Day two of our Baja adventure had us on the road towards San Ignacio by 7:30AM. This was due in part to the the chilly morning temperature and someone’s car alarm that went off before first light. Not pointing fingers but let’s just say it wasn’t a Toyota. 
Arriving in San Ignacio - Baja Sur
If you haven’t already deduced by reading the previous day’s antics, driving in Baja is quite the experience.
There is no margin for error. You have narrow roads with steep drop offs on both sides, cows wandering across the street, sections of washed out roads, major resurfacing projects not to mention tight non-banked curves and semi-trucks. Throw in the occasional military check point and you have a pretty good picture of what I am talking about.
Tropical oasis at San Ignacio - Baja Sur
Around lunch time, the desert scenery gave way to a large group of lush palm trees and a large tropical pond. We had officially arrived in the sleepy Baja town of San Ignacio.
Misión San Ignacio Kadakaamán
Everyone was pretty hungry from the 5 hour drive so we found a great little restaurant right on the main street and enjoyed some great local food.
After lunch, we stretched our road weary legs by walking around the central town plaza and checking out the 18th century mission known as Misión San Ignacio Kadakaamán. The mission is very impressive with walls made of volcanic stone and beautiful surrounding gardens that permeate the air with the fragrance of orange blossom.
Driving towards San Ignacio Lagoon - Baja Sur
We hopped back in the vehicles for the final stretch towards the water where we would camp for our grey whale eco-tour. The dirt road out of town was fairly easy but we aired down the tires to make the ride a bit more comfortable.
Our designated campsites at the Kuyima eco-camp were located right on the edge of the water with beautiful lagoon views.
Sunset at San Ignacio Lagoon - Baja Sur
Each campsite was ringed with sun-bleached shells and surprisingly we even had access to a hot shower. OK, the shower was from a bucket filled with solar heated water but it felt great after the long dusty drive through the southern Baja desert.
Since Kuyima main effort is on ecotourism, their focus is not on tourist dollars but to sustain the environmental quality of this amazing ecosystem. This did mean no camp fires so it was somewhat of an early night once the temperatures dropped.
We fell asleep anticipating tomorrows boat trip where we would see the grey whales on their southern most stop.
