Baja (not New Zealand) - Spring 1999

Introduction - The plan was to go to New Zealand in February and we spent a lot of time and effort getting everything set up. Then I got sick about a week before we were to leave and wasn't recovering rapidly, so we finally cancelled (postponed is the right word) the trip at the last minute. It has now been rescheduled for December and for nearly three weeks rather than just over two. But I was ticked, felt cheated, etc. So, we figured we'd go somewhere "easy" with a couple of candidates being Kuai and the bottom of Baja. The latter won out. A few phone calls got us reasonably priced tickets, actually pretty good considering we were leaving in a few days, and a rental car. And the day before we took off I even made a call that got us a place to sleep upon arrival. The whole concept was to fly to Cabo, hop in our car, and bum around. We did not plan to spend much if any time at the elaborate resorts of Cabo San Lucas. Oh, yes, now that I was basically well, Dawna got a cold a few days before we left but we weren't about to cancel a second trip and figured we could take it easier on this one without feeling bad if that needed to be the case.

Tuesday-1: Mid-day plane flight from San Jose to Cabo - the airport down there is actually a bit north of San Jose Del Cabo so we were flying from San Jose to San Jose. We had been told to get to the airport 2 hours early since it was an international flight and this was much overkill. But it was as reasonable a place to read the paper and my Lonely Planet "bible" as anywhere. Check in was weird in that Alaska Airlines had just introduced the concept that both of your carry-ons must fit into the allocated space together and Dawna's didn't, but then they didn't care since the plane wasn't very full. Speaking of which we had three seats for the two of us to spread out in. A non-stop flight and some excellent views of the Baja coast line which I followed with my map in hand. And then a spectacular ending to the flight as we swooped down a canyon amongst the rugged mountains in the Baja spine right before the airport. The bad news was that because of her cold, Dawna's ears wouldn't clear/adjust properly and it was quite a painful descent; they did clear OK once she was down, however. Went through customs quickly and our white VW bug was waiting for us. Awfully small considering how much stuff we had and the fact that the trunk had no lock made things even more awkward; but we soon got it all under control just fine. Likewise with driving this "thing" which had strange gear placements and clutch compared to our prior Honda and my present Suzuki. And no air-conditioning. Yes, Dawna had gone for the best buy, and yes, it worked out fine. The low gear ratio and short wheel base meant we could go on pretty poor roads and the weather was never such that air conditioning was really needed.

Drove to our motel/hotel in San Jose Del Cabo. Checked in and were quite pleased that it was nice with atmosphere - not a coastal resort but rather right in the center of this small town; which by the way still has lots of character. Walked/explored and then had dinner. Dawna only had soup since she couldn't really taste things and I had a different type of enchilada with meat on the side that was quite good. Guess she did eat my retried beans and guacamole even if she couldn't really taste them. Bought a few groceries (like beer and ice) at a store and also made a "major" souvenir purchase - an iguana on a rock where the iguana is made by pressing small glass multi-colored beads into bees wax. A tribe on the mainland does this sort of work and we watched one of the fellows go at it before we made our purchase. Fine night's sleep. The room AC was noisy but that also provided a steady background against any other noise and we've about decided this is a good way to have it.

Wednesday-1: We had sorta planned to checkout Cabo SL and then head up the east coast on this day but decided we liked where we were staying well enough to stay there another night (no problem when we asked for a room) and thus go see the west coast. First, however, had their continental breakfast at pool side. Good coffee, interesting pastries, fruit for Dawna, and quite a nice relaxing way to start the day. Headed out to the west coast via a road that basically bypasses Cabo SL. Beautiful weather, nice rugged desert, and some but not a lot of cactus. Relatively empty and hard topped road - fun in the Bug. The end point was to be Todos Santos, a small village on the Pacific with a good reputation - "placid historic village" & "charming destination." Along the way we did one detour to check out a buzzard like bird, one to checkout a bragged- upon piece of beach, and one to visit the a "desert botanical garden." Saw lots of good desert vegetation there in a casual (we were the only tourists) manner. In TOdos we walked the town and checked everything out. For lunch we hit a fish taco stand - quite good; and just down the road an outdoor cafe to have a beer - not available at the taco stand. After seeing everything a time or two we headed back the way we had come but rather than bypass Cabo SL we went right into it and down to the water front. Parked and then walked from there to an old and famous hotel, Finisterra, from which we could see Land's End. Walked the hotel beach a bit to see it better. The Finisterra is built into the rock and up on enormous rock pillars; rather neat. Drove back to SJDC wherein I took a swim and Dawna rested a bit and then brought me a beer poolside. The swim was great. Went to dinner and Dawna had soup again while I had the local fish - sea bass. Good but not great. Little more walking and then to bed. Have I said that the weather continued to be great.

