The Cactus Trip Diaries

Catch up time; This episode actually comes from San Ignacio.

Last night we made it to Guerrero Negro (named after a boat called the Black Warrior that sank here a long time ago.

On the way from Bahia de Los Angeles to Guerrero Negro, we had hoped to make a side trip into the mountains to Misión San Borja. This can only be accessed via a rough dirt track. While the Nissan Altima glides over tarmac like a cloud, it is so low that today we grounded the car on a ´Sleeping Policeman’  (Drempel in Dutch, Topes in Bajanese)! So lots of fun on dirt, NOT! We had planned to take a track south, but after some 3 km (out of 46) had to go back, as we could not make a hill with enormous potholes, on sand. A Hilux would have had no problem.

Went back to the main road, and made a few excellent plant stops. At one, we saw a different Agave and as I walked up to it, I heard a different noise: a Rattle Snake, ready to strike. Great to have a 200 mm zoom lens on the camera, as I gently walked away from it, checking that its brother was not behind me. Got some great pictures! If this one (my first) is anything to go by, it starts making so much noise when you are still a safe distance away, that we should avoid contact, unless we are stupid – like Leo who would have wanted a close up with his 28 mm lens!

Once back on MEX1, it was easy-going south, but we made another attempt to get to the Mision from another track, leading East. This time it was ´only´ 22 miles, at a speed of 16 km p. hr. it took 2 hours with some brief stops, including ´an interesting stick Euphorbia´ (says Alain) in flower, fruit and also a crested form and a Ferocactus that was more than 2 m. tall!

We made it to the Mision around 3:45, but as it gets dark at 5:30, it was a race to get back to the main road and then drive another 80 km to Guerrero Negro.