BajaNomad

Baja, where are you going?

Baja Bernie - 8-3-2007 at 03:09 PM

Most of my post here have been simple attempts, on my part, to share the Baja I have known over the past 45 years….Those memories have never been clouded or ruled by the laws of man but much more often by the common sense of the Mexican people and their guests.

Over the years many of us have chosen to place our hearts in Baja for assorted reasons. Some we understood but others we can only marvel. One of the overriding reasons, I believe, is/was the desire to escape the cluttered and highly regimented life in the United States. A place where common sense no longer prevails and one that is ‘ruled’ by judges and attorney’s—I didn’t mention politicians because saying that would be redundant.

Many recent threads have convinced me more than anything else that the end of a naïve and simple era is over, done, and for all purposes gone. I am must thankful that so many of us have been allowed to experience the simple pleasures of Baja and its wonderful people. That we were allowed to wander around this paradise at will—stopping to savor its quietude, the hot winds of her deserts, the sun and waves of her seashores. The hurricanes that thunder ashore around the Cape, the bounty of the Sea of Cortez and so much more.

We have been allowed to sip of a culture that has taught many of us that time really has no meaning unless it is spent with friends or its passing has added to our understanding and enjoyment of life. We were blessed to see a blending of the two cultures and the emergence of a third that somehow is more than the sum of the two.

I understand—but do not appreciate the fact that many of us ‘visitors’ do not feel comfortable without our definitive laws and rules that control most of the functions of our lives. Those very things that have driven many of us into her arms are now engulfing Baja and changing her forever! Her simple and free pleasures are, more and more, forced to conform to a more orderly society where folks require the security of the much more complex society that we had thought to leave behind us as we escaped to Baja.

I am sure that one day soon the lovely towns and villages of Baja will mirror such cities as Tijuana, Cancun, or Acapulco where the free life of the individual is sacrificed for the ‘good’ of the many. These changes will end up swallowing up those folks who would ‘march to a different drummer’—or in the case of some—dance to a piccolo player.

Watching my footprints being washed away by the tide has always been a magical moment for me and I just hope that my passing will be washed out to sea as were my footprints in the sand—rather than being held captive in a slab of concrete.

Yes! I know that ‘progress’ is good—but losing the freedom to roam around mi Baja is not progress and may not be so judged by anyone’s standards.

Bernie Swaim—August 2007

No, no! I am going nowhere—yet.

backninedan - 8-3-2007 at 03:52 PM

I am investagating another country this December. For now I would rather not say where. I'm sure my talking about it won't change things, but after watching baja explode, I may be a bit superstitious. I will just say it is in central america. Loreto is still home and I don't see an immediate move, but it would be foolish not to have another place scouted out if this just gets to be too much.

I think it will depend on how Loreto goes, if its similar to La Paz I may stay. If it's anything like cabo....I'm gone.

The housing and stock markets dumps may slow things down too, we shall see.

oldhippie - 8-3-2007 at 04:07 PM

I've already written off a winter home in BCS, which has been a 25 year dream, and I'm ready to buy. BCS is already too expensive for me.

I'm headed for the mainland this winter to scout out the Pacific coast areas, further south, between the resorts.

And I really don't mind populated areas. I get bored where there is nothing. But I've married a Mexican woman and live in Mexico. I really don't want to go any place where my neighbors speak English, or Canadian ;D

DENNIS - 8-3-2007 at 04:24 PM

Jeezo, Bernie..........

You spent a lot of effort on this one, didn't you.
Why don't you just say, "Baja is changing, day by day, and if you don't understand this, go to a dead place where nothing changes."
We've talked about this before. We discussed the value of memory as all we have left.
This place, which we all feel as "ours" is now, everybodys. The isolation factor goes into the memory file and should be valued as such.
We can't resist it. It's too strong.

