It was over all too soon. We woke Feliciano at dawn to say goodbye and headed north. Little did we know that baja had one more surprise in store for
us. Somewhere between Catavina and El Rosaria I looked in the rear view mirror and noticed that the boat seemed a bit lower than it should have been.
An inspection revealed that the frame of the trailer had cracked on the right side. What to do? We were in the middle of nowhere. A car went by every
45 minutes.
We pulled the boat off and laid it by the side of the road. The trailer frame was lashed together with the spare rope. We decided to separate. Val and
Nadine would stay with the boat while Vera and I would go scouting for help. It seemed like a mad plan at the time as there was nothing but an
occasional rancho within miles. Nadine, who is actually an accomplished painter, decided not to waste time. She set up her easel and oils and went to
work.
Vera and I drove north looking for anyone or anything that could get us out of our predicament. We soon reached an SCT building and asked around. A
fairly attractive attendant gestured, holding her index finger an inch from her thumb, smiled, and walked out the back door. Vera pulled me aside and
asked me if I understood the gesture. It was their way of saying un momentito (wait a moment). She was far better than I in picking
up these nuances. After a lot of background verbiage she reemerged and offered to take us somewhere for the repairs. We climbed back into our Maverick
and drove off into the desert. Our vehicle weaved through fields of desert cactus and brush on a dirt road that seemed to go nowhere.
Finally, to my amazement, we came to a field with enormous mounds of dirt and the sound of heavy machinery. It was a mining excavation of some sort.
Our companion got out and explained the problem to one of the workers. He left us for a short period of time and then showed up with an acetylene
tank and proceeded to weld my trailer back together. I could not believe my good fortune. I offered to pay him for his services but he absolutely
refused anything from me. I pleaded some more but the man wouldn?t accept a dime. I soon understood tha my offers were actually insulting him. He
finally suggested that I might buy him a cerveza, and so I got him a six pack.
On the way back to the highway the lady asked us if we could somehow get her into the United States. She complained of being bored here in baja, that
life was passing her by. I couldn?t believe my ears. She was living in paradise and yet longed for the suburbs of Los Angeles.
By the time we reached our friends it was sunset. The desert was lit up with that golden glow we had grown to love so much. The glow we like to watch
on the Sierra Giganta every morning from our campsite at Pt. Escondido. Nadine was now working feverishly to get it all on canvas before the light
faded.Natalie Ann - 12-13-2005 at 04:44 PM
Thank you, Skipjack, for this really fun story. But as with any good Baja trip, I'm not ready to go home yet. Perhaps you can dig
up another tale from the past to share with us?Sallysouth - 12-13-2005 at 09:15 PM
Well, Natalie, as you can see, they have NOT left yet!! I think we should stay tuned for part 6......por favor S.J?Natalie Ann - 12-14-2005 at 10:30 AM
Quote:
Originally posted by Sallysouth
Well, Natalie, as you can see, they have NOT left yet!! I think we should stay tuned for part 6......por favor S.J?
You're right, Sally. I always get scared on the way back to the States.
OK Skipjack, we've taken a vote and really would like you to share story part 6. Wherever you're hiding, please come back.Skipjack Joe - 12-14-2005 at 12:30 PM
Thank you ladies. That was the end of the trip:
<<Nadine was now working feverishly to get it all on canvas before the light faded.>>
The light fading... That was my symbolic way of indicating that it was the end of the story. Pretty clever, don't you think? I learned it from reading
Osprey's posts.
I just wanted to say that I think most of the posters on this board have trips like this to relate. There is nothing out of the ordinary about my
trip. We've all had many like them and I've grown to expect adventures every time I drive down.
I have people in my fishing club who can't understand why anybody would drive the peninsula to get to some destination when they can wisk down to
Cabo, catch marlin, and be back in the office 5 days later. Well, you just don't meet the Felicianos in the hotel lobbys of Cabo.
Natalie Ann, it's my understanding that you had a memorable flying trip to baja last year. Why not share that story?
Pancho and Emilio
Skipjack Joe - 12-14-2005 at 12:43 PM
A couple of omissions from the story that I now remember:
In order to get into the spirit of our Mexican trip Val and I decided to call ourself Pancho (villa) and Emilio (zapata) in honor of the two famous
revolutionaries. We referred to one another by these names throughout the trip. I was Emilio.
Top Ramon:
Val had decided at some point in time that Top Ramon had all the necessary ingredients for a traveler to baja. So he and Nadine drove down with
nothing other than cases of Top Ramon soup. Now Nadine was a frail little thing and Vera was constantly worrying about her nutrition. But Val insisted
that they were fine and getting their full daily nutrients and Nadine was too young a bride to argue (yet ).Sallysouth - 12-14-2005 at 08:35 PM
Dang Skipjack! I just knew you were going to put another chuckle in my throat and a smile on my face! Yes, Many of us have tales to tell but you,
amigo, are very good at doing just that!!So now we can assume that the trip home from your last location was uneventful? Aw, just make something up
for us, we're lovin it!! Gracias y mas gracias....SallyFatboy - 12-17-2005 at 09:10 PM
I too enjoyed your five part adventure.
It is truly sad that some folks take offense when a post is more than a few lines. The longer the better, if they are well written and about Baja to
boot!
