An Inglorious Day - On the Road in Baja Part 2

Here's an account of the no-fun travel day I promised. It was only our third day on the Baja and it turned out to be the most disappointing of our 50 days on the road. (Athough it has a rival, which will be coming later.)

The disappointment had little to do with the stretch of Mex 1 described below. Instead, it was all about us and our discomfort about potential risks.

Yes, the intrepid travelers are sometimes scardey cats. Others might say we are prudent. Whatever. 

Ever since we began considering a road trip on the Baja, we read and heard about the "gas desert" section of Mex 1, which is the primary road on the peninsula, going north and south.

We found that overall, Mex 1 is surprisingly good, except for when passing through towns and villages when it often devolves into potholes and, in the north, pond-sized mud puddles. 

The "gas desert" section is 195 miles long. If you look at the map, you'll see two short red lines marking the beginning at El Rosario (not named on this map) and to just north of Guerrero Negro, which is also where Mex 1 crosses into Baja CA Sur. (Ignore the dotted line on the Pacific Ocean.)

It's a serious chunk of paved but rough road that is only 19 feet wide, has no shoulders, no rest stops and few places to pull off. The guidebooks want you to know all about it. It isn't a place to run out of gas, have a mechanical issue or, God forbid, an accident!

Despite the road's shortcomings, semi trucks, humongous RVs, and lumbering RV caravans can't dodge it; it's the only paved route connecting Baja CA Norte with Baja CA Sur.  

But this story isn't about a road problem. 

The real "problem" was that we thought we might have a problem. And that worry led to an unfortunate decision to camp way too early in a place that was not only a gas desert but a real desert. 

As a result of being uncertain and nervous, we wasted much of one day of our ever-shortening life spans and our dwindling adventuring capabilities. We also squandered emotional energy.

All for being safe.

This is what being safe looks like. It was 1:30 p.m when we camped amidst a minefield of dog poo, far from an ocean, behind a tiny cafe that didn't even serve beer. No wifi or cell service. No other campers. It was a cloudless day ruined by a ferocious cold wind, which made being outside miserable. We were a couple of gringos hunkered in a bandito-bait van looking forward to sleep so we could awaken to a new day.

Not that safety should be ignored, but it should not have ruled that day. We had our reasons, however weak.

Guidebooks and travelers warned us about:

• Driving at night - you could hit a cow, disappear into a pothole, die in a ditch
• Boondocking alone - robbers scan the landscape for vulnerable gringos. 
• Running out of gas on a lonely road with a long distance between fueling sources could mean being grounded for a day or two.

We bought into it. Maybe it was that evil camper the previous night who told us gleefully, that with our fancy pants Class B van, we were red-meat targets for getting ripped off. 

OFF TO A BAD START
Somehow we departed our previous night's camp later than we'd hoped. The going was slower than we thought.

As we pulled into the only cafe in the "gas desert", not quite half-way to our destination, it occurred to us that we might not make it to where we'd planned to camp, before nightfall. 

It was December 29, 2018, and sunset was at 4:50 p.m.
Oh no! We might have to drive in the DARK!

We had a decent cafe lunch and talked it over. We'd learned that for $7 we could park in an expansive space behind the cafe and have bathroom privileges. Even though we have a toilet in our fancy van, we avoid using it for, ahem, voiding. 

We had no idea what the second half of the "gas desert" road would bring ......so we decided to stay put. And make the best of it. We can do this.

I thought I'd walk around in the desert and check out the only-grows-in-Baja cactus variety - the Cirio Tree - AKA Boojum. But the wind made walking miserable, and I settled for taking a photo near the van.  

Cirio trees are endemic to this area of Baja and grow to 70 feet. They are covered with stubby branches sprouting tiny leaves.

Then I settled for sitting inside, reading, writing, and editing photos while PK spread across the back seat with a book. Hours to go before we sleep.

A kick-back day of reading and lounging is welcome after a couple of weeks of go-go travel, but we were not ready. 

It seemed so wrong. But there we were confined to the van, or our own volition, at 1:30 p.m. on our third day in Baja. 

Writing this post forced me to process this little blip and put it into perspective. We didn't suffer, except for boredom, our own fault.

The next day we saw that the road was not that bad and it only took us three hours to get where we'd planned to stay and we could have made it before dark.

Forehead slapping! 

Maybe we learned something? Let's see if we can remember the next time we face uncertainty that it is possible to err on the side of caution. And that what we missed was almost certainly better than what we experienced.

Following are photos from this day and the next two en route to the Sea of Cortez and Mulege.

The day began with more gorgeous valley scenery in an intensive commercial farming area about 100 miles south of Ensenada. In addition to vineyards, this area is known for fresh produce.

However, driving past mile after mile of mystery crops covered with plastic, we could not say with certainty what was growing under there.

Eventually, valleys and mountains transitioned into a desert. Several miles of Mex 1 through the "gas desert" were reminiscent of Joshua Tree National Park. The scenery was surprising and ever-changing.

I seriously love Baja's taupe deserts and verdant valleys alike. The roads in central Baja are slender, but the traffic is light. Except when a bus, semi, or RV  is coming at you.

The narrow road traverses numerous washes.

Approaching the Sea of Cortez, Mex 1 turns sharply down. 

Down, down, down.

And there it is! Now we really feel like we're in Baja CA Sur.

PREVIOUS BAJA POST

Baja Part 1 - Border to Don Eddie's Landing