After I left Bahia de los Angeles, I became a bit of a vagabond, a road warrior, traveling many kilometers and never staying any place more than one night.  I had decided very early in this adventure that I would keep moving until I found someplace nice, and only then would I stay more than one night.  There is much to see in the Baja, but I needed to keep moving, all the while heading south, looking for that perfect spot, that perfect beach.  And while I understand that such a place probably does not exist, I planned to keep searching, all the way to Cabo San Lucas and the end of the Baja.  I left Daggett's and headed back to Mex 1, towards Guerrero Negro.  I took a detour to check out Santa Rosalillita and a surfer camping spot, but pretty deserted, and pretty beat, not much going on there.  So I continued the drive to Guerrero Negro, where I officially crossed over into Baja California Sur, and back to Mountain Time.  I did try to find place, Ojo de Liebre Lagoon Campground south and west of Guerrero Negro, but I got lost, got mixed directions, and ended up driving around a massive area of salt flats, a commercial operation for harvesting sea salt.  They flood huge lagoons, and once the salt water evaporates, they get in there with the heavy equipment and scoop up the salt.  I ended up just driving back to town, where I camped, in town, at Malarrimo RV Park. This is a high-walled campground right in town, and while the toilets were ok, there was no hot water, and no Wifi, but I did have cell phone service for the first time in days.  Also, folks said the restaurant associated with the campground was the best in town, but seemed a bit pricey for me, so I wandered down the street to find a taco joint, my kind of place to eat in the Baja.  You look for plastic table cloths, and maybe plastic chairs, a few locals, and a Pacifico sign, and you probably are in for a good meal.  I think I paid $185 pesos to camp for one night, and one night was enough.  And as I discovered while I was traveling in South America, especially in southern Chile, you tend to run into the same people, or at least those heading in the same direction.  As it turned out, also staying at Malarrima RV Park were the older couple from Arizona in their VW camper, folks I met at Daggett's in Bahia de los Angeles, funny.  They also complained about the lack of hot water, total drag.

After one night in Guerrero Negro, I kept moving, one night at Bahia la Asuncion and Campo Sirena ($150 pesos, nice toilets, a washing machine for laundry, intermittent Wifi, and,  HOT showers!), nothing special, one night at RV Park San Lucas Cove ($150 pesos, flush toilets, hot showers again, and Wifi in the bar/restaurant, which was unavailable the night I was there, special event, fundraiser) in San Lucas, then onto Bahia Concepcion, where I stayed one night at Playa Santispac.  I had now crisscrossed the Baja, from San Felipe and Bahia de los Angeles, across to Guerrero Negro and Bahia la Asuncion along the Pacific, and then back to San Lucas and Bahia Concepcion on the Gulfo California, still looking for that perfect spot.

One afternoon, a couple of folks staying at Daggett's returned from a successful fishing trip.  Apparently, Bahia de los Angeles is especially known as a destination for fishermen, especially those chasing yellowtail.  February is not the season for yellowtail, but there are still lots of fish to be caught, especially if you have a knowledgeable captain.  Two guys went out, and while they only caught one small yellowtail, they caught a bunch of fish, including some monstrous groupers, at least they seemed really big to me.  Fishing in the Sea of Cortez is not what it used to be, but again, if you know what you are doing, you can have a successful trip.  And for me, the most interesting part, was the flock of pelicans which showed up while the fish were being cleaned, it was quite the show.  And while I am no portrait photographer, they were really fun to photograph, just beautiful birds. 
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I made it to Bahia de los Angeles, though it was a long day, and I came close to breaking the one rule of the Baja, driving after dark, as I didn't roll into town, and the campground, until just about 5:00 pm.  The sun sets around 5:30 pm, and it gets dark quickly, especially with the mountains to the west.  As I mentioned, the worst stretch was the "road" after Coco's Corner down to where Ruta 5 hits Mex 1, 21 km of really rough stuff.  After that, it was clear sailing.  After turning off of Mex 1, it is 68 km to Bahia de los Angeles, nice little town, mostly fishing village I think.  I only traveled 176 km total for the day, though took me something like 6.5 hrs.  I stayed three nights at Daggett's Beach Camping just north of town, and at $150 pesos (with a discount the third night for some reason), with flush toilets, hot showers, and quite the view, what a deal.  I really enjoyed my time at Daggett's, nice palapa shelters, almost right on the water.  I also met some nice people there, Tom from Canada, wind surfer, kayaker, SUPer, and surfer, and a nice couple from Arizona in their VW camper.  It is often as much about the people you meet along the road as it is the places you visit.  I biked and paddled, and took lots of pictures.  It was real windy the first couple of days, as it had been most of the trip so far, but the third night, things quieted down enough that I actually had a campfire, burned the last of the wood I had hauled from Tennessee.  I also ran into a guy from Colorado with his girlfriend; I had talked to them at Bahia San Luis Gonzaga south of Puertecitos.  They were traveling in a big modified Ford Transit camper van, looked nice.  I ate out one night, I was the only one in the restaurant, fish burrito, wonderful.  I would end up eating out more than I had planned, it was often just too windy to cook outside, and cooking in my van is not preferred, the smells, the smoke alarm, problems.  What a great place, Bahia de los Angeles, definitely worth the 68 km detour off of Mex 1.
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I shot this video with my GoPro, on the road just north of Puertoecitos.  It is not too long, and should at least it can give you a sense of what the drive south, to Puerteocitos and beyond on Ruta 5 was like.  At least the weather was great, and the scenery was often spectacular.  On the road, Baja style.

Note. Having trouble uploading video, internet just not fast enough to handle, and file size apparently too large.  Check back later to see if I have any more luck.
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I was a bit worried about what I might find heading south on Ruta 5, as a number of folks suggested it was bad.  Dori and Mena, Canadians I met at Campo Uno, had started down the road, but turned around, and took the long way around, back north to Ruta 3 and across the mountains to Ensenada and Mex 1, the main highway in Baja.  But Billy from Campo Uno said I would be fine, even if it was slow going at times, so I figured, what the heck, I was in no hurry, my adventure had just begun.  Well, I obviously made it, and while some of the detours around bridges washed out by a recent hurricane were not too bad, the southern-most stretch, south of Coco's Corner and before joining Mex 1 in Laguna Chapala, sucked.  There were short stretches which were actually worse than anything I experienced on the Carretera Austral in southern Chile, South America, and that is saying something.

After a quick stop in town, in San Felipe, more cash, ice and diesel, I heading south.  Initially, the road was great, as actually the worst part was on the southern edge of town.  There were a few detours around bridges washed out by a recent hurricane, and while the damage was often impressive, the short detours were fine.  I would be very concerned if I tried this drive after rains, as the detours were always through the arroyos, or washes, which flooded during the hurricane to cause all the damage in the first place, so they would be impassible if it rained.

Made it easily (well, with a few bumpy and dusty detours) to Puertecitos, which included a stop at a great roadside bar, Cowpatty.  I camped at Octovio's Camp just on the northern edge of town.  The place was pretty deserted, both the campground and town, and I paid $200 pesos for a spot on the beach with a small palapa, pit toilets (which were on the edge of being gross), and nothing else, just me, and a few fishermen.  While the cost is only a little over $10US, this turned out to be expensive, given what you get.  I paid $150 pesos at other campgrounds, and got clean, flush toilets, showers (even hot on occasion), and occasionally WiFi (which generally sucked, but this turned out to be what you get in Baja).   It would be the next day which would be a real challenge, especially after I decided to make a run for Bahia de los Angeles, many kilometers away.  And, had to avoid the one rule everyone repeated, don't drive after dark in the Baja.  It would be a long day.

