Heading South

Left the beach at Santispac after 2 glorious weeks, made some new friends, caught up with folks we met last year, drank a lot of cervesas & vino and generally had a great time. I had my hair cut for the princely sum of 80 pesos, less than $8. We bought ground beef, actually watched the guy cut it off a large chunk, trimmed it & put it through the grinder - not a common sight in Canada. We did some exploring, checked out some beachfront homes, other beaches, hiked along a now dry riverbed that showed evidence of a tremendous amount of water flow earlier this year & collected a few more rocks.

Went back & dug more clams, lots more kayaking, including Robin finding & collecting scallops that we needed to have Chicho (a helpful local) teach us how to clean. Way too much work, we bought the next batch from Chicho, all cleaned & ready to cook. We needed to add money to our internet stick, very tricky with a woman who spoke no English.

We visited Wendy & Randy and were very impressed with the home that they have bought in Mulege. We enjoyed supper out with them, then had to drive home in the dark - the first rule in Mexico "never drive at night", but we were fine. It was nice to see the town lit up, Christmas decorations everywhere. We still are having trouble getting used the whole siesta thing - shops close from 1:00-4:00, then are open late.

Driving in Mexico continues to be an experience, from workers sweeping & painting the hi way ditches by hand, to crazy bicyclists in the middle of our lane, going up a hill (required a quick stop, not easy in a "house"). The part that drives Robin crazy are the vibradores & topes - small strips of concrete across the road designed to slow you before curves & the huge hills of concrete meant to slow you in towns. They often "sneak" up on you, but if you miss slowing for a tope you may leave part of your under carriage behind!

We have taken countless pictures of birds and tried some underwater shots - the best is of a Cortez angelfish. Amazing how close you can get to things in a kayak. We followed more dolphins. We got caught out in the kayak when a big wind picked up, got pretty wet getting back to shore, luckily we have built up good muscles from paddling. We had another successful fishing trip, caught a red snapper, delicious barbecued whole.

We hiked up the hi way above the beach at Santispac for a few good photos.

We have headed south, today are in La Paz at a campground, caught up on laundry & filled with water, did some shopping at Walmart. Nice drive here, the roads are better than last year and everything is so lush & green. We stopped to buy a sack of oranges from a roadside stand - 20 lbs for 60 pesos ( less than $6.)
Found a large green bug on our awning today, close to 4 inches long!
Tomorrow we head out to Tecolote beach for a few days of sun, sand & kayaking. It is quite a bit warmer here & hopefully less windy. We will probably head to Cabo before Christmas.

Happy holiday shopping, glad we can avoid the craziness! Living the Dream!