We set up shop at our host’s home – Dennis and Deb Hollenbeck – just south of Ensenada.
The trip to Ensenada was largely uneventful, which is a good thing, considering what we’ve dealt with in past years. I drove the Westie with Joey and Toby, a writer and photographer with Vice Magazine. Crusty and his RV made it. Chuck and Gil towing 1107. Rosh and Toby powered on through across the border ahead of us. Romy and Jenn coming in a day behind us (because someone wanted to celebrate her birthday in some way other than driving for 12 hours). And I picked up Cyrus Roohi of team GFB Motorsports at the airport.
Gil is fired up for the 1000.
We spent Sunday night in a WalMart parking lot – three of us sleeping in the Westie with 10 days worth of gear and food – and caravanned across the border. Gil, because I think he has a suspicious mind, always gets extra questioning from the border police. Then he points at me and I try to avoid eye contact with the authorities.
Grabbing fuel from Mag 7.
We immediately got ahead of schedule by driving straight through to Ensenada, straight through town and out to the beach to get the cage inspected. $250 later, it passed with flying colors. Then we drove up the hill to get our fuel and the folks said “We don’t have an order for you,” and, in fact, showed me the paperwork where I’d cancelled my order (which I had done). One sat phone call later, we drove over to the Mag 7 camp at the Campo Playa RV park in town and picked up our extra fuel.
Any visit to Ensenada requires several trips to Tio Toño, a seafood cart a couple blocks down from the start line. It’s owned (and run) by Toño, aka Antonio, who happens to be the cousin of our teammate Carlos Bravo. Even with our abbreviated schedule, we managed to squeeze in two visits. The seafood is fantastic and I highly recommend the ceviche, the seafood tostada and whatever the seafood dish is that he bakes in a shell in a toaster oven on the tailgate of his truck.
JC Sarabia catered a fantastic dinner for the team. He has his own restaurant – El Comal le dijo a la Olla – and catering service. We ate at his restaurant last year and this year he was kind enough to deliver to us to give us more time to wrench on 1107. His great grandmother’s recipe for short ribs, beans and baked potatoes for 17 with enough for two days of leftovers. Incredible.
I forgot to take pictures of everyone working on the car, but here’s me on an Iridium Extreme (one of our sponsors) sat phone sitting in on a teleconference for work, calling in from my live/work space – aka “The Westie”.
It’s not all fun and games. There’s also a lot of waiting around. With WiFi.
When we needed a break, we’d head over to Chateau Crusty and watch the sunset over the cliffs.
This is what happens when people leave Sharpies lying around.
Skid was driving with us.
A few more photos…
