We left Loreto on Friday after a banking semi-emergency. We were trying to stock up with pesos at an ATM and the machine swallowed our card "by order of our financial institution." We knew this was bogus because we'd been using it just fine until now. The electronic skyway between Mexico and the US still leaves a lot to be desired. We had a similar, but not as serious, glitch, about a month ago, when the machine kept rejecting our card, and a collect call to our bank in the US couldn't find anything amiss--we were able to get $$ the next day just fine. Since the card-swallowing ATM was not at the bank itself but in a kiosk on the outskirts of town, we were hard-pressed to figure out how to get our card back. We ended up just notifying our bank that it had happened, and went to our emergency cash stash in Steve's sock drawer. We were able to convert most of that to pesos, and, between that and my Visa card, will be just fine. Might be a few less souveniers, unless they take plastic, but other that, we're ok.
An hour and a half after leaving Loreto, we were back at beautiful Bahia de Conception, this time at a picture-perfect beach called Playa El Requeson. And I mean the "picture-perfect" part literally--this particular beach is on many postcards of the Baja, and, in fact, is on the cover of one of our guidebooks. The beach is a sand spit connecting an island to the mainland at low tide, and divides the pretty little cove in two. Kayaking and snorkeling are said to be great here. Unfortunately, we weren't able to find out. The wind came up, and it's been blowing hard for days; any boating is impossible. This morning, we regretfully moved to an RV park in Mulage, along the river. The wind is still howling, but it's more sheltered here. I have a dive scheduled for tomorrow. I think it will be a dive from shore at Playa Los Burros to a wreck not far out in the cove, so the surf shouldn't be an issue. The dive shop owner, is either British or Australian--talks like Crocodile Dundee and yes, his name is Mick. He is a very colorful guy with lots of stories. When I went to the dive shop in Mulage to schedule my dive, I petted his fat old dog, Lady, who was sleeping in the sun on the porch as I walked in. Mick reported that although she doesn't look like much, she literally saved his life. Last September, a hurricane came through this area. Mulage didn't get much of the wind, but they did get all the rain. The river that runs next to town flooded and became a torrent; apparently there were several fatalities because they flood hit about 3 a.m. when everyone was sleeping, and destroyed many homes along the river. Mick says he was sleeping soundly when lady came and woke him up. When he got out of bed, the water was up to his knees; by the time he and his wife made it to the back door to exit, it was up to his neck. They swam to higher ground, using one hand to pull themselves along the vegitation and the other to hold onto the dog (Mick) and the kitten (Maria). Along with being filled with mud, there was some structural damage to the house; it's almost fully repaired, and they hope to move back in within the next couple of weeks.
Sunday, March 4, 2007
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Baja Magic
Well, yesterday and today clinched Juncalito Beach as both Steve`s and my favorite place on the Baja. Monday the wind died down, and we awoke to a calm, glassy sea. We took the kayak out and had a great time kayaking over to a little island and doing some snorkeling. Not as many fish as I`d hoped, but lots and lots of starfish in all sizes, colors, and configurations. My favorite was a white one with orange dots, studded with clove-like black bumps. I also saw a rockfish ( ? ). Very ugly in a very cool way, camoflauged and blnding almost perfectly with the rocks he was hudled up against. So yesterday, we decided to go out again and explore farther along the coast. As we got out a little ways past the island, we started seeing whale spouts, then whale backs, and decided to kayak out closer to them. There were three or four other boats out there, just driftng, motors off, watching the whales as well. These were blue whales and finback whales, and they made the grey whales we`d seen look like pipsqueaks. One got pretty close--30 or 40 yards from us--and then surfaced and rubbed against one of the other boats nearby. One of them was so long that we thought at first it was two whales, not one--it had to be a city block long. Blue whales are the largest creatures on earth. To sit out there in our kayak, surrounded by water and silence, except for the breathing of the whales, is a feeling beynd descripton. Magical. Humbling. Magnificent. I felt honored to be in their presence, corny as that sounds.
Then, this morning, after we had packed up and we were standing on the beach saying our goodbys to Len and Betty Kerr, our friends from B.C. whom we keep running into), there was a flurry in the water just offshore. We looked to see what the commotion was abut, and saw five or six dolphins, including a mother and baby swimming together. We must have watched them for ten minutes before they slowly swam away, looking for fish and followed by a flotilla of pelicans hoping to get in on the action.
