Mexico Day 7: 85 miles of nothing but desert

Las Animas to Puerto Sanfrancisquito //

Yesterday afternoon we made the collective decision that we would move today; all of us in agreement that we’re eager to see something new.  In the morning we pack up camp, go on a short hike to retrieve Josh’s trail cam, and then get on the road.

It takes an hour to cover the first ten miles of narrow, sandy, undulating dirt track before we’re deposited back on the main road.  At that time have two options 1) turn right and return the way we came which would be four hours and 47 miles to the nearest town of Bahía de los Ángeles or 2) continue south and bite off a chunk of the eight hours of dirt road we have to cover before returning to pavement and civilization.  Backtracking appeals to no one in this group so southbound it is.

The surface of the road is corrugated for much of the way.  Not in a rattle your brains loose kind of way but more in a I feel like I’m riding a pogo stick kind of way.  No matter our speed or tire pressure, the truck bounces up and down up and down up and down for much of our drive today.

In six hours and 85 miles driven, we don’t pass a single vehicle.  The only sign of another human is evident in the tire track left by a bicycle that must have recently come before us.  Bike packers are known to ride this route and the idea of making such a journey leaves me in awe.  

We squeeze every ounce of daylight out of the day and arrive at our destination of Puerto Sanfrancisquito just as the sun is about to touch the horizon.  The well-reviewed restaurant on google that had us all jonesing for fish tacos appears either abandoned or closed for the season.  Our craving will have to wait.  We make our way to the oficina where a kind gentleman sits quietly on his deck overlooking the ocean.  He confirms that yes there are hot showers (yay) and yes he has a place where we can park out of the wind.  Guillermo hops in his truck and escorts us over to a little vacant cabana that he welcomes us to park in front of, a perfect wind block.  He fires up the propane to the water heater and tells us the shower will be ready in ten minutes.  We align the trucks in a way that will take full advantage of the clean, sand-free concrete slab in front of the cabana, string our lights, and set out our chairs.  In a matter of minutes, we’re right at home. 

Once again we’re seemingly in the middle of nowhere and yet Mexican hospitality abounds, as it always does.

Interested in camping in Baja?
Check out our Baja Camping Guide!