Anyone want to drive to Mexico this summer for a week?

Hookup
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Since I teach, I have the whole summer off and am thinking of putting a trip together. I would prefer to go to the South Shore for a week of LB and SB, but I don’t know if I can swing the dough. I figure with airfare (about 300) and hotel/car—scratch that. I don’t need a car) and food, I’ll spend about a grand.

But I was thinking about Mexico. I have to ideas. One, Quatro Casas/Shipwrecks and vicinity or, Two: Puerto Escondido. I think Puerto Escondido is a little too ambitious for driving, but it would be fun.

I drive a Honda Civic, which is great for millage, but probably not the best for Mexican travels. Unfortunately, I don’t have anything resembling an offroad vehicle except for my mountain bike.

Anyone have any plans or ideas? Anyone want to go somewhere? I’m even considering traveling north this summer, maybe camp up near Jalama for a week, or perhaps a few days.

My big plan is Hawaii. I haven’t spend a week on the South Shore in the summer since 1986 and, contrary to what’s popular in the media these days (North Shore), the South Shore goes off just about every damn day in the summer. The “flat” days still come in chest to head high on the outer reefs (Castles, Pops, Threes, and especially Diamond Head).

I have to go. Time to check airfares at Hawaiian Airlines. Too bad they want to RIP ME OFF on bringing my boards. I only want to bring two boards, and that will cost $320 round trip (FOR THE BOARDS!!!). That’s bad!

Maybe I’ll just paddle there.

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PE would cost about the same as South Shore, but have bigger surf if you get lucky. It’s the Mex Pipe, so you’d better have your ducks in a row. Don’t go for one week, go for a month, to justify airfare and board travel.

Quatro C is just at Colonet, so you can get there in 5 hours from LA. Some good surf there, but some lull periods that would bore you to death. I’d recommend much farther S, but not past San Ignacio. Def go for 3 weeks at a time, get Mexi Insurance, your car is fine.

I’ve been down past GNegro with my '86 Civic, with 6 boards atop and one other guy. Front wheel drive is good to go, and buy hi profile cheapo tires with rough tread just for the trip, at least in front.

With Civic, I’ve even been over the mountains W of GNegro, and that is serious stuff. Just don’t drive 50 mph on the ungraded dirt roads, and you’re fine.

For the cost of a one week SS stay, about a grand, you can surf Baja for 2 months easy.

Mainland is much harder on YOU tho, if you drive. Heck, I think it takes 1,000 miles just to clear the tip of Baja (Mazalan), and the desert is tough tough driving.

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Fairmont,

If you come a bit farther than Jalama let me know. I think I owe yah a case of beer. Mike

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And look out for those scrawny cows standing in the road. Very hard on a civic. Mike

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Don’t forget…there’s surf and surfers well past Victoria Island, all within driving distance.

Unless you want warm waters, that is.

Surf from 4 house S gets colder and colder, so you need glued and blindstitched 3 mil minimum if you plan to surf for 3 hours, twice a day.

It warms up past the inland leg past Loreto and back out the coast.

I live in SanFrancisco area and there’s lots of surf.

Gerry Lopez lives and surfs S Oregon.

It’s a big coast, and anything is within your reach.

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You guys have some good ideas. I might, in fact, travel north. I don’t know much about the north, but I have some ideas. See, the only places I have surfed in California that are north of Trestles are: Emma Wood State Beach, Rincon (several times), and that’s it and that’s all. :). I would love to surf Sandspit, but that’s a winter break and my trip will be this summer.

I would love to spend a month in Mexico, but I can’t. A week is all I get (little girls at home can’t have daddy away for more than a week, and I couldn’t do it to them anyway).