We are now back in beautiful Lareto and will staay for two nights. I`m trying to get a dive in tomorrow, but it`s only a maybe. I`m having a hard time hooking up with a dive shop that has a tour going out tomorrow. One guy is supposed to get back to me, so I`m keping my fingers crossed. If it dosn{t work out, my last chance will be Mulage, where we`re headed after this.
Then, this morning, after we had packed up and we were standing on the beach saying our goodbys to Len and Betty Kerr, our friends from B.C. whom we keep running into), there was a flurry in the water just offshore. We looked to see what the commotion was abut, and saw five or six dolphins, including a mother and baby swimming together. We must have watched them for ten minutes before they slowly swam away, looking for fish and followed by a flotilla of pelicans hoping to get in on the action.
We are now back in beautiful Lareto and will staay for two nights. I`m trying to get a dive in tomorrow, but it`s only a maybe. I`m having a hard time hooking up with a dive shop that has a tour going out tomorrow. One guy is supposed to get back to me, so I`m keping my fingers crossed. If it dosn{t work out, my last chance will be Mulage, where we`re headed after this.
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Juncalito Beach II
It’s Saturday, not sure of the date, maybe February 24th? We are camped on Juncalito Beach, a little south of Lareto. There’s a little island out in the bay we want to kayak to, but the wind came up this morning, so it’s a no-go, at least for today and probably not for a few days. The wind on these beaches seems to come in 3-day spurts. There are about 20 RVs camped here, most of whom have been here for several months or more. The couple next to us came down at Thanksgiving. They have a big 5th wheel, a little red rubber boat like the one we used to have, and two huge Golden retrievers named Keeley and Gunnar. There are no services at all on this particular beach—no sewer, water, or electricity—but the people who stay here hae it down to a science. Most of the have an array of solar panels to charge up their batteries for electricity, as well as large holding tanks for water and sewer. Some have elaborate (and expensive!) reverse osmosis systems to process bad water, even sea water, into drinking water. There is a “real” campground a mile or to away, not on the beach, where you can go are dump your black water tanks and fill up with water for about $7, so a lot of folks do that every couple of weeks. The RV a couple of sites down from us have a satellite system and internet service. For $15 a month, they will route your laptop into their system so you don’t have to go into town to connect. We gave them a couple of bucks to cover the time we’re here, so I’m typing this as I watch the waves on the beach out of the front window and the hummingbirds at my feeder out the back. Not long after we arrived here yesterday and got set up, a young woman drove down the beach in a battered pick-up with her little boy and girl She was taking orders for her homemade tamales, to be delivered hot and fresh “Domingo tardes” (Sunday afternoon). The price was 8 pesos (about 80 cents) apiece. We ordered 3 chicken and 3 beef, so there’s Sunday dinner.
We will probably head to Lareto on Monday or Tuesday. I’m hoping to dive either there or Mulage. My dive in La Paz didn’t work out. The evening before I was to dive, I came down with a head cold, including a badly plugged ear. You can’t dive with a plugged ear—it’s not only very painful, you can burst an eardrum—so I had to cancel. It’s almost better now, so I ought to be good to go in a couple of days.
We will probably head to Lareto on Monday or Tuesday. I’m hoping to dive either there or Mulage. My dive in La Paz didn’t work out. The evening before I was to dive, I came down with a head cold, including a badly plugged ear. You can’t dive with a plugged ear—it’s not only very painful, you can burst an eardrum—so I had to cancel. It’s almost better now, so I ought to be good to go in a couple of days.
Lotsa Pics
Click on the pictures for a better view:
This is Ellie’s favorite thing to do. It’s also her first cattle tank in Mexico.
A little ranch located at the end of a canyon we biked up.
The View of Cabo San Lucas Bay from the COSTCO parking lot
The little things that make life worthwhile
Turtle crossing. No cars allowed
This is hole 6 of the Los Cerritos Beach Golf Course. It has an avid membership that play every day and keep the ‘greens’ in excellent condition.
FORE! People arrive to stay at Los Cerritos Beach as early as October (from Moab) and stay as long as 6 months (Salt Spring Island British Columbia).
