The East Cape – Los Barriles, Cabo San Lucas and Cabo Pulmo

On the day we left El Tecolote we were on our way to see La Ventana. Hearing about it from many wind and water sports enthusiasts took us south with intentions of staying a few nights there. However, it was November 27, and with the flight back to Vancouver Island in just over two weeks, we thought it a good idea to head a bit further south and work on a storage plan for our truck and trailer. We heard about a “Gringo Ghetto” (not a disparaging term BTW) in Los Barriles called Martin Verdugos Beach Resort. With a solid reputation from a few gringos along the way we skipped Ventana and headed straight there with no reservation and fingers crossed. Arriving on a Monday has always worked well for us and we were able to stay a week. Spa week for the trailer!! The power supply was too strong for our trailer and the water not potable so we didn’t hook up to those but we were in town and invited to happy hours with the locals. The friendliness upon arrival created a very relaxing effect on us and within minutes of parking we had met 3 couples from Kamloops, 2 from Victoria, 1 couple from Nelson Island near Sechelt, and a family from Oregon within minutes of parking. All our requirements for this destination were met within a day. We needed to secure a storage space; that was checked off the list with a visit to the secured lot across the street. We would have to get to the airport for our departure from San Jose del Cabo Airport after storing the trailer; easy 10 min. walk to the bus terminal to get the tickets for the bus out of town (Check!). The pool, hot showers, beachside bar, and a laundry quickly followed to complete the checklist. Now we could relax and enjoy the new digs. We stayed a week and within that time were invited to happy hours and to participate in a huge Bocce game –“bring and appy and a beverage”.

Why is Los Barriles popular? Because it has a gorgeous beach, good fishing, and good wind for all the 60-somethings, who like to kite surf or windsurf, and more recently good mountain biking although the preferred mode of transport in town and out is via RZR or ATV.

The quad highway right out our door at the RV Park.

People from all over the US and Canada have been coming to this RV park for more than 30 years. We talked to a couple from Arizona who had been coming to MV’s for 13 years and had never heard of the whales calving in San Ignacio Bay or other areas near Guerrero Negro on the west coast. Even though they drove by every year. Los Barriles is easy to assimilate into if you are a gringo and just want to set up in a Baja destination for all the outdoor sports available there. You won’t miss your favorite Kicking Horse coffee either because its available at a local grocery store!!! Love Pickle Ball??? Right this way to the Pickle Ball School! An abundance of Taquerias, Pharmacia, ATV rental shops and of course souvenir vendors cater to those necessities. It’s an hour from the San Jose del Cabo airport too so some just fly in and out every year and stay 6 months with no car. I would go crazy. We did some mountain biking (the trail map eluded us), went swimming, walked the bustling streets looking for Christmas treasures and replenished our water/ propane supply.

Looks pretty straightforward but in person the trails seemed to be elsewhere…

Cabo San Lucas was two hours away, so we drove south past mega hotels, golf courses, and walked the beach, marina, and streets. Hawker after hawker trying to pitch us sunglasses, hats, fishing trips, umbrella loungers, ocean tours, golf, and timeshares – “I’ll give you $100US!! And dinner!” We went to the museum. Free for a small donation. Interesting. And no sales spiels. We found out about walking out over the cape, but you needed to be there at 8am for a guided trip. Next time.

On the way back from Cabo we stopped for some cactus ice cream at the roadside kiosk for The Tropic of Cancer. They have a great reputation for unique local ice cream and after a day of fending off hawkers and hiking in sweltering heat it was just what the doctor ordered.

We heard about another spot about an hour south of Los Barriles from a full time vanlifer and budding author named Tammy, while we were at El Tecolote, near La Paz. We knew half the trip would be on dirt/sand road so we decided to pre-run it and see if it could be our next destination.

Wow! Cabo Pulmo a former overfished reef full of unemployed locals became a National Marine Park in 1995 and was recognized as World Heritage Biosphere Reserve in 2005. Now a busy eco-tourist destination with snorkeling and diving tours, it has the only rock/coral reef in the Gulf of California and is the most northern Pacific Reef. They have protected Sea Turtle nesting beaches where we found the remnants of discarded turtle shells from the past hatching season on the beach.

The road was in good shape, so we packed up and next day we were at this beautiful free camp area. Tammy (who we met near La Paz at El Tecolote) was there too so we had our own fun little neighbourhood. We met a lovely couple, Yves and Nathalie, from Quebec who were eventually heading for the mainland. He is a backcountry ski guide, and his Sprinter van was decked out with a four colour ad wrap for ski sponsors. Noticing the Quebec plates and the van-wide image of a powder skier nose deep in fluffy white snow, we thought it a bit out of place in the 30 degree desert heat. So we came alongside their parked van on the side of the main road and said “Hey are you lost? No snow here!” We enjoyed a few happy hour get-togethers with them and Tammy with lively conversations about our lives and meanderings. A cute and very persistently affectionate kitten adopted our Quebec friends, so they named her Baja, and she set off on a new tangent with them to Quebec via New Orleans!

Meet “Baja” the kitten who adopted Yves and Nathalie and will learn French on her way back to Quebec

Some shots of the mountain biking in the mountains behind the village.

A link to Alberts go pro footage of snorkeling at a beach nearby called Arbolito.

Come Snorkeling in Cabo Pulmo BCS MX.

And kayaking at Frailes about 10 kilometers down the road from our trailer.

A view from the communications tower above our campsite with great views of the surf breaking over the reef.

Have a look at this view!

We set out on Dec. 13th, dropping off our trailer in storage, walking up to the bus terminal and off we went to catch our plane from San Jose del Cabo. We will catch up with you on the other side of Christmas and New Year. With a a world of adventure in Baja California Mexico.