We didn't "sip of a culture" as you put it. Years back, there was no culture other than land, and we brought our good people, our pioneers to the area, opening it up to further exploration and exposure. David K comes to mind as a contemporary.
Others would be Krutch, Stienbeck, Martinez [ Mexican] , Cannon, Gardner, Tabor, and so many others.

So, Bernie, it wasn't just the Mexicans with their mix of history that made Baja what it was and is. It's us as well. It's the adventurer with a couple of big ones hangin' that put this place together for you and me.

And, Bernie, please please please, in your further epistles, don't use that word, "quietude" any more. It belongs in the realm of poetry.

Hey! Dennis

Baja Bernie - 8-3-2007 at 06:01 PM

Would you like to censor my stuff before it gets posted. Don't seem able to please you lately.

Perhaps I'll post a few of my poems and drive you nuts.

On second thought...............Nah! I ain't that nasty.

DENNIS - 8-3-2007 at 06:07 PM

Thanks.

Osprey - 8-3-2007 at 06:14 PM

Maudlin maunderings (I guess) are all that's left to those who live on memories. Better to burn today's light even if it's not bright, like the old one. Like King Pleasure used to say "I'm so afraid of where I'm going and so in love with where I've been".

Tomorrow's Baja will please me in ways the old one never could if I can only stay alive, awake, positive, open to the promise of the unknown.

DENNIS - 8-3-2007 at 06:17 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Osprey
Tomorrow's Baja will please me in ways the old one never could if I can only stay alive, awake, positive, open to the promise of the unknown.

Easy to say now.

DENNIS - 8-3-2007 at 06:23 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Osprey
Maudlin maunderings (I guess) are all that's left to those who live on memories.

You won't live on them but, you'd better have them in order so you can live with them. In many cases in the future here, that's all that will be left. Accept your past, dont live in it. We all face that scenario so, the scene may as well be good.

Osprey - 8-3-2007 at 06:39 PM

Dennis, that's all nonsense, Jerryisms.

Unchanging, but Unloved ?

MrBillM - 8-3-2007 at 06:55 PM

If change is the enemy, have you considered Amboy ?

Being a native Californian, it comes immediately to mind, but I'm sure there are other places in the great Southwest just as attractive and unpopulated. Awhile back, the whole town was for sale so the right person could guarantee that unchanging state.

DENNIS - 8-3-2007 at 06:56 PM

Jerry will be so happy that his best efforts have spawned a term, Jerryism.
I'm sure you've coined this in your most kind regards.

Change is what happens.

BMG - 8-3-2007 at 07:47 PM

I believe the uncertainty of change is what most of us fear, or at least dread. The 'good ol' days' are what we always dream of. Has it ever been different?

The only thing any of us have to look forward to is the future and it isn't going to be the same as the past no matter how much we wish it. I'll bet you $1 that in 20 years there will be people talking about how good it was back in '07 and how life was so good back then.

As for me, I still relive cruising on our boat through Mexico and the South Pacific in the 70's and 80's. Have things changed? Yep, some for the better and some for the worse.

This next year my wife and I start on a new adventure. We will still keep the boat in a more northern latitude but plan on moving into our new to us house in La Paz. Another change that both of us are looking forward to with anticipation. If you're in the neighborhood, stop by for a cold one and we can reminisce a bit. If it just happens to be the year 2027, bring that $1 you owe me.

gnukid - 8-3-2007 at 09:36 PM

Interesting that the Missionaries had limited success colonizing baja, they had endless funds and resources and still it was a difficult path, then when the US was at war with Mexico and the US raised the flag in La Paz in 1847, some 9 months later the colonizers left along with their converts. Even Mexicans didn't go to Baja until recently and now it's simply because its less violent than the mainland, they arrive with money from Mexico City and when it runs out they leave to find work elsewhere.

Establishments have collapsed, plans have failed, for so many reasons, Baja is a harsh environment with little to offer in the way of easy living. Most developments are vast empty structures. Of the places which are comfortable or can support community, those are colonized. Things here are difficult and expensive.

Many developments will come and sell, but remain empty, others will fail, some will go away and leave ruble behind and most will drain money from investors.

