Baja Adventures

Greetings from Southern Baja, Mexico.

In June, my husband Rick and I packed up the truck with surfboards and 6 weeks worth of adventure gear and dipped south of the border for the summer. 

We’ve been road tripping throughout the entire Baja peninsula this summer and it’s been quite an adventure, to put it mildly!! 

There have been many highlights, and even a few mis-adventures that didn’t make the social media highlight reels. (I’ll share those with you!)

We started our trip with a visit to the Sea of Cortez (aka the Gulf of California).

Along the way, we discovered many beautiful Missions that were built in the 1700s by Jesuits from Spain.

We then drove south to our first destination, the surfer’s paradise: Scorpion Bay.

• 

• 

Getting to Scorpion Bay is not for the faint of heart, and this is the reason that this epic surf break remains unspoiled and not overcrowded. After 2 days of driving, we then traveled 4 hours through a remote desert and salt flats to get to the town of San Juanico which is in Scorpion Bay, on the west side of the Baja Peninsula. I was so thrilled to have 2 weeks at a beautiful point break with easy mellow waves — just my speed!! 

• 

• 

• 

The town has no gas station, no grocery store, and no pavement. But it has plenty of dogs, cats and horses that roam the streets. And we were endlessly entertained by the Osprey birds that ruled the animal kingdom in Scorpion Bay.

We didn’t have any TV or media during this trip, so we tuned into nature and watched the birds and gave the local dogs and cats names and back-stories. 

• 

• 

We then departed for some urban life in San Jose Del Cabo. Our rental apartment had a beautiful pool – which was very much appreciated because it was hot and sticky in San Jose in July! Rick and I explored the many delicious restaurants and ate churros in the town square (the “zocalo”). 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

After San Jose, we drove along a long, bumpy dirt road to the wild and rugged “East Cape” of Cabo. Our friends from Oceanside, Charlie and Maria, moved to the East Cape and we were excited to see their new home and experience the Cabo lifestyle that made ex-pats out of them. 

On the East Cape we discovered that the long-horned cattle and donkeys roam the beach just like surfers. They made themselves at home along the beaches and wandered the dirt roads without much concern for their human friends. 

• 

• 

Next, we headed north to Cerritos, a small surf town. From the roof deck of our AirBnB we had a beautiful view of the Sierra de la Laguna mountain range and the Pacific Ocean. We cooked many wonderful meals and swam in the pool and surfed. The pool and ocean were a much needed relief from the hot weather. 

• 

• 

• 

• 

We ended our trip in the artist town of Todos Santos. We practiced yoga in one of the most beautiful yoga studios I’ve ever been in! This area is known for it’s agriculture so we ate at many incredible farm-to-table restaurants.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Our rental was on a large property with at least 5 dogs that live on site, so we had many beautiful doggie friends to keep us company each day. 
Our friends from San Diego, Neal and Melissa, joined us for a few days in Todos Santos. It was a much-needed dose of friend time along our travels. 

• 

• 

• 

Gritty Up

This road trip has been gorgeous and wild and I loved getting off the tourist track and experiencing all the towns and driving the back roads of Baja. But this is not the kind of trip you make if you need dependable air conditioning, electricity and room service. It was dusty, hot and often unpredictable. The power often goes out and the internet can be pitifully lacking. And there’s not much pavement to be found, so dust is a constant part of your life. 

But … look how gorgeous it is here!! Everywhere I turned, the surroundings were beautiful.

• 

• 

Not Everything Makes the Highlight Reel

We had many close encounters with rattle snakes, scorpions, large spiders, and a cockroach infestation that still gives me the creeps to think about! 

We also had a scary incident involving a generator fire. One of the homes we rented was on solar power, but the batteries connected to the solar panels weren’t working, so we were forced to use the generator in the garage (with permission from our host).

The general situation was unreliable and frustrating but we were determined to make it work. Until … one morning Rick was adding gasoline to the generator, and even though the generator had been off for hours, it suddenly caught fire and immediately the garage wall was in flames. THANKFULLY, Rick sprinted up to the kitchen to grab the fire extinguisher and put the fire out. Holy sh!t that was scary!! Please make a mental note of where your fire extinguisher is … can you picture exactly where it is?? Ok good, because some day you might need it and you’ll be thankful that you can get it quickly!! 

We’ve traveled over 3,200 miles from San Diego to Baja and back, and I have to admit I’m looking forward to getting back to the “easy life” in San Diego. But my heart is full and my adventure spirit is fully alive!! 

We got to see some of the most beautiful desert landscape in the world. We talked with many soulful and fun-loving people who made our trip and our connection to Mexico very special.

And (best of all) we ate really well! The food culture is alive and well here, and I didn’t skip a meal.

I can’t wait to come back to this beautiful, rugged, soulful land!

• 

• 

• 

•