Tecate to Ensenada – Highway 3 South

I rushed out of Tecate after the border crossing without knowing anything about, well anything really. I followed the wine route but driving alone doesn’t work well while drinking wine and I’m on a camping budget. So I kept driving onward to Ensenada where I stopped at Walmart for groceries and grabbed a Telcel plan across the street so I can work off a hotspot from the road.

Driving this route was pretty pointless. Telcel is everywhere, supermercados are easy to find and I had no business in Ensenada. I paid 10 USD to park at a pretty vacant hotel for the night but it had security and a beach front view the next morning. It was a good spot to walk Shale and let her play with the resident Chihuahua while I regrouped. I decided to turn back east so I could drive the 5 south along the Sea of Cortez.

Ensenada to San Felipe – Highway 3 East

While driving back across the peninsula was a little ridiculous, the road between Ensenada and San Felipe cuts across a beautiful desert with scattered mountains and farms. We stopped for a few walks, Shale discovered the joys of cactus needles in her paws and I wore a few stabs myself while pulling balls of needles from her fur.

We hit San Felipe and I wondered why I hadn’t just driven straight south from Tecate in the first place. The military checkpoints were all fast and friendly and I passed through San Felipe with only a gas stop and started down highway 5 south.

First Camp near San Felipe

I was considering bombing south a good ways but really wanted to get off the road for a while. I’d just driven from Reno to the border and crisscrossed the northern peninsula. I saw a sign for camping spray painted over a washed out hotel sign and turned down the dirt road.

After a mile I hit the entrance to a hotel that is covered in sand and falling apart. The gatekeeper charged 10 USD and I had the place along with a good chunk of beach to myself. We stayed for 2 nights and I caught corvina off the rocks with clouser minnows and crazy charlie patterns. We stretched out, ate venison tacos with meat that marinaded in my Dometic fridge on the drive and had a chance to get a little work done.

After a month of cramming in mechanic visits, holidays, tight deadlines and round the clock prep for a year on the road, it felt great to finally settle into a mellow camp and reset the pace and slow things down.

After getting a feel for traveling in the area, I came across a post from fellow travelers at Living a Stout Life that also covered their border crossing journey.  Click here to read about their adventures as they travel through Baja. It’s great to research and learn from other travelers and these guys know how to explore and have a great time on the road.