We must remember that for the trip home. After an easy vehicle search, we walked into the immigration, paid our $30/180 day travel visa (per person) and split. No restrictions on vehicles unless you plan to go to mainland Mexico.
Mexicali is the border town. It also has everything you need including a Walmart. The part of town we drove through looked similar to a dusty Western town. The bank in the Walmart parking lot had a few ATMs. An easy turn onto Hwy 5 and we were officially Southbound. A common complaint in our guide book was the litter everywhere. It didn't seem that bad to us, although we just got back from Nepal where there is literally trash everywhere.
*Warning - There are more stop signs than stop lights. Watch out for them*
Small taco stands lined the streets out of town.
Not long after we saw our first military checkpoint. The officer was nice, opened our car doors, peaked around, and asked us where we were going before letting us through.
Our goal was Puertecitos, South of San Felipe. San Felipe is an oceanside town popular with US residents and the first town you come to on the Sea of Cortez. Miles of driving on a well maintained 2-lane road through salty tidal flats and gigantic Saguaro cactuses lead the way. *Warning - The speed limit fluctuates from 60km/hr to 80km/hr. There are also large dips in the road for drainage.
The landscape is barren. Rocks. Sand. Salt. Signs ranging from homemade to artsy fartsy to big money dotted the edge of Hwy 5. Most were for small home developments where others were for camping.
I'm not sure if this is a Mexico thing or not, but we pulled into a gas station to top off before leaving San Felipe. A lady greeted us at the pump, filled our tank and washed our windshield. Don't expect to use your credit card at the pumps. We were approached by a guy holding a fishing rod with a large shrimp attached. His truck was parked at the gas station where he sold local shrimp. I assume this would be the first of many and said no thanks.
One of our guidebooks said Puertecitos was an expat fishing village so we had planned to wait on finding dinner. A small sign pointed us to Puertecitos off Hwy 5. We drove passed a shoddy market painted Bud Light blue, a gas station that was closed due to no gas, and the end of the road. To the left was a sign saying Hot Springs. We pulled in and a lady greeted us. $20 for a campsite on the water with a thatched pavilion and picnic tables. About 15 sites bordered the water's edge between the derelict resort buildings.
To say this place is passed it's prime is a huge understatement. Around 40 homes dotted the rocky landscape with a sand road leading you to the hot springs. 1950's trailers have been remodeled into houses. Beautiful stone homes sit vacant. An old shed had at one point turned into a US post office and library. We took one of the sites and set up our tent before heading back to the Bud Light Market down the street for dinner. The restaurant and hot springs resort have long been closed. The market wasn't as bad as I expected. Ripe fruits and vegetables, eggs, chorizo, cheese, and snacks. We asked about some local seafood, but no luck. The lady working the campsites said the same thing. We resolved ourselves to have breakfast burritos for dinner.
Before sunset we walked the sandy road up through some homes following the signs for the hot springs and came to a group of people sitting in small pools along the water's edge. The pools bubbled with hot sulphuric water. So hot in fact that most people wait until the tide rises to cool off the pools. It's an amazing place for the springs. A concrete path leads you down along the rocks where you can pick a place to sit.
Upon our return the camphost came over with a huge fillet of fish! Honestly it could have fed 10 people. We asked her to sell us a smaller amount. Even that was too much and gave away what we could not eat to some other campers.
For months I have craved a good fish taco and tonight I had it. Olive oil, salt, and pepper seasoned the grilled fillet. Charred peppers and onions made the perfect filler in the tortilla. If this is any example of what the next month will be, it's going to be a good trip.
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