Cactus Sanctuary -> Somewhere north of El Cardonal //
This morning, as soon as I step outside, I catch Mark & Josh agreeing that they’d like to pack up and get on the road sooner than later. I’m barely awake and assume we can pack up at a leisurely pace. The problem is, we’re camped in the parking lot of a cactus sanctuary and in the very next moment vehicles begin arriving and parking all around us. Lupe had said that Saturday was a busy day with visitors coming from all the surrounding areas but we certainly didn’t expect arrivals to begin as early as 7:30am. The parking lot is small and we could easily get blocked in…it’s time to go. We pack up in record time, my OCD-self cringing at the way I ball up our bedding and toss it on the couch, I leave a thank you note for Lupe on his table, and we make our exit.
A few miles down the road, in the town of El Triunfo, we stop for breakfast and the chance to wake up. Cafes aren’t even open yet so we slowly stroll around town taking in all the beautiful architecture and hand-laid stone streets. At El Triunfo Cafe we pay the most we’ve ever paid for any meal in Baja ($50 US) and for a moment feel like we’re back in the States.
Finally awake and feeling more ready for the day, we set off in search of a place to camp north of Los Barilles. We drive through the small villages of El Cardonal and Boca del Alamo after which the dirt road becomes rough and narrow. Rough 4×4 dirt tracks seem to be the first indication that we’re headed somewhere good. We didn’t have to be on this particular track for long before finding a beautiful and secluded beach all to ourselves.
Immediately after getting set up I take a nap, having realized yesterday that I’m craving some down time. Last year I had a similar feeling around the same time (about 30ish days in to our trip) and I thought I’d hit a wall and wanted to go home. This year I’m more in tune with the ways in which this style of travel effects me. I haven’t hit a wall, I’ve reached a saturation point. The daily dose of new experiences have begun to feel overwhelming rather than exciting. And it’s because new experiences are occurring faster than I can process or fully appreciate the last one. With that, I’m looking forward to a few slow, quiet days at this beautiful little spot. In other words, we’ll be here until we run out of food.
The small parking lot we camped in that began filling up at 7:30 in the morning. 
The streets of El Triunfo. 
In search of another beach to call home. 
All photos taken with the Canon R6.
If you enjoy the stories we share, you can support our travels by shopping on Amazon via this link or any of the links provided. At no additional cost to you, we will earn a commission if you purchase through the links provided. Thank you for being here!
The architecture of the buildings was beautiful! Fifty dollars for breakfast was a sign you were in a city where all the out of towners go! I hope you get some good down time at this next stop. It looks beautiful!
It is a really beautiful little town. Next time we’ll try out one of the restaurants where the locals go and hopefully avoid the hefty bill!
Your trip has looked great. Keep on keeping on
Thanks Russ! And thanks for reading!