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DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 29510
Registered: 9-2-2006
Location: Punta Banda
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Baja Spirit-----What is it?
We all have been lured to the ambiance of Baja for so many different reasons and have mentioned them here variously but, we need to gather them
together as we do ourselves for comfort.
My reason is the beauty of the land, followed closely by the comfort of this site as a network of friends. Thank you all.
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Al G
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 2647
Registered: 12-19-2004
Location: Todos Santos/Full time for now...
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Mood: Wondering what is next???
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There are so many places in Baja that do for me...you are not stuck to a single place. That is the major draw for me. Second...I really feel I get to
start life again at 63...
Albert G
Remember, if you haven\'t got a smile on your face and laughter in your heart, then you are just a sour old fart!....
The most precious thing we have is life, yet it has absolutely no trade-in value.
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Paulina
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3810
Registered: 8-31-2002
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| Quote: | Originally posted by DENNIS
We all have been lured to the ambiance of Baja for so many different reasons and have mentioned them here variously but, we need to gather them
together as we do ourselves for comfort.
My reason is the beauty of the land, followed closely by the comfort of this site as a network of friends. Thank you all. |
Awww Dennis, I love you too.
But, to answer your question or to put words to your inquiry I find a very difficult task. I don't think I could pin point it to one or two reasons
why I'm lured back to Baja. What "The Baja Spirit Is"
Yes, the land is beautiful, but there are many other places in the world that are just as beautiful. What is it about the beauty of Baja that draws us
back? I can't put a finger on it.
The internet, in my opinion, hasn't increased my love of baja, but has made me pine for the days when there wasn't so much information readily
available. I miss the days when you had to go find out what was on the other side of the hill for yourself. The days when everyone didn't know your
name or your plans, or what you are driving, what fish were biting with what lure, or who said what about who between the rounds at the cantina.
Baja was more of a challenge back then. Maybe it was the challenge that drew me back?
I remember waiting every week for the Western Outdoor News to come out so I could read the Baja Editor's column. That was the only news available, and
it was exciting. I read it and then tested it, and learned from it. No trip reports needed.
Granted, over the years I have met lifetime friends via the internet from the old Amigos board. For that reason the internet did serve a purpose, and
the Nomad board still does help to connect people to each other. But as I said, I think the internet has also taken some of the "spark" away from
Baja.
The other friendships I have made in Baja from just walking up to someone, putting out my hand and saying, "Hi, my name is Paulina" has worked just as
well, if not better. Maybe because there are no preconceived notions about who "Paulina" is because of something they read on the board, but because
we had to use our judgement and personal, face to face experiences to make these acquaintances which then grew into friendships.
I know that some people like to fuss romantically about the difference between Mexican people and Gringos. I don't. They are different and I can't
tell you why. A good heart is a good heart, I think you can find those hearts in both people, in all people, but there is something endearing about
some of my friends who live in Baja. Is it cultural? Beats the hell out of me. So, another reason I return to Baja is because of my Mexican friends.
I also like being able to be alone in Baja, in the middle of nowhere. Maybe I could do that in the States, but I haven't found that here yet.
I like the smell of my tennis shoes burning when I stick my toes too close to the fire, that can happen here, and when it does it makes me think of
baja. Cows walking into my camp from out of nowhere. That only happens to me in baja.
Caballeros on mules wearing handmade leather chaps, trotting into my camp asking for water, that to me is special. Dirt roads that seem to lead to
nowhere, but in fact end at a rancho with people who are happy to see you and welcome you home, that only happens in Baja.
Riding on the bow of my panga with dolphin under my feet. Digging up stinky whale bones that we buried a year ago. Taking bets on where the moon will
come up over the mountain ridge.
Finding a sea turtle swimming freely, or digging up clams only to put them back. Riding a whale shark or laughing at joke made under the fish cleaning
station at the local panguero shack.
I could add to the list, but I think you get the gist of my post. I just can't put a finger on it. I can't tell you what makes Baja special to me.
I don't think that anyone who has the baja dust in their lungs can do it in just a couple of words.
It's there and I'm stuck with it.
P<*)))><
[Edited on 3-11-2007 by Paulina]
\"Well behaved women rarely make history.\" Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
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docsmom
Nomad
Posts: 418
Registered: 6-21-2007
Location: Tucson, AZ
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Well my first intro to Baja was by my first husband. Because he went there, I went there. He didn't love it, just went annually to Ensenada to fish
and I didn't love it either. I was just a follower.
I've always been a beach baby and as a So Cal native the beach was always available. I spent the first 20 years of my life belly boarding at Santa
Monica Beach and hanging at the handball courts at Venice Beach (Dad was a national handball champ).
Those were beautiful years and I didn't have any reason to look beyond that geographical heaven.
Life being what it is, I left the coastal heaven in the mid '70's. In the late '80's I married Docsdad. I hadn't been to Baja in about 15 years but
he re-introduced me. He'd built a house at Bajamalibu in the 70's, lost the house in his divorce, but never lost the lust for Baja. How lucky am I
to have found Docsdad and that he introduced me to the place that my heart lives! Maybe I'd never found it if he hadn't shown it to me...........
