Just got back from Sonora & Baja. Great trip!

[LexusAllTerrain]

Oh! and I am sorry that I missed meeting you, however when I got your PM it was too late on friday for us to travel ( evendough I was planning in spending the night in Yuma thursday night ) next time:beer:

 

[Ursidae69]

GREAT thread and I love the photos. :bowdown:

I'm curious why you didn't drive down to take the Topolobampo ferry instead? It is larger and runs 6 days a week to La Paz. I'm still debating doing the same route as you, down the mainland, cross on the ferry, then back up Baja.

 

[Skillet]

GREAT thread and I love the photos. :bowdown:

I'm curious why you didn't drive down to take the Topolobampo ferry instead? It is larger and runs 6 days a week to La Paz. I'm still debating doing the same route as you, down the mainland, cross on the ferry, then back up Baja.

Purely for the sake of time. If I had three weeks or a month, that is what I would have done. As it was, we were pressed a little.

Next time, it will be less driving and more enjoying.

 

[chet]

thank you for the write up and pics! Sitting here its -2degC right now so its nice to see pics of warm places! :jumping:

 

[Ursidae69]

Purely for the sake of time. If I had three weeks or a month, that is what I would have done. As it was, we were pressed a little.

Next time, it will be less driving and more enjoying.

I hear ya, when I go I only have 2 weeks. I was considering a long drive on the first day to Topolobampo, taking the ferry overnight, then starting in La Paz on Day 2, slowly working my way up. I've heard on other boards that it's a toll road all the way down though. I like your route though, along the coast. I've always wanted to go to Bahia Kino and kayak along the shores of Isla Tiburon.

 

[LexusAllTerrain]

I hear ya, when I go I only have 2 weeks. I was considering a long drive on the first day to Topolobampo, taking the ferry overnight, then starting in La Paz on Day 2, slowly working my way up. I've heard on other boards that it's a toll road all the way down though. I like your route though, along the coast. I've always wanted to go to Bahia Kino and kayak along the shores of Isla Tiburon.

Toll road indeed from Nogales to Topolobampo! however I would recomend taking the trails by Caborca and work your way down to Bahia Kino and south to San Carlos bay!:ylsmoke: :smiley_drive:

 

[SLOwag]

Sounds like a great trip. I'm glad you had a good time down there.....a lot of prep and anticipation of what could go wrong gets you ready when it looks like a situation could go south, good karma on freeing that family that had been stuck for 48 hrs.

The diveyak is a very nice unit. It roles up into a duffel bag and is very stable. You can climb on and off of it with dive gear on and it will not tip.
Holds 700lbs and has detachable fins for straight-line paddling.
Highly reccomended.

When you get settled could you do a new thread or add to the existing one below on what equipment you have, etc. I've been wanting to get into this sport for some time. Thanks

http://expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=453&highlight=spear+fishing

 

[Skillet]

I hear ya, when I go I only have 2 weeks. I was considering a long drive on the first day to Topolobampo, taking the ferry overnight, then starting in La Paz on Day 2, slowly working my way up. I've heard on other boards that it's a toll road all the way down though. I like your route though, along the coast. I've always wanted to go to Bahia Kino and kayak along the shores of Isla Tiburon.

Another thing is the confusion over where the vehicle permit was required. With much investigation and asking a million people with a million different opinions, we discovered that there is a town south of Guaymas, Empalme, I believe, where the "Free Sonora" program ends and you need to have a time consuming and costly vehicle permit.
Better verify that before you go and that may make the decision for you as in order to get your "deposit" back, you have to go back through the crossing you came in at. So we were told and from what we read. That is another reason we opted for Guaymas.

 

[60seriesguy]

I had a real crappy day at work, but these shots made my day! Awesome, thanks for sharing and inspiring!

 

[LexusAllTerrain]

Another thing is the confusion over where the vehicle permit was required. With much investigation and asking a million people with a million different opinions, we discovered that there is a town south of Guaymas, Empalme, I believe, where the "Free Sonora" program ends and you need to have a time consuming and costly vehicle permit.
Better verify that before you go and that may make the decision for you as in order to get your "deposit" back, you have to go back through the crossing you came in at. So we were told and from what we read. That is another reason we opted for Guaymas.

Well the Free Sonora Zone runs from HWY 15 to your left from Nogales to Empalme. If you want to travel all over the state of Sonora you must get a Free Sonora Permit, (only in the state of Sonora can you travel) however you must get the permit in Nogales and return in the same place. no charge! :smilies27

http://aolsearch.aol.com/aol/redir?...dItemPage=1&clickedItemDescription=WebResults

 

[Skillet]

Well the Free Sonora Zone runs from HWY 15 to your left from Nogales to Empalme. If you want to travel all over the state of Sonora you must get a Free Sonora Permit, (only in the state of Sonora can you travel) however you must get the permit in Nogales and return in the same place. no charge! :smilies27

http://aolsearch.aol.com/aol/redir?...dItemPage=1&clickedItemDescription=WebResults

Every piece of literature we had on the subject were poorly worded and only added to the confusion.
Could not figure out if we needed the 'free' one or 'pay' one or none at all where we were or where we were going.
We even asked a couple of border officials and they had conflicting opinions. We ended up calling the department of transportation in Caborca, we got the phone number from a guy at a Red Cross station, they said to not worry about anything until Empalme, as you said.
We went through multiple inspections and check points, including on and off of the ferry, with no problems.

Anyway, hope this helps!

 

[LexusAllTerrain]

Agreed ,you do not need to pay for Sonora Only Permit or no permit if you stay within the Free Zone area! Also remember that if you get the Sonora Only Permit you can travel thru out the state for up to 180 days.:smiley_drive:

Now can we see more pictures...

 

[Skillet]

180 days....:sunflower: + :campfire: + :truck: + :suning: + :beer: = :sombrero:

 

[Skillet]

Sounds like a great trip. I'm glad you had a good time down there.....a lot of prep and anticipation of what could go wrong gets you ready when it looks like a situation could go south, good karma on freeing that family that had been stuck for 48 hrs.


When you get settled could you do a new thread or add to the existing one below on what equipment you have, etc. I've been wanting to get into this sport for some time. Thanks

http://expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=453&highlight=spear+fishing

Hey guys, if any of you are interested in this, I posted a writeup in this thread:


http://expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=453&highlight=spear+fishing

:beer:

 

[RAM5500 CAMPERTHING]

Awesome pics Jeb!