A trip we have made several times is down the Baja peninsula. It’s about 4 days from Northern California and we have our favorite spots to stop each night. The destination is LOS BARRILES on the Sea of Cortez. This location is also known as the East Cape. It’s a small village especially known for it’s game fishing and in the winter months Windsurfing.
We stay at Martin Verdugos Beach Resort. They have a small hotel and an RV park situated right on the beach.
Our Camp Spot at Verdugo’s
The View from our camp spotTiki Bar on the way Cabo Pumo
We like stopping at Hotel Rancho Leonaro for Chips n Salsa and a few Cold Cervezas and a swim in their pool.
Hotel Rancho LeonaroRancho Leonaro Hotel Dining room
View of the beach from Verdugo’sView of Verdugo’s Hotel from the beach, on Right and CenterVerdugos Fishing Fleet
La Paz is only an hour drive north and Cabo San Lucas is about an hour drive south; so if you need a “city” fix for shopping, groceries or crowded streets it’s not far away.
We usually stay here around 2 months or more. Once you’ve made the trip, you may as well stay awhile and explore the area. The RV park is $420 a month including full hookups and free WIFI. This is a slow paced very simple village. Don’t expect fancy restaurants. But there are quaint places to go to eat and food is good. Our favorite restaurants include “The Cactus” (Open air and dirt floor, BYOB), Anita’s for great shrimp dinners, and many more. Of course Verdugos serves breakfast and sometimes lunch.
The hotel here is very reasonable but this is a no frills place. Not fancy rooms, beds are not cushy and the floors are plain tile throughout. It’s more of a hotel for fishermen, in my opinion. I’d rather be in the motorhome. This is a family run business and they run a tight ship here. They are always on hand for anything you might need and very friendly.
The Verdugo hotel
Our friends Mark and Debbie enjoying the beach
Geocaching with Doreen in La Paz
Mark, Judie, Doreen and Dewey exploring a cave far out in the desert.
One day we drove about two hours or more out to a huge building in the desert. It was miles from any paved road. We drove in deep sand most of the way and the last few miles were in 4 wheel drive up a rugged road (trail). At the end of our drive we arrived at what once was to be a Sanatorium for patients with Tuberculosis. By the time the building was almost completed, sometime in the mid to late 1940’s a cure was found for the disease and the building was never used. Here it sits with an amazing view, a cold spring supplying water from the mountain above and nothing but room after room of nothing but cement. Not just your ordinarily cement and brick building. The attention to detail with beveled corners and round windows was mind-boggling for architecture in this era. What a waste now for this place to just sit there. We had our lunch here and toured the whole building. Then hiked straight up the mountain about 1/4 mile to the quarters that would have been for the doctors. Even more amazing views. Here are some of the photos I took in those buildings.
The Hike up to the doctors quartersInside the sanatoriumThe view back down the hill to the main building from the doctor’s quarters
Looking into the doctors main room from the porch
The top of the main building, you could see the Pacific ocean and for miles inland.Beautiful round windows through much of the building
Doctors main quartersLooking down to the main hospital from the doctor’s quarters.
Mark in Our Baja BugPainting the Baja Bug
Marks Aunt and Uncle on MEX 1
Our stops along the way to Los Barriles on the trip south are Estero Beach in Ensenada, Malarrimo’s in Guerrero Negro, and Hotel Serenidad in Mulege. On the return we like to stay in Loreto or Tripui, then on to Guerrero Negro and finally to Estero Beach in Ensenada. Each of these places are a safe place for the night and most have a decent restaurant if you don’t want to cook. The only spot that has a more upscale property for the RV park and restaurant is Estero Beach. The other spots are just good overnight places.
