Baja Redux

[michaellmcc]

Touring riders by their nature are hardy travelers. In a downpour, we get wet. In high winds, we practice our lean and hold on through the buffeting. If it’s cold, we bundle up or plug in the electric jacket. If it’s hot, we open the vents or wet down (and drink lots of water). If it’s rocky, sandy, muddy, rough, etc., we stand up and ride (if you happen to be on a GS) - encountering along the way long distances. Bad roads. Isolation. Flat tires. Wrong turns (I never consider a trip in Latin America complete without several excursions down one-way streets - the wrong way). Achy shoulders and arms. Sore backside.

As Nike says, Just Do It! Borrowing words from another writer, "There’s a very real correlation between the effort put into motorcycle travel and the rewards that follow. The payoff is real, tangible, and repeatable." So you just do it again!

I like riding in Mexico, and have made about a dozen trips to various parts, including Baja California and the length of mainland Mexico, from the Texas border through Central America. Encountered everything mentioned above, as well as numerous other "surprises" that may or may not appear: Slow and bureaucratic border crossings. Lots of miles between services. Unknowns beyond the next (decreasing radius!) curve. Very slow vehicles and animals on the roads. Very fast and very slow, “doble semiremolques” (semis with two trailers). Stops at police and military checkpoints.

¿Por qué? - Why? ¿Por Qué No? - Why not?.

The unknowns, challenges, and different experiences, including people, roads, sights, antique towns, churches, and industrial facilities, sounds, smells, tastes, etc., are worth it to me. You just never know what or whom you might run across South of the Border.

Unlike the first social-distancing (easy to do on a motorcycle in unpopulated Baja) trip of 2021, this year’s second Baja binge was completed sans incidents/injuries. Thus, after five trips down the peninsula, the score is a respectable GS 3, Baja 2…trending in the right direction…and batting .600 sounds pretty much outstanding...at least in baseball terms (if not riding terms)!

Baja is like the Arctic (except a lot hotter), in that main roads run north-south, meaning you don't significantly vary the 2,000-mile ride from the border to Los Cabos and back on the pavement. You can, however, vary each day’s riding hours and detours and seek out lodging and sights in a few different directions and “cities”…which, in Baja terms, actually means towns, villages, just plain ol’ settlements, and even ranchos (or, in the case of 2017’s Baja Bind, ranchitos).

For a change of pace, after leaving Phoenix I decided to ride to Ensenada instead of overnighting in Yuma. Thus, Day One comprised breakfast in Phoenix, then on to Yuma and the crossing into Mexico, stop at the bank (ATM) in San Luis Rio Colorado for pesos, then west across the top of Mexico and south through the Val de Guadalupe (wine region) to Ensenada for the night. Great start and everything was fine and dandy throughout, so Trip #5 down the Baja peninsula is in the books. No accidents, no incidents, no injuries.

Although you can do it more quickly, why would you want to? It’s good to casually take at least 8-9 days to cover the 2,000 mile round trip in Baja. From Austin, add in the miles across West Texas, NM, AZ, and a dab of CA, and the total was around 4,500 miles. It took about two weeks, which seems about normal for me - not too fast, not too slow. I was able to avoid I-10 and I-8 to a degree, by taking the lesser-traveled highways - my preference. That means NM 9 across southern NM, plus glorious sections of old US80 in AZ. I made overnight stops on the US legs in very agreeable towns that are somewhat off the beaten path, namely Fort Davis and Bisbee. Other stops were Phoenix (for tires and dinner with a riding friend) and Yuma. The return was simply Yuma, Bisbee, Fort Davis.

In Baja, I spent nights in Ensenada, San Quintin, San Ignacio, La Paz, Loreto, Guererro Negro, and Rancho Meling. Althought I've been through all of the towns, several overnight stays were for the first time (San Quintin, San Ignacio, La Paz, Rancho Meling), while others have become the norm for me (Ensenada, Loreto, Guererro Negro). The boutique hotel on the Malecon in La Paz was great so I added an extra night; I think I might have been the only guest those nights. Parked the bike in the sheltered courtyard, right behind the clerk’s desk, and enjoyed a very nice Italian restaurant upstairs. Although about 40 miles off the main highway, Rancho Meling, a “sky rancho” (fly in) in decades past, was a treat, as were the people running it.

On the return trip, I crossed back into the US at Tecate. Like practically every country except our own, no problem with motorcycles going to the head of the blocks-long line. Very civilized.

