November 15, 2012 – Well today we drove up to San Javier with the gang, everyone enjoyed the excursion and this was an adventure for sure. I am happy to report another 10 km of road has been paved and another 5km in construction, yeah! Unfortunately hurricane Paul did significant damage to the existing paved road up to the Mission and will take some time to make the repairs, 3 steps ahead, 1 back, oh well. Again everything was very green, abundance of water both in the arroyo and on top of the mountain, and not surprisingly the cattle have never looked better!
Last evening was our Fiesta Night Dinner hosted by Marv & Shel, as usual great food, great music and loads of fun and enjoyment. Marv and I had only one short table tennis game, I was a bit rusty but was able to handle our host. Everyone really enjoyed meeting the Shaffer’s and their very lovely home, thank you again Marv & Shel. The day was spent touring and shopping in the Loreto Market district certainly lots to see and do. Lisa and I did take a short road trip out to Juncalito, the road in has been worked on and is now probably better than it used to be. Unfortunately the entrance is now changed as is the beach, this will make it more challenging to get the bigger rigs onto the beach, plan B is currently in the works.
The Baja 1000 (Nov. 15th – 17th, 2012) is an off-road race that takes place on Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula in the fall. The race started today in front of the Riviera Cultural Centre in Ensenada, the Motorcycles started at 6:30 am and expected to be in Loreto starting at 9pm this evening. The event includes various types of vehicle classes such as small and large bore motorcycles, stock VW, production vehicles, buggies, trucks, and custom fabricated race vehicles. The course has remained relatively the same over the years with the majority of events being either a point to point race from Ensenada to La Paz (1600 KM), or a loop race starting and finishing in Ensenada (1340 KM). The name of the event is misleading as the mileage varies.
The first official race started in Tijuana, Baja California, on October 31, 1967, and was named the NORRA Mexican 1000 Rally. The course length that year was 849 miles (1,366 km) and ended in La Paz, Baja California Sur, with the overall winning time of 27 hours 38 minutes (27:38) set by Vic Wilson and Ted Mangels while driving a Meyers Manx buggy. From 1967 to 1972, the race was organized by the National Off Road Racing Association (NORRA). In 1973, the Baja California governor turned over the event to a non-profit Mexican corporation called Baja Sports Committee (BSC). BSC renamed the event to Baja Mil (Baja 1000) and scheduled the race to run on the original dates chosen by NORRA.
Interesting enough a circus arrived in town today that included exotic animals like camels, lamas and a big cat. A first for us today, we saw a tiger being hauled around in a trailer cage throughout town, we suspect to attract attention and potential customers. The last time we saw it go by dogs were in chase, they better watch out, they could end up as dinner!
