Author: Victoria

Hello, I'm Victoria. I was born and raised in Savannah, Ga. I am a traveling nurse that specializes in critical care. My husband Tim and I purchased a fifth wheel RV and live on it full time. In between jobs, we will adventure within and outside of the U.S. I hope you enjoy reading about our travels and hope our posts help people out with theirs.

Follow the long road, to Luang Prabang we go! 🎶

It is a long way from Viang Xai to Luang Prabang (the biggest city in the north of Laos), especially when you are two people with two backpacks on one scooter.  Our butts can take approximately 5 hours before uncontrollable, irritable mood swings begin.  Therefore we had to make two stops before getting to Luang Prabang.  The first stop was a very small town called Xieng Thong (some people and the signage leading to it still call it Muang Hiam). The second leg of the journey was a stop in Nong Khiaw, another really small town but with a waterfall you can pay $30 to go see…no thanks.  Not trying to sound snobbish but we have seen many awesome waterfalls and therefore couldn’t justify forking over $60 to see this one.  We stayed at the Phouisak Guesthouse for 60,000 kip/night ($7.50). It is the low season so that is why the rooms are so cheap and there are hardly any travelers around. We tried Laos’ version of Hot Pot, is was much more delicious than the Vietnamese version (sorry Vietnam).  Despite its deliciousness, I would not order it again.  First of all, it’s hot, I mean like working in a coal factory hot. Second of all it’s a lot of work, I mean like working in a coal factory.

Both legs of the ride on the motorbike were worth it.  I don’t think the experience would have been as good on a bus.  The landscape is so beautiful it’s like looking into a National Geographic magazine.  Finally after 420 kilometers we made it to Luang Prabang, the largest city in the north known it’s charm and historical character. Luang Prabang is like the Hoi An of Laos.  It is quaint, colonial, inviting, charming, and…Frenchy (like from France). We stayed at the Hoxieng Guesthouse for 120,000 kip/night ($15/night).  It was a very clean guesthouse and in the perfect location – walking distance to the Mekong River, night market, and other interests in the old town.

We hiked to the top of Mount Phousi which provided us great views of the city and many interesting Buddhist statues.  There is a large hole in the rock which the people claim to be Buddha’s footprint.  Personally, I think it could be evidence for a Laotian Sasquatch, but I’m not scientist.  It costs 20,000 kip/person ($2.50) to go to the top and see all these wonderful things.

We walked around the old town and saw many temples where monks reside. Every morning at dawn the monks come out in a precession for alms. My closest experience of this was one morning from my guesthouse I heard low-pitched chanting and the slow beat of a drum, then I rolled over in bed.  The night market is great but don’t expect to get any great bargains.  Laotians are hard sellers and most refuse to haggle.  The street food is pretty good which we ate every night.  Luang Prabang is known for these little sausages you can buy on the street. I believe they’re made with pork belly and they are so, so devilishly delicious but they will kill you if you eat them every day.

My favorite thing we did was going to the amazing Kuang Si waterfall.  It took us about 45 min to get there from Luang Prabang by motorbike.   It costs 20,000 kip/person ($2.50) to enter and included a sun bear exhibition.  This is a sanctuary where they have saved sun bears from the evil Chinese people who think it is good for your health to drink their bile.  Poachers will capture these sweet animals, keep them in small cages and put drains in them to extract the bile.

The falls begin after the sun bear exhibit and start out small.  The water is usually aqua blue in color.  Due to the heavy rains the water was more green than blue, yet still beautiful.  The smaller falls almost seem man-made because of how they go on and on until you get to the BIG waterfall.  Gawp for a moment but it isn’t over.  Everyone rushes to the bridge to play in the spray from the falls.  If you look to the left of the falls there is a secret staircase.  It will take you to the top of the falls where there are far fewer people.  At the top, there’s a nice, and cold, natural swimming pool and places where you can walk all the way to the edge of the falls.  It sounds dangerous and it was definitely exhilarating but it was totally safe because there was this totally safe wooden rail made by the locals to protect you from falling in.  Lets just say that in the good ol’ U.S. of A. we would never be allowed to go that close to the waterfall.

