Hola from Mexico!

Entering Mexico at the town of Tecate wasn’t terribly complicated – we walked in and filled out a simple form with basic info, went back around the corner to get the paper stamped and pay for the 6-month visa, and then we walked on through and headed straight to a wonderful bakery before walking around the city a bit.  Clearly, we have found our people. We had no idea what we were purchasing but Patrick said it all tasted good.

One of each for Patrick

We went ahead and bought a Mexican cell phone as a backup (even though we have service in Canada and Mexico with AT&T) and it cost the astronomical sum of $500 pesos, which is about $26.00.

I’m embarrassed to say our first stop in Mexico was the Ensenada Costco.  You’ll be relieved to know they have the same great pizza and hot dogs as they do in the US and we loaded up on bottled water and necessities.  (In my case that means Potstickers… Costco is the only place I can find the big bag and it’s my favorite quick meal.)

Our first stop for the night was the Villarino RV park located right on the beach. 

Tilly LOVED having free run on the beach until we caught a bus to the famous La Bufadora (blow hole).The La Bufadora sea spout shoots waves through an underground sea tunnel and can produce geysers several stories high, depending on the tide and wind.  

 It declined to perform when we were there, but the view is amazing and it was fun to browse all the vendors along the way. 

We had dinner overlooking the water and decided right then and there we could happily stay forever.

The next day we continued on to San Quintin where we met Tony, the owner of Don Eddy’s restaurant.  San Quintin is a beautiful fishing village and Tony served us lunch along with some history of the area.

Apparently this area is renowned for the fishing, but the views were amazing too.

We camped in Lazaro Cardenas right on the beach and we were the only ones there.  After living in Florida for the last 5 years, it’s surreal for me to see a beach that’s uninhabited and pristine.  

At night we roasted hot dogs on a campfire and enjoyed singing and guitar playing by Joe, our caravan leader.  It was pretty much a perfect evening and everything we thought Baja would be.

Catavina was our next destination and it was mostly a wide spot in the road with a very nice hotel that we camped behind.  We walked into the tiny café across the street (where the floors were sand) and secured a young man to guide us to the Catavina Cave Paintings.

We drove out of town into the boulder fields and began hiking up the mountain. Thanks to a little rain, the wildflowers and cacti were blooming and gorgeous. 

Some of the cacti are HUGE and other cacti have grafted onto them to form odd shapes like the one below.

After a short climb we reached the cave paintings and were in awe that something so seemingly fragile could withstand the harsh elements for so long.

The cave paintings have been radio carbon dated to 7000 years old. The landscape is craggy and wild and stunning and we enjoyed taking the jeep through the desert for a rocky ride.

The young man guiding us was a photographer who spoke pretty good English and was eager to show us some of his photos. He said he often works with crews from LA who come to film the landscape for movies.  Unfortunately, he said he had to sell his camera to get the funds to fix his truck.  It made me sad that I have an unused Nikon sitting in my office at home that I would have gladly given him.

Guerrero Negro was our next stop for a couple of days and we were excited to go whale watching here, as it’s one of three lagoons where Grey Whales return from Alaska each year to mate and birth their calves.  We hopped in a small boat that held about 9 people and set out to see whales and boy did we!  

"Have you ever seen a whale with a polka dot tail...down by the bay?"

Almost instantly they were breaching in front of us and water spouts could be seen everywhere.  Our boat captain was so sweet and would tap me on the shoulder and point every time he spotted one…probably because I was seated right in front on him.  At one point he tapped and pointed to indicate that I could sit up on the wheelbox in front of him (probably because he was afraid I was gonna fall out of the boat in my efforts to get good shots) and not gonna lie…I kinda had a “Titanic on the bow” moment.  The whales are protected in this lagoon and they seemed to know it as they would swim right up to the boat and circle around as if to say Hi to us.

San Ignacio was a one-day stop and the little village was adorable with a beautiful old church and two burros in the courtyard.  

Most of our group

I would like these doors on the front of my house...or do you think that's too much?

Every church needs a couple of burros.

I haven’t said much about the driving…mostly because I’m still suffering from the PTSD. The roads are actually very good.  But VERY NARROW.  And NO SHOULDER.  This is fine when you’re the only one on the road. However, our rig is 11 feet wide and most lanes are MAYBE 12 feet wide, so passing an oncoming 18-wheeler is…. Stressful.  Luckily, Patrick has me as a co-pilot and I take my duties very seriously.  These duties consist of gripping the arm rests forcefully, leaning to the left when we veer too close to the edge of the road, and squeezing my eyes shut tight when confronted with oncoming traffic. It's exhausting and I'm sure Patrick is tired too. heh heh

Our RV park in San Ignacio was called the "Rice and Beans RV Park" and it was quaint and beautiful. 

