Day 8 - Catavina to Bahia de Las Angeles

We started our day with a delightful hike on the arroyo next to our camping spot. It was a wonderful spot where we would have liked to have spent several days if we weren't "on tour". The area is a birder and rock hound paradise and the scenery is majestic.

We got back on Hwy 1. It is very challenging to drive and stressful on both driver and passengers because it is very narrow and has absolutely no shoulder and the white line on the righthand side is often missing. Add in a lot of ups and downs and a handful of hairpin curves and you have a 2.5 hour drive that seems like 8 hours. Driving a 28" motorhome pulling a car on that road is not p

our favorite part of the trip. When we got to Bahia de Las Angeles it was well worth the effort as we decended from the mountains to the coast. The locals call this area BOLA (Bay of LA)

BOLA is a very small town with 2 gas stations, some hotels, restaurants, small grocery stores and a couple RV campgrounds. We arrived at our campground with the intention of taking a boat out beyond the islands to see gray whales but were told by the attendant that the boats haven't been going out beyond the islands lately because of wind and it is hit and miss on seeing the whales here because they aren't nearly as abundant here as Guerro Negro, where we are headed tomorrow.

We were thrilled about camping next to the beach and enjoyed meeting a couple from Canada and a couple from Colorado. They both had dogs so it was easy to connect with them. We had beverages in the cabana on the beach ⛱️. 

Janice and I played ladderball next to the cabana. She won 2 games to 1, the last game was 21-20. It was very windy and my hair kept blowing in my eyes, otherwise I am confident I would have won. 

Diana was able to get a hotel for the first time and was excited to sleep in a real bed and catch up on things back home because it had wifi. We walked about a mile up the beach, finding rocks and shells. The Boys had a blast swimming in the clear warm water of the Sea of Cortez. It was a wonderful afternoon in paradise.

We have been a little disappointed so far with the food in Baja. We have eaten at several restaurants here and while the food has been good but not great. Our favorite Mexican restaurant back home, Salud sets a high bar for us! The food isn't as spicy and as flavorful as we expected. Tonight we thought we would try one of the street vendors in town and we were delighted with the fish tacos we bought and took back to the cabana for dinner.

I continue to try to use my Spanish whenever possible. Locals are polite and seem appreciative of the effort, although everyone we encountered today spoke some English. I really wish I could communicate better in spanish although I am reasonably good at reading it.

Our sweet Comet is doing quite well and tolerating the trip. She was looking out the screen door this afternoon but never tries to escape. She loves cuddling with us at night and we are really happy she is with us.

Tomorrow we will be in Guerrero Negro and will be there for two nights. It will be good to have internet and cell service to catch up on a couple things.