We left Playa Del Burro in Bahia Concepcion with great sorrow; we loved that place! But we must move on.

Loreto is our next stop on the way down the Baja. After winding alongside Bahia Concepcion for about 26 miles, the road climbs over a low saddle and then runs along a wide inland valley all the way south to Loreto. Along the road we see some scattered ranches and, one funny thing, some pick-ups with a donkey in the back — standing up! Off on the right is the Sierra El Giganta, a huge mountain chain we will cross after Loreto. Meanwhile, we go through another military roadblock without even stopping.

Loreto has been continuously inhabited since 1697! Its population of 7,200 is friendly and the town so inviting.
We are installed at the El Moro Motel and RV Park on Rosento Robles right into the historical centro (downtown) and the Loreto Plaza. It is a quiet place with dirt RV sites, but has full hookups for only $15. In fact, the whole Baja is quiet at the present time as tourism is down of 85 percent! The US war is the main reason we hear everywhere. We can’t understand; if Mexico is safer why don’t folks come south?

It’s Friday night and some mariachis are playing guitars and singing on a street corner with a bunch of other Mexicans and kids having fun around a hotdog and taco stand. So I decide to offer Coca-Cola to the three young boys... then two more suddenly appear from nowhere. Let’s play fair then, it’s everybody’s treat! The Mexicans are happy — we are too!

We finish the evening at Mike’s Bar, where a Mexican guitarist plays and sings romantic songs.

Two days later, we’re back on the road again, this time heading for La Paz, a 218-mile ride. Passing through Napolo Bay, a newly promoted area from Fonatur (the Mexican government’s Tourist Development Agency), then El Juncalito and Puerto Escondido comes next. The latter is a beautiful hurricane-hole bay; there were 25 sail and catamaran boats on it at the time of our visit.

Finally, we end up in Ciudad Constitucion, halfway from our destination. The town welcomes its visitors with pennants over the main street, the Transpeninsular Mex 1.

As we drove through town I heard a loud noise, but Mexicans are riding such wrecks as cars, I thought it was one of them. The noise suddenly disappeared. Fine. But six miles further down the road there was another noise, worse this time. We decide to stop and verify what it is, as the rig seems to shake from the rear. Trying to pull over on an 18-foot-wide road is not an easy thing, but I manage to improve my position maybe a foot off the road. We get out and take a look at the rear . . . the worst has just happened! The racks for the scooter and bicycles main hitch-end are broken in two! So the bicycles and the scooter are dragging on the road. *%#@! Big, BIG problema in Mexico for that kind of breakdown! But staying calm and thinking is the mother of all solutions.

A young American couple from Oregon with their 4 X 4 towing a boat have now stopped behind us, and we’re all trying all to figure out how to get us out of this mess. On the parallel road beside the highway are three young Mexican men in a pick-up looking at us. They come over, and after some time of Spanish and signs, I get them to understand that I need a specialist in welding that is open . . . on a Sunday!

So all five men carefully manage to lift the bicycles and scooter racks with the bicycles and the scooter on them in an upward position so we can remove the bicycles and the scooter thereafter. First step now done, we grab both bicycles and the scooter rack and put them in the rear of the pick-up. With one of the Mexicanos driving the scooter, here we are the three vehicles driving back to Ciudad Constitucion! After a couple of stops to find someone to redo the hitch, I stop a policia. He tells me where there is a muffler repair shop that I could have it fixed, but only tomorrow (Monday). When we arrive at the shop, the owner and one of his men assess the situation. They decide to leave their wives and kids in the middle of the Sunday lunch and start to work on the repair, full of willingness to help the poor "Canadiense gringo"!

Five hours later, all was repaired, even stronger than it was before! Cost of the operation? 770 pesos ($1 US = 9.05 pesos) including labour and all parts, plus the gift of our two bicycles for the three young mexicanos who will probably find a quick and economical way to fix them up! Viva el Mexico!

La PAZ!

