Travel Log 24: January 2011 -- Tijuana Taxi

Our destination for this winter is San Jose del Cabo, Mexico, at the southern tip of the Baja Peninsula. San Jose is a 30 minute drive around the cape from Cabo San Lucas, and faces the Sea of Cortez, or Golfo de California.

 

We leave the RV in Mesa and drive the truck down the Baja along with John and Cheryl, RV friends from Penticton, who also wanted to drive the Baja this year. With our trucks loaded up and walkie talkies in hand, our little caravan of two crossed from San Diego to Tijuana.   

 

The border crossing went fine, save for one small problem…where is the immigration office? We had to buy tourist visas for our visit and we couldn't see a sign for immigration anywhere.  At other border crossings on Mexico's mainland it is not uncommon for the immigration office to be many miles from the actual crossing, so we just kept going and going. Our guide books gave no indication as to where the office would be. 

 

After 15 minutes we were feeling nervous and called Brett in San Diego. He's our good friend and surfer-dude lifeline who has travelled Baja a bazillion times.  I know what you're thinking...and you're right.  Should have nailed down this detail before we left.  Back to our story...

 

Brett said we definitely missed immigration as it is exactly at the point of the border crossing. Ouch! The problem now is how to get back to the Mexican immigration without getting caught up in the massive stream of traffic going north through U.S. immigration to California?  Brett told us to get as close as we could to the border, park in a guarded lot and take a taxi the rest of the way. Good advice! With John and Cheryl keeping close behind us, we turned around and slowly made our way northward. 

 

Just before getting swept up in a multi-lane snarled border  lineup, we pulled over to catch our breath and get our bearings. Cheryl's eagle-eye spied a Costco just a few blocks away. We parked there, paid the parking lot attendants to watch our vehicles and caught a cab. 

 

Our driver took us handily to the doorstep of Mexican immigration -- the entrance of which was literally between two taco carts -- and we got our tourist visas. Back through the taco carts to catch a cab for our return trip to Costco. Our trucks were safe and sound and Bailey was right where we left her...snoozing in the sun on the driver's seat!  Our 'Tijuana taxi' adventure cost us a little less than two hours and $20USD. 

 

Tourist visas in hand we began our blaze down the Baja. Let me tell you…it’s a long way down with a lot of the same scenery day after day! 1,000 miles. Our 5-day itinerary had us stopping at San Quintin, Guerrero Negro, Loreto, La Paz and finally San Jose del Cabo.  San Jose is almost exactly the same latitude as Teacapan, which is where we wintered in the RV last year, just south of Mazatlan.  Our hotel experiences down the Baja varied widely -- from charming and immaculate to remote and dirty.  Definitely character building!  

 

Several of the hotels did not allow pets in the room so we devised many tactics to smuggle Bailey inside undetected. This included, among others: me creating a diversion whilst Adrian tip-toed her kennel by the front desk; or Adrian scooping Bailey up in a pile of beach towels as a disguise. This worked well until, watching him walk in front of me with this mound of towels, I saw a little uncovered white tail wagging below his elbow! Poor Bailey…she's such a good sport. Never a peep or a complaint!

 

The roads are indeed narrow on the Baja. Check out how this semi-truck completely fills the lane he's in.  We were very glad to not be towing the RV.  This road looks straight, but there were many segments of steep grades, continuous switchbacks and road construction.  We saw very few RV's in our travels. 

 

After days of desert scenes, the big event for us was the Bahia Concepcion (Bah-hee-ah | Con-sep-see-own). Pick up any travel book about the Baja Peninsula and there will be at least one picture of this amazing bay. Lots of RVs dry camp on the beautiful sandy beaches. The water is Caribbean blue and the vistas are spectacular. 

 

 

Seeing the Bahia Concepcion has been a dream of ours ever since we started investigating RV travel in Mexico. We were very excited to see it and shall look forward to a repeat on the way home in the spring. 

 

A note here about your kind concerns for our safety on the way down. Our trip was completely uneventful in that regard.  In fact, during our little detour around Tijuana, we were overwhelmed with the kindness of English-speaking Mexicans going out of their way to give us directions or offer advice. 

 

Another interesting thing about travelling Baja is that one can do so without any need for Spanish. English is widely spoken, and other than low-level clerks or middle-of-nowhere taco joints, one can get along just fine with plain old 'ingrish'.

 

So here we are in San Jose del Cabo getting settled into our condo and finding our way around town.  The grocery shopping here is better by far than our experience on the mainland. We brought a huge Rubbermaid bin with us packed with food items which we never found on the mainland and didn't know if we would find on Baja. No need to have gone to the trouble because everything is here -- except for brand-name Q-tips.  Their versions are awful.  Really, if I'm going to put a stick in my ear, I'd like a little cotton on the end! 

 

The restaurants have been great -- although they can be pricey!  We spent Christmas Eve at a seafood restaurant on the marina in Cabo San Lucas.  As you can see, when the boys got the bill it was a little shocking!  John, the accountant, is doing his mental tally while Adrian remains speechless! 

 

Our condo complex is relaxed and low-key with a nice heated pool. We love the condo we're in and, after living so compactly in the RV, we are gradually allowing ourselves to spread our belongings corner-to-corner. I've forgotten how long it takes to vacuum a normal home. In the RV, I can almost stand in one spot and vacuum the whole thing!  Also, after being used to the confines of an RV fridge, the residential version is truly a thing of beauty! 

 

We Pentictonites all spent Christmas together.  New Years found us all at a friend's penthouse condo with rooftop views of the fireworks over San Jose.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We thought things would quiet down after the holidays, but this has not been the case.  We've found a great and busy social scene here.  The brunch and dinner invitations keep flying fast and furious!  We are having the loveliest time!

 

Thanks for keeping in touch!  Feliz Nuevo Anos (Happy New Year)

 

Love Brenda (for A, B and little b.)