How many could or would want to actually survive in a place with few resources? We have unbearable summer weather, and little commerce or opportunity for productive manufacturing? Its either too hot or too cold and windy. They'll come for a short two week vacation and buy something, but they can't and wont stay.

Even in Ensenada, Cabo, SJC or La Paz city centers it is very difficult to make it here, wages are low, its hard to survive and many vacation homes are simply empty except the two weeks a year vacationers come down to visit.

I take this development spurt as real, but spurred by our recent Real Estate bubble in the US and subsequent failure, requiring people to cash out, and invest in lower cost opportunity. As we see in the US market, we've had downward adjustments, finally these past few weeks as more cash out. Were reaching 20% foreclosure on subprime APR loans. 50% were no interest payment/negative amortized no down payment loans over the last 5 years which will likely fail. Loans are fewer and far between. Its a fast failing play. In Baja, the money for these activities has gone away.

Either way, I don't see the growth plans in Baja as great investment opportunities- half million dollar condos with no parking and million dollar remote homes? The demand for housing isn't there. They are way overpriced and most lack resources one would want. Which is probably why we're shocked!

Most of us made our own way here without a sales pitch, many made their own homes or better a palapa or nothing but a camper or tent. For those who don't read the latest news or follow the hype, life in mexico is the much the same as it was years ago and will remain that way for a long time in pueblos however there will be lots of new movement, where its going? probably no where, like so many failed projects. They'll run back home when the money runs out and leave a path of destruction behind.

Either way it is upsetting, everyone I know is deeply upset about the destruction of Mangroves we have which are key to Baja and once gone they wont come back easily.

I live on a dirt street where people sell and trade nuts and fruits and fish and few even drive. We care about our street and we enjoy playing soccer in the dirt street. Then came the governor, mayor and president, they saw what a nice place we have. They each bought land on my street. They put up big fences and began to build mansions. Then came the plans for a marina, a bridge to the Magote, a super wide boulevard. I get so upset I try instead to imagine its coming and accept life goes on everywhere, they call it progress. The most offensive to me is the Magote development on the sand bar in La Paz. They are destroying an important mangrove to our region for an insanely stupid development on a sandbar in a well known hurricane alley, they will have destroyed the homes of so many animals and fish for nothing but the hope of a few bucks and I'm sure they fail in the end.

jerry - 8-3-2007 at 10:37 PM

thanks Baja Burnie
no thanks Osprey

805gregg - 8-3-2007 at 10:54 PM

I had a comment, then I lost it, the best I can do is " what is, what is". I morn the loss of the baja I knew, but I am happy, for the Mexicans that are benefiting from the changes. Nothing stays the same. I'm just sad, that I'm afraid, I can no longer afford the dream of retairement in Baja. Plus if it goes the way of Cabo, Z-huat, Mita, etc. I don't want to live there anyhow.
Anybody been to AUZ?

Bajafun777 - 8-3-2007 at 11:50 PM

Bernie, I think back to the fun times and the people I knew that are no longer among us that enjoyed the fun times we had then as well as now. I visit the same places that were not so crowded and developed as now but some things never change such the ocean and friendliness. These are things that seem to always be there. Now old hippie some mainland areas are great too. I like Los Mochis and Maztlan and several coastal towns in between. Always another adventure just down the rode, such are things that memories are made of. Ocean, friends, adventure and don't forget the cold ones to just top it off. bajafun777

Pescador - 8-4-2007 at 07:19 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Baja Bernie
Over the years many of us have chosen to place our hearts in Baja for assorted reasons.

Many recent threads have convinced me more than anything else that the end of a naïve and simple era is over, done, and for all purposes gone. I am must thankful that so many of us have been allowed to experience the simple pleasures of Baja and its wonderful people. That we were allowed to wander around this paradise at will—stopping to savor its quietude, the hot winds of her deserts, the sun and waves of her seashores. The hurricanes that thunder ashore around the Cape, the bounty of the Sea of Cortez and so much more.

