What a surprise The Baja has turned out to be… the arduous drive from San Diego to dependable warm weather was well worth it and we are having a blast. To the point we have delayed the trip to the mainland via ferry from La Paz and taken a condo in Cabo San Lucas for a couple of months… what a change of pace from living in Pumper… we feel spoilt as we relax around the pool in the complex just a 5 minute walk from the golden sand and crystal clear waters of Medano beach, the marina with its luxury motor yachts and sail boats including the ‘Ethereal’ just a mere 190 feet long, and the old town where once you venture back a couple of blocks from the main tourist area, you can still enjoy authentic Mexican life and food at non-tourist prices.  Pinch us!!! No don’t… we don’t want to wake up

Cruising around the Baja from one darn stunning beach to the next we were ecstatic to be invited to join some veedub lovers on their luxury sailboat at anchor in the beautiful Bahia de Los Suenos ( Bay of Dreams). You bet ya we’ll be right aboard!! Now we are talking 42 feet of luxury with Bud and Ellen. A few margarita’s later and we are joined by other sailor’s in the bay, Leonard and Marie: We are all ‘lapping’ up the hospitality not thinking of the ride back to shore in the dark in a dingy! Eventually we stumble our way back to Pumper parked on the beach impeded by a combination of a very dark night and perhaps just one more drink than we needed.

As much as we LOVE Pumper this sure makes us think…  the left-brained Engineer in Steve has always fancied the challenge of sailing!! Bloody tempting!! And if Leonard can do it… What the heck so could we!!

For now though we are facing facts and my health is just not up to this gypsy nomadic existence as much as we have wander lust… hence the condo, to hold up and soak up Baja Life. Yes we are truly blessed to have so many options!!! … and be able to share the ride together.

Discovering La Paz and the beautiful beaches within spitting distance, we camp out on Playa Telecote for a few days with a few other boon-docking Hippie lovin’ travellers…  drop outs on the road. After a full on fun day soaking up Mexican sun and hospitality there is nothing quite like heading back to camp to compare notes, break out the maps and share tales of favourite boon-docking sites on the Baja and beyond. It’s a smorgasbord of nations that change up daily… French, Swiss, German, Spanish, American and fellow Canadians. 

But not every day is a beach day and a break is taken in the routine to hit La Paz for ‘Revolution Day’ celebrations.

On November 20, Mexico celebrated the Centennial Anniversary of its Revolution. On this date, in the year 1910 the revolutionary war to overthrow the dictator Porfirio Díaz, began. In what can only be described as a mega parade with the town out in force celebrating as only Mexican’s do… as families with pride, fun, lots of colour, and music music music!! Kids are always front stage so you wonder why there were few kids watching the parade… that’s easy… most of ‘em were in the parade. Probably one of the few days you can photograph the Military on parade from every angle with no threat of jail!!

With the occasional pit stop in the desert… There are several highlights on the road from La Paz to Cabo San Lucas, not least of which was in Los Barriles where we found a treasure. Charlie retired from window cleaning all his life to find a new love… Making the most amazing chocolates ever! I told him I want to marry him but for a while we’ll just hang out on his doorstep!! Amazing it can take 60 years to find your calling!!

Between the chocolates, visiting the local Bomberos, and the awaited sailing date when our new friends from Los Suenos arrive in Cabo … we find out a couple of Brits David and Susie we bumped into on a Panama beach last year are also in a La Paz Marina on “The Last Mango’… We’re hoping to meet up with them before our trails go in different directions. What a small world!! Amazing what a brief conversation on a beach can turn into…

Maybe all the safety and security headlines are a conspiracy to persuade Americans and Canadians not to take their tourism dollars to Mexico. We just don’t get it, we feel so safe in our travels, Mexicans are so friendly. But we have to share an amusing news report we saw in the paper: Recently the authorities made a surprise inspection of the Acapulco jail. They found a little contraband… 3 pistols, 60 rounds of ammo 160 TV’s, 34 sound systems, 19 cell phones, 63 DVD players, a Playstation, a video game machine, a slot machine, 53 fighting cocks, 23 hens, and 19 prostitutes….. The warden was fired on the spot!!! Don’t understand that: he could have been very progressive. After all, the jails here have a really bad reputation!!!

Paz Y Amor… and penal pleasures

Tags: are we there yet, Bomberos, Living the dream, Mexico, Pumper, revolution, rweethereyet, rweethereyet.com, VW

Posted in The Dream Goes On
6 Comments Posted by Steve