From Baja California Sur to Yucatan [part 1] – Heading north

Loreto Mexico

In 2023 Jeanette and I make another large journey through Mexico. This time we’re headed from La Paz in Baja California Sur to the Yucatan area. We’re not sure exactly where we want to end up. As usual for us we try to ride as few toll roads as possible. And we try to avoid ‘regular’ tourism as much as possible.

I’ve been planning the route for the last few months. And on April 24th we left La Paz with all our belongings strapped to the bike and started our big adventure. We hope to get a good look at Mexico post-chinese flu. Our trip will be about 8800km (~5500 miles) long.

Jeanette rides her BMW G310GS and I’m on a BMW F850GSA. Both bikes have been modified a bit with pannier racks, sidecases and GPS phone mounts. Jeanette also has a 4 liter RotoPax fuel tank.

Loreto and San Javier

Loreto

Our first stop was Loreto. A silly little town full of American tourism. Our main reason for stopping there was to visit the tiny village of San Javier a little ways into the mountains. Loreto is nice for its restaurants and hotels but has otherwise very little to offer to us. We spent 2 days here, 1 day exploring the town center and the next day we went to San Javier.

En route to San Javier

San Javier

In San Javier the main attraction is the old mission church and what’s left of the garden/grounds behind it. Most of it is in ruins, but the main church building is fully preserved which was very nice to see.

Mulege

After Loreto we moved on to Mulege, another small town where we spend the night.
Mulege is a bit of an oasis town which has a small river and some trees which was a nice change from living in La Paz where most nature is arid desert most of the year.

Mulege River

Mulege also has a old mission church, which was closed. I was hoping their old Prison would be open, apparently there is a nice museum in there, but it was closed as well. So instead we explored the town and its surroundings for the afternoon and moved on the next day.

Mulege river dam

San Ignacio

San Ignacio is another oasis town, mostly known for its town square and preserved church, which has a small museum next to it. Some of the clergy quarters and such are preserved. The museum was open, and lucky for us, free of charge. We also found a small museum that had replica cave paintings found in the area. Which was nice to see as well.

Also here, we explored the town and tried the few restaurants and had a nice time here.

Guerrero Negro and the cold front

Unknown to us a cold front had snuck up on Baja California. Which presented itself to us on the way to our next stop – Guerrero Negro. First as clouds, but later a firm northern wind hit us head-on as well. Suddenly we went from sunny 25-35 celsius to 8-15 celsius temperatures and a thick cloud cover. We stayed in Guerrero Negro for 1 night mostly to split up the long ride to Ensenada. But it was the coldest night in weeks…

Cold in Guerrero Negro

We both kept adding layers of clothing to keep somewhat warm, but that only works for so long. So we felt a bit miserable in our summery clothes.

Clouds in Guerrero Negro

In Guerrero Negro we strolled around town a bit looking for a decent restaurant but not much was available. The ‘hotel’ was one of those places where you’d expect a cockroach in every corner, but actually was pretty good. Still, we felt we made a poor choice in hotel somehow. At least the shower was hot…

El Rosario de Ariba and Ensenada

The next day we headed out into the pervasive northern wind which was even colder than yesterday. Our next stop was El Rosario de Ariba, a small farmers village, again to break up the long ride to Ensenada. We found a nice hotel there with an attached restaurant which had great food, yay! This cheered us up from the freezing cold quite a bit. The hot showers also helped a lot.

And the next day we started our 3rd day into the strong winds for the final leg to Ensenada.
The ride to Ensenada was scenic at times, with ever greener mountains and long stretched valleys. But the endless wind sort of ruined our mood. The road was narrow and didn’t allow for much stops, so we kinda had to get a move on and we arrived in Ensenada in the afternoon.
Ensenada, the touristy bit anyway, seems to be a small-ish sleepy town. Until a cruise ship arrives. Then suddenly all shops open up. The actual Ensenada is of-course much bigger and a ton of people live here.

Also the weather cleared up a bit, which was nice. No more clouds, woohoo!
Ensenada

We explored the touristy bit first and the next day the ‘regular’ city center as well and found the excellent Casa de Cultura, a preserved hacienda style building with a large garden that apparently has been used as a casino, hotel, bar, disco and a bunch of other purposes over the years. According to the lore the Margarita drink was invented here.
Currently it’s a bit of a museum and has a small bar kind of setup in the courtyard. A nice place to sit and have a drink.

Ensenada Casa de Cultura

Onwards!

Soon we’ll head east into Sonora and onto the rest of our journey trough Mexico. Some 7000 kilometers to go. Hopefully in nicer weather than the last few days.

The best time to visit Baja California Sur on a motorbike

The best time to visit Baja California Sur

After we left Cancun in mid-2021 and drove across Mexico over the span of a few months, we ended up in the area of La Paz, Baja California Sur. And the cold weather caught us by surprise. It made us wonder what the best time in the year is to visit Baja California Sur.

Over the past year we have learned that the climate in Baja California Sur can vary from place to place due to the long stretches of desert and mountain ranges between areas. So, the weather in la Paz is not nearly the same as the weather in Los Cabos. And same goes for Loreto.

In general all these areas have cold winter nights and very little rain throughout the year as a common climate.

Temperatures between daytime and nighttime may vary around 20 degrees celcius. And some days, especially in early spring the wind can be cold. But with little to no rain during the biggest part of the year, Baja California Sur has an excellent climate for motorbike riders.

Spring in Baja California Sur starts in March

Spring definitely is the best time of year, although it is a relatively busy time when it comes to tourism. You will see motorbike riders and campervans everywhere. But with the long stretches of road between villages and cities traffic is usually very light and some miles you feel like you are the only one on the road. Temperature-wise, the period between March and the end of May is the most comfortable we think.

