Baja Bound (Part 12)

This entry is part 12 of 23 in the series Baja Bound

April 16, 2023

By Simon J. Lau

This morning I departed Baja Glamping, and the whole place seemed to come alive. The cats were everywhere, chasing grasshoppers, darting across the patio, even trying to sneak into my Airstream as I packed up.

And then there was Trixie, staying close and asking for attention like she knew I was leaving. I’ll miss this camp, but I’ll especially miss Trixie. 🫶🏼

Today, I visited Mulegé on my way to Santa Rosalía. Mulegé is a lush oasis town located at the northern tip of Bahía Concepción. Jesuits founded a mission here that overlooks the river, offering a sweeping view of the entire valley.

The palm trees that fill Mulegé today aren’t native to this region. When the missionaries settled here, they brought dates as food for themselves and their animals. The seeds, discarded and passed through, eventually took root along the riverbanks. Over time, what began as a byproduct of colonial life transformed the landscape into the oasis you see now.

Separately, I’m pretty sure I’ve been eating these tacos and quesadillas all wrong. I tend to pile on the condiments and then eat them in chunks with a spoon. My server even laughed watching me today, but I still thought the meal was delicious. 🤤

Thrifty Ice Cream is still surprisingly popular in Mexico, so I finally gave in and got some. Somehow it took me 20 minutes on Google Translate just to ask for a waffle cone. The girl said two scoops was too much for one person, so I settled for a single scoop. This is what one scoop looks like. 😅

The Church of Saint Barbara is the main church in Santa Rosalía, and it has a pretty wild history. It was designed in 1884 by Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel, the same person who designed the Eiffel Tower. This church was built in 1887 out of prefabricated iron, and shown at the 1889 Paris Exposition as a modern, portable building.

After the expo, the Boleo Mining Company bought it, shipped it across the ocean, and reassembled it here in Santa Rosalía in 1897. More than a century later, it feels completely rooted in the town, even though it began its life halfway across the world.

Finally, my route from Bahía Concepción to Santa Rosalía (90 km or 56 miles).