Last month, we set out on a road trip to Scorpion Bay (aka San Juanico) in Baja Sur. Bob convinced me to take my little 2017 Nissan Versa Note hatchback, Viva, since she gets three times the MPG as his Ford F350 4X4. So we crammed surfboard, gear, camp chairs, cooler and luggage into Viva, and headed south at 5:30 on a Sunday morning.
The early start proved to be key, as we blasted down the toll road, through normally-congested Ensenada and Maneadero, and into San Vicente before stopping for breakfast. Even traffic through San Quintín was tolerable, and the transpeninsular highway was in pretty good shape.
There are three ways to drive into Scorpion Bay: the north route through San Ignacio; the east route, which cuts off the highway between Mulegé and Loreto; and the south route, through Ciudad Insurgentes. We stuck to the south route, which is WAY longer, but we were told is the only paved access to Scorps.
The upside of the south route? Dramatic views of the Sea of Cortez, and opportunities to eat and drink along the way! We descended into the funky French-influenced former mining town of Santa Rosalía in late afternoon and, after poking around a bit, checked into the very nice oceanfront Hotel Las Casitas. Once we cleaned up, we were more than ready for dinner and drinks.
El Muelle, in the town center, did not disappoint. With eclectic decor, kick-ass margaritas and delicious seafood, we scored! We had the house special, mariscos al vapor, and an order of mar y mar (fish, scallops and shrimp al mojo de ajo).
Mmm . . .margaritas! 
The next morning we pushed on past Mulegé , the lovely Bahía Concepción, and Loreto. Baja Sur had seen quite a bit of rain prior to our trip, and the landscape was unbelievably green. However, we had to be careful to avoid livestock (cows! horses! donkeys! goats! even pigs!) grazing alongside and ambling across the highway. We made the turn at Ciudad Insurgentes and headed northwest on the last leg to Scorpion Bay.
The town of San Juanico at Scorpion Bay is very small, with likely less than 1,000 residents. There are a few tiny tiendas, no banks or ATMs, and at Chino’s – the solo “gas station” – gasoline is siphoned from five-gallon jugs. During our stay, the town had electricity only from 8 AM to noon, and again from 7 to 11 PM.
The pueblo of San Juanico 
Gassing up at Chino’s 
Local weather report
Luckily, we had reserved Casita #1 at the Scorpion Bay Hotel, arguably the biggest business in town. The hotel, a lovely collection of buildings dotting the property, had electricity all day in the office and restaurant. And, since it was still quite warm, the hotel provided air conditioning in guest rooms from 11 PM (when the restaurant/bar closed) to 8 AM via generators.
Casita #1 at the Hotel 
Hotel restaurant balcony
There are seven point breaks at Scorps; with an epic swell, it’s considered by some to be one of the world’s best surf spots. Although the waves were not historic during our stay, Bob had a great time sampling the various breaks during his daily morning and afternoon surf sessions.
Yes, Bob is a kneeboard surfer!
As you might guess, the majority of visitors to Scorps are surfers, and most camp on the oceanfront bluffs. The campground has decent bathrooms with showers, a restaurant/cantina, and a few guest rooms. Thanks to solar panels, the facilities appear to have electricity during the day.
On to the eating and drinking! Our hotel provided a continental breakfast buffet each morning, and we usually had a mid-day drink and taco or quesadilla at the campground’s cantina. Dinner options in town were rather limited: the hotel had a good restaurant with wraparound outside dining, friendly staff, and did not charge corkage for the wine we’d hauled in!
One block from the hotel was El Burro en Primavera (which upon Googling I discovered is also the name of a male enhancement drug). El Burro is an artsy restaurant with fun decor in a garden setting. We spent a very nice evening consuming fish at El Burro, and again, no corkage fee!
El Burro de Primavera 
A special treat of staying at the Scorpion Bay Hotel was meeting Bettina Borrelli, a member of the family that owns the hotel. Bettina bounded over to us one afternoon, graciously introducing herself, and checking to make sure we were happy guests. Bettina also recommended Vista al Mar, a spot south of Loreto right on the Sea of Cortez. So of course, we had to try it on our way back! Although the chocolate clams came highly recommended, our server told us they were out of season; darn! We settled for a delicious ceviche, chock full of a variety of seafood.
Our host, Bettina 
Great place near Loreto 
The drive north went quickly. We made it to the palm-filled oasis of San Ignacio just before sunset, and checked into the modern La Huerta hotel not far past the mission. We gussied up for our last dinner of the trip, headed into town, and chose Restaurant Rancho Grande, where we sat on the patio overlooking the plaza. It was a sleepy evening in San Ignacio; we were Rancho Grande’s only customers, and seemed to be the only non-locals out and about. We had great service and a delicious meal, and guess what: no corkage!
Rancho Grande 
Mario’s – Guerrero Negro 
Mario’s seafood omelette
Bob suggested Mario’s just north of Guerrero Negro for breakfast; it’s been a regular stop on his past Baja Sur surf trips. Mario’s is practically a museum, with all sorts of artifacts, displays and books about the region. The offerings were generous, and I loved meeting our high-energy, spry server Sara, who has worked at Mario’s for 40 years!
After the round trip of about 1,800 miles, Bob deemed Viva as Baja-worthy. It was a great adventure, filled with new places and new friends. Often, the journey is as important as the destination . . . right?
Gracias por photos by Bob Gove.
