The dusty dirt track we chose to take could have been any of the typical Mexican roads leading to nothing but garbage in the bushes. This one however extended beyond the rubbish dump and down to the Sea of Cortez, to a secret campsite known to insiders only; it reminded us of an RV equivalent to 'The Beach' movie/book.

The Whistle-blower for the location of 'The Beach' was a really nice couple from Montana. We had met them a day before at an RV park in Mulege. The Wilderness Rangers were on their yearly six month holiday and were kayaking down the coast of the Sea of Cortez. "Take the dirt track to the right, just before the (***censored***) RV park. Its hardly visible unless you are really looking for it, keep driving past the garbage dump and heaven will be revealed, and the best bit is, it's FREE!" A heavenly beach sounded pretty sweet to us after 5 nights of windblown rock and desert camping at surf spots on the Pacific side of Baja.

We followed the couples instructions down some very windy undefined tracks, no signs, just dirt tracks that forked out into more dirt tracks. Some were camouflaged by overgrown bushes, perhaps purposely to put the less adventurous travellers off the scent. When we finally glimpsed the Sea of Cortez we found a small community consisting of a few RV buses, trucks and temporary settlements, set up by the inhabitants who come to hide themselves away from reality for up to 6 months of the year. We found an available spot with our own private beach and parked up the camper. We were just in time to pop and ice cold Corona and watch the sun disappear behind the canyons.

Desert Canyon Exploration
　
A kilometre behind the camp was a mountain range with dried up river canyons. We'd been tipped off about a canyoning adventure up a well known trail and decided it was well worth a look. Unfortunately not all of the information we had been given was correct. We had armed ourselves with 1 litre of water thinking it was a mere 2 hour stroll on a well defined track. What we got was a 'Bear Grylls' adventure, no trail, just guess work as we climbed huge boulders and squeezed through small cracks and caves, we even had to swim through a large puddle to get as far up the canyon as possible. The day was scorching hot and water stocks were getting low, but we continued up, spurred on by the thought of the promised swimming hole and waterfall at the end. Dehydration was starting to set in after 2 hours of climbing in the searing heat so we had to make do with a quick dip in a puddle with the depth of 30cm before heading back down to the campsite. We have learned since that it takes at least 8 hours to get anywhere near the end.
　
Two days previous we had gone down another undefined dirt track on the Pacific side of Baja, this one was full of rocks the size of footballs and made our camper bounce around like an aroused dog. The description to find this road leading to 'The Wall' in the book 'A Surfers Guide to Baja' said; "take a dirt track from highway one between the KM60 and KM61 post" (The Baja Highway 1 is marked with kilometre sign posts). However there are quite a few dirt tracks leading into the desert and winding through rocks and cactuses so finding the right one was down to a bit of luck and patience. We chose one and hoped for the best, but like most Baja dirt tracks we encountered a handful of forks which forced us to choose a track at random. All we could do was cross our fingers and hope that we had chosen the better trail which was taking us in the right direction. After five miles of bumpy terrain at a snails pace we welcomed the sight of the Pacific Ocean. Now we only needed to follow the beach trail north to the famous surf break known as 'The Wall.'

Long, Long, Sweet Long Rides
　
Finally we came across a camper parked up along the coastline. Thinking we had arrived at our destination we decided to start the 'setting up camp' process. We were surprised that there wasn't more people camped here and were wondering where our Seattle friends had disappeared too as they were heading to the Wall the last time we had seen them at Shipwrecks. As Ollie scoped the mediocre but long breaking waves we noticed, in the far distance, a red dot followed by a cloud of dust coming our way. Squinting our eyes for a better look we soon realised it was the welcoming sight of the 'Red Rocket' and of course Colby and Chad. Handshakes, smiles, and latest reports out the way then we jumped in to give the mediocre waves a try. Apparently the swell was dying and a south swell was building up. 'The Wall', as with all of the Seven Sisters point breaks, needs a North West swell to fire. But darn that dying swell was still giving us some long rides, not even head high, but long, long, sweet, and did we mention long rides.
　
Some of guys at the Wall stay there for six months at a time waiting for perfect conditions. When there is no surf, there is not a lot to do to fill in the time. With the painful trail in and out, coming and going is not an option so you need to be fully prepared before you commit to the journey. The evidence of boredom between surfs is highlighted by the number of rock creations which have formed and grown over the years. The shoreline is now decorated with various rock formations from basic bunker-like wind breakers to the more elaborate barbeques, furniture and statues. One surfer, who makes the journey every year and stays for up to six months, has turned his camper, an old American school bus, into a self-contained house with solar panels on top to produce electric power, satellite dish to connect to internet (for the latest surf forecast) and a motorbike on the back for 'surf scoping' transportation up and down the bumpy beach tracks. A very sweet set up but quite necessary if you want to commit to living in this harsh environment for months on end.

After two days we still hadn't seen any of the famous surf the point can produce. We decided to continue our journey south and the Seattle boys were heading north back to work and family. We said our goodbyes at least five times then unwillingly started the bumpy ride back to highway 1 and onwards south to Punta Abreojos, with the intention of catching that building south swell…