- \n
- \n
- \n
- Tecate<\/li>\n
- San Quintin<\/li>\n
- Catavi\u00f1a<\/li>\n
- Guerrero Negro<\/li>\n
- San Ignacio<\/li>\n
- Santa Rosalia<\/li>\n
- Concepcion Bay<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Here’s where they are on a map:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Baja-7-Faves.jpg\")
<\/p>\nSo what’s so great about these places?\u00a0 Read on, my friends.<\/p>\n
Tecate<\/strong><\/p>\n
Tecate is the gateway to the middle of northern Baja, and it’s the easiest point of entry. Both Tijuana and Mexicali are too big and too complicated, and the Mexican Customs guys are too official in those bigger cities.\u00a0 Tecate is a friendly place.\u00a0 The last time I picked up a tourist visa in Tecate, the Customs officer tried to sell me salsa he and his family made as a side gig.\u00a0 That’s what the place is like.\u00a0 I love it.<\/p>\n
If you’re into fine dining (not as in expensive dining, but just great food), it’s hard to go wrong anywhere in Baja.\u00a0 Tecate has some of the best, from street taco vendors to Malinalli’s to Amore’s.\u00a0 I could spend a week just in Tecate.\u00a0 It’s that good.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/20190319_0692-600.jpg\")
Uncle Joe Gresh with street tacos in Tecate. Wow, were they ever good.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/20190302_9506-600.jpg\")
The buffet at Malinalli’s is regional, awesome, and inexpensive. It’s a hidden treasure.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/20190314_9798-600.jpg\")
Dos Joes’ motos on an Enfield expedition that took us through Tecate.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/20190302_9523-600.jpg\")
The Tecate brewery dominate the Tecate skyline and is visible from just about anywhere in town. A can of ice cold Tecate with sea salt around the rim and a bit of lime juice…life doesn’t get any better.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n San Quintin<\/strong><\/p>\n
San Quintin is 186.4 miles south of the border on Baja’s Pacific coast.\u00a0 It’s usually a quiet ag town that has a lot of things going for it, including interesting hotels, good food, and Bahia San Quintin.\u00a0 The Old Mill hotel and its associated restaurant, Eucalipto, is my personal favorite.\u00a0 The hotel is about 4 miles west of the Transpeninsular Highway, and what used to be a harrowing soft sand ride to it is now easy peasy…the road is paved and riding there is no longer a test of your soft sand riding skills.\u00a0 The Eucalipto restaurant is second to none.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/DSC_2486-600-2.jpg\")
<\/p>\nWhat could be better than an ice cold Tecate overlooking Bahia San Quintin after a day’s riding in Baja? We once saw a California gray whale from this very spot.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/20190319_0660-600.jpg\")
A man, a motorcycle, and Mexico….the sign on the Transpenisular Highway pointing toward Bahia San Quintin and the Old Mill Hotel. The bike? That’s the 650cc Royal Enfield, perfect for riding Baja. But then just about any motorcycle is perfect for riding Baja.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/20190317_9875-600.jpg\")
Bahia San Quintin at dawn. It’s an awesome spot.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n ![](\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/20190315_9865-600.jpg\")
Uncle Joe enjoying breakfast in the Old Mill’s Eucalipto. It is an exquisite restaurant.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n You’ll notice at the top of my scribblings about San Quintin I said it is usually a quiet town.\u00a0 The one exception for us was when there was a labor riot and we were caught in it.\u00a0 The Mexican infantryman about 80 miles north of San Quintin told me the road was closed, but his English matched my Spanish (neither are worth a caca<\/em>), and without me understanding what I was riding into, he let me proceed.\u00a0 It’s not an experience I would care to repeat.\u00a0 But it’s the only event of its type I ever experienced in Old Mexico, and I’d go back in a heartbeat.<\/p>\n
The Catavi\u00f1a Boulder Fields<\/strong><\/p>\n
Ah, Catavi\u00f1a.\u00a0 Rolling down the Transpeninsular Highway, about 15 miles before you hit the wide spot in the road that is Catavi\u00f1a you enter the boulder fields.\u00a0 Other-worldly is not too strong a description, and if the place wasn’t so far south of the border it would probably be used more often by Hollywood in visits to other planets.\u00a0 The boulders are nearly white, they are huge, and the juxtaposition of their bulk with the bright blue sky punctuated by Cardon cactus.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/DSC8073-600.jpg\")
Pastel geology. The area really is as beautiful as the photos depict it to be.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n I get a funny feeling every time I enter this part of Baja. Not funny as in bad, but funny as in I feel like I’m where I belong.\u00a0 I once rolled through this region in the early morning hours with my daughter and she told me “you know, it’s weird, Dad.\u00a0 I feel like I’m home.”\u00a0 She understood (as in completely understood) the magic that is Baja.<\/p>\n