So what draws me to the place of my heart?
1. The coastline
2. The people (maybe this is #1)
1. The simplicity (maybe this is #1)
I found Baja long before I found Bajanomad. What draws me to this site? All of you! 
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docsmom
Nomad
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Location: Tucson, AZ
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Paulina,
Thank you dear. You said so beautifully what I am feeling but can't seem to say. What I feel about Baja is not easily put into words. It's about
experiences and emotions. I feel them so deeply that maybe the only way I can express them is with the smile on my face and in my eyes.
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Dave
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6005
Registered: 11-5-2002
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| Quote: | Originally posted by DENNIS
Baja Spirit-----What is it? |
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DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 29510
Registered: 9-2-2006
Location: Punta Banda
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Paulina......
I think you should save this as the intro to your first Baja Book. Look forward to reading the rest.
Docsmom.....Actually, you're #1. You mentioned a "Lust for Baja." Thanks.
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docsmom
Nomad
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Location: Tucson, AZ
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Yes Dennis,
"Lust for Baja". As I wrote those words they took my breath away. If you have it, you know it, and there's almost no way to explain it. It's
visual, it's visceral, it's larger than life. Like I said before, I can't really explain it, I can only feel it. I wish we were standing face to
face right now so we could experience it together, we would smile!
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DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 29510
Registered: 9-2-2006
Location: Punta Banda
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Dave......
A man after my own heartburn.
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docsmom
Nomad
Posts: 418
Registered: 6-21-2007
Location: Tucson, AZ
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Dave,
Cabo Wabo-- NO!
Don Julio Blanco -- YES!
On the other hand, any port in a storm
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DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 29510
Registered: 9-2-2006
Location: Punta Banda
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Docsmom.... 
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Dave
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6005
Registered: 11-5-2002
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Cabo Wabo?
| Quote: | Originally posted by docsmom
Dave,
Cabo Wabo-- NO!
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Hey, I wouldn't drink that swill but it has a Baja name, sorta. I thought that was the topic of this thread. There's a Baja beer but I didn't think
that qualified as a spirit. Besides, it's brewed in Guatemala.
I have a friend here who makes moonshine but he made me swear not to tell.
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Paulina
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3810
Registered: 8-31-2002
Location: BCN
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"The internet, in my opinion, hasn't increased my love of baja, but has made me pine for the days when there wasn't so much information readily
available. I miss the days when you had to go find out what was..."
...the best spirit/tequila for yourself. That was done at the bar at Hussongs, when you could walk in and find an empty seat at the bar, with good
friends and the smell of pinesol in the air.
P<*)))><
\"Well behaved women rarely make history.\" Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
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DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 29510
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Location: Punta Banda
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Pinesol???
Are you sure about that? I'd been going in there for five years before
somebody told me they had a restroom.
Those WERE the days.
Un Peso = 8 cents.
Tres Pesos = 1 Beer
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docsmom
Nomad
Posts: 418
Registered: 6-21-2007
Location: Tucson, AZ
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Dave
| Quote: | Originally posted by docsmom
Dave,
Cabo Wabo-- NO!
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Hey, I wouldn't drink that swill but it has a Baja name, sorta. I thought that was the topic of this thread. There's a Baja beer but I didn't think
that qualified as a spirit. Besides, it's brewed in Guatemala.
I have a friend here who makes moonshine but he made me swear not to tell. |
Don't lie Dave! You'd drink it! So would I! Remember I said earlier, any port in a storm 
But when we all get together in a refined setting, Don Julio Blanco. I'll bring the bottle.
You bring the moonshine!
[Edited on 11-3-2007 by docsmom]
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Paulina
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3810
Registered: 8-31-2002
Location: BCN
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I think that Pinesol was introduced to overpower the smell of the pee that came from the room that was in the far right hand corner that was assumed
to be the bano....
P<*)))><
\"Well behaved women rarely make history.\" Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
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docsmom
Nomad
Posts: 418
Registered: 6-21-2007
Location: Tucson, AZ
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Dennis & Paulina,
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DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
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Location: Punta Banda
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"That Room." Jeezo....it was terrible. And that was the ladies room. The macho room was much worse. Way back when, you could just step outside.
No buildings on the west side or out back. That's what I did. Well, me and about a thousand other guys. You squatty type folks just had to hold
your noses and tough it out. If you parked your car anywhere around Hussongs, you had the cleanest wheels in town.
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Paulina
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3810
Registered: 8-31-2002
Location: BCN
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The spirit of baja? The dirt lot behind the Hussongs of old....we "squatty types" could take care of business if we had a good beau.
P<*)))><
\"Well behaved women rarely make history.\" Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
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Paulina
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3810
Registered: 8-31-2002
Location: BCN
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Oh My Goodness! I didn't realize that admitting that I peed behind Hussongs a long time ago would make me a "Super Nomad".
I feel special. Not many people can say they are super because of that.
P<*o)))><
(That is a astonished fish)
\"Well behaved women rarely make history.\" Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
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