The Ferry, An Unforgettable Ride

Heavy bass tones infiltrated our eardrums as we boarded the midnight ‘California Star’ ferry from La Paz to Mazatlán…Unce-unce-unce…

After the chaos of getting in all the wrong lines, and being redirected all over the ferry terminal, finally boarding and finding each other, this scene was the last thing we expected ha! Couples all over the dance floor, a live band and DJ.

We were lucky to snag one of the last tables; no one was sleeping anytime soon…

High hopes of getting a private cabin were out the window. Little did we know, there was a huge motorcycle group, Los Halcones, that had just ridden through Baja and were on their way back to Guadalajara. A plethora of leather clad men and motorcycle mamas who were ready to party!

Early hours of the morning, music still blaring, we folded, like others, into little blanket burritos and attempted to sleep on the bar lounge tile floor…Yoga mats barely comforting our bones from the vibrating floors.

Eventually the borrocho slurs faded away, and our bodies gave way to the fatigue and gentle boat rocking… A blur of tosses and turns, only to be awakened in the morning with a 2+ hour comedy show, coffee, tortillas, machaca and chilaquiles.

What an unforgettable ride across the Sea of Cortez! 😉

Giving each other reassuring, your tired, I’m tired, but we did it looks, we docked in Mazatlán…. Hello Mainland!!!

Whale of a Tale

It was a Fourth of July firework frenzy of whales on the horizon…I don’t know what registered first when we arrived to East Cape…a splash or spout that first caught our attention…

It was crazy to see that amount of whale activity, all going on at the same time. Our eyes darted back and forth like a competitive foose-ball game, passing the binoculars like a hot potato. There…There…There!

(This pic does no justice so you’ll just have to picture it upstairs, okay!)

A whale popcorn explosion, bursting right out of the water in front of us, over and over… and over.

Entire breaches, fin slaps, belly flops…. the most amazing? A Momma and baby whale playing together, hopscotching their way across. We couldn’t peel our eyes off the show.

East Cape reveals more magic every time. The magician who keeps you guessing, making each visit more memorable than the last…

Not only did we binge watch the ‘whale show’ all day, the evening brought a whole other type of entertainment… the Beach Dairy Princess Parade…

Returning from snorkeling we found the van surrounded by cattle and the solar panels covered in drool (we were so lucky they didn’t get trampled!).

It was a complete spectacle… cows frolicking in the waves like ‘James Bond girls’… It was their time, they’re the boss, and with their mass; you’re just along for the ride, your being, or your vehicle, for their amusement. Period.

San Jose del Cabo

San Jose del Cabo evokes many special memories for us …epic surf trips “rip to the tip“, desconocido wave breaks, beaches privadas, burros curiosos and Cabo Ironman…140.6 miles of heart, grit …and sweat… through the incredible peninsula.

Flooded with fond recollections, we decided to treat ourselves to one night in a hotel, right in the colonial area of downtown.

While the ‘party-place’ Cabo commotion has a time and place; we’ve really fallen for the ‘girl next door’, San Jose del Cabo… less crowded, warm and charming cobblestone streets, delicious restaurants… beautiful, comfy and cozy!

Settled in for the evening, J discovered a rad new restaurant, La Lupita Taco y Mezcal, delivering the most mind-blowing gourmet tacos and a much craved margarita!

My fav was the fresh sea bass with miso infused crema….

Greedy Seagulls

Do you ever feel like a greedy seagull while on vacation?

Just indulging in all things outside the ‘normal routine’…

Perusing the skies like a flying garbage disposal…

Take the back seat kale, move over quinoa… Muah-ha-ha… This BURGER is MINE…

Yessss…

ALLLLL the sushi is MINE…

All the wine….. MINE….

(Disclaimer: This is not an ad for Residence Inn Marriott, however, we were quite impressed with the large complimentary breakfast buffet 😉 ha!)

Hmmmmm…Ahhhhh…. No schedules …. No work, no email…No chores… THE WORLD IS MINE!!! …

Rewinding slightly…after enjoying a few lazy days at Las Rocas, outside Rosarito, we made a game plan and limped Pancho back across the border to the US side. A shop in Santee awaited our arrival and got to work on our little van baby.

While the car trouble caught us off guard, we were lucky to be that close to the border, and still have plenty of time to continue our adventure.

