The adventure is still alive, but yeah, it's pretty much left the Los Cabos area which seems to me like a mashup of LA and Las Vegas. We try to stay out of there and now that you can fly LA to La Paz there's little need to go there.
But over here in La Ventana, last week I logged my 53rd day of kite surfing on the Sea of Cortez this season and hoping to get a few more yet. Free diving season is here now, the water is radiant and gorgeous. And now that most gringos have left it's muy tranquilo. I'm still here working on our off grid house which is nearing completion after 1 year. Cheers!
Desde Rancho Sueño Azul, BCS
BTW, my Land Cruiser is 34 years old, perfect for Baja, color stays cool and doesn't show the dust, full time 4WD and it rides smooth like a 5000 lb Jefe, not much pavement in this town!
i was a poetry student at the jack kerouac school in boulder colorado & talked extensively with joanne at afternoon birthday parties, in automobiles at night while somebody else was going shopping in liquor mart... we always talked about poets & poetry... she was attentive & helpful to me as i was learning how to be a poet... once we had a talk in a house kitchen & she told me how whenever she went to san francisco the city she'd run into poet bob kaufman walking on the sidewalks of north beach & how he'd cross the street if need be & approach her & he would stop in front of her & bow to her... then he launched into reciting lines of t.s. eliot to her ... " he recited eliot as a sort of base for himself " she told me...
I have traveled and lived in spots in Mexico and Guatemala (Oaxaca, Guerrero, Guanajuato, Jalisco and Panajachel on Lago Atitlan in Guatemala) for over 48 years. I have been to Loreto BC Sur, as well. Had not been to “Cabo” nor did I have any desire to go there. But last fall I had the opportunity to go there for a week. “Los Cabos” is not Mexico. (Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo.) A far cry from the Mexico I have come to know and experience for over several decades. Expensive, very crowded and overrun with people from California. It felt like the Mexican version of Southern California. Wall to wall ‘resorts’ line the coast, with very little ocean views or beach access, when traveling between the two towns.
Give me a sleepy, small pueblito on the beach in Mexico any day. (Though those places are getting less and less these days.)
I was late to get to Baja, being an Eastern US woman, but Mulege feels pretty good to me, especially a certain campo 15 miles south, especially during Covid when there were few Canadians (nothing against you all BTW although this meant I had to make up in gringo buying power from all the organic vegetable, rug, cookie vendors that came by). Especially since I had picked up a feral ten month old dog. Especially since I was warm there and not in dreary winter Oregon.
Lloyd, thank you for sharing your early ventures into Baja. Three of us Missouri rednecks ventured down the peninsula for a month in 1970. It changed my life. I will never forget the experiences, the beauty and especially the people.
Sorry …. To continue. My husband was a many-generation Californian. He loved his state and introduced me to Catalina. I fell in love with the island … and I’m thoroughly enjoying your content for him, though I’ve been widowed for many years. I actually sent one of my sons who lives beachside in Florida the beach shack book. Thank you!!
Back in the late 70's and early 80's Baja was wild, dirty and filled with wonderful people. Almost never saw other guys on the waves and you could ride dirt bikes right through the towns. I used to get an ocean view suite for $40 a night, ate like a king and drank like a fish. Some of the best memories of my life. Tried to share the experience with my kids more recently but I didn't even recognize the place. We humans sure are a funny animal. Great post, sir. Some awesome documents and images. Appreciate you sharing.
The adventure is still alive, but yeah, it's pretty much left the Los Cabos area which seems to me like a mashup of LA and Las Vegas. We try to stay out of there and now that you can fly LA to La Paz there's little need to go there.
But over here in La Ventana, last week I logged my 53rd day of kite surfing on the Sea of Cortez this season and hoping to get a few more yet. Free diving season is here now, the water is radiant and gorgeous. And now that most gringos have left it's muy tranquilo. I'm still here working on our off grid house which is nearing completion after 1 year. Cheers!
Desde Rancho Sueño Azul, BCS
BTW, my Land Cruiser is 34 years old, perfect for Baja, color stays cool and doesn't show the dust, full time 4WD and it rides smooth like a 5000 lb Jefe, not much pavement in this town!
https://photos.app.goo.gl/8inSuQgGSBwGL8p18
hi ... i like reading your stuff... i'm a poet named mickey o'connor & i studied with joanne kyger... did you know Joanne ?
She was my next-to-next-door neighbor.
i was a poetry student at the jack kerouac school in boulder colorado & talked extensively with joanne at afternoon birthday parties, in automobiles at night while somebody else was going shopping in liquor mart... we always talked about poets & poetry... she was attentive & helpful to me as i was learning how to be a poet... once we had a talk in a house kitchen & she told me how whenever she went to san francisco the city she'd run into poet bob kaufman walking on the sidewalks of north beach & how he'd cross the street if need be & approach her & he would stop in front of her & bow to her... then he launched into reciting lines of t.s. eliot to her ... " he recited eliot as a sort of base for himself " she told me...
I have traveled and lived in spots in Mexico and Guatemala (Oaxaca, Guerrero, Guanajuato, Jalisco and Panajachel on Lago Atitlan in Guatemala) for over 48 years. I have been to Loreto BC Sur, as well. Had not been to “Cabo” nor did I have any desire to go there. But last fall I had the opportunity to go there for a week. “Los Cabos” is not Mexico. (Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo.) A far cry from the Mexico I have come to know and experience for over several decades. Expensive, very crowded and overrun with people from California. It felt like the Mexican version of Southern California. Wall to wall ‘resorts’ line the coast, with very little ocean views or beach access, when traveling between the two towns.
Give me a sleepy, small pueblito on the beach in Mexico any day. (Though those places are getting less and less these days.)
“Bad roads, good people; good roads, bad people.”
Amen, Mama Espinoza!
Here in NZ, we have hundreds of publicly owned backcountry huts, many only accessible by foot, via difficult terrain.
These “bad roads” make for good people. Some complain it prohibits accessibility, but I agree with Mama Espinoza.
I was late to get to Baja, being an Eastern US woman, but Mulege feels pretty good to me, especially a certain campo 15 miles south, especially during Covid when there were few Canadians (nothing against you all BTW although this meant I had to make up in gringo buying power from all the organic vegetable, rug, cookie vendors that came by). Especially since I had picked up a feral ten month old dog. Especially since I was warm there and not in dreary winter Oregon.
Long live the great all-Mexican taco stand ❤️❤️
Lloyd, thank you for sharing your early ventures into Baja. Three of us Missouri rednecks ventured down the peninsula for a month in 1970. It changed my life. I will never forget the experiences, the beauty and especially the people.
Sorry …. To continue. My husband was a many-generation Californian. He loved his state and introduced me to Catalina. I fell in love with the island … and I’m thoroughly enjoying your content for him, though I’ve been widowed for many years. I actually sent one of my sons who lives beachside in Florida the beach shack book. Thank you!!
Back in the late 70's and early 80's Baja was wild, dirty and filled with wonderful people. Almost never saw other guys on the waves and you could ride dirt bikes right through the towns. I used to get an ocean view suite for $40 a night, ate like a king and drank like a fish. Some of the best memories of my life. Tried to share the experience with my kids more recently but I didn't even recognize the place. We humans sure are a funny animal. Great post, sir. Some awesome documents and images. Appreciate you sharing.
I’m a native east coaster transplanted to. Colorado.