We stayed four days on El Quemado Beach around the headland from Puerto Escondido. We braved the submerged rocks twice a day to reach the sandy swimming area beyond, I walked Rusty who hid in the shade during the hottest hours when the sand burned his paws.
Our plan was to drive north along Highway one to the small coastal town of Loreto 15 miles away on the Sea of Cortez. Once we’d done our shopping we’d carry on north up the only road available and look for a properly sandy beach.
It was a strange desert drive up the coast. The highway was smooth and well marked, a common feature of driving in Baja we are discovering. And as we got close to town businesses appeared with signs in English and obviously catering to gabachos. Above we came upon Loreto Bay Inn, a golf resort worthy of Palm Springs or Scottsdale and here we are ostensibly in Mexico.
For lesser mortals the attention to detail is all in English. “Security” they promise as though outside the walls of the RV park it’s the Wild West. We promptly took our life in our hands and bought some sliced fruit from a guy on the street.
Loreto is a pretty little beach town with clean streets and landscaping. If you don’t speak Spanish don’t worry. Half the population has spent time working in the US and no one here opens a conversation in Spanish with an obvious foreigner.
We found this a little disconcerting and what was worse the Ley supermarket had a terrible fruit and vegetable selection. We’d seen the delivery trucks coming over on the ferry, dozens of the Ley’s trailers and time didn’t in transit doesn’t do produce any good. Layne was grumbling about missing the fruit stands of the mainland. I was forced to pinto it Baja is a desert and they don’t grow anything to sell in the southern half of the peninsula.
We had our roast chicken for dinner and we picked up some tortilla rolls filled with a meat and potato mixture when we bought some fresh flour tortillas. With that and the fruit slices we had lunch. Cook’s day off! We took to the road again heading north, the only way out of town for us. I liked the sign warning not to use the cellphone while driving. There wasn’t a hint of a signal anyway so the warning was pointless. I took the picture using my pocket camera which I keep for those occasions.
North of Loreto the highway cuts inland for a couple of dozen miles and it’s all desert, some of it quite spectacular.
And then we came to a military checkpoint where the cars that had passed us on the curves were now waiting for one of their number to get his body cavities inspected by a serious military check. My heart sank.
The dude from Washington State in front of us on the Triumph tourer got waved through and he paid a visit to the useful sanitarios, a civilized touch in this desert inferno. We got to the front of the line eventually and faced two questions: Where are you coming from? -Loreto. And then: Where are you going to? -Mulegé. Pass friend. Not so tough!
The road took off into the desert driving by colored rock formations and dry river beds, winding around hillsides covered in saguaro cactus and thorn bushes. Occasionally there was a house often turned into a modest truck stop to feed passing drivers but mostly the whole place was empty, as a desert should be. The air temperature measured 96 on the dashboard.
It’s illogical but as we came through the pass and started our descent to Bahia Concepcion I expected to see signs of life, beaches, stopping places. I had no evidence for such things.
As we passed the monument marking the beginning of the Mulegé municipal district and the end of Loreto we pulled over to check the scenery. And the smells
Our plan, such as it was, consisted of finding a sandy beach, no rocks, and room to park. Pretty simple. The iOverlander app showed very little that might meet our modest needs. There were rocky beaches everywhere, some isolated and free and others with modest fees. But sandy swimming beaches seemed out of reach. We were surprised.
And then we saw Playa Armenta, far nicer than described on the iOverlander app and just right for us. There were two entrance tracks with one approschbsteep rocky and short while the other was longer but sandy and easier. That was the one for us.
Better believe we paid for the shade. And loved it.
The swimming was excellent and the salt water was warm. The pit toilets were not a problem as we used our porta potty and I emptied that into the toilets that were not enthusiastically described on the app.
We had no cell service at all and there was nothing around the beach, no restaurants or shops or even a water faucet. It as waterfront wilderness and best of all Rusty was happy. We settled in.
