Little Leo's Overland Adventure to Baja and Back
- Thread starter joeyabisa
- Start date
unkamonkey
Explorer
Los Algodones is a decent place to be in the winter. My friends have been going there, 2 or 3 times a year for over 20 years.
abeaudin1971
Adventurer
Stop at a pemex tomorrow and pick up the Guia Roja (Red Guide) - it's the map I used on my trips to mexico (mainland and baja) some years back.
Enjoy the trip - you're making me want to take my little one (2-1/2 now) on an expedition next year!
Enjoy the trip - you're making me want to take my little one (2-1/2 now) on an expedition next year!
joeyabisa
Adventurer
Well we made it to Route 5 and headed south. Leo was in good spirits and busy in the back playing with his transformers. On that subject- a transformer is a perfect toy for a car ride. There are so many moving parts and they can transform into multiple figures with the added bonus that they don’t come apart. I don’t have to retrieve parts if they fall down, reaching and feeling around behind my seat while driving. The other awesome thing is his ipad. With tons of games, puzzles and movies he doesn’t ever seem to get bored. Both items play a huge role in Leo letting my drive for as long as I do.
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joeyabisa
Adventurer
Finally, we’ve come to the part of route 5 where it hits the Sea of Cortez. It was a welcome sight. All that driving and what seemed like racing to get here was finished. Now I can relax and take a more leisurely pace. To be able to drive along the water was a pure joy. We’ve arrived! Baja! where the desert meets the sea.
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joeyabisa
Adventurer
It was past 4pm by the time we reached the outskirts of San Felipe. I guess we should start looking for a place to camp. There were a lot of places advertising their campsites along the highway as we got closer. I was a little tired and didn't feel like having to deal with traffic, even if it was slight so not having to drive into San Felipe was alright with me. I saw a sign for Pete's Camp that had a long dirt road leading to the beach. Let's check it out. We turned in, drove about half a mile and came to a parking area in front of a restaurant and bar. The restaurant was closed but the bar was open. This is just what I needed, an ice cold beer in an open air bar overlooking the sea.
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Leo and I walked over to the bar and asked who we needed to talk to about camping on the beach. There were 6 retired gringo's sitting around the bar and all pointed at the bar tender. “Fifteen dollars,” the bar tender answered. We drove down, took a look, drove back up and said “Ok!” ordered an iced cold beer and pineapple juice for Leo. It was happy hour!
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*** As I mentioned earlier, sometimes I'm bad with a camera and sometimes don't take it out to snap photos. These were one of those times. The next 4 pictures aren't mine but the pictures are taken from Pete's Camp. I am putting them up just so you can get an idea of what it looked like there. Pictures are courtesy of Casa Naranja ***
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Open air bar at Pete's camp
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Beach at Pete's camp facing south
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![IMG_0701[1].JPG](https://expeditionportal.com/forum/data/attachments/182/182516-2e646792f086371c85132bca0b746137.jpg "IMG_0701[1].JPG")
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![6018-petes-camp-sites-on-the-beach-san-felipe-baja-california-san-felipe-baja[1].jpg](https://expeditionportal.com/forum/data/attachments/182/182517-2458fc063d08dd8cd055b519c976c857.jpg "6018-petes-camp-sites-on-the-beach-san-felipe-baja-california-san-felipe-baja[1].jpg")
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It was low tide and Leo and I took a long walk down the beach. Low spots or pools that were filled with water were still spilling back out toward the sea and Leo was giggling with joy as he followed the stream like flows, watching little fish jump as he stepped into them. I don't know how far the shallows went at this beach but it seemed like a 1/4 mile or more. We never made it out to where the waves were breaking, the sun was going down and it was time to set up the tent and make some dinner. After dinner we sat under our palapa while Leo played in the sand. The moon was coming up so I thought now was a good time to look for the camera and take a shot, not a very good shot.
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Tomorrow, off to Bahia San Luis Gonzaga! Or maybe somewhere in between as well.
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Leo and I walked over to the bar and asked who we needed to talk to about camping on the beach. There were 6 retired gringo's sitting around the bar and all pointed at the bar tender. “Fifteen dollars,” the bar tender answered. We drove down, took a look, drove back up and said “Ok!” ordered an iced cold beer and pineapple juice for Leo. It was happy hour!
.
*** As I mentioned earlier, sometimes I'm bad with a camera and sometimes don't take it out to snap photos. These were one of those times. The next 4 pictures aren't mine but the pictures are taken from Pete's Camp. I am putting them up just so you can get an idea of what it looked like there. Pictures are courtesy of Casa Naranja ***
.
Open air bar at Pete's camp
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Beach at Pete's camp facing south
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.
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It was low tide and Leo and I took a long walk down the beach. Low spots or pools that were filled with water were still spilling back out toward the sea and Leo was giggling with joy as he followed the stream like flows, watching little fish jump as he stepped into them. I don't know how far the shallows went at this beach but it seemed like a 1/4 mile or more. We never made it out to where the waves were breaking, the sun was going down and it was time to set up the tent and make some dinner. After dinner we sat under our palapa while Leo played in the sand. The moon was coming up so I thought now was a good time to look for the camera and take a shot, not a very good shot.
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Tomorrow, off to Bahia San Luis Gonzaga! Or maybe somewhere in between as well.
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LockedNLoaded
New member
Love the adventure. Love taking my little ones on overlanding trips like this. Safe travels my friend.
joeyabisa
Adventurer
Thanks LockedNLoaded! I see you're in Raleigh, NC. Overland Expo East is going to be in your neck of the woods this October.
joeyabisa
Adventurer
I stopped at the bar on the way out to say goodbye and ran into one of the men from the previous afternoon having his morning cocktail. Said my goodbyes and told him I was heading to Gonzaga. He told me to watch out for the dips just south of San Felipe and that they were big. I asked how many and replied with "Roughly about 10." I come to find out later that there were probably three times as many as he'd said.
