I’m running a little behind with my Baja blogs. Sorry! Blame my lack of internet. Or, just blame me. I haven’t felt like sitting behind my computer lately, or scanning thousands of new photos. I’ll get there. When time and WiFi availability allow. Soon. ????
Who wants to sit inside, behind a computer, when this view can be had while relaxing outside?
(As always, hover over or click on photos in galleries to read the captions. My images are heavily resized for easier downloading and uploading; I apologize for their inferior quality.)
From West to East
The Baja California peninsula is relatively narrow, so it doesn’t take long to get from one side to the other. Mex 1 is the main “highway” in this part of Mexico. It predominantly runs along the coasts with a few zigzags back and forth. After our stop in Guerrero Negro, where I left off in a previous post, Zesty transported us through the narrow middle, past desolate landscapes, cacti, dry terrain, barren hills, and small settlements.
We decided to stop in the oasis of San Ignacio, a lush and tropical reprieve from the desert that is Baja California. The town is exceptionally clean and well taken care of. Highlights are the town square and the mission, Misión San Ignacio Kadakaamán, which was founded by the Jesuit missionary Juan Bautista de Luyando in 1728.
Our campground, El Padrino, cost 200 pesos ($10) per night and came with hot (!) showers. If the power to the pump and heater was hooked up. The friendly owner allowed us to rinse Zesty off after being blasted by salt, sand, and grit on the west coast. Maya made a few friends as well.
Not There Yet
Before reaching the east coast and the Sea of Cortez again, a massive volcano – the Three Virgins – stayed with us a while, first through the windshield, then through the side window.
We didn’t stop in Santa Rosalia, the biggest town in this region, but probably should have since it was the last place with a decent grocery store. The mounds of garbage and industrial feel put us off. Instead, we continued on towards San Bruno for a stretch of the legs, all eight of them, and a quick look around.
Then, we finally reached Mulegé, our first real destination, to get acquainted with the area, buy purified water and groceries, and get settled for a few days in the wonderful (yet popular) Huerta Don Chano campground, with hot showers, water, electricity, and spotty WiFi. All for the equivalent of $10 per night (200 pesos). A few days turned into a week. This laidback town touched our hearts and we decided to make it our base in between our multiple-day beach excursions. I will touch upon this little town in a future post.
View over the Sea of Cortez – Bahia Concepcion
Bahía Concepción
After three weeks of travel – and sitting in Mulegé – we finally reached the beaches of Bahia Concepción, our main objective on this trip to Baja. Sightseeing was not on the agenda and neither were other distractions, but with us, you never know… I will compose a little guide of all the beaches we checked out and stayed at these past four weeks, but here is a quick overview of our “findings.”
My favorite view and “rest stop”
Playa Los Cocos
We first drove to Playa La Escondida (a choice stop fifteen years ago) and were disappointed, initially, so kept going to the next one south, Los Cocos. We picked a spot with a palapa, since these small structures protect campers against the sun, and, more importantly this time of the year, the wind. They also provide a sense of privacy and homeliness, especially when they are big enough and set up to sport a hammock. Our new Spanish friend, Ivan, joined us.
Ivan and our van under a starry sky.
Our favorite part about this beach is the abundance of roads, trails, and options for walks. It connects to La Escondida, by walking around the point. For good or bad, there are also a lot of vendors who frequent this stretch of sand: kayak rentals, fish and veggies for sale, and blankets. Always more Mexican blankets…
Playa Punta Arena
After three nights at Los Cocos, we turned back north with a quick stop at Punta Arena. This beach is sandy, white, and wide. No other campers were present (the narrow 2km access road in dismal condition helps with that, no doubt) and neither are palapas or wind protection. We parked next to a small bush and only stayed for one night.
It is possible to walk to Playa Santispac (which has two restaurants) from here and to Playa Naranja, which has a cranky security guard in the housing development.
Playa El Requeson
After another few days in Mulegé to stock up on water and food, plus catch up on emails and the like, we rented a casita for Mark’s birthday. More about that later as well. From there, we continued south to Playa El Requeson, a popular hangout for locals and visitors alike. Despite staying here in our truck camper fifteen years ago, we were not too enamored this time, so only lasted one night before hopping over to the next bay.