Thursday-1: Another relaxing breakfast and then hit the road to go up the East Cape, as it is known down there. First, however, we checked out a refuge place but no birds to see and only a modest jungle so we didn't spend much time there. It is a relatively rough dirt road with lots of twists and turns and good views of the Sea of Cortez. The locals are quite concerned about the development that is taking place along this "pure" strip and it is true there are a few developments trying to get rolling but it is still mighty desolate/nice. There was a light cloud cover which kept the heat down nicely. By noon we were at Cabo Puimo which is in the Parque Marino Nacional Cabo Puimo park and the book said one should stay at Cabo Puimo Beach Resort - "a model for resort development" & "does not overwhelm its natural environment." Which we did. The place is fine/fun with our having a bungalow but the service was so lousy we almost left. First we went to a local place for lunch while they were to get the room ready, but the place was closed. So we came back and ate lunch at the picnic table outside our bungalow. No one came to clean it or let us in and eventually Dawna went and gave them a half hour or we'd leave, and they did show up. I then went for a swim/snorkel. We had brought snorkeling equipment which is partially why I said the VW was heavily loaded. The water was cool (too cold for DSW) and the viewing wasn't great although I saw some fish and some coral. I also cut may hand and skinned my arm a bit on the coral. Enjoyed the exercise/outing, however, as I basically always do when in the ocean (sea really). Next was a hike into the hills. Fine desert vegetation, excellent views of both the sea and the mountains - in fact one neat spot had a bench made out of sticks which had seats back to back so you could look at which either one you wanted as you rested. Timed things so we got back before dark and went directly to Titos, the place we had tried to go to for lunch, and it was open. Basically a half dozen tables in a small building with a nice fellow running it and his cute little daughter "helping." Neat, as were the shrimp tacos which were quite different (his home-maid tortillas for sure), and a bat flying near by which fascinated Dawna, and a reasonable sunset, and then a fine display of stars. Gradually a few locals came to the place as well. Back to our home and a good night's sleep.

Friday-1: Got up pretty early. Made coffee since we had (a) a tea kettle and (b) a packet of ground coffee from the prior motel. Drank it and ate coffee cake (yes we had brought one of those camp coffee cakes) at our picnic table as the Sun was a coming up. Then hit the road northward. Similar drive to the day before. Did stop at the Tropic of Cancer which I nailed down by wondering up and down the road with my GPS in hand. Drove through La Ribera but nothing special to stop for, got back on to a hard surfaced road, and then into Los Barriles. This was on our list since Rus (previously called Kristina's Rus) had said he had fond memories of it as a kid. Wasn't great in our opinion but we drove around a bit, walked around the main resort hotel which is clearly for fishermen and their families, went to a place that advertised smoked fish for sale but the fellow didn't have any because the fishing had been so good he was too busy smoking fish for the tourist/fishermen to do his own for sale, and had some fine fish tacos at a stand. They even said it was OK if I drank my own beer since they didn't have any to sell. Oh, yes, in case you've not caught on another one of those items that kept the VW full was the small cool chest we had brought with us.

Drove up HiWay-1 to La Paz which was that day/night's destination. It is a relatively large town and we went through most of it to get to the wharf wherein we went into the tourist bureau to talk about boat/snorkeling/nature trips and places to stay; etc. Didn't learn much and what we did learn wasn't very accurate. Also picked up some literature. Based on what we though we learned we headed up the peninsula to see if we might arrange for an outing on the following day. Drove quite a long way, beautiful country really, but quite windy out. Failed to really find folks doing bookings up at the top of the peninsula where we had expected them so went to a hotel on the beach on the way back and tried to talk to them but made little progress. Next we went to a travel agent who was next to the tourist office and talked with a quite accommodating fellow who booked us on an outing for the next day - basically a boat and snorkel or dive and lunch. Then went to find a place to stay. First chased down an ad about a bungalow 8 miles out of town but never found the place where you could rent it locally, then tried the major in-town hotel but lo and behold it and it's sister hotel were booked for the weekend (groups with name tags), so ended up at a place on the water called the Marina hotel. Nice room looking out over the boats in the Sea of Cortez where one can watch the sunset. Yes, that sounds weird but if you look at a map you'll see that the coast line does a strange enough thing that this is all true. Enjoyable drink(s) in the room and sunset and then down town to find a restaurant the tourist person (or was it the travel agent) had told us about. Lot of walking but finally found it and had a fine meal. I had shrimp that were large and in the shell but split open and garliced and grilled - excellent/rich. Dawna had some OK fish. Got back to the hotel and there was a note saying the folks we were to go with on the next day had boat trouble so the deal was off. Opps, about all we could do was find out what time the travel-person for this hotel comes in and try to arrange something with her first thing the next morning. She would be in at 8 AM which was also the time the boat was to leave......

