In April Jaime flew back to Texas to help her Dad with some estate planning. The trip was extended when she stayed longer to help him with recovery from an injury. We had been wanting to get back to the East Cape and the weather was getting too warm for Jaime so I decided to head out for a solo trip in the camper.
First stop was a beach we had been to a couple of times – Boca de la Palma. Passing through San Jose del Cabo heading East the resorts give way to the old Baja of empty (mostly) white sand beaches where the desert meets the Sea of Cortez. Although some development has come to the East Cape much of it is still unpaved. I had the beach mostly to myself except for the occasional surfers and a few curious burros who wandered through camp to see what I was up to. With the Starlink set up on the sand I could stay connected, put my feet up and still feel a long way from anywhere. The weather was warm during the day and the sun down here below the Tropic of Cancer is intense, but it cooled off enough at night to make sleeping comfortable.
After a few days of enjoying the beach I drove further up the bumpy road to Cabo Pulmo National Park and found a free camping spot right on the water with a view across the bay to the mountains. An old abandoned building nearby has a great shark mural painted on it, a nice nod to the marine park just offshore. I had hoped to do some paddle boarding but the wind and waves were not cooperating. I messaged my amigo Clarence at Rancho San Dionisio to see if they had room for our rig and the answer was yes, as it was officially off season and the majority of gringos had gone back home. Perfecto.
Getting up to the ranch is a bit of a Baja adventure with some twisty mountain dirt road driving along the edge of the San Dionisio canyon up into the protected biosphere reserve. Photos below from our first trip up here in 2023 with our friends Kevin and Emma.
The road up was in pretty good shape and doesn’t require 4×4. The ranch is a pretty amazing place that Clarence and his wife Isabel have turned into an overlanders’ paradise. Campsites are tucked in among the mango and fruit trees, there’s a big palapa that serves as the kitchen and gathering spot, and a pool for cooling off in the afternoon heat. There’s even Starlink wifi and free coffee. The house rules on the chalkboard are simple: don’t pick the fruit, quiet at 11, and most important of all – ¡Diviértete! (have fun). The ranch dogs take that last one seriously and spend most of the day napping in the shade. Wandering the property you’ll find old wild fig trees, sunflowers, zinnias and a vintage pickup slowly becoming part of the garden.
The ranch is in the Reserva de la Biosfera Sierra de la Laguna and is the last stop on the road before the protected areas and trails that can be a multiday hike over the mountains to Todos Santos. The days were pretty warm with nice cooler evenings. Clarence usually makes an evening fire and invites guests to gather around and share stories. I tried to get an early start to do some hiking up the trail. Unfortunately most of the pools along the canyon were pretty dry, but I did hike back to a small stream and a shady side canyon full of ferns – a welcome bit of green in the dry season.
One night we ventured down the canyon to Rancho Ecológico – El Refugio for a delicious home made meal. The sign at the entrance sums up their philosophy: Preservar es Vivir – to preserve is to live. The ranch has beautiful pools among the smooth white boulders that we visited and enjoyed in 2024 when they had more water.
The dinner at the ranch is prepared over the open fire and starts with the traditional Baja California Sur staple of handmade flour tortillas, patted out by hand and cooked right on the grill over the coals. I was asked to help with the salsa in the molcajete and received some chuckles and a C- grade for my efforts.
After several days of beaches, canyons and campfires it was time to point the camper back toward home. The full loop from El Pescadero around the East Cape and up into the Sierra de la Laguna is only about four hours of driving, but it feels like a world away from the busy corridor between Cabo and Todos Santos. A hand painted sign tucked next to an agave at the ranch said it better than I could: You are exactly where you need to be.