So far Laos has been pretty amazing.  I love the green and lushness of the land.  However, the road less traveled isn’t for everyone. Since crossing the border the road has been VERY rural. Google maps isn’t up to date in Laos.  Often times we would see the name of a city but nothing else.  There is no plan. I don’t know if there is a gas station coming up or if there is a guesthouse or hotel when we stop.  If I started to worry I always told myself, we have money so we will be ok…

Crossing into Laos and exploring the caves of Viang Xai

The road from Mai Chau was challenging at times for two people and two backpacks on one motorbike, especially after a good rain.  There was one spot in particular that halted us in our journey.  In rural Vietnam, a nice paved road turned into a gravel road which the turned into a huge mud puddle.  After having driven nearly an hour all we could do was stare at it, both of us pondering our next action.  It was then a miracle happened.  A local on a motorbike, fully loaded with a mountain of stuff (chickens, plastic bottles, etc.) passed us by and with full confidence maneuvered his bike through the giant puddle with no complications.  Maybe it was the shot of whiskey a local man gave me before leaving Mai Chau that day or maybe it was something else, but I said “Go for it!” Obviously we made it through but just warning, it can get a little hairy here and there.  That was by far the worst spot.  We stayed one night in Quan Son before heading the border the next day.
Motorbike skills
Motorbike skills

The Na Meo border crossing was very relaxed and easy.  It was a Sunday and we were the only people there.  The Vietnamese officer gave us a few tips on how to say “Hello” and “Thank you” in Laotian.  It costs 200,000 VMD or ($10) to export the bike.  Once we got to the Laos side it was $3 to import the bike and $40 each for our 30 day visa.  The road on the Laos side isn’t all that great but not too bad. A little bumpy and pot-holish (that’s a word now).  Nothing a little Paracetamol (Asian Tylenol) won’t fix.  We passed little villages where people will either stare at you in utter surprise (like they haven’t seen a white person before) or warmly wave and welcome you with a resounding “HELLO!!!” It’s heartwarming when the village kids run down the steps of their huts to wave at us as we pass.

 Our first night in Laos was in Viang Xai.  We stayed at Chitchareune Hotel for only 100,000 kip ($12.50) a night.  It was a good deal. We had a huge comfy king size bed, flat screen smart tv, and air conditioning.  Ohhhh happy dayyy. There isn’t really much to this town, in fact it seems like a post-apocalyptic ghost town when you arrive. There is however some very interesting history regarding the impact the Vietnamese War had on the people.  Like the people living in the tunnels in Vietnam the Laotian people sought refuge in the many caves that surround the area.

Entrance to Viang Xai. This image can be a little unsettling for an American. Once I learned the history I had a better understanding.
Entrance to Viang Xai. This image can be a little unsettling for an American. Once I learned the history, I had a better understanding.
Tim and I decided to take the audio tour of the caves which is 60,000 kip ($7).  It sounds cheesy but it turned out to be pretty cool.  First of all we were the only people on the tour which includes a (very little) English-speaking guide.  The audio tour had good music, real interviews from survivors and the narrator sounded kind of like a British Morgan Freeman so it was easy to pay attention.  I’m not a big history buff, so I had no clue about this “secret” war that the US had going on with Laos during the Vietnam War. So here’s the Readers Digest version The U.S. bombed Laos because they wanted to stop communism and Laos was believed to play a part in its expansion. Planes bombed Laos everyday from 1964 to 1973.  Thousands of people belonging to the communist faction sought refuge in the caves from the bombs. The people had to learn life without being seen by the planes, spending most of the lives in the caves.  Interesting facts –  1) They only had one hour to cook, 0500-0600, all the meals of the day so smoke wouldn’t be seen. 2) All the clothing they had that was white they rolled in mud to dye it brown. 3) They had ducks and chickens but if one was born white or red they would kill it. They learned this from a captured pilot who told them that he was told to look for chickens. There are many caves in the area but we were only allowed to go into 7 on the tour. Some caves were natural and some were a mix of natural and man-made (via dynamite). Some caves, that housed the bigwigs in the communist movement, had airtight bomb shelters within them that had these really awesome oxygen pumps (provided by the Russian’s).  One of them still worked and you could feel the air coming out with manual cranking.
One story stood out to me from the tour.  We ascended a steep staircase to the mouth of a cave where the anti-aircraft artillery would attempt to shoot down the planes.  We listened to a survivor tell us his story about when he shot one down.  The people ran out to the plane to try and capture the pilot but he wouldn’t come out.  Suddenly another plane came and started shooting at the people so they had to run back to the caves.  Lucky for him, the pilot was rescued. It seemed like a scene from a movie. Standing where the Laotians were shooting down planes in the valley and imagining the scene of them running out to the plane. It felt very real. Viang Xai wasn’t even named until after the war was over, it means “City of Victory.”

