Baja Sessions
On Monday, we go on my much anticipated whale watching trip. Since I have never done this, I am very excited and do not know what to expect. We take a small power boat into the lagoon in Guerrero Negro, then the captain uses a navigation tool to locate the whales. Soon enough, we start spotting them. They swim alongside the boat. Every once in awhile, we see a whale spouting. When we are really lucky, a whale jumps. By the end of the trip, we estimate that we have seen about 30-40 whales. Pretty amazing!
On the way to and from the boat, we pass salt mines, which look eerily like snow. The area has the largest salt mines in North American, owned by Mitsubishi. The salt is primarily used in the production of manufacturing goods: plastic, paper, fiberglass, etc. Quinn wants to go snow boarding on the salt mountains.
Later in the day, we head back to the Sea of Cortez to Santa Rosalia, an old French copper mining town. The town has retained the architecture of the French settlers and seems oddly out of place in Baja. The town has a paved promenade along the port and on Tuesday morning, I finally take my first long run.
After Santa Rosalia, we head further south, still searching for warmer weather. Driving down Highway 1, we turn a corner from the Sea of Cortez to the Bay of Conception to see white beaches with small settlements of RVers and campers. We select a spot right on the beach and think that this is close to paradise.
Wednesday is exactly what I am hoping for from this trip. We wake up to the lapping of waves on the beach. The outside temperature is still cold at 7am, so I stay cozy in the tent to read for awhile. When I am convinced that the sun has warmed the campsite enough, I venture out of the tent. Paul makes me a cup of strong coffee and I sip my coffee while watching the birds dive for food. Within minutes, a Mexican man comes by in a truck selling tamales, which we eat for breakfast. The kids start their schoolwork and when finished, we head into Mulege. We stop at an old mission built in 1705 and slowly explore. We walk over to a vista point with a view of the river below, surrounded on both sides by lush date palms. The devastation from the hurricane in September is apparent, but Mulege is still beautiful.
We wander through the quaint town and stumble upon a small café. With the help of a local gringo, we buy freshly ground coffee for our “camp” coffee. We buy lots of supplies at the local grocery store in town, but I am not thrilled with their wine selection of one bottle of Mexican chardonnay. A friend from the campsite hooks us up with another store and upon seeing the wine selection, I exclaim, “this is Christmas in March!” I suppose that I am spoiled by the aisles of inexpensive wine at Safeway…
We go back to camp and start the quest for clams. Poor Paul and the boys – they dig and dig in multiple spots, but only find a few clams for a small “Scooby snack” before dinner. We spend the afternoon relaxing in camp: Paul starts the fire for dinner, Connor drives the minivan around the parking lot (early driving lessons), I read my magazine and Quinn bee bops all over the place. We have a delicious dinner of grilled steak, carrots, zucchini, rice and tortillas. After dinner, we sit around the fire, roasting marshmallows and telling stories. A nice day in Bahia de la Concepcion.
Tags: Mexico
hwy1alltheway
Ahh, the good life. No hurries, no worries, no snow flurries. The farther you go the better it gets. The beers get colder. The weather gets warmer. The sunsets get brighter. I wish I was you right now,….