BajaNomad - Gonzaga and the Wave

Gonzaga and the Wave

ncampion - 10-17-2006 at 07:24 AM

Have been going down to Baja since 1970's and always enjoyed the wave. As you pointed out, most people now are in too much of a hurry to bother and the sense of kin with others in the "frontier" is not what it used to be due to population growth and "modernization". I still wave on any dirt road and generally get it back. Makes me feel at home.

David K - 10-17-2006 at 07:28 AM

Wave on the dirt roads.... always (Baja Road Rule #6, I think)!

thebajarunner - 10-17-2006 at 08:31 AM

Even when we were pre-running we at least lifted all (yes I said all) the fingers off the right hand on the wheel for a brief greeting.
And, in the race, we always had the co-pilot give a little wave- sometimes the lack of a wave got a rock sent your way...

BajaWarrior - 10-17-2006 at 08:43 AM

A buddy and myself drove 2-12 shifts to Cabo in 88'. He was the designated waver for the trip, and I believe everyone waved back whether they were driving against us or on foot. The wave is great!

Cypress - 10-17-2006 at 09:31 AM

If you're living in an area where people don't return your wave, it might be time to move. :no:

Summanus - 10-17-2006 at 09:46 AM

Good sign of 'old Baja' friendly, Don Jorge....The Wave. Being old timers and creatures of habit, formed from being born in a 'wave country', we still keep flailing away at all the cars we meet in country settings. I would imagine a lot of youngsters we wave at think those two old relics need assistance, maybe?

We miss those old road customs of a bygone Baja greatly ourselves. On the real Old Baja Road, the odd chance meeting with another vehicle was a momentous occasion...you didn't think twice, a wave was the first thing, you stopped right there, introductions & a handshake, and most often an offer to visit a remote ranchero or a camp put up together if it was late in the day. Most travelers to Baja today will never realize that sense of adventure we had on the old road. But perhaps the new arrival's own adventures will regenerate that old 'wave' of cameradery and a return to more civility. A sure way to spread a little sunshine. That little gesture has brought us countless good moments.

The Wave is a fairly comlex form of greeting fellow travelers. The ordinary one-hand wave(most common)....The full one arm and hand wave(extended like a salute)...The both hands up wave, like an aircraft carrier deckhand semaphoring approaching planes (my wife's favorite!)...Then there is the one-finger up signal given from one hand on the steering wheel. (No, not the middle finger), just a little nonchalant waggle of the index finger. Throwing a little body language into your style will make it unique.

As you said, Don Jorge, you can still get a wave these days, but not as often...and only in certain places. The Wave starts in lower Baja Sur for us ...except for the Cabo crush and what JR Baja called 'the gringo enclaves.'

We have noticed too, that The Wave gradually disappears northwards on the pavement until it becomes very infrequent from San Quentin north and finally is dead in California (we never 'wave' at anyone on California highways unless we are ready to return 9mm fire.)

We do head further north now and then, although not as much as we would like. The Wave indeed comes back in places like Wyoming, Montana..and other 'flyover' places in the US and Canada.

Don Jorge, we are not too sure that those people waving at you in...brrr... North Dakota... are not just pumping their arms to stay warm! The word is...it gets mighty cold up there.

The wave is a MUST...

bigzaggin - 10-17-2006 at 01:00 PM

those who don't do it are immediately suspect and subject to instant Baja karma (tainted torta, secondary, etc.).

On any slow road, the wave is a must-----

Barry A. - 10-17-2006 at 01:23 PM

-----and almost always returned with a grin.

And in Redding, CA we live in a very long cul-de-sac (3 blocks?) and I only know about 1/4 the people that live there, but we ALL always wave to each other, and always have. My conclusion: when driving slowly and making eye contact, almost everybody waves----and I certainly always do. The Americans I know are a friendly bunch----even the kids in funny clothes. :lol:

It is the same in Baja.

Hook - 10-17-2006 at 01:36 PM

Oh, but the TECHNIQUE of the wave may have played a role in your investigation, Jorge!

I am partial to the palm-facing-outward, fingers-together and thumb tucked next to the palm. Then, with a single motion, I go from closer to the vehicle to farther, BUT ONLY ONE WAVE, NOT A BACK-AND-FORTH! It's almost like a "so-long" wave but on the dirt roads of Baja, it is understood to mean something like "Howdy, and fare thee well, as you go where I have just been"! It's a little bit like Nixon's farewell wave after his abdication.