I like the area and its stark scenery so much that one of my photos became the cover of Moto Baja<\/em><\/a>!\u00a0 I grabbed that shot from the saddle at about 30 mph on a CSC 150 Mustang replica, which I subsequently rode all the way down to Cabo San Lucas (that story is here<\/a>).<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Baja-Cover-650.jpg\")
<\/a>You should buy a copy or three. They make great gifts.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Every time I roll through Catavi\u00f1a with other riders, the dinner conversation invariably turns to how the boulders formed.\u00a0 \u00a0When I was teaching at Cal Poly Pomona, I asked one of my colleagues in the Geology Department.\u00a0 He know the area as soon as I mentioned it.\u00a0 The answer?\u00a0 Wind erosion.<\/p>\n
Guerrero Negro<\/strong><\/p>\n
The Black Warrior.\u00a0 The town is named after a ship that went down just off its coast.\u00a0 \u00a0 It’s a salt mining town exactly halfway down the peninsula, and it’s your ticket in for whale watching and the best fish tacos in Baja (and that’s saying something).\u00a0 I’ve had a lot of great times in Guerrero Negro.\u00a0 It’s about 500 miles south of the border.\u00a0 You can see the giant steel eagle marking the 28th Parallel (the line separating Baja from Baja Sur) a good 20 miles out, and from there, it’s a right turn for the three mile ride west into town.\u00a0 Malarrimo’s is the best known hotel and whale watching tour, but there are several are they are all equally good.\u00a0 It you can’t get a room at Malarrimo’s, try the Hotel Don Gus.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/180311_7635-900.jpg\")
CSC RX3 motorcycles at the Hotel Don Gus. We used to do annual Baja tours with CSC…those were fun times and great trips, and introduced a lot of folks to the beauty of Baja.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/160315_5328-650.jpg\")
What it’s all about…getting up close and personal with the California gray whales. They are in town from January through March.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/160315_5406-650.jpg\")
Tony, taco chef extraordinaire. You might think I’m exaggerating. I’m not.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/160315_5386-650.jpg\")
It’s worth the 500-miles trek to Guerrero Negro just to savor Tony’s fish tacos. You might think I’m exaggerating. But like I said above…I’m not.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/20190318_0652-600.jpg\")
Man does not live by fish tacos alone, so for breakfast or dinner, it’s either the restaurant at Malaririmo’s or the San Remedio, a block north of the main drag into town. You won’t be disappointed at either.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/BajaDay3_0675-650.jpg\")
Sue’s photo of a Guerrero Negro osprey enjoying some sushi.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n After you leave Guerrero Negro and continue south, the Transpeninsular Highway turns southeast to take you diagonally across the Baja peninsula. About 70 miles down the road (which is about half the distance to the eastern shores of Baja and the Sea of Cortez along Mexico Highway 1) you’ll see the turn for San Ignacio.\u00a0 It’s another one of Baja’s gems.<\/p>\n
San Ignacio<\/strong><\/p>\n
San Ignacio is an oasis in the middle of the desert that forms much of Baja.\u00a0 The Jesuits introduced date farming to the region hundreds of years ago, and it’s still here in a big way.\u00a0 Leave Guerrero Negro, head southeast on Mexico Highway 1, and 70 miles later you run into a Mexican Army checkpoint, a series of switchbacks through a lava field, and when you see the date palms, turn right.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/DSC_2306-600.jpg\")
An oasis is usually formed by a volcano, and when a volcano is done discussing politics, it forms a lake. That’s the San Ignacio volcano and its lake, visible on the left as you ride into town.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/San-Ignacio-175-650-600.jpg\")
The San Ignacio church, built as a mission in the 1700s, dominates the center of San Ignacio. It’s a beautiful spot, one of the most photogenic in all of Baja.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/SanIgnacioMission.jpg\")
Another photo of the San Ignacio Mission. You’ll want to grab some photos in San Ignacio.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/01120038Dates600.jpg\")
Dates? Nope, not on that trip, but dates are one of the things San Ignacio is known for. I’ll bet they are delicious.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n San Ignacio has a town square that’s right out of central casting, there’s a little restaurant that serves the best chile rellenos in all of Mexico (I’m not exaggerating), and the place just has a laid back, relaxing feel about it.<\/p>\n
Santa Rosalia<\/strong><\/p>\n
You know, this town is another one of Baja’s best kept secrets.\u00a0 As you travel south on Highway 1, San Ignacio is the first town you encounter after traveling diagonally across the peninsula.\u00a0 Folks dismiss it because it’s an industrial town, but they do so in ignorance.\u00a0 There’s a lot of cool stuff in this place.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/DSC8179-600.jpg\")