We have been allowed to sip of a culture that has taught many of us that time really has no meaning unless it is spent with friends or its passing has added to our understanding and enjoyment of life. We were blessed to see a blending of the two cultures and the emergence of a third that somehow is more than the sum of the two.

Watching my footprints being washed away by the tide has always been a magical moment for me and I just hope that my passing will be washed out to sea as were my footprints in the sand—rather than being held captive in a slab of concrete.

Yes! I know that ‘progress’ is good—but losing the freedom to roam around mi Baja is not progress and may not be so judged by anyone’s standards.

Bernie Swaim—August 2007

No, no! I am going nowhere—yet.


Bernie, I am convinced that it is nothing but a time reference. It is too easy as we get older to live in the glories of the past and reflect that things were always good historically. It is an impossibility to travel backwards and it is very important to keep things in perspective as Osprey alluded to. Time has a way of filtering out the bad and leaving primarily the good memories but when I catch myself wishing that things were like they were "back when", I have to keep reminding myself that I am not like I was "back when". Sure change is coming to the baja, but change is coming to my own neighborhood in a lot of the same ways, so the only thing I can do is to embrace the change and live fully in the present. I think it is a little too easy to bemoan the development and be righteously indignant like Old Hippie about the growth and development but that doesn't really change much and keeps us from looking and sensing the present. I do not go to Cabo because that is not the environment that I get the most pleasure from and I can waste silly time bemoaning the fact that I remember what it was like back in the 80's but guess what, I don't live in the 80's anymore. But, I have found a place on the Baja that works for me and brings me great pleasure right here and now. I get to go fishing and instead of worrying about how good it was 10 years ago, I focus on what is happening today and derive a lot of pleasure from that whether I am catching a boatload of yellowtail or a few spotted bay bass for dinner. I get to sit around and play music with some of my friends, I get to practice my spanish and make new friends, I get to watch the wind blow, I don't have to shovel snow, and each and every day is a new adventure.
Today on the San Carlos forum some one posted some pictues of San Carlos from way back. I remember what it was like in the old days and the pictures brought back floods of memories, but I also remember fighting terrible roads, never being able to find equipment or parts, getting so sick from food poisoning that I thought I was going to die, and on and on. But it also reminded me that today is the adventure and each day is a gift to live fully.

shari - 8-4-2007 at 08:42 AM

Yup, lots of places have been trashed and we all lament this BUT there are still LOTS of wild pristine beaches in baja with very cheap land so geez Greg don't give up the ship mate! Just look harder for your place...I found mine and I really don't see it changing too much in the near future...OK maybe a few nomads will build some humble casitas...good, more backgammon players and new amigos to share good times with.

Loboron - 8-4-2007 at 09:52 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by DENNIS
Jeezo, Bernie..........

You spent a lot of effort on this one, didn't you.
Why don't you just say, "Baja is changing, day by day, and if you don't understand this, go to a dead place where nothing changes."
We've talked about this before. We discussed the value of memory as all we have left.
This place, which we all feel as "ours" is now, everybodys. The isolation factor goes into the memory file and should be valued as such.
We can't resist it. It's too strong.

We didn't "sip of a culture" as you put it. Years back, there was no culture other than land, and we brought our good people, our pioneers to the area, opening it up to further exploration and exposure. David K comes to mind as a contemporary.
Others would be Krutch, Stienbeck, Martinez [ Mexican] , Cannon, Gardner, Tabor, and so many others.

So, Bernie, it wasn't just the Mexicans with their mix of history that made Baja what it was and is. It's us as well. It's the adventurer with a couple of big ones hangin' that put this place together for you and me.

And, Bernie, please please please, in your further epistles, don't use that word, "quietude" any more. It belongs in the realm of poetry.


Dennis,
It's difficult at best, to understand your logic, and I find it more difficult not to call you and idiot.

