Entrance to the Valley of the Cirios (boojums)
Just south of the junction of highway 5 and the TPH (Transpeninsular Highway #1) one enters the Valley of the Cirios (church candles). The cirios, also known as boojums, are a plant endemic to a small portion of the Baja peninsula. In September they bloom with a florescence of white flowers on top, thus the candle reference. The common name, boojum, comes from an Englishman’s first sighting of a cirios which evoked to him a name from Lewis Carroll’s poem, “The hunting of the Snark”. These weird relatives of ocotillos can reach 60 feet tall, grow about 2 inches a year, and can live for 300 years.
Boojum arch. These are weird plants, even by desert standards.
We have favorite campsites not far from the highway, hidden in the rocks. Rocks provide good moisture and inhibit drying for all sorts of cactus and other plants.
Leave the highway at K246 and find dirt roads fanning out from there into wild back country.
Wax plants photosynthesize through their waxy stems and push flowers out from there.
Wax plant flower.
Red-spine barrel cactus.
Cardón cacti have massive bases
On the way back we tried a different site in the same area and parked between two giant cardónes.
Evening view from camp
Morning view.
Craig wishes we had this rock garden at home
A beautiful specimen of an elephant tree, a desert survivor.
Finally some interesting wildlife…a Baja Gopher snake, indigenous to northern Baja. They aren’t poisonous and are very pretty.
Next up, another favorite campsite near the town of Ejido Nuevo Rosarito on the Rosarito River. Ejido means village. It’s a very small town and I expect the reason it’s called New Rosarito is that the original town was washed away in a flood years ago. The November hurricane caused extensive flooding in the valley. Judging from the flotsam, the amount of water was unbelievable. Our campsite was ruined and the road in was very rough, but we found a new site near our old favorite. We spent a few nights there assessing the damage and enjoying the solitude . The valley was torn up, but the hillsides were happy to have had the rain.
Mud covered much of the valley bottom…
…But signs of renewal were springing up.
Scoured rocks follow the river to the nearby mouth at the Pacific Ocean
A baby boojum survived
Cactus blooms in the aftermath
Castor Bean plants are poisonous but are prized landscaping plants as they are hardy, attractive and can grow to full size (8′) in a season.
Crystalline Ice plants are one of the weirdest ones.
The leaves look wet, but are spongy and lumpy, not wet at all.
Another desert flower on waxy stems
First flower on the resurging ice plants.
More signs of recovery
Views of the valley
Happy hillside
Bees have many options. Here’s one on a fairy duster.
Different species of ocotillo
More options
Stunning yellow cactus
Sun sets over the Pacific
And keeps getting better and more colorful..
Leaving river camp we were on our way to the mountains when we decided to take a side trip out to the Pacific, it was so close. There are several dirt roads available. The one we chose was not particularly rough, a high clearance car of any sort could make it. Other roads were more challenging. Finding a place to camp was easy, not a another camper in sight. There is a fishing village out on the point, so there was some traffic. One couple walking to the village, stopped at our camp and said they were hungry. We gave them what was left of our peanut butter and bread. It has to be a rough life out on the desert’s edge.
View from our chosen campsite
Ocean looking south
Ocean looking north
Example of a creeping cactus
Looking inland from the ocean it’s not very inviting
And finally, we drove into the mountains to see the fabulous World Heritage rock art of the Sierra de San Francisco. I’ve been wanting to see these paintings since our first trip to Baja. Inhabitants of the peninsula, who have now disappeared, left many sites with stunning rock paintings. Radiocarbon dating has suggested ages from as early as 5500 B.C. to as late as European contact in the 1700’s. The dry climate and inaccessibility preserve these caves and their treasures.
Arriving at the park headquarters we learn the only accessible cave nearby is the Cueva de Raton (mouse cave). We must pay an entrance fee and pay a guide to see it. Okay. It wasn’t expensive. We wait for Bartolomeo to arrive in his rusty, rickety KIA. He is a sweet old man who has trouble walking. I could understand most of his Spanish but not all. He spoke no English. We gave him a good tip for effort. The cave was a huge disappointment. The pictures of the paintings I had seen were nothing like the barely visible drawings here. We’d previously found better rock art on our own.
Park office building
Painting on the wall of the Cueva de Raton…even after enhancing the contrast.
The rock art I was expecting to see courtesy of the exhibit on Sierra de San Francisco in the Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City
We later learned that in order to see the good sites one must take a prearranged three-day donkey ride with guides…a much more expensive and time-consuming endeavor.
Deep canyon view from the road into the mountains.
The drive into the mountains has some stunning scenery. Turning off the road not far from the park office, we found a desolate and beautiful area to camp. We were still very high, and the cool of the mountains was pleasant. Can you see the truck?
We weren’t the first here.
The road continued for many more miles but there was a treacherous drop we decided to avoid.
Canyon view from camp road.
There are lots of domestic goats grazing in these dry, rugged mountains. I’m not sure how they ever round them up.
The next morning the valley below was filled with fog as we drove slowly back to the highway.
This friendly rock squirrel bids us and you, adios until next post.