Anything else can be construed to be a plea for help, a flag-down, an emergency or ?????

So, what TECHNIQUE were you using?????

Summanus - 10-17-2006 at 01:45 PM

Hook...Oddly enough, the technique you describe is identical to the Souix sign language explaining what happened to Custer.

technique....

Paulina - 10-17-2006 at 03:03 PM

The wave. It's all in the wrist...Our technique is as follows:

Right handed, thumb, index and middle finger extended - a quick wave type jerk of the wrist to the right, not back and forth. It's kind of like how a pitcher would hold a baseball.

Sometimes it's not necessary to take the hand off of the steering wheel, just raise the three fingers and give it a go. That along with a smile, and you've made a road connection.

Good thread. The handshake techique is unique to baja as well, as far as I'm concerned....

P.<*)))><

vgabndo - 10-17-2006 at 04:35 PM

I think it must have something to do with remote areas. In Western Siskiyou County here at home, most everyone waves. Its another place where you may meet another car every fifteen or twenty minutes. Maybe. In Baja I always wave and often stop, on the dirt, if it seems mutual. :lol:

I dguess I'm kind of partial to a little wave of the Cub Scout Salute.

cat127 - 10-17-2006 at 05:13 PM

Great! We love the wave! Here it is the Shaka.... olders give it the full shake.... kids act cool and barely lift the wrist.....

aunties fully flail out the window with both hands....... Wait who's driving that car???? ha ha

And it is possible to wave at 50 mph! The head nod works too....

-Cat

bufeo - 10-17-2006 at 07:48 PM

Fun topic, DJ.

It's always been a habit of mine to wave, ever-so-slightly, to on-coming traffic on remote roads, whether it's in Baja, Nevada, South Carolina, N. Dakota, New Mexico, the Yukon, or wherever.

Last January while driving on remote roads in Namibia and South Africa, we did the same thing.

The response is nearly always the same in that a wave is returned.

In remote N.M. we found that it was the two-fingered (index and middle) salute of the left hand while the hand still rested on the steering wheel that was the most common.

Baja roads, with the exception of some of the Transpeninsula Hwy, are always good places to expect a return 'salute'.

In Namibia we found that the wave could turn into a palm-extended "STOP" sign quickly in order to discuss the condition of the road behind us. We were there during the rainy season and many times were the only track on the road. We've encountered that in Baja before as well, but not as much lately as during the '60s and '70s.

I've found that on remote highways in Utah and Nevada and other parts of the west, drivers of 18-wheelers will often return--and in some case initiate--a wave.

It's a good thing.

Even train engineers wave-----

Barry A. - 10-17-2006 at 08:59 PM

----we find that if the passing train is near enough to the road, that the engineers will almost always return your wave, and if out in the boonies will even toot their horn when we wave at them, which we love.

More fun.

shari - 10-18-2006 at 06:22 PM

I have enjoyed evolving from the visitor wave to the eyebrow lifting, slight head lift lift with it....acknowledges all your pals in town...no need to wave

rvdriver - 10-20-2006 at 01:20 PM

Don't forget the optional thumb up or down when driving away from the coast and passing an inbound vehicle with boards on top.

Pappy Jon - 10-25-2006 at 08:08 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by vgabndo
I think it must have something to do with remote areas.

I would agree. My first experience with "the wave" was actually in west Texas. Everybody waves in the rural areas. I've also noticed it in New Mexico's rural areas, mostly from the folks that work the land. Here though, it's usually just a few fingers raised off the steering wheel. Sort of a two finger salute.

Bob H - 10-25-2006 at 11:08 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Hook
Oh, but the TECHNIQUE of the wave...
I am partial to the palm-facing-outward, fingers-together and thumb tucked next to the palm. Then, with a single motion, I go from closer to the vehicle to farther, BUT ONLY ONE WAVE, NOT A BACK-AND-FORTH! It's almost like a "so-long" wave but on the dirt roads of Baja, it is understood to mean something like "Howdy, and fare thee well, as you go where I have just been"! It's a little bit like Nixon's farewell wave after his abdication.

Hook, that's a great move. Most of my family lives in Alabama where the wave is commonplace and expected. Most just life a few fingers up while holding on to the top of the steering wheel. But, you really can't see it sometimes. So, I, just to make sure they see it, lift my entire hand up to the windshield, kind of like signaling a "stop" and slightly wave it side to side, only once. Can't miss it that way.

Great topic!
Bob H

[Edited on 10-25-2006 by Bob H]