road into town, which was founded in 1884
by the French company El Boleo. Although
the copper mine has gone now, much of the
French legacy has survived. Sun-bleached
homes with red roofs and ornate balconies
exude a shabby charm found nowhere else in
Baja, and an iron church designed by Gustave
Eiffel (of Eiffel Tower fame) still stands in
the town centre. Around the corner, bakery
Panadería El Bole serves up croissants and
other French favourites, filling the air with the
smell of sweet, warm bread.
The highway then skirts windswept
Conception Bay and some of the most
enticing beaches in southern Baja: sugary
white arcs of sand that slip into blue-green
seas. Shoals of fish are visible from the shore
and every so often, dolphin pods jump and
dive. I have a powerful urge to just peel off
the road, pull up at the water’s edge and sink
into a hammock for a siesta as a fisherman
grills the catch of the day. Next time, I tell
myself. The long road south has given me
ample time to reflect on our days in the
Sierra de San Francisco. They linger like a
daydream, and I feel an overriding desire
to get back to the high country. Vast and
relentless, a world apart.
We settle for a quick snack of mahi-mahi
ceviche at a roadside stand outside Loreto
and turn inland towards the Sierra de la
Giganta. The road climbs up and around
hairpin turns before levelling out on the
outskirts of the time-warp mission town of
San Javier, home to several hundred people.
The air is cool when we arrive at Rancho
Viejo. A fire flickers in the dark, and that’s
where we find Dario and his old friend Juan
Bautista ‘Tista’ Romero Drew, the owner of
the ranch. The pair have known each other
since they were teenagers, when Dario
worked as a cattle wrangler for Tista’s father
on a sprawling range several hours to the
north. The men endured back-breaking
work for little pay, but the freedom and
camaraderie they enjoyed was its own
reward. “We love the ranchero life,” says
Dario, now in his seventies. “It’s what our
fathers taught us, and what their fathers
taught them.”
All these years later, he and Tista clearly
relish each other’s company. The men are
custodians of an essential way of life that’s
unfathomable to most of us caught up in a
hyper-connected, overcomplicated world.
Weeks-long cattle drives, storm floods,
snake bites and surviving on one’s wits.
The conversation segues from laughter to
waves of nostalgia, the mesquite crackling
in the silences between. Out under the stars,
warmed by the fire, I’m reminded of what first
drew me to the wilds of Baja. I add a few more
blocks of wood to the flames, not wanting the
spell to end.Getting there & around
To reach the state of Baja California Sur,
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has numerous hire companies, including
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europcar.co.ukWhen to go
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rain throughout the season.Places mentioned
Casa Lereé, San Ignacio. Morelos 20
Panadería El Boleo. facebook.com/
pitahayasboleopanaderiaWhere to stay
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Visit México. visitmexico.comHow to do it
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including meals and transport from
Loreto. saddlingsouth.comESSENTIALS
San JavierLoretoSan Ignacio Santa RosalíaLa PazMEXICOPACIFIC
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100 miles
Jan/Feb 2022 117
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