Ahhh, Bahia de Concepcion

Bay of Concepcion

Tom looks out into the bay

View from home

 Bay of Conception  12/10/10
We left Mulege and didn’t get too far because we found the Bay of Conception. Clear blue tropical water, white sandy beaches, and though there was little shade or palm trees, it was still very appealing to stop and spend some time here.  We were captured by a small beach called El Requeson where a spit went out between two bays to an island just off shore. Again we found a group of Canadians (British Columbians) who had banded together in their large motor homes and trailers and had built palapas around their rigs to keep out the wind. They looked settled in for the winter. A good percentage of the people we find here are from Canada and the rest are from the Pacific Northwest and Rocky Mt. states.  We pulled little Tortuga right up to the water and had a nice day/night just hanging out and not driving for once, watching the pelicans doing their synchronized dance as they dove for fish.

Vultures hanging out in the dusk

In the evening  we took a walk to another nearby beach, which seemed even more appealing as each camping site had a little “grass shack” palapa built into it.   A cool sight was the vultures which come in to roost each night.  Their silhouettes could be seen decorating the tops of cactus, each with its own little perch.  At this time of year, there were only a few people camping there.  We may try to find this place for a week’s stay on our way back North.   We are trying to decide what it would be like to just hang out here by the water, and wonder if we wouldn’t get bored after a while.  It would probably be a lot more fun if we had our own group of friends (hint, hint) camping next door.  I think maybe a small town would be more appealing to hang in... At least you could get tacos on demand when you needed  to. 

To La Paz 12/11/10

Since yesterday was a day of rest, we decided to put in a long drive, 290 miles to La Paz. The road went along the water to Loreto and then crossed over the pass though the Sierra La Giganta Mt. range.  It was a really fantastic stretch with the layers of huge blue mountains fading into the distance andreally green valleys, colored by mesquite trees, punctuated by cordon cactus poking up through the greenery.   In La Paz we tried to find a campground close into town, but weren’t able to locate it where our map indicated.  Instead we had a little accident  with a dead tree which we hit with the top of our camper and knocked it over.  There was only a little damage done to the camper, but we felt sorry for the tree. It’s really difficult to know were the top of Tortuga is, as there is an overhang over the cab... Usually we are aware of that limitation, but it went off the radar with that tree. 
     LaPaz is the biggest town we’ve driven into in Mexico so far.  We just passed through on our way to a beach 20 km North East of town where we could camp for free.  We will return to La Paz sometime and hope to find a safe place to park in town so we can explore a bit.  Having a camper is a big disadvantage for checking out towns, as it is not recommended to park on the street... it has a big target on it for thieves. So unless you find a campground, it is difficult to leave it for long.  We are still working this out.
Thanks for checking in with us.  If you'd like to leave us a message, email us at tcope@pobox.com!