VANCOUVER ISLAND WINDTALK

It is final!! I am leaving for the Baja on Jan. 15th 2005 for a month, I am driving down with Judi and thought it would be cool to head down with a group so if anybody out there is thinkin of doin the same give me a shout!

Enjoy your Baja trip and time there.
Marion and I are leaving for La Ventana around the 15 Oct. and back late March. Don't know if you have been before but if not, you will love it.
This is our 5th year so I guess that means we like it a lot!
Sun, warm water and wind.

Well that is super cool, my god 6 months holly crap man sounds awsome. Well any tips for the travel down, things to see, places to camp/park and any cautions to be given (while in the USA or Mexico) would be greatly appreciated. Oh do I need special insurance on my truck or camper?

Hi, a couple of answers:

Yes, you need Mexican insurance on the vehicle. We use Lewis & Lewis(they are on the net and have an 800 number) They are in the LA area but always send us the policy in time. There are also places near the Mexican border in San Diego that can issue the insurance but we find it easier with Lewis & Lewis. ICBC does give a refund for the time in Mexico but you have to have documentation (with a licence plate no.) for the time in Mexico.

We travel down I5 and stay at the Walmarts. Sometimes at the rest stops but Walmarts are quieter besides you always need something, right?

We go through the border at Tijuana at 5 0r 6 in the morning (not very busy then). At the border you will see cars parked in secondary inspection to your right. If you park there you can pick up and pay for your visa about $25 Cdn each. There is a 24 hour bank there as well to pay for it and get it stamped.

We usually make it to Catavina ( in the mountains after leaving the coast at El Rosario) the first night. A good cheap place is Rancho Santa Inez just past Catavina 1km. It is $5us to park in the desert with some trees and a water standpipe.

The next day we go all the way to Puerto Escondido south of Loreto. We park by the marina free but they do have an RV park with showers etc. but $15us. Most of our friends stay somewhere along the Bay of Conception but we find it makes for a later arrival in LaVentana the next day.

The next day we are in La Paz to get fresh vegies etc. and then off to La Ventana which is about 45 minutes south via 286 toward Las Planes.

The total travel time for us is about 5 1/2 days but we also stop for a day or two at Marions cousin's in San Diego so about a week for us. We cruise in the old rv at 90km so you can make it a lot faster.
We have heard of 3 1/2 from vancouver Island!

have fun in baja martin and dale! ... i'll be thinking of you when i'm going through my 'knuckle_unthawing_pain' after those winter SE sesh's

A couple of more tips:

A helpful web site with lots of info;

http://math.ucr.edu/~ftm/bajaPages/MsgB ... Board.html

There are 3 major traffic slowdowns on I5;

We sleep at the Walmart in Mt.Vernon the first night and set the alarm for 3am, this allows us to get through Everett, Seattle, Tacom,Olympia before 7am.
We avoid downtown Portland by going to hood River, need stuff right? and using 205 to skirt the city.

I try to time Sacremento at night or early morning.

In LA, we stop at Camping World or WalMart(next door) in the six flags area (Santa Clarita) until 1am and then go through on I5 or lately 405 and stop in Oceanside. This avoids the usual traffic snarls in LA.

There is a Walmart near the Tijuana border in San Diego which is handy for timing an early morning border crossing.

We haven't run into any problems on all our trips so far but are careful and try to plan ahead.

The Mexican highway to La Paz, Mex1 is in great shape, better than a lot of roads here! It is narrow though as evidenced by numerous wide rv mirrors broken off!

Again, this is just how we do it, everyone has different schedules etc.

Good luck and enjoy.

Hey dale want to tow a dune buggy down for me? One way only and will pay $

In case anyone thinks I am the only one heading to Baja for the winter here is a partial list of just the BC group down in LaVentana!
Some stay for only a couple of weeks but most four weeks or more:

6 to 8 from Van. Isl. incl.Victoria,Port Alberni,Saltspring and Port Hardy.
Also Whistler, Powell River, Vancouver,Keremeos,kelowna,Kamloops,Nelson,
Hundred Mile House, Pr.George.

A busy place but like Nitinat, there is always room for one more.

Don't have time to drive, just pack your tent, kite and board and jump on a flight to LaPaz (40 minutes from LaVentana) or cheaper and more frequent to San Jose del Cabo (3 hour drive from LaVentana.

ahhh yes ... summers at Club Martin Gordons, and winters at Cub Martin Baja ... could life get any better ?

Anybody ever bother to stop at San Quintin on the way to Ventana? Nice steady breezes and some surf to break up the long haul to Ventana? I'm thinking of going there for a month this winter instead of the Mob at Ventana and a whole lot less driving to boot.

Hi, we always stop for a night at El Pabellon which a campground a few miles south of San Quintin. It makes a great last night in Mexico.
You are right on the beach and a couple of times it was definitely kiteable.
Don't know how reliable the wind would be but you are right its only a few hours south of the border.
Just a bit cool for us for the winter although a lot warmer than those southeasters here!

HI Martin, I was in La V 4 years ago and liked it. The desert has a unique beauty and the bay is picturesque. There were only a dozen kiters then. Has it become busier? Is it feasible to tent camp there (fly down) with kiting gear . I.e. can you secure your gear somehow? Or do you know of any inexpensive guest houses/ apartments for rent?

Do you know further upwind where kirk's is, if the shore break/waves are better there than in the village?

Cheers

Hi Mattdog,

A dozen kites! Sounds like the "old days".
On a good day there will be 30 kites off the main campground and another 20 at Joe's!

It is very feasable to fly in with just a tent, kite and board.
Lots of room for tents in the campground @ $4.00us per day.
Still the 4 toilets and 4 cold showers.
It is very secure in the campground. In our 4 years we have not heard of anything going missing yet.
Kirks is fairly reasonable price wise but if you remember the small restaurant /bar they had on the beach with the great view, well there is now a fench between that which is now called Pelican Reef and Kirks. A falling out of sorts there. The launch isn't great for kiting there ie narrow beach and steep bank = updrafts etc.
I launch at the main campgroung and then work upwing toward Kirks.
Halfway there is a place called the "Generals house", which produces a great wave on the El Norte' days.

If you come down, say hi. We are in an old beige Travelaire.
Look for the Ocean Rodeo flag!

Quite often, you can jump on a truck for a ride to the hotsprings (7miles) for a downwinder to the campground. Great fun.

There is also YoYo's campgound next to Baja Joe's and also a new small one between Joe's and the main campground.

Martin

Will look for you if I go !

wow execellent for all the nfo Martin, thanks a huge bunch, been away up north island so havn't been near a computer for two weeks, man starved or what!

Anyhow, thanks again!!

Josh,

hey maybe, don't know what would be involved, might be takin my truck and might be takin Judes RV (the big one) so.....also not leavin until mid January. Oh hey, I heard that robin is lookin for a ride down around that time, so if you got a way for me to get in touch let me know, I will give him a shout and who knows!!!! Man, just thinkin of this trip is gettin me stoked, can't wait dudes and dudettes!!!