VANCOUVER ISLAND WINDTALK

Just arrived in laVentana today and thought that a road report might be helpful for those coming down later or just thinking about it.
I5 through Washington and Oregon were uneventful but watch for lots of "road work". That must be a sizeable stimulus check.
It seemed like one long "road work" area.
California must be the poor one as it is most in need of road work but has little.
Parts of I5 California were great but a lot is plain nasty. Especially, for us in the slow truck lane! Going up the "Grapevine" and through LA is the worst.
A good time to check your suspension and tires is before you leave.
Some of the potholes really hurt. Gobble up "Smart" cars, they do!
I stayed at rest stops and "Flying J" gas stations as they have lots of room. The Travel centers of America gas stations have lots of space as well. I always stop or spend the night at "Harris Ranch". Approx. 3 hours before LA on I5. They have great food and Free WIFI from anywhere in the parking lot. Good for last minute road/weather checks.
If you want to time your drive through LA, there is a convenient stop at a Walmart with a Camping World next door in Santa Clarita, near Six Flags.
The exit is for "Lyons Ave."
This time I drove through LA at about 10am on a Saturday with no slow downs. normally, I wait until midnight and then go through when it is relatively quiet. At the moment I think I5 has a detour in the middle of LA during the night hours so best to check if going then.
Stayed at the only rest stop on the other side near Oceanside. tried the Oceanside harbour which is very nice but it was full as it was Saturday.
Left Oceanside at 5am to time my border crossing at Tijuana for daylight at about 6:45. No problems but even though I received the "green light" they inspected the registration and VIN number. 5 minutes and I was on my way. I follow the signs to the Ensenada Toll road (about 110 km long). Exit right just past customs (first exit), follow the famous "fence" and onto the toll road.
Wow, best $15 ever spent! A beautiful morning, hardly any other cars and smoooth pavement after LA.
Just south of Ensenada is Manadearo, it has about a 3km detour of the "rattle your fillings" kind. Did I mention, check your suspension?
From there it is easy going through a lot of towns until ElRosario.
For those that know, they took out the 100 "topes" on the south end of town.
I made it to Guerrero Negro the first day which is kind of long but in daylight!
From there to San Ignacio, you start to notice all the greenery from hurricane "Jimena". And "greenery" brings out the cattle on the road!
Santa Rosalia and Mulege were hit quite hard.
The road is good though. just rough in the "vados".
A couple of short detours.
The next night was in Ciudad Constitution. The AC quit and it was 40c and I couldn't see as the perspiration was running from my forehead into my eyes. Found an ac shop in town at 4. At 6, I was on my way. Got to love Baja, no appointment, parts numbers etc. just fixed and better than ever!
Quite a bit of hurricane damage and flooding in Constitution as well.
The road was good though.
The next day was only 3 hours to LaPaz and then over the "hill" to LaVentana. The "bridge" at the edge of LaPaz going to LaVentana is finshed finally sort of. The road to LaVentana has some great potholes as normal but the last few km in are the worst. That suspension thing again.
Took my time and it was 6 days, with almost a full day in salem OR.
Diesel in the States was about 2.75 to 2.89 @ US gallon.
In Baja it is 7.70 pesos @ litre.
Camp fees in the main camp for this year are 100 pesos @ day (about $8CDN). That is for the front row, the other rows will likely be 80 pesos @ day.
Forgot to mention that you should stop at the border into Baja to obtain a "tourist" visa for about $20US, good for up to 6 months.
You will also need Mexican car insurance as ICBC doesn't cover you once you cross the border. We use Lewis and Lewis in LA (online) and have done for ten years now. ICBC does give you a refund for your time in Mexico if you apply for it with "back-up" documentation.
I guesss that means this is our 10th winter in Baja!
It is 33c at 8pm.
Buenos noches.
martin

Thanks for the info Martin! Will be leaving on the 25th of Oct. See you down there.

Great, it should cool down considerably by then. Friends just had 3 days of wind so it can happen at anytime.
m

How long do you usually stay Martin?

We usually stay until early of March. Tha campground empties pretty quickly at about that time. Have heard that April can be good but it starts to get hot again. Marion flys into LaPaz at the end of October as the heat right now affects her MS. Chilli Rellenos at the tower last night, life is good! They even set a big fan by our table!

