Skipjack Joe
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Location: Bahia Asuncion
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1978 Pt Escondido trip (2) - Feliciano
Nadine was now understandably becoming a little suspicious of this vacation the boys had cooked up and decided to have a greater say in where we
stayed. She fell in love with Pt. Escondido immediately, however, and approved of our final destination. We set up our two pup tents on the beach just
inside the mouth of the harbor ? next to a palm thatched open cabana. For all its beauty Pt. Escondido had few amenities in those days. The public
toilets were always clogged up and overflowing. You had to hike about 100 yds from the beach before finding ?unused? clusters of cactuses. A small
restaurant/bar sat perched at the harbor entrance and that was our source of shade and cool beverages. The heat and humidity was unbelievable. Our pup
tents were like furnaces during daylight hours and we didn?t retire to them until well after dark.
Feliciano was Pt. Escondido?s most prominent citizen in those days. We took an immediate liking to him. He was a short, squat man with Indian features
and glistening black hair that he combed straight back. Initially he asked how much Spanish we spoke. My fellow travelers immediately broke into their
finest Spanish, trying to outdo one another.
?And him??, he asked, pointing to me, ?What about him??.
My friends explained that I only knew how to say was ?papas fritas?. They all yukked it up at my expense. Actually, my vocabulary had been growing.
The signs along the highway had been warning us about baja?s dangerous hoars: ?curvas peligrosas?. A curva is a prostitute in serbo-croatian.
We were equally curious about Feliciano. Was he married, we asked, and where was his wife? ?Si, pero yo le matto? was the answer as he drew a finger
across his neck making a grating sound with a twinkle in his eye. The girls laughed, a bit nervously I thought.
Feliciano even had a comical name for his faithful companion who followed him around all day, ?come cuando hay?, which translates to ?eat when there
is food?.
Speaking of dogs. There was a pack of about 15 dogs that roamed the beach near the campground that seemed to belong to nobody. There seemed to be a
pecking order and at the very bottom of it all was this poor mutt that always took the brunt of everything. Periodically they would all chase this guy
down and try to inflict damage on him. His only recourse was to run into the water until the pack lost interest. We always knew when he was getting
it because a yelping would start up that could be heard for quite a ways. Oftentimes it happened at night and several times we got trampled as they
stepped on our tents in the excitement of it all. Val was particularly sorry for the mutt. He felt that their social order mimicked our own in some
way.
[Edited on 12-10-2005 by Skipjack Joe]
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Natalie Ann
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What a stroke of good luck for me... I return to Nomads after a couple of months and what do I find but this wonderful tale. Curvas peligrosas...
Story-telling at it's best! Thank you, Skipjack... and now please, I eagerly await part 3.
Be yourself, everyone else is already taken.
.....Oscar Wilde
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Sallysouth
Super Nomad
Posts: 1835
Registered: 10-9-2003
Location: Capo Beach
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Mood: missing Baja...
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But Skipjack, what about his Gato,that My daughter named "Hurracha."She was only three yrs old at the time.? Sweet memories..Thanks, Sally
Happiness is just a Baja memory away...
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Skipjack Joe
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Sallysouth
Did you know Feliciano? Did I get the name right? I gather from your posts that you lived around that harbor at the time. Val has a picture of him
somewhere but I can't find it.
It was so long ago and I never saw him again. The next time I showed up Fonatur had done it's dastardly deed. Our beach had been replaced by a cement
wall. The camping area had been moved back a quarter of a mile where there was no sea breeze. Don't get me started.
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pangamadness
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Does this look familur?
This was taken in 1980. Was it there in 78?
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pangamadness
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Mood: Under H20
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Does this look familiar?
Does this look familiar?
The photo was taken in Puerto Escondido in 1980.
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Skipjack Joe
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pangamadness
Very much so. Our cabanas were to the left of the building and a bit downhill. We would sit on those white chairs in the front and down ice cold
fantas trying to cool down. There's a cement extension to the right of the store and Feliciano would sleep on it to stay cool at night.
Thanks for picture, pangamadness. That was the spot.
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Sallysouth
Super Nomad
Posts: 1835
Registered: 10-9-2003
Location: Capo Beach
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Mood: missing Baja...
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Yes Skipjack,thats the "where is this?" spot! We had our campo to the right of the store, along the rocks.stones throw from the channel.Wasn't the
owners name Francisco?
I gotta find that picture and post it, of our camp.It really was a bummer when they built the cement wall and tore down the store and eliminated all
the nice camping spots there. Thoses were the days......
[Edited on 12-10-2005 by Sallysouth]
Happiness is just a Baja memory away...
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Mike Humfreville
Super Nomad
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Registered: 8-26-2003
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My Buddy way back
who spoke no Spanish, always tried to tell me that "curvas peligrosas" were "shapely Pelicans."
Write on Skipjack.
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Neal Johns
Super Nomad
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Registered: 10-31-2002
Location: Lytle Creek, CA
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Mood: In love!
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I tried to convince my wife that it meant "dangerous curves".
My motto:
Never let a Dragon pass by without pulling its tail!
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