Riley and I woke up to a nice day on the cliff side in Bufadora. It felt like I was tossing and turning all night. Or maybe it was because I attempted to sleep at 7:30. I made breakfast for the two of us. Riley had his usual bowl of kibble. I heated up some hot water and made myself a french press and a rehydrated a breakfast skillet. I cleaned up Big Red and tried to link up the satellite phone but had no luck. I set fire to the trash and popped ninja smoke.

The ride down to Santo Tomas was a little sketchy. Mexicans, by the way, drive like fucking maniacs. Each of my Baja books told me to expect the military checkpoint. The one with 16 year olds digging through your shit with M-16’s in hand. I was a little nerved about this because I have 4 suspect packages on board. 4 brown bags each clearly marked “1 lb”. My favorite bean selections from my favorite coffee house.

The checkpoints were all empty. We took the turnoff at Santo Tomas and found ourselves on a dirt trail. The books reported this trial being 16 miles. It felt more like 60 miles. We were driving 10 mph the entire time though. We found a grassy spot next to the river mouth (La Bocana) and chatted up some campers who had just arrived. I was trying to find Punta Santo Tomas. They told me it was another 20-30 mins North. No more driving today. Maybe tomorrow.

Across the river was a deserted beach. No one in site. I couldn’t resist the temptation. The only way to get to it though was a short cross through the river. Time to test out the AWD. With a quick prayer to the off road gods I pushed down on the gas peddle and closed my eyes. I couldn’t watch. Getting Big Red stuck in the mud would be no bueno in these parts. We made it across and the payoff was epic.