While any visit to the Agua Verde area by vehicle can only happen after taking a 30-kilometer/20-mile slow, steep, uncomfortable, and extremely bumpy ride (after another 10 kilometers/7 miles of pavement), exploring the East Cape by its access road Camino Cabo Este is even tougher and more demanding. No wonder this stretch is called one of the worst roads in Baja.
Luckily, you don’t have to drive the entire 100 kilometers (60 miles) of washboard and potholed dirt track in one go! As a matter of fact, it took us twelve fabulous days to complete this one-way adventure.
(As always, hover over or click on the photos in galleries to read their captions.)
La Paz
But first, Mark, Maya, our friends Duwan and Greg, and I spent a few days in La Paz, where we found a decent parking spot for three nights. Mark and I remember the capital of Baja California Sur as a pleasant town with a good vibe and historic charm. In the last sixteen years, it hasn’t changed much.
We once more enjoyed strolling the multiple-mile long Malecon (seaside boardwalk), discovering the historic center, appreciating street art, and eating out a few times. Duwan and Greg posted a fun and colorful post about the city’s art on their blog Make Like An Apeman. Check it out here.
The five of us also embarked on a tough five-mile hike in the hills surrounding La Paz. The views were okay, but the trail became more challenging than anticipated when we found ourselves descending at an almost vertical incline over boulders and a rocky cliffside. Maya was a good sport (as always) and we all made it back without injuries, but my head soon exploded and a massive migraine kept me in bed the rest of the day. It was one of the hottest days, with the sun beating down on us for hours, despite an early start.
La Ventana
La Ventana, as its name might indicate, is the wind sport capital of Baja, if not the whole of Mexico. None of us are interested in wind or kite surfing, but we made a brief stop here to check out the area’s popularity and natural hot springs on the northern edge. What I remember from those two days with our friends are an enjoyable hike in the hills, extremely hot water emerging from the sand and turning into pools when building a rock wall, and unexpectedly running into my new friend Christine, whom I met in Loreto while Mark was gone. By the way, the hot springs are too scorching to relax in, unless you mix seawater into the pools.
And then, it was time to explore one of the prettiest, most remote, and least-visited regions on the Baja peninsula from north to south. We took our time to brave the rough road, which made this trip more than manageable. Four-wheel-drive is only required when getting off the main road, following arroyos (dry riverbeds), and driving on beaches (outside of the national park and turtle nesting areas). Our thanks go to friends Sandie and Karsten who documented their multiple-month stay in this area on their blog Ewald on Tour and to iOverlander, which contains heaps of crowd-sourced information.
La Ribera
We only made a brief stop here to check out the beach, fill up our fresh water tank, and return once to buy groceries. This is where the only fuel station is located before starting the Camino Cabo Este from the north. No gasoline or diesel is available along the entire stretch of the East Cape road. The town is a good place to (re)provision and fill up, but we did not find a propane gas distributor. Come prepared!
Playa Miramar
This beach makes up the northern boundary of Cabo Pulmo National Park. We enjoyed the wide expanse of sand and beautiful sea vistas. Duwan and Greg – and many other RVers – found out the hard way that sand is not forgiving for 2WD vehicles!
Cabo Pulmo
The small village of Cabo Pulmo is the beating heart of its namesake national park. The visitor center is not open anymore, but snorkel and diving trips can be organized through local outfitters and hiking is plentiful in the surrounding mountains. The taco bar (which contains a variety of toppings) at the Tacos & Beer restaurant on the waterfront is the best we have encountered and El Caballero restaurant has a small selection of produce and grocery items. Farmers Juan and Oscar sell organic produce and baking goods in town on Thursday mornings. Telcel’s cell and data service works in Cabo Pulmo!
Mark and I managed to camp at a fabulous lookout spot, reachable by 4WD vehicles only. We could see the sea through all the windows, on both sides of our rig. The rocky hill next to us was the perfect spot for happy hour. Unfortunately, the wind picked up, blowing sand and dust our way, so we moved to the general (also free) camping area on the edge of town after two nights.
Again, the five of us went on an early, strenuous hike in the mountains. The views were beautiful and the terrain diverse, but the sun was strong once more. I’d taken Tylenol as prevention for my anticipated headache. At some point, I craved shade so much that I plopped myself down in the shadow of a saguaro cactus. And what can one find underneath cacti? Yep, lots and lots of needles!