After the broken hitch episode, it’s now too late, at around 5:30 p.m., to keep driving with the darkness coming up quickly. I don’t feel concerned about possible banditos, since people are so nice down here, but rather the possibility of "ganado" (cattle) on the road during evenings. So, we head in the direction of the closest RV Park, which is only five minutes away. You really appreciate Manfred’s RV Park after such a day! The owners are an Austrian-born couple who have turned a dusty piece of land into a sort of garden with 1,600 shrubs and trees planted over the nine years they have owned the RV Park.

There are 34 large pull-thrus and as many back-in sites with 15-amp outlets, sewer and water. There are two very clean little restroom buildings with hot showers, a restaurant with home-cooked food by the lady, and a swimming pool to complete the amenities. Unfortunately the owner’s recent illness (colon cancer) has obliged them to put the park up for sale.

The next day we find the road south of Ciudad Constitucion is rather flat and quite straight for 50 miles to El Cien. In English el cien means 100, so named because it is 100 km (62 miles) from La Paz. A few miles past El Cien there is a major wash-out "deviacion" for about four miles in full dust that is changing even the colour of the scooter from black to white! As we begin to descend toward the coast, La Paz could be seen ahead.

La Paz is a favourite city on the Baja Peninsula. It has a lot of stores for supplies and a number of good campgrounds. This is not really a tourist town, although it does have tourist amenities like hotels, good restaurants, beaches and tour operators. The city feels more like a larger mainland city than any other on the Baja. The waterfront Malecon is good for strolling and the older part is worth exploring, just a few blocks from the Bay of La Paz. But the best beaches are outside town.

This is also a ferry town, with trips available both to Topolobambo (Los Mochis) and Mazatlan on the mainland.

We stayed at the Casa Blanca RV Park: very nice, tidy and easy to find. There are 43 large lots, all with 15-amp outlets, although some have 50 amps, almost all are back-in sites. Other amenities include hot showers, bathrooms, a swimming pool and even a tennis court!

I am taking the sole concrete pad lot so to be able to wash MoMo (our motorhome) and Snoro (our scooter) after the washout’s dirt. And while I’m in, why not fill up the fresh water tank? I’ll make sure to also super-chlorinate the water with some regular Clorox to now get potable water. One tablespoon per 10 gallons will do it.

Now, let’s discover the town of La Paz. Very friendly people over here and as usual . . . smiling Mexicans. We start with a little walk on the superb concrete boardwalk Marina with prestigious ships and both sail and power boats. Famous restaurants and boutiques complete the nice set-up along the Malecon.

But we prefer to be with the real people when we visit a ciudad (town): the Mexicans! Charming, shy and hard-workers, the Mexicans have everything to please the visitors. We found a great taqueteria (tacos) stand on the sidewalk right in front of a major Mas (More) general store: four fish and shrimp tacos, all you can eat salad bar (behind glass sliding doors under the counter) and Pepsi for only 40 pesos. How’s that possible? Hard to beat, believe me! And moreover, they were succulent. We’ll eat there twice during our two-day stay.

Since we will ship the motorhome on the ferry to Mazatlan early December, it is a good idea to make a reservation right now while we’re in town, before heading for the Cabos (San Jose del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas) for the next two weeks. Caroline and I ride the scooter for Pichilingue, 12 miles out of town, to the ferry’s dock offices to make those reservations. Arriving there, we’re told that the reservation must be taken at La Paz! Cheez man, we’re out of luck . . . but it was a great ride in the sun without a helmet! On our way back, we discover La Playa El Tesoro, a great beach in a small bay. We make a short stop to drink a Pacifico Ballena 1-liter bottle of beer "mucha fria" (very cold) for 25 pesos.

Back in town, we stop at Monarka to buy two gallon-jugs of "agua purificado" (purified water) at eight pesos each, including the container. Just across the street there is a little convenience store that sells home-cooked dolce and fresh bread at 1.5 pesos apiece. That’s only 15 cents, so we grabbed a dozen!

The next morning, back to Sematur, the private ferry operator, for the passage tickets. We have to wait in line; it is very busy that morning for some reason. Two hours and 7,050 pesos later (including the renting of a Cabana Class room aboard, very useful during the 19-hour crossing to Mazatlan), we’re now ready in the meantime to fire up MoMo and head for the two Cabos!

Continued next issue.