Definitely a stepped up military presence on the Baja highway this year. More armoured vehicles out and about.
Went through 4 or 5 military checkpoints but was only given a cursory inspection once (must be the old guy innocent look ).
Just waved on through.
The immigration/food inspection at Guerrero Negro is interesting. It is at the border between Baja north and Baja south. They check for your "tourist visa" and for fruit and vegetables and sometimes meat. it seems that it depends more on what the inspector's wife told him to bring home that morning. There is also a charge of about 20 pesos to spray an insecticide under your vehicle. They used to do it by hand now it is like a carwash. Lovely smell for a while!
I went through at daybreak (barely) and the inspector didn't even get up from his chair, just waved me on through. No insecticide, nice.

Thanks Martin! I love the adventure drive down there. Can't wait! See you in Dec. What date approx do you start to wear your wetsuit?

PS. If Marion needs anything I'm right here, and work at home.

Hi Greg,

Ah yes, boardshorts and rashies for the sun right now. I am not into my 3mm wetsuit until about Dec.1. Actually go into a 4/3 around early Jan. to mid feb. then it warms up again. The water is near 30c now! Like a bath!
5 kites out yesterday but directly onshore.

Agree about the drive. For me the section between ElRosario and Guerrero Negro is one of the "must do" at least once in this life. Fantastic through that high desert country. Of course I have had the oppourtunity to do it there and back for 10 years. Just as excited every trip!
Oh, and the first sight of the sea of Cortez as you drop down the very, very steep hill into Santa Rosalia!
martin

Thanks for the great road report Martin. I envy you now and will more once the weather turns colder, darker and wetter here.
Your road report brought back nostalgic memories of Baja road trips in years past. This is also my 10th anniversary for Baja - sadly its been 10 years (1999) since I was last there, after going for many years through the 1980's and 1990's. Its about time I made the trip again!

Might want to look at this Martin

http://www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/satellit ... es=1&clf=1

Watch the Baja Joe Webcam... http://www.bajajoe.com/Web_Cam.htm Good Luck...

This looks like the best site for tracking Baja storms, like Olaf:

http://www.solymarweb.com/stormtrack.htm

Hopefully it will stay far North of BCS...

Hi RocDoc and Bill,

10 years! Lots of changes but a lot remains the same. The desert, the out of the way surf spots for you! The road is definitely easier though. It is even paved to Abreojos! I hear San Juanico is a very popular destination now.

Thanks for the heads up on Olaf. Have been watching the system the last three days. Hopefully, it will stay offshore until it fizzles.
We received a pretty good rain deluge this afternoon from a spin off "blob".

I was in LaPaz today and had more rain there than here.

I know this is off topic but have to tell you about todays experience.
Went to to LaPaz this morning and noticed the water temp was almost in the red zone going up the very long hill. I also stopped in at an auto glass shop and was quoted $250 for the windshield and a two week wait.
This is for an old 1985 Toyota van (remember them?).
Carried on towards CCC (groceries) and stopped at a Radiator shop near there.
I told them, at least I thought I did, to maybe flush the system with chemicals to clean it out. They quoted me $40 so I left it and went on my way at 9ish. Came back at noon, looked at the van. Yikes, the front passenger seat is out, the gear shift and emerg. brake is out, there is a gaping hole where this all sits. A lot of work if you know these vans. Okay, no problem, just ask. Easier said!
Wait for an hour, look again, same situation. Lots of guys working but no one on my van. Then someone says "esta radiadore". I see he is cleaning the tubes with a flat plastic rod. The tanks are off! Good grief, I am thinking big bucks here. Anyways, at 3 it is soldered back together, painted and back in the van with everything ready to go. Total cost......
400 pesos which is less than $40 cdn! Needless to say, I tipped very well.
Unbelievable. They told me, this is Mexico, it gets hot here, a flush doesn't do the job right.
Oh, then went to a different glass shop. Finding it was fun. They had a windshield. $100us including tip and I was on my way back to laVentana.
It is always quite the experience in Baja.
Gotta luv it!
martin

Martin uses: http://www.eebmike.com/

Martin: awesome Baja story, I love it. Reminds me of the mechanic working on Gerry's van who came to the campground and completely redid the rear suspension for dirt cheap.

Hope you have an awesome fall and winter!

JL: Now that's a storm tracking website! Impressive!


Paul