Baja Bound 2023 (Part 4)

This entry is part 4 of 23 in the series Baja Bound 2023

April 8, 2023

By Simon J. Lau

I made it to Santa Rosalía, a copper mining town located along the Sea of Cortez. This is my first time visiting this body of water, and to celebrate, I had fish and shrimp tacos. 🐟 🍤 🌮 When driving in, you have to pass Baja’s “Highway to Hell,” a scary steep decline from the mountains into town. On the final descent, there’s a beautiful view of the sea from the left, but also the municipal dump on the right. 🤔

My hotel overlooks the sea (although, my room faces the parking lot). Ironically, I made reservations only to be turned away when they couldn’t confirm it. However, it’s Easter, and all the hotels are booked. After pleading with the owner, she booted someone else who never confirmed. Win!

I met a man at the coffee shop who was doing the Baja Divide, an off-road biking trail across the length of the peninsula. Given how hardcore he was, I was ashamed to mention that I was trying to do something similar on my motorcycle. 🫣 Instead, I wished him good luck.

I also put my Mandarin to work! I saw this restaurant on the way back to my hotel, and unlike the previous “Chinese restaurant” that I ate at in Guerrero Negro (e.g., no Chinese food, no Chinese people, etc…), this one was owned by Chinese immigrants. I spoke with an old man from Chaoshan, a southern Chinese province, who spoke Mandarin. He explained to me that he moved from Guangzhou in 2001, initially opened a Chinese restaurant in Ensenada, but due to competition, moved his business, and his family, to Santa Rosalía. There’s only one other Chinese restaurant in town. His wife, two sons, one of the son’s wives, and 3 grandkids live with him. The 3 kids (I saw them) could only speak Spanish. That was a first! I asked the old man if I could take a photo with him, but he declined. He was too bashful.

Finally, my route from Guerrero Negro to Santa Rosalía (220 km or 137 miles).