Temperatures easily go up to 100°F (38°C) when Spring progresses. There is no rain, And during Spring Break and Easter, this is the busiest time of the year on the peninsula. During Semana Santa, Mexicans and Americans will camp out on the beach for the entire weekend and you’ll find the urban areas mostly empty.

Whale season is at its peak. If you’re lucky you can see the whales play out in the Sea of Cortez while following the panoramic coastal roads, and it is pretty spectacular.

La Paz

Summer in Baja California Sur starts in June and ends at the end of August

Summer is hot. You soon learn to start your days early to catch the early morning coolness. But that soon vanishes as summer reaches it’s peak in August. Temperatures are around 95ºF (35ºC) and you can imagine that that does to the tarmac. The chilly wind is gone, seawater is warming up to a point where you do not cool down when you take a dip.

Even at the night, it will not cool down, although the temperature still drops to around 20-25 degrees celcius. Because the days are hotter, so are the nights. July and August are the perfect months to honor a siesta during midday and start your days a little earlier when it is still cool.

At the end of summer sporadic rains may start, but don’t get all excited about the idea of all the desert dust settling down, it will be very brief and very localized, mostly in the higher mountains.

Fall is from September until the end of October and it will come with lots of storm warnings

Temperatures range from 98°F (36°C) and 82°F (28°C), which will feel very nice given the humidity and the breeze. Rainy periods will add up to a total of 4 days a month, and those downpours can be severe.

Almost immediately you’ll see the water crossings in the roads flooded by the rivers that suddenly fill up and you can’t continue your journey due to the raging river that suddenly appears. In the smaller towns and many neighborhoods streets will be muddy, with debree and rocks everywhere, a lot of it spilling out all over the towns and cities down hill. Especially in the mountains it will rain a lot. With that in mind you have to come prepared and drive with caution.

Tourism is fairly slow during these months because nobody wants rain during their holiday. But still, there is plenty of sunshine and the flash floods will disappear as fast as they appear in the dry grounds leaving only a few puddles as a reminder of the rain.

It is spectacular when the sky bursts open and the ground for the first time in months gets soaked. Within days mountains and the much of the desert turn a luscious green.

But then December through February winter arrives!

Many tourists from the USA love these months and consider them the best months to visit Los Cabos and La Paz. At night temperatures will drop to 50ºF (10ºC) while during daytime int he afternoons the thermometer will stop around 80ºF (27ºC) at most when the winter is at its peak.

But in october you already notice the turning of the wind, cooling down the air when you ride. While riding through the mountains large shadowy areas appear and you’ll feel chilly and later on even riding the pacific coastline will make you shiver.

The happy news is that the rain has stopped, on average it rains in winter no more than 1 day divided over the whole period. Of course this can vary from the Sea of Cortez and the Pacific Coast, and from the plains to the mountain areas, the mountains always seem to get a little more rain. Overall though, there will be plenty of sunshine to brighten up your cool winter day.

Winter, and spring make the perfect climate to ride in Baja California Sur, all the way down to Los Cabos.
Plenty of places to camp or stay overnight, and the choice of coastal or winding mountains roads is yours.

You can join the campervans and mobile homes from the winter-birds coming down from the north looking for sunshine, visiting the many bays and beaches where you can camp and get that “Robinson Crusoe feel” of living on a lonely beach and endless sea.

Just be sure to bring a sweater or a jacket.

What will be your favorite time of year in Baja California Sur? And how did you experience the temperatures during your stay?

Looking for routes to ride on the Baja California Peninsula?

We have tested and safe tracks and routes for you to check out. Routes also includes Points of Interest with noteworthy locations such as hotels, restaurants, checkpoints and fuel stations we’ve used or or encountered.

All prepared in easy to use GPX files that you can import in many route planning apps.

Interesting routes

Roadside assistance for the BMW G310GS

Yesterday we were headed out to Todos Santos for lunch and icecream and just a leisurely drive. After stopping for fuel near the Walmart in La Paz the BMW G310GS wouldn’t start anymore. Dead battery – Not just low voltage, but actually dead.

We know a local guy which provides great service – And also does comes to your aid as it turns out. So with waiting and checking the battery and replacing it we were back on the road 2 hours later.

But it made me wonder, the symptoms match a lot of quirks my F850GS Adventure has… Maybe that one is bad too?

Update: I have recently replaced the battery in my F850GSa and since then none of the software, abs, brake and brake light issues have reared their head. Which made me realize all the electronics on it are kind of a luxurious pest.

Roundtrip to Cabo

Yesterday I went to the Cabo area for some exploring and alone time. Along the way I found a jungle like area that reminded of me of the Philippines. Having barely dodged a rain storm everything was nice and freshly green after the rain forced the dust to the ground.

An afternoon in Cabo san Lucas

Cabo Trip

In May of 2022 I drove down to Cabo san Lucas for lunch and a bit of fun. Living in La Paz is great, but the city as a whole doesn’t have much to offer and a change of scenery is nice from time to time. Cabo is supposedly only a few hours away. And it almost is. The plan was to leave somewhat early, have some fun in Cabo and ride back at the end of the day. Simple as that.
Continue Reading…

Visiting Todos Santos in Mexico

A little roadtrip to the Todos Santos and the nearby beaches.

in the southern bit of Baja California Sur in Mexico.

Ruins on the beach

Somehow this restaurant failed. All that is left are some walls and floors.

Today’s ride along the Sea of Cortez

From my little adventure today driving along the coast on the Sea of Cortez in Mexico’s Baja California Sur.
Lots of gravel and dust, but also alluring blue waters!

Los Barriles is surrounded by desert

Baja California Sur is mostly desert land surrounded by sea. Today we rode almost a 100 Kilometers to Los Barriles.