Mexico – Baja California

El Arco at the southern tip of Baja California. A natural rock arch on the coast, as high as a tower, impassable at high tide and, at low tide, the gateway to a unique route along the Mexican peninsula. The landmark of Cabo San Lucas is the starting point and symbol for the entire route: unapproachable and inviting, unfiltered and in a unique mixture. The destination: Guerrero Negro, over 550 miles to the north. The first half of the route passes through an open, expansive landscape, characterised by deserts, cacti and palm trees, beaches and old mission churches. Along the Pacific coast to Todos Santos, then into the hustle and bustle of El Paz on the Gulf of California, before the cactus landscape beyond the coast beckons again. The road twists and turns between the coasts through the still open and expansive interior. The often narrow roads of the Mexico Highway 1 play with the terrain and with the attention of the driver on these sections. Long, seductive straights follow one after the other. Suddenly, sharp bends, followed immediately by a second and a third. Then a quieter section again, before it all starts again from the beginning. It can be regarded as a requirement. Or as an invitation. An extended siesta during the midday heat saves energy and concentration for the right sections. And it promises more driving time in the morning hours and early evening when the barren terrain is most impressive. In the second half, the route returns once more to the east coast of the peninsula. The terrain becomes more rugged and the roads more difficult to read. The interplay of straights and bends near Loreto and Santa Rosalita is a real test of driving skills. On the last stretch through the desert of El Vizcaíno, it is possible to revisit the impressions of the route again unhindered in your mind's eye. Since time immemorial, travellers have set out into the desert on their own in the search for impressions that they can only imagine. A view from on high onto the dead-straight road. A single vehicle reflects the light, chased by its own cloud of dust. Anyone who spends enough time in the desert starts to see things from a different perspective: Baja California leaves its own mark on travellers.