San Lucas Cove, El Coyote, Constitucion

As I opened the curtains our first morning at San Lucas Cove (South of Santa Rosalia; there was Janet walking towards our motor home! What a surprise! We had been emailing Janet and John (friends from Victoria who had headed south before Christmas) as we were hoping to find them on a beach in Baja; however, didn’t know where they had chosen to settle. For some obscure reason we were not connecting, Janet had not received our emails and though she emailed us too I had only received one email from her which didn’t tell me where they were! It was a complete coincidence that they should be at this beach the same time as us. They had arrived the same day only much earlier, and since it was dark when we arrived they didn’t see us and we didn’t see them. We had a great time with them and it was very nice to see another friend (also named John) too who has made this beach his winter home for many years. We enjoyed meals together and long chats over morning cappuccinos for the three sleeps we were there.

We had a wonderful campfire and sing along with a couple who live just down the beach permanently (he plays twelve string and she 6 string guitar) and Garland from Squim (just across the straight from Victoria in the US) who plays electric keyboard, fiddle, guitar, and who knows what else. He was there with his family; wife, young adult son, sister and her husband. They drove two Rialtas, a small pricey motor home with a “toy box” full of things like motor cycles, wind surfing boards and sails, bicycles, this electric keyboard with amp and speakers, a boat, and who know what else! He played beautifully and his wife had an amazing voice – such fun!

We spent two nights there and then headed south to kayak at El Coyote Beach, south of Mullege in Bahia Concepcion. Janet and John headed north towards home. We had one glorious day with no wind kayaking on crystal clear water watching all the fishes swimming below, some looked big enough for dinner, unfortunately I didn’t bring my rod out with us. While I have a fishing licence for Baja I didn’t get a license for the kayak and all boats regardless of size have to have a license if one is planning on fishing from them. We have never met anyone who has been checked for licenses or heard of anyone being checked but that is the law and I sure don’t want to break any laws down here if possible.

We met some nice people next to us on the beach, a couple from Nanaimo – Pearl and Stan. We also met a couple from New York (Betty and ?) this the 2nd year they have been down here, we met them last year. They travel in a 4 wheel drive van with a tent, kayak, fold-a- boat and two dogs. We also met another couple in a bus conversion, Chuck and Elsie from near 100 mile house. They did a wonderful job on this conversion and at one time they lived in it for 9 years. Everyone is very friendly here this year, last year it seemed clicky. One day here was all the time we had and it wasn’t hard to leave as the next day dawned with cloudy skies and a very cold and constant wind.

We have to be at our cat sitting job on the 21st so we best be on our way. We don’t want to drive on Saturday or Sunday especially in the Cabo area. Our next stop, 279 km south and over the Sierra de la Giganta Mountains is Ciudad Constitucion, an agricultural community. We stay in a very nice RV park there with full hook-ups, a pool, bar, and restaurant and lots of beautiful vegetation including varieties of fruit trees, palms and cactus.

We arrived there with just enough time to pick up a few vegetables and to have a shower before dark. As I was on my way out the door to do so Lorne asks “are you buzzing?” “Huh? No I’m not buzzing – why would I be buzzing?” “Something’s buzzing” he replies. I listen carefully and hear nothing – sometimes he hears things I don’t and vice versa. I carry on to my shower, leaving him to his buzzing puzzle. While in the shower he calls over the wall to tell me the buzzing was his razor in the shower bag he was carrying… it seemed to be coming from down low and whenever he bent over it got louder….so, in his search around the motor home he thought it was a leak in a tire. A bit of entertainment for us; got me giggling for quite awhile, visualizing him stalking the illusive buzz. Small things…..

One night here and then on our way to Cabo San Lucas, a 275 km drive. Hopefully we will find a good spot to camp. Real estate having increased incredibly in this area may well result in the closure of many rv parks. We will visit Costco, and Home Depot in Cabo San Lucas and the Mega store in San Jose del Cabo (a Mexican supermarket) and head to Los Barriles and the cats on Monday.

Driving down the road this morning we are passed by many vehicles from the Baja 2000 – a huge annual race the length of the Baja. We were passed by (one of many) open pickups with a horse tethered in the back. The horses look quite happy, ears pricked forward and looking around. Not many horses I know would like to travel like that! Then we passed an oncoming car towing a pickup with a single rope – yes, only a rope. Oh yes, a gringo couple we met in San Lucas pushed their motor home with their tow car as it had stopped running. Up and then down the highway coming into Santa Rosalia – this highway is called, not for nothing Cuesta del Infierno (Hill of Hell). The level of risk taking here is amazing, mostly by Mexicans and often modeled by Gringos.

Pemex gas stations, are popping up all over. The government owns the gas and the distribution of the gas; while the stations themselves are independent but can only sell Pemex gas. When we first came down here there were few Pemex stations and we needed to fill up at pretty well every station we saw. Now gas is not a problem. We see even more under construction. We see much development in the villages along the way as well as more kids with cell phones, on bikes, skateboards and even some on ATVs. Even in very small villages. For example, for many years the town of San Lucas relied on our friend John to bring down soccer balls for the school children. It now has a skateboard park and kids with skateboards! 4 years ago there were no children here with bikes, now there are many, some with very nice bikes.

Back home Natasha sits at the bedside of her good friend Joan Yates – the 94 year old cougar lady from Metchosin. She is fading away, not without a fight that’s for sure; it’s a very difficult time for Natasha and she is spending hours by her bedside comforting her. Joan has always called Natasha the daughter she never had and over the years the love between them has been really lovely to see. Natasha and Chris have been caretakers on a 300 acre piece of her property for over 14 years. She is a legend, a character, and a crusty independent woman who will be greatly missed by many. Just got a text message, Joan has passed away. She is now out of pain and her suffering is over. She will be greatly missed by many and certainly by Natasha.

If you have read this far - I want to tell you that both Lorne and I have not been able to send email, we can receive but not send. We will figure this out.... well, Lorne will figure it out.