Even back where we started, we realized… we’re still on vacation!! (That’s where the greedy seagulls come flying in… “caw-caw” hahaha!)

We’ve never had this much time to do absolutely nothing at home. Some days we slept in till 10:00 am, others …. extended coffee time (with donuts), English Premier League soccer games, camping in Idyllwild, riding beach cruisers, getting caught in the rain while on the beach cruisers…making it to a special family wedding… taking walks, discussing why dogs shouldn’t wear sweaters…

You know, all the important things… 😉

Okay- fast forward–>

Getting Pancho back from the shop has given us a BIG second wind. Re-packing, re-arranging… with some experience under our belt; we’re raring to go and ready for round 2 in Mexico! Woooooot!!

¡Vámonos!

Despacito

There they were… a stranded, foreign couple in the middle of nowhere, trying to flag down help on a two lane highway, in what J described as a “Dr. Seuss desert forest”.

Oh shoot… did I say “they”… I meant “we“…

You almost always start evaluating yourself from an outsider’s perspective in these types of situations….. “Would I stop for me?”

Haha, not to fear! As a couple, I’m pretty sure this was our 4th time hitchhiking… Yes, we’re real experienced “hitchers” 😉

The last time? Running down the El Yunque rainforest in Colombia, with all our luggage, trying to make the bus back to Cartagena…yes, we did score a ride (sweaty and everything) barely making our autobús. Woot!

We have the different ‘waves’ down…

This one was the forceful, double handed ‘parade wave’, communicating, “Hello, we are friendly… but, Please. Stop. Now. Thanks.”

Moments later, a small cargo truck with two men pulled off to see what the commotion was… Although, relatively calm, I could not remember the word for “tow truck”…

The stage was mine… It was like an anxiety ridden game of catchphrase… motioning and blurting out phrases, “we need a big truck for the van” … “You know the larger one to take the little one”… “The vehicle to put the other vehicle “…

“Una grúa?”…. “Si, si, una grúa”… There was only room for one of us in the cargo truck… (Neither of us wanted to leave the other alone…) After going back and forth regarding our options, the men offered to drive slowly behind us until we made it back to town.

The clanging from Pancho’s underbelly was concerning; we certainly didn’t want to make it worse. Guided to a mechanic, we posted up for a few hours to see if there would be a quick fix…

It was an interesting diagnosis to say the least. The mechanic had a hose cut on both ends and was using it like a stethoscope… holding one end to his ear and moving the other end to the transmission, engine etc. announcing, “Ruida aqui?…no… Ruida aqui…no… Ruida aqui?…Si, es el motor.. Tengo quitar el motor”.

Um… What…Remove the engine?!?! J and I exchanged some ‘I don’t think so’ looks. We quickly asked the mecánico if we could make it back to Ensenada. “Si, es posible…” That was good enough for us and really the only possibility at that point.

“Muy despacito”, he cautioned. Giving understanding nods, we thanked the mechanic for his time and started back North.

Just like the song…

“Pasito a pasito, suave suavecito
Nos vamos pegando, poquito a poquito”

Nervously stepping onto the dance floor, poquito a poquito, 40 mph for over 130 miles. We just kind of held our breath, encouraging each other along in this fragile dance down the highway… While stress was in the air; I’m proud we both did great at focusing on the positive ~ PMA alllll the way. The clattering had subsided some…fingers crossed…

Gracias a dios! Hours later, driving into this familiar area was such a relief… made it back to Ensenada.

A quick stop for tacos later, we were high-fiving; it felt like victory!

Rhythm of the Ranas

Our time at the Cañón de Guadalupe went by like a sweet song… rhythm of the ranas (frogs) every night and soft symphonies of little birds in the mornings.

This stay was all about ‘catching up on slowing down’ …

Morning swims in the springs, coffee, hiking, reading, (more soaking in the springs), ukulele-ing, relaxing and trying to absorb the beauty in every direction – mountain ranges and the grand ‘trono blanco’ (The White Throne) in one direction and the canyon desert oasis in the other.

3 days and nights of this lifestyle was like a wellness retreat in a “wings suit” … we felt so relaxed…rejuvenated… invigorated…ready to ‘carpe diem’ the hell out of this 3 month trip! Si… ¡FUERTE!