There were about 8 whales very close to the shore. We were told they come here to rub the barnacles off.
The whales were only about 50 to 100 feet away. Sandy would have jumped in if the waves hadn’t been so big.
That’s a whale in that wave.
Los Cerritos Beach a surfer’s favorite
Our neighbor Randy, from Sandy, Utah, offered to let us use his Boogie Boards but, alas, it was cold and windy on the appointed day.
There were lots of people with new kinds of equipment which would let them fly over the waves.
Vultures sitting on cactus just like in the movies
Shut up Franks. Next to the Hotel California a big landmark in Todos Santos. We ate burgers and watched a John Wayne movie in Spanish.
This is Ellie’s favorite thing to do. It’s also her first cattle tank in Mexico.
A little ranch located at the end of a canyon we biked up.
The View of Cabo San Lucas Bay from the COSTCO parking lot
The little things that make life worthwhile
Turtle crossing. No cars allowed
This is hole 6 of the Los Cerritos Beach Golf Course. It has an avid membership that play every day and keep the ‘greens’ in excellent condition.
FORE! People arrive to stay at Los Cerritos Beach as early as October (from Moab) and stay as long as 6 months (Salt Spring Island British Columbia).
There were about 8 whales very close to the shore. We were told they come here to rub the barnacles off.
The whales were only about 50 to 100 feet away. Sandy would have jumped in if the waves hadn’t been so big.
That’s a whale in that wave.
Los Cerritos Beach a surfer’s favorite
Our neighbor Randy, from Sandy, Utah, offered to let us use his Boogie Boards but, alas, it was cold and windy on the appointed day.
There were lots of people with new kinds of equipment which would let them fly over the waves.
Vultures sitting on cactus just like in the movies
Shut up Franks. Next to the Hotel California a big landmark in Todos Santos. We ate burgers and watched a John Wayne movie in Spanish.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
El Tecolote II
Steve missed the Sea of Cortez, so we packed up yesterday and headed back to Playa el Tecolote, near La Paz. I was sorry to leave our mountain campsite--there wer a couple of hikes I still wanted to do, but it´s a place we would definitely come back to if and when we come back to the Baja. We will only be here a few days this time--it´s time to start a slow meander back north, revisiting some of our favorite places and checking out some of the ones we passed up on the way down. I´m in La Paz today dropping off laundry and getting some groceries. I also arranged to go scuba diving tomorrow. The dive sites are out by Isla Espiritu Sancto, where we took the boat tour to the sea lion colony. There is a shipwreck out there that we may dive, plus three other ships that were deliberately sunki to make a reef. We may dive at the sea lion colony as well--won´t know until tomorrow. Steve stayed out at the beach, and is planning on doing some sea kayaking or mountain biking while I´m in town.
Today is the last day of Carnival in La Paz--the equivalent of Mardi Gras. The malecon is lined with vendors, game and food booths, with a large grandstand set up for music. It´s kind of a zoo, but also kind of fun.
Today is the last day of Carnival in La Paz--the equivalent of Mardi Gras. The malecon is lined with vendors, game and food booths, with a large grandstand set up for music. It´s kind of a zoo, but also kind of fun.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Cabo San Lucas and Rancho Verde
Sunday, February 18, 2007
We hadn’t heard anything good about Cabo San Lucas except the Costco store and the Vagabundos del Mar RV Park, so we decided to check it out by car before committing ourselves to camping there. Good thing we did! The drive there was very slow, over mountains and behind big trucks.The RV Park was well-groomed and beautifully landscaped, but other than that, it was like being in a stateside trailer park—teeny sites and RVs lined up with almost no space between them. No thanks! The harbor at Cabo San Lucas is beautiful, but marred by high rise hotels and resorts that block the view of the water. We didn’t go into the downtown tourist area, since Steve is not a big fan of that kind of shopping, or any kind for that matter.
