Took a trip down to Baja over the holidays. My sister hadn’t been so we loaded some food and camping supplies in her truck and headed south from Arizona. The last time I rode down was maybe 8 or 10 years ago when the road was potholed pavement south of San Felipe to Puertocitos before it turned to rough washboard and light sand down past Cocos through the mountains and over to Mex 1.

I had heard of the 100 miles of smooth pavement south of San Felipe. It is like a super highway compared to days gone past:

You can still see the rough old road down below a lookout if you squint:

imagine my surprise at the gas station at the turnoff to Gonzaga Bay:

12.8 miles south of Gonzaga Bay just past a new bridge over a dry wash the pavement ends abruptly:

Finally the road that I remembered. It is vanishing like a dream you can’t quite remember when you wake:

There are only 25 miles of unpaved road remaining. Down past Coco’s corner, through the mountains over to the main highway.

Coco’s corner is still there. Stopped by to buy a couple cokes and give Coco a tip. He had one leg when I last saw him. Both legs are gone now, but he is still the same old Coco. I told him he is famoso en el internet con mis amigos de moto en ADV. He smiled. Like he cares. He is in good spirits and healthy which is all I was wondering. Sitting in the corner he looked like a Baja Budha (if you can imagine the ladies underwear still stapled to the ceiling are Tibetan prayer flags) :

Whenever life seems rough all I have to do is remember Coco hanging tough down in the desert and all my troubles seem insignificant. He is still the same irascible, can-do kind of guy with a twinkle in his eye.

Best to all for the New Year! Tio Juanito