The ride into Santa Rosalia a few years ago with novelist Simon Gandolfi, Arlene Battishill, J Brandon, John Welker, and yours truly. That’s a dead fish I’m holding.\u00a0 We did a round trip to Cabo San Lucas on 150cc Mustang replicas, just to say that we could.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n One of the things that’s unique about Santa Rosalia is the all-wooden architecture.\u00a0 The town was originally built by a French mining company (Boleo) and they built it they way they did in France.\u00a0 Like the Hotel Frances, which sits high on a mesa overlooking the town and the Sea of Cortez.\u00a0 I love staying there.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/150501_2422-650.jpg\")
The Hotel Frances. It used to be a brothel.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n There’s a cool mining musuem a block or two away from the Frances, and it’s worth a visit, too.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/180314_7809-650.jpg\")
The mining museum in Santa Rosalia.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n There are many cool things in Santa Rosalia, and one of the best is the Georg Eiffel church.\u00a0 It was designed by the same guy guy who did the Eiffel town.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/180314_7764-650.jpg\")
Santa Rosalia’s church. It’s an unexpected delight.\u00a0 And I’m not even Catholic.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/150501_2460-650.jpg\")
Inside Santa Rosalia’s Georg Eiffel church.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/180314_7750-650.jpg\")
Stained glass. Photos ops abound in Santa Rosalia.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n I’ve heard people dismiss Santa Rosalia as a gritty, industrial place not worth a stop.\u00a0 \u00a0Trust me on this:\u00a0 They’re wrong.\u00a0 It’s one of my favorite Baja spots.<\/p>\n
Bah\u00eda Concepci\u00f3n<\/strong><\/p>\n
Concepci\u00f3n Bay is easily the most scenic spot in Baja.\u00a0 It’s just south of Mulege (another delightful little town, and the subject of an upcoming ExNotes blog).\u00a0 Bah\u00eda Concepci\u00f3n runs for maybe 20 miles along the eastern edge of the Baja peninsula.\u00a0 I’ve seen whales from the highway while riding along its edge, the beaches are magnificent, and the photo ops just don’t stop.\u00a0 The contrast between the mountains and Cardon cactus on one side and the pelicans diving into bright green water is view from the saddle you won’t soon forget.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/DSC_8601-600.jpg\")
On one of many rides along Bah\u00eda Concepci\u00f3n, good buddy Joe Lee and yours truly rode our Triumph Triples. This is a favorite shot of mine.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/DSC_8596-600.jpg\")
Besides “wow,” what can I say?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/DSC07829-600.jpg\")
World-famous novelist and motorcycle adventurer Simon Gandolfi andn yours truly on 150cc scooters. We were on our way back from Cabo San Lucas when we stopped for this Bah\u00eda Concepci\u00f3n photo.\u00a0 Hardtail 150cc scooters.\u00a0 Up and down the length of Baja.\u00a0 I think about that ride every time I see a GS parked at a Starbuck’s.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n So there you have it:\u00a0 My take on seven favorite spots in Baja?\u00a0 How about you?\u00a0 Do you have any favorite Baja destinations?\u00a0 Let us know here in the comments sction!<\/p>\n
\nMore on Baja?\u00a0 You bet<\/a>!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Baja is a motorcycling paradise and I have a bunch of favorite destinations there.\u00a0 Seven of them, to be precise, although truth be told, I like everything in Baja except for Tijuana and maybe La Paz and Loreto.\u00a0 That said, my favorites are: Tecate San Quintin Catavi\u00f1a Guerrero Negro San Ignacio Santa Rosalia Concepcion Bay … Continue reading “The Wayback Machine: 7 Favorite Baja Destinations”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26319,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[654,392,63,89],"tags":[3,4143,622,864,2451,1724,3208],"class_list":["post-26313","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-adventure-motorcycle-books","category-back-in-the-day","category-baja","category-motorcycle-adventure-ride","tag-baja","tag-baja-cuisine-tagsbaja","tag-guerrero-negro","tag-mulege","tag-san-ignacio","tag-santa-rosalia","tag-whales"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/DSC8078-900.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26313","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26313"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26313\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26314,"href":"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26313\/revisions\/26314"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26319"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26313"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26313"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26313"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}