I am only slightly embarrassed to say we enjoyed Costco immensely. It is set up just exactly like the ones in the US, so we knew where to find everything, even though all the signs were in Spanish. All the DVDs had Spanish titles—Pantera Rosa (The Pinik Panther) and Los Simpsons. We were going to buy one if it had been dubbed in Spanish, but no, they were the regular English versions with Spanish subtitles. The books were mostly in Spanish, though, including all the Harry Potters. I looked for some baby books for Jackson in Spanish, but they didn’t have any. There were also lots of local products—torta rolls, chocolate flan instead of 3-layer chocolate cake, and a whole aisle of jumbo-size cans of chili peppers. The food court surprised me—I thought it would have Mexican food, but no—the offerings were just like the ones at home—pizza and hot dogs and very berry sundaes.
So, we decided to pass on camping in Cabo, and instead, headed back toward LaPaz to drop down to Los Bariles on the Sea of Cortez side. On the way, we got sidetracked, and haven’t made it there yet. We stopped for a “quick overnight” at Rancho Verde RV Haven, in the mountains about 20 miles from Los Bariles, and fell in love with the place. The campsites are huge, with lots of trees and greenery. There are about 15 sites total in the park, and only 3 others are occupied—we can’t even see our neighbors from our spot. Right outside our picture window is a little tree, where I’ve suspended my bird feeders and speared chunks of oranges on the branches. We get orioles and hummingbirds galore, and the other birds are beginning to find us too. The hooded orioles are probably my favorites so far. They are bright yellow-orange in color, with black and white wings and tail, and an elegant, velvet black mask that extends like a bib under their chins. They have a sweet tooth, I mean beak, and love the oranges. They also raid the hummingbird feeder for nectar, but have a hard go of it because their beaks are too big to get all the way in to effectively suck out the nectar, so they have to content themselves with little sips at a time.
There are miles and miles of dirt roads and hiking trails here, which we’ve only barely begun to explore. We’ve heard from some others camped here (yep, more Canadians) that Los Bariles is very expensive and not that great, so we’re going in by car today to check it out, buy groceries, and do laundry. If we like it better than the Canadians do (there is a beach), we might move. Otherwise, we’re very happy where we are, and will probably stay until Wednesday, and then maybe go back to Playa El Tecolote for a few days before meandering our way back north.
We hadn’t heard anything good about Cabo San Lucas except the Costco store and the Vagabundos del Mar RV Park, so we decided to check it out by car before committing ourselves to camping there. Good thing we did! The drive there was very slow, over mountains and behind big trucks.The RV Park was well-groomed and beautifully landscaped, but other than that, it was like being in a stateside trailer park—teeny sites and RVs lined up with almost no space between them. No thanks! The harbor at Cabo San Lucas is beautiful, but marred by high rise hotels and resorts that block the view of the water. We didn’t go into the downtown tourist area, since Steve is not a big fan of that kind of shopping, or any kind for that matter.
I am only slightly embarrassed to say we enjoyed Costco immensely. It is set up just exactly like the ones in the US, so we knew where to find everything, even though all the signs were in Spanish. All the DVDs had Spanish titles—Pantera Rosa (The Pinik Panther) and Los Simpsons. We were going to buy one if it had been dubbed in Spanish, but no, they were the regular English versions with Spanish subtitles. The books were mostly in Spanish, though, including all the Harry Potters. I looked for some baby books for Jackson in Spanish, but they didn’t have any. There were also lots of local products—torta rolls, chocolate flan instead of 3-layer chocolate cake, and a whole aisle of jumbo-size cans of chili peppers. The food court surprised me—I thought it would have Mexican food, but no—the offerings were just like the ones at home—pizza and hot dogs and very berry sundaes.
So, we decided to pass on camping in Cabo, and instead, headed back toward LaPaz to drop down to Los Bariles on the Sea of Cortez side. On the way, we got sidetracked, and haven’t made it there yet. We stopped for a “quick overnight” at Rancho Verde RV Haven, in the mountains about 20 miles from Los Bariles, and fell in love with the place. The campsites are huge, with lots of trees and greenery. There are about 15 sites total in the park, and only 3 others are occupied—we can’t even see our neighbors from our spot. Right outside our picture window is a little tree, where I’ve suspended my bird feeders and speared chunks of oranges on the branches. We get orioles and hummingbirds galore, and the other birds are beginning to find us too. The hooded orioles are probably my favorites so far. They are bright yellow-orange in color, with black and white wings and tail, and an elegant, velvet black mask that extends like a bib under their chins. They have a sweet tooth, I mean beak, and love the oranges. They also raid the hummingbird feeder for nectar, but have a hard go of it because their beaks are too big to get all the way in to effectively suck out the nectar, so they have to content themselves with little sips at a time.
