Another day without wind, so we went to La Vantana on our Dirt Bikes
It has been a long stretch on
windless days and it looks like it will be another three days before the weather
turns. Rain, when I first came to Los Barrilies everyone told me that It seldom
ever rained during the winter here. When it did rain it was a very special event
to be privileged to. I am a real privileged guy. It rained again this morning,
second time this year. Last year it rained two different occasions. Both times
last year the rains were torrential tropical downpours. Three day events of
continues rain fall, over 7 inches in one storm. Wake up to 65 degrees and rain,
at noon it is still 65 degrees and raining, go to bed and its' still raining and
65 degrees, repeat for 2 mores days. Didn't rain like that this year, but it
still rained.
Andy and I went to La Ventana for a ride and to look up some friends who spend the winters there. It is a very beautiful ride to La Ventana. Most of the road is along the coast, at one point it winds up away from the beach to a very twisty two track with views in every direction. It is not wise to look at the views when riding, the road is very narrow and the cliffs are steep, very steep and unforgiving. The route is also isolated, we saw only one Mexican pickup going north. Returning we ran into a group of 5 riders from La Ventana. This is the third time I have run into this group, getting to know them by name. Most of the riders are from the Gorge, one of whom is Rick Tenet. Rick and I were talking about riding in Baja and the dangers of getting hurt here. The common theme being; your a long way from help. So both of us talked about how we tone down our riding, not pushing it hard. I ride that way all the time, being the rookie I am. The day after we saw Rick he wrecked. Broken collar bone, multiple rib injuries and a lot of bruising. I have heard every thing second hand about the wreck. I understand he was moving along at about 40 mph hit a buried rock under sandy soil, went airborne 40 feet or so.
LA VENTANA, the other sailing spot on the Sea of Cortez. Funny how there is a little rivalry between Los Barrilies and La Ventana. I am biased toward Los Barrilies but I get a tickle about what one camp says about the other camp. La Ventana claims more sail-able days than Los Barrilies. This is a tough one to prove or disprove. For Jan 2005 I recorded 14 days of windsurfing. The Windance site claimed 19 days. The sailing days I recorded in Los Barrilies were on a 105 liter board, 6.7 sail or better, I have no doubt I could have gone sailing more often if I had a 130+ liter board and 7.2+ sail. The Vela group will attest to that, the vacation guys will go out in the very lightest of sail-able wind. But I will give the nod to La Ventana a day for a day or two more winds.... Swells, Los Barrilies wins hands down. even the La Ventana crew will give that to Los Barrilies, this is the reason why La Ventana is so popular. As one long time Baja sailor put it, "the shore break is easy at La Ventana, beginners like that."
The day Andy and I visited La Ventana was a very light wind day. There was one formula sailor and around 20 kiters out. The main campground at La Ventana, about the size of a football field was packed with campers. The campground was amazing, campers were on sites wide enough for one RV with about 1o feet for a awning. Side by side, four aisles deep. There are no hook ups and only a couple of community toilet and showers. The cool thing about the campground was the interaction between the campers. Every one seemed to know every one else. I saw one fuzeball (ps) tournament with dozen people cheering on. Softball, fisbie, kiting lessons, and even one kid learning to windsurfing. There seemed to be an equal mix of Canadians and Americans.
In contrast Los Barrilies seems quiet. Sure Verdgo's campground is shoulder to shoulder but at lest he has hookups. On the other hand in Los Barrilies there is also the pay North Beach campground with water hookup and public toilet and showers with a lot of space with trees and vegetation between campers. Or a camper could go right next door to the free camping on the arroyo. I like the lack of crowds here in Los Barrilies on the water and in the town. I also like the scenery better here, it is more lush with tall palm trees and flowering bushes. Shopping and restaurants are more numerous in Los Barrilies. Although La Paz is only 30 minutes away from La Ventana for supplies. Los Barrilies caters more to the sport fisherman in the summer and less so to the wind crowd in the winter. The La Ventana crew say Los Barrilies is too polished and not a Mexican town, maybe so but I didn't see very many average Mexicans in La Ventana on my trips there. I would chose Los Barrilies over La Ventana for not only the windsurfing but also the mountain biking, dirt biking, restaurants and the maturity of the resort community. Last but not lest, the lack of crowds.