I am interested in Newport (never surfed it, but have been there a dozen times–never broke in all those visits, although I did bodysurf the Wedge once on an eight foot day and learned the true meaning of both pain and fun. I highly recommend it.), Huntington (well, maybe not–what’s the point? I would like to meet Corky Carrol, but that’s it); I want to surf Jalama, as mentioned, and maybe even Santa Cruz (the only time I surfed there was in some cove on a longboard, with the pier in sight–Cowells, maybe???). That’s it. I’ve covered every square inch from Trestles to Imperial Beach (except Tijuana Sloughs), and have surfed in Baja a time or two (Quatro Casas, k38, Baja Malibu, Rosarito, and North). I surfed Mazatlan a couple times (no big deal) and Hawaii three times (Three on the South shore, twice on the north). Oh, yeah, and numerous occasions on the East Coast, but that was only out of desperation. I doubt anyone plans a surf trip to the East Coast.

I have a week and a late model Honda Civic. I plan on bringing as many boards as I can reasonably fit in or on it. I have five boards and I can get three in the passenger’s seat and two on the roof. All five of my boards are magic, so I would have to bring them all, unless I go to Hawaii and then I don’t know what to bring because I want to bring them all, but Hawaiian airlines charges-----we’ve covered that!!!

Is Santa Cruz a good surfing destination in the summer? Cold water doesn’t bother me much when I’m stoked. Plus, it’s summer, everyone trunks it up there in the summer :wink:

I am afraid of Great Whites, but I figure as long as I don’t swim with sea lions I’ll probably be okay. Only one surfer has ever been killed, and he was a kneeboarder with fins on a swallow tail kneeboard, so he kind of looked like a sea lion.

I’ll probably just go back to Hawaii. It hasn’t let me down yet, and just think of all the strange Japanese food I get to eat, along with the cheap puka shell necklaces.

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Fairmont,

Santa Cruz can be very good in the Summer. Very crowded, too. It’s south facing. They probably would’nt notice one more guy. I’m 45 minutes south of SC and it sucks during the Summer. I’m not just sayin that either if you know what I mean. Big Sur has some Summer spots if you can find them. Baja is more of an adventure. I have two girls, too. I have’nt been to Baja since my first was born. Changed my perspective on the type of adventure I seek now. We have sharks up here. Never seen one (a Whitey, anyway), but have seen sea lions with big crescent bites and a head missing. I try not to surf alone. You’ll never surf alone in SC. Mike

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Wow…

I didn’t know there were any surfers who settle that close to one geographic area, and not even do day trips to other places.

No trunks in SC, water in summer might hit 60, on a rare S swell, but airs don’t get there until noon and quite often are foggy 55.

So now it’s one week total, out of the whole summer.

I’d hate to plan the trip 3 weeks in advance, go there, and hit a flatspell for 10 days.

At least if you stuck around California, flatspells are family times, when a swell hit, you GO.

Dude, my 1986 easily carries 6 surfboards outside on the racks.

Problem is, what do I do with them when I’m not with the car? Don’t want to donate to local “thieves are us”.

If you stick around, S swells go to S swell spots.

NW swells in summer get 7’+ around here.

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teach summerschool at punahou on oahu … the scam of the previous century…phone em they might just need you bad to teach your speciality (take the family ) surf everyday after work till dark…ambrose…just a dreamer , and seer?

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Quatro Casas and Shipwrecks would be a fun trip. I used to work at the little surf camp at Shipwrecks, spent a summer there. Surfed quatros quite a bit that summer also. Like someone said it does get boring if its flat and you don’t have anything else to do. So definately bring a buddy, some horseshoes, and that mountain bike. If you have a kite, bring that too there is plenty of wind. Also bring a longboard, you probably won’t need anything else.

Tips- don’t camp in between shipwrecks and quatros or your stuff will get stollen. And don’t drive across the dried up marsh just north of the ship, once a week weed get people coming to us to help them out. Other than that is a cool little place and it should be pretty empty durring the weekdays.

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I never thought of teaching summer school in Hawaii. Dang, why didn’t you guys tell me that years ago? Fantastic idea. Shoot. I am going to investigate that for sure. Heck, if I could make 75 bucks a day, that would pay for it all, minus airfare. There are some super cheap two bedrooms on the North Shore in the summer to rent, and I don’t mind a little driving. Woohoo! I am going to check that out!