There are miles and miles of dirt roads and hiking trails here, which we’ve only barely begun to explore. We’ve heard from some others camped here (yep, more Canadians) that Los Bariles is very expensive and not that great, so we’re going in by car today to check it out, buy groceries, and do laundry. If we like it better than the Canadians do (there is a beach), we might move. Otherwise, we’re very happy where we are, and will probably stay until Wednesday, and then maybe go back to Playa El Tecolote for a few days before meandering our way back north.
The Beach, More Whales, and a Bandito named Raoul
The Beach
It’s Tuesday, February 13th, and we’re still here at Los Cerritos. For the past several days, we’ve said, “Okay, we’ll leave tomorrow,” but then a reason always comes up for us to stay on “just one more day.” My favorite thing to do here is walk on the beach. It’s a long, shallow crescent, about 5 miles from the points on either end according to the guidebook. The RV camping area is about a half mile from the day use beach at the upper end where the surf shop and restaurant/beach bar is. Every morning, first thing, Ellie and I walk for about a mile the other way-- that end of the beach is empty, with just a couple of houses way down, at about the place we turn around. There’s not much going on down there, unless you count the little sand crabs throwing the sand out of their holes and coming out to peek for predators, or pelicans gliding over the water, or cormorants standing close to the water, with their wings half-spread, drying in the morning sun. Cormorants don’t have as much oil on their feathers as other birds do, and they get waterlogged when they dive for fish. This makes them heavier, and helps them dive deeper after fish, but they do have to dry out. In the early afternoon, we take another walk, this time in the opposite direction. This is always entertaining, as there’s always something going on. There’s a guy in a wheelchair who is staying in our RV camping area who wheels himself down the soft, sandy trail to the beach every afternoon with his two Labrador Retrievers in the lead. The guy has a squash racquet and a tennis ball, and uses the racquet to hurl the ball into the surf. The black Lab bounds into the waves and retrieves the ball, dropping it on the sand. The yellow Lab then picks up the ball and carries it over to the guy, and they do the whole thing over again—tag team fetch! Further down, a young woman in a bikini with a hula hoop dances to music from her IPOD as she keeps the hula hoop going without any apparent effort. Today there was a kite-boarder, and I stopped and watched her for awhile. Once we get down to end of the beach, we sit and watch the surfers for awhile, then turn around and stroll back. Sometimes I go for a swim, but it works out better if I take Ellie back to the Royal Palms first. She doesn’t like swimming in the surf, and gets very upset that I’m out there. She races up and down in the shallows, whining and pleading for me to come back. One day she was so distraught that she went and snuggled up to a woman sunning herself on her beach towel to get some help or comfort, or maybe both. The woman was NOT a dog person, and was not at all sympathetic.
There’s entertainment in camp, too. The long-term campers have set up a 9 hole par 3 golf course and are out there every morning. There’s a paperback book exchange outside one of the big RVs, and we’ve been over there to trade in some of the paperbacks we’ve finished. And if we’re sitting outside the Royal Palms reading or relaxing, somebody is always stopping by to introduce themselves, chat, and give a recommendation for a great restaurant, bakery, etc. in town. Today Steve met some people from Minnesota, and yes, they talk just like Frances McDormand in the movie “Fargo.”
More Whales
We were supposed to leave Los Cerritos today, but yesterday I went into Todos Santos to get my nails done. While I was waiting my turn, I got into a conversation with an American woman who lives in Todos Santos six months of the year. Her house is near the estuary and beach where the grey whales come in close. She said in the late afternoon, they come in very close to shore to try to scrape off barnacles. She said she got up the courage to go in swimming, and that a baby came up within 5 feet of her to have a look! I told Steve we had to stay one more day so we could go watch whales. So this afternoon we drove the 15 miles into Todos Santos, got directions to the beach, and set off to watch whales. This beach is only a few miles out of town, down a very narrow, sandy lane. We parked at the end, and walked down the beach to the estuary, a long river-like channel where the ocean backs up into an oasis-like setting with palms trees and mangroves. And in the ocean, right in front of the estuary, 50 to 100 feet from shore, were the whales! We saw heads, tails, backs, fins. Big ones and little ones, swimming slowly or seemingly just hanging out. I can’t even count how many we saw. It was awesome in the true sense of the word. Unfortunately, it was extremely windy and the waves were huge—much too rough to go in swimming; otherwise, I would have been in there in a heartbeat. What an experience!
