BajaNomad

Steinbeck quote from LFTSOC

tyguypb - 4-11-2020 at 04:56 PM

Alright all you Baja lovers/living baja almanacs

There is a quote from the Log from the sea of cortez that talks about the love of Baja for its juxtaposition of harsh terrain yet bountiful seas. The quote says something to the effect of: “its difficult to explain to people why you love it, but you know you will go back”

I vividly remember reading it years ago, and thinking to myself that it perfectly explains how I feel about the place. I remember marking it in my book which has been leant out. Does anyone else recall this quote?

hope everyone is safe and sane. Cheers.

-Tyler

Howard - 4-11-2020 at 05:04 PM

Look at the bottom of this page from Doug.

tyguypb - 4-11-2020 at 06:04 PM

Lol. Alas, for it is written. I knew I remember seeing it around on here. Should have looked with my eyes and not with my mouth 🤦🏼‍♂️

4x4abc - 4-11-2020 at 06:58 PM

And we wondered why so much of the Gulf was familiar to us, why this town had a "home" feeling. We had never seen a town which even looked like La Paz, and yet coming to it was like returning rather than visiting. Some quality there is in the whole Gulf that trips a trigger of recognition so that in fantastic and exotic scenery one finds oneself nodding and saying inwardly, "Yes, I know." And on the shore the wild doves mourn in the evening and then there comes a pang, some kind of emotional jar, and a longing. And if one followed his whispering impulse he would walk away slowly into the thorny brush following the call of the doves. Trying to remember the Gulf is like trying to re-create a dream. This is by no means a sentimental thing, it has little to do with beauty or even conscious liking. But the Gulf does draw one, and we have talked to rich men who own boats, who can go where they will. Regularly they find themselves sucked into the Gulf. And since we have returned, there is always in the backs of our minds the positive drive to go back again. If it were lush and rich, one could understand the pull, but it is fierce and hostile and sullen. The stone mountains pile up to the sky and there is little fresh water. But we know we must go back if we live, and we don't know why.

4x4abc - 4-11-2020 at 07:03 PM

bur Steinbeck also had this to say:

"Probably the airplanes will bring week-enders from Los Angeles before long, and the beautiful poor bedraggled old town will bloom with a Floridian ugliness."

BajaBlanca - 4-12-2020 at 03:02 AM

Thank goodness, that did NOT happen! I think everyone will agree that La Paz holds its magic.

BajaNomad - 4-12-2020 at 04:10 AM

Quote: Originally posted by Howard  
Look at the bottom of this page from Doug.


:biggrin: