Back to the Beach!

It was time for more beach camping, and I would find lots of it along the Bahia Concepcion, back on the east coast of the Baja.  After I left San Lucas, I ended up at Playa Santispac, the first of many campgrounds along Bahia Concepcion, a large, shallow bay off the Gulfo California.  I drove through the town of Mulege on the way south, a town I heard really good things about.  And, the place is a total oasis in the desert that is the Baja, complete with palm trees, lots of green, and, water, a river runs through town.  I only stopped for supplies, looked around a bit, before heading off to the beach, but Mulege did seem like an interesting place.

My first stop was Playa Santispac, and while I would later learn it was not as busy these days as it used to be 10 or more years ago, I thought it was pretty crazy.  Big RVs lined the beach, each associated with a small palapa.  The pit toilets were totally gross, and there were no showers, no amenities of any kind really, except the existence of two restaurants, one of which had a live "band" the evening I was there.  I did not eat at the restaurant, but I did end up drinking a few beers there, as I again ran into people I had met previously in during my trip, the couple from Colorado with the big Ford van.  They had picked up an Israeli on his bike since I last saw them at Bahia de los Angeles, I guy I think I remember passing south of Coco's Corner on the brutal Rt. 5 south of Puertecitos.  We chatted a bunch, as they were heading to South America, the guy from Colorado (no girlfriend), and the biker from Israel, though not together.  And as I spent a lot of time in South America, at least in Chile and southern Argentina, they had lots of questions.  Again, it is fun to keep running into the same people as we all wander south in the Baja.  I only stayed one night at Santispac, just too much for me.  I can't imagine RVs 3-deep lined up along the beach like you would have seen ten years ago.

I headed 22 km south along Mex 1 to the campground at El Requeson, which turned out to be great, except for the wind.  This camping area (can't really call it a campground as there are no amenities of any kind), is really low key, and on a spit of sand, which at low tide, connects with a nearby island.  I drove as far out as I dared, to the end of the spit, at least the end at high tide.  I liked this place, and while not my perfect beach, it was great, except for the wind.  Oh, did I mention the wind?  Anyway, later in the afternoon a guy came around to collect $150 pesos, same as at Santispac, but without the restaurants, and live music.  The sun was out, and even with the wind, it was a great afternoon, especially after the tide went out and I could explore the island, take a few photographs, and simply enjoy the day.  I stayed two nights here, biked and paddled the one full day I had here, though by mid-afternoon, the wind made it chilly, even in the sun.  I chatted with some interesting folks from California (involved in the off-road racing which is so important in the Baja), tried to stay out of the wind, and relaxed along the beach.  This was a nice place to hang, a few RVs camped for the season, a few transients like me who would wander in for a day or two, and, the vendors which visit, locals who would visit all of the beaches along the Bahia Concepcion.  I bought a couple of tamales one evening, and a particularly persistent guy plied me with cold Pacificos until I bought a small table cloth and a blanket.  But trust me, I got a good deal, even a cold beer was not enough to get me to overpay for some blanket probably made in a huge factory in China.  What I didn't get was a deal on the scallops, couldn't even buy one.  A friend of the blanket vendor was out there at low tide harvesting scallops in a huge fan-shaped shell, and he wouldn't sell me any, he did not harvest enough to sell, they were for his family.  I drank a Pacifico with him as well.  It was great to get back to a real beach, a Baja beach, even with the wind.  I would consider stopping back at El Requeson on my way back north.

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