Baja Bernie - 3-17-2011 at 05:22 PM
Well! Dennis had it right, as he normally does, when he told me to get down to Baja as soon as possible to allow its curative powers to help make me
whole again.
Feeling so good that Jaime and I planned a trip south to Loreto to meet up with some friends from Oregon. We got ready to go and they had already
gone. This caused us to rethink our little recovery trip and we planned turning right at Vizcaino instead of heading toward the Sea of Cortez as most
of us usually do…Fantastic decision even if the road was tooth shattering for almost twenty miles before it smoothed out—better than some of the
streets in San Diego.
So! Whoa! Back to the beginning. Came across the border without them tearing the car apart—we had it packed solid with things and stuff for the folks
in Bahia Asuncion. Wandered down and stopped for the night at Baja Cactus Motel and it was as good as so many of you have claimed. We really roughed
it there. Night was free because we won it and some other things at the Fund Raising Party for Itzel, the young girl that needed some heart work,
this past December.
Only heard one Jake Break and that was just before dawn. It didn’t even drown out the doves calling. Jaime cashed in some of our other winnings and
got her feet fixed, back rubbed and a facial again free except for the tips. Finally got her in the car and heading south at the crack of noon.
Antonio—the staff at the Motel was wonderful and Tellie was especially helpful. When I pulled in for gas I was reminded of those old TV commercials
for Texaco Gas where the guys were in spiffy uniforms and sporting great smiles as they washed your windshields. No wonder you got all of those
awards.
Really amazed at the road improvements between El Rosario and Catavina. Spend night two in Guerrero Negro where we met Shari and two of the folks who
would be petting whales with us in the morning. Paul and Shelly were fun folks and when we went to dinner I have never seen three gals so loaded, not
with booze, but with a happy and bubbly vest for life. Just plain fun watching and listening to them as they bounced off the walls.
Day three saw us wading out to the Pongas because the tide was so low…Shari covered the whale trip in her post so I won’t go into much of the petting
event except to say that I got 13 pets in (my badge number was 13 so I think that number is lucky) as I talked with the critters. Amazed at how they
could control those massive bodies…coming within an inch or two the boat time after time and never touching it. Whale snot—never heard that term
before but it is accurate. Oh! Yeah! Thought Jaime would join the whales as she bounced from one side of the ponga to the other.
Day four found us at Shari & Juan’s fantastic home on the bluffs overlooking the bay and Asuncion Island. This island is in firm control of
hundreds of sea lions. This day proved to be a bust in that we just listened to reports of the earthquake in Japan and watched for the tsunami that
never materialized. The Baja attitude toward was just typical of the folks who live and play on this peninsula. We were all invited to a third story
home, the tallest place in town, for a tsunami watching party. Our hosts and others living here found it interesting that the Mexican Marines did
evacuate a couple of small camps to the south. They made everyone go to the airport WHICH WAS THE LOWEST POINT AROUND.
Juan has built a wonderful ‘Rock Room’ with seventeen inch thick walls—you had to open the door to hear the surf which was about 20 feet away. We
found it to be most comfortable. Shari never said so but watching her at her computer and her three phones left no doubt that she was a huge part of
the communications in the area.
Oh! We did go into town for dinner and when we placed our orders the waitress, home owner, returned and said, “Senor, we do not have any scallops for
your burritos—would you accept lobster instead." Terribly difficult choice.
Day five found Jaime going fishing with Juan and his partner Juan Carlos. Juan Carlos told Jaime, in a very friendly way, that the guys down here
were very macho and that women did not fish. On their return he told her that this was the only time he had fished with a woman AND it was the only
time he has ever been out fished. No, I did not go fishing because I am a chummer so I just wandered around town for a few hours. What a relaxing
place.
Shari suddenly remembered that today was Juan’s birthday so she put together a wonderfully impromptu party for about 30 people. Shari kept muttering,
“this is the only time Juan stayed home for his own party.
We met several of his relatives and I was most taken with his Uncle Javier who was a most courteous and knowledgeable man. He and Juan played in a
local group that was apparently correctly named—Better than Nothing was its name in English.
Later, while writing on the patio overlooking the rocks and listening to the waves breaking on the rocks—I penned the following…Deep clarity of dreams
dancing on the moonlight of full tomorrows…that is the life that Juan and Shari share together.
If you possibly can visit them perhaps you can share the same dreams if only for a short time.
Day six & seven found us moving away from Asuncion with our thoughts overflowing with our experience of meeting Shari & Juan and many of the
folks that make this magical camp.
krafty - 3-17-2011 at 05:28 PM
Lovely post-thanks
desertcpl - 3-17-2011 at 05:30 PM
really nice.
I have already put this down on my bucket list
DENNIS - 3-17-2011 at 06:07 PM
Thanks, Bernie. I think you chose the right therapy, but I'm sure you need some follow-up. Don't get too unpacked and keep your tank topped off.
By the way, Bernie....did Antonio mention Itzel and how she's doing? Someone asked just the other day.
Dennis
Baja Bernie - 3-17-2011 at 06:29 PM
I met her mother, a real beauty, at the Fund Raising Event.
When we checked in I saw her for a few moments but did not recognize her...About 3am I woke and realized who she was. Looked her up the next day and
she said her daughter is getting 'fat' and loving life.
With those eyes she could be a bruja if you know what I mean.
Never saw Antonio this time around
BajaBlanca - 3-17-2011 at 08:37 PM
that was a beautiful post .. glad you got the R & R you needed and thanks for the update on Itzel !!
BornFisher - 3-17-2011 at 09:15 PM
Well that is a magical post!! And after seeing Shari`s photo, and reading your post, you must be asking "is this Heaven." . And then Shari says " No,
it`s Bahia Asuncion", (as Sholess Joe Jackson said in [A Field of Dreams])!!