Baja For Beginners

October-November 1998

This is an article from WaveLength Magazine, available in print in North America and globally on the web.

by Claire Heffernan

Dan enjoys a beach-side hotspring

After years of talking about touring the Baja Peninsula in Mexico, my husband and I packed up our camping gear, hung the mountain bikes on the front rack of the truck, hoisted our Chestnut canoe onto the canopy and left Victoria on the M. V Coho for Port Angeles, Washington.

While crossing Juan De Fuca Strait on a bright but blustery day in late December, we had time to ponder what might occur during the two months that we would be away from Salt Spring Island.

We had heard all the horror stories: "If you have an accident in Mexico they lock you up and throw away the keys," warned one friend. "Mexicans will try to cheat you," cautioned another. "Only drink bottled water!" But we were not easily discouraged. The lure of sun, sand and adventure was more powerful than the prospect of spending another winter mouldering away in our dank trailer.

As it turned out we didn't come even close to having an accident. With only one exception, we found Mexicans to be friendly and honest. We bought large amounts of drinking water which was dispensed into our own containers at a very reasonable price and never experienced any sickness on our trip. It is no exaggeration to say that we fell in love with Baja.

Once we arrived in Port Angeles, it took two long days driving on Interstate 5 to reach San Diego, California. We got there by going around Los Angeles and not through it.

We didn't plan to spend much time in San Diego but there was so much to see and the weather was so pleasant that we stayed for four days and toured some of the city's highlights like Balboa Park. We also had the truck tuned up, and purchased auto insurance for Mexico before heading to the Tijuana border. There are some parts of northern Baja I would recommend seeing, like La Bufadora near Ensenada or San Quintin Bay, but generally the towns are frontier style - shops stretched out in a row on either side of the main highway - strip mall style and no greenery. We spent a few days in Bahia de los Angeles and although the area was very mountainous and scenic, the nights were cold and it was much too windy for boating.

It was not until we reached San Ignacio that the days and nights began to warm and we encountered our first Spanish style town - a tree lined square surrounded by houses and shops with a gazebo for events. At one end stood the Catholic Church - in this case a mission built in 1786 by the Dominicans and in remarkably good shape due in part to the four feet thick lava block walls. The town was surrounded by a forest of date palms planted in 1728 by the Jesuits - the Baja's first missionaries.

Aircooled Volkswagon van was perfect for a road trip to Baja

We were having a quick lunch there when we were approached by a fellow who wanted to know what part of British Columbia we were from. "Salt Spring Island," I answered, thinking he probably didn't know where it was. Much to my amazement he replied, "So am I"

And this was the first of many pleasant encounters we would have with both Canadians and Americans who were an endless source of information and support. They told us where the best beaches were located, where to find the hot springs, isolated missions, petroglyphs, purified water stations, bakeries and post offices.

They directed us to the most interesting villages, tortilla sellers, fish mongers and hiking trails. They advised us about the winds and tides, what routes to paddle and how to avoid stepping on a stingray which could inflict a terrible wound that would throb for days. They warned us about the scorpions' favourite hiding places - inside outhouses and in dry wood. "Always check under the toilet seat," was the most sensible advice I received on the trip. Wear gloves when handling wood, and shoes when sitting around the campfire. Campfires in a desert! We had one almost every night. You can purchase firewood or gather it yourself.

From San Ignacio it was just a half day drive to Mulege, a town of about 5,000 located near the bottom of a lush river valley and gateway to Conception Bay, where we would experience our first paddle on the Sea of Cortez.

AREAS TO PADDLE

Conception Bay/Bahia de la Concepcion

South of Mulege there are a number of beaches to camp on. We chose a small beach away from the highway. From there we paddled to islands in the bay or north to Playa Santispac for fresh bread and other supplies. Between our beach and Santispac there was a small hot spring which bubbled up though the sand and rocks. Digging down into the mud and shoring up the sides with rocks we were able to create a pool of hot water for bathing. Cooling the pool was accomplished by dipping a bucket in the sea water and transferring it to the pool.

Paddling south between our beach and Bahia Santa Barbara we found another remote hot spring that was cleaner with a deeper pool.

During our trip our roof rack broke and we drove nearly 700 kilometres from San Quintin to Mulege with a salmon tin jammed between the canopy top and what remained of the rack. At every town we passed through, Mexican children pointed and gaped at our odd looking arrangement. But all that stress faded from memory as we basked naked in a hot spring, cooling off in the Sea of Cortes, miles from any roads or intruders.

Playa Juncalito

After five days we bid Conception Bay farewell and headed south to Loreto. We had been advised to camp at Playa Juncalito just south of town and take in the hiking, fishing and boating opportunities. Loreto is the oldest permanent settlement in the Baja dating back to 1697 and like Mulege, has all the modern facilities including propane and a good library - although all the books are in Spanish. Many kayak tour groups use Playa Juncalito as a launching point to explore Isla Carmen, a very large island with an active fishing village and an abandoned salt mine.