Playa La Perla
The same access road for El Requeson veers off to La Perla, less than five minutes down the dirt road. Here, we found a small, almost secluded beach with a few palapas and a cozy atmosphere. Rosa is the person who collects the money. Most campsites along Bahia Concepción – no hook-ups and few amenities, usually trash cans and outhouses in varying states of disrepair – cost 200 pesos ($10) per night, but you can often negotiate a better price when committing to three nights or more. Knowing a few basic words in Spanish helps tremendously.
La Perla quickly became one of our favorites because of the setting, the well-built palapas, and our fellow campers. They were so cool and interesting that we became instant friends. We had (our own) drinks with the fascinating and creative couple Gail and Jon every night and on our last evening together, Dave joined in and we all shared dinner outdoors.
One day, Jon, who is an established artist, came by to drop off the password to his mobile satellite internet network. How awesome is that? It allowed us to stay an extra day, making it four in total, before we headed to a town again. We opted for Loreto (a 1.5-hour drive) after this mini-break, even though we were not planning on going further south than Conception Bay!
Playa La Escondida
Mark and I needed four days in Loreto to work and get a few things sorted. I will share more about this later as well, but first, we returned to Bahia Concepción for one more hurrah. It has been extremely windy in Baja this season. Locals and expats have told us this was the coldest and windiest winter in 20 years. No swimming or sitting on the beach without a wind break for us, even after driving this far south! Taking a shower in the ocean to save water has been more painful than ever on our sailing catamaran Irie, years ago…
We checked out a couple of other beaches that looked like they had potential when driving by in the past, but each of them was way too windy and uncomfortable. So, we ended up at Playa La Escondida, liked it better now, and paid for three nights. We sheltered in our palapa, read, walked, and enjoyed the view.
My favorite walk on this Baja trip is accessed from here. Every morning, at low tide (important!), we walked around the rocky northern point and followed the glassy water all the way to the next bay (Posada Concepción), watching the birds and stingrays, and resting in the shade of a small cave. Wonderful!
Cheapskates as we are, our absolute last night along this fantastic, narrow body of water was spent at a shallow bay around the corner from Escondida, because it was free. From here, we returned to Mulegé to wrap up our time in Baja California Sur. We plan to reenter the US before the end of March.
Our last night in Bahia Concepcion was spent at a free spot near Posada Concepcion.
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March 23, 2021 at 00:48
Hi Liesbet! You certainly got to visit and explore so many awesome places where you were visiting Baja. I love looking through your photos and hearing of your adventures. It’s a shame it was on the windy and cool side but as you can imagine most of us here in the states have been a bit cooler than normal too so you were still better off so far south. Best of all was the chance to slow down and relax for while after your busier than ever winter and fall. Looking forward to seeing what comes next. ~Kathy
March 23, 2021 at 01:01
Hi Kathy! More and more I now understand why Thom and you like Baja so much. Doing some slow travel and making wonderful discoveries (mainly in the Mulege area) has opened our eyes to the unique beauty of the peninsula and we already crave to return. Time will tell if that happens or not… Our trip and time here certainly constitutes the break we needed, before a looooong drive back east. We are not complaining (too much) about the weather! 🙂
March 23, 2021 at 02:05
Hi, Liesbet – These photos are wonderful!The shot of Zesty and Ivan at night is my absolute favourite. I’m glad you had some slow travel and some to relax from your previously busy schedule. I’m glad that you were able to take a break from your desk and your computer for awhile. We all need that.
I look forward to following these advenutes further.
March 23, 2021 at 17:33
Hi Donna! Thank you for your sweet sentiments. Not many people know this, but Mark and I never really relax or take a vacation. So, being able to rest for a few days every week we have been here has been wonderful! I hope we will be able to return to Baja next winter. Have a fun spring!
March 23, 2021 at 04:24
Liesbet, I don’t blame you for being late with writing blog posts. Making the most of these beautiful beaches is a more attractive option for sure. Your photos are gorgeous, I love the sunset ones and also how cute is Maya with her new friend? She is adorable. Really nice of your friend to let you use his internet, we also find that other motorhome folk are usually so friendly and helpful. The campsites are so cheap, did you stay mostly in campsites? I am loving following along vicariously and perhaps one day I will follow your footsteps along the Mexican coast.
