Day 3 Catavina to San Ignacio

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Catarina to San Ignacio

A hot ride through the Vizcaino Desert today, also dry and dusty and windy in a few areas.

Stopped at a food van in Guerrero Negro for the most delicious fish tacos.  Deep fried fish fillets in a soft taco and topping of your choice. 

Our stop for the night was a true oasis in the desert.  Riding into town past date palms and water, did I say water!  Was nice to see some water apart from the ocean.  Dinner in a little restaurant in the town square.  We wanted to sit outside so they moved the tables out onto the street for us.  Celebrated Robyn’s birthday tonight, Tom celebrated with a few too many Margaritas and didn’t feel the best the next morning.  A little toast with butter and my vegemite and he felt he could go on.

 

Catavina to San Ignacio

A rest stop in the desert

Fish Tacos for lunch

San Ignacio Kadakaaman

Cross tucked into the corner of the mission

 

Los Barriles to Loreto

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Los Barriles to Loreto

We had a rest day in the resort at Los Barriles, it was great to sit back and recharge the batteries.  I tried my hand a SUP (Stand up paddle boarding).  I didn’t fall off which disappointed Andy but it’s a little boring by yourself.  They have a great little pizza/hamburger window by the pool.  The burgers were great and a welcome change.  I spied a workers cleaning up the palm fronds around the pool so that made for some interesting photos.  Other than a couple of quick snaps of the resort I didn’t take photos today.

Back on the Road.  A lovely cool start to the day as we head north on our return back to Los Angeles  Once again into the mountains, it then warmed up in the desert a little later.

The views coming down the mountain in Loreto were stunning as were the twisties or curves in the road. We arrived in Loreto just early enough for me to head to the marina, my aim was to capture the Magnificant Birds which have been flying around, unfortunately it was not to be.  I had to be content with the Brown Pelicans and the feeding behaviour.  Unlike our Australian Pelican who dip their bill in the water to catch fish, the Brown Pelican will dive for their meal.  Interesting to watch.

 

Palmas Hotel

Palm tree pruning at our hotel

Palmas Hotel

View to the Sea of Cortez and Loreto Golf Course

Winding mountain road

Brown Pelican

Los Barriles to Loreto

Brown Pelican Fishing

Day 19 Loreto to Guerrero Negro

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Loreto to Guerrero Negro

The usual morning ride into the mountains, the twists and turns that Andy loves, then once more we see the Sea of Cortez.  Riding along Conception Bay enjoying our last day with these stunning views.

A short break at Mulege Mission Santa Rosalia which is small but rather nice and sits on a hill over the town.

We head a little further up the coast back on the water for our lunch stop at a little taco place in Santa Rosalia.  Awesome soft shelled beef tacos.

The afternoon sees us head towards the Pacific Ocean and the town of Guerrero Negro.  Not much here but a nice meal at a local restaurant.

Due to the nature of the roads (mountainous with tight curves etc) and not very strict road rules (people still allowed to ride in the back of utes) we have seen lots of little (and some not so little) roadside shrines where people have lost their lives.  The example below is the largest we saw but they do range from a simple cross to a small building.

Sea of Cortez

Moulage Mission Santa Rosalia

Build your home around the palm trees

Camping at Concepcion Bay Sea of Cortez

Roadside shrine

Day 20 Guerrero Negro to San Quintin

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Guerrero Negro to San Quintin

What a great cool temperature today for riding, but a little windy.  We were riding at high altitude again so up and down and around mountains etc, then through the Valle de los Cirios with the Cardon Cactus and Cirios Trees.  Most of the day was spent riding through desert like landscape.

Berry growing is a major industry in the Baja.  Strawberry, raspberry, blackberry and blueberry, I’m guessing that the majority gets exported as we didn’t see too many in our travels.  A little here and there in the fruit platters at breakfast.  Watermelon and rockmelon were common place.  Many of the fields were protected by the elements like in the picture at the end of this post.  Tomatoes are grown in abundance also, with San Quintin being one of the world’s largest tomato growing regions in the world.

Curio Tree at Valle de los Cirios

Cirio Tree

Cardon Cactus at Valle de los Cirios

Cardon Cactus

Motorbike riding

Berry growing

 

Day 21 San Quintin to Ensenada

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San Quintin to Ensenada.

I had the opportunity finally, for some serious photography from our balcony and on the beach this morning.  Nearly missed the lovely colourful sunrise due to time changes messing with my timing.