Circumnavigating Isla Carmen takes approximately five days, so we paddled to Isla Danzante, just a few hours to the south. However we had a rather difficult time returning to Juncalito as the wind predictably blew up in the afternoon, creating two to three foot waves that made for a rather challenging return trip.

Some Americans who make Juncalito their second home had paddled from Juncalito south along the shoreline to the village of Agua Verde, where they were picked up by friends and driven back to Juncalito. Other than our paddle to Danzante, I would say that the trip from Juncalito to Agua Verde offers the most interesting views of the jagged peaks of the Sierra de la Giganta mountains which rise up abruptly from the coastal plain, forming a dramatic backdrop to the west.

Hiking in the stream-fed canyons on the opposite side of the road from the beaches was just superb. For a can of peaches or box of raisins you could get a fresh fish from a retired but ambitious American who spends his declining years snagging fish in the bay. Every day a young Mexican mother with a baby in one arm and one three-year-old in tow would make her way down the beach with a bucket of fresh tortillas. We'd saute fish, vegies and rice and wrap them in warm tortillas for dinner.

Isla Espiritu Santo

Reluctantly departing from Playa Juncalito, we drove to the Pacific side of the peninsula to the Isla Magdelena area in the hopes of seeing the migrating grey whales. Unfortunately we only saw blowing sand. (We did see hundreds of whales later on the beaches south of Todos Santos).

Then it was on to La Paz where we set up camp on a beach just east of town called Playa Tecolote. From that vantage point we observed the ferry crossing the strait to the mainland.

We planned to take the ferry to the mainland and had already purchased our automobile sticker in Tijuana which you need for the crossing. We made a feeble attempt to locate the ticket office to purchase our fare but we never found it. After discovering the cost of the crossing was approximately $400, we abandoned our goal to return to the United States via mainland Mexico.

It was very windy when we were in La Paz so we didn't paddle. However we did meet a fellow originally from Victoria who regularly dropped paddlers in a group of islands near La Paz - the largest of which was Isla Espiritu Santo. This option is worth investigating. For more information contact Michael Guiney Blue Water Sports and Travel, TEL (112) 33177 Address: Sonora 430, el G. Prieto y Ramirez, La Paz, Baja California Sur, 23000 Mexico.

We spent many a lovely evening paddling in a fresh water lagoon on the beach just south of Todos Santos, called Playa el Presidente or Playa las Palmas - an abandoned sugar plantation filled with what I understood to be Washington palm trees. The areas south of La Paz - Santiago, San Jose del Cabo and Todos Santos were every bit as interesting and diverse as the other areas and should not be missed.

MEDICAL
Purchase medical insurance for both the United States and Mexico at your local insurance services office or credit union.

TOURIST CARD
You should obtain a tourist card from a travel agent before you leave Canada. If you cannot present one to authorities in Mexico you may be immediately deported.

AUTO INSURANCE
If you are staying in Baja for more than one month, it is more cost effective to purchase one year of car insurance, otherwise you pay a daily rate. We bought our Mexican auto insurance the day before we left San Diego California from International Gateway Insurance Brokers, 3450 Bonita Road Suite 103, Chula Vista, California 91910 TEL 619 422-3022.

MONEY
Canadian money is useless in Mexico. Convert your Canadian dollars to American cash or travellers cheques before you leave Canada and then use those dollars to purchase pesos as required from Mexican banks. The best rate of exchange was in Loreto - the poorest was in Cabo San Lucas.

SECURITY PRECAUTIONS
Lock your car at all times. Park in well lit areas at night and avoid carrying and storing all your money in one place. Don't leave valuables laying around. Carry only as much cash as needed and the rest in travellers cheques. Keep a list of your travellers cheques and credit card numbers. We spent five weeks in Baja and discovered only after we got back to Salt Spring that our canopy lock was defective. Anyone at any time could have helped themselves to the contents of the back of our truck - but they never did.

POLICE
In towns, police may wave you over and accuse you of some imaginary traffic violation and ask for money. Don't argue; just offer them 10 pesos (the equivalent of $2.50 Cdn) and you'll probably be waved on. Don't make a fuss - it's a small price to pay for a good measure of security.

CAUTION:
Due to the trouble in Chiapas state and the migration of thousands of Chiapan Indians to northern Baja in search of work, the Mexican government has recently stepped up its military; police presence in the Baja. For more information please contact the Canadian Foreign Travel Information and Canadian Consular Services at 1-800-267-6788.

MAP/GUIDE BOOK
If you can't find a good Baja map and guide book before you leave Canada, pick up one in San Diego. We purchased Travellers Reference Map of Mexico: Baja California from International Travel Map Productions, PO. Box 2290 Vancouver B.C. V6B 3W5. We bought a second hand guide book on Salt Spring - Baja California, by the Automobile Club of Southern California.

WATER - AGUA PURIFICADO
Travel with at least two - five gallon water containers. Use only purified water for drinking and washing dishes and you'll never get sick. Water can be purchased in bulk in major towns and villages at the local Agua Purificado station for around one American dollar for five gallons.