March 23, 2021 at 17:37
Hi Gilda!
All the campsites I talk about along Bahia Concepcion are boondocking sites for which you have to pay the local owners of the land, usually $10 a night. This is relatively pricey for Mexico, because these sites don’t come with amenities. In the town of Mulege, for example, you get full hook-ups on a grassy site for the same price, plus WiFi and hot showers. I guess you pay for the use of a palapa and the view. 🙂
Since we usually never pay for camping, it was okay to “splurge” in Mexico, where we, indeed, mostly spent our time in “established” campgrounds, with a free night here and there to balance things out. We still use that free iOverlander app for camping in Mexico as well.
March 23, 2021 at 09:29
Liesbet, you have given us a lot to think about. So many times we have started planning a trip into Mexico and something has come up. Once it was the assassination of a Middle East General that caused the United States to suggest all travelers to Mexico keep a low profile. That is a bit hard to do pulling a 30 bright silver 5 ton trailer. The next time was COVID. Hopefully we will make it there someday and this blog post helps us understand the beauty that is found in this part of Mexico. Thanks! Jim
March 23, 2021 at 17:43
Hi Jim,
We are currently in a popular, fun, and comfy campground in Mulege, Baja California Sur, and there is a decent-size Airstream travel trailer tucked in one of the grassy sites. $10 for full hook-ups, showers, toilets, and (spotty) WiFi. I’d say come on down! 🙂
Yes, you will be a bit more restricted than us in our van, but most travelers with trailers stop at a few campgrounds on the way down and then pick their favorite (accessible) beach to hang out for a while. One thing to note in Baja is that the “highway” often doesn’t have shoulders, so this can be a bit tricky when semis pass.
We debated for a while if we’d come down this winter, with Covid, and read up about it on forums and Facebook groups, before making the decision. I honestly think that in some ways, it is safer here than in the US and not only because life happens outside. Baja is not very populated either. But still, we are careful…
Thanks for reading and commenting and I hope the three of you will make it down here one of these winters. Maya made a lot of friends as well. 🙂
March 23, 2021 at 10:02
I have never been to Baja. Now, I feel like I have. I can see Maja adds so much to your family. I can’t imagine not having such a great dog.
March 23, 2021 at 17:45
I will share a bunch more photos of Baja California in the near future, Jacqui, so you can keep traveling along with us. 🙂 Maya loves running around off leash and eating anything she can find. Stuff that even the strays ignore… Sigh! But we love her to pieces. 🙂
March 23, 2021 at 10:02
Love those beach views. I’d put blogging on the back burner and soak it all in. Enjoy!
March 23, 2021 at 17:46
Thanks, Ingrid. That’s my thinking. To a certain extent! Like you, we love being near the eater. 🙂
March 23, 2021 at 10:52
Great post, you brought back fond memories for us. We spent two seasons in the Baja on our sailboat and it was, scenic wise the most spectacular place we experienced. Great photos. You guys look so happy!
March 23, 2021 at 17:48
Hi guys! We have only seen a handful of cruising boats in the Sea of Cortez this time around. Maybe they don’t usually make it into Bahia Concepcion? The scenery is stark and pretty in so many ways and we have heard from other boaters that the Sea is one of there favorite cruising grounds in the world.
March 23, 2021 at 15:14
Just what the doctor ordered: Some R & R in a beautiful place. You make me feel as though I’ve been to a place I’ll probably never visit: Baja California. 🙂
March 23, 2021 at 17:49
I’m glad you liked this little beach tour, Marian. Thanks for coming along. 🙂 Baja is a special place that somehow grew on us during this trip. Not sure why. It’s hard to put your finger on it!
March 23, 2021 at 16:57
Such beautiful beaches! Great photos.
March 23, 2021 at 17:49
Thanks, Anabel. Finally a bit of a different scenery and adventure. 🙂
March 23, 2021 at 18:31
Baja is so beautiful! You are so smart to sit back and relax… enjoy some down time. I know how wind can really negatively impact a day at the beach so I hope your latest site is calm. I’m looking forward to the future posts (no pressure, though 🙂 ) that you sprinkled promises of throughout this one.
