munching on the awesome banana bread we had bought from one of the
vendors that kept bringing us stuff. If one chose to live there
permanently everything would have been brought to us and we would
simply never have to leave that beach at all! The only thing was that
there was not too much beach to walk..... but it really was
beautiful. We left all the blinds open so that we could see out as we
lay in bed - the stars were incredible! Joleen, Steven and Lisa, I
thought of you all - all the dreams and wishes to enjoy still. There
was no other light around and the sky was crisp and a deep black - for
a while. And then a light crept up on to the underside of the few
whispy clouds that had arrived. The light got brighter and lit those
clouds to a beautiful silver! Of course I could not just let that go
by, so I got dressed, grabbed the camera and yup, stood outside taking
photos of the moon rising over the Sea of Cortez..... Sounds awesome,
hey? It was :) A few short hours later an indescribable sunrise
appeared, turning the sky into blood red streaks and even turning the
water a deep and beautiful color. The birds seemed to squawk in a
muted way and the quiet was just lovely. The water lapped gently onto
the sand as all along the beachfront the campers woke up, stepped
outside and stretched. I could almost hear their soft ooh's and aah's
as they sat and watched that new day start in such a beautiful way.
We knew it was Thursday because we had headed to the restaurant to
grab a bite to eat the night before, only to be told that they are
closed on Wednesdays! At least we found out the day :)
We went for a short walk and then it was time to head further
south...... We still have a fair way to go to reach the bottom of the
peninsula and although we don't really have any time limit, we would
like to find a beach with lots of walking space and hang around there
for a few days at least and get tanned and lazy.... ok, more tanned
and more lazy :) So off we headed, me twisting my head and camera
around to get a view of this magic place one last time..... and to see
all the other little magic coves along the way - ours was the
best.... The drive to Loreto, also on the east coast of Baja, took us
closely along the shores of the Bahia Concepcion - what views we were
handed for mile after glorious mile! The water was an incredible blue
with gulls and pelicans lazily wafting just inches above the tiny
waves. Islands dotted the bay, some close by enough to see their
shorelines and others sort of misty and hazy in the distance. The
view being mostly on Franks side, I had to learn patience and knowing
that we would have to drive back up this road with this view on my
side in the next few weeks, made it easier.
There is very little traffic here - we see perhaps one every 10
minutes or so and thats either one passing us on coming from the other
direction. We went through another military checkpoint and this time
it got me thinking of all the times I had read about how awful and
scary these stops were. We were told that they will ransack the rv,
destroy stuff while holding us at gunpoint, that it was one of the
main reasons not to come to Mexico..... Oh wow - how wrong that all
is. These guys are courteous, full of curiosity, businesslike and
very friendly.
Right after this last checkpoint one of the drawers that are in the
section above the drivers cab, fell out - spewing its contents all
over the place and making little Sophie yelp in surprise! Thank
goodness it was not camera stuff or breakables in there and that it
did not land on our heads either. Now they all have a very solid
strip of silver duct tape holding them closed. All of them!
And then the road took us inland for the rest of the way until it
dropped us back down into the town of Loreto. I am not bored at all
with the views of the mountains and the cactus and the small
settlements - they are all lovely, but I have run out of ways for now,
to describe the shuddering poverty, the awesome mix of colors of even
the poorest of towns and the grandeur of the mountains. I find myself
taking more photos of cacti as the road gets worse - helps me not see
where the 'road monsters' have chomped away at the side of the ribbon
leaving absolutely no space for error at all. Frank is not only
driving fantastically, but he is handling my occasional squawks better
than I do!
Anyway - so here we found ourselves at the doorway to Loreto - a real
town with all sorts of stores, extra roads, a gazillion people and
cars going everywhere! There are no lines in the roads marking the
lanes and I doubt they would mean anything at all anyway. After
finding a gas station and filling up again we headed towards the
Loreto Shores RV Campground which was on the other side of this town
of very narrow roads, cars going every direction and the most
absolutely fascinating looking little shops everywhere! We wove
ourselves through the traffic, sucking in our thighs at times and
wondering what the heck we were doing here at other times. The road
took us through a very dusty dry arroyo (dry river/gulch) and up the
other side to more interesting things to see. There was a school
where at least half the kids seemed to be in uniform and they were
actually playing outside! The building was painted all bright and
beautiful with ocean scenery and the typical screaming kids were
everywhere. Lovely to see.
We parked, set up, and took the doglets for a walk along the beach.
