So how far can two overland monkeys with no maps get exploring the infamously labyrinthine roads of Mexico’s Copper Canyon region? It turns out that they can make it pretty far.
We left with a Map. Well, OK, that isn’t entirely true. We left with a scrap of paper with the names of a couple of towns we would need to drive through written on it.
After a late night arrival on the Mexican mainland, we were slow to get started on the first day of the New Year. It took a quiet New Year’s Day in Los Mochis before we were ready to start thinking about the next stage in our journey.
We expected to spend a couple of weeks exploring the southern end of the Baja peninsula and planned to arrange a ferry ride for ourselves and our Four Wheeled Ticket to Freedom sometime in January. First on the itinerary for our remaining time in Baja were the clear waters that lap the shores of the Cabo Pulmo National Park. We arrived at Cabo Pulmo for a spot of beach camping and found ourselves camped again with Geneva and Mike (It’s Not a Slow Car, It’s a Fast House) and Paula and John (Our Bigger Picture). Geneva and Mike told us how perfect the […]
After four days camping on a beach with not quite enough water, it was time to drive somewhere with a shower. We arrived in Ciudad Constitución ready for a nice hot shower. This didn’t eventuate, luckily they had cold water and we had a home-made hot shower packed on the roof-rack. Problem solved. We finally parted ways with four days of salt water build-up and were feeling moderately human again.
As usual, we had hit the road without much of a plan. People we had spoken to had suggested several great places near to Loreto which sounded like fantastic next destinations. However, hindered by our near complete lack of maps, Agua Verde was simply the place on that list that we accidentally stumbled upon next.
Everywhere we travel, we tend to feel at home. Whether it is in the chaotic midst of a big city, alone on a cold windy mountain top, wandering the narrow alleys of a bustling market or lost in dusty back roads, far from the nearest store. But every now and again, we find somewhere where we can really relax, feel even more at home. Somewhere where we almost completely forget how far away from our actual home we are. One such place was the town of Loreto, in Baja California Sur.
We were starting to feel like we didn’t really like the Pacific Coast of Baja. I know that sounds a bit rough, I mean we live on the Pacific Coast of New Zealand, you think we’d have a soft spot for its sister coast in Mexico. Perhaps it wasn’t that we disliked the Pacific Coast, it was just that the peace and tranquility of the Sea of Cortez side of the Peninsula was too tempting to ignore.
After a brief stint on the narrow and shoulderless Highway 1, we took our first opportunity to get back to the peaceful coast of the Sea of Cortez—via Bahía De Los Ángeles. It was here that we spotted our first roof dogs of the trip and started to really feel like we were in Mexico.
After all the driving around we’d been doing in the USA, followed by some off-road adventuring around the mountainous back roads of Baja. It was time to slow down and enjoy the beach again. There is very little to report about our time in San Felipe.