So what's the canary in the coal mine for Baja?

MrBillM moves in next door

i did not know there was a coal mine in baja

Pompano leaving this site?

Will someone throw me a bone here....what da hell is this post about ?

I didn't know he was leaving for good. He only wanted to rent out his house.
I got the impression that he came to the conclusion that life is short and wanted to go out and look around for a while. After all....he is a Nomad. [I know. That's kinda corny, but it's true]

Pompano has pulled out, headed south. He's a fisherman. Good luck Pompano!

They are already running north. You must be looking the other way?

I don't know what it is, but I feel it's closing in...........

To illustrate;

In October while visiting Punta Chivato I thought I would go down to Santa Ines. It's the turnoff heading south just before you go into the hills approaching Mulege.

It is on the southern end of Shell Beach. Have never been there. Thought I'd throw some croc's in the water and have a beer. 3-4 miles in on a pretty good road and you hit the beach, a very beautiful beach, with no one there, no one for miles.

Standing in the 78 degree water casting away watching Corvina or something similar chase my lure and tease me, I hear a sound behind me. A Marina stake bed truck with a dozen soldiers are out of the truck and 2 jefe's are approaching me. They ask what I'm doing there, I tell them.



They ask for my passport, license and copy all the information down. Then they ask me if I had seen any boats, I said no. I find out that it is a popular spot for drug smugglers to offload their wares, meet up with a truck which heads out to the highway..........

Off they went, and I did too as my little bit of paradise got a bit tarnished with my attitude as well.

It's ****ing everywhere. What's the chance of an encounter that could turn nasty? Hell I don't know, but now that incident is forever etched in my mind. Like the image of severed heads and bodies hanging from bridges in Baja Norte, etc. etc.

I'm not one to lament over the ways things were. Change is good, but not this change. Will I still go to Baja? Ya, I'm going next month. Will it be the last trip, I don't know.

I very close friend of mine has thrown the towel in on Baja. One that has been going down almost yearly for over 20 years.

Ken

I was about 20 yrs. too late, but have found other places that are only getting better.

Don't cry for me, Baja Surrrrr...

Hah..I see the rumor mill is grinding away...which is okay, it's all part of the experience south of the border.

But...Who said I was leaving Baja?

Hells Bells..I could never leave my old mistress, we have way too much good history together.

As a matter of fact, I am driving OldSouthwind
down the Baja Road tomorrow..for round trip number 151 (roughly guessing)

Attention: Heading south from Chula Vista around noon tomorrow if anyone is in the vicinity and wants to caravan, ride point, ride drag, ride shotgun, and tell tale tales over a campfire.

I'm looking forward to some great yellowtail and pinto fishing...plus I need my Coyote Bay sunrises. I will be in Baja..on and off...for the remainder of the 2011 campaign. Leave Baja? Not on your life.

PLUS…I would greatly miss the ‘tasty treats’ of Baja….aaaahh…drool…


Yes, I have way too much heart-time invested in Baja to imagine the last half of my life without her. Plus, now that I have fewer house-anchors to steal away my time and energy, I'll have time to finish an old objective..a book about a personal life and times in Baja. No, no..it's not quite finished yet...nor is page one! But I consider it...'a work in progress'.

Piled up in Coyote Bay, I have a rooms full of photos, stories, journals, laughs, groans, events, and wierd happenings that beckon me to unpack, review, organize, save, shredd??, and finally write about...Baja.



So...it's that time...the work will begin Very Soon. Very, very soon.. I am eager to begin...soon, soon.

Well.... maybe Soon after ..."the next boating day on the magical Cortez"...or maybe two days...three? Yeah! After allo, we must be realistic about all that work. One simply cannot toil day in and day out...one needs to ...'relax'...or you get stale. Am I right?

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Opps..hmm...uh...that is, IF her majesty, Co-Pilot/self-appointed secretary/ramrod says otherwise...sigh.

