18 days into our Baja camping/Scuba/Whales and wine tasting!

[mesquito_creek]

We left Chanlder AZ 18 days ago in my 20 year old Chevy purpose built for camping. We are traveling the east coast south to the tip.

We have beached camped at San Felipe, Gonzaga, BDLA, Mulegé, Loreto, Bahía Agua Verde and Canal San Jose. We are taking a break at a bed and breakfast in LaPaz for 5 days. We will be on a dive boat tommarrow for sea lions and a ship wreck dive.

I have forgot to mention more than I can remember in terms of cool stuff and people along the way!

 

[monkeyswrench]

Cool views to wake up to! Looks like the camping rig is working out well too.

 

[n2otoofast4u]

So badass!

 

[HNL2LHC]

Wow!!! That looks like a lot of fun. I guess that retirement is not sucking for the two of you.

 

[cofooter]

Looks like heaven! Cant wait to get back down there in May. Interested to hear about the ferry. Never did that! Have a great time!!!

 

[mesquito_creek]

Looks like heaven! Cant wait to get back down there in May. Interested to hear about the ferry. Never did that! Have a great time!!!

We are falling behind in our no schedule/schedule. Scuba diving conditions demand that we go farther south than we planned, so we are adding Barrillas and Cabo Pulmo to the trip. Because the water temps are colder than we like up north we are considering more time in Baja and skipping the 65 degree water in Guymas/San Carlos. My wife is being a trooper and I think we may skip the ferry and add a couple wine tasting stops back up the pacific side and exit Tecate.

 

[cofooter]

We are falling behind in our no schedule/schedule. Scuba diving conditions demand that we go farther south than we planned, so we are adding Barrillas and Cabo Pulmo to the trip. Because the water temps are colder than we like up north we are considering more time in Baja and skipping the 65 degree water in Guymas/San Carlos. My wife is being a trooper and I think we may skip the ferry and add a couple wine tasting stops back up the pacific side and exit Tecate.

Right on! Have fun!

 

[mesquito_creek]

 

[cofooter]

Any luck on the fishing?

 

[rivrrts429]

I’ve spent a lot of time in each of those places. I love this thread and love Mexico.

You definitely went through Santa Rosalio on your way south. That town is a trip. It’s the San Francisco of Mexico. Huge gay community and the bars are a trip.

Keep posting pics.

 

[Mikes56]

Damn I’m so jealous. Love Baja!

 

[stephenkatsea]

Great photos. When Baja is good, it’s outstanding. Unfortunately these days, when it’s not. . . . it can be crazy bad. But, I guess that can be said about other places too.

 

[coolchange]

Damn….

 

[poncho]

Dream trip, first Wife all about that life, current one not so much.

 

[mesquito_creek]

Any luck on the fishing?

Not really… small spotted bass, trumpets and needles, one puffer and one crab! Lol

 

[cofooter]

Not really… small spotted bass, trumpets and needles, one puffer and one crab! Lol

Yeah most beaches on the gulf side are too shallow near shore. if you have an extra day headed north I can hook you up with some incredible shore fishing on the Pacific side

 

[LazyLavey]

killin me

 

[Mikes56]

Any issues with the Federales or local Policia?

 

[185EZ]

We're headed back to Loreto next month for a different type of camping.
Mexico on the Sea of Cortez is amazing

 

[mesquito_creek]

Any issues with the Federales or local Policia?

Nope…

 

[mesquito_creek]

We're headed back to Loreto next month for a different type of camping.
Mexico on the Sea of Cortez is amazing

Loreto is probably the best single city destination in my opinion. If I had to just pick a single spot that might be it.

We scuba dove on Coronado island. Sea lions etc. We had a blue whale breath about 30 yards off the boat on the way out. It also showed us its tail which was cool!

 

[185EZ]

 

[spectra bash]

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Love the camping rig.

 

[mesquito_creek]

Love the camping rig.

Version 2.0. For this trip I removed the rear seat. I added a pantry cabinet, 50 quart refrigerator and a dedicated spot for a yeti 45 filled with only ice.

In the rear I added a 18 gallon fresh water tank that is plumbed and pressurized with a pentair RV water pump.

I cut a hole in the truck shell roof and installed a maxxair roof vent with 10 speed reversible fan.

It has 150 watts of solar with 100 ah lifepo4 battery along with a 1500 watt inverter. It has been running autonomously off the grid for over two months now. Refrigeration, two pots of coffee a day and all the recharging of phones and a Bluetooth speaker etc…

I added a bunch of custom cabinets in the rear bed slide also.

 

[Backlash]

Awesome trip! I would LOVE to see more about the truck, what other things you did and why you did them. Upgrades, regrets, wishes, etc.

The pictures you've shared are incredible and only makes me want to repeat the same type of trip at least once in my lifetime!

Please keep this thread going!!

 

[FishSniper]

Los Barriles is a great town did a few fishing trips down there. Can’t remember the name but just up the street from the fishing resort a guy that used to work at the resort opened a small restaurant at his house he always had the freshest seafood and we never had a bad meal there.

