Always more Baja Magic

December 2009

I haven't been documenting my time in the Baja since I arrived in November....much....so ...Hang On ....I will post pictures and narrate a bit about my activities......!

Our "traditional" Thanksgiving: at Janet's...this year with Canadian friend

Dell.....Janet, Patricia and the Gypsy.

Janet's friendly palapa gate....

some of Janet's new art work....check out more of her work at:

JanetGillespie.com

The view at dusk from her hilltop home in Pescadero.

 A day in La Paz with Althea  and Brian....lunch at a not-so-great- restaurant.....looks can be deceiving..

Dinner at Brian & Althea's with Don & Joyce.....with my favorite (one of my favorites) Pineapple Upside Cake....thanks, Althea.

My overnight stay at Los Cerritos Beach...

....a Sunday afternoon of Jazz selections with Dalene Jones.........

Trekking a bit to the East Cape to the small (almost ghost) town of El Triunfo, you can get a sense of what Baja California was like during the 19th century silver-mining boom.  Watching out for and snapping pictures of the friendly cows, burrows, horses and some of the other 100 land mammals that live wherever they choose is as enjoyable as the destination itself.

Close by is Bahia De La Ventana, a windsurfing, kiteboarding, scuba diving, sports enthusiasts, and beach-goers paradise. This area was once a quiet little fishing village until wind surfers, in the 1990's discovered it had perfect conditions (lots of ideal wind) for their adventurous activities. It remains relatively underdeveloped but ..... the boom is on the cusp. Kiteboarders say this area is the best place in the world to learn the sport. When we visited, it was pretty spectacular watching all the activities.

Crazy friends having lunch in Todos Santos

Art & Beer is a fun place just south of Pescadero.  The owners had a thank you party for their patrons with free drinks and appetizers....naturally many people show up!  Below are old and new friends...and Alfredo, owner of Art & Beer.

 

Marina is 15 ...... when Mexican girls turn 15 they get a big party (Quinceañera).  It happened in December and what a party it was!

This is but a few "happenings" in my life from November-December 09 in the Baja. Time flies and I don't get a chance to keep up regularly.

Rain in the Desert

December 2009

                     Rain, when never experienced in the Baja, is doing interesting things to my soul.

As I watch it clean my dust-ridden RV....turn the brown to green....make what's already green get greener....normally active people become invisible...nowhere to be seen...

Thoughts of the sun warm me....people I know touch me....memories of the beach caress me....tastes of the holidays fill me....dreams of what may be thrill me......discovery of culture stirs me.......friends with talent for art swells me with pride...

The death of dogs too soon, angers me, the disappearance and perhaps death of mascot dog, Carolina has me as sad and as weepy as the rain. What could have happened to this beautiful and devoted and bouncy alpha dog...did the firecrackers of the season cause her to run.....we've looked everywhere. She may have been around for 10 years but she's a puppy to all of us.

It's quiet down here this year....tourist and snow birds stayed put....some out of fear of the faux news of the violence in the country.....some out of fear of the dollar/pesos. The shopkeepers close up or never open or move on with never changing attitudes of their remarkable blend of faith, family, friends, and tradition.

My view as I write...

Yes....it's raining in the Baja today.....gentle.....mesmerizing.....and most of all..... cleansing.....it is cleansing my soul.