From the moment my bum touched ground, it was pierced by thorns of different sizes and it felt like I sat down on a hedgehog. Since the damage was done, I remained in the shade until Mark and Maya (who took a water break earlier) caught up with me. I will spare you the details, but it wasn’t pretty! And, this was not the first time a situation like this occurred.
Duwan, Greg, and I also went on a daytrip to a spectacular waterfall from here, but I will save that excursion for another time. Mark “took one for the team” by staying home (and going on another hike) with Maya, since dogs are not allowed at the sites we planned to visit.
Playa Los Frailes
This beach is very popular, but we don’t quite understand why. Lots of campers spend an entire season in the harder-packed spots of the arroyo. The bay is wide, long, and mostly sandy so good for walking and snorkeling is rumored to be good, but the water was still way too cold for us in March to swim. Plus, we don’t have snorkel gear anymore. We only spent one night, taking Maya for beach walks and never losing track of our camping area, thanks to the bright-orange sore thumb.
Arroyo Bonito
This was the first of a few times we followed an arroyo towards an exquisite wide-sand beach and adored the experience, the peace, the views, and the solitude. We let air out of the tires to reach this 4WD-only destination and didn’t pump them back up until we reached the paved road again. Sitting in our chairs in the shade of our camper and watching the humpback whales spout, jump, and flap their tails or flippers through binoculars became a favorite pastime.
Another highlight of this particular spot was the close proximity of sand dunes. Just like in La Fortuna, wild horses wandered by, after the main event of the day: helping two Mexican 2WD-vehicles get unstuck on the sandy road in… With enough people and a rope, small cars are easily pushed out! While we really liked this spot, we only stayed one night as we were eager to explore a bit more of this unspoiled coastline.
Playa Boca Del Palmas Dos
After checking out a few potential camping spots along the windy coast, our last option for the day, at the end of another arroyo, was a winner. Again, we had the entire beach to ourselves and enjoyed the scenery and whale watching. The two of us had a lovely evening rum tasting and celebrating Mark’s special day early.
Playa La Fortuna
We met up with Duwan and Greg again at this accessible beach area. They stayed in the main hard-packed parking lot, while we managed to get a nice spot right above the soft sand. We celebrated Mark’s birthday here with dinner and drinks, went for plenty of beach walks, and met a German couple that recently returned from an extended RV adventure in South America – much to learn from them.
During one of our walks on the beach, always barefoot, my left big toe managed to kick and skim a buried sea urchin (really, this was not my fault, just bad luck!), resulting in five broken off needles permanently wedged into my skin. Now, one month later, they are finally starting to disintegrate. If you have ever stepped on a sea urchin before – and who hasn’t? Again, this was not my first encounter… – their needles are so brittle that they break off when you try to remove them. They have to “grow out.”
Unnamed Beach
Our last stop along the Camino Cabo Este ranks high on our list of pretty beaches as well. Because of the soft sand, we had to park back a bit. We stumbled across this location by following one of the many arroyos, after checking out and skipping another spot that already had a camper in it. We were alone and the only sound was the breaking waves. It was a day of mostly relaxing and writing, as my toe hurt too much for long beach walks. At that point, we hoped to return and spend more time in our favorite places, but that never happened.
Driving this challenging road at our own – super slow – pace meant that the bouncing, shaking, and squeaking never got too much. I stumbled across this guide with more information while looking up a few specifics online about Cabo Este. Because these sites are so hard to reach and amenities are minimal, I’m not worried that hordes of tourists will arrive anytime soon. The area resembles how Baja used to be: desolate beauty off the beaten track. Let’s hope it stays this way!
Connection to our South American plans
One of our goals during this overland journey throughout the Baja peninsula is to test our truck and camper in the harsh environment, figure out how to improve it, and decide what else we need for our upcoming South America adventure, later this year. Driving the Camino Cabo Este and many sandy arroyos did not cause any issues. We love our robust pick-up truck and never got stuck, not even close!
Here are the items we have added to our list after this twelve-day side adventure:
- Heavy-duty tow strap
- Maxtrax (recovery boards)
- Snorkel sets
- Shorty wetsuits
- Guidebook and maps of South America
- Stronger air compressor?
Curious about a previous ten-year chapter in our nomadic lives, which includes eight years aboard a 35-foot sailboat in the tropics, check out the travel/adventure/personal memoir I wrote:
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