The Road Trip to Baja

Hi everyone! Well, Emily and I finally decided to do the road trip we've been talking about for a long time... going to Baja, Mexico and camping on the beach! So, this last weekend, we loaded up 10 of us (4 girls, 6 boys) into 3 cars and road-tripped it down to Mexico. We knew it would be an adventure, and we were not disappointed!

After careful planning (getting Mexican driving insurance, finding a campsite, etc.) we left on Thursday afternoon after finals for spring term and got home about 6 A.M. on Monday morning.

Thursday night we slept at Shady Lane RV/Campground in Barstow, CA... about an hour and a half south of Las Vegas. Not exactly paradise, but at 11:30 PM, we just wanted a place to crash. The next day, we crossed the border near San Diego and stopped in Tijuana for a bit, and then headed down to Playa Saldamando, our campsite near Ensenada (a little over an hour south of Tijuana). On Sunday, we went to church in Ensenada and then trekked it back to Provo...

Here are some pictures from the trip!

Here I am on the last day of the trip... after 3 days of no showering. Nice. I had gone swimming though. I bought these flowers from a guy in Ensenada.

My new friend Robert and I horseback riding on the beach in Ensenada!

Checking out the beach on the first day in Mexico... we're finally here!

Our campsite - Playa Saldamando

A shop in Tijuana.

Here are a few of the most interesting things about the trip:

-camping on semi-hard ground for three nights (my hips started to complain by the last day)
-eating amazing tacos (seriously, there's no comparison...sorry Taco Bell)
-good times with good people (and many of us didn't know everyone... so yeah for new friends!)
-speaking Spanish again (so fun!)
-getting lost in random parts of Tijuana and Ensenada (the signs are seriously lacking)
-horseback riding on the beach with my horse Juana (she started galloping at the end of my ride, yikes!)
-campfires and sleeping in front of a beautiful ocean view (hearing the waves as you sleep is very soothing), and we had dolphins that swam by every day!
-the serious challenge of renting a surfboard, but then the excitement of actually getting one and then watching everyone try it out... lots of wiping out!
-the interesting walk around Tijuana (hmm...)
-driving straight through the border into Mexico and then waiting 3 hours in line to come back to the US on the way home
-the stresses of figuring out money and how to split stuff between 10 people
-going to church in Ensenada (loved it! We went to the "Azteca Ward")
-driving up 1-5 in California between San Diego and LA as the sun was setting...so pretty.

Anyhow, this is a taste of our trip. There were stressful moments, which I guess comes with traveling with a large group and with going into a foreign country, but overall, it was great. I came back with some sun on my face, some hand-crafted leather sandals (only $7!) and a beautiful green stone necklace (only $4!) and in serious need of sleep and a shower. After two days, I finally feel unpacked, clean, and rested. Mexico, I hope to see you again soon!