The town is located in a date palm oasis…it was neat to be driving along in the desert and suddenly see these beautiful date palms with everything lush and green.

We pulled out in the morning and headed to Playa Santispac where we spent three days camped right on the beach on the Sea of Cortez.  I can’t even adequately express how amazing it was to simply drive right onto the sand about 15 feet from the water and just park there for three days.  

The weather was sunny and blue skies – cool at night and always a nice breeze, and we were really grateful to the sailboat owners who moored out and provided the picturesque view every day. 

We kayaked, took a boat trip around the bay, explored a small island where we found a sweet pet cemetery, read books, wandered to Ana’s restaurant at night for leisurely meals (while our dogs sat behind us on the floor) and completely embraced having no schedule at all.

Perhaps the best thing was that vendors walked the beach once or twice a day to sell their wares – everything from blankets to fresh bread and fruit already peeled and cut up for you.  Can you ask for any more in Paradise…when the shopping comes right to you? I bought one of everything because how can you resist when they bring along their cute co-worker?

Tilly felt compelled to do her part to foster public relations between the US and Mexico.

So now we’re in Loreta for a couple of days, which is a much bigger town than any we’ve been in since Ensenada. Heading out for dinner and musica soon, so greetings from Baha and more later.

But it's a DRY HEAT.

We pounded across Texas in a couple of days and arrived in Tuscon, AZ to chill for a couple of days in the sun.

Our RV park was pretty fancy with our own private fenced doggy yard for Tilly, which thrilled me as I wouldn’t have take her out for walks constantly.  So I put her in the little yard (complete with a grapefruit tree loaded with fruit) and started helping Patrick set up, and when I turned around she was standing right next to me.  She was so small she slipped right through the wrought iron bars, so we mostly admired the grass the rest of our visit.

We explored Tuscon a little and found the Barrio Bread bakery where we went carb-crazy and bought what would for normal people be way too much bread, but for Patrick is exactly the right amount.

Patrick will have one of everything.

Then we did some typical hilarious shopping for us when I decided we absolutely needed a weighted blanket (because my daughter got one and said it was awesome), so we found a Bed, Bath and Beyond and paid the ridiculous amount of $175 for the only one they had.  Excitedly put it on the bed (it was unseasonably cold at night) and all was well.  Until we realized that neither one of us was strong enough to pull it up or get out from under it.  So after my daughter made fun of us for being terrible shoppers and not listening to her in the first place, we returned it the next day and ordered a lighter one from Amazon for $40.  We should be weighted and warm in the future.

We made several trips to Camping World (the store Patrick loves to hate) to find various supplies, and I got a good chuckle from this pillow. 

I then found an awesome quilt store where I heroically resisted buying ALL THE STUFF  and Patrick got a laugh from their porch display.  

In Yuma we met up with some far flung friends and enjoyed great food by Terry and Laura, fun conversations, and a cool jam session by the musicians in the group.  

I had the best fish taco I’ve ever had from a roadside stand...although full disclosure - it was also the first fish taco I’ve ever had.

I feel like a "Pastor" taco might be religious but I'm not sure.

The Yuma Territorial Prison was pretty cool. If you've ever watched the movie "3:10 to Yuma" (and we did, of course), this is the prison where they sent all the stage coach robbers and bad guys in the wild, wild, west.  I took Patrick’s mug shot using the innovative technology they pioneered in 1902 – which was to seat the prisoner in front of a mirror so the photo would capture their front and side profile (in the mirror) at the same time.

Pretty clever, huh?

The cells were basically iron cages covered in stucco/concrete and they held 6 people – 3 bunks on each side in a 9 x12 space.  I can only imagine the fun times (and stench) with 6 men, no toilet (just a bucket under the bunk), and about 115 degrees in the summer.

The prison also had 29 women prisoners over the years – many for the crime of adultery. Tough crowd back then.

Additionally, it held quite a few polygamists...but I suppose when you've got 20 children maybe a little stint in prison might not be so bad.

From there, we headed out to the Imperial Sand Dunes. We didn’t exactly know where these were, so we just started driving across the desert in the general direction.  Patrick has excellent navigational skills, but I am frequently heard to say things like  "What did Siri say? Turn here?"  At any rate, we found the dunes and they were amazing!

But the good part about wandering along by the seat of your pants is that you never know what you’ll find.  In this case, we happened upon Geezerville – located right next to Camp Trump.  

This appeared to be a small gathering of about 10 people camping in the middle of the desert, so if you ever feel like people don't understand you, just find a wide spot in the desert and start your own community.  

We crossed the state line into California and although it looks very similar to the Arizona desert, we knew we were in California when we saw the gas prices.

So we're now tucked in waiting to cross into Mexico tomorrow and we can't wait!

Patrick loves his LED under lighting that he controls from his phone.