March 23, 2021 at 19:20
Hi Janis! I love it that you are awaiting my follow-up posts… 🙂 Even though we came here to do nothing, we never succeed in that as you might have guessed. But, we had a nice time in Baja nevertheless!!!
March 23, 2021 at 19:46
I think I like La Perla Best. I believe we stayed at El Requeson when we were there three years ago. It wasn’t my favorite beach then.
I love San Ignacio. When we visited we stayed on the square for free. I love the look and feel of the town.
Santa Rosalia is a busy place. I remember parking at the grocery store not being ideal but that everyone was very friendly.
Have I told you I’m jealous of all your new friends? I know we should have been there. It seems odd thinking we could have been there right now when we are now so far away and so much has happened since we almost joined you.
Driving in Mexico is an adventure. I have a picture from a road on the mainland with a truck in front of us, a vehicle coming towards us passing the truck with a car in-between them passing the vehicle coming towards us. Do you know that Mexicans use their left-hand turn signal to let you know that it is safe to pass?
I am glad you all seem to be having a good time and that you have “let go” a little.
Great shot of the vulture! And such lovely beach pictures.
March 24, 2021 at 00:19
If we ever stay in San Ignacio again, we will probably spend the night for free at the square as well. We saw some vans doing exactly that as we walked around town. We needed to rinse Zesty off after a few days being battered by the salty sea breeze and dune sands and give Maya a bath, so we opted for a campground. We have actually enjoyed staying at pay camping spots here.
We wish you could have been here too. Maybe you can join us next winter, if we happen to return? We now have a few favorite beaches. 🙂 Look out for my future post about it where I plan to touch on the positives and negatives of each one. Subjective, of course…
Driving in Mexico is crazy, especially without road shoulders and people passing everywhere, even uphill in a bend! Mark almost got killed one day, when he picked up fallen rocks on our side of the road to help out others, after pulling over. He only looked one way for cars and didn’t expect a car to pass an RV over a yellow line in a bend coming his way from the opposite side!
Yes, we knew that the left-hand turn signal is to indicate it’s safe for us to pass. But what if the car in front of us actually wants to turn left? Mark now has the habit to look in his side mirror to make sure nobody passes us when turning left! It’s a tad crazy, this “rule!”
That vulture was not scared of us/Maya at all. I barely zoomed in for that shot. So many birds on the Sea of Cortez. It has been wonderful to walk or sit and watch them.
March 23, 2021 at 21:08
Looks like a very relaxing interlude which you probably really needed after all the book stuff and the long drive. I’ve only been to a few scattered spots in that area, but it seems like an easy place to just roam, explore, and discover new things. The photos capture the chill nature of Baja!
March 24, 2021 at 00:22
You got it, Lexie! You read me well and almost seem to know me without us ever having met. This break in Baja was exactly what we/I needed. Hopefully, we manage to return in the near future. Life is laidback here and “rough around the edges,” which we like. So much to explore. One day… 🙂
March 24, 2021 at 08:28
This post, more than ever, really brought out the adventurer in you, Liesbet. What fantastic places you have visited. No wonder you haven’t wanted to go online. I don’t blame you when you have views like that and not many people around.
What you said about the winds reminded me of the many vacations I had on the Canary Islands. Also windy and you got sandblasted most days, yet the evenings were always calm.
Must have be great watching stingrays swimming.
Looking forward to hearing more about this lovely part of the world.
March 29, 2021 at 14:35
Hi Hugh,
Thank you for your lovely comment. I vaguely remember the Canary Islands being windy. But I was very young during that family visit, so I probably didn’t care that much…
I love my little adventures. There are so many. Readers of Plunge keep asking me whether I’m working on a sequel, but I’m too busy living my extraordinary experiences to be able to write about them. Yet. 🙂
Now that we are back in the US, with unlimited internet and some time on my hands while Mark is driving thousands of miles, I’m able to reply to comments and read blogs again. Once we sit for long enough, I’ll start cranking out a few more posts about our Baja time. Happy new week!
