The Perks, The Pits and the Pitfalls
“Pack heaps of porno mags,” the guys who worked with me in the kitchen of a Canadian ski lodge had said. “The cops in Mexico are super corrupt, and pornos are rare there, so you can use them to bribe your way out of anything.”
Hmm…the fact I was going on a surfing/camping trip down the Baja with five other girls wouldn’t make carrying porno’s look slightly suspicious? I figured we’d be more likely to get jailed for being weirdo lesbo perverts than bribe our way out of anything if we got caught with them, so we left the copies of “Wild Bores & Babes” they offered us at home. But the advice was just one of many strange suggestions we’d been given since announcing we were going to take a leisurely drive to the tip of the Baja peninsula.
Everyone had wild stories to tell; driving the length can be dangerous and most Americans usually don’t bother with it, opting to fly straight into Cabo or just do day trips no further down than Ensenada. While it gave the impending trip an air of mystique, we didn’t hit enough trouble to warrant heeding the advice on the porno’s, plus we did find awesome waves, insane food, friendly people, cheap tequila, cheap beer, and then more beer… viva la Baja!!
Here’s a quick guide to the best pits we found via driving in more remote areas of the Baja, as well as the pitfalls to avoid. The porno mags are optional…
The Perks
Budget Bliss
Budget travel in the Baja rocks. Although a tad more expensive than mainland Mexico, it’s still cheap as chips. If you’re doing the drive option, the highway that spans the Baja weaves from one side to the other, zig zagging down from beach to bay via the desert interior. On the west coast, you’ll find endless stretches of beach to pitch a tent for free, once away from major towns. On the sheltered still waters of the East, it’s not uncommon to sleep in polapas (like grass huts) on the beach to rent for about $5. Food is cheap too. You could survive on the pescado tacos or ‘Fish Tacos’ available everywhere for about $1.
Sightseeing
Get the hell out Tijuanna and just keep driving! Although you won’t find the culturally spectacular ruins like on the mainland, Baja still has plenty to see. Highlights start once south of El Rosario, where the fantastic desert scenery begins. It reaches a peak at the "rock garden" of Cataviña. Also San Ignacio is a real oasis, complete with a small lake created by a dam and surrounded by date palms. Drive into the town to really see the full oasis as the highway only passes by on the north side.
Beer & Tequila Por Favor
Like beer? You’ll dig with the local cervesas which are cheap and fricken’ good. Corona might still be available everywhere, but the big beers here are Texico and Pacifico. The bottles are returnable, and once you cash your empties back, the beers are around 50c. Tequila is also super cheap and plentiful (I even found a bottle for $1 U.S.!!! Tasted like turps but..) One thing you won’t find cheap is imports like Jack Daniels or Scotch, which are very expensive because of import taxes.
The Pitfalls
Banditos and Breakdowns
Whenever you mention driving the Baja, everyone recounts complete horror stories they’ve heard. They usually range from getting lost in the desert, breaking down in the desert, and running out of petrol in the desert, to even more alarming tales about banditos, bandit thieves who target tourists and slit their throats as they sleep at remote campsites or break into hotel rooms. Although banditos definitely exist and are heavy dudes, we luckily saw no evidence of them. But there have been numerous reports of tourist-oriented crime in the San Quintín, El Rosario area. If you are stopping there, I’d strongly recommend that you at least stay in a hotel/motel or an established campground. Best bet? Just keep driving the fuck out of the place, as there’s nothing there anyway. Better still; don’t camp near ANY larger town.
As for breakdowns, they definitely exist too. While sometimes this can’t be avoided, remember;
- Service your car before you go.
- Carry a gerry can of petrol. There are miles and miles of gaps without petrol stations.
- Keep an eye out for the Green Angels (Angeles Verdes), road patrols who supposedly help stranded drivers. We never saw one in two months on the Baja, but if the part of desert you’re stranded in happens to have a phone, you can call them.
Get Carded
If you plan on traveling further south than Ensenada, or more than just a few days in Mexico, you’ll have to get a Tourist Card at immigration. They’re good for 180 days. This may sound straight forward, but it’s not. If entering the Baja from San Diego, you probably won’t even realize you’ve past the border as no-one checks your passport let alone directs you to immigration. We spent half an hour trying to find someone to give us a stamp in our passport. The lax in security was completely surreal.
To save you the same trauma, get the tourist card in the rundown building on the right directly after the border crossing. It is in a room at far North side of the building. There is no sign this is the place, just a man in a room with a desk. He naturally won’t speak English either, so be prepared to give him your intended itinerary in Spanish plus you’ll have pay him about $12. If he gives you a green piece of cardboard back for your troubles, you know you were in the right place!! If not you just had a $12 Spanish lesson!