FOOD
The best place to shop for American style supermarket food was Guerrero Negro - a good place to stock up for the trip south. You can re-stock in Cabo San Lucas but it's more expensive. Restaurants can be rather expensive and the food is not great It is very difficult to find whole wheat bread. Mexicans eat white bread and tortillas. An oven for your own baking purposes would be quite luxurious. There are fresh fruits, vegetables and seafood in the villages. Some entrepreneurial Mexicans make regular deliveries of all these items to the beaches. The best prawns I have ever dined on were fished out of an ice box on the tail gate of a beat up Datsun pick up. I even had home made pineapple ice cream from the trunk of a car.

WINDS AND TIDES
There is very little tidal action in the Sea of Cortes but the wind can come up quickly and the water can get very choppy in a matter of minutes. Where it's shallow, the waves can be rough. But it is no more challenging than being in B.C. coastal waters with one difference - the Sea of Cortez is a lot warmer.

CAMPING
Some beaches like Juncalito were free. Others cost from 5 to 15 pesos a night. Most beaches have garbage pick up and outhouses but you may as well know now that they just dump the garbage on the other side of the road away from the beach. Almost all the toilets were awful. We often buried or burned our human waste. It takes years to break down in the dry desert climate so try and be sensible about all your waste and sensitive to the damage you may inflict on the desert ecosystem.

ROADS
The main highway that runs from Tijuana to Cabo San Lucas is paved, and although narrow with no shoulders, it is generally in good condition. However when you see a sign that says "VADO", or dip, slow down or you could lose your axle. Vado's are dry creek beds with no culverts. Often the road surface has been washed away by flash floods-so beware. There are animals and other hazards on the road day and night. DO NOT DRIVE AT NIGHT. Paved side roads are fine but dirt roads vary from good to impassable.

FUEL/GARAGE
There are service stations approximately every 50 kilometres that sell gas and diesel. Only purchase premium gas. Propane is more difficult to find. We had good experience with mechanics in Mexico. We had our roof rack welded in Mulege and after three years it's still holding together. The Mexican government provides a service called the "Green Angels" which are spanking new emergency repair trucks outfitted with two mechanics, a small arsenal of tools and a welder. They spend their days driving up and down the roads and out to popular beaches in search of broken down tourist vehicles. They are never more than a few hours away.

ROAD WISE
I am a humanitarian and like most Canadians I will stop on the road if I someone flags me down. So when we were waved down by a young Mexican who we thought needed water, we pulled over only to discover that it was a scam to politely but aggressively relieve us of our tank of gas. We barely made it to the next Pemex. Moral of the story: under no circumstances should you stop for anyone on the road. The Green Angels will take care of it. (PS If the army or police wave you down, stop and cooperate fully with them.)

ENTERTAINMENT
It gets dark every night at 6PM. If you are camping it can get a little boring once supper is made and dishes put away. If you have room bring some good books, a reading lamp and a short wave radio. We were starved for CBC and could ever so faintly, hear our neighbours on the beach night after night listening to As It Happens. We swore never to leave Salt Spring without one. If you are staying in the towns and villages you will notice that Mexicans come alive after 6PM. That is because the heat of the day from about 11AM till 4PM is so intense-particularly in the summer - that their lives understandably revolve around the cooler hours of dawn and dusk. The afternoon siesta is absolutely necessary for survival in this climate.

BAJA FACTS
• 800 miles long and between 35 and 145 miles wide
• divided into two states - Baja California Norte (capital Mexicali) and Baja California Sur in the south (capital La Paz)
• three major mountain ranges - highest mountain over 10,000
• population of just over two million is mainly concentrated in the northern state and is relatively unpopulated compared to the over 60 million occupying Mexico's mainland

HISTORY
• rumours of vast wealth in Baja, motivated Hernan Cortez to send an expedition from mainland Mexico to La Paz in 1534a small colony was established and abandoned a year later due to the reported unfriendliness of the local Guyacaras Indians
• first detailed maps of the Baja were made in 1602
• Jesuits began establishing missions in the early 1700's. Of the 23 they set up, 14 were successful
• 1829 Mexico gained independence from Spain and expelled all Spanish persons from Baja and secularised the missions
• most of the missions are still in use as local churches and the government is now restoring them
• for many years Baja was the forgotten peninsula-a haven for smugglers & gamblers, particularly during prohibition when border towns became swamped with Americans engaged in drinking, prostitution and gambling
• in 1938 the Mexican president began a program to root out undesirables and embarked on intense agrarian and educational reforms
• Baja California officially became a state in 1952 and Baja California Sur in 1974
• in the early 1970's Mexico's president was taken on a drive down the Baja Peninsula to raise awareness of the terrible condition of the road. As a result, Highway One was built and completed in 1973 opening up the area to settlement, farming, ranching, tourism and other development.

Claire Heffernan works in the hospitality industry and is a devoted canoeist, hiker, cyclist and free lance writer living on Salt Spring Island.