Saturday-1: I may have not mentioned it but it was very windy on Friday; like when we tried to buy the smoked fish he commented on how calm it had been until today and thus the good fishing and when we went to the top of the peninsula to see about boats the water was super rough and no one was doing anything. Well it was equally windy this morning which made us wonder if our trip people had boat trouble or just weather trouble. In any case, we were up early, had some coffee and coffee cake in the room, and were in the lobby waiting for the travel lady by 7:45; and prepared to go to the water on a minute's notice. We also wondered about how sick one might get given the rough water and whether one could really snorkel. But a key feature of our trip was to be this trip out to Isia Espiritu Santos (off La Paz) so if it developed that would could do it we'd go for it. The lady made phone calls, said almost no one was going today because of the weather, and thus it was a no go; and that we should be thankful given how rough it would be. So, we said, arrange it for tomorrow and today will be our day to do the town/city. We had wanted to do this one day anyhow so mother nature established the day for us. We drove the mile or two to town, parked, and walked. With map in hand we headed for the main cathedral checking things out as we went. Twas a mixed area with some quite nice houses. And boy do they go in for bright colors - reds, purples, etc. Lots of people were out washing their cars, out chatting on the side walk, and beginning to hit the food stands. Nice. There was a happening in the cathedral when we got there so we only stared in (for now). Walked onward to the Archeological Museum. Did it up slowly. Nice even tho the descriptions are only in Spanish. Weather was beautiful again. Walked from there to the Cultural Center which was mostly closed but a fellow was just opening a small Whale Museum, which we had been hunting for for about 10 minutes or so since the book said it existed. In we went. Very nice. Besides lots of whale stuff and photos and paintings there were some whale figures cut out of large shells which we admired and after much lack of verbal understanding we ended up with a marked up map that told us where one could buy such things in town - so our next target, along with some lunch. Ate a Mexican lunch that was pretty good but we were outside and cold (me in shorts) due to the very strong wind. However getting off our feet felt good. Then onward to the store, which took quite awhile because the map marking wasn't quite right. But we found it and we bought one - actually a carving of cactus out of a shell rather than of a whale. By now Dawna's feet had really had it but we had to walk a fair ways to the car; stopping for ice at a store near it. Then back to the motel and I had a swim, read my book by the pool a bit, and generally took it easy. Went back to town, to the cathedral/main square area to see the action, had a meal at a food stand there - not great but good to sit and watch the people. Oh, yes, on the way to the car earlier we went by the cathedral again and this time went in and checked it out. Home to bed in plenty of time to be ready to go in the morning should Mother Nature agree.

Sunday-1: Amazing - no wind. The outfit we were now signed up with actually kept their boat at our marina so we could see them out our balcony getting it ready. Coffee and coffee cake and then down to the boat. The "crew" was like 3 (or 4) - a driver, the boss who was also the scuba person, and a girl who helped make things happen and was also his finance. There were about 9 of us in addition to the crew. Very powerful boat, no wind, nice Sun, tarp cover on the boat if one wanted out of the Sun and we got to the island in about 45 minutes. Then went along it to one end for a half hour or so. It is a big island with many inlets and very much like a piece of southern Utah but with water; that is, red sandstone cliffs. VERY nice to watch as we raced by. Got to the planned spot and some went snorkeling (like us), some went scuba diving, and a couple didn't get in the water at all. They provided all the gear, including wet suits which kept us warm, and a life vest which made it less effort for Dawna. We used their fins having decided that bringing ours out would be extra hassle since they had them, but our own masks and snorkels. Had a fine swim with surface snorkeling. One of the big attractions of the place was all the sea lions on the adjacent rocks and it certainly is neat to "swim with them." There were also a reasonable number of colored fish, a modest amount of nice coral, and exceptional schools of sardine like fish. Dawna did very well except she began to feel sea sick so went back to the boat before our time was over. Next we went to a deeper spot where there was an underwater cliff and a couple of the folks plus the main guide went scuba diving. Took a long time to find this spot, however, and some of that time was spent getting closer looks of, but not very close to, whales. Well I figured I'd enjoy swimming around more than sitting on a boat, so I did just that. Meanwhile those who stayed on the rocking boat for the most part got different levels of sea sick. Dawna was far from the worst and did not upchuck. Next stop was a nice beach for our lunch. Beautiful setting and shallow enough water that they had to stop the boat out aways and you walked into shore with your dry items over your head. Yes, D almost lost hers but didn't. The fish soup was excellent while the cooked fish was just OK; but the setting and beer were excellent. We then lounged around which for some people meant napping/sun-bathing and for us meant walking around a bit. Great rock formations. After that it was back to the boat and a fine ride "home." The Sun was hitting the island just right for really showing off the red rock - most enjoyable (have I said that enough times about this outing?). Home, shower, rest, drink, sunset, and back to town for dinner at the "best" hotel restaurant. I ordered fish, Dawna ordered calamari and they were out of both; so we had shrimp in a garlic wine sauce. Good but not as good as my shrimp the other night. Yes, one could/should eat a lot of shrimp in this country. Bit of a walk, an ice cream cone (it's vacation) and to bed. Boy were we glad it worked out so well.

