The beach breaks peel to the right, and there is a left hand point break, as well…and the beach is rarely crowded.

Romulo Gomez and LA Times columnist and author Jack Smith, whose book "God and Mr. Gomez" brought many chuckles and many Americans to Baja.

I didn't get the collaboration I wanted about wine shipping by sea, but I happened upon a real find after I got home and did some research. As it turns out La Bocana is the location where a now famous book, God and Mr. Gomez, was set. Jack Smith, a LA Times columnist decided in 1969 to build a get-away home in Baja.

I had just driven the same 17 miles of dirt road (off the Transpeninsular Highway) that he had all those 43 years ago, and I realized it must have been even more of a nightmare then. I couldn't imagine why he would have picked this spot to haul his materials to when the northern Baja Coastline was fairly untouched at that time. Jack met a man named Romulo Gomez, considered the patriarch of La Bocana. Together they built a house. Most who love Baja know the very humorous story, that originally appeared as columns in the LA Times. The legendary house still remains just north of La Bocana near Punta Santo Tomas. It represents Smith's adventure of being in Baja and the surprises he stumbled upon along the way.

Find your own Baja map and go for it:

La Bocana, a remote and beautiful cove with a history.It offers camping, good fishing, surfing, and even some literary fame and it is an adventure on "a road less traveled."

How to get to La Bocana:

Drive south on the Transpeninsular Highway, past Maneadero, on the road towards San Quintin.

You will drop down a steep mountain grade into the Santo Tomas valley (where you will see the Santo Tomas winery on your left) and you will take a right hand turn onto a road that heads due west.

This will quickly become a dirt road — not good after the rains, but not too deadly in dry times.

High vehicle clearance is a good idea.

What to expect:

A beautiful drive (especially in spring time) and maybe some rather questionable-looking fishermen who might ask what you want them to pull out of the water for you.

There is a small store for campers, and there is a restaurant further down the dirt road that parallels the ocean. Take a picnic, and take water.

La Bocana is just about 75 minutes south of Ensenada, and near the famous Santo Tomas winery.

Why not visit both?

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