Marta and Chester's Maleficent Adventures

Baja 2024 Part 2 – The Lagoon

Marta and I like the idea of the ocean. When we get there, we are often disappointed.

The massive sand bars and mountainous islands west of the coast neutralize the massive power of the Pacific
Instead of sandy beaches or wave smashed rock outcropping, there are enormous sea weed flats and mangrove forests.
Marta takes advantage of being in town with access to fresh water to do a little laundry.
The sheltered lagoons have excellent fishing
The right light will make even a seaweed choked tidal flat picturesque
Gray whales migrate down from Alaska to give birth in the sheltered bays. Mothers will introduce their calves to boatloads of tourists. Sounds pretty special, but we are a month early.
December is known for morning fog
There are a handful of large cities in the Baja, with big supermarkets. We take advantage of our storage capacity and refrigeration to really stock up. This chain is actually Walmart.
Fruit and veggies are similar in price to Canada, giving some clue to the logistical challenges to keeping the Baja supplied.
Baja is 1400km long, with one road in most places. Resupply has to come from the top, or on a ferry across from the mainland. Either way, each truckload will take 4+ days, with little opportunity for back haul.

The isolation and logistical challenges that makes the Baja expensive also protects it from the problems that plague the rest of Mexico.

Staples like rice and beans are always sold in small 1kg packages and are often more expensive than Canada, unless you are in the biggest towns.
Beer is cheap – but agave liquor is the real bargain. $2 for a litre
Almost all water in the Baja is like crude oil – pulled out of ancient deep reservoirs, and there will be a reckoning once it’s gone.
Marta in her element. For her, Delica is synonymous with adventure.

Why do we drive such a weird van? Mitsubishi was obsessed with winning the Dakar rally every year with their Pajero SUV. When it came time to make a minivan, they thought “of course it needs to be off-road capable with 4wd”. Which makes no sense, but I’m not complaining.

We could buy a Volkswagen, but we are spoiled by Japanese quality. Even when replacing parts on a 25 year old van, I’ll often reuse the original bolts as they are better quality than new hardware.

Replacement parts are really expensive unless you know which Mitsubishi SUVs share the same design. Many Delica owners get hammered by the cost of maintenance. If we are driving a car in the wilderness 10,000km from home, we need to be responsible for repairs. The Delicas we drive are old enough to be simple.

Why not rent a car in country? We love the organization that comes with having our own house. Wherever we go, when we wake up in the morning, we are home.

To paraphrase a friend, the juice to squeeze ratio of driving a Delica works for us. We get freedom of mobility, comfort, organization in our economical little van.

Back to the trip – We’ve decided that flat lands and sheltered bays are not for us. We are crossing back over the mountains, trying to reach a long abandoned mission called Los Dolores.

Chester Fitchett
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