Saturday, January 18, 2014

Juncalito Beach

Beth really wanted to return to a beach called Juncalito that she remembered from her trip 4 years ago. We passed it by on the way south when we saw a bad place in the entry road. I told Beth I would walk in with her to the beach on the way back north and see  what others thought of the road in. 
We met a nice couple from Canada in a 5th wheel that assured us we could do it safely. They even followed us back to guide us over the rough spot. 
Here's Beth going through.
By going very slow and keeping to the left we both managed to get over that place without hitting bottom or losing anything out of the cabinets.
The rest of the road was ok.
There are places among the palms you can park if you want shade or don't want to be right on the beach.
This gentleman is from Australia and is tent camping here. He chatted us up and gave us a lot of information about the local area. Beth and I shared a large site tucked back in some foliage which gave us a nice view of the beach and protection from the wind too.
Behind us are the majestic Sierra de la Giganta mountains,
And in front, Loreto Bay National Park.
It was hard to concentrate on a book with that view. 
We watched the almost full moon rise at dusk for two nights. 
Then we went outside especially to catch the full moon rise on Thursday night. It seemed late...way after dark, gnats and mosquitos were after us, but we got it. 
Thursday's full moon over Juncalito Beach. 
It was windy the day we arrived and this fellow was taking advantage of it to do some kite surfing.
 He was going very fast over the waves.

One of the most exciting things about this campground to me were the hiking trails. There was a nice birding trail which we walked several times. I will do a separate posts about the birds....I learned several new-to-me birds. 
Beyond the beach were these rock formations with waves crashing over them. 
The wind had piled up some large dunes at the end of the beach. Our rigs are the middle white dot. There is a large Class C RV on the left, and a 5th wheel on the right.
The sandy beach with palapas for shade. 
Peaches enjoying the water.  
Thistle would rather not get wet, which is all right with me. 
After a run through the water it is necessary to roll on the sand. 
We did not do any kayaking here as the waves remained rough, but we were told some days it is calm. 
 These surfers liked the waves.
Shell on the beach.
Another view of the mountains behind us. 
 One of the hiking trails follows along the coast up that hill.
An island in the bay. 
Blue-footed Boobies roost there. You can just make them out along that white line of Booby-poop on the left. 
Back from the bay is this estuary...good birding spot, although the water appears to be drying up. 
View of the estuary from the trail. 
You can see where the estuary is in relation to the bay. 
Beth on the trail. 
From the top of the hill we can see a smaller protected bay...would be a good place to kayak on a calm day. The trail continues over the shoulder of land on the right to that sliver of water you can see.
Another view of the "Booby" island, from the other side. 
Some desert flora. 
We watched osprey and pelicans fishing here. 
That sliver of water we saw is Escondido Bay. 
Our trail continues down to it. 

 Escondido Bay. I believe there is another campground here that we didn't go to....should have.

Boats moored at Puerto Escondido. 
Following the trail back to our RVs. I can't tell you how much I enjoyed having hiking trails! 
 Our site is the white dot on the left....middle of picture.
Right there. The man from down under is in the site to the left.
More flowers. 
The next day we followed another trail across the estuary and over that shoulder of land in the middle.
Patterns in the drying land. You can't see them but there are tiny purple blooms on all those plants. 
The view looking back as we climb. 
Beth taking a picture of the purple flowers. 
Trail marker on a rock. 
The trail was easy to follow, but the weeds were kind of high in places. 
Desert critter on the trail. 
Around some rocks. 
Another look back. 
And looking down the other side at the town of Puerto Escondido. 
We could have followed the trail down into town, but we turned around. 
And headed back over the shoulder. 
To spend another day birding and gazing at the water. 


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