" This place, which we all feel as "ours" is now, everybodys"

How can you say that, Mexico is not and never will be yours. You are and always will be a guest until you're thrown out.

"We didn't "sip of a culture" as you put it. Years back, there was no culture other than land, and we brought our good people, our pioneers to the area, opening it up to further exploration and exposure"

This is where you become the village idiot. "There was no culture" You must be Blind and deaf and dump if you haven't learned anything about Mexico. When you learn about the local lay of the land and the people, it's called learning their Culture.

"So, Bernie, it wasn't just the Mexicans with their mix of history that made Baja what it was and is. It's us as well."

Perhaps you would like to give us a history lesson. I always thought it was the Mexicans and their history that made up Baja and what drew us all here in the first place.

Perhaps you'd better be served if you read Bernies books on Baja. There's quite a bit of History and Culture in those books. Perhaps you would go away with a better understanding of how it was and what it's become. That's was causes most of us to reflect back.

[Edited on 8-4-2007 by Loboron]

Cypress - 8-4-2007 at 12:46 PM

gnukid, Appreciate your take on the developement situation. :)Have experienced it north of the border and the results aren't good for fish, fowl, or anything else.:(:(

bajajazz - 8-4-2007 at 01:26 PM

I'm 20 years here now and I still think of the Baja as a thousand miles of busted dreams alongside a really bad road.

It used to be that some guy's pipedream never progressed farther than a pretentious entry gate and a dirt track lined with whitewashed rocks. Now, what with Fonatur blowing taxpayers' money, some foreign investment coming in and an endless supply of real estate development scams, we are confronted with change that overwhelms us by its rapacity, vulgarity and thoughtless haste.

The commercial history of the Baja is one of boom and bust, with more of the latter than the former. The fundamentals to support the developments that are on the drawing boards simply aren't here -- and neither is the technology. More importantly, the Baja is not that desirable a place, nor does it have the resources to sustain the pretty architectural renderings commissioned by the quick-buck lowlifes who must be fleet of foot to stay one step ahead of the warrants.

In Miami recently, an investor skilled in flipping condominiums voluntarily walked away from a three-hundred and twenty thousand dollar downpayment on a bloc of water view condos that'll never sell, at least not before the debt service devours the profit.

The Baja has always been six months to a year behind whatever it is that's going on in the 'States. That's been the pattern, and it's my conviction that patterns become patterns because they represent reality -- the way things really are -- sans the pipedreams and pretty pictures of prematurely retired countryclub types playing golf in some sleazebag's version of upper middle class paradise.

The day will come when Club Cruceros in La Paz will be holding bake sales to raise money for hay bales to hold down the erosion on Mogote caused by that idiotic "Paraiso del Mar" development. In the stupid sweepstakes, that one wins hands down. Go there in the summer and the heat will lay you out; go there in the winter you won't need Retin-A, the wind will sandblast your face. It's not a desirable place, it's a windblown tide torn sandbar, for heaven's sake. And nobody in his or her right mind will pay good money to play golf there more than once, even if they get it built -- which I seriously doubt. Reality will inevitably intervene and assert its dominion, but between now and then much damage will have been done, the perpetrators of the latest environmental ripoff will have skipped town with what profits remain -- and the rest of us will do what we can to repair the damage. That's the cyclical pattern, that's the way things are -- and the wheel is always turning.

bacquito - 8-6-2007 at 09:49 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by backninedan


The housing and stock markets dumps may slow things down too, we shall see.


I agree! Many Californians sold out two or three years ago and invested in property in Rosarito, Tijuana and Ensenada. The market is now in the dumps and investements likely will slow down.
As for me, I retired about 1 1/2 years ago and spend alot of time in Ensenada and enjoy it. I like to hike in the back country and feel that there is still plenty of solitude in Baja:yes:

wilderone - 8-6-2007 at 10:05 AM

The hot property now is Nicaragua. No large scale development yet - lots of raw land. Even Panama is overpriced now. Mexico has for too long fouled its nest and will pay the consequences.

oldhippie - 8-6-2007 at 10:13 AM

Welcome bajajazz.

bajadock - 8-6-2007 at 10:41 AM

Seem this thread started with a broad viewpoint from veteran Bernie. On terms like "economic situation", "housing market", "job market" and other People Mag/CNN/Newspaper fodder, I prefer a smaller view from myveryown "situation room".

