Brett woke up about 3:00 this morning to find that both our palapa and tent had leaked. There was a nice size puddle of water on one end of the tent and my clothes were drenched. We looked at the bright side that it wasn't dripping on us as we slept and that our bedding was dry and warm. Eventually morning came and we had to deal with trying to clean up the water and sand that was stuck to everything, all while trying to not step into any of the many large puddles.
View of the Rio de San Ignacio as we drove away.
On the way out of the campground, we met Leah and Chris from California who were driving the Baja for their first time. They had a couple of months off work, purchased a camper van, and are driving to La Paz and then taking the ferry to mainland Mexico. They work as tour guides for trips all of the lower 48 and Alaska. Since most of their work is during the warmer months and the work is pretty much nonstop during that time, they get several months off during the winter. You've probably noticed that one of the parts we like best about driving the Baja is the people you meet along the way. Always interesting conversations.
Our plan today was to drive only a short distance and end up in Bahia de Concepcion where we'll spend two days.
Today's drive included the grade that's called Cuesta del Infierno which in English means "Grade from hell". I think that means it's a steep grade. What do you think?
You can't see it well in this photo, but I found this sight to be interesting today. There were 7 men on the side of the road cutting down the foilage. One man had a weed eater and the other 6 had machetes. This man was one of those with a machete.
Each time we have come through Santa Rosalia we have wanted to stop and check out the historic church but we never have because the streets are so narrow, are clogged with traffic and the parking is pretty much non-existent. After one loop through town, this trip was no different and we kept on going.
The church was designed by A. Gustave Eiffel of Eiffel Tower fame. It first stood alongside the Eiffel Tower during the 1889 World Expo in Paris and in 1897 it was shipping in sections to Santa Rosalia.
The town is also known for the copper mines that closed in 1954. Since the last time we came through, the mines have since reopened and there are vast amounts of new buildings and mining equipment everywhere. There's a dump just as you enter town and garbage is strewn everyone, not just at the dump. Even by Mexico's standards, the outskirts of town are very dirty.
Next stop was Mulege for lunch. Mulege is a cute little town, but it too needs to be seen by foot and finding parking can be difficult. For lunch, Brett had flautas and I had papa rellena (stuffed baked potato). The potato was somewhere under all the goodness that it was smothered in. It was probably the best potato I've ever eaten and I managed to eat the entire thing!! And I even had a bite of Brett's flan afterwards.
We sat in the restaurant for a few hours and used their free wifi to download pictures and update the blog. I also had to email mom so she wasn't worried:-) We won't have internet again for a couple more days. Lunch was 247 pesos ($19.75 US) and we made sure to leave an extra large tip for sitting so long using their wifi.
About 15 miles south of Mulege is Bahia de Concepcion which we think is one of the prettiest places on the entire Baja. We were lucky to find an open palapa as we have found where all the campers are. All of the beach areas along the bay are covered with motorhomes and you can tell many are snowbirds who will be here for weeks or even months.
Mulege as seen from the Hwy.
The last time we camped here it was free, but this time we paid 100 pesos ($8 US) per night. It's beautiful, but pretty scarce on amenities. There are 50 gallon drums with fresh water and makeshift port a potties with 3 wooden sides and a piece of tarp on the 4th side that faces away from the camping area. Inside there's a board over a dugout hole in the ground. Probably 90%+ of the people here have recreational vehicles so it's only us poor saps who tent camp that get to experience such luxuries:-)
We were greeted to our site by this pretty rainbow.
We set up camp and hung the wet clothes and towels from last night's rain.
It's a bit cold and windy tonight so we're hanging out inside our tent, reading and playing games. Might even need to turn on the tent heater.
Once again, our evening sounds consist only of lapping waves. So peaceful and serene.
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