March 24, 2021 at 13:14
Beautiful scenery, but the wind must be really tiresome. We lived in Calgary for 30 years and got used to frequent strong winds, but now that we’ve moved to a sheltered valley I realize how nice it is not be constantly turning away from the wind to avoid being sandblasted. Hope you find calmer weather soon!
March 29, 2021 at 14:37
Hi Diane! People who have experienced incessant winds before – every single day – understand what it is like. Luckily, early morning and late afternoons were pleasant enough to really enjoy the scenery and some activities. Vancouver Island is such a pleasant place to live, without natural disasters, heavy winds, or crazy weather patterns. As long as we don’t count the rain. 🙂
March 26, 2021 at 12:22
Sorry to hear about all of the wind and the cold. We were there in December two years ago and the weather was superb. I loved this post. A bit like visiting an old friend. As you know we fell in love with the area and Mulege. Looking forward to hearing more about your time in Mulege. Safe travels as you head back toward the US.
March 29, 2021 at 14:39
Thanks, Sue! We have now reached the US safe and sound and are getting ready for another journey east. We hear that late fall is the perfect season to visit Baja as the seawater is still a pleasant temperature and the windy season hasn’t started yet. I guess we will have to try that out later this year! 🙂
March 26, 2021 at 18:41
A well deserved break after your previously busy book-related schedule. I like the photo of the three of you on the green kayak. I hope you have good weather and safe travels as you head back to the US.
March 29, 2021 at 14:45
I like that photo of all of us in the kayak as well, Natalie. It’s so nice to have friends around once in a while. For the lovely company, but also for the opportunity of family portraits! 🙂 Back in the US now, where it is crazy hot. Have a lovely week. May it be as nice, diverse, and pleasant as the previous one. 🙂
March 27, 2021 at 00:47
We’ve been dealing with windy conditions here in California and I hear it’s been quite an issue all over the southwest this year. It definitely makes things difficult when you’re trying to enjoy a gorgeous view like the ones you had there. Ah well, it still sounds like you made the most of your time and enjoyed yourself. Sometimes it’s nice just to hang out and turn the computer off.
March 29, 2021 at 14:48
Yes, being able to just chill without internet tasks looming can be blissful! It sure sounds like an extremely windy season everywhere in the Southwest this year. Yikes! We are not a fan of camping in the middle of the desert while all the dust and grit is sandblasting our van and belongings. At least in Baja, our camper was somewhat protected from the elements and we could hide in our palapa. Honestly, we haven’t found the perfect weather anywhere on this continent yet! We will have to keep looking and exploring. 🙂
March 27, 2021 at 08:25
I feel like i’ve had a wonderful visit with you and Mark and Maya as we’ve explored Baja and all the beauty. I definitely know that you and Mark don’t do a lot of down time (this came through clear in Plunge) but here, you both look relaxed as you take some time off from computer “inside time.” I call that enjoying the NOW, and wow, how wonderful your NOW looks. Good luck with the drive back up East and to the Northeast now. The weather has been soooo much better (I know, I’m going to jinx it). Hope we can find a way to meet up when you’re in Newburyport! xo
March 29, 2021 at 14:51
Funny thing, Pam… A few days ago as we were heading north in Baja, it was 50 degrees for us and Newburyport showed 70 degrees. The irony in that, haha! Yes, let’s hope the mild weather continues in the Northeast.
We had a wonderful time in Baja – truly living in the NOW, a novel and extremely pleasant experience! – but are looking forward to returning to MA as well and seeing “everyone.” Hopefully, the “everyone” includes YOU this time as well! We will stay in touch.
June 24, 2021 at 13:48
Hi Liesbet. Possibly a record, but I’m three months behind in blog reading, and I’ve scarcely been writing any either. On the plus side, I’ve been spending a lot of time on revising my novel. Great to catch up with your travels in Baja!
Jude
June 26, 2021 at 06:35
I do think three months might be a record, Jude. But, it seems like you are getting a lot done. Revising a novel is time and focus intensive. I’m so glad you keep making progress with it!!
Baja seems like a lifetime ago for me. Those were good times, apart from missing out on buying a house. (You’ll read about that later.) That would have solved a lot of our current problems… I still regret it and will for a long time.