Going underground…Vietnamese Tunnels and Caves

We bungeed our backpacks to the motorbike rack and hit the road to Dong Ha to see the famous Vinh Moc Tunnels.  We were excited to go inside the tunnels for a true experience of how the people survived underground during the Vietnam War. We were amazed at the complexity of the tunnels. There are 13 different entrances, 7 of which point out to the sea where they received food and weapons from the north.  There are 3 layers of the tunnel system at 12, 18 and the deepest 22 meters. It took 13 months to build and sheltered 300 people.  Each family had a very small living space, literally a hole in the wall.  The worst part was the fact that there was only ONE bathroom for everyone! ONE… for 300 people! At least the air temperature was cool, being underground and all.  When the tour was over I was conflicted with feeling happy to get out, since it can be a little claustrophobic, and a yearning to go back in when the 110 degree heat index and 100% humidity slapped me in the face.  The people lived like this from 1966-1972, six years, and 17 children were born in the tunnels.  The war ended long ago, but the bomb craters are still visible.  The Vietnamese that lived in these tunnels survived during a hard time. I can’t even imagine how awful it must have been.

Ok enough depressing stuff.  Our next adventure was at Phong Nha National Park, home to the oldest karst mountains in all of Asia (approximately 400 million years old!). It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  The park has 300 different caves and grottos.  We opted to explore Paradise Cave, founded by British explorers in 2005 and recently opened to the public a few years ago.  You can walk along a wooden boardwalk for 1 kilometer into the cave but it goes as deep as 31 kilometers.  The cool damp air within the cove is mighty refreshing after having hiked a couple of miles in the sweltering heat.   I couldn’t stop smiling like a child at the impressive formations within the cave.  Every step gets better and better.  The park did a fantastic job on illuminating the cave. It felt like being on another planet.  The cost was 250,000 VMD each (or about $13 USD). It was one of the most unique experiences I’ve ever had in my life and worth every penny.

If you don’t have a motorbike, I highly recommend renting one for the day to explore the beautiful park.  The loop around the park is incredibly scenic and there are little side trips to do as well.

Hoi An, the biggest little city in Vietnam

Hoi An is a must if you travel to Vietnam. There are so many great things about it.  It has a nice beach, a quaint downtown scene which locals call the “old town” and lots of delicious, cheap, street food.  Most of the accommodations in Hoi An are “homestays.” We decided to stay at Thanh Laun homestay located between the old town and the beach.   The homestay came with free bikes which came in handy for getting around. The hostess of the homestay, Trinh, was very welcoming and made delicious coffee and breakfast every morning.  Thanh Luan is located right off the main road, Hai Ba Trung.  If you go north it will take you to An Bang beach.  If you go south you will hit the old town.  Since we stayed in the middle it only took us 10 minutes by bike to get to either.  And the food, ohhhh myyyy GAWWWWDDDDD! Commence food pics….

The bike ride to the beach is very beautiful, especially at sunset.  In fact, we think Hoi An has the best sunset we have seen so far in Vietnam.  There can be quite a bit of traffic on the road but it didn’t have much of an impact on the beauty of our surroundings.  There are rice farmers throwing seeds in the paddy fields and grazing water buffalo. There is an intersection before you get to the beach, turn left and take the next right and venture down one of the alleys for a less crowded area of the beach.  You can park your bikes for free and the chair rentals are only 20,000 VMD ($1).  Don’t follow Hai Ba Trung all the way to the beach or you will have to pay to park your bike and like $70,000 VMD for a beach chair.  Also it is VERY crowded at this section of the beach.  The locals start to crowd the beach daily around 5 pm.