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The way south was fairly easy going, you just had to keep a lookout for the dips. You could really get some air and bottom out. Bottoming out was something I didn't really have to worry about but I had so much stuff in the back I had to be careful and I certainly didn't want to get airborne with a 4 year old in the truck even though I know he would have giggled with joy. I passed some beaches that I'd heard about, Delicias, Bahia Santa Maria, Bahia Christina.
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They looked inviting but I didn't stop. I did want to take a peek at Puertecitos and the hot springs right on the beach but when we pulled into town it seemed eerily quiet. No one was out and it seemed like I was in some kind of post apocalyptical scene where we were some of the only people left on earth and if we got out of the truck, zombies would come after us.
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It IS the middle of summer and no tourists in their right mind would want to be down here in this heat. As for the locals they were smart enough not to be out. The temperature was climbing, no one was out and I wanted to continued on. Maybe we'll hit Puerticitos on the way back.
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The way south was fairly easy going, you just had to keep a lookout for the dips. You could really get some air and bottom out. Bottoming out was something I didn't really have to worry about but I had so much stuff in the back I had to be careful and I certainly didn't want to get airborne with a 4 year old in the truck even though I know he would have giggled with joy. I passed some beaches that I'd heard about, Delicias, Bahia Santa Maria, Bahia Christina.
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They looked inviting but I didn't stop. I did want to take a peek at Puertecitos and the hot springs right on the beach but when we pulled into town it seemed eerily quiet. No one was out and it seemed like I was in some kind of post apocalyptical scene where we were some of the only people left on earth and if we got out of the truck, zombies would come after us.
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It IS the middle of summer and no tourists in their right mind would want to be down here in this heat. As for the locals they were smart enough not to be out. The temperature was climbing, no one was out and I wanted to continued on. Maybe we'll hit Puerticitos on the way back.
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joeyabisa
Adventurer
Driving past little dirt roads leading toward the water, I wondered if we were missing some really nice beaches we could potentially camp at. A place with a palapa would be nice in this heat and I wasn't seeing any. I don't know what it is about palm leafed roofs, they are definitely cooler to be under than an awning or tarp. Enjoying the drive we finally came to our first army checkpoint. The three soldiers that were there seemed hot and lethargic. The main person only asked where we were going then gave us the go ahead. Great! I didn't know it at that moment but San Luis Gonzaga would be right down the road. I'd read, at one time it used to be hard to get here but now you have Route 5 with its new super smooth blacktop cutting a lot of travel time and taking you right to the front door.
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There's a Pemex gas station on the left and a sign for Alfonsia's. Now that the paved road has reached Gonzaga it's just a matter of time before development takes over. But for now the place still has a nice undeveloped feel. I feel fortunate to have made it here before the hotels and condos go up. We drove down the road leading to the sea, parallel to the dirt road was one of the landing strips for baja bush pilots. The first gringo to discover Gonzaga flew into it and a year later he dragged a trailer to this remote beach and set up camp. Alfonsina was to come after and she set up a rustic 5 room hotel next to his trailer.
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Once we reached the beach I felt that same eerie feeling again. Not a soul around. The only sound you heard were the small waves lapping on the beach and seagulls. There were palapas to the right so I figured I would just set up camp next to one and see if anyone would come by. First thing Leo and I did was hit the water. The water felt like it was 85 to 90 degrees, bath water. If there wasn't a breeze to cool you off it could almost make you feel sick in the stomach.
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Road down to Gonzaga, air strip to the left
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There's a Pemex gas station on the left and a sign for Alfonsia's. Now that the paved road has reached Gonzaga it's just a matter of time before development takes over. But for now the place still has a nice undeveloped feel. I feel fortunate to have made it here before the hotels and condos go up. We drove down the road leading to the sea, parallel to the dirt road was one of the landing strips for baja bush pilots. The first gringo to discover Gonzaga flew into it and a year later he dragged a trailer to this remote beach and set up camp. Alfonsina was to come after and she set up a rustic 5 room hotel next to his trailer.
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Once we reached the beach I felt that same eerie feeling again. Not a soul around. The only sound you heard were the small waves lapping on the beach and seagulls. There were palapas to the right so I figured I would just set up camp next to one and see if anyone would come by. First thing Leo and I did was hit the water. The water felt like it was 85 to 90 degrees, bath water. If there wasn't a breeze to cool you off it could almost make you feel sick in the stomach.
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Road down to Gonzaga, air strip to the left
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DiploStrat
Expedition Leader
Have a Great Trip!
Sorry we weren't able to meet before you departed. Have a great trip and bring back lots of memories!
Sorry we weren't able to meet before you departed. Have a great trip and bring back lots of memories!
joeyabisa
Adventurer
Hi Diplostrat, thanks! I never finished my camper/trailer before we left. I ended up purchasing an RTT. It's working out for now but boy it sure would have been nice to have a camper with A/C.
joeyabisa
Adventurer
The day was relaxed with Leo playing in the waves and under the palapa. Whoever built the palapas here did a really great job. They were large, had a concrete floor and walls half way around to keep you shaded from mid day and into the afternoon. I felt we were now in a Baja groove. I was relaxed, soaking up our environment and staring out at the sea with an ice cold beer in hand. Leo I guess was also in a Baja groove. At one point he had decided that being naked was the way to be and he stayed that way till evening. It temperature started to cool off later that day. The breeze from the east which I notice dies down in the evening continued to blow and it was a much cooler breeze.
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