A Bandito Named Raoul
When we got back to where we had parked the car, a local guy came up to us and said that he had been watching our car, protecting it from banditos, which he said were prevalent in the area. He appeared to want a tip for doing this. We ignored him, but as we went to get in our car, he pointed out that we had a flat tire. Extremely flat. Steve got out the jack and went to work, but the guy, who introduced himself as “Raoul,” insisted on helping, and more or less took over. Steve tried to tell him we didn’t need his help, but it became easier to just let him We began to get suspicious when examined the tire and couldn’t find a nail or glass chunk or anything that would cause a puncture. We became even more suspicious when I gave him 20 pesos ($2) for helping and he was not happy—demanded 100 pesos ($10). We ignored him and drove off. Our suspicions were confirmed when the guy at the tire repair place (llantera servicio) showed us the puncture—it was a small, straight cut on the edge of tread, pretty obviously made by a small knife. Raoul had stuck a knife in the tire when we were at the beach and then expected us to pay him for helping us change it!
I want to emphasize that this has been the first time since we’ve been here that any Mexican has been anything but kind, friendly, and helpful. When I drove into La Paz alone last week and got a flat tire (a legitimate flat—there was a 2 inch long screw imbedded in the tire!), a guy in some kind of public utility truck who spoke no English gave me a ride to the tire repair shop several miles away, explained the situation to the repair shop guys (who agreed to come and fix the flat), drove me back to my car and refused to take any money at all. While I was waiting for the repair guy, another man came up and offered to change the tire for me and would have done so if the repair truck hadn’t pulled up just then. Yesterday when I was getting my nails done, there was a lot of construction noise—it was a new business, and they were still putting on the finishing touches. With one of her employees translating, the owner, who spoke no English, apologized profusely, and said I could come back anytime for a free half-hour massage to make up for having to put up with the noise. Maybe I’ll do that tomorrow. We were going to leave for Cabo San Lucas tomorrow, but we understand the RV park we want to stay at is full until Thursday, so I guess we’ll be here at Los Cerritos “just one more day.”
It’s Tuesday, February 13th, and we’re still here at Los Cerritos. For the past several days, we’ve said, “Okay, we’ll leave tomorrow,” but then a reason always comes up for us to stay on “just one more day.” My favorite thing to do here is walk on the beach. It’s a long, shallow crescent, about 5 miles from the points on either end according to the guidebook. The RV camping area is about a half mile from the day use beach at the upper end where the surf shop and restaurant/beach bar is. Every morning, first thing, Ellie and I walk for about a mile the other way-- that end of the beach is empty, with just a couple of houses way down, at about the place we turn around. There’s not much going on down there, unless you count the little sand crabs throwing the sand out of their holes and coming out to peek for predators, or pelicans gliding over the water, or cormorants standing close to the water, with their wings half-spread, drying in the morning sun. Cormorants don’t have as much oil on their feathers as other birds do, and they get waterlogged when they dive for fish. This makes them heavier, and helps them dive deeper after fish, but they do have to dry out. In the early afternoon, we take another walk, this time in the opposite direction. This is always entertaining, as there’s always something going on. There’s a guy in a wheelchair who is staying in our RV camping area who wheels himself down the soft, sandy trail to the beach every afternoon with his two Labrador Retrievers in the lead. The guy has a squash racquet and a tennis ball, and uses the racquet to hurl the ball into the surf. The black Lab bounds into the waves and retrieves the ball, dropping it on the sand. The yellow Lab then picks up the ball and carries it over to the guy, and they do the whole thing over again—tag team fetch! Further down, a young woman in a bikini with a hula hoop dances to music from her IPOD as she keeps the hula hoop going without any apparent effort. Today there was a kite-boarder, and I stopped and watched her for awhile. Once we get down to end of the beach, we sit and watch the surfers for awhile, then turn around and stroll back. Sometimes I go for a swim, but it works out better if I take Ellie back to the Royal Palms first. She doesn’t like swimming in the surf, and gets very upset that I’m out there. She races up and down in the shallows, whining and pleading for me to come back. One day she was so distraught that she went and snuggled up to a woman sunning herself on her beach towel to get some help or comfort, or maybe both. The woman was NOT a dog person, and was not at all sympathetic.