You do not have to pay to go into the Old Town.  There are some historic buildings that you must have a ticket to go into but it doesn’t cost anything to walk around.  Wandering around the old town at night is a must.  Motorbikes are not allowed and the old town is lit up by colorful lanterns.  It creates a romantic ambiance.  There are ladies that strongly encourage you to purchase their “wish” candles you can float down the river. I couldn’t resist.  We noticed a huge difference in the amount of people on the weekend verses weekday so if possible try to avoid visiting on the weekend.

 

Another thing you must do is have some clothes tailor-made.  Having wide hips and long legs, it has always been a struggle in my life to find a great pair of jeans.  A petite Vietnamese lady took my measurements and in less than 24 hours I had a $40 pair of jeans that never fit me so good.   For $70, Tim had a purple sports coat made.  He was due for a new one.  If you know Tim, you know how much he loves his purple sport’s coat he got from a Goodwill like 10 years ago.   The ladies nailed our clothes since neither one of us needed adjustments.  You can literally have anything you want made in 24 hours.  If you have a picture of what you want, the tailors can copy it for you. It is simply amazing.

We spent five very enjoyable nights in Hoi An and could have stayed longer.  Tim and I have been hearing a lot about this very popular ride from Hoi An to Hue via motorbike….Stay tuned. 🙂

The road less traveled, Nha Trang to Doc Let.

From Mui Ne we bought our bus tickets from a travel agent conveniently located down the ally from our hotel.  The tickets were 100,000 VMD each (about $4.50). It was our first time in a sleeper bus.  The ride was fairly comfortable and went by fast.

Sleeper bus
Sleeper bus. I invested in a face mask which helps block out second hand smoke and automobile exhaust.

Five hours later we were dropped off in Nha Trang.  We knew we were in serious tourist territory on the way to our hotel with many white faces, mostly Russian, flooding the streets.  After checking out a couple different hotels, we decided on the Sunny Sea Hotel.  It’s nestled down a quiet ally only one block away from the beach.  They quoted $20/night but came down to $18/night after we said we had to look around a bit.  We had a balcony which overlooked the ally. We don’t usually like to stay in the tourist zone because of the inflated prices on food but it didn’t take long for us to find where the locals hang out.  From the hotel it’s only a 10 min walk to the street, Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, where you will find lots of cheap eats.

All the reviews about the beach in Nha Trang were true, it’s spectacular.  Despite all the tourism the beach is kept pretty clean for Vietnamese standards. The water is clear, the sand is white, the waves were calm so swimming was great as well.  The only problem was the hawkers who pace up and down the beach trying to sell you everything from artwork to corn on the cob.  I recommend renting beach chairs from the Louasiane Brewhouse for $40,000 ($1.80) where you also have access to a nice pool and showers.  Another perk I liked about renting chairs from the brewhouse is how the hawkers can’t come up to your chairs while on the beach.  They will however yell at you from outside the “no solicitation” zone.

The pool at Louasiane Brewhouse.
The pool at Louasiane Brewhouse.

 Another thing Nha Trang is known for is it’s night life and party atmosphere.  To be honest I can’t really say if it this is true because we didn’t go out after 10 p.m.  During the day we didn’t see anything but families and couples. Maybe the partiers all come out later.  We were however told four different times to be careful with our bags on the beach.  Apparently, Nha Trang is also known for its bag snatchers and pick pockets.  

A street at night in Nha Trang.
A street at night in Nha Trang.