I see the opportunity to build a home with an ocean view and not be part of a big development. This will happen for a small fraction of anything that I could afford along the US pacific coast.

Also researched Nicaragua, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, C.R. and Panama as possibilities in past 2 years. Might be some better real estate affordability, but, may not be a better lifestyle.

My "good old days" were not nearly as good as today. I also am learning that Baja is not what it once was. But, I still see plenty of open countryside, empty beaches and local restaurants that alert me that I don't live in Denver anymore and relax me after my monthly trips into socal.

But, keep the old pics, posters and memories coming so that I can learn some more about this terrific peninsula that is now my home.

Nicaragua???

Dave - 8-6-2007 at 01:32 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by wilderone
The hot property now is Nicaragua. No large scale development yet - lots of raw land. Even Panama is overpriced now. Mexico has for too long fouled its nest and will pay the consequences.


Remember Daniel Ortega?

Heees Back!

Hey! Dave

Baja Bernie - 8-6-2007 at 03:21 PM

So what a whole bunch of folks would jump at Cuba!

I could afford one of those inner tube boats powered by a weed whacker....................................Or

do they just leave from Cuba and arrive in Florida.

Slowmad - 8-6-2007 at 03:33 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by DENNIS

we brought our good people, our pioneers to the area, opening it up to further exploration and exposure. David K comes to mind as a contemporary.
Others would be Krutch, Stienbeck, Martinez [ Mexican] , Cannon, Gardner, Tabor, and so many others.


Dennis...
I know you're the flute player in DK's Marching and Chowder Society, but:

David K. is to Joseph Krutch as Larry the Cable Guy is to John Muir.

DENNIS - 8-6-2007 at 04:11 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Slowmad

Dennis...
I know you're the flute player in DK's Marching and Chowder Society, but:

David K. is to Joseph Krutch as Larry the Cable Guy is to John Muir.

I was only refering to someone living. Do you have an alternate choice? Let's hear it if you do.
By the way... DK and I are not what you would call friends but, I respect him for his efforts here.

Slowmad - 8-6-2007 at 05:15 PM

Great question.

The fellows you cite were writers (as opposed to "posters").
They were literate, well edited, and rarely repeated themselves. In examples where their books were illustrated, the text was accompanied by well-composed, properly exposed photos--and never included deadening numbers of tired self-portraiture. OK, maybe Cannon. But his ducky Pied Piper game, in all fairness, must be seen in context...it was the 50s and 60s, population pressure was minor, and the Highway 1 wasn't yet extant.

You're asking for breathing chroniclers/maestros/students of the Baja experience.
On the book front, Peac-ck and Mayo were good, short reads. Joe Cummings is a powerful researcher, and turns a mean phrase.
I haven't stumbled on much fresh Baja lit worth mentioning beyond that.
Certainly nothing like Ed Abbey's account of being airdropped on a Sea of Cortez island for an extended stay.
Typically, he had the wisdom and taste to change the island's name in his story. He knew that if he guided one and all to things like hidden petroglyph sites, they'd be defaced all the sooner. It was, as he put it, not his property to give.

So far as estimable contemporaries go, I've learned much from people like Saul Alarcon of Wildcoast and especially Adrian Aguirre, founder of the Valle de los Cirios Protected Natural Area. Pity they don't have time for the forums. They're too busy working.

In an effort to follow their lead, I'll sign off.

DENNIS - 8-6-2007 at 05:54 PM

Peac-ck, Mayo and Cummings. All impressive, especially C.Mayo I enjoyed Peac-ck more as a character in Abbey's book. Hayduke lives. Cummings writes well, very prolific.
But, they arn't contemporary. They came........they saw.........they wrote...........they left. Good but, gone.
Can you think of anybody else who may be a current contributor?
I like your last selections.

