Driving in Mexico, Camalú to San Ignacio: Day 2

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    Gorgeous highways through the desert.
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    So, it turns out that I really like cacti. I had no idea before, but I am lead to believe it because I can not seem to stop taking photos of them. I even had a cacti salad. Cacti, citrus, peppers, lettuce, tomatoes and other salad particles that people would normally consume. Cactus is a winner in my books...
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    These things are gynormous! Saguaro cactus, the boss of all other cacti! The mountains and valleys of Baja California are covered in majestic looking prickly beauty .
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    Central Baja California topography! Welome to Baja, Mexico!
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    Cruising through Baja California, Mexico, during the Baja 1000 looks like this! Really awesome ATVs are everywhere, heading into the desert.

Nov 17
Driving in Mexico – Camalú to San Ignacio.
It was an early start.  A free breakfast courtesy of Hotel Margaritaville in Camalú, Mexico!  They sorted me out with an omelet.  Two of us stay at the hotel.  One free breakfast.  Mexicans make up their own rules!

Driving in Mexico

These things are gynormous! Saguaro cactus, the boss of all other cacti! The mountains and valleys of Baja California are covered in majestic looking prickly beauty .

Back on the road.  Driving in Mexico is a semi-truck passing another semi up a hill through on-coming traffic.  You are behind those semis thinking about what you would do if you were driving either of those aforementioned vehicles.  But of course, in this instance, you are not driving at all.  You are the passenger.  And that too, is something else in Mexico…

Driving in Mexico

Cruising through Baja California, Mexico, during the Baja 1000 looks like this! Really awesome ATVs are everywhere, heading into the desert.

If I was to define scary, I would do so as thus: driving in Mexico down a very curvy and extremely skinny highway with a gal driving a very wide and large vehicle at excessive speeds.  You are meeting said semi-trucks who hog the yellow line, but that is not nearly as frightening as seeing that there are no shoulders on the roads and deep drop-offs into the ditch certainly mean a rollover.  Sometimes your driver uses too much edge of the road for your comfort.  If you stare into the mirror for the entire drive, you can actually watch your hair grey…

…I try to be quiet and gracious.
At times I find myself veering off of this mental determination…

Driving in Mexico

So, it turns out that I really like cacti. I had no idea before, but I am lead to believe it because I can not seem to stop taking photos of them.

[su_quote]When you can make yourself relax, it sure is beautiful.[/su_quote]

Driving in Mexico is crazy tall saguaro-cacti cover the hillsides and flats.  Central Baja California looks like it could be where Chuck Jones got the idea for the Wile E. Coyote and Roadrunner cartoons.

These roads should be sponsored by ACME.

Driving in Mexico

Central Baja California topography! Welome to Baja, Mexico!

During the day we hit three military road-checks on the drive.  In three out of three of those road-checks, the militia just looked at our dogs in the backseat, melted, and sent us through.  Cool dogs are an ice-breaker and a free pass.  No one was going to bother with us.  Then it got dark and we passed through a military check-point where two officers preliminary searched the car and then sent us off to the side of the road to do a more thorough search.  My friend Kristen is from Oregon where you can buy recreational marijuana and there were still crumbs in her car.  The officers found crumbs and were sniffing their fingers after touching them.  I was driving at the time and they were asking me if I smoke.  I told them that I hate pot and told them that I never ever smoke it.  We were battling between my lackluster Spanish and their equivalent level of English.  Kristen was trying to tell them that marijuana is legal in Oregon.  I told her to not tell them too many things about anything.

The military officers seemed to want to tear the Land Rover apart.  Kristen’s vehicle is stacked to the roof with things she is hauling for her move.  She was super friendly and started moving things to help the officers.  I asked her to not be too helpful as they would be glad to have her take apart her whole car for her in the slowness of the evening.  As soon as she stopped helping them, they stopped putting in the effort to find marijuana that we did not have.  They told us we were free to go.  I was happy to see them in the rear-view mirror.

Driving in Mexico

Gorgeous highways through the desert.

We drove into San Ignacio and found a luxury hotel with a swimming pool for $56.  I was opposed to spending a small Mexican fortune on accommodation when I had already found us a room for $25 just a few minutes earlier, but Kristen wanted comfort.  She said she was going to pay for it.  I felt bad, but she really wanted it.  I just wanted any old place to stay, but she wanted fancy.  I guess it is nice to have sumptuousness every now and then!  I never really think of splurging.  It does not really cross my mind unless someone else mentions the idea.  I just want to find a secure place with a bed and hot water!  That is enough for me.  It sure is nice to have extravagance when someone springs it on you though…  Thanks Kristen!

[su_pullquote]I am going to try to whip myself into tequila-shape. [/su_pullquote]We walked 5 minutes into town for food and margaritas.  It seems to be time for me to get over tequila.  I like it but the blackouts and I do not get along the following day.  Maybe I am too amateur.  So, I am going to try to whip myself into tequila-shape.  It is time to grow up and get better than ‘teenager-status’ at drinking the Mexican fire-water!

[su_note note_color=”#b0b1b6″ text_color=”#030303″ radius=”6″]* Tanka the dog finally had a poop today.  It was day four without.  I had been running him on the leash to get him some exercise and all of a sudden he stopped.  He stopped so abruptly that he stopped me!  When I looked at him to see what was going on, he was humped up in dog-business position.  I tried to not look so that I would not make him self-conscious.  When he finished and I ran him back to Kristen, I told her it had finally happened.  She said, “He would never do that with me while he was on a leash.  I make him too nervous.”  I am sure it is because he and I are buds now.  He had slept beside me for the last two nights and I run him to burn off some of his Husky energy.  I told her, “I think it is like when guys hang out with their pals.  They do what they want.  But, bring a woman…you for example…into the equation and everything changes.  It gets awkward.  But with me, he is just like, ‘Whatever, I will just do this right here right now with you while she is not around.’  I think it is how you know you have become a dog’s best friend!” [/su_note]

 

 

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1 Response

  1. Dannielle72 says:

    I was in San Ignacio once. I love the church in the town square. Gorgeous!

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