We woke up to a grey day and still no surf. Today we are going to make a big push South passed Colonet and San Quintin. I’m excited to reach El Rosario. Everyone says true Baja starts here. Up until the 70’s El Rosario was as far as anyone could travel on Mex 1.

We passed through Colonet and I stopped in San Quintin to pick up some pesos. We continued down the highway and just before El Rosario I hit my first check point. I was greeted by a soldier who looked to be in his early 20’s. He was incredibly polite and asked if I would open up the rear cargo doors.

“Por supuesto”, of course I said. He took a quick glance inside and then told me I could be on my way. They say the checks get more thorough when your traveling North. Still, it wasn’t an unpleasant experience. Just a man doing his job.

I checked into our first camp site at Motel Sinahi – 100 pesos for the night. With that Riley and I got a hot shower, clean restrooms and WiFi.

After I checked in I headed over to Mama Espinozas for lunch. “No hay longosta”, she said. There is no lobster until September. Bummer.

I need to do a better job of reminding myself to take pictures. I have none for this stretch. Lo siento.

When we woke up on the beach I looked over at the river mouth and saw that the water level had risen considerably. It was too deep to cross over. So I scouted out another route which would have taken us South around the point over to Punta China. Eventually we were turned away so it was back to the Transpenninular Hwy.

Our next location took us to the scenic cliffs at Punta San Ysidro and Cabras. Still no surf but the views have been incredible. Eventually we would wind up back here for the night. It’s been 3 days in Baja and I still haven’t spent a dime on camping spots. How can you when there is so much empty space? I guess people would pay so they can park in numbers.

We took in the scenery for a few and I worked on reorganizing the van. I seriously over packed for this trip. I keep shifting around boxes that I haven’t used like my table and 2 giant containers of tools and spare parts. I have another large container of clothes and I’m still wearing the same stuff I wore when we left Orange County. Someone in Baja is going to come up.

I read about a local bar in town called Coyote Cals. Its on the road to one of the major races and is pretty well known with the racing types. I walked in with Riley and there where a few gringos hanging out on the back patio. We all exchanged hellos. 5 minutes later these guys had my maps and were marking places of interest. “When you get over to Mulege look for Jungle Jims and ask for John Denning. If you need anything at all tell him you know me and he will set you up.”

They group invited Riley and I for dinner. A few hours of hanging around and sharing stories it was finally time to say goodbye.

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.