Except this was no paradise beach at all! The sand is brown and harsh
with stones and very few shells, the water flops onto the sand in a
very listless and uninterested way and there were patches of slimy
green seaweed that did not smell good. There were a good many half
fish undulating in the water too which did not make me want to wade
and........... well it just proved that we were totally spoiled by
Katie's Bay! The view was also nothing like we had expected. So we
headed back home to ponder our options and there we found a load of
extra energy, washed the bicycles and headed into town! Down the
dusty road we went, being met by multiple "Hola"s along the way and
much laughter at the way we answered....., down across the arroyo
collecting about a ton of dust and into town. Oh boy, what an
interesting place this is! We quickly found the open air market
stretch that was very hard to miss, and slowly pedaled our way from
shop to shop.
The roads here are cobbles and brick - just amazing. Lamp posts are
sometimes a good third of the way into the road and palm trees
literally growing through the buildings, there are stop streets
everywhere but we have learned that these are just suggestions and
definitely optional. The stores have their beautiful blankets,
pottery dresses and so many other things out on the sidewalks. The
art work is stunning and there are two different types of things to
see - the local and hand made items or the 'industry stuff'. We rode
past an absolutely incredible building - a Mission that was built in
1697 and I just knew that we would have to come back with my camera
again later or the next day. So after looking around, and not wanting
to buy too much, we headed home, me with both my feet kicking me all
the way for not taking my camera along!
So early this morning we got ready to head to town again, with the
camera this time. It was a lovely sunshiny day and the wind had died
down totally and we were once again greeted all along the way as we
ambled past houses with huge orange trees in their yards. There is so
much dust around that one can hardly see that they are oranges! Down
through the even dustier arroyo and back into town......... I got a
good many photos of the buildings and shops and we did some lovely
shopping too! Some of the buildings have half all broken down, but
the other half standing, and the shop is open and functional. Its
amazing to see how everything is used in this town, even though there
are huge holes in the roof, it works - so use it. One shop we
visited held us there for a goodly while. The owner, Francisco,
showed us many of his handmade blankets and explained how they
transfer the design to the loom..... its all done by hand and some of
the bigger blankets take him up to 6 days to make! He showed us the
difference in the feel of the hand made items and the commercial items
made in mainland Mexico. He also sold us a bottle of good grade
tequila and two lovely big margarita glasses all beautifully hand
painted. He really has a fascinating shop filled with beautiful
goodies - I could have spent hours there just looking, but it was time
to head back again and to head out too.
We went to the bank to get more Peso's and wound our way back home
through some very interesting traffic. No one really seems to pay
much attention to stop signs or where in the road they drive, but
everyone gets their turn and traffic flows pretty darn well. There is
an almost constant honking of horns as people greet each other above
the multiple different songs being played through speakers out on the
sidewalk. Goodies from the stores decorate the sidewalks and
Francisco assured us that it was totally safe around here. And again,
this place has such a good feel to it. The fruit and veggie stands
are a design in themselves, filled with everything imaginable and then
some. We ended up walking much of the way in town as riding on
cobbles, looking at the stores and taking photos all at the same time
proved to be a bit of a problem..
Anyway - we headed home with our treasures and big smiles on our
faces. There is a house right at the entrance to the campground and I
am sure the people there sat waiting for us again - loud hello's, much
laughter and happy waves again. And then we packed up and headed
south. And again we were handed simply awesome views, impossible
mountain roads, enormous cactus plants of all varieties and little
settlements all covered in dust. I aimed us towards a campground in
Ciudad Constitucion which is in the middle of the peninsula again.
The Mex 1 highway zigs and zags across a good few times. I had hoped
to go on a whale watching trip from here, but they have no busses
running from here and the road is not the greatest to get to the place
where the tour starts...... ah well, another time and place.
We are now at Misiones RV Park and were a little tired and grouchy
when we pulled in, but the evening greatly improved. We had a nap
after taking the doglets for a much needed walk and were then ready
for some supper. So off we tootled to the restaurant right here in
the campground where we ordered a margarita and some food - both were
fantastic. As we finished, another couple came up and recognized us
from the San Quintin stop over. They joined us and we had a lovely
evening of much talking and laughter. The supper was delish and it
was lovely sitting outdoors under the palapa - this is a huge round
roof on stilts - the roof made from palm tree fronds and the sides
from something woven too. Very interesting.... you will have to see
the pictures to see what I mean. Finally it got cool enough to head
home again under another beautifully clear sky studded with stars all
bright and twinkling. We also found a lime tree and there is an
orange tree in the site right next to ours and the lady here said we
are very welcome to pick some of both!
Tomorrow morning we are heading south again and will probably spend
the night right on the beach outside La Paz - again on the Sea of
Cortez side of Baja. What a wonderful way to spend Valentines Day!
So - happy Valentines Day to you all........ I hope its a day filled
with love and warmth and a good few hugs to boot.
love and light
Annie
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