San Ignacio
It was along a road like this that I came across the Banditos. There were three of them. As soon as they saw me coming, they got up and two of them stretched something across the road as if they were making a measurement. The third one held up a stop sign. There was not another car in sight, which is typical for about 700 miles of this trip. The thought did cross my mind that perhaps I could just drive right through them. But, what if they were legitimate and I damaged their equipment? So, I chickened out and stopped. It turned out that the guy with the stop sign just wanted a light. Some day I'll learn to stop expecting the worst.
The day's trip ended in San Ignacio. This is a small village set in the greenest setting in Baja with the possible exception of Mulege. Above is a picture of the La Pinta hotel with my trusty Corolla, the road to the town square, and the Mission by the town square.
The hotel had all of the modern conveniences one might expect. The food was okay, and the staff spoke enough English that you could get by with just a few little challenges.
The pool was just like the one in Cataviņa - water free.
The decor had an interesting theme. I call it "Three knobs missing." Pictured are the air conditioner, the TV, and the shower.
San Ignacio is about 50 minutes from the Sea of Cortez. There is, however, a dirt road that leads over to the Pacific Ocean. If you want to visit an un-crowded seashore, that may be the place. There certainly isn't anything around. I didn't feel comfortable making the one day trip by myself, but since my wife will be along for my next trip, we just may check it out. If so, this will be updated.
At the town square I saw a pay phone with instructions in English for calling the USA using a phone card. I purchased one for $20. It has a computer chip on it and the way it works is really slick. When you insert the card into the telephone, it shows how much money you have left. As soon as you place the call, it shows how much talk time you have left based on where you're calling. When you finish the call, it shows how much money is left. Save the cards with small amounts left and use them on people who like to go on talking forever (women). Once you explain that the call will be cut of in X amount off minutes by the phone company because that's all the money you have left, it's a whole new ballgame.
The next morning I continued on over to the Sea of Cortez, which we often call the Gulf of California. The first village along the coast is Santa Rosalia. This is a nice little village. When you pull off the highway, park right there and walk. It's not very large, and you'll see a lot more by walking. You'll be the only tourist there. Don't spoil it.
The next community is Mulege. Just south of town you will find several trailer parks down along a river. It's my understanding that there are a number of Americans there, but I haven't checked it out. I did drive into town and saw two cars with California plates. Somehow, I made a wrong turn and ended up on a one way street that was a dead end. Now think about that. It's a great place for a cop who wants to give out a lot of tickets. In an uncommon moment of brilliance, I backed up to the last intersection and turned left.
From Mulege I drove on to Loreto. There were three military stops for the day, none of which even checked the trunk. However, during this leg of the trip one comes across what I think is one of the two most beautiful scenic spots on the coast. That picture is at the top of the next page.