After three nights we were ready for a slower pace.  We took the local bus (number 3) to Doc Let beach, about an hour and a half north of Nha Trang and only costs 24,000 VMD each ($1).  Accommodations are quite slim here, especially when arriving on a Saturday so plan accordingly.  I highly recommend staying at Paradise Resort.  It’s a mile walk down the beach from where the bus drops you off. An aircon room for two that includes all 3 meals was $60 a night.  Those who know us know how cheap we are so $60 a night is a lot to us. BUT… We were literally right on the beach.  I was a little worried about the all-inclusive meal deal but all the meals exceeded my expectations.  Lunch and dinner ranged from 3-4 courses. They also had beer and coke which are less than a dollar a piece.

To me Doc Let was more enjoyable than Nha Trang where you can’t go five seconds without hearing the honk of an automobile or being hawked for sunglasses or motorbike rentals every five minutes. I would definitely return to Paradise resort.  After three very enjoyable nights, we walked back down the beach to the bus stop and took the local bus to Ninh Hoa where we waited for another bus to pick us up to continue our journey north to Qui Nhon.

Wow! Our trip to Vung Tau!

Vung Tau is a popular get-a-way from the hustle and bustle of HCMC.  To get here from HCMC you take the ferry which costs 200,000 dong, or about $9, per person.  The ferry terminal in HCMC is called Ben Tau Canh Ngam.  There are two popular locations for lodging while visiting Vung Tau.  The front beach, more popular with foreigners because of the closeness to shopping and restaurants, or the back beach where the locals vacation.  We chose the back beach because the beach looked nicer but were initially concerned because we weren’t sure if there was going to be restaurants around.  It turned out to be a good gamble.  The location is great because it’s only a five minute walk to the beach and there’s plenty of cheap-eats type restaurants since the locals frequent the area. We stayed at the Tan Hoang Than hotel for 300,000 dong, $13.50, per night.  The hotel was a little on the dirty side but it came with a balcony and the price was awesome for the location.  Beware that this area gets hoppin’ on the weekend and the rates triple.   At night it’s nice to walk along the waterfront and people watch.  The beach was great and very nice for swimming.

We walked to see the giant Jesus of Vung Tau which stands a whopping 32 meters (105 feet). This is free to do if you have to energy to ascend approximately 900 steps.  What I really liked was being able to go inside of Jesus, up a narrow spiral staircase of about 130 steps, to take in a spectacular view of the beach.

The food we had here was incredible.  We tried various restaurants and street seafood vendors.  You can’t go wrong it’s all fantastic and most Vietnamese dishes are less than $2 each.  The seafood is more costly and a couple of times we splurged $5 for crab claws or clams.  We have become very fond of the coffee.  We order the iced coffee with milk like twice a day which are only 50-75 cents each.

It was obvious that most foreigners choose to stay near the front beach.  Every time we went out, people stared at us like they never saw a white person before lol.  In fact we didn’t see another white person the 4 days we were there.  Most people we met were so friendly, especially the children who all say “hello!” when they see us. It melts my heart every time.  It’s amazing how easy it is to hang out and laugh with people even though you can’t speak the same language.

Tim and some locals smoking tobacco out of this strange bong like pipe. It was tobacco I promise.
Tim and some locals smoking tobacco out of this strange bong like pipe. It was tobacco I promise.

Good Mornin’ Vietnam!

We were horribly exhausted after traveling for 32 hours when we arrived at 2 am in HCMC (Ho Chi Minh City), formally known as Saigon.  Thankfully it was a breeze getting through customs since we were literally the only flight to arrive at that time.  We had our visa set up to pay on arrival so there was no issue there either.  The only reservation we made for the entire 10 weeks we will be traveling was for the first night so the hotel would set up the airport shuttle. We didn’t want to worry about how to get to the hotel and it only cost $14 dollars. It wasn’t until after we arrived that we discovered Uber works in HCMC and it would have been 1/3 of the cost.  Anyways we stated at Madam Cuc 184.  It costs $20 a night.  The hotel is in a quiet part of the backpackers district which can get crazy at night.  The rooms and bathrooms were clean.  The only thing I didn’t like was how they lock the gate at 2300 each night.  Since we were jet lagged we would wake up at 0300 in the morning and were stuck.  Also the manager requested to hold our passports during our stay.  At first I was a little sketched out but we later learned that this is actually a law.  All hotels are supposed to take your passports.

