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Launch Into Adventure
by Capt. Pat Rains
Your guide to the Baja Peninsula’s myriad launch ramps
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Oh, no! It starts the instant you cross the U.S.-Mexico border and begin navigating your rig through that first Tijuana "loop-de-loop." The road signs are confusing, but you have a choice of either the toll road (Cuota) or free road (Libremiento) to reach Ensenada. The toll road is much smoother and wider, more direct and well worth the three $5 USD tolls (or about that for the tow vehicle and the boat trailer). If you pay each toll with a $10 USD bill, you’ll get change in pesos, which is much handier than trying to locate a bank for small change. If you make it onto the toll road and through Tijuana without a last-minute lane change, you’re doing better than most of us. When you approach Ensenada, the harbor route is the easier way through town.
Highway 1 is legendary. About 15 miles south of Ensenada, the roadbed narrows to one lane in either direction, the painted dividing lines disappear and the safety shoulders drop off into jagged ditches. Highway 1 becomes a patched strip of blacktop you must share with speeding buses and overloaded trucks that prefer to take their half right down the middle.
Vacas in the Vados
Many arroyos carve dry gullies across the desert plane, and a "vado" is a short but rather deep dip in the highway that accommodates an arroyo. If it rained recently, look out for water in the bottom of the arroyos — especially those near San Quintín, Santa Inez and crossing the Vizcaíno Desert.
More important, look out for vacas in the vados. "Vacas" are cows! They are seldom fenced off from the highway, and they love to hang out munching greener weeds found along the bottoms of the vados. Many a radiator and windshield have been lost to vacas in the vados. Herds of goats are sometimes a road hazard north of Loreto — but it’s mainly those vacas in the vados that keep sane folks off Highway 1 after dark.
Good News
OK, it’s not all a white-knuckle type of adventure.
You’ll love the gas and diesel prices south of Ensenada. In June 2006, unleaded gas was $1.85 USD per gallon and diesel was $2.30 USD per gallon — much less than in the U.S.
Pemex stations are found about every 100 miles or so; most carry diesel, but not all. New stations are open in remote L.A. Bay and Gonzaga Bay. Most Pemex stations are open 24/7 — except on holidays. Between Christmas and New Year’s, the Pemex drivers are often given the week off, so some stations off Highway 1 may run dry. Pemex stations have acres of parking where you can make a U-turn or get out to stretch and check your rig. But they don’t sell maps.
RV parks and campgrounds abound, so you can plan your daylight runs and nightly stops according to your fuel range and safe speed. We try to camp near our last fuel stop of the day. Leaving from San Diego at dawn, we have stopped to fuel and camp at Cataviña (Rancho Santa Inez campground about a mile east of Highway 1), San Ignacio RV Park (before the big drop down to the Sea of Cortez) or Santa Rosalia (after the big drop-off), Puerto Escondido (Tripui RV Park), La Paz and Cabo San Lucas.
What’s New
Puerto Escondido is our favorite trailerboating spot, because it has Isla Carmen, Loreto for shore stuff and Tripui RV Park. Puerto Escondido has a nice new fuel dock and secure parking, and Tripui has been rebuilt since a fire. Santa Rosalia’s new municipal marina will have a launch ramp in the harbor this fall. In San Jose del Cabo, when the new marina at Puerto Los Cabos opens this fall as well, it will have a broad ramp and a fuel dock with an RV park and beach camping nearby. Also, expect big improvements to the L.A. Bay ramps by Summer 2007.
To learn the latest road conditions, check with Discover Baja in San Diego (www.discoverbaja.com) or Vagabundos del Mar (www.vagabundosdelmar.com) in Rio Vista, California, for their valuable newsletters and maps specific to trailering your boat down the Baja Peninsula. Both clubs offer Mexican insurance, tourist cards, newsletters and RV caravans or small-boat events in Baja California. You’ll plan your road trip just as you plan any sea voyage. But if you get delayed, don’t push too hard on Highway 1 to reach someplace you can’t get to safely before dark. Alternatives abound — and that’s part of the adventure. With sleeping bags, you can pull off almost any side road that’s wide enough and spend the night if you have to. We’ve done this unintentionally in small towns and in wide pull-offs right next to Highway 1. No problema.
Beachin’
If you can launch and retrieve over hard sand, you can put in almost anywhere. El Rosario on the Pacific is a popular spot not very far off Highway 1. But if you’re scouting out a new beach on your own, study the sand’s firmness and the wave conditions during high- through low-tide cycles.
If you’re not on a designated public beach, the property owner may show up (right after you’re all set up) to ask you for a $5 USD to $10 USD fee for permission to launch or camp on his land. Then the family children may come visiting to bring you a basket of fresh, hot tortillas. Ramps
Baja California’s many launch ramps vary widely in what they’re made of and their present condition. Some scary-looking ramps composed of coral rubble, broken bricks and asphalt patches are serviceable anytime, yet some beautiful grooved-concrete ramps are usable only at high tide due to giant drop-offs or beach bottoms that don’t slope enough.
Check out the sidebar for a detailed listing of the Baja Peninsula’s launch ramps — and pay attention to weather forecasts during your trip, especially if you plan on a summertime adventure. Hurricanes and strong storms can hit these areas, so plan accordingly.
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This article first appeared in the August 1, 2006 issue of Sea Magazine. All or parts of the information contained in this article might be outdated. |
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