 

[mesquito_creek]

Awesome trip! I would LOVE to see more about the truck, what other things you did and why you did them. Upgrades, regrets, wishes, etc.

The pictures you've shared are incredible and only makes me want to repeat the same type of trip at least once in my lifetime!

Please keep this thread going!!

Original owner 2005 Silverado 2500 4x4 6.0L LQ4 gasser with factory 4:10 locking differential. Cognito front suspension with steering upgrade. Deaver progressive rear leafs. 33 inch tires. 197k original miles on original motor, transmission etc…

Casualties:
One rear shell window spring strut has gave up and won’t stay up. I have a spare but forgot to bring it.

One of the Thule baja rack feet broke 2 days ago. I was able to repair it in the field by bending and tweaking it, but I have a pair or 5 lbs lead dive weights stacked and duct taped under it to try to keep it together for the rest of the trip.

Good:
the fridge and solar is a game changer!

I only fill the water tank with RO purified water so we don’t carry and loose bottles of water etc. it is lasting 4 days, without being super tight on use. Easy to refill with RO here in Mex for about 4-6 bucks.

About 1/2 the stops we rent a palapa and have had clean bathrooms and showers. The other 1/2 have been boondocks with nothing…

Best most reliable truck I have ever owned.

We went 18 days living out of it, but hit the wall and needed a break so we grabbed a room for 5 days at CasaBuena in LaPaz. Perfect situation with the truck secure behind a perimeter compound and parked outside our room so we can enter it multiple times a day without having to haul everything out of it.

What would I do differently? Earth roamer? Seriously though it’s been pretty effective. I would rather give up a little space and have the clearance and capability of a truck over a van type setup. We crawled and off roaded two days with 8 hours of wheeling last week on the section between Loreto/lapaz and only saw 3 other trucks the whole time.

 

[One2go]

Version 2.0. For this trip I removed the rear seat. I added a pantry cabinet, 50 quart refrigerator and a dedicated spot for a yeti 45 filled with only ice.

In the rear I added a 18 gallon fresh water tank that is plumbed and pressurized with a pentair RV water pump.

I cut a hole in the truck shell roof and installed a maxxair roof vent with 10 speed reversible fan.

It has 150 watts of solar with 100 ah lifepo4 battery along with a 1500 watt inverter. It has been running autonomously off the grid for over two months now. Refrigeration, two pots of coffee a day and all the recharging of phones and a Bluetooth speaker etc…

I added a bunch of custom cabinets in the rear bed slide also.


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Very cool Set up !!

 

[mesquito_creek]

Bar Mundos… you either get it or you don’t. But if you want to go somewhere without anyone who speaks English and are not afraid of being the only gringo in a local bar… it’s the real deal and how the wife and I do Mexico! Blacked out windows with bars on the windows and order the “doble canala” for the win!

 

[HubbaHubbaLife]

Bar Mundos… you either get it or you don’t. But if you want to go somewhere without anyone who speaks English and are not afraid of being the only gringo in a local bar… it’s the real deal and how the wife and I do Mexico! Blacked out windows with bars on the windows and order the “doble canala” for the win!

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THIS is a guy who knows whats up in Baja. I have so much to learn.... Following!

 

[throttle]

Version 2.0. For this trip I removed the rear seat. I added a pantry cabinet, 50 quart refrigerator and a dedicated spot for a yeti 45 filled with only ice.

In the rear I added a 18 gallon fresh water tank that is plumbed and pressurized with a pentair RV water pump.

I cut a hole in the truck shell roof and installed a maxxair roof vent with 10 speed reversible fan.

It has 150 watts of solar with 100 ah lifepo4 battery along with a 1500 watt inverter. It has been running autonomously off the grid for over two months now. Refrigeration, two pots of coffee a day and all the recharging of phones and a Bluetooth speaker etc…

I added a bunch of custom cabinets in the rear bed slide also.


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legit!

 

[mesquito_creek]

Just more scuba diving in LaPaz for an update. Water is 70 degrees with good visibility. Very comfortable. Two great dives today with sea lions and a ship wreck. Bonus was two whale sharks on the way back to the marina.

 

[Mandelon]

Baja is such an amazing place. The Sea of Cortez beaches and by far the Pacific side too, are so remote and uncrowded. It is just amazing.

I have driven a lot of it, and always found the people friendly and helpful. I speak a decent amount of spanish and that really helps. Only one time did a cop hassle me and it was a $20 "fine" to be rid of him. Have fun and Keep Posting!

 

[sonicss31]

Thank for taking the time to bring us along.

 

[mesquito_creek]

Baja is such an amazing place. The Sea of Cortez beaches and by far the Pacific side too, are so remote and uncrowded. It is just amazing.

I have driven a lot of it, and always found the people friendly and helpful. I speak a decent amount of spanish and that really helps. Only one time did a cop hassle me and it was a $20 "fine" to be rid of him. Have fun and Keep Posting!