Another lovely ride though the hills then a long straight stretch, still up rather high so cool.  Passed through another agriculture area.

There’s a huge military presence in the Baja.  Stopped at about 5 checkpoints on the way south and passed through another couple which were unmanned.  They’re looking for drugs and guns.  Sometimes the first couple of bikes were inspected and other times we were just waved through.

We’ve been passing a number of Off-road racing vehicles heading south to prepare for the Baja 1000.  After seeing some of the areas they’ll be racing through it would be fantastic to watch.

We had the best spicy shredded beef tacos for lunch at El Trailero, a very popular place in Ensenada.  You order your food, get a drink, then pay after you have eaten.  Works well, great turnaround but I do have to wonder if everyone pays?

Got in a little souvenir shopping this arvo at Ensenada and then a little quiet time before our farewell dinner.

Sunrise from our room

Military Escort

Ensenada Food Stall

A popular street food stall

Full ute load Ensenada

Fully loaded ute

Day 22 Ensenada to Los Angeles

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Our Last Day. 

And so it comes to an end, the last day of our tour today with our final ride from Ensenada to Los Angeles.

We headed to the border via the  Valley of Guadalupe and the wine making region. Mexican wines are growing in quality and becoming a trend among wine enthusiasts.  Stopped for a break at a Government run wine museum, Museo de la Vid Y El Vino, which would have been interesting if the information was written in English instead of Spanish.  Onward to the town of Tecate and the border crossing, much quieter here than Tijuana.  Within 15 mins we were all through and it was not long before we were once again heading down a mountain range with all of it’s twisties (our tour guides term for the winding roads and switchbacks).

 

 

Fences here are usually made out of big sticks here it’s wooden pallets.

Colourful garden pots and assorted ornaments

Just one of California’s concrete freeways

 

Day 6 Loreto to La Paz

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Day 6 on the Bikes.  

Lovely drive through the mountains and along the coast, the Sea of Cortez to be precise, for a while today.  Temperature unusual, really cold and then really warm a minute later, didn’t matter if we were in the sun or the shade or right on the water it could be hot or cold.  Next up we had about 50km of thick fog to ride through, we could see it in the distance but didn’t realise at first what it was.  From the fog and beyond it was desert so we did’t miss seeing any sights.

Overnight at La Paz, now the capital of Baja (previously Loreto) is a busy industrial hub. Silver mining, agriculture, fishing and pearls.  We stayed the night in a hotel a few km out of town opposite the marina and had a lovely evening watching the cruisers go by.

Early morning light as we leave Loreto

Another day another mountain pass

Golf course at La Paz

A sky full of Magnificent Frigatebirds

 

 

Day 7 La Paz to Cabo San Lucas

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Day 7 on the Bikes

We took a wrong turn this morning but I was happy as we had passed by an area with lots of cactus and the Turkey Vultures were drying their wings so Andy slowed down for me on the way back so I could capture a shot.  Quite atmospheric with the low cloud around.

Morning tea rest stop was at a little town called El Triunfo.  They had a great character coffee shop down Harley Davidson Drive  and a music museum.

Lunch saw us in the artist community of Todos Santos, which has a number of art galleries and lots of souvenir shopping.  Silver is a big thing here so there is a number of shops selling everything silver.  We ate lunch at the Hotel California.  I believe that the band The Eagles have filed a lawsuit against the hotel for leading people to believe that they inspired the bands biggest hit.  They have a huge souvenir shop which gets a lot of sales.

Spent the night at Bahia Hotel Beach Club a block back from the beach and a room overlooking the pool. The beach front is full of resorts or restaurant which each have an exclusive bit of beach.  Trying to upload a photo of this below but current wi-fi is not letting me.  Lots of people down here for sunset, drinking games etc.  Dinner at La Dolce Italian Restaurant which served up the most beautiful food and we were looked after by the owner (a friend of our van driver).


Turkey Vultures on the cactus

The restrooms at Hotel California Todos Santos were quirky

The Mission at El Triunfo

Lots of little eateries on the side of the road, lots closed down also

 

Day 2 on the Bikes Ensenada to Catavina

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Through the desert today passing many Cirio Trees and Cardon Cacti with temperatures in the forties.  Also travelled through the El Vizcaino Biosphere Reserve which is the largest wildlife refuge in Mexico.  Can’t say we saw much wildlife except for Turkey Vultures, which are everywhere.

This is a real short post, time to head out and explore the town.