La Ventana: Early Season Report – November 7, 2010

We arrived in La Ventana in mid October after a safe trip from the Gorge.  .  The problems in the northern border regions of Mexico have been well documented in the press on both sides of the border.  Fortunately the Baja peninsula south of the Tijuana/Ensenada area has presented few problems for visitors.  Since getting out of bed everyday involves risk, at this time we see risk of coming to Baja as pretty minimal.  We’ve found that crossing the border into Mexico on I-5 early in the morning, and taking the toll road to Ensenada is the quickest and safest way to avoid the problem areas.  Several areas on Mex 1 are under construction this year, and when finished will improve and speed travel south to our favorite sailing spots in the south.

The La Ventana area is slowly transitioning into the busy winter season.  Early arriving campers are staking out their spots from the beach front back.  A few changes have occurred during the summer including a new restaurant/bar and bakery in the old shrimp factory at the south end of the park.  They’re specializing in pizza, fresh pasta and daily specials.  The building also provides gear storage and a kite school.  Also new is the first permanent structure on the beach.  Ozzy’s kiting school is now housed in a palapa on the beach in south park.  Looks like most of the folks that have camped at the south end of the park have moved to sites further north.  The popularity of windsurfing and kiting continues to bring change and prosperity to the area.

October, November and early December have always been our favorite months here in Baja.  The heat of summer fades as the light southerly summer breezes switch to the north.  With just a few people on the water there is plenty of room to relax and spread out.  October had a handful of good sailing days, and last week we had three days of solid 4.2 to 4.7 with some decent building swells.  The forecast is looking for the north winds to return by the end of this week, so anticipation is building on the beach.  We will be sailing just up the beach from the kiting centers at the south end of the park.  Stop by and take a Panther for a spin…we’ll be testing the 2011 Panther 3 later in November, so watch for a report soon.

If you will be in Baja on November 18 & 19, the 43rd running of the Baja 1000 off-road race will start in Ensenada and end in La Paz (the 18-19th will not be good days to travel down Mex 1 because of race traffic).  The Baja 1000 is considered the Super Bowl of racing here in Baja, with thousands of fans cheering the drivers for 1000 miles.  It is definitely on the list of “things to do in Baja” if you are down here.  We’ll post some pics from check point 10 after the race.  Hope to see you in Baja this winter, Gary & Nancy