Don't Drive at Night!

This is good advice! Unfortunatey we found ourselves doing just that heading into Loreto. Here's how it happened;

As some of you know, we are not really early morning people. We had a leisurely breakfast in El Rosario with a nice couple from Burnaby and being the social couple that we are, we did not get onto the road until after 9 AM. Google calculated that this would be a 5 and a 1/2 hour trip. After 2 hours and only 140 km, we realised that we were not going to get there in that time frame. One reason being that although the highways are paved, they are unbelievably narrow with absolutely NO shoulder. I'm pretty sure I peed myself a couple of times coming around a sharp corner to be met by a double semi over the middle line! I'm glad Brad was driving as we would be down one of the cliffs otherwise.

Another reason was the road construction. I don't think this picture captures the horrendous detour that you are forced to drive on with all the dust and all the while meeting huge semis coming towards you! 

I have to comment on the geography during our drive. I envisioned the Baja as a fairly flat and arrid peninsula and although it is arrid, it is defininely not flat! Our first leg took us through the Valley of the Cirios. These are Dr Seuss-like cacti that are sometimes over ten feet tall with a little tuft of 'hair' on top.

The scenery then included very large seguaro-like cacti called Cordon with many arms, different than the ones we have seen in Arizona. These cacti are  very old, this one could be 1,200 to 1,500 years old.

North of Guerrero Negro we passed through a massive boulder field aptly named the Valley of the Boulders.

After reaching Guerrero Negro, we were subjected to the Plano de Viscaino. Now, this was what I was expecting!

Upon reaching, after 500 km, the Baja's only true oasis at San Ignacio, our plans to stop for lunch were dashed when we realised we still had 250 km to go to Loreto.  Just enough time for gas and a few snacks and on the road again.

Another 100 km in and we were met with this beautiful view of the Sea of Cortez.

We pushed on through mountain roads across the Sierra de Agua Verde as darkness closed in. Beautiful...but.... 

A little grainy because it was dusk and we still had an hour to drive! We made it to Loreto after about 40 minutes of terror as  we passed a horse that blended in so well with it's surroundings that we only noticed it on the way by, but all was well.  Lessons learned cheaply, this time. 

Next is Loreto, a wonderful town on the Baja that has kept its Mexican charm despite an influx of foreigners and big investments from Mexico's richest-man-in-the-world figure (really, he is) Carlos Slim.

Hasta Luego, B&L