Around the World in 800 Days

[flyingdutchman177]

It seems the latest generation in Mexico would rather be connected to their i phone than be raising cattle out in the middle of nowhere. Here's one of the many abandoned ranches in Baja. It shows that people are moving away from the rural life to a more urban lifestyle

[flyingdutchman177]

Here a typical Baja road - widing thru cholla cactus and ocotillos. This roads runs along side the base of Baja's biggest mountain - El Diablo - at just over 10,000 feet

[flyingdutchman177]

Friendly burros in Baja

[jubego]

Originally Posted by flyingdutchman177

"just turn left at the dead cow" is how most people give directions here in Baja

The sign says in spanish

"Arch of triumph"

[flyingdutchman177]

yeh
and the funny thing is, the road leads to a drug rehab center in the middle of nowhere.
I have stopped there before and I can attest..........it works
They get off the drugs and booze thru finding themselves
plus they have no where to run
It is 40 miles from the nearest town.
I think people have tried and died. Now they have put bottles of water in the palo verde trees so people won't die when they try to flee

Originally Posted by jubego

The sign says in spanish

"Arch of triumph"

[flyingdutchman177]

I think I have stayed in every one of the 30 rooms at Mike's
And I never get tired of staying there
Here's a view of the road heading in to Mike's

[flyingdutchman177]

I have been to Mike's well over a hundred times but I have only swam in the pool a hand full of times. It is usually too cold. So this time it was warm enough (well warmer than the arctic ocean at least), so I took a dip

[flyingdutchman177]

My favorite room :)

[flyingdutchman177]

I love this view. Other than the road, you can not see any man made things in any direction



here's picture of me and the boys at the summit

[Luckies_AUT]

Great pictures and stories!! Keep on goin!

[flyingdutchman177]

Mexico has been making wine since the late 1500's
In Baja, the first wine grapes were planted in 1697 when the first mission was founded in Loreto.
In more modern times, the first commercial winery in Northern Baja was founded in 1888 - Santo Tomas Winery. And the winery in still going strong today.
In the past 20 years, some smaller wineries have popped up making high quality wines in Guadalupe Valley (the Napa Valley of Baja) such as Monte Xanic and Casa de Piedra.
And in the past 10 years there has been an explosion of small boutique producers making some great wines that compete on the world stage.
This vineyard is in San Vicente and is owned by LA Cetto.



In October, the grapes were at the ideal ripeness for eatting

[flyingdutchman177]

Can't do this in "upper" California any more

[flyingdutchman177]

This client had a crash and one of the cactus needles penetrated the plastic gas tank. This is a view looking inside the filler cap. If it would go thru the gas tank, it would go thru just about anything.

[flyingdutchman177]

The biggest danger in Mexico is not the drug cartels
It's not drinking the water and getting sick
It is not even your own motorcycle
Beware of the Chupacabras!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[flyingdutchman177]

There is a bar in Ensenada that is now 125 years old. It's called Hussong's Cantina.
You can order lots of different beers and tequilas there.
But until recently, if you wanted a nice glass of wine, you had to buy a bottle at a restuarant.
Now there are a couple of different options.
QHFAN2 and I are sharing a wine flight together at 2 different wine tasting rooms in town. We had a couple of hours to kill and didn't need any souvenirs to bring home
They also are serve bread, cheese, and olive oil.
A fun stop