Almost two weeks have passed by in blissful beach going. After leaving Ensenada, Aña, Ilsa, and I headed south to meet up with my folks. On our way, we pulled off the highway in the middle of the desert to camp. Even though we were near the highway the site and sunset were beautiful. There was a plenitude of prickly cacti diversity. The sunset lit the sky ablaze with hues of neon orange and smooth spreads of purple. The sunset was only a prelude for the nearly full orange moon rising in the opposite direction. With the nearly full moon came strange dreams and howling coyotes.
We found my folks south of the town of Mulegé in their pop-up camper on the beach of Santispac. A small beautiful beach formerly owned by an ejido, but now under private ownership. Like most of the beaches and “gringo camping” it was speckled with RV's. RV's seem to be the preferred way to camp in the Baja for migrating snow birds. It was, however, a great spot to relax after some long hauls in the truck from Santa Cruz.
Camping on the beaches of Baja is beautiful but not always accommodating for the shoe-string budget. Prices seem to range from $5-8 per person per night. Average hotel rooms go for $20-$80/night depending on where you're at. Food is more expensive than mainland, but generally still cheaper than in the U.S. Most food is imported from mainland Mexico and the U.S.
My folks are travelling more economically than many Baja goers, but still brought some toys. Their “rig” seems hilarious at times and laborious to frequently relocate. They're towing a modified pop-up trailer with a four-wheeler on the front and an inflatable kayak on top. In the back of the truck, of course, is a motorcycle for cruising the roads in style. Leave one camp site we ended up spending a morning getting the truck and trailer un-stuck from the engulfing sand trap of the beach. I was very happy to have four-wheel drive and hooked up to their trailer with our truck. After an hour of tricky maneuvering and digging, we were back on the road.
We decided to try and camp at a place on the map labeled “Puerto Chale”. We didn't know much about it, other than it was by the Pacific and en-route to our next destination. It ended up being a small isolated fishing village. We were quite the spectacle; driving through the small village with two trucks, one with a camper, motorcycle, and four-wheeler. We found a space to camp on the outskirts and enjoyed another beautiful view of the sunset. We talked to some locals and convinced them that we weren't too loco. My parents surprised me by ending up exploring the town on their own. With their limited Spanish they ended up getting invited to a bonfire, drinking beer from a small tienda, and finding the one English speaker in the village.
Stopping outside of La Paz, we made preperations for taking the vehicle to mainland Mexico. We had to temporarily import the vehicle and buy ferry tickets for ourselves and the truck. For the importation and the ferry transportation the total came to around $400. A little pricey, but it beats driving back up the Baja and around. Plus, we'll be de-boarding near the town to catch a train ride. We're planning on taking the only train in Mexico north from Topolobampo to the Copper Canyon. It's accredited with being one of the most scenic train rides in the world!
Until then, we'll continue our beach lounging. We're currently on a beach at La Ventana. It's a beautiful bay with strong winds in the afternoon. It's a destination for migrating kite-surfers and wind-surfers. In the afternoon around one hundred kite-surfers can be seen on the bay. It is a surreal scene with the droves of parafoiled colors hovering over the bay waters. Our next destination is Cabo Pulmo where we'll be able to snorkel on the only pacific reef in North America.
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