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Best
Places to Surf Baja
Baja
Malibu
Wallow in connect-the-dots tube rides at this beach break
15 miles south of th
border. Drop in, watch the lip heave, and fly out to the hoots
of your buddies on the shoulder. Not for beginners, this potent
wave works summer and winter, and it's best at medium to low
tide. Take the Baja Malibu exit from the toll road and park
on the dead-end street on the north side of the Baja Malibu
housing development.
Calafia
Six miles south of Rosarito Beach on the free road (Old Highway
1), this right point reels on a south. It's worth checking
during a big north, too. Booties will help you painlessly
navigate Calafia's sharp rocks. You'll surf beneath the terraces
of the Calafia Resort, which offers ocean-view dining and
lodging. To reserve a wave-front room for approximately $55
per night, call 011-52-661-612-1581.
Salsipuedes
Salsipuedes, which boasts a right point and a bowly reef peak,
has the best camping and gnarliest access road north of Ensenada.
Both waves break on any swell direction, but the point needs
six to eight feet to work. Five bucks a night gets you camping
in a grove of olive trees that feels like it's a million miles
from the nearest fax machine. Located 51 miles south of the
border on the toll road, take the Salsipuedes exit onto the
tortuous dirt road to the beach. Leave if you can (sale, si
puedes) when it's raining. It's not worth checking if the
surf is small.
San
Miguel
A crowded, thrillingly racy point break, San Miguel is one
of Baja's premier waves. This right-hander is best during
a west or northwest swell. It's more hollow but more sectioned
at low tide. The San Miguel turnoff is immediately after the
last toll booth before Ensenada, 61 miles from the border.
Pitch a tent on the beach for $10 a night. For the same cost,
RVs can plug into one of 30 hookups. Hot showers take the
grunge out of camping here. Call 011-52-646-174-7948 for information.
There's also a bar and restaurant on the point, but it's worth
driving the eight miles south for Ensenada's culinary riches.
Punta
San Jose
True Baja begins south of Ensenada. To taste its desolate
beauty, spend a few days at Punta San Jose, a series of reef
breaks that becomes one sweeping right when a swell fires.
It's best on a south or a huge west swell, when the prevailing
wind is offshore. To get there, drive south from Ensenada
through the verdant Santo Tomas wine-growing valley. Twenty-nine
miles beyond Ensenada, turn west onto a dirt road at the town
of Santo Tomas. (If you need food or water, buy it here, because
there's nothing but surf and star-filled skies at Punta San
Jose.) Fourteen miles from Santo Tomas, bear right at a fork
in the road and drive 10 miles to a lighthouse. Local fishermen
collect $5 to camp, and will sell you fresh lobster for about
the same sum.
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