It's a far, far different world these days, guys...
My buddies say I smell better.



I will soon be back at my old Baja haunts...on land and sea... and cannot wait for that first bzzz...bzzzzzz.....bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!! as the bigeye bait is taken down, down..down.

Hey!, what are you waiting for? Someone engage the drag?...thumb the line?!...do something!.. besides smile...
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The last few weeks have been ...exciting. It’s all about being a NOMAD, right? Been to some places I could have done without, but was at some truly wonderful other places and events that deserve a story of thier own..but that's for a another time and thread.







Now it's all about..

"Baja Here We Come..again."

Pssst...Hey MacyMan..save my chair at the poker table. See you Monday at Santispac.

Well, we need some rest before the big push manana. So hasta la vista down Baja-way, mi amigos.



[Edited on 1-29-2011 by Pompano]

About that book? It't be a best seller.

Quote:

Originally posted by Pompano

Gramps? Did he just call me Gramps? Why..that young whippersnapper!

Sonny..you can call me whatever you like on the interent with impunity.

Of course if you call me that in person at kilometer 108 south of Mulege, it could get a wee bit different...

Quote:

Originally posted by Pompano Of course if you call me that in person at kilometer 108 south of Mulege, it could get a wee bit different...

be ok with who you are. (you did post photos!)
I say Gramps with respect (especially respect of your 'fishing' skills :bounce

I have followed this thread for a couple of days, curious as to where it would go. The good old days of Baja? I have this nagging suspicion that many of our Nomads who first discovered Baja 50 or 60 years ago were told by the ¨old timers¨ around back then that Baja just wasn´t what it used to be. Same thing for those who arrived in the 70´s, 80´s and more recently. Nothing is as it used to be.

On a recent trip back to the Argentine northwest, I set aside a day to go up and find a little known, remote mountain village I had often visited when living in the foothills of the Andes a few decades back. The village had no electricity, no phones and only a few of the hundred or so residents even owned a vehicle as the nearest gas was over 100 km away. The little pueblo was full of creative artisans and the locally made cheese alone was worth the long and slow drive up the winding dirt road.

The trip to me was always something very special as it was like going back in time. Imagine my dismay to discover on this last trip that this little mountain pueblo is now littered with power poles and phone lines, satellite dishes and pool halls with almost every kid I saw listening to their iPod.

Nowhere on this planet is the same as it used to be. My guess is that the town where most of us grew up has changed dramatically as well. Fifty years from now these will be the good old days.

What matters most (IMHO) is the attitude we face each day now with. And with that I´m lighting the fire on the BBQ and tipping my CM glass.

Make it a great weekend Nomads...

Quote:

Originally posted by BajaGringo I have followed this thread for a couple of days, curious as to where it would go. The good old days of Baja? I have this nagging suspicion that many of our Nomads who first discovered Baja 50 or 60 years ago were told by the ¨old timers¨ around back then that Baja just wasn´t what it used to be. Same thing for those who arrived in the 70´s, 80´s and more recently. Nothing is as it used to be. On a recent trip back to the Argentine northwest, I set aside a day to go up and find a little known, remote mountain village I had often visited when living in the foothills of the Andes a few decades back. The village had no electricity, no phones and only a few of the hundred or so residents even owned a vehicle as the nearest gas was over 100 km away. The little pueblo was full of creative artisans and the locally made cheese alone was worth the long and slow drive up the winding dirt road. The trip to me was always something very special as it was like going back in time. Imagine my dismay to discover on this last trip that this little mountain pueblo is now littered with power poles and phone lines, satellite dishes and pool halls with almost every kid I saw listening to their iPod. Nowhere on this planet is the same as it used to be. My guess is that the town where most of us grew up has changed dramatically as well. Fifty years from now these will be the good old days. What matters most (IMHO) is the attitude we face each day now with. And with that I´m lighting the fire on the BBQ and tipping my CM glass. Make it a great weekend Nomads...