Baja Treffen April/May 2021 by Heinz Neunzig
Heinz Neunzig is our friend and also an important player with Mercedes-Benz in regards to the G-Wagen. He is now retired but his legacy lives on with the civilian version of the G-Wagen and that it is sold in the USA. A nice article was written about him and his accomplishments and is a great read before you continue to read about his Baja Trip:
From albatross to icon: The man who saved the G-Wagen Published by Auto Week, written by Micah Wright
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Eric Hansen from Portland, Oregon, organized this trip. We were 7 international people from the US, Mexico, Columbia, New Zealand and Germany. We drove in 4 cars consisting of three Mercedes G-wagens and one Landcruiser. Starting point was Calexico, CA, on April 24. Sounds like fun?
We started from different locations in the US a few days earlier. I had the longest journey from Tuscaloosa, AL. I started with my good old G500, MY 2000, in mid-April. I met Mauricio with his 290GD, Kastenwagen, and co-drivers Scott and Arturo with a Landcruiser in Austin, TX. Together we drove in a convoy. In El Paso the 290GD needed a new water pump. – No problem at all because we had with Mauricio and Scott who are two of the greatest G-wagen experts anywhere! They fixed the problem in minutes and we went on to Tucson.
The next day we did some sightseeing on Hwy 386 in Arizona. Unfortunately the observatory on top of Kitt Peak was closed due to Covid. Next stop was in Ajo where we visited an old copper mine and got a lot of information from a 90-year old former worker at the mine. On time we met Eric in Calexico with his G500 PUR, MY 1999, and we all had a good dinner together.
The next morning we crossed the Mexican border into Mexicali. We met our old friend and guide Harald who flew in from La Paz. Arturo had to pick up his brother Gustavo who also flew in from La Paz. Finally we all met for our first stop at Pete’s Camp in San Felipe.
Then we headed south and watched a bit of the NORRA race. The race did not interfere with our plans as feared. We skipped Bahia de Los Angeles as it was cold, windy and a little bit dirty. Instead the beach of Las Animas was a perfect beach camp, remote and quiet with clean and soft sand.
Next day was all dirt and off road. We made a stop at the little fisher camp San Rafael which had a beach for driving and swimming. We got some fresh fish from the locals which was delicious. Later we met the driver and co-driver, participants of the NORRA race! They had just lost their Can Am race car to fire. It was totally burned out. Even the alloy wheels were melted. The motor was overheated and both the fire suppressant system and the extra extinguishers failed. The driver and his co-driver regained their good mood again after getting some beer from us.
This was also a tough ride for us. It killed Eric’s G! He went into limp mode first and then it refused to start again. We tried many tricks to solve the problem and our G experts worked for a couple of hours. Finally we hot-wired the starter, but the G would only limp along. We rented some cabins at beautiful Rancho Piedra Blanca, had a dinner of fresh fish from San Rafael and our last German beer plus a lot of Pacifico.
Vizcaino was the next town. We found local electricians but no real help. We assumed that the problem with Eric’s G had to do with the K40 relay. Eric decided to drive back home at 40 mph! Later we learned he made it to San Diego the next day. We stayed in San Ignacio for the night. The next day we visited Santa Rosalia, Mulege and Loreto. We made a great side trip to Mission San Javier in the mountains. Our camp for the night was at famous Playa Requeson.
We decided to drive the next day non-stop to La Paz. It’s a boring drive – the 2nd longest straight road on earth – for 120 miles. Our ways separated in La Paz. Arturo, Gustavo, Mauricio and Scott stayed with Gustavo’s family. I stayed for 2 days in Harald’s wonderful place in Centenario. Scott flew back to Houston and the others spent some more days in La Paz. And so I was by myself when I started my long trip home on Sunday, May 2.
My first stop was in Guerrero Negro with a short visit to the old lighthouse at the Pacific Ocean. Next day I made it to Yuma, AZ – but I had to wait more than 2 hours at the border in Mexicali. Next day I visited 2 car Museums. First in Maricopa at the funny Dwarf Car Museum and then in Tucson I got an exclusive tour of the Franklin Motor Cars Museum by the owner. Fantastic!
Next day I visited the Chiricahua National Monument, an almost unknown but beautiful park in Arizona with numerous standing rock formations.
I ended my day in Santa Fe, NM, where I visited my friends Marc and Frances, who own one of the best workshops for the G-wagen in the US. In just two days I was back in Tuscaloosa in sweet home Alabama. Total trip – 16 days and 6230 miles without any problems in my good old G500.
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