A few images from a week in Baja California Sur

Two-way protected bikeway on Calle Blvd Antonio Mijares in San Jose del Cabo.
(Photos: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

I’m just back from my first-ever trip to Baja California Sur. I was not there for work; but I did manage to snap a few photos of people on bikes and various infrastructure and street scenes.

My significant other Juli (the one whose grace and patience has allowed me to work on this blog for the past 13 years) and I split our week between Todos Santos and Los Cabos. The southern tip of Baja is a fantastic place and I highly recommend visiting. I can’t believe I’ve lived half of my life and am just now discovering this part of the world!

Before I jump back into the news and our other offerings, I have a few images that I thought some of you might appreciate…

The shots above are a protected bikeway on Calle Blvd Antonio Mijares, a major thoroughfare in San Jose del Cabo (which, along with Cabo San Lucas, makes up Los Cabos, or “The Capes” in English). I didn’t see too many people using them, but I wasn’t there in the evening when most people are out and about. The on-street version has a similar method of protection — plastic posts and curbs — as the City of Portland has used. It looked similar to Better Naito, but not quite as wide. The off-street version was quite nice. Biking space was visually separated from walking space with green coloring. This bikeway is about 1.75 miles long and connects to many important destinations for tourists and locals alike.

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The scenes above are from Plaza Mijares, the main square in San Jose del Cabo. This place was a big highlight of the trip for me. I can never get enough of large, well-designed and well-used public plazas, no matter what country I’m in. At night, Plaza Mijares comes alive with artists, food vendors and locals. In one of those images you can see a father teaching his young daughter how to ride a bike. There were several couples using the plaza as a roller-skating rink, teens flying around on long skateboards, people practicing traditional dances, and so much more. Great public space is so valuable. I love seeing it used and appreciated by so many different types of people.


While walking around the neighborhoods in San Jose del Cabo I spotted this “Exclusivo” parking spot outside someone’s home. It didn’t look official; but who knows? The person even put the make, model, and license plate number of the car the space is exclusively for.


One thing I noticed throughout Los Cabos was the ample space given to people with disabilities. These spaces on Playa el Chileno (a public beach south of San Jose del Cabo) are for people using mobility devices. They are at the end of a wide and gradual boardwalk. I’ve never seen anything like this on a beach before. Major kudos to the local government for doing this.


Nicely marked spaces for parking bicycles right near the main entrance of Playa el Chileno.


This dude hanging out on Playa los Cerritos (a rustic and relatively undeveloped town near Todos Santos) had it all figured out. He rolled up with his board, chair, tent and all his other trappings strapped to his bike.


These last two are just street scenes from Todos Santos, a cool small town on the west cape that I hope to return to someday. I hear mountain biking in the nearby Sierra de la Laguna mountains is really good.

Thanks for indulging me. I have a bunch of catching up to do. Sorry for the missed emails, events, and stories these past couple days (I did manage to post a few things while away). I’m eager to get back to work!

— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org

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Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor)

Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor)

Founder of BikePortland (in 2005). Father of three. North Portlander. Basketball lover. Car owner and driver. If you have questions or feedback about this site or my work, feel free to contact me at @jonathan_maus on Twitter, via email at maus.jonathan@gmail.com, or phone/text at 503-706-8804. Also, if you read and appreciate this site, please become a supporter.

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Todd Boulanger
Todd Boulanger
5 years ago

Welcome home. And I enjoyed the vacation bike snaps…a visual break during my lunch.

SilkySlim
5 years ago

Small world, I was just down there too. Mostly in La Paz, with a visit to Todos Santos (we saw a turtle hatchery!), and a bonus three days in Cabo thanks to cancelled flights. Our hotel in Cabo was right on that separated bike way, and I was impressed. And being someplace warm, I doubt they remove it for winter like Better Naito. Zing!

Wojo
5 years ago

It’s not Baja, it’s Baja Sur. Baja is the northern part.

bikeninja
bikeninja
5 years ago

Kudos to our resourceful neighbors to the south for the great bike infrastructure you have shown on your well deserved vacation. I think that the folks in Mexico realize that automobiles are a fading dream for them. Mexico , which was once a great oil exporter, has seen gradual depletion of its great Cantarell Oil Field to the point that they no longer have significant oil exports. The proceeds from oil exports was the most significant income to the government of Mexico and its dwindling has forced them to give up the gas subsidies that allowed a portion of the working class to own and drive cars and small trucks. This higher price gas has forced the cost of driving out of reach of many of the common folk and lead to a rash of “gas bandits” stealing gas from pipelines and selling it on the black market or allowing locals to scoop it up in Jerry cans and keep their cars running. This lead to the tragic accident that immolated 85 desperate gas hungry folks in Mexico last week. Mexico was once one of our (U.S) oil suppliers and its fuel decline is a foreshadow of things to come for happy motoring in the U.S. When you start hearing about gas bandits raiding the big tanks across the river from St. Johns you will know the end of happy motoring is near.

Lester Burnham
Lester Burnham
5 years ago
Reply to  bikeninja

Maybe somebody should tell Mexico City the car is dead.

David Raboin
5 years ago

You’re a great photographer. I always enjoy the photos on this webpage and your vacation snaps of Cabo’s bike infrastructure prove once again that you really know how to take useful, yet nice looking photos.

Adam Moore
Adam Moore
5 years ago

Awesome pics, Jonathon!

Adam Moore
Adam Moore
5 years ago
Reply to  Adam Moore

Also, JonathAn.