IHANA.COM big trip - diary - August 2001

Road from San Felipe to Bahia Los Angeles

Giant cacti

Monday 27 - Thursday 30 August

Heading out of San Felipe to find a camp spot for the night, we landied around the desert in the dark trying to get away from the road. Unfortunately this attracted the attention of the Mexican Army which despatched two soldiers who came sprinting across the desert with guns and torches. They were very suspicious as we were unknowingly near the airport and searched the landy, demanding to know where our 'guns, drogas y chicas' were. They finally gave up and let us sleep there anyway.

The next day we left for Bahia Los Angeles on the worst roads so far with endless corrugations which rattled the landy to bits and filled it with dust. The only option is to drive at 70kmh to 'float' over the bumps, any other speed and the vibrations rattle teeth out!

We had some respite from the road on the many deserted beaches where we had a swim to cool off. With the sun going down it was necessary to camp in the desert. B was viciously attacked by a spiky thing lurking on the ground which embedded itself into his ankle, making him yelp and hop about in pain only to get spiked by another cactus! Moving the landy to find a better camp spot away from the road, B then reversed into a giant cactus, look here for the damage.

Bahia de Los Angeles was a tiny place beside a beautiful bay full of islands, we went swimming and then decided to head on and try to make the Pacific side of Baja for the evening. Heading onto more rough and dusty roads, we had need of yet another swim beside a shack inhabited by Pancho and some passing army blokes. He sold us some beer and were invited to sample some 'rum', which was pretty bad.

Landying on we were plodding up an interminable corrugated sand track and the landy started making some awful knocking noises and smoking badly. Being in the middle of the desert, 100kms from Guerrero Negro, we had no choice but to continue at 50kmh, with the drum 'n' bass cranked right up. We found a mechanic in town the following day and he discovered that one injector was cracked. We slept in the roof tent in the mechanics yard after playing football with the locals and were awoken at dawn by a cacaphony of barking stray dogs and squalking mad chickens. The injector got repaired (see here for the details) and we left town late in the afternoon.