I met several casual US riders (I hesitate to say “like me”) along the way, a group of Mexican GS riders from the mainland, and a number of BAJA 1000 race drivers and crews who were practicing (“pre-running”) the course in preparation for last week’s race. Practice and race vehicles ranged from four-wheelers and enduro bikes hauled by pick-ups, to million-dollar race trucks supported by multi-vehicle teams. You wouldn’t want to be on the dirt roads when any of them, especially the ~1000HP Trophy Trucks, come along.

I didn’t burn a lot of film, but did take several modern-day, as well as “Baja-esque”, photos. Don’t ask me how or why, but at certain times of day the light in Baja plays tricks on you – it looks just like the old days. At other times, it’s just blue sky, cactus, water, and sand. Take your pick -

Typical route map looks like this, although I didn't make it to Rancho Mike's, going to Rancho Meling instead on the northern leg. So it varied a little this trip:

Pacific sundown:

"The road goes on forever and the party never ends" (thanks to Robert Earl Keen):

Lug. Wrench. Ahead.

Cardon cactus near Catavina:

Gas stop at Punta Prieta - GS (not GSA) will usually make the 200 mile gap between Pemex stations, but, like in the Arctic, why not get gas when it's available. On the return trip, high winds definitely reduced my range to the extent that it would have been pucker-inducing without the roadside stop. I've carried a spare gallon of gas before, but never used it, so gave up that extra load.

West of Loreto - sun, sand, shadows:

Mision San Francisco Javier de Vigge-Biaundo (1758):

I remember that curve from the early 2021 trip:

The ever-blue Sea of Cortez/Gulf of California:

Entrance to Rancho Meling in the Sierra de San Pedro Martir foothills:

Days of yesteryear:

San Ignacio:

Mision San Ignacio Kadakaaman (1786):

Naw...couldn't be:

Mision Santa Rosalia de Mulege:

Abandoned copper smelter in Santa Rosalia:

Gustave Eifel-designed iron church imported in pieces by French mining company:

Early McDonald's:

Borrowing a rating scale from the Austin American Statesman’s Kirk Bohls, I give the trip nine ducks.

Until next time - right now I’ve got 12,000 mile maintenance to do on the new GS so I can take another trip.

Amigos, mantenga el lado de goma hacia abajo.

 

[bwdmax]

Glad to see you up the score on Baja this time around.

 

[Hellwig]

Awesome report, some day i gotta get down to the southern reaches and take some time doing it. Baja is a remarkable place. Thanks

 

[sandman]

Awesome write up and photos. Love the black and whites.

Has anyone taken the ferry from Mazalon to LaPaz? It would be a great way to see Baja with out all the CA part of the trip.

Ferry Service to Mainland Mexico | Los Cabos Guide

The Ferry leaves from La Paz daily and goes to Mazatlán and Topolobampo on the mainland. The Ferry Dock is located at Pichilingue Terminal... Read More

www.loscabosguide.com

 

[SilverBullet]

...It would be a great way to see Baja with out all the CA part of the trip.

Why would you have to go through CA to get to Baja?

 

[michaellmcc]

Hola, dudes. Thanks for the comments.

Of course not - you don't have to "go through CA to get to Baja". As the map shows, you can enter Mexico along the AZ border, then head west parallel to the border, turning south to Ensenada before you get to Tijuana. Or, head south toward San Felipe on the eastern side and not travel due west very far. Not a big deal either way and I've done both. But the reality is you're already pretty dang close to CA if you're going to Baja. You just pick where you want to cross the border in either state and go for it.

Alternatively, as sandman noted, you can get a ferry from the west coast of Mexico. I've investigated it a couple of times, including this last trip, but have not taken it (although I do like overnight ferries). As I mentioned earlier in this thread, I just prefer to keep touring in Baja separate from mainland Mexico; they're really completely different animals. And, you'd have some difficulty "hurrying" all the way across Mexico from Texas to catch the ferry to Baja. In my experience, best not to hurry anywhere, but if you're going to hurry, do it on IH-10/IH-8. BIG speed limits.

Baja does not require a vehicle permit, whereas the rest of Mexico does. Not a big deal, but not having to do it makes hitting Baja from southern AZ/CA very quick and painless.

Try it - you'll like it!

Mike

 

[SilverBullet]

...Baja does not require a vehicle permit, whereas the rest of Mexico does. Not a big deal, but not having to do it makes hitting Baja from southern AZ/CA very quick and painless.

Half of Sonora Mexico does not require a FMM or TVIP either. You can enter Mexico from NM or TX also and stay along the border until you reach Sonora free zone. You can then take a ferry from Guaymas to La Paz without either FMM or TVIP. However last I checked a couple years ago you did need both for the return ferry. Doesn't make sense since your arrival port in Guaymas is in the free zone but "this is Mexico".