The drive down Mex 5, or Ruta 5 as I call it, was easy, and the scenery was wonderful.  Often mountains loomed on the horizon to the west, more rock and hills to the east, before finally getting a view of the Sea of Cortez, or Gulfo California.  The landscape was often draped in flowering lavender plants, and while it is all desert, it is always beautiful in that dry, tan-colored sort of way.  Cacti began to spring up, different species though the giant saguaro are my favorite.  This drive includes some of the driest parts of the Baja, but still a wonderful trip.  The road conditions were good, at least to San Felipe, though beyond that, I had already heard that conditions change as you head south out of San Felipe.  I also got to experience the first of what would turn out to be many: an army check point.  They all carried automatic rifles, were not that friendly, and never smiled.  They asked me to get out of the van, and open the back doors.  They poked around a bit, checked under the mattress, but no worries and I was soon on my way.

It took about 3 hours to get to San Felipe, nice little town of maybe 17,000 people.  I went straight to the malecon (waterfront promenade, kind of like their version of a boardwalk), checked out the view, and had my first Mexican beer, think it was a Modelo, with a lime, refreshing.  The exchange rate is pretty favorable, maybe $18 to $19 pesos to the dollar, but some things are pretty cheap regardless.  I paid $30 pesos for that first beer, which in US dollars is a little over $1.50.  I think I can handle that.  There is also a bank in town, so I was able to get some pesos.  I really believe that it is best to have local currency, even in Mexico where most places will take US dollars, as you get a better exchange rate if you leave it up to a bank, and not some vendor or bartender.  For example, I ended up in a bar with some folks from the campground my second night in San Felipe, and drank a "few" beers.  Initially, they asked for $25 US for 5 beers, but when I asked about what it would be in pesos, they said it would be $320 pesos, or about $3.20 per beer.  I'll stick to pesos, local currencies are always the way to go.

There are a few campgrounds in and around town. I ended up at Campo Turistico #1, or simply Campo Uno, mostly because it was at the far northern end of the town.  Simple place with palapas, basically beach shelters stacked one after the other, rocky beach, but nice, a very mellow place.  A few folks stay there all winter, including Billy, a house painter from Washington, who also sings, and plays a mean 12-string guitar.  I also met Dori and Mena here, a couple from Montreal, Canada, traveling with their dog, in a small camper/trailer.  They were especially interested in my Sprinter, and what I had done with the conversion.  Check out their YouTube page, Adventures of Dori and Mena (or something like that).  It was fun to meet them and chat, exchange notes on where to go, what to do, always looking for more information while traveling.  This turned out to be a better than average campground, $300 pesos per night, for pretty tight quarters, and, no hot water, though they did have flush toilets.  There was WiFi in the main building, a small restaurant, but it was slow, and did not always work.  I stayed two nights, and had fun.  I biked a bit, exploring town, and got my paddle board out, Garth from South Africa/UK really enjoyed that, but the water was cold, and the wind always picked up during the afternoon.  And, it got chilly at night, downright cold on the second night, even cranked up my little propane heater (thanks Chris).  The second night, Billy played a local dive Gringo bar, a few of us went for dinner and a few beers, was a fun night.  But I needed to head south, so after two nights, I was on my way. 

Survived the border crossing into Mexicali on Hwy 7 South, east of the main (and new) border crossing.  I pretty much blew through, though they were backed up going the other way, US ICE agents doing everything they can to prevent the current national emergency, the uncontrolled flow of drugs and criminals from the south.  You no longer need a vehicle permit if you are just traveling in the Baja, just a stamp in the passport in immigration and you are on your way.  The path through Mexicali was great, signs directed me easily towards Rt. 5 and San Felipe.  I was on my way, heading south into the Baja, another adventure had begun.  Baja California, more than simply a place, its reputation suggests it is more of a state of mind.  I hope so, I am ready, I am excited.

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Time for another adventure, time to hit the road in my van.  For this adventure, the plan is pretty simple.  I will drive to California, USA, then cross into Mexico around Mexicali, and drive south, into Baja California, Mexico.  I will again mostly camp in my van, hopefully along the beach, Sea of Cortez along the eastern coast, and the Pacific Ocean along the western coast.  I will drive, hike and bike, paddle and swim (if possible, it is winter down there), and take lots of photographs.  Hopefully you will follow along on my current adventure, Viva Baja!