Moon Handbooks Baja [Paperback]

You couldn't ask for a better travel book on Baja. I found myself reading it repeatedly on my trip, not just for hotel and restaurant info, but like a novel--for the sheer pleasure of it. The sidebars and thumbnail histories are so well-researched and expertly delivered that I rank it not just among the best travel books on Mexico, but among the best books of any kind. The concise discussion of the ejido system and of the changing rules for foreign real estate purchases are just two small examples. Cummings touches on every aspect of Mexican society and its interaction with the people to the north, in addition to giving the essentials on gas stations and bus schedules and airports and resorts-all in the delightfully understated style that has become his hallmark.

Especially useful for me were his mention of side roads that lead away from the transpeninsular highway into the mountains of the interior. I took a number of them and often found pristine desert, unchanged for centuries. The route from Loreto to the Mission of San Javier was particularly good. The landscape was similar to Arizona, except that many canyons had oases of palm trees with only the cries of roosters and goats breaking the silence so that you could feel you were in a bygone time in ancient Mexico or Mesopotamia. Cummings calls the road suitable only for 4wd high clearance vehicles. It must have been improved since, because I drove it with an economy rental car with wheels the size of oreos and a hefty 3.5 inches of clearance. If one proceeds slowly and carefully there is no problem, though I would not have gone on if there were any sign of rain.

The best beach by far that I found was that of Todos Santos. It is very clean and unsullied by automobiles, probably thanks to a sign near the parking area that not only warns against taking vehicles onto the beach, but also notes the amount of prison time assigned to violators. And the waves are fabulous: 15' rolling tubes that explode into 40' towers of spray, a natural drama one can watch for hours with only pelicans and the occasional crab for company. It's typical of Cummings' sense of the drama of travel that he tells the best way to get to this great beach: "follow Calle Topete across the palm-filled arroyo...the first sand road on the other side...turn left just before the low rock wall...", but let's you find out on your own what a delight the access road itself is: an inconspicuous lane that runs about a half mile between high stone walls on one side and a line of mango trees on the other, ending in a tunnel through a thicket of bamboo that emerges onto the parking area (shaded!). Bicycles and walkers are on an equal footing with autos, and the tiny scale of the sandy track almost compels you to roll down your window and say hola. Ojala that it stays that way.

Playa San Pedrito, a dozen miles to the south, is also charming and unspoiled, but far from any place to buy food and drink. Punta Conejo, sixty miles to the north, is the most desolate section of Pacific coast I've ever walked. In three days I saw not one person, nor one bit of shade of any kind: no palapas, no trees, no cliffs...even the towering cacti keep at least a quarter mile between themselves and the surf at all times. If Mexico were a nanny state, one would be required to purchase a parasol before venturing onto the beach.

The beaches on the other side of the peninsula are also very nice, but lack large waves, the Sea of Cortez being much like the Red Sea, a huge body of saltwater separated from the ocean by miles of desert. I was there in September, and I often had to get out of the water to cool off, rather than the reverse, which holds true on the Pacific year round. The eastern coast of Baja is probably ideal in January and February. Here, too, Cummings is comprehensive. Nothing escapes his notice, with the exception of the exceptional qualities of the Hotel Moro just outside Santa Rosalia. Senor Espinosa's rambling hacienda style hotel is a work of art. Cummings makes unjustly short shrift of it in calling it "tourist-oriented". I would call it beauty-oriented, with its elegant terrace overlooking the water, and its aviary, and its cool pool set in a profusion of tropical flowers. It's a far greater value than the "venerable Hotel Frances", where you pay twice the money for a room in the midst of a lovingly restored industrial plant far from the water.

As a 30 year traveler and home owner in the Baja, I have quite a collection of guide books covering the entire peninsula. I was suprised to find that Joe Cummings has written one that covers everyones interests. There are too many travel books that concentrate on the authors specialty ie. geology, boating, history etc. However, Cummings gives a book that works from the budget traveler to the exceptionally rich. His historical, ecological, and other interesting facts makes the book one that I recommend for the first time traveler to the seasoned baja explorer. More importantly his information on pricing to condition of the roads is current which so many Baja guide books are lacking. A big applause for Joe Cummings for writing a good read and and an accurate travel guide for us all.

This book is just great. It starts out with a good basic overview of the area. I used the book on a recent trip to La Paz. The maps are excellent and very easy to use. The prices are a bit off at times but still in the range. The hotels are broken down into price categories, that was very helpful. The book helped with getting around by bus and the restaurant sections gives good accurate descriptions. This book was just super. If your going to Baja, anywhere in Baja, get this book it is well worth the price.

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