La Lobera: El Rosario's Secret Sea Lion Haven in Baja California

This was totally worth that long four-wheel drive drive. Hi, we're Mel and Jay. Together with our cat Benny, we're traveling the Baja Peninsula all the way to Cabo and back. This is the story of finding a huge hole in the ground, including the bumpy road to get there, the seals inside of it, and where we stayed while visiting. This is seriously a really cool drive. We're going across the top of this whole ridge. It's really neat, really pretty, beautiful views in like every direction. It's so lush, there's like so much green. Not what I expect in the desert. All right, we're coming into El Rosario and it looks mostly like kind of a farming town. We saw a lot of fields as we were coming in and we can see farm equipment just about everywhere. Also, it's been completely clear and sunny the whole drive, but just ahead of us I can see a big fog bank, so it looks like we're getting close to the ocean again. So we're pretty sure that the woman at the gate told us to come down this way, but it always pays to just investigate a little bit. We've gone from waves that are way too small for Mel to surf, now to waves that are way too big. Okay, so yeah this is a road, but I mean it's got a big huge crack down the center. It's quite steep, but yeah it comes right down to the beach. Looks kind of cool. The road going down is in good condition, but it's very very steep. But I'm going to put it in four-wheel drive low just as a precaution. Is there other people camping there right now? Not that I can see, but that means the best spot is available that's open like right to the ocean. So I'm going four-wheel drive low, manual gearing, first gear, taking all the precautions. I think we're good because there's no backing out of this. This is a really wicked spot. I don't know why it's not like full of people. I don't get it. Is it because no one knows about it yet, or is it just that we're ahead of everyone else heading north? I don't know. Fog's starting to clear up down at our new site here down on the ocean. We've got some more trailer troubles though. At some point today our weight distribution bar here got banged and shifted forward. I have no idea what might have caused that, but the only thing that holds it on as far as I can tell is this bolt at the back here. So I guess it's good that it's not bolted into the frame and that could have like bent the frame, but now this thing is pushed too far forward and I'm not sure if I have something that's going to be able to loosen and tighten this bolt sufficiently. So I've got to look in the old toolbox. I've got this socket wrench here, but I don't think I have a proper size for it. I've got this, but these tend to kind of suck. That'll do nothing. This thing sometimes works where nothing else does. I mean I've got lots of wrenches, but just not sure if any of them are gonna be big enough and strong enough. So yeah, the very first one that I tried is actually pretty okay. Yeah, that thing was not very tight at all. I don't know what did that. Super glad, super thankful. It doesn't seem to be too bad of a fix. Now funny enough, we were just talking to someone who was saying that they often take their weight distribution bars off before they go through kind of like a twisty bumpy road. I don't know. What do you think? Is it better to go with them on or take them off? We just got here, so it's time to leave. We're gonna go and check out the main attraction of this area called La Libera. What's that? Let's go see. I think this is one of the worst roads we've been on so far. What's wrong? I'm not sure how we're gonna get over this. Stay left. Do you see how deep those pits are? Go left here. A little bit right. Go right, I mean. Yeah, it's still gonna be. Don't go in them. Well, I've got both sides go way down. Just inch and inch. Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, oh boy. It's so tense in here right now. I feel like we're both like just waiting for the impact. We're just waiting for poof. Okay, no poof. We made it. That was close. We might be in a riverbed now, and it's a narrowing. All right, after all that complaining about the road, a freaking Mercedes drives by. Like, how? That's, that's unbelievable. I mean, I took my Audi on roads that were pretty bad, but nothing like this. Oh, I see a building. Oh, I think the Libera is near that building. Yep. All right, after that somewhat challenging drive, we are here. It's a very big hole. That's really cool. Full of water. Oh, I heard something. I hear echoing. Yeah, I can hear them barking. Oh, look at them all. Oh, there's a, I can count at least two dozen of them, and I think that one's got a baby. This is so cool how they've made this. It's even wheelchair accessible. I don't know. In theory. Oh, look at that. Oh my gosh, there's so many of them, and there's babies. Oh, baby's making a break for it. Following its mom. This was totally worth that long four-wheel drive drive. It was, they're so cute, and this is so neat. Like, it's a huge hole. It used to be a cave that I guess