We left the RV Resort in San Diego, and started our journey south, joining the busy morning congestion. The only concern was seeing a pedestrian (possibly on drugs) playing chicken with the heavy traffic and drivers swerving to avoid an accident.
We pulled out the printed instructions from Maria, followed them exactly, and had a stress free border crossing into Mexico. The next leg of our exciting adventure was about to begin.
After clearing the security screening and trailer X-Ray, we started south while Susan entered our next stop in the GPS. The instruction took us off the toll road and we had to make a few “U” turns in heavy traffic, take dirty back roads, and struggling to read the dusty street signs. We nearly ran a stop sign – ABS and trailer brakes are amazing.
After our stress levels were rising exponentially, Susan rechecked the GPS configuration and realized the problem – she had accidentally rejected the toll road routing. We finally made it back on track and continued south.
When the speed limit says 60 kph, I do 60 kph. It’s easy to spot and ticket a speeding Gringo – despite everyone else doing 20-30 kph over the speed limit and being ignored by the local police.
We got back onto the toll road and made good progress following the posted speed limits until a tour bus nearly ran me off the road in a construction zone – ABS and trailer brakes are amazing.
Sometimes we question the GPS, especially when it takes us through heavily congested markets with narrow streets. We learned to appreciated the polite motorists that gave us room to turn or merge.
We stopped in at a strip mall in Ensenada to buy TelCel sim cards for our cell phones. Telcel offers voice and data services under a variety of rate plans to meet the needs of different market segments. We chose a prepaid plan for a specified volume of use over a specified period.
Unfortunately, our communication barrier resulted in us signing up for a “friends” plan where we shared data with someone else. The someone else chewed through our data like there was no tomorrow. We kept topping up and it kept disappearing. It would take us a while until we found someone to help us select the correct plan.
A word of advice – if you are looking for a cell/data plan, then you should select the 500 peso (approximately $30 CDN) plan below. It gives you 6 MB of data and unlimited social media for 33 days.
A word of advice – NEVER use the left turn signal unless you’re slowed down and starting to make a left turn. The locals take it as a signal to overtake because you say it’s safe to pass. You WILL run someone off the road or they WILL side swipe your vehicle.
We turned off the highway and headed down quiet back roads to spend two nights at La Jolla Beach Camping. What an awesome spot.
We made new friends and spent evenings on the beach exchanging experiences with other travelers also using the “Baja Bible”
We retired for the night, lulled to sleep by the rhythmic sounds of surf breaking on the shore. At first light the next morning, I took Chloe for a walk on the beach, watching the sun creep across the palm trees and sandy shore.
Our two neighbors, Jeff and Christina joined us and we all headed to the blowhole. We parked in a safe spot with a parking attendant keeping an eye on the vehicle, then walked the gauntlet of shopping stalls, each owner persistently hawking their goods.
We stopped at a few food stands and ate taco Al Pastor, shrimp and clams in an oyster shell, and sugar roasted pecans for dessert. They were delicious.
We watched as each wave crashed its way into the cave below, forcibly expelling the trapped air through the blowhole. I cannot imagine how loud it must be with the violent expulsion caused by rough seas and heavy coastal wave action.
We returned to camp, and met for happy hour that usually lasts well past sunset. We continued exchanging routes and points of interest for our journey while checking the “Baja Bible”.
I cast a line in the evening While watching the sun sink below the horizon, the sky taking on evening hues of purple and orange before darkness descended.
