4×4 Travel Log through the Seven Sisters

A couple record their travels from El Rosario south to Guerrero Negro along Baja’s remote coastline and through the Seven Sisters – a series of right point breaks

The famous “Seven Sisters,” area of Baja’s rugged and remote Pacific coastline has gained a sacred sanctuary status among many in the surfing community that at times of the year produces some of the best surf you will likely find anywhere.

Seven Sisters denotes a series of seven pronounced right point breaks that stretch from Punta Cono all the way to Punta Rosarito, also known as “The Wall,” and is located approximately 350 miles south of San Diego taking the Mexican Highway 1 – also known as the Transpeninsular. The cold winter winds create an upwelling in the water and combined with the warmer currents typically swinging 30-40 miles out west to sea, make these perfect surf points freezing at times, with water temperature as much as 10 degrees colder than San Diego at that time of year.

It is not uncommon to see surfers using 4mm suits, with booties and hoods.

A journey to visit ALL of the 7 sisters

George with his wife and co-pilot Jenine departed from San Francisco and were slowly working their way down the continent with the goal of exploring the America’s before starting a family. They ended up planting roots in in a small surfing / kitesurfing community in Matanzas, Chile.

Along this arduous trek, Jenine was also the official navigator and was (mostly) able to keep George out of trouble in their 4×4 Ford Sportsmobile Adventure Van, which they named “Titus.”

After making it to Guerrero Negro, George sat down to share some of his photos and recollections of the trip, sharing that “it was over 120 miles of beautiful scenery, great surf, empty beaches, incredible seafood and very challenging 4×4 roads and navigation (thank God for Jenine’s amazing navigational skills, as I would still be lost up there). It was definitely one of the cooler, and slightly nerve wrecking things we’ve ever done, but Titus made it possible”

Punta Canoas

Here’s where the couple spent their first night, camping high top the cliffs over the Pacific. There was a small fishing village below and while technically not counted as one of the famed Seven Sisters, it does have a great point break due to an exposed reef that usually has waves and can work at any time of the year.

The best wind direction is from the north northeast with some shelter here from northwest winds. Groundswells more frequent than windswells and the best swell direction is from the southwest. Because of its closer proximity to the US southern border, this point can get crowded at times.

Another important tip to remember is to beware of rip tides and sharks in the area.

Bahia Blanco

On the way to Bahia Blanco – just south of San Jose del Faro – the couple passed through some amazing beaches and more 4×4 roads where they ran into their first bit of trouble. A power steering cap got shaken off and Titus lost most of his power steering fluid.

Titus became difficult to maneuver and some horrendous noises at every turn, but they pushed on. Fortunately they stumbled across a small lobster fishing camp where they negotiated with the fishermen to trade for some lobsters and fresh fish.

Their problems seemed to get worse after that when they ran into some big trouble in the salt flats, burying their Sportsmobile up to the running boards in salty muddy cement.

Some good planning saved them however, as George had packed some MaxTrax along with a shovel. First he dug and wedged the MaxTrax under the tires as best he could and then deflated the tires onto the MaxTrax.

It took a lot of work but after a couple of hours, Titus was finally freed from the muck. Moving ahead once more, they limped along to their next camping spot at a beautiful beach in Bahia Blanco.

Punta Cono

Cono is considered the first official point break of the Seven Sisters and is another exposed reef that has reliable surf. Winter is the favored time of year for surfing here with offshore winds coming from the north-northeast.

Clean groundswells prevail and the ideal swell direction is from the west-northwest / northwest. When it’s working here, it can get crowded. Watch out for rips, sharks and rocks.

They hit the road early the following morning but quickly discovered that their maps and the actual dirt roads they were traveling on didn’t match up all that well. They chalked it up to the recent storms.

The couple kept pushing forward but as the day wore on, the roads still weren’t matching their maps and they began thinking they just might be lost. To make matters even worse, Titus was completely out of power steering fluid and was screeching ever more loudly.

At that point desperation was starting to set in but Jenine stepped up her game as copilot/navigator and somehow managed to get them back on track and finally the roads began following their maps once again!

Feeling tired and dusty, they crawled into Bahia Maria by late afternoon, just in time for a low tide surf.

Punta Maria

This was the first time since they left the highway that they encountered other surfers / campers. It was a relief for the couple who by that point were glad to have the company after all the isolation and problems encountered.

This point break has consistent surf and winter is the favored time of year for surfing here. Offshore winds blow from the north-northeast. Tends to receive distant groundswells and the ideal swell angle is from the west. And sometimes can get crowded.

Watch out for rips, sharks and rocks.

They stayed there for two more days, soaking in the amazing sunsets while eating fresh calms and muscles. They also watched as a camping neighbor caught a 30lb Yellow Tail which he shared with them!

Punta Lobos

They broke camp and hit the road, reaching Punta Lobos which looks like an elongated version of El Cardon with a good right point reef break that would produce some great waves with a west or northwest swell.

They didn’t spend much time here and pushed ahead onto Punta Negra, also known as Punta Prieta.

Punta Negra

Punta Negra is another exposed reef and point break that has consistent surf. As with most of the point breaks in this region, winter is the favored time of year for surfing here. The best wind direction is from the north-northeast.

This sister tends to receive distant groundswells and the best swell direction is from the west.

When it’s working here, it can really get crowded. Like much of this area, also watch out for rips and sharks.

Punta Rocasa

This exposed reef and point break can have some inconsistent surf. The right hand break requires a strong swell from the west to northwest direction to work and when it does – it can be awesome.

And when it’s not – best to just push on looking for another point break.

Punta Santa Rosaliita

This is as perfect of a right point break you will find on the Baja Pacific coastline and best when in the middle of a big west surge. A lot of surfers prefer this break to get away from the crowds at The Wall. Here you will find a bunch of reefs with no one in site.

Punta Rosarito – “The Wall”

The last and arguably most famous of the “Sisters” gets a big swell during the winter – and often draws large crowds.

Offshore winds here are from the northeast where clean groundswells prevail and the ideal swell direction is from the northwest. There are both left and right breaking reefs here and this is an area that often hosts a community of surfers camping here.

The Wall has plenty of good surf, but also prevailing howling winds. To combat these conditions, campers often build rock walls along the beach to provide refuge from the wind.

The conditions weren’t perfect when the couple arrived.

They were tired from their journey but decided to spend the night. But not before getting in some late evening surfing; after all, how can one pass up the opportunity to “surf the wall?”

The next morning, after another surfing session they packed up camp to head out to find some much needed gas, power steering fluid for Titus and hit the highway once again on their long journey ahead.

There are sure to be more surf breaks ahead…

While the Seven Sisters point breaks themselves and are no big secret (they are easily found on a map), there are actually many more smaller, less known point breaks along this area that are considered “sacred secrets” to surfers who would just prefer we don’t mention them.

And we won’t – you’ll just have to invest the time and effort to discover them for yourself.

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You can follow more of George and Jenine’s adventures on their travel blog