DAY 5: This was supposed to be the day we left San Ignacio early and drove to Catavina. Well we did get up early... and then we enjoyed yet another wonderful meal prepared by Terry and her helpers... and then we hit the road. We headed north (as you would... driving to Canada) and we continued on our way...oblivious as to how many military checks we were actually driving in to... my, my... but those boys are efficient. We got stopped and checked no less than five.. that's 5... times. Thank goodness they accepted our explanation in 'spanglish' of our journey from La Paz to Canada.... and they didn't take exception to Miss Sophie (how could they? she was the epitome of elegance and discretion) and they only shook their heads and muttered things like "oh my god" when faced with the impossible task of actually, physically checking the stuff we'd crammed into every window and opening of the van.... and thank goodness, in each case, they decided to trust that we were not dastardly drug smugglers, and let us pass with a mere 'stirring' of the top layer of each area of the van... phew! If they had truly searched the van it have would taken us hours to repack (a task we are preparing ourselves for as we draw closer to the Mexican/US border... ). Anyway, every stop was not unpleasant.. after all, they were just doing their job and were very polite to us.
We drove on... and on... and on. The highway is under 'improvement' in many places. What this actually means is that some (not all) of the potholes have been filled... a certain percentage have been left so as to catch the unwary and slow them down significantly!! The shoulders remain... oh, shall we say, seriously lower than the road... with a single painted white line which is supposed to (I think) guard you from driving over (and seriously down) off the shoulder. Now when I say 'down' I'm talkin' in some cases a foot or two... in others a metre or two... and in still more areas... a huge, frightening, 'it's not the fall that kills ya' distance. Grand Canyon step aside. The Baja wins.... Add to that the lack of passing lanes, the fact that the driving lane is just a titch (and by that I mean an inch or two) wider than the average vehicle, the huge transport trucks, the crazy local drivers, and the crazier touristas who seem to not know any better.... and you get the picture. We're learning the local vernacular too. Flashing lights mean just the same as home.. "danger ahead"... but a flashing left turn signal means "it's safe to pass me gringo... if you dare". And.. those 'safe to pass' signals usually show up during a definite "no passing" zone... with posted signs and everything. But it's all ok. They have guard rails on the windy, curving, steep-sided sections... they're about 10" high and made of lightweight metal... really useful as you hurtle down and around the curves.... yikes. !!!!
So, getting back to DAY 5... we were planning on driving to Catavina but after most of the numbing drive described above, we got to Catavina and were kind of un-attracted (is that a word?)... and decided to press on to what we had heard was an excellent choice of hotels.. Hotel Jardines in San Quintin. And we made it... all in one piece... not too tired.... and delighted to have saved a day in our trip up the Baja (we'll add it to our time in San Diego... a great city to visit). This hotel is beautiful. It sits in a bit of an oasis.. has lush gardens and an orchard... and PS gets to sleep with us on a 'big' bed... yahoo !! And, there's a well thought of restaurant/bar next door which we will certainly check out. We're here.... into some wine.. and about to go for dinner. The plan has us spending a day exploring those sand dunes we missed on the way down.. so count that as DAY 6.
Hope all is well with all of you... we're doing great!! xoxo CJ
BY THE WAY: For those of you who are still using our sailmail address to e-mail us.. please note we are land-bound now and switching over to our personal e-mail addresses... thanks for switching too.