There’s entertainment in camp, too. The long-term campers have set up a 9 hole par 3 golf course and are out there every morning. There’s a paperback book exchange outside one of the big RVs, and we’ve been over there to trade in some of the paperbacks we’ve finished. And if we’re sitting outside the Royal Palms reading or relaxing, somebody is always stopping by to introduce themselves, chat, and give a recommendation for a great restaurant, bakery, etc. in town. Today Steve met some people from Minnesota, and yes, they talk just like Frances McDormand in the movie “Fargo.”
More Whales
We were supposed to leave Los Cerritos today, but yesterday I went into Todos Santos to get my nails done. While I was waiting my turn, I got into a conversation with an American woman who lives in Todos Santos six months of the year. Her house is near the estuary and beach where the grey whales come in close. She said in the late afternoon, they come in very close to shore to try to scrape off barnacles. She said she got up the courage to go in swimming, and that a baby came up within 5 feet of her to have a look! I told Steve we had to stay one more day so we could go watch whales. So this afternoon we drove the 15 miles into Todos Santos, got directions to the beach, and set off to watch whales. This beach is only a few miles out of town, down a very narrow, sandy lane. We parked at the end, and walked down the beach to the estuary, a long river-like channel where the ocean backs up into an oasis-like setting with palms trees and mangroves. And in the ocean, right in front of the estuary, 50 to 100 feet from shore, were the whales! We saw heads, tails, backs, fins. Big ones and little ones, swimming slowly or seemingly just hanging out. I can’t even count how many we saw. It was awesome in the true sense of the word. Unfortunately, it was extremely windy and the waves were huge—much too rough to go in swimming; otherwise, I would have been in there in a heartbeat. What an experience!
A Bandito Named Raoul
When we got back to where we had parked the car, a local guy came up to us and said that he had been watching our car, protecting it from banditos, which he said were prevalent in the area. He appeared to want a tip for doing this. We ignored him, but as we went to get in our car, he pointed out that we had a flat tire. Extremely flat. Steve got out the jack and went to work, but the guy, who introduced himself as “Raoul,” insisted on helping, and more or less took over. Steve tried to tell him we didn’t need his help, but it became easier to just let him We began to get suspicious when examined the tire and couldn’t find a nail or glass chunk or anything that would cause a puncture. We became even more suspicious when I gave him 20 pesos ($2) for helping and he was not happy—demanded 100 pesos ($10). We ignored him and drove off. Our suspicions were confirmed when the guy at the tire repair place (llantera servicio) showed us the puncture—it was a small, straight cut on the edge of tread, pretty obviously made by a small knife. Raoul had stuck a knife in the tire when we were at the beach and then expected us to pay him for helping us change it!
I want to emphasize that this has been the first time since we’ve been here that any Mexican has been anything but kind, friendly, and helpful. When I drove into La Paz alone last week and got a flat tire (a legitimate flat—there was a 2 inch long screw imbedded in the tire!), a guy in some kind of public utility truck who spoke no English gave me a ride to the tire repair shop several miles away, explained the situation to the repair shop guys (who agreed to come and fix the flat), drove me back to my car and refused to take any money at all. While I was waiting for the repair guy, another man came up and offered to change the tire for me and would have done so if the repair truck hadn’t pulled up just then. Yesterday when I was getting my nails done, there was a lot of construction noise—it was a new business, and they were still putting on the finishing touches. With one of her employees translating, the owner, who spoke no English, apologized profusely, and said I could come back anytime for a free half-hour massage to make up for having to put up with the noise. Maybe I’ll do that tomorrow. We were going to leave for Cabo San Lucas tomorrow, but we understand the RV park we want to stay at is full until Thursday, so I guess we’ll be here at Los Cerritos “just one more day.”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