There are plenty of options to eat around the hotel including a market.  The park is right around the corner and we were surprised at all the Vietnamese people getting up early to exercise in the park.  Some were doing their own thing, some were in groups all wearing the same shirts.  We saw people doing the fan dancing thing, Thai chi, and aerobic dancing.  Tim and I decided to jump in and play too. 🙂

We read about the hazards of pedestrians in the city so we were mentally prepared.  Some streets are easy but some times you have to literally put yourself out there, with a confident step you will succeed in crossing the street.  The cars and buses are the real threat.  They are like the great white sharks of the road and will squash you without hesitation.  The motorbikes can easily manuever around you.  Once you do it a couple of times you get the flow of traffic and will understand.  There is a method to the madness.

While in the city we visited two different museums, the War Remnants museum and the Reunification Palace. The war remnants museum was interesting and displays the atrocities of the war.  However, some of the facts and portrayal of the Americans are slightly skewed.  It was nice to stroll around the Reunification Palace and view the luxurious rooms and underground bunker.

HCMC smells of cigarettes and gasoline with a hint of fish sauce.  Smoking is an epidemic here and the motorbikes are everywhere.  The fish sauce comes from the food obviously.  However it is delightful and charming in its own way.  It’s a vibrant city and there is always something to do at all hours of the day.  This is why it’s a good place to be whilst getting over jet lag since there is always somewhere open to get beer, food, or whatever your heart desires.  The Vietnamese people are very friendly and willing to help us even while we butcher the correct pronunciation of their language.  Google translate has been a God send and I highly recommend downloading the Vietnamese language pack.  For some reason I was under the impression that most people spoke English here. We are slowly picking up phrases and it always helps to smile when approaching people. 🙂

Boondocking by the beach with burros, at Los Zacatitos

Where can you be invited to a wedding, chili cookoff and a full moon party and homage to burning man celebration on the beach in one week? Well none other than a little black speck on the map called Los Zacatitos. It is about 8 miles down the east cape from San Jose del Cabo. We would of never even considered traveling here if it wasn’t for making friends along the way down Baja. While attending happy hour at Cielito Lindo in San Quintin a few weeks back, we met Barbara. Barbara lives half of the year in Los Zacatitos and the other in Oregon. Most of the community only lives here seasonally, escaping the sweltering heat of the summer that begins in April/May. We met up with Barb at the only restaurant in town, Zac’s (great food, but wifi not so great). She gave us a tour of town and helped us find a spot by the beach to camp. Like many other rural towns/communities in Baja, there are no paved roads, no street lights or signs for that matter.

Just like Cabo Pulmo, we found a free site right on the beach. We didn’t have any cell or internet service, but we did entertain daily burro visits. A mama and baby came to our camp everyday. The baby was cute, furry and loved to be pet. Swimming can be dangerous in some places because of the jagged rocks and the strong tide. However at low tide you can swim in a natural pool formed by the rocks. We made this a daily experience for us.

The full moon party on the beach started with the locals coming together during the day to build the burning man with wood salvaged from various sources. Everyone brought food, we all hung out on the beach, ate and took pictures with the burning man. Everyone was allowed to write down a wish and place it in a mermaid pinata to be burned along with the man. At moonrise, simultaneous with the sunset, the burning commenced. Afterwards we went to another party down the east cape road at another beach, called Shipwreck Beach. There was a DJ, lights, and many hula hoops of all kind of shapes and sizes. It was funny to watch Tim hula hooping in the laser light show with trance music in the background.

We decided to drive to the wedding that was held in the arroyo on the way to what the locals call the “community beach”. On the way there, our truck got stuck in the soft sand in the middle of the freakin road. We love El Oso, but damn it if we don’t need a four wheel drive. Anyways, usually I would freak out and get all pissed off. However I knew that it would only be a couple minutes before someone would come along and save us. “No worries amigo”, he said as he drove the large bronco around our truck dug about a foot into the sand. Like one of the professional Nascar crew, Tim had the tow strap out and hooked up. We were pulled out in like five minutes. We thought that we were going to be late with the truck shenanigans but literally as soon as we walked up and set the cooler down, the exchanges were made and we witnessed the first husband and wife kiss. There was a Mexican caterer making fresh fish and shrimp tacos, all the wedding guests brought food and there was a huge trough of cold beer and wine for the guests. Various musicians performed, even the groom, and we once again danced through the night, barefoot in the sand.