the ceiling collapsed like ages ago, and has created this super secluded beach for the, for these seals to come and hang out during the day, and it looks like maybe even give birth in some cases. La Ribera has a rich cultural and historical significance for the local communities in Baja California. The site has been used by local fishermen and indigenous groups such as the Kumeyaay for centuries as a place to gather resources and to perform rituals and ceremonies. During the Spanish colonization of the 16th century, La Ribera became an important point of reference for sailors navigating the waters of the Pacific. The site's unique rock formations and distinctive landscape made it a recognizable landmark for seafarers, and it was often used as a reference on maps and navigation charts. Today, La Ribera is a protected natural area and home to a large colony of California sea lions and seals, also known as lobos marinos in Spanish. These are some really cool cliffs. Like, they're so, like, jagged and angular. Look at some of those waves hitting up. Yeah, it's so neat. It's like a big shelf. Don't fall in. Yeah, I know, right? We don't want to be those YouTubers. YouTuber dies from trying to get the shot. That is wild. This is the big difference between, like, the U.S., most of Canada, and Mexico. There would be, in the States, massive barriers. You would not be able to get anywhere near this thing. Here in Mexico, they're like, eh, if you're that dumb, you deserve to fall in. Okay, you're making me nervous. But, like, look at that. That is so cool. It's crazy. You're making me nervous, like, so nervous. Please back up. Oh, here comes some pelicans. Oh, yeah. Are you gonna say bye to the seals? Bye, seals. Bye, bubbies. They're so cute. I could sit here watch them all day. But we've got an hour of 4x4 driving again. Yes, and it is getting later, and we want to be home before dark. So, we've made it back to the highway. In 34 minutes, we passed a couple of razors on their way in, on our way out, and they were going a little faster than us. So, I suspect if you had a side-by-side or some kind of off-roading vehicle, you could go a little bit faster. And we suspect the Mercedes that we saw going on the way in was probably a bit slower. So, if you want to go to La Robera, uh, count, you know, expect maybe around the 30-minute mark or so to be able to get in, and 30 minutes to get back out too. But it's well worth it. Well, we wanted waves. We got waves. Not friendly surfing waves. Now that we are settled in, let me show you around this place. To start off, we have our own palapa, a picnic table, an outdoor kitchen, our own garbage disposal, and get this, there's a water spigot, which I think works. It works. And a light switch for the light at night. And electrical outlets. All for a hundred pesos a night. Now, there are four of these palapas here. So, one, two, three, and then there's one tucked behind over here. There's also some trees put in, a volleyball net, a couple of children's play structures behind me over there too. So, you can tell, like, they've put in quite a bit of effort to put this together. I can't believe it's only a hundred pesos a night. Here is the outhouse. Let me show you that. No toilet paper. You have to bring your own toilet paper. I just noticed that. That's pretty much it. We are nestled right down under here in this, I guess it's an arroyo. We open up right onto the Pacific Ocean, folks. The road here on the way in is a little bit steep. However, we've seen a couple of two-wheel drive cars come in and get back out. No problems. We saw a sprinter van. We've seen truck camper. Other than that, we are the only ones here, and the ones that we did see only spent the one night. It's a great little spot. course, we were able to get down into this campsite, but I had my doubts that we were going to be able to get out. I think we're going to be just fine, but I am going to put it in four-wheel drive low again because that's a pretty good thing. And it's starting to rain too, and I really wanted to get out of here before it gets like slippery and muddy, so let's get going. All right, let's see if we'll make it up. It's a pretty steep hill. It's never nice to see your house on a 45 degree angle, but he just made it at the steepest part, so I think we're going to be okay. And we've made it. Just goes to show you, I shouldn't doubt him because he knows what he's doing. All right, it's starting to rain a bit more now. I'm really glad we got out of here before it got too rainy. No problemo. Next stop, San Quintin. Mine's dirty. Something looks dirty and foggy. Here, give it to me. Maybe it's just because the like outside is foggy and the windows are really dirty. Don't want a foggy lens. Okay, I think that's better. It had some moisture. What do you want me to say? Take the e-brake off for one. Make sure you don't miss the next video by liking, subscribing, and turning on notifications. Oh, and don't forget to check out our website and sign up for our weekly email blast. Thanks for joining us and we'll see you in the next one.