Date:         Sun, 24 Mar 2013 15:23:09 -0700
Reply-To:     mark drillock <mdrillock@COX.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         mark drillock <mdrillock@COX.NET>
Subject:      Re: Baja Whale 2013 trip report, 10 vans... part 4...at last
In-Reply-To:  <5145B6D9.9060402@cox.net>
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Our three boats brought us back to camp and we shared our different
whale encounters that mostly far exceeded our hopes. One boat did not
get to experience actually touching whales but the other two boats did a
lot of it. The mother of a toddler in our group had stayed at camp while
the father went out so she now joined another small group of strangers
that went out in one of our returned boats. The rest of us relaxed or
used to the solar heated showers provided at the camp.

The sunny day was fairly calm and people did whatever they wished, beach
combing etc. We talked a little about what our next move would be after
a second night camped at Kuyima. Many of us again had dinner in the
cafe, shrimp this time, pretty good too. During the night the wind came
back and rocked the vans with strong gusts. Kept awake by the sounds
Anne and I worried about a few things and lamented that some people had
missed out on touching the friendly whale calves and mothers. About 3 am
we hatched a plan. She would offer to go out again in the morn if others
would join her and if a whale boat was available. I would lead other
vans on a day trip to the Sea of Cortez. We would meet all up again at
the junction town mid afternoon, though the timing would be pretty tight.

Most of the people from the boat that didn't touch whales jumped at the
chance to try again. While those folks went out in a boat seven vans
went on the day trip instead. The whales did their part and this time
everyone who wished to had plenty of chances to pat and stroke whales.
The vans that left for the day didn't fare quite as well. First one had
a tire blow out on the washboard road. That slowed things down a bit.
Then another experienced engine cutting out as we reached the paved road
and made it into town so I dug out my Digitool to see what was what. The
delays made it so we could make it to the original scenic Bahia
Conception destination and still keep our rendezvous with the whale
watchers left behind. We settled for dropping down the coastal mountains
to the port town of Santa Rosalia for lunch and a little exploring.

The truncated side trip still took longer than planned and by the time
all 10 vans were back together we were running a little late. At least
the whale watcher group had a lot of good times to share so it was all
worth the split-up. Now we were headed back north in hopes of finding a
decent camp for the night on the Pacific shore at a place Anne and I had
been to but never spent the night. Unfortunately, dusk fell a little
early due to heavy clouds from an approaching front. We made it to the
state border and were waved through. Then darkness was upon us at the
start of a dangerous stretch known for many collisions with animals at
night. We immediately began encounters small groups of cows standing at
the edge of the road, munching on the tender plants that recent rains
had caused to sprout there.

We passed animal after animal, forcing us to slow way down in fear. In
Baja all drivers turn on their 4 way flashers to warn approaching
traffic of hazards such as animals or objects in the road. Everything
coming towards was flashing us. It was turning into a nightmare for me.
Dan knew of a place from a visit years ago and we would try to stay
there if we could. I let Dan lead and I used the extra time from his
headlights to scan both sides of the road for some place we could take
refuge. We came to the turn-off to where Dan remembered but that road
was right in the middle of a new army checkpoint and boulders had been
set across to block it. We kept on after getting checked, a process that
took too long under the conditions and now it was really night. Suddenly
we came upon a freshly killed animal blocking the oncoming lane. I
thought it was a large skinny calf but someone told me it was a donkey.

Feeling a growing sense of panic from what I had gotten us into I
decided we would immediately take any spot where we could fit everyone
safely away from the pavement. Then as we came out of a curve Dan
signaled a right turn ahead. A small cafe was there with a couple of
motel rooms built out back. More importantly it had a huge level dirt
parking area adjacent, intended for trucks to stop. We all pulled into
it and Dan said we should ask in the cafe if we could spend the night.
It was beginning to sprinkle and I intended to stay there no matter but
it seemed like a reasonable thing to do. Dan, I and Jason walked into
the cafe. Jason had the most Spanish so he asked if he and his friends
could park for the night. Of course the answer was Si!

The cafe lot turned out to be a fine place to stay. Some people went
inside and had dinner. Others set up a grill and/or cooked food in their
vans. Anne whipped up a large pot of chowder to share. The cafe offered
the use of their restrooms out back. In the morning some people went
back in for breakfast. Here are the vans that morning.

http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/1036516.jpg


At that point we decided to head back to BOLA instead of driving all day
up the main road during the rains that were predicted and obviously
going to occur. We went a ways north and then turned east towards BOLA.
2 vans decided they had reasons to press on and did so. We said our
farewells at the turn and the rest of us headed east toward another
day/night on the Sea of Cortez. It rained pretty hard on and off till we
got close and then things were pretty nice again. We camped at a more
formal beach campo this time, just off the paved road to La Gringa,
called Daggett's. We had never stayed there before but have talked to
others who did and liked it. With hot showers and toilets it was a place
I'm sure I will stay at again when the salt and sand get to us after we
stay a few days somewhere more primitive. We mostly prefer primitive
camping in Baja when staying put for a few nights at least.

At Daggett's we had a fine dinner campfire circle after a nice afternoon
of sun. Our final night after that was back at the Pacific beach camping
place we had stopped the first night on the way down. Then we made a
turn at Ensenada up through the Wine Country Route of Northern Baja to
cross back into the US at Tecate. The line at the border was orderly but
extremely slow. Nearly 3 hours of inching forward for about 1/4 mile and
then a couple vans were sent to US Customs secondary inspection. There
was a time when going out of the way to come home through Tecate was
well worth the trouble but not so much these days. It is a more
interesting and scenic route but at busy times the wait is excessive.

All in all it was a pretty smooth and very enjoyable Baja trip. With
Vanagon folks things are often just that way, even after a week
together. My thanks to everyone there, who all helped it to happen.


Mark


mark drillock wrote:
 >
 > After gathering for the orientation lecture and choosing our
 > life-jackets, we piled into their vans and went for a wild ride at
 > double a safe speed out to meet the boats. The tide was out so we had
 > to walk a ways out to climb into them. The water was calmer there as
 > promised and whale spouts were evident around us. We soon reached the
 > start of the viewing zone and the boat motors were idled to let us
 > drift among the whales. Some of the whales steered away from us while
 > others came right over to say hi. The calves were quite large at this
 > point in the season and not all that shy. The mothers even pushed
 > some of them over to us and up to the surface where we could reach
 > out and touch them. I'm not kidding. See these photos. Thanks go to
 > Jason for sharing his camera skills.
 >
 > http://www.flickr.com/photos/happyexposure/sets/72157632963371755/
 >
 > Mark