Memories

Osprey - 8-7-2007 at 09:10 AM

Ah, the memories. These two nice little girl dorado and a 150 lb stripper (released unharmed at the boat) I remember catching waaaaaaaay back almost 20 hours ago.

Slide dorado.JPG - 24kB

fdt - 8-7-2007 at 09:38 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by DENNIS
I was only refering to someone living. Do you have an alternate choice? Let's hear it if you do.

Dennis, the person who started this thread is living :P

Slowmad - 8-7-2007 at 11:08 AM

Dennis, it's too early to sign the death certificate on any (save Abbey) that I ref'd.
Mayo and Cummings are still active writers and Baja travelers.
I was remiss not to mention Harry Crosby.
Also, Kira's bio of Cannon was balanced and visually rich.
More?

DENNIS - 8-7-2007 at 12:02 PM

Slow ...........

OK...You win. You present an impressive list although Crosby did more for Bisbee Az. than he did for Baja.
I still don't think these writers and their work detract from the ongoing efforts of DK. Im not saying he should be installed in the Explorers Club or grace the cover of National Geographic but, his contributions serve to keep the spirit alive. Perhaps after he regurgitates a book on the subject, he can join your list. Perhaps not.

Slowmad - 8-7-2007 at 12:34 PM

There's no "win" or "lose."

But let's not confuse thoughtful chroniclers with pre-literates.

DENNIS - 8-7-2007 at 12:46 PM

Your sentiments are oozing all over my keybord. Seems to be a bit more here than questionable writing skills.
Maybe we should hang it up for a while.

Slowmad - 8-7-2007 at 01:37 PM

The Abbey island vignette (above) alludes to the ooze.

Hey, feed me some Baja titles you've enjoyed recently.

DENNIS - 8-7-2007 at 02:16 PM

I continue a spellbound relationship with Pablo Martinez since I bought his "A History Of Baja California" in the early seventies. For me it has the stature of a regional bible. It may be out of print, I don't know.
Another re-read for me is "Stones For Ibarra", Doerr. The setting was meant to be homogenized from parts of Mexico but, I think the copper mining area of Santa Rosalia was the main inspiration. It was her first book and it is still excellent. I'm sure you're familiar with her small body of work.
Another, which I have read more than once but no more than twice was "Into A Desert Place", not for it's journalistic quality but, to reafirm to myself that there is someone out there dumber than I am. Macintosh's trek was clinically suicidal and painful and, in my estimation, pointless. He evidently thought so as well since he gave up on it temporarily, returning to finish at a later date. He didn't enjoy his trip, at least, not till it was over. But, he had to write a book, didn't he.
I won't list the pile of bathroom books which tend to spring up now and then and the line-up of legitimate literature is short. I havn't missed much which wasn't on the open market at one time or another.

Oh yeah..........I used to have a lot of fun with Earl Stanley Gardner's books as well.

Slowmad - 8-7-2007 at 02:50 PM

Thanks for hipping me to Pablo Martinez.
Bernie, sorry for the thread highjack.

They always morph

Baja Bernie - 8-7-2007 at 09:07 PM

A book I enjoyed and one that gets little attention is "One Hell of a Ride, The Life and Times of Lou Federico..............He has seen most of the seamy side of Baja and survived it. The book covers a lot of time outside of Baja and is full of bombastic adventures but when he gets to Baja he tells it like it still is behind the scenes.......I got a kick out of it In another life he probably would have been a Italian Don.

He built the Hotel Punta Chivato and before that the Hotel Rancho Loma LInda, 1961, in Mulege.

I just picked it up and started reading it again so I gotta go.

Oh! Yeah! He is older than me......and I like that every once in a while...........I miss Neal Johns because when he was posting he was my senior and a very knowledgeable Baja guy.