Andy, Judy and Art. All from Underwood
La Ventana Bay looking west
Andy and I went to La Ventana for a ride and to look up some friends who spend the winters there. It is a very beautiful ride to La Ventana. Most of the road is along the coast, at one point it winds up away from the beach to a very twisty two track with views in every direction. It is not wise to look at the views when riding, the road is very narrow and the cliffs are steep, very steep and unforgiving. The route is also isolated, we saw only one Mexican pickup going north. Returning we ran into a group of 5 riders from La Ventana. This is the third time I have run into this group, getting to know them by name. Most of the riders are from the Gorge, one of whom is Rick Tenet. Rick and I were talking about riding in Baja and the dangers of getting hurt here. The common theme being; your a long way from help. So both of us talked about how we tone down our riding, not pushing it hard. I ride that way all the time, being the rookie I am. The day after we saw Rick he wrecked. Broken collar bone, multiple rib injuries and a lot of bruising. I have heard every thing second hand about the wreck. I understand he was moving along at about 40 mph hit a buried rock under sandy soil, went airborne 40 feet or so.
LA VENTANA, the other sailing spot on the Sea of Cortez. Funny how there is a little rivalry between Los Barrilies and La Ventana. I am biased toward Los Barrilies but I get a tickle about what one camp says about the other camp. La Ventana claims more sail-able days than Los Barrilies. This is a tough one to prove or disprove. For Jan 2005 I recorded 14 days of windsurfing. The Windance site claimed 19 days. The sailing days I recorded in Los Barrilies were on a 105 liter board, 6.7 sail or better, I have no doubt I could have gone sailing more often if I had a 130+ liter board and 7.2+ sail. The Vela group will attest to that, the vacation guys will go out in the very lightest of sail-able wind. But I will give the nod to La Ventana a day for a day or two more winds.... Swells, Los Barrilies wins hands down. even the La Ventana crew will give that to Los Barrilies, this is the reason why La Ventana is so popular. As one long time Baja sailor put it, "the shore break is easy at La Ventana, beginners like that."
The day Andy and I visited La Ventana was a very light wind day. There was one formula sailor and around 20 kiters out. The main campground at La Ventana, about the size of a football field was packed with campers. The campground was amazing, campers were on sites wide enough for one RV with about 1o feet for a awning. Side by side, four aisles deep. There are no hook ups and only a couple of community toilet and showers. The cool thing about the campground was the interaction between the campers. Every one seemed to know every one else. I saw one fuzeball (ps) tournament with dozen people cheering on. Softball, fisbie, kiting lessons, and even one kid learning to windsurfing. There seemed to be an equal mix of Canadians and Americans.
In contrast Los Barrilies seems quiet. Sure Verdgo's campground is shoulder to shoulder but at lest he has hookups. On the other hand in Los Barrilies there is also the pay North Beach campground with water hookup and public toilet and showers with a lot of space with trees and vegetation between campers. Or a camper could go right next door to the free camping on the arroyo. I like the lack of crowds here in Los Barrilies on the water and in the town. I also like the scenery better here, it is more lush with tall palm trees and flowering bushes. Shopping and restaurants are more numerous in Los Barrilies. Although La Paz is only 30 minutes away from La Ventana for supplies. Los Barrilies caters more to the sport fisherman in the summer and less so to the wind crowd in the winter. The La Ventana crew say Los Barrilies is too polished and not a Mexican town, maybe so but I didn't see very many average Mexicans in La Ventana on my trips there. I would chose Los Barrilies over La Ventana for not only the windsurfing but also the mountain biking, dirt biking, restaurants and the maturity of the resort community. Last but not lest, the lack of crowds.
Andy, Judy and Art. All from Underwood
La Ventana Bay looking west
Posted: Wed - January 26, 2005 at 10:18 AM
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Published On: Apr 16, 2005 05:32 PM
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Published On: Apr 16, 2005 05:32 PM