The Roads
As the millions of crosses you’ll see by the roadside attest, the Transpeninsular Highway that runs the length of the Baja is super dangerous. Because of the potholes and the frequent cows and donkeys that pop up as hazards on it, it’s advised NO DRIVING AT NIGHT. But the scariest thing is how narrow the roads get. Although supposedly built to be able to accommodate two passing trucks (eight feet wide plus mirrors), there are plenty of places two donkeys couldn’t even pass safely. Because there are no shoulders along the highway, this narrowness gets even more sketchy, and in some areas there will be no center striping on the road. Drop offs are common along the roadside, but occasionally the deeper ones have a guardrail. Yet despite it all, if you drive SLOWLY and steadily you shouldn’t have too many dramas. Just hold your breath on the corners!
Directions + Street Signs
Although you’ll be lucky to see a street name sign anywhere outside the major towns, directions are usually by the mile marker on the Trans Highway. E.G when you get to marker ‘64’ you’ll see a cactus, take the next left dirt road and drive for 20 miles etc etc. While this sounds real dodgy, it actually works!! If it doesn’t you’re in deep shit though petrol is scarce so mistakes can be costly as the traffic signs are, of course, in Spanish too. Just remember Despacio = Slow Down, and even more importantly Peligroso = Dangerous, because with the ordinary state of these roads if you see Peligroso anywhere in the wording of the sign, you should really be shitting yourself!!
The Pits
Baja has infinite surprises, but we’ll just stick to the better known breaks here…
Isla Todos Santos, Mexico
Legendary world-class big wave break located on the Isla Todos Santos Island, 12 miles off Ensenada. You need a boat to get there, which can be rented out from Ensenada, or La Bufadora (usually $20/person). While finding Ensenada is pretty straight forward, "La Bufadora" is two hours away but a cool place to check nonetheless. When you pass through Maneadero (the southern suburb of Ensenada), there will be a stoplight and (perhaps) a sign for Punta Banda or La Bufadora. The road bears off to the right and continues out Punta Banda (which forms the southern side of the bay at Ensenada). At the end is pay parking and a host of vendors plus a sea-spout! If the surf is up, you’ll be able to tell straight away from the spray.
On Todos, "Killer's" is the biggest and best-known break. Located near an offshore canyon on the NW tip of the Island in front of the lighthouse, the waves are typically 2-4 times bigger here than Baja, and reportedly can handle ANY size wave. During one big wave contest there were 60 foot+ faces peeling in!!! There are other breaks, including "Chicken's" which breaks in the channel between the two Islands, and "Thor's Hammer." Don't even bother going out there without a big wave board/gun, the waves are heavy. And like all waves on Baja until you pass Guerro Negro, the water is FREEZING. Pack steamer and booties.
Scorpion Bay
This famous yet inaccessible place is a complete mission to get to and definitely 4-wheel drive only. But those who bother can score epic series of 6 different righthand point breaks, some of which connect (on the right swell) making for a very long ride. The 1st 3 points are the most accessible, with #3 being the best. The others are harder to access, and are less crowded, but still very good. Minimum 100-300 mile drive over rugged dirt roads, so bring plenty of your own supplies if you make the 800+ mile drive from California. Requires a big S-SW swell to show, but a giant swell from the N or NW can sneak in also. Usually best in the summer, but can get crowded also. Very epic when it's on, it has its magic days and magic crowded days too.
Punta Abreojos
Abreojos means "Open Eyes" in Spanish, and that’s just what your little peepers will be doing once you spy the 300 yard long rides and hard offshore winds this place is famous for. The breaks face east, so the wind turns offshore in the afternoon, like really strong offshore!! There are several breaks here, including "Burgers" and "Razor blades" named for its razor sharp reef. Super cruisy campground here for free camping right on the beach and the locals are awesome, superfriendly fisherdudes. But be warned, in summer this place cops the most radical winds ever (it’s also a famous windsurfing spot!!) and you’ll be lucky to want to leave your tent between 2pm-4pm. But the mad waves here make it all worthwhile…
Cabo San Lucas to San Jose Del Cabo
Although this is as far away on the Baja peninsula you can get from the U.S, this of the most popular tourist destinations for California surfers. The warm water breaks around Cabo are only a short plane ride away from the masses, and the resorts, nightclubs and fully out-of-control partying make this place a nightmare at times; especially after you’ve enjoyed the space and lack of crowds in other areas. But hit it in off-season ( I.e.: Not spring break or any holiday periods) and you might just score at one of many quality quality breaks.
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