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Our Travel Adventures
Welcome to the Adventures of Larry and Connie Farquhar.
Baja California, MX RV Trip - First 2 Weeks
La Paz, When we bought our 2023 Leisure Travel Van (LTV) "Unity" motorhome in May 2023, we learned of a caravan heading to the tip of Baja California, Mexico. What was special about this caravan, was that it consisted only of LTV vans. I had always wanted to drive the entire length of Baja California but never made this RV trip in our big rig. While we've never preferred to pay for a caravan trip, we decided to give this one a go.
This is a 35-day trip, consisting of 7 LTV vans. The caravan company added an optional follow-on trip on the Mexico mainland for another 35 days. This second caravan would leave from Arizona and end up in Mazatlán before turning around. We were also interested in this trip, because it stopped at the Mexico "Copper Canyon" for a few days.
This is a 35-day trip, consisting of 7 LTV vans. The caravan company added an optional follow-on trip on the Mexico mainland for another 35 days. This second caravan would leave from Arizona and end up in Mazatlán before turning around. We were also interested in this trip, because it stopped at the Mexico "Copper Canyon" for a few days.
In mid-January, we met the caravan group at Potrero Campground near San Diego, CA. Manny, our caravan "wagon master" led us to the border where we walked over and got a 6-month Visa for Mexico. The next day, we crossed over to Mexico through Tecate and headed to Ensenada. The crossing went smoothly. We stayed in Ensenada for 3 nights in a full hook-up RV site. Typical for Mexican RV parks, the electricity was very high (130+ volts), but settled down at night so we could run our heat pump. The days were okay, but the nights were still cold.
Our first line up getting ready to go. We are in rig #3.
Manny is our Wagon Master. He has a nice set up with his Smart car towing a trailer with his pop out tent.
While in Ensenada, we got a bus tour to a couple of wineries. A great way to start this trip. LA Cetto winery was our fist stop with a tour and tasting. Good wine, which we walked away with a couple bottles. We then stopped at the nice, posh "Maglen" resort for lunch. Lunch was very good. At the second winery, we sampled several glasses of terrible wine. It wasn't even worth remembering their name. Our second day in Ensenada included a trip to a special needs orphanage to drop off some requested donations, to a blowhole with some souvenir shopping, lunch at a wildlife preserve, a city tour, and tequila tasting. The tequila tasting was excellent, sampling almost a dozen types of tequila, AND they provided 5 small margaritas! This definitely helped with group bonding!
Tequila and Margarita tasting at Dona Engracia
Mescal is the tequila that usually has a worm in it. This one had a scorpion.
PaiPai animal sanctuary
Dona Engracia tequila class
Jim in our group paid extra to hold the jaguar cub
We went to Dona Engracia's main distillery in Puerto Vallerta for a tasting. This shop in Ensenada was a lot nicer.
Cathedral in Ensenada
Our tour director's daughter came along and played a few songs she had written.
Our lunch at the PaiPai animal sanctuary restaurant
La Bufadora Massive marine geyser fed by a sea cave & reaching heights of over 100 ft. above sea level.
On our way to see the Blowhole, we passed by this restaurant selling grilled clams. We had to have one on the way back. They were delicious!
Gabriel House is a special needs orphanage in Ensenada. We stopped to drop off our donations.
This was our second stop for wine tasting. The building is a lot nicer than the wine was.
Our lunch stop was at this beautiful resort, Maglen.
At LA Cetto
Holding vats at LA Cetto
Aging barrels at LA Cetto
Our next stop was a one-night stop dry-camping on El Pabillon beach. Then we moved on to Catavina. This drive took us through some scenic desert, with large boulders and a variety of cactus. Unfortunately, it was very windy making for a challenging drive dodging the numerous pot-holes. Due to the strong winds, we ended up staying here an extra day. There was a small cafe across the street where we had lunch. Dinner was provided the first night.
Oops Manny found a soft spot. Only took two guys to give him a push.
Clam shells
Bocce Ball on the beach
Fidel's trailer park is where we stayed at.
Narrow roads with no shoulders and drop offs were not my favorite.
Nice wide shoulders are nicer when the big semi trucks come zooming by.
Cardon/Elephant Cactus and Cirio/Boojum Tree. Spanish name/English name.
Scenery was beautiful along this stretch
All set up behind a hotel for a couple of nights.
We had a beautiful sunset that night
That only got better!
Little cafe across from the hotel. The carne asada quesadillas were delicious
Since we were now a day behind schedule, we left at 6:30am heading to Guerrero Negro. This drive took us into Baja California Sur. Being behind schedule, we rushed to get drinking water, diesel and propane, they picked up our laundry, and we went on a great Gray Whale watching tour. The whale watching was wonderful, as the whales came up to the boat and Connie got to "pet" a whale. That evening, we had a fantastic "welcoming" seafood dinner and our cleaned laundry was returned ($10). This was a nice visit, but we only stayed one (busy) day here.
Loading up for our whale watching.
Look at that smile!