Directionally Challenged

We all have our strengths and weaknesses…Although it’s improved over the years, with life and traveling, I am OK admitting I can be ‘directionally challenged’ … 😉

Just give me a map and cross your fingers; you might find an entirely new destination… haha!

Finally heading South, everything was going smoothly… easy vehicle inspection and border crossing in Tecate…After the guards questioned the insulation hanging out of the back door, we were on our way!

Pulling off onto the marked dirt road, from my first ‘directions interpretation’, the camp was just 7 miles away.

It was a beautiful sunset as we bumped along the path, slowing down as parts of the way began to get a little … rougher.

As we neared the 7 mile mark, it was clear there were no camps in sight. Luckily there were sporadic signs encouraging us along.

Still in phone reception zone, I tried to pull up additional directions and found the following map:

Yea.. it was 7 miles before two roads rejoined together but a healthy total of 35 off road miles to camp… Saying good night to the last of the sun, we just broke the first rule of the trip… “Don’t drive at night”…

I like to think this doesn’t really count because we were just snailing along beside ranches and olive farms.

As the terrain became more … advanced… Pancho sounded like a shelf of fine china during an earthquake… a wiggling tray of teal jello… well you get the idea.

J was able to maneuver around boulders and creek crossings… a true ‘maestro de manejar’! And, Pancho, maybe he really did have four wheel drive…

Just as we feared we may have to turn around, we found the entrance…

Wooo hooo!

A couple emerged from the dark, guiding us to our site. After burning a little rubber, we were IN!

“¡Que aventura!” The stars were so bright, you didn’t even need headlamps.. Even in the dark, it was one of the most incredible campgrounds…

Our very own private hot springs, palapa hut and fire pit! Excited and tired, we went straight into the hot springs before calling it a night! … Buenas noches!!

Big Bites!!

I don’t think we bit off more than we could chew; we just took a REALLY big bite…;)

Like many things in life, Panchito projects averaged twice as long as anticipated which pushed our awaited take-off by a week or so.

Gnawing and nibbling our way through; we had an epiphany to stop the “rushed” feelings and enjoy this fine dining experience.

I mean, you need to enjoy the appetizer and entree before that dessert!!! Right?!

Once the floors were in, everything started coming together!

(Still working morning to night with: wall insulation… new siding… cabinets, kitchenette… the bed!)

Some nights were a cold beer and take-out in the van or garage 🙂 other evenings required something stronger… “where’s my whiskey!” Haha

The last few days, feelings of excitement are at an all time high. Completing the final touches; it’s sinking in that we’re having a rad start to 2019! Let the year begin!!

Utah: Life Elevated

Ever think a ‘waterpocket fold’ would land in the list of things that excite you? 😉

Well, better add a bullet for this one…

Utah continues to amaze us. J has been more than me, but this third trip certainly was a charm. We really packed it in with this one:

Dead Horse Point State Park, Moab, Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Capitol Reef National Park, Escalante State Park, Zion National Park…

What’s the longest you can go without blinking?

A trip like this was awesome to scratch the surface, but we were left wanting more… more of each place. There was so much to take in at each location, you didn’t want to miss a moment. And, with some of the back-country dirt roads, you couldn’t really afford to…

As a little girl, I was always fascinated by rocks. I wanted to climb them, collect them, figure out what made them…A roadtrip like this was a dream. Not only the red rocks, but the incredible history and Native American presence in pictographs, arrowheads… aaahhhh!

Pancho was not ready for a haul like this, but our other road warrior, Coco Loco Moco, was up for the challenge. Complete with a rooftop treehouse (as we like to call it); it is arguably the most comfortable ‘glamp’ set up one could ask for. It was a tidbit chilly this time of year, so Mr. Heater Buddy became a close companion.

We weren’t the only ones that were cold..

Pepe, our new fuzzy fellow re-emerged every 5 minutes for one of the nights, to toast his paws by the fire. He was uncomfortably welcoming to the neighborhood which kept me on the edge of my chair for most of the evening, much to J’s entertainment. In his backyard or not, it would have been a very untimely occasion for a spritz of this special outdoorsy cologne. Yep..

Hmmm what else can I say – we were so thankful to spend this special trip with friends, families, loved ones. There were so many happy memories made; I hope when I am older, there will be a special smile wrinkle for this one.