Plan B

*May 7, 2010 --- San Ignacio => Ciudad Constitucion, BCS, Mexico*

Last Update: Saturday, November 19, 2016		Contact Me
So what started off as going off to Baja for three weeks to clear my head, feel the warm rays of the summer sun on the Tropic of Cancer and do a little networking for Baja job opportunities has turned into a 10-week sojourn including settling down for the month of June in my own little cabaña near the Villa del Palmar resort in Cabo San Lucas.	*Other TRIPS*	Ever wonder why Los Cabos and other select Mexican destinations come into being and grow like crazy? It's not luck or coincidence. It's all very well-planned. Thanks to Fonatur, the "institution responsible for the planning and development of sustainable tourism projects." And with respect to the Baja Peninsula specifically, there is the vision of the Escalera Nautica, the Nautical Ladder --- a mega project; canceled "as is" in early 2010.
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CLICK HERE	Videos Photographs Police Extortion in Ciudad Constitucion	Be sure and order your own copy of this amazing atlas by clicking on the cover at left. You CANNOT travel BAJA without this guide.

Video Clips

According to my little red journal ... it was light at 5:30. That's when the noise started; frogs, roosters, traffic. Hmmm? Was there a time switch? Of course, at the border. I forgot. Someone hacking away in the reeds. When I finally got up at 7:30, she came to collect $5 for "camping." No water. A pit privy was filled with wasps. Everything is damp and dusty. Some quick shopping at the central square. And a walk about the mission.

Strange, but I found a black wallet lying in the mission garden. I open it. There is no identification inside. Just $P2,000. Wow. I bet it belongs to one of the young people I saw get off the bus yesterday as they toured the mission church. But they must be long gone by now. San Ignacio doesn't even have enough rooms to support a bus overnight. How would I ever find them to try and return the wallet to its owner. Hmmm. Karma. I suppose I was meant to have this money. Maybe do something good with it. Gifts for others? Donate some of it. Little did I know that just a few weeks later I would be "donating" almost the exact same amount to a couple of thugs in Cabo.

File Name / Description	File Run Time (mm:ss)	File Size (Mb)
Driving San Ignacio to Santa Rosalia HIGH-resolution file	1:36	30±
Driving San Ignacio to Santa Rosalia LOW-resolution file	1:36	5±

Santa Rosalia HIGH-resolution file	00:29	10±
Santa Rosalia LOW-resolution file	00:29	2±

Mulegé HIGH-resolution file	00:32	10±
Mulegé LOW-resolution file	00:32	2±

Driving Loreto to Ciudad Constitucion HIGH-resolution file	2:20	44±
Driving Loreto to Ciudad Constitucion LOW-resolution file	2:20	7±

Photographs

Misión San Ignacio Kadakaamán (1728-1840)

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About town. It's not very big.

Another beautiful drive.

Las Tres Virgenes. Note to self: stop by here on the return trip.

Sea of Cortez.

Short walk on a dirt road to get this vista shot and notice this interesting power line / survey marker.

The steep grade down to Santa Rosalia.

Instead of bearing right along Highway 1, I took a left for a quick detour to see if there were any beaches north of Santa Rosalia to lay out. Not really. U-turn and head back south.

Welcome to Santa Rosalia. Local church.

The style reminds me of Key West, Florida.

Iglesia Santa Barabara.

More photos.

History & Gustave Eiffel.

Me at the church.

The view from the top of the hill.

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The historic Boleo District on top of the hill.

So much history here.

The prison south of Santa Rosalia.

And a brief beach stop in San Lucas, south of the Campo Militar.

More washout-out-bridge re-construction.

11:00 am. Welcome to Mulegé. Time for lunch and buying gifts & souvenirs.

Mulegé is an oasis town in the Mexican state of Baja California Sur, situated at the mouth of the Río de Santa Rosalía.

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Misión Santa Rosalia de Mulegé (1705-1828)

Outside.

Inside.

Oasis Mulegé. Cormorants diving for fish.

Time for lunch at Danny's. Inside. And outside.

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Then a drive out to the light house to see the hurricane damage along the Rio Santa Rosalia. The road is wiped out. As are many homes on both sides of the river.

After getting myself stuck in sand near end of the road where it turns left to the last few houses and thinking I'd need to get help getting unstuck, I had a beverage, and with patience, rocked myself out, just like you do with a 4x4.

Then some shopping before heading south to Bahia Concepcion. I spent way too much here at Isela's store.

And supplies also. On the way out, I checked out Campo Maria & Don Pepe's and will stay here on the return trip.

Andrew's always taking side trips, exploring side roads.

By 2:00 pm I had reached breathtaking Bahia Concepcion. I thought I'd spend a few hours relaxing in the sunshine at Playa Santispac; but not for an $8 fee! Try a few more miles down the road.

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WOW! Again. And for free. My own little cove at the south end of Santispac.

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Except for one woman reading and her dog. And loads of fishies.

Ahh. This is bliss, if even for only a few hours.

No interruptions and no clothes required.

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After 90 minutes at 3:30, it was back-on-the-road, trying to make Rancho La Aguja.

Look at all the spectacular beaches along Bahia Concepcion! And how crowded with permanent structures it has gotten since 1993.

Playa El Burro.

The ubiquitous 15-minute stop before a construction zone created time for a few more photos.

Playa Buenaventura.

Playa El Requeson.

Many more beaches & signs on the way back north.

Beware of wandering big rigs.

Bienvenidos a Loreto.

Just a quick stop at the Pemex for fuel and at a hotel in town to ask the front desk girl to help with a phone call to Rancho La Aguja to let them know I would not make it this evening.

Zipping by Loreto Bay. I'll visit on the return drive and stay overnight in Loreto and enjoy it.

I'll have to blitz by Loreto and Puerto Escondido. I'm losing daylight fast down here at sea level but I can regain some daylight by climbing up onto the mesa headed westbound to Ciudad Constitucion. Watch the inspirational video above.

Magnificent lighting for the evening climb up the pass and onto the mesa for the final dash to find a campsite. And avoid a traffic ticket in CC that I've read all about.

I check for motel prices in Constitucion, but at US$35, that's way too high. I made it through town without being stopped. Followed, yes. Stopped, no. South of town a few miles I found an $8 campsite.