Then Back to the Bay of California

As we moved farther north, we tried different campgrounds than those we stopped by on the way south.  There was no reason to repeat disappointments........In Guerrero Negro ww stopped just north of the town at Mario's.   It was a large gravel parking lot that was proposed in the book to have both water and electric but the current was dangerously low by evening and we both disconnected for safety.   We did find some interesting piles of large shells in the back of the parking area that would make small bowls for dipping sauces.

The interior of the restaurant was quite attractive. The roof showed through as carefully thatched.

The sad part is that there are so few customers in the "touristy" restaurants.   We often considered the lack of customers and what that means to the freshness of their produce and menu items. How can the owners and cooks plan and purchase?

Driving on the next day we headed over to the eastern coast of Baja to the what is referred to by the RV'ers a the Bay of LA.   The road over was picturesque.  Right before passing over the last mountains to the coast, we passed through a large broad valley.

We drove through one campground that was reported to be the "favorite" but were not impressed. It felt cramped and had several loose dogs wandering about...and a pile of loose garbage over by the entrance.    We drove back to the old government campground by the closed turtle research facility.   There is nothing there but dump stations....and quiet sites with nice views.   There were only two other rigs parked and they were both Canadians down for the season.   There were no noisy road sounds or loud music from local restaurants.

Here is a picture of the house next our side of the campground.   The owner lives in El Salvador and has a house sitter.  

Looking down the beach towards the light house from the beach right in front of our rigs.

Looking to the left.

Looking back towards the two rigs from the beach.

The dogs and I walked both ways on the beach.  We even made it all the way around the light house one afternoon.   We only met one or two other well mannered dogs being walked on the beach.  It was a puppy paradise. But by this beach Remi had picked up Audrey's taste for dried fish bones.  Crunch, crunch, crunch....."It tastes like those fish based foods you fed Herschel for years and now you say not to eat these?"  asked Remi. 

For long walks, all three remained on leashes. 

We met Santa Wayne enjoying his winter off.   I should have taken a picture of his card.  When he is dressed for work he is a real Santa.   Santa Wayne works as Santa in the north Vancouver area.  He said that the company he works for has a large building that creates a whole Santa and Christmas experience including an area to frost the gingerbread cookies and stuff a toys.  The company charges around $20 dollars for their Christmas experience.

 The parents complete a thorough questionnaire on each child including the child's  name and tons of information regarding such things as.....their pets and favorite activities, what presents they may have received from Santa in past years, what school the attend, names of other relatives, what their favorite hobbies and or toys are, etc.   Santa has a full arsenal of conversation points that make the children's eye pop.  Wayne also talked about how he visits toy stores to look at the going crop of the season's favorite toys.   Wayne said that he has ten minutes or so before each family come into the room to have their private visit with Santa and is good at memorizing the names and details.   

He said that the children with try to pull his beard only to be shocked that it is real. They check under his hat.   He has several "suits' that are hand made complete with quality material like real leather black boots.    He does have a delicious "Santa" laugh and seemed to me the perfect Santa for the theater of make believe.

Santa Wayne and his elf dog Ella.....

Because the beach was so deserted and back from the road it was a perfect opportunity for some off leash swimming.   Stuart's "Auntie" Mitch is always pushing to watch Stuart enjoy his free swims.
Elf Dog Ella enjoys water and retrieving, too.   And Audrey, on the right, got to practice her swimming skills again, thanks to begging from Mitch.

Audrey would go deeper if she was trying to reach a person or forget and follow one ot the other dogs.

Remi would forget that he did not like water in the stick chasing exercises and wander in to his knees and belly.

"Like this Uncle Stuart? Like this?"  

Back on the beach with leashes on to avoid dietary in-digestions....

"Really?  Who decided it was time to get up and make the bed?  What if I don't want to get up yet?

I am just guessing but I think these guys caught something out their this morning.  I also observed a kayak heading out in the morning to fish and later that day the gentleman was cleaning a large Yellow Tail down near the shore line.   It was a 40 pound fish and he agreed that it would be a fine feast that night.   When I asked him how long it took him to land the fish, he laughed and said over 1 and 1/2 hour....in didn't help that he was in a kayak getting pulled around.  

Mitch and I tried a different restaurant the last day to check our internet.   Again for a Sunday afternoon we were the only customers.    When I asked the couple that were the "hosts" of our campground about the absence of RV'ers and tourist in general, they all agreed that it had been a very sparse season.   The few folks at our campground were repeat winter visitors and agreed that the economy of the small out of the way towns were hurting this year particularly.

Restaurant's whale skeleton on the right of the seating area. 

More areas just waiting for the tourists/customers.

Mitch and I were invited to a coctail party over at Santa Wayne's trailer along with the couple that were in charge of the campground but never asked us for our money....:=)   The wife is originally from Germany and her husband from England that have relocated to BC, Canada in more recent years.  They had been returning to the Bay of LA for over 15 years.   They and the Canadian couple on the right shared how much the roads have improved in the last ten years.   Made me glad that I hadn't tried to journey down here two years ago.

The sunset shining off the mountains across the bay.

 Just keep remembering that these are the only roads up and down the Baja.   Some sections of the newer roads do have a little bit of shoulder but many are still only nine feet wide with no shoulders. The ones with the sharp drop offs are the most fun.

I could hear the mutters coming from the PRT "pretty red truck" even without the radio.....   As Mitch pointed out, she has three axles to get through the pot holes and over the wash boards.  On the other hand I had to listen to everything crash and jump around in my rig.  She had to use her imagination...until she got back to open her trailer door.