Day 5 - Hotel Paraiso Las Palmas, Ensenada
Having plotted a route to our next destination – Papa Fernandez on the eastern coast of Baja, we got up with plenty of time to get ourselves organised. We had to change money from Dollars to Pesos, so we had some local currency, and grab some breakfast before getting on the road. We found a place to change money and were recommended a local restaurant across the street to get some chow. It was a great spot, heaving with customers, we got the last available table, and had a fantastic breakfast of omelettes, refired beans and tortillas. I think we caused quite a stir with the locals who probably don’t see too many ‘gringos’ in a local restaurant. But the food was great, and they were very welcoming.
We had left the majority of our gear at the hotel, so we didn’t have to worry about luggage on the bikes whilst we were changing money and eating, so after we finished up, we headed back to the hotel to finish packing the bikes and get going. After our morning coffee, we both needed to empty the tanks (if you know what I mean). Jorik went first and came out to me to say that the water wasn’t working, and he had been unable to flush the toilet. I suppose that is a typical occurrence in Mexico, but I still needed to go to the toilet. So, I brassed myself and did the job, but true enough, the water was still not working. We had filled our jerry cans with fuel and water to ensure we had enough to get us through some of the long stretches in Baja, and in case something went wrong, and we had to stay in the desert for any period, and we had about 2 litres of spare water. I tried to flush the toilet with the remaining water, but all I did was end up leaving carnage in the toilet. So, apologies to the staff at the hotel for leaving a war zone in the el baneo.
The road out of Ensenada towards the east was fantastic. Beautiful twisty mountain passes that were just spectacular. We simply had to stop to get some photos and sort a few things out. My fuel jerry can had been overfilled and was pissing fuel all over my boots, which meant there was every chance it might hit the hot engine of the bike. Not ideal! So, I emptied a little out whilst stopped. Whilst pulled over about 20 bikers came through on what must have been an organised tour, as most of the bikes were big BMWs with a support vehicle. It was bonkers to see how fast they could travel passed us, with no weight and big engines, but I suppose if you can afford it, why not. We are definitely not travelling the same way as they were, nor are they likely to be going as far as we are.
The scenery through the central part of the route was great and varied. We had mountain passes and deserts to content with and the temperature rose all the time as we approached the eastern coast. We were aiming for a fuel stop in town called San Felipe, which was an absolute dump and not somewhere we wanted to stop. But as we approached the coast, it got a little chillier as the wind came off the Sea of Cortez. The aim was to get as far south along the coast as we could in order to make up time and distance, something that was a concern for me, but maybe not so much for Jorik. Whilst the landscapes along the coastline were breath taking and pretty varied, it is clear that Baja is the place where RVs go to die. There were loads of them all along the coastline. I assume locals pick them up cheap from America and use them as accommodation, although the majority of them look pretty much uninhabitable, all rusted out from the sea air and what I assume are some pretty hostile conditions when the weather is less than ideal. Mind you, a roof over one’s head, is more than many might have, even if it is a rusted old bucket of an RV.
We had found a guest house at a place called Alfonsinas, which was a good distance for the day’s journey, but when we looked online, they wanted around MXN2,200 per person (about $130) and you had to choose a menu option of either MXN800 (excluding octopus and seafood), or MXN1,000 (including octopus and seafood). So, bollox to that, this was way to dear for our traveller’s budget. So, we found a spot called Papa Fernandez that offered camping as an option.
From the start of this trip, we knew we might have to camp on occasion, but I was really expecting the cost of cheap hotels, hostels, guest houses, etc to be much more affordable. Clearly, I was wrong. Some of the spots this far north within Baja are really quite expensive for us. So, we decided, how bad could camping be, and we would save around $250 in cost, which we much rather spend n when we have an opportunity to stay somewhere a little more beneficial and not whilst we are passing through and just spending the night.
Papa Fernandez was not sign posted at all, just a dirt track that pulled off the Highway towards the coast. We had been in the saddle for a long time, so concentration levels were waning. Thankfully this part of Baja still provided Jorik with mobile data, so his sat nav identified the turn off, which could easily have been missed. This was our first opportunity to test the bikes on a surface that was less than ideal. It started out pretty good, a solid compacted dirt track, but over the distance of about 1 mile, it turned into a sandy track with ruts. Jorik has the honour of the first “off” on the bike as he veered a little too close to the side of the track as we approached the small holding. Thankfully, we caught it on camera and I’m sure the footage will make it into one of the video posts, once we get decent enough internet to edit and upload the video footage. I had to turn back to help him pick up his bike, which turned out to be a little heavier and more difficult than I think we were expecting. No harm to Jorik and no real damage to the bike, so all good. We pressed on the last few meters to the entrance of this wild place called Papa Fernandez. There were 4 old boys chilling out at a table at what we assumed to be the reception area. The first comment from 1 of them was “is that a cooler box full of beers on the back of your bike” referring to the top boxes. I think he thought he was being funny, but he wasn’t, chop! We had a chat with them about our trip and the fact that we are both South African, which came as a surprise to them. They directed us towards the campsite, which was over a hill and away from the main settlement of rusted out old vehicles, and once again, rusted out old RVs. As we were getting ready to head towards the campsite, their food came out, which was fresh fish and tacos. Being allergic to shellfish, I don’t touch seafood due to the potential for cross contamination, and looking at the state of the place, I assume the kitchen doesn’t follow the best hygiene practices. I politely declined, but Jorik dived in and said the fish was awesome. No idea what it was, other than super tasty.
The local lady advised us that camping would be MXN100 each for the night and that we should be able to get some food at the restaurant, wait restaurant is too strong a word for what they offered, I’ll say it was a kitchen with an outside seating area and that does it more justice than it probably deserves. We climbed over the hill towards the sea, and sure enough, there was a camping area with a few other campers already set up. It was around 5pm so we still had plenty of light to unpack, set up the tent, and we even managed a quick swim in the Sea of Cortez. Great to be experiencing the wilds of Baja up close and personal. Due to the lack of facilities, there were a couple of Portaloo’s as el baneos and that was it. No running water or showers for us hard core travellers, which sucked. Still, we weren’t going to let that get us down, so we got changed into normal clothes and headed over the hill to get some food and hopefully have a chat with the old boys to get the lay of the land in the local area. Unfortunately, they had packed up and headed to their respective RVs or accommodations. It looks like a very popular location for sports fishing, so we assumed that they were there for the fishing, not the local facilities. However, there was also no sign of anyone to cook for us, or hopefully provide a much needed cerveza. Feeling a little disheartened, we turned around to head back to our campsite and the sandwiches we had purchased at our last stop for just such an eventuality. As we started to climb the hill back to camp, the local lady called over to us to ask if we wanted anything, I assume, my Spanish is pretty much non-existent. Jorik managed to explain that we were after some food and a couple of cervezas, which was understood, but there was no opportunity for a beer, just a coke. We had tacos and a burrito, not like any other burrito I have ever had, it was more like a folded taco, but it was cooked and didn’t taste too bad, it was also cheap as chips, right up our street then.
Following our dinner of tacos in various guises, we headed back to camp before we lost the light to get ready for our first night’s camping. Not something that us tired old boys were looking forward to, but we have a tent and sleeping bags, so why not. We are not princesses and a little roughing it is what adventure motorcycling is all about. We still had some whiskey that we picked up in LA, so a little toot helped us prep for an early night in the tent.