Monday-1: This was the day to switch from water to mountains - "an ecological wonderland that deserves explicit national park status" & "one ofBaja California's real highlights." Drove to "tranquil Santiago - a charming village" and on the way stopped at the smoked fish place in Los Barriles. This time we were able to buy some. Then ate lunch at the same taco stand (fish tacos and my own beer). Santiago is quite off the beaten track but there is a small motel there with supposedly a good restaurant and we tried to get accommodations for the night but they were full (for the week). Heck, but we figured we could get a place down in SJDC later. We then drove 15 miles on a dirt road into the mountain and took off on the hike. Not clear where the trail was so we were often walking along a stream bed and sometimes on trails that may have been just animal paths. Great views of the sides of this canyon, interesting flora, fine rocks, and relatively hot and difficult going. A dog joined us at the start and went along with us all the way. Very isolated and I actually made sure to get a GPS reading at the start and a few along the way in case they were needed for getting back. When it was time to turn around, however, we actually found the real trail so the return was much easier. The flora was also better what with a variety of cacti but the views weren't as good as out in the open stream bed. So we sorta did it fine both ways.

Drove to San Jose Del Cabo and were able to get a room back at the place we liked at the start. Meanwhile there was a big/local carnival in town right across the street. So, we ate odds and ends in the room (things we couldn't take home through customs anyway) and then walked over there and strolled up and down all the isles. Fun and it really catered to the little kids which was neat. Maybe later in the night the adults hit it more heavily. Ended up giving into one of the stands for a dinner but it wasn't great. But again convenient to sit there eating and watching everyone enjoy the carnival.

Tuesday-2: Got up extra early, breakfast by the pool, and then rolled out - past the airport and back towards Santiago for our second hike (the other "great one" in the book). Again at the end of a dirt road. This time we had the trail going and coming and again the flora was good and the views and rocks were neat. All in all, fine hiking but not as spectacular as we had anticipated. I think (a) it would have been better a few months earlier right after the raining season and (b) we had hoped for more of a cactus garden effect. Also, most likely if one hiked a day rather than a couple of hours and got up into the mountains further it would have been neater/moister/etc. Finished our hike by noon (the prior day that was our starting time and thus this time we beat the heat). Drove back to our motel, where we had arranged for a late checkout, cleaned up a bit and went to the airport. Had a bit of a confusion checking in the car but no real problem and no extra costs. As with flying down, the plane left on time or even a bit early and was not very full. So, we moved around to where we both had window seats. Good views up the center of Baja and then off the coast of California . I may fly a fair amount but when I get this sort of a deal I love it. Sitting there with a good book, fantastic views, and a drink in hand. Nice.

Summary - We still are Baja fans what with friendly people, interesting scenery, great fish/shrimp, and splendid weather. It was a pretty "easy" vacation and quite enjoyable. Dawna returned in better health than she started but "of course" was talking about next time doing it all by car/motorhome and taking all the time we want to drive the length. We'll see. I definitely want to go like on a trip about 1/3 the way down to where all the fantastic cave painting have been found in the last 20 years or so - you take a one day mule trip with a guide to get to them.

PS - The draft of this trip letter was half written on the airplane to GSFC and completed a day later while at "our'VTRACE apartment near GSFC. Dawna arrives tomorrow night for two weeks here and the middle weekend of that we'll go to NYC to see Sabina. Then it is Chicago at the first of June for a meeting, Oregon and maybe the San Juans the end of June for a track meet plus seeing the Kimballs, a meeting in Monterey in August, and a canoe/cabin outing in northern Minn in mid September; plus of course NZ in December. Definitely have moved into the more- play-rather-than-retire part of life.

PPS - I forgot all about finishing/editing this trip letter until late April but the general plan is about like stated plus going on to GSFC for a week after the Chicago meeting and working in a very quick trip to SLC next week to pickup the pump organ that is being given us by Esther.