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Day 2, Feb. 24, 2001

San Quintin to San Ignacio
(348 miles; 8 hours 35 minutes)

Yes, these are real Mexican soldiers posing with Jesse and the Hummer. This is not an altered image.

The GPS (global positioning system)The Mexican flag A beautiful coastal agaveThe border between Northern and Souther BajaHorses grazing by the road--no fences around here

We woke up to a sunny day in San Quintin, and got on the road early. It would be a long day and a long drive -- our longest leg -- to make it all the way to San Ignacio. Here's a shot of the GPS from today. We must have been pointed northwest for about five minutes, at the exact time I decided to document our route for the day, which was mainly southeast.

Jess drove today, giving Dad a break. He took the road a little faster than Dad did, but he paid close attention. Like Dad said, driving the Hummer down this narrow two-lane highway is a lot like driving down a standard-sized parking stall that's about a thousand miles long. Passing by another large vehicle, like a truck, is a little unnerving, especially on the curves. I don't think I'll take a turn at the wheel. I am very much enjoying being a passenger. Except when Jesse farts. But that is a whole other story.

We all agreed that the scenery just outside El Rosario is among the prettiest we had ever seen. Fields and fields of dramatic, large boulders interspersed with tall, grand cactus made the route simply breathtaking. The landscape would change noticeably every 50 to 100 miles, sometimes with tall cactus, sometimes more of a chapparal, sometimes more lush, sometimes the land would be more red, more brown, or even black as if scorched. It just doesn't get boring ever.

The highway is the pulse of life in this desert land, but it's marked all along with the discards of the living, and evidence of the death it creates. The memorials became more creative today. One shrine was shaped like the front of a big rig truck, with the name "Hector" emblazoned across the top. Another was shaped like a little glass house, with flowers in front. We saw fewer dead dogs today, but more dead cows, as we passed through less populated terrain. I saw a mother and a calf lying dead together. We also saw a coyote tearing at a dead cow. We saw trash everywhere. It's strewn all along the road. In some places it is concentrated, as though there are occasional unmarked dumps for larger items, but it's clear that people use the road as a big trash can, despite the abundant "No tire basura" (don't throw trash) signs.

Lots of farm animals live on or around the road, and the few fences we saw were often in bad repair. We saw a group of horses grazing by the highway, some on one side and some on the other. They crossed it nonchalantly as we stopped to photograph them. Cattle were everywhere, sometimes grazing right next to the road on narrow curves. Herds of goats meandered along the road, along with the occasional chickens. It's clearly a problem when the roadkill consists largely of cows.

We saw some spectacular cactus along the way. In particular we liked a large yucca-looking plant with a spike that blooms at the top with bright yellow bouquets of flowers (I think it is a coastal agave). Another barrel-shaped cactus sported red tongue-like leaves or flowers on its crown (perhaps a biznaga?). The variety and beauty of the cactus surprised me. We all appreciate native flora, particularly Dad.

As we left San Quintin, we overtook a small pickup truck carrying a truly amazing load that appeared to be a washer and dryer with a refrigerator on top. They were stacked on top of each other and tied on with a wimpy looking rope. It scared all of us to ride behind the truck, so we passed it. But whenever we stopped for gas, a pit stop, or food, we would find ourselves behind the refrigerator truck. We must have passed this guy four times before the day was over.

The highlight of the day came at a military checkpoint. We stopped on the road for a military inspection, and the Hummer became the focus of attention. The machine gun-toting soldiers couldn't get over the red Hummer. They, too, had a Hummer. They crawled all over ours and asked all kinds of questions about it, including the price, and the GPS. I asked if I could take a picture of them, and one of the soldiers said no. But then one of the soldiers asked us to wait a minute, and he went to get a camera. They ended up taking pictures of a big group of themselves and us with the Hummer, machine guns and all. Then they said we could take pictures, too, so we had a little photo fest. Everyone was grinning from ear to ear. When we went to leave we still had a soldier rummaging in the back of the Hummer.

We stopped for lunch at the La Pinta Hotel in Catavina, and ran into some German tourists we recognized from the La Pinta in San Quintin. They asked if we had any gas. There is no gas for 200 miles from El Rosario to Guerrero Negro, but they had passed up a chance for gas in El Rosario, thinking they would find it in Catavina. We gave them the one gallon of gasoline we had (the Hummer takes diesel) and said we'd watch for them on the road. We never saw them again. You really have to plan these trips, and I'm so glad Dad has all the gas stations mapped out.

We drove all day, finally coming to the border between Baja California Norte and Baja California Sur. We took pictures of the sign marking the border, and admired the little military monument and large Mexican flag. We soon encountered an agricultural station, where the officials asked for 10 pesos (we gave them $1.25), took all of our apples and oranges, and then a man wearing a gas mask sprayed the Hummer with pesticides.

Before we got to San Ignacio, we went through one more military checkpoint, but this time they just admired the Hummer, asked a few questions and let us go. The soldiers never asked for our tourist cards, but the agriculture officials did.

We got to San Ignacio as the sun was setting. To see the sunset through hundreds of wild palm trees is a beautiful sight. We got to the La Pinta and had a serious case of deja vu (they are all laid out similarly). Once again, we had no phones in our rooms, so we called Pam from the front desk while the desk clerk looked impatient. Then we walked into town, which was lovely and eerie at the same time. The town has a very old look and feel, as though ghosts must traverse it, especially at night. The mission is breathtaking, and the town square was alive with merrimakers on this Saturday night. We found the Kuyima office open, and made arrangements for our whale watching trip with Maria.

Back at the La Pinta, we ate a dinner of scallops that seemed more like abalone, and then crashed. I'm writing this on Sunday, in an adorable little hut on Laguna San Ignacio. I can hear the water lapping at the shore. We had such an amazing day with the whales. But I'm too tired to get to that story now -- it will all come spilling out tomorrow. Suffice to say that in three days we've had enough adventure for a month. And there is more to come! So I had better get some sleep now, and finally lay this cold to rest for good.