Baja & The Whales In The Spring

chnlisle

chnlisle

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I/We now have a date for our trip to San Ignacio Lagoon and other great places this coming Spring. At least three of us will be crossing at Mexicali Monday morning, March 25, 2013. We found that it's best to get into Mexicali early so we can get our Visas before lunch. Otherwise we'll need to wait until after 2PM. If you live north of Los Angeles going in through Mexicali adds only 20 mile over a TJ entry, and it's a way easier and a much more senic drive to Gonzaga.

We had a wonderful time last Spring and I encourage any of you who have never been to "The Whales" to join us for a life altering experience. One of the really great things about traveling with Gene Rubin and Phil Salazar et al is we have live music every night.

I'm not in charge of any of this ( I gave that up when I retired) so folks can plan their own agenda. As we get closer to leaving I'll give you Pam and my agenda so you'll know where we'll be on specific dates.

If you have any fears I can only tell you that there is safety in numbers and we had absolutely no incidents last spring nor did any of the people we ran into on the trip. Here's a video taste of our trip;
 
Sigh, if only I could. We will be taking a week off a month before then. Being a working stiff, vacation time will not accrue fast enough to join you. It almost appears this is becoming an annual thing for you? I think 2014 may work out for me if so. No need to reply, just keep in mind if you consider going again then.
 
I'm in. Ted, it likely will not be an annual thing. Maybe other trips to Baja but not necessarily the grey whales trip. You might consider rearranging your plans around this trip. I figure you've seen our video already but just in case: http://youtu.be/FMZ6ClK71kU
 
One of the really great things about traveling with Gene Rubin and Phil Salazar et al is we have live music every night.



Here is a related quote I came across:

"Life was hard for the pioneers but every now and again, someone would get out the fiddle and make it all worse."
 
Here is a related quote I came across:

"Life was hard for the pioneers but every now and again, someone would get out the fiddle and make it all worse."


......Or even worse a banjo!

Hey Y'all

There were some scheduling problems and the San Ignacio time line needed to be modified slightly. So here is the new Itinerary for those of us crossing at Mexicali;

Early A.M Friday March 29th - Cross into Mexico at Mexicali
After getting tourist cards on the 29th we head for Gonzaga.
We'll spend Friday night March 29th and Saturday March 30th in Gonzaga.
Sunday March 31, after stopping for a $20 beer at Coco's Corners, we'll make our way to Laguna San Ignacio and camp there overnight.
Whales on Monday April 1st.
We plan to leave the lagoon when we get back in from whale petting April 1st and head over to Bahia Concepcion.

Last year we used this operator to go out into the lagoon;
http://www.bajaecotours.com
Because of their location it is a shorter boat ride out to the whales but a much longer drive and difficult to find at night.

When we first went out to the whales over 20 years ago we used Pachico. He and his famed boatman Chema are legend down there. Pachico used to be El Ejido Presidente. It's much easier to drive to his camp and even though the boat ride is a bit longer you still spend the same amoung of time with the whales. So after confering with a few of my fellow travelers we decided to use Pachico this year.
http://www.pachicosecotours.com

After the whales Pam and I would like to stay at Santispac or some other nice beach on the Sea of Cortez side for a few days. I know some folks want to go surfing over on the Pacific side but I think we're going to spend some time kayaking in Bahia Concepcion but we're flexible to all ideas so let me know yours.

Jay
 
Jay,

I totally agree. Getting into camp in the dark last year was an exhausting travail with all the dirt roads heading off in all sorts of directions. Finding Pachico's campo is simple and an the extra 20 minutes on the boat to reach the whale viewing area is a smooth ride. Plus, I'm happy to support the "real McCoy" rather than the "me too's" who came along years later with their American funding.

Gene
 
Happy to hear this. We used Pachico's last year and will again. His son "Ranna" runs a good operation. He told us many stories of his father's exploits.
 
......Or even worse a banjo!

“A gentleman is someone who knows how to play the banjo and doesn't.”

Mark Twain
 
I was going for the cheap laugh and should have chosen my words more carefully and I apologize . You know who you are.

Some of the most beautiful instruments made are banjos and I wish I kenw how to play one .
 
Are you guys going to be able to join us?


We are seriously considering going, if so it would be the first week in April.
 
Gene Rubin saw something interesting on the http://www.discoverbaja.com website. These guys are basically an insurance company but they've been around for ove 20 years and have an excellent reputation and they provide a lot of information on Baja. If you join (family membership is $39 per year) you can get your Mexican Travel Visas (FMM) from them through the mail. You simply scan your pasports, fill out the FFM form on the web site and send it to them. They charge $32 instead of the $26 it cost at the border in Mexico. The time and frustration you save by getting it in the mail has to be worth the extra 6 bucks plus membership. You can also get your Mexican Insurance through them at a very good price.
 
Jay, I am definitely joining Discover Baja as well. I think everyone should join so as to save us all a lot of time. In order to get the tourist cards at the border in Mexicali there is no parking to speak of and it can take a really long time to get the paper work done. To be able to just breeze on through Mexicali and on down the road to San Felipe will make all the difference in the world. I recall the crossing at Tijuana is easier to get the Visas than at Mexicali but if you want to see the incredibly more beautiful Sea of Cortez coast and save time (since most of the road is sadly now paved), crossing at Mexicali is the way to go, plus our first overnights are on the Sea of Cortez at Gonzaga Bay.
 
It appears the Vagabundos https://www.vagabundos.com also will get you an FMM using the same method as http://www.discoverbaja.com/ I went with Discover Baja because I have been with them in past years and liked them. They were also the first to answer and return my email questions. The person that answered me was the same woman that I spoke with way back in the 90's. I think that counts for something.
 
According to posters on Baja Nomads, the pavement heading south from Puertocitos is within 3 miles of Gonzaga. Bummer. I remember 20 years ago, just the talk of future pavement to Gonzaga gave me the creeps. Now between paving this road and the Laguna San Ignacio road, I could literally use my Honda sedan for this trip!
 
Last March it was 12 miles from Gonzaga. I suppose you could camp for 10 days out of your Civic but why would you want to?
 
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