rbobbitt
San Jose del Cabo
New Member
Joined: 06/01/2008
View Profile
 Offline
|
Well I made it. Never having driven or even been in an RV before, I purchased a Class A 34' Bounder from some really nice people in Mesa, AZ. with the intention of driving it to Los Cabos , Mx. by myself. Leaving Arizona, I was obviously a little nervous at the wheel for the first time and natually missed my turn off to San Diego. so just as I was about to stop at a roadside park to sleep for the night, I passed an Indian casino. Remembering that some casinos were RV friendly, I pulled in and sure enough I saw a sign that said truck and RV parking. I was so releived to find that spot tha I ended up staying 2 days there getting to know the RV, stocking up on supplies and practicing driving. ie: backing up in the big casino parking lot and taking a couple of trips to wallmart and other stores.
My plan the next day was to pass through the border at Tijuana and make it to Ensenada. I passed the border OK, but in Tijuana I ran into a two hour traffic jam and at one point found myself in this giant traffic circle where I had to move over about 5 lanes within 20 yards and there were cars everywhere. I had to do what all the others were doing , just start moving left and hope for the best. Well everyone got out of the way and I made my turn to Ensenada. I calmed down a bit and headed down the toll road passing Rosarita and on in to Ensenada. Next question, where can I park in Ensenada. I ended up at the Wallmart and after tipping the security guards there and giving them a hat, they were my new friends and watched the coach all night. Even calling a cab for me when I wanted to go into town for dinner. The next day was a tough drive. After passing through San Quintin and eating some shrimp tacos and ceviche de almeja, filling up with gas, I headed for the tuff drive through the mountains, the boujum trees for miles, passing the Catilina boulders and the narrow stretch of highway into Guerrero Negro. Wow, I was spent. These nice ladies at a little store by the hiway let me stay the night there. I checked all the fluid levels to the coach and put a little oil in the generator and settled back to enjoy a movie and can of chili with popcorn. All night long truckers were stopping and I didn't get much sleep, but was rested and ready for my next day of travel. I knew the next leg of the trip, Guerrero Negro to Vizcaina, was very narrow with no shoulder and a drop off and many times bad fog. I was lucky and didn't run into any fog. It was funny that every morning when I started the journey, I would go through a period of about an hour of nerviosness at the wheel. Many times I would see a big rig coming up from behind me and I would look for a place to pull over to let him go by. The road wass so narrow in places that is the only way I was comfortable. I had been worrying for hours about the big down hill coming up, the cuesta de infierno, a steep switch back going into Santa Rosalia. I was in low gear and using the brake all the way down and vey happy to get to the bottom and see the Mar de Cortez fo the first time.
I drove on to Bajia Concepcion and camped at Playa El Burro. This is one of the most bueatiful spots in the world. I ate more shrimp tacos at the little restaurant there and parked 20 feet from the tranquill blue water. I had all afternoon to relax and swim and snorkel. Helped a fisherman tie up his panga which he had full of callo de hatcha and almeja that he had just harvested from the sea.
This place was so relaxing, I took the next morning to do a little fishing and left at about 9 or 10 AM heading for Loreto. I stopped in Loreto to look at the new golf course being built there at Loreto Bay. It was gorgous and I was lucky enough to play the 9 holes that were finished. It is a great spot with the Sea of Cortez on one side and the magnificent backdrop of la Giganta mountain range behind. My friends there said they were catching dorado as fast as they could reel them in. and take a few bags full of fillets when I left, but I forgot. Spent the night there next to the golf course and rose early the next day to make it all the way to Cabo. It took me 9 hours ( normal drive in a car is 6 1/2), but I made it. I had driven over 1500 miles on my first trip alone and never got a scratch on the coach. I am back in Cabo now, where I live in San Jose del Cabo.
Since I got back to Cabo , I have done some stupid things, Like scraping the side of the coach on a tree at my house, running down a palm tree, letting the batteries go completly down. getting stuck leaving my house and ruining an a/c shroud going under a bridge. I am definately still learning, but it's been a blast!
|
cardan
Cali
Full Member
Joined: 07/25/2003
View Profile
|
That was quite an adventure you had there. I'm glad you made it home safe. We would love to make a trip like that, maybe next year. We have never been to Los Cabos. Would you say two weeks would be enough time to go overthere and stop at different cities before we get there?
CarDan*
|
rocmoc
Tucson, AZ/Mexico
Senior Member
Joined: 09/30/2006
View Profile
Offline
|
rbobbitt, way to go. You had a great adventure and are really living life. We have been to Loreto many times and is one of our favorite places in Baja. I can't/don't want to tell you all the dumb things I have done to my rigs. It is always fixable. Have fun and post your adventure so we can enjoy them also.
rocmoc n AZ/Mexico
* This post was
edited 08/12/08 03:53pm by rocmoc *
rocmoc n AZ/Mexico
|
robatthelake
Vancouver Island
Senior Member
Joined: 08/24/2003
View Profile
Offline
|
Say Hello to the Good folks at Wahoo Rv In San Jose del Cabo! Chuck and Juan will take good care of Your Rig if You need any repairs or Parts.
Rob & Jean 90 Southwind John Deere/Oshkosh/Freightliner Class A Ford 460/ Toad 92 Tracker 2 wd 5sp Convert Still running Great!
" Everything in it"Still" Works"
|
crandle
Campbell River, BC, Canada
Senior Member
Joined: 08/09/2002
View Profile
Offline
|
cardan wrote: Would you say two weeks would be enough time to go overthere and stop at different cities before we get there?
IMHO two weeks would give you barely enough time to sample a few locations down the Baja. You will either be driving a little each day and exploring in the evenings or driving a lot for a few days and missing the stuff in between stops but having more time to spend in the more interesting areas. I suspect it will serve to wet your appetite for further visits, and this would be good. It has been a while since we "did" the Baja and we spent a month there. Even that did not give us anywhere near enough time to truly experience it. Either way you will have fun and end up wanting more!
My 2008 / 2009 Mexico Blog
|
|
|
Turtle-Toad
Wherever I park (orig Kingston, WA. USA)
Senior Member
Joined: 04/11/2004
View Profile
Offline
|
I would recommend at least 2 months to properly "see" Baja! Of course those of you that still have to w**k (sorry about the dirty language) should start out with a leasurly trip down to the Cabo area first, just to get a feel for the country. Then you can make later trips to areas that interest you or you couldn't see the first time.
You can cover a lot of territory in 2 weeks, stopping in a different community each night and spending a couple of days at some of them.
See my website for my first trip; I used the trip down to check out the different areas and then made longer stops on the way back. Of course you won't be able to spend weeks at one place like I did, but you could do the whole thing in a two week time span. Then plan future trips accordingly.
Turtle & Toad, On the Road
37' Georgetown XL w/3 slides, 1 1/2 bath, & 275 watts of solar power
06 Taco TRD (for "Off the Road")
www.turtleandtoad.com
I am here
Only States/Provinces that I have spent at least a week in are shown
|
|