Our "Welcome to Baja Sur" dinner. This restaurant is at the RV park as well. Lobster, shrimp, fish, and pounded scallop.
Seals along the way. I would have liked to see them jump up there.
We had to drive through a salt mine to get to the whale lagoon. This pile of salt is used for many things. Food, roads, and industrial.
Peek a boo. What a thrilling site!
There is a museum at the RV park where we received our briefing before we left.
San Lucas
Getting back on schedule, the caravan drove on to San Lucas. We stayed here for two nights just relaxing. The group went out for dinner together, but no tours at this stop. The next stop was at Mulege for 3 nights. Unfortunately, Connie and I started getting colds on this part of the trip. We both stayed home while the group got a tour of Mulege with lunch. At lest they were kind to us and brought our lunch back to us. The next day, a wine and pizza dinner was provided. I stayed back but Connie went and brought me some pizza. Since this RV park was muddy, the group decided to leave a day early.
San Lucas. A boat full of pelicans is a common site.
Tide was out but the shore was walkable
There was a permanent occupied lot next to us. Made for a pretty picture.
Several people in our group brought their inflatable SUP with them.
This was a sunrise from our site
There was a lady selling tamales one day. These were the best!!
These folks brought their inflatable kayak
This was a cool looking plant. Google Image says it's Beach Bells, a succulent, Kalanchoe manginii
Impressive gate
Nice cafe we went to dinner at and to watch the playoffs
Cheers! I had a Paloma, yummy!
Cute painting in the back room
The RV park in Mulege
Doesn't take us long to set up.
Non working fountain, but it was a pretty view from our rig.
Gorgeous NON HEATED pool.
Continuing the trip, we only drove about an hour to Santispac Beach, where we stayed for 5-nights. This was a pretty spot, dry-camping on the beach near the ocean shore. While here, the first 2-days were just free "beach" days. The third night, dinner was provided at the local restaurant. The next day was a full day, including a boat trip across the bay. The crew stopped in a cove and dove for clams and scallops, also spearing a Trigger fish. We then headed to a remote beach, where the crew prepared this fresh catch for lunch. They had also brought a larger fish to cook for tacos, but it was taking a long time to cook. Most of our group got tired sitting in the sun and they worried about their dogs. All but 5 of us left early to return to the vans. Connie and I stayed until the fish was done cooking, then we all returned to our beach. We had fish tacos back at the camper vans. The last day was another free beach day, but the group had a potluck that evening.
Some of the campgrounds have fire pits and wood for sale
Leaving our rigs for the day
Our boat captain off to catch our lunch
Speared a trigger fish
It was nice they provided chairs at the beach
Setting up for lunch
The trigger fish was served sashimi style.
Clams and scallops were chopped up and served ceviche style
The shells were our dishes
Yumm! Larry had a quesadilla, lol.
This was the fish they slow grilled for the tacos. I'm not sure what it was but it was from deep waters and it was tough.
Our beach for the day
This fish was good though it was tough with almost a chicken texture.
Arriving at Santispac Beach
Enjoying a beach day!
Santispac Beach
Little birds looking for a handout
Moon and Venus
Sunrise at Santispac Beach
Next stop, Loreto for 2-nights. The first day was just relaxing with the group having dinner together. The next day, a walking tour of Loreto was provided. Many people had lunch out and did some souvenir shopping. Connie bought me a comfortable dress shirt. That evening, we walked back into town for a provided dinner.
Skirt steak and baked potato at Mita Gourmet, Loreto.
Mita Gourmet patio
The beginning of the Camino Real
This building was the first indoor market in Loreto. Today it's a high end hotel and restaurant. Notice the lattice ceiling.
Walking up 4 flights of stairs to the roof.
Pool on the roof. The bottom of the pool is the ceiling inside the lobby
Nice tile work on the stairs
Inside the hotel
This is where the first inside market used to be.
Loreto's crest
Loreto Cathedral
Colorful decorations inside Orlando's restaurant for lunch
Inside one of the shops
Mita Gourmet Restaurant Loreto
Group photo
Provided dinner at Claudias Margaritas in Loreto
This portion of the caravan tour is a little over half done and we just arrived in La Paz. The drive here was a long day, driving over 5 hours. We stopped for diesel and propane. When we arrive in La Paz, everyone headed to Sam's Club or Walmart to restock on groceries. Not only did Connie and I get groceries, we needed drinking water. The RV Park we're staying in is pretty nice, with FHU sites and good electricity. More important, there's also a "hot" tub here (more like a "warm" tub), but it feels great. The group went on a walking tour of La Paz today, with lunch provided. Connie and I again elected to stay home but they brought us our lunches. We'll be here in La Paz for 4-nights. We've got a couple more tours planned for the next couple of days, then we start making our way back north to the USA for our second tour.
Enjoying the campfire in a can
Larry was in the hot tub one hour after arriving.
We have seen so many "Earth Roamers" on this trip. This one is set up across from us. First time we've seen a 2 story one.
Spotted this guy at our propane stop.
The adventure continues....
Location (Map)
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