San Ignacio, Jan 10, 13

First thing today we got up and went whale watching.  We had gone last year at this time in Cabo San Lucas and we saw about 4 whales.  This time we saw probably 20-25 Grey  Whales.  We had one whale that went right alongside our boat and then underneath it.  It did this about 3 times –it scared me a little.  Mid February to mid-March there can be up to almost 3000 whales in the lagoon and they are docile and you can touch them.  I was sad that we were not able to touch them.  The whales come into the lagoon to give birth to their babies and to mate.  The whole area in and around the lagoon is made up of vast tidal flats full of salt which makes this area the world’s number one salt producer.  All in all it was a very awesome experience.

After we got back from the lagoon we loaded up and drove to San Ignacio.  This is a town of less than 1000 people, but famous for its magnificent mission church of San Ignacio.  The town center was quite quaint.  The town was in the midst of celebrating Three Kings Day (a few days late) right in the town square while we were there.  The area is also known for all of its Date Palms.  It is just like an oasis in the desert with all of the palm trees.  The RV park we are staying at is called Rice & Beans RV Park with a restaurant of the same name – also known for its excellent margaritas – which we will be drinking this evening!

 

This is a barge loaded with salt.

This is a whale tale!

Here we are in front of a mountain of salt.This is a whale.

This is the San Ignacio Mission

This is what a Date Palm tree looks like.

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This is us at the Mission

This is us just getting ready to go check out the whales

All I have to say after drinking Margaritas at Rice & Beans Restaurant --- those were far and away the best Margaritas we have ever had!  And, I do love a margarita!

Guerrero Negro, Jan 9. 2013

Today we traveled to Guerroro Negro.  We drove 140 miles -- there was only one real town in between.  Not much traffic on the road.  We went through one military check point and then through one agricultural check point.  They don't want you to cross from North Baja to South Baja with any fruits or vegetables and then they make you pay 20 pesos to have the bottom of your vehicle sprayed with something (we don't know what it was).  Guerroro Negro is a funky typical Mexican town.  We went to Tony's Taco Stand for lunch and had excellent fish tacos. For dinner we went to an excellent restaurant and had great seafood.  Tomorrow morning we are going whale watching -- we have heard that we will see lots of whales.....I will let you know....

Catavina, Jan 8, 2013

Here we have a little johnnie on the job with a hole in the roof.

Cave paintings.

Kelly in the desert boulder fields.

Most of our group.

Today we traveled from the coast to the middle of the Baja -- mostly through desert and cactus -- it was still very hilly and lots of mountains.  The area of Catavina is know for its boulder fields and I do mean huge boulders.  Once we got setteled at oue campsite at Rancho Santa Inez we went on an excursion to see ancient cave paintings that are over 7000 years old.  We met a man named Ralph, from New Mexico, who has been living part time in that area for 30 plus years -- he was 80. He was and engineer and a pilot and he had lots of very interesting stories to share.

Lazaro Cardenas, Jan. 7, 2013

This morning we left Punta Banda and traveled to Lazaro Cardenas.  It was another crazy journey through many small towns and there were lots of hills and mountains--so driving is quite an adventure.  It had rained the night before and there was lots of standing water.  We had to take a dirt road to our campground on the beach -- the road was long and winding and very muddy -- several vehicles almost got stuck in the mud.  Our group was the only ones on the beach.  It was sunny but still a little cold.  The waves were pretty big.

Here is Rosie running on the beach -- she loved it!

Punta Banda, Mexico Jan. 6, 13

We left California at 8:30 Sunday morning to go across the border at Tecate Mexico.  There are 8 campers or rigs in our caravan.  Everyone has a radio and we are assigned numbers of the order you have to stay in.  The roads in some places are really great and the roads in others are really crappy.  Most places the roads are very narrow -- we have to be careful of people passing us with oncoming traffic -- it is kind of crazy.  We radio if we have someone passing us and the lead car lets us know if it is all clear.  The drive today was through lot of little towns and a couple of large cities -- Tijuana and Ensenada. We stopped south of Ensenada at a small town called Punta Banda and stayed at a funky RV camp on the outskirts of town.  Once we all got set up we loaded into a 14 passenger van and went on an excursion to see the "La Bufadora" which means blow hole.  It was very cool.  There was also an open market place there with lots of shopping.  They also serve beverages in the shopping area -- Mike and I shared a pina colada.  We went back to the camp ground and hung out for a while --- the weather at this point has been a little chilly.

This Jesus statue is absolutley gigantic on the side of a hill outside of Tijuana.

This is our first campsite in Mexico in Punta Banda.

 

This is the "La Bufadora" -- which means "blowhole"

Just a normal open shopping area.

Potrero Park, CA Jan 4-5, 13

I have to go back in time now....we have not had internet access since the 3rd.  On Friday, January 4th we left El Cajon and moved to Potrero State Park in Potrero, CA to meet up with the Baja Amigo caravan people.  It is a small park -- so everyone there was part of the caravan.  We met most of the people that evening.  We pretty much knew before going into this that we would probably be the younger people on the trip (and we are).  The morning of the 5th we all met and went to the town of Tecate (which is a boarder town) to get our tourist visas.  Then we got together again later that afternoon for an orientation which included lots of yummy food, wine and beer.  Pretty much they told us how the trip would go and what to expect.  I will update you on day one of the Baja adventure next..........

El Cajon, CA Jan. 2-3, 2013



We arrived in El Cajon on the 2nd.  El Cajon is right outside of San Diego.  Yesterday we drove into San Diego and went on the Trolley Tour.  It is really a great way to see San Diego.  We could get on the trolley at any one of the trolley stops and get off and see the sites there and then wait for another trolley.  The trolley driver was also a tour guide, so as you are moving along he would tell the passengers the highlights of the area we were going through.  We got off at the Seaport Village stop and checked out the shops and took in the sites at the harbor and ate lunch there.  We also got off the trolley at Coronado Island -- had a beer at McP's Irish Pub and then checked out the sites on Coronado.  One of the main places to see was the Del Coronado Hotel -- which is a beautiful hotel on the beach.  All in all San Diego is a beautiful city (I could live here).  Today we go to Potrero State Park -- only about 25 miles from where we are now.  Tomorrow we will meet up with our caravan "Wagon Master" and the other people in our caravan.  On Sunday we leave for Mexico.

On another note -- as we go into Mexico I won't be able to get on the internet all the time -- so blogs will be intermittent.