LeeDD: Yeah, it’s funny, but I don’t travel much (except Hawaii). I lived back east from 1992–2001, and it was a tough nine years. I got some good waves in the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida, but not really. Just fun little surf here and there.

Where I live (a nice little community somewhere north of Encinitas and South of Oceanside), there are tons of places to get uncrowded surf. The only time I ever go home ticked off is if I surf Swamis (once, maybe twice per year), and Cardiff Reef (ten times per year, but usually I only get burned on very small days). Other than that it’s no problem. Trestles gets crowded, but I seem to have a little luck there. Sitting farther outside helps, especially if you bring a bigger board than usual.

But, like I said, I never surfed North of Trestles (except Rincon and Emma Wood several times and Cowells once). Never had the desire, I suppose. In North County, we have the sixty percent rule (something I made up). If a big North swell is coming in, we are sixty percent the size of the LA area and some San Diego spots. If a great south swell comes in we are about sixty percent of Orange County. Maybe that’s why we aren’t a huge surfing destination. The surf is always bigger somewhere else. But we have fun, and I can’t complain.

I will surf Malibu (but that will be frustrating), and eventually I’ll surf Santa Cruz.

My priority this summer is to get a good wave at Big Rock. I have been out at Windansea at least thirty times in my life and have yet to even see a wave break at Big Rock. I have no idea how to get that break on a good day. I imagine it’s all about swell angle and tide.

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You can have Big Rock…crowds, shallows, penalty to pay for other guys dropping in on you…

Take Blacks, Chasms, 33’s, Ospreys, instead.

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From what I’ve read and know - If you want a warm water experience and only have one week - Fly to the south shore, buy an used board for cheap from a giant rental shop, then sell it before you leave. Walk on down to 3’s, 4’s if you’re lucky, Kaisers, ala moana, etc. You do have to go way south in Baja to get to warm water. Make big plans for next year to get on the road and out of town for a month, then the week in the car to mainland mexico will be worth while.

Have fun no matter what man - enjoy it all. Peace - Taylor

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Howzit Fairmont, Substitute teachers in Hi make about $110 a day so you'ld probably make more than $75 a day.Aloha, Kokua
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It would be a lot cooler if you guys would send a private message to one another about the where’s, how’s, and miles involved in reaching destinations down in Baja. The crowds are bad enough…I get the impression that you get a warm feeling of acknowledgment by stating your experience with traveling in Baja. The archives are full of great information but… be a little more discreet with directions, or at least keep it private. We all don’t have to be Sam George, do we? The private message capabilities are there for a good reason.

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Hmm. Maybe I missed something. I did’nt see any hows or miles. Just names of spots everyone and his brother already know about, hence, the crowds. I admit to warm feelings,too. Some bad ones, too. Mike

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We all know what we know. Can you imagine how many people read this info? There are droves of newbs all the time, just reading about the dream surf trip. Keep it simple and to yourself. 50+ boats @ the ranch on the last swell. Should we talk about it online?

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Eastern Pacific: You can find out exactly how many people read the post by looking at “views” when you click on thread.

This isn’t Surfline and it isn’t even Surfermag.com. Not that many people are going to flock to a surfspot due to Swaylocks.

Relax.

Or, better yet, don’t worry about it. If crowds are a problem for many people, they shouldn’t surf crowded waves. Sounds simple to me.

Sometimes I surf crowded waves, and when I don’t want to surf crowded waves, I surf uncrowded waves.

I live in Southern California, and on the very best day of the year, I can easily find a peak to myself, if I desire. I won’t say where, but within twenty miles of here I can find tens of dozens of uncrowded surfspots. In fact, there is a beach break near me that is legendary for having huge surf because of a big trench out in the ocean. There is a cove nearby and a university on top of the hill, and a pier with oceanographers about a mile or two away. Any guesses? Well, even though it’s very, very crowded there, I can walk ten minutes north and get excellent surf all to myself.

Uncrowded surf is everywhere. There just isn’t a parking lot in front of it.