Because we were so close to popular and chic Cabo San Lucas we drove to visit one day. It is your typical tourist trap town but we had to visit, I guess. We walked around the marina and were hawked by the waterfront restaurant vendors and tour boats. Tim read about a trail you can hike to get to Lover’s beach instead of taking the tour boat, but you have to go through hotel property. So we walked and walked and walked. Finally when we made it, the hotel guard didn’t allow us to pass saying that it was too dangerous to go to the beach. We thought it was BS at the time. However when we made it back to the marina to take a tour boat the captain confirmed Lover’s beach was closed due to dangerous waves. We didn’t get to see the famed beach of Baja, so I can’t say it is the best beach. If I could do it over, I would take tour boat. We did however drive to Medano Beach which was nice.

Medano beach in Cabo San Lucas
Medano beach in Cabo San Lucas

San Jose del Cabo has a “Zona Hotelera” (aka tourist trap zone, aka zone that Americans can brave walking around Mexico without the fear of getting raped or murdered or burned alive) as well. There is an art walk every Thursday evening. I definitely recommend checking out the historic downtown area followed by beer and live music at Baja Brewing Company.

We spent our last night in Los Zacatitos at Neil’s, who hosted the annual chili cook off at his million dollar home situated on a bluff overlooking the community beach. Again everyone brought some food to snack on in addition to the 8 contestants in the chili cookoff. The winners were selected by a panel of 3 judges and ended up being Mark and Lianne, 3 years in a row of winning (one year coming in second). Unfortunately our resistance to leave the party led us to having to ride our bikes in the disorienting darkness. Both of us ended up falling off our bikes on the way home. Now we know why everyone drives around here. Thus it probably goes without saying I highly suggest NOT riding a bike at dark, especially after attending the annual chili cookoff.

One of the cool things about Los Zacatitos is how the entire community hangs out together, regardless of income status. Everyone brings a little something if they can and gets along like one big happy family. Mostly everyone we met was friendly and welcoming. It was a little emotional for me to leave here. It isn’t everywhere we travel that we become one with the community so easily. Los Zacatitios will always have a special place in my heart.

I could get used to this view.
I could get used to this view.

Free, beachfront camping at Cabo Pulmo National Park

We initially only planned to stay 3 nights at Cabo Pulmo. It wasn’t until we arrived to the campground that we realized we had severely underestimated the awesomeness of Cabo Pulmo. The campground isn’t clearly marked but it is the first fenced in area on the beach you see coming into town from the north/east. Surprisingly, we both had cell service and internet in this seemingly off the grid, remote paradise. Not to mention, the cost to camp here is FREE! There are no facilities besides the Sea of Cortez, which is right outside your door or tent flap. Our only fear was having to leave early from running out of water. Thus we immediately began water preservation tactics. We filled up a large pot of water from the sea and used that to pre wash the dirty dishes (then we lightly rinsed them with fresh water). For showers, we swam in the sea. We were able to go ten days on our 70 gallon water tank and could have gone longer (we didn’t run out). We could of bought five gallon tanks at Cabellero’s restaurant in town and manually filled the tanks to stay longer if we wanted to as well.

There are a couple little hiking adventures you can start from the campground. One would be walking down the beach and up to the top of Cabo Pulmo point. Another is a gravel road hike you can access across the road from the campground. The road winds all the way up a mountain and gives you awesome views of the village as well as the east cape.

