Walking around town...

San Ignacio:

When we drove into San Ignacio to see the old mission, we also toured the town on foot. The mission church is built of lava rock and has walls that are four feet thick.

 Outside the church is a desert garden with the different plants labeled.

 A window in the garden wall.

 Across from the mission is a central plaza.

 The town of San Ignacio has a population of about 700 people.

 Meeting some neighborhood dogs.

 Flowers were blooming everywhere.

 Just an old door...

 Date Palm trees...

 Mulege:
While camping at Playa Santispac south of Mulege, we drove to town a couple of times. We parked outside the town's narrow streets and walked into town to do our business. Mulege is situated near the mouth of the Rio Santa Rosalia.

 We parked outside the gate. 

 Mulege is a larger town with a population of about 4,000. The streets are very narrow and RVs are not recommended inside the town.

 Our business involved visiting the bank ATM to get more pesos, and then shopping.

 One of the shop keepers recommended this restaurant for lunch.

 Not a bad choice. This was our waiter.

 I had already had lunch, so ordered flan for dessert...almost ate it all before I remembered a picture.

 More flowers...

 A house on a hill.

 Nativity Scene...the town still had Christmas decorations up.

 The old prison that is now a museum.

 A church

 Inside the church.

 An interesting old building.

 The wood in the entry is cactus.

 Watch your step on the sidewalks....they change level suddenly.

 Steps to another level.

Posada Conception:

Just south of our beach at Santispac is another small beach with what amounts to a subdivision built along the beach and hillside. These photos are taken from my kayak.

 One of many sailboats at anchor in the bay.

 An old house made of adobe.

 Notice the fresh water tank on the roof. Water has to be trucked in from somewhere else....probably the water purification plant. Solar panels provide electricity.

 Notice the steep steps down to the water toys.

 Or, in this case, ropes and ladders.

On the other end of our campground beach where we walk the dogs, we found this privately owned complex. It appears to be two homes with a stone wall surrounding both.

We think this building with the solar panels on top may be a garage.

Inside the open gate we could see a complete whale skeleton, used as part of the decor.

Wonder how much that cost.

The gate to the second house.

Our campground can be seen from here.

Beach art.

A wonderful playground that we will return to. We are currently in Loreto, catching up on laundry and with good internet.

Mulege

New Year's Eve Tina and I stayed in a quiet campground not far from San Ignacio. In the morning we drove into this date palm oasis to see the old mission.

The mission de San Ignacio

We did not go inside because people were arriving for mass.

Then we drove to the coast of the Sea of Cortez (Gulf of California) to join Beth and Mitch on the beach near Mulege. 

 Our sites on the beach. Mitch is to the left behind the rocks. 

Sunrise from my site the next morning.

Magnificent Frigatebirds were flying overhead.

This is a great place to kayak. We stayed here a week and will come again on our way back north.

 There are many offshore islands to explore.

 And people have different ways to explore them.

 Pedal-kayak

 The islands are covered with cactus gardens.

 Cactus blooms

 The islands are formed of volcanic rock and erosion has created many interesting rock shapes.

 Each island seems to have its own pair of Oystercatchers.

 Female Ladder-backed Woodpecker (I think)

 The water is very clear, and when a bit warmer will be a good snorkeling place. Some people are already swimming and snorkeling. I went once but thought it chilly.

 Tina, contemplating the rock formations.

Beth in her kayak.

 Snowy Egrets in front of our RVs.

 I believe these are Eared Grebes in their winter plumage.

 Another popular pastime.

 Another day, another island to explore.

 Brown pelican flying by.

 A first for me...the Blue-footed Booby.

 The Magnificent Frigatebird!

 There were two males exhibiting their stunning mating colors.

 And the female couldn't decide between this one...

 Or that one...

 Oh what to do, what to do???

 A sea lion popped up in front of my kayak.

 Looking back at the campground, and the road we drove down to it.

 Yes Thistle got to ride some too.

 Me and my kayoo...

 Tina and Mitch and their kayaks.

 A pair of Osprey nesting on one of the islands.

 And the dolphins cause quite a stir among all the birds.

 The Blue-footed Booby

 A Reddish Egret stirring the surf in front of our campsites.

Locals bring fresh fish to the campground and sell it. Beth bought some Halibut for our dinner. I bought fresh shrimp for tonight's dinner.

 Our Halibut cook-out.

 Tina, Beth and I all worked hard at getting our rigs clean.

 $50 (U.S.) for a wash and wax...sure beats the U.S. prices.

Tomorrow we will continue south and find more beaches. The weather has been wonderful. We're sympathizing with all those up north in the Big Chill, but we don't plan to join you soon.