Instead of my usual South Padre Island spring trip, this year, I decided to
try Mexico. Why choose this? Because Katya doesn't have a USA visa, and this trip
would be an opportunity to learn about each other in a more enhanced setting.
My brother, Allen, likes kitesurfing and camping around Baja, Mexico - so he offered
to meet us in the mainland of Mexico, and we would travel and camp up the coast of Mexico.
Sounding like a fun time, my business partner at the Marijuana Policy Group, Adam also decided
to join, and to invite some amigos to join us for the first 3-4 days of acclimization in Mexico City.
We all had a great time in CDMX (Ciudad de Mexico), primarily spending time in the affluent and
trendy neighborhood called "La Condesa". I rented an apartent on Avenida Amsterdam - it was full
of great breakfast places, cafes, and coffee shops. The street was line with palm and other lush
trees, making the whole place seem comfortable. Nearby was "Parque Mexico" - a nice walking and
dog park in the center of the district.
La Condesa is filled with numerous swanky and fun restaraunts to visit. I think this photo was taken at "La Nacional" - a nice looking place with fancy drinks and food.
On the last day of Mexico City, we took an early morning taxi (an Uber) to the "Temple of the Sun". There was some strange confusion with our Uber ride, as a regular taxi showed up first, rather than a private car. So we got into it, only to have the actual Uber driver call us 10 minutes later, asking where we were.. I think that Uber actually made that mistake, rather than us.
Anyway, the temples and the area is large, but it's relatively easy to explore them in 1-2 hours, depending upon how deep you wish to review the history. For the most part, we simply climbed each of the temples (the Sun and the Moon), and exited before the crowds - mostly Mexican School trips - became too heavy. There are regular buses that bring you to the top of the "metro-bus" line. But the whole affair takes about 1.5 hours to get back down to Condesa, from the Temples. Fear of theft and other problems seem overblown.
In the early morning, there are hot-air balloons that rise for a tour (see photo background). We also encountered a helicopter fly by and landing in the area, for some Danish diplomats, we were told.
Sayulita
We flew to the coast, and met Allen in the small town of "Sayulita", about 40 minutes north of the city. We took a local "low cost" flight, which wasn't very low-cost, but still had all the trademarks of one, with long lines, and wierd organization.Sayulita Beach View:
We landed at the Puerto Vallarta airport, and wisely passed all of the taxi touts, walked outside and crossed a bridge over the highway, to find the bus stop. A bus to Sayulita came in about 5 minutes - costing about 40 pesos each ($2.80), instead of th $90 fee proposed for a separate car.
Sayulita is a great example of a cute Mexican city that has been "gringo" converted. There are only dirt roads, and all of the Americans zip around in electric golf carts. The beach is beautiful, but busy. It's touted as the "best beginner surf wave", and it is pretty easy -- except for all of the other people floating around or also surfing.
Here is the "main street" - which leads to the beach in 1 block:
Typical beach scene - this one in Playa Muertos:
The nightlife - happy locals courting inebriated American visitors:
Mazatlan Beach View:
The "escondero" (beach promenade) in Puerto Vallarta - some Wedding photos were being taken there before us at this location:
Katya getting comfortable in the Van:
Mazatla to La Paz - Overnight Ferry
We took an overnight ferry between Mazatlan and La Paz, on the Baja penninsula. The ferry ride was designed for large trucks and commercial traffic, but they take personal traffic if there is space. The van made the trip extrmely expensive. Here are a couple of Pics:View of the Ferry top-level Deck. We slept in the van, located on the top-level, just inches from huge semi-trailers.
La Paz and La Ventana
There was zero wind in La Ventana -- usually a big kitesurfing destination. So the group enjoyed some SUP paddling, exploring different coves, snorkling, and MTB riding.We found a cool Air-BnB place - on the beach of La Ventana. The owner, "Dean", had it set up with several small rooms, and a common kitchen / bath area. Overall, it worked out pretty well. Dean gave Allen a spot to park in the middle of to compound. Views were exceptional:
On April 16, we bid adieu to Katya (with usual drama in Mexico - they cancelled Katya's ticket without telling us..). After that, it was Allen and me alone to seek empty beaches, wind, and waves along the Baja coast. Most places from here on were remote and had no services. Showers and toilets were extremely rare.
Baja hidden coves - as we drove along the Sea of Cortez coastline:
Abreojos / La Bocana: Some of the best kiting and surfing along the Pacific. Although the entry is experts-only in Abreojos, the site is perfect for a camping van. There are much easier waves next to "Casa Azul" about 1 mile down the coast (must drive about 5 KM to get there).
But "La Bocana" was probably the best kitesurfing on the trip. Excellent waves, and a small camp there, with a full-service restaraunt but almost no people. The place was originally constructed by the cooperativo, for sport fishing. Little did the Mexican village know that it would be inhabited instead by kitesurf camps. "Exoticamps" was the business name that set up shop there. I think the owner's name was "Ian".
A surfer on the wave at Punto Abreojos.
The 4+ hour drive into Punto San Carlos - Rough Dirt Road.
Cactus forest on the way to San Carlos:
The coast at Pto. San Carlos:
Typical kiting / windsurfing scene once you get there - the wind and waves are perfectly aligned, making it an excellent place for wavesailing - but advanced launch and landings present dangers:
Airplanes fly in from San Diego, to catch the waves at SoloSport:
The camping scene on the point:
