Baja California, Mexique
Ensenada, Wal-Mart
Before leaving Dunes RV on Friday,
February 22, I washed the truck on the
boats wash-down. Then I arrived at
TCI #866 around 13:00 to put out the two
spare wheels from the garage in order to
mount the new tires. While the blue-collar
worker installed the four tires on my
truck I arranged the garage then I updated
my website to publish it with the Wi-Fi
connection of TCI #866. I left Irvine
around 16:00 but the highways were
overloaded a day before end of the week
consequently I arrived at the border
around 19:10 for a fast control of my
truck at the border of Mexico without
having to repurchase a entry visa. On the
other hand on the highway taken in the
lines of vehicles I passed in front of the
barrier, on the left, to enter the US
border to give the green card without
being able to release. I will be
constrained to send it by mail as the
first time! Finally after
301 km I was installed about 10:00 pm on the carpark of
Wal-Mart in Ensenada.
San Quintin
On Saturday morning before leaving I
carried out checks of my truck, fluids and
especially the tightening of the wheel
nuts after the change of the tires. Then I
went shopping and I sent mail as of the
opening of the Post Office. Finally I left
Ensenada, definitively, around 11:00 to go
to San Quintin where I arrived at the
known bivouac by travellers at the edge of
a stretch of water probably fishing and
ostreifarming. The sun was present all the
day. The road curved in the Sierra, fields
were either in grazing ground or in market
gardening. The crossed towns resembled by
certain aspects the villages of Asia but
with the topes, speed reducers, moreover.
 |
 |
| Landscape |
 |
 |
| Market gardening |
 |
 |
| Town en route |
Catavina
After a peaceful night I found again the
MX #1 whose surface is not in very good
state and moreover the width is just
sufficient for passing of the trucks
knowing that there is no side road.
Towards the km 149 I made a detour of 30
km return of gravel road to see an old
onyx mine, El Marmol, whose school in ruin
is entirely out of onyx. Back on the MX #1
I visited the valley of the candles, Los
Cirios name given to the cactus, as well
as the boulder fields, Las Virgines. At
the km 181 I entered Rancho Santa Inez to
spend the night because the guide book
Mexican Camping misadvises the wilderness
camping in the region. Altitude is
approximately +550 meters swept by a
strong wind. The day was partially misty.
 |
 |
| En route MX #1 |
 |
 |
| El Marmol |
 |
 |
| Los Cirios, Las
Virgines |
Bahia de los Angeles
The target of the day consisted in
visiting Bahia de Los Angeles at the edge
of the sea of Cortes as well as the turtle
nursery recommended by Lonely Planet and
the Mexican Camping guide books. Alas the
two guide books are not up to date because
the nursery does not exist any more and
Bahia de Los Angeles is a sad seaport. At
the campground Brisa Marina RV Park some
American and Canadian motor homes
were in stay for 5 to 6 months according
to the talks which I had with the
protagonists. It offers fifty sites, which
had water, electricity and the sewer, but
more nothing of functions. The beach of
the campground is not very nice. In
conclusion, nothing to see…
 |
 |
| City entrance |
turtle nusery |
 |
 |
| Turtle nusery |
 |
 |
| Brisa Marina RV
Park |
Mision San Francisco de Borja de Adac
After the guide books Lonely Planet and
Mexican Camping I had decided to go and
see the "Mision de Borja" by hoping that
it was not a hoax. On the road of Bahia of
Los Angeles a signpost indicates the track
to be taken. At the crossroads I met a MAN
truck by UNICAT year 2007 registered in
Germany. I greeted the crew and after a
short discussion we gave each other
appointment at the Mission of Borja. The
track is 37 km long. Left at 8:30 from the
bivouac I arrived at 11:30 at the mission
that is to say three hours for 61 km and
two stops wee.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
The site is kept by soldiers playing
football, but one of them had a weapon. On
the spot I met two American couples with
whom I exchanged information. Then we
visited together the mission which was
opened by a guardian. The Mission was
built in 1759 by the Jesuits who were
expelled in 1768. She was then managed by
the Franciscans until 1773 to
be transferred to Dominicans which managed
it until 1818. She was then abandoned to
be restored by the government. Behind the
stone buildings some vestiges of the
Mission of the Jesuits remain in the state
of ruin having been built in adobe. At
16:00 the truck of German had not arrived
yet! I bivouacked on the
spot.
Accident,
destruction of my truck
The road accident occurred on 2/27/2013 at
10:05 on the road Mex #1 in open desert,
at the GPS waypoint N 28° 49.277' W 114°
06.559', from 600 km southwards of
Ensenada and from 900 km northwards of La
Paz, Baja California and, at approximately
70 km southwards of the Transpeninsula
crossroads from west to east where
there is a breakage-vehicle and
tow-trucks. Mex #1 has old and narrow
sections making it possible the trucks to
cross. Since my departure from Ensenada I
was very vigilant and sometimes anxious
with the sight of trucks. Consequently I
drove very carefully on the right knowing
that the roadside is not stabilized and a
dangerous contrebas. My speed never
exceeded 60km/h. I inconveniently drove on
the no-stabilized roadside and I
wanted to leave it. The truck left in a
yaw, look at the traces on the road, and I
could not recover it. It returned on the
right side and it lay down in the ditch in
a thunderous noise. Back silence I was
extracted by the ejected windscreen, of
course I carried the seat belt. I was not
injured. During the accident the GPS speed
of the truck varied between 58,3km & 40.1
km/h. At this moment there was no vehicle
on the road. A few seconds later, two
American tourists stopped to carry me help
of which one is policeman in San Diego,
CA, the USA. With his wife they comforted
me, made drink and eat while waiting for
the breakdown service at the crossroads of
Transpeninsula contacted by second
American.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
I remained three nights in the
breakage-vehicule living in a caravan with
an employee. A representative of the
insurance came from the town of Guerrero
Negro where we went to solve
administrative problems. This city having
an Internet & mobile connections, I
contacted my family leaving a message due
to the time lag. Anxious my brother
started the “Orsec Plan” by contacting the
French Consul in La Paz. Back to Ensenada
I organized my repatriation in France,
definitively leaving my truck in the
breakage. I arrived at the backoffice in
Draguignan on March 6th, 2013.