I am amazed with how busy the beaches are. I agree “uncrowded” comparatively. But probably due to the moderately cool weather this time of the year, we are always sharing the best spots with quite a few people, mostly Canadians.

Since we have no date to return I am traveling at “fuel conservation” speed. I have held the speed limit of 80km/50 mph and I am getting almost 13mpg in old “mighty whitey”. Full stops at all “altos”. No police issues yet. I have 250+ border crossings over the past 30 years so I am familiar with the local police!

 

[Mandelon]

My amigo says to check out Scorpion Bay on the West coast. Supposedly it is going to be a future hot spot since it has great surf. AKA San Juanico. About the same latitude as Loreto but on the opposite side of peninsula.

 

[JDKRXW]

Because the water temps are colder than we like up north we are considering more time in Baja and skipping the 65 degree water in Guymas/San Carlos.

Interesting you say this. I'm in PV right now and the water is definitely cooler than usual.
I'm not positive but I don't think it's much warmer than 65f even here.

 

[Sportin' Wood]

@angiebaby to the courtesy phone, paging Angie. Your husband called, and he wants to return to Baja. After you get to Italy, we need to do this.

Thanks for sharing @mesquito_creek

 

[Cole Trickle]

So cool...enjoy

 

[mesquito_creek]

5 days in La Paz is coming to an end tommarrow morning. We did a deep clean and re-org of the camping truck. We sent all the laundry, including pillow cases and mattress sheets to the Mexican woman across the road. 90 pesos for clean dry and fold! ($5.30 US dollars)…. Last night of margaritas and seafood.

La Paz has the best food. Big portions, lots of foodie fusion.

Favorite so far was the bacon wrapped stuffed with cheese shrimp along with conch el gratin via Texas toast. $16 US dollars!

Somewhere south next… probably Los Barrilas!

 

[mesquito_creek]

Todos lavado!

 

[mesquito_creek]

Some of you might not get why I post some mundane things like laundry… but it’s these really small things that you can engage with the locals for to make things a little more easy on the trip! It was a dollar more per load to pay the lady to do it all for us instead of using the laundry mat at the Rv park in Loreto! Of course I threw her a nice tip on top of that once I saw how neat of a job she did for us!

 

[Mandelon]

When you make it to Los Barriles eat at the La Playa restaurant and bar. Its on the north end of town. Right on the sand. They had an amazing sashimi appetizer. so good!

 

[mesquito_creek]

Made the trip from La Paz to La Ventana via the hwy. Then we off roaded the dirt road that follows the coast from Ventana to Los Barillas. We stop along the way for some amazing snorkeling coves. These snorkel spots have rivaled our first four tanks dives.

The blue spotted box fish were amazing!

 

[mesquito_creek]

Wheeling the coastal road

 

[Bullhead bully]

Love Baja, use to fly down there all the time. Then it became very complicated and the costs of everything were so ridiculous we knew they didn’t want us to go.

Did you dive El Bajo in La Paz ? Pretty awesome.

But when my wife and I dove Cabo Pulmo we were blown away it’s an underwater preserve and unreal big fish. They know they’re protected. It’s close to where you are on the east cape. If you are in the area you won’t be disappointed (weather permitting)

This is who we dove with. They were awesome

Cabo Pulmo Diver | Recreational Scuba Diving Activities

Want to learn scuba diving? Here's your turn to finally dive right in. Discover a spectacular fun dive from beginner diver to professionals with Cabo Pulmo Diver.

cabopulmodiving.com

 

[mesquito_creek]

Love Baja, use to fly down there all the time. Then it became very complicated and the costs of everything were so ridiculous we knew they didn’t want us to go.

Did you dive El Bajo in La Paz ? Pretty awesome.

But when my wife and I dove Cabo Pulmo we were blown away it’s an underwater preserve and unreal big fish. They know they’re protected. It’s close to where you are on the east cape. If you are in the area you won’t be disappointed (weather permitting)

This is who we dove with. They were awesome

Cabo Pulmo Diver | Recreational Scuba Diving Activities

Want to learn scuba diving? Here's your turn to finally dive right in. Discover a spectacular fun dive from beginner diver to professionals with Cabo Pulmo Diver.

cabopulmodiving.com

We dove the sea lion colony and the Feng Ming wreck in La Paz. We have reservations this Saturday to dive Cabo Pulma with Angle Maroney with Pulmo Divers! The dives keep getting better as we head south!

We drove past XPPC air strip at Pescadero Point and saw a few Tail draggers tied down. But the pavement looked good enough for my Sundowner if we wanted to come back the quicker way!

 

[mesquito_creek]

$3.25 smoked marlin tacos! Game, set, match… Apologies to the 500 shrimp and fish tacos that preceded this but I am team “pescado ahumado” from here on out!

 

[Backlash]

Damn what an AWESOME trip!!! One totally jealous and envious member right here!!

 

[t&y]

Awesome thread. Keep the pics coming.