Why I Went to Mexico
It's hard to capture what something so significant and short meant to you.There is something to be said for the satisfaction you feel after a week of hard work.The drink at the end of it all tastes so good.But what's to be said about the gratification you get from time away?
So I think I'll tell you a dozen things about the trip and you can decide what it meant.
We lived at the end of a dirt road-the four of us; once roommates in San Diego and in camping tents and hotel rooms around the country and now, again in a white house surrounded by bougainvillea.
And there were neighbors.
Some from mainland Mexico. Michocan, I think.
Some from Wyoming.
In the late morning a man attached himself to a hang glider and flew right out of an old barn on the beach.
Every evening we watched another man ride a chocolate colored horse along the shoreline. Maybe it was his, but it didn't behave like it belonged to anyone.
And the green flash went off as the sun set. You have to remember it's not kelly green, but more the color of a highlighter. You can't blink, and you have to believe you will see it, or you won't.
The nights were cold and clear. And we looked up to Orion, but I wasn't sure he was looking back because I wasn't sure it was him. Stars have never looked like people to me.
There was an ant hill right in the middle of the walkway because they didn't know it was a path. Or they did, but were too busy to move it.
And we saw stray dogs,
two of them running at us at dusk with their teeth out. They followed us through the fields and yards that seemed to have no fences, but they only wanted company too and to know who we were.
In La Paz, the water, shiny like broken glass bottles, was sipping up the sun.
You hid from it when you visited the skatepark, in the crevasses and corners.
Just beyond the hills to the south, there were waves taller than me most days, breaking in water only waist high. I tried to ride them, but they didn't always want that.
But a bigger board did it,
and determination did it,
so I took home something special in the end.
And bugs buzzed and worked while we reclined and laughed and drank and told stories and listened.
// Travel information and recommendations:Have you ever been to Baja?
+Where we stayed: Pescadero, BCS. A little over an hour outside of Cabo, 15 minutes from Todos Santos and about an 1:15 from La Paz. We loved this spot as it was close enough to everything we wanted to do, but felt remote and peaceful.
+Our accommodations were provided by The Osprey San Pedrito. The cozy feel, full kitchen and patio with hammocks were a bonus to the location.
+Skatepark: Pescadero Skatepark; ask a local. It's easy to find, but it's not obvious where to look.+Here are some more pictures Phil took (and he took the one of the Pelican above). He's a great photographer who has taught Scott and I a lot .