We were going to go scuba diving but the morning we were supposed to go I was still coughing from getting over a cold. Tim rode the bike up to Pepe’s dive shop and told him I was sick and couldn’t go. Pepe was understanding and even gave us a piece of ginger root to help my cold. You can scuba with Pepe for $100 for a two tank dive. Pepe is a great resource if you want to learn about the history of Cabo Pulmo, he was one among locals that pushed to make Cabo Pulmo a National Park. At Cabo Pulmo campground, you can easily find relics from the fishing village that once thrived. There is a natural reef just outside the campground you can kayak to and snorkel. There are several other reef sites in the area as well.

Los Arbilitos is only about five miles further down the east cape road. It costs 30 pesos a person to park here (15 pesos for the ninos). There is a short trail that takes you up to amazing viewpoints of the cape and then down to little coves where you can snorkel and observe many beautiful fish. You can camp at Los Arbilitos but I only recommend small rigs and four wheel drive. We had a hell of a time turning our fifth wheel around after a fellow traveler recommended we stay here. I nearly had a panic attack after two hours of trying to get ourselves out of there. Just don’t do it if your rig is over 20 feet. Anyways, a couple miles even further down the east cape road is Los Frailes. There are a ton of RV’s full timing it among the bushes in the arroyo. The beach is sandy and wide, if you have a kayak go around the point to check out the sea lions barking and basking in the sun.

Our campsite at Cabo Pulmo campground was the best site to camp in the area, in our opinion. It was next to the only palapa with unobstructed views of the sea. Inside the palapa was signed by the family that built it only 2 months prior to our arrival. We checked out their website, homealongtheway.com, and posted a comment thanking them for the building of the awesome palapa we had been enjoying. A couple days later a large motor home shows up, having a little bit of trouble squeezing through the gate. When I heard the tires overturning in the soft dirt, I ran to get Tim from the beach where he was talking on the phone. Tim and Ol’ Oso (our 1999 F250) dragged their 37 foot motor home through the gate. It was a proud moment indeed. We then realized that the family we helped was the same family that built the palapa! We immediately made friends with them. The whole family, including four kids ranging from 3-9, was really cool and welcoming. It was interesting to talk with them and get a feel of how life would be traveling with children.

It was so hard to leave Cabo Pulmo. Out of all the places we have boondocked this has got to be my favorite, followed by the site outside the Grand Tetons, then Moab. With beach access, a palapa, and internet it felt like a private beach house, but free…for now. I am happy to have had a chance to experience such a beautiful place that I will never forget.

Behaving like adults at the Bay of Concepcion

We decided to stay at Playa Santispac at Bahia Concepcion. It is one of the more popular of the 12 beaches that line the Bay, but it is large enough to fit everyone. We parked our rig right on the beach. Costs 100 pesos a night or about $5. No cell service here. Once again, the north winds followed us here making it too cold to swim or do any water sports despite the hauntingly beautiful and clear, blue water.

One day we drove with our new friends Hannah and Ty to check out a couple of the other beaches. We drove to playa El Requeson. It is a small beach and there is a cool sand spit that you can walk onto a little island. With the strong north winds, this beach is even more exposed than at Playa Santispac though. We also checked out Playa Coyote. There are a lot of snowbirds that come here and set up shop for several months. They take up quite a bit of space, but there is some room. This beach seemed to be a little more protected from the north winds and would be a good choice if you had to camp when the north winds were strong.

One morning we decided to go kayaking before the winds got too strong, While kayaking, we found the hot spring/hot tub that’s fed by the ocean. Unfortunately, the tide was too low and it was way too hot to get in. After kayaking we created a wind barricade with the kayak and RV and laid out in the sun a while.

There are a few snowbirds here and two restaurants. Ava’s restaurant and Armando’s. Armandos has a happy hour from 4-5 where you can get 2 for 1 margaritas for $1.50…niccceeee and strong too. We didn’t eat at the restaurants. Ava’s has wifi and showers you can pay to use, however we didn’t utilize these either. One convenient feature about staying at the beaches along the bay are the people that come around selling various groceries out of their trucks. We bought fresh fish, scallops, fruit, veggies, bread and cakes.

Despite the gorgeous scenery we decided to only stay three nights. The wind was very strong and, well, annoying. We are going to Ciudad Constitucion next as a halfway stopping point to La Paz for CAR-NA-VALLLLL!!!