I re-read my last dispatch and was surprised how prescient it was to what I am doing now as I zig-zag my way through the Baja countryside learning about food, culture, language and jotting down observations on the Mexican life. I have traveled to the most remote reaches of the Baja peninsula crossing plant abundant deserts to reach extraordinary beaches on the Sea of Cortez and Pacific Ocean. There are more dirt roads than I could ask for to satisfy my love of adventure driving. The interior desert camps are very unique because they are punctuated by rich and dense night skies with the shocking vacuum of total silence.
I have been lost, tired, dusty, dirty, homesick (when I was ill), and lonely at times. I gave my cell phone to a liquor store clerk in some beach town complete with charger, which allowed me to break away from that electronic tether and have not been on a phone since. Soon after I gave away some of my camp gear to a local landowner who looked like he could have used it more. I'll skip the diary type of information and let all know that I am well, healthy and happy to be traveling.
The Baja trek has been 85% off-road driving and has taken me 2,200 miles to travel 900 miles when measured via most efficient way down the only highway from Tijuana to Cabo San Lucas. This has taken seventy days. I figure if the truck can make it through the extremely rough roads of Baja it will go the whole way to the bottom of the world. The Land Cruiser I drive runs great and can be counted on to start in remote spots when nobody is around. With such a long journey planned I spent a lot of time asking friends to name it. Many suggestions came for this blue 1986 Toyota Land Cruiser. I settled on Azulita. In Spanish blue = azul. The -ita is a diminutive form to indicate how the speaker feels about something. It is like saying "Doggy" instead of "Dog". Azulita was the suggestion of my friend Sophia from Santa Cruz, California.
Back in October this year I was filled with anxiety when I was getting ready to cross the border into Mexico by myself. There was an eerie disquiet after months of confidence. All the preparations and planning with help from friends was coming due -the start of the journey south. I was scared and admitted it to myself. Then almost as a reversal of fortune to my doubt and self-pity a friend called and said she was coming with backpack in tow and, "Could I wait a day?".
I new friend I hardly knew was up for the adventure for about a month -we had so much fun on the back roads that Stephanie traveled nearly two months before heading back to the east coast for the holidaze. Stephanie was a hearty traveler, the uncomplaining type even when facing difficult conditions. It was a very long run of rough and primitive camping that left us dusty and without showers for long periods. When things looked bad she'd step in with direction or laughter depending on how freaked out I looked. I travel solo now and am grateful she decided to travel with me.
There will be dispatches to follow with colorful characters, adventure and new friends. In a few weeks I will be in Taxco, Mexico (mainland) to attend a six-week university program on Spanish language and culture. This city is very old and is considered the silver capital of the world.
David
La Paz, Baja, Mexico
Factoids:
- The beauty of travel: You can only be a stranger once.
- "Sin Nombre" a street called "No Name" in Loreto
- On staying present with so many destinations over the horizon I remind myself with, David, remember this. No matter where you go, that's where you are.
- Of the 70+ days on the road in Mexico I have spent a total of three nights in a proper bed. Scorpions and snakes are an issue and force me to sleep in a tent.
- Ahoras es el Tiempo. In Spanish this means Now is the time.
