Stuck a toe in the ocean at " Lands End"

Well we made it - Robin's goal of sticking a toe into the water at Lands End, Cabo. More on that adventure to come.
We've done a few outings - watched glass blowing (amazing), shopped at the largest craft store I've ever seen - Artesanos, gone for morning walks either to the nearest beach or thru a swanky housing area and more snorkeling.
 We spent a day at Playa Santa Maria, sitting on our chairs in the ocean, snorkeling with the fishes while trying not to get hit by all the crazy tour boats (7 at one time). We can see whales in the distance from the rooftop patio in our campground.
I had the experience of having to see a Mexican doctor - contrary to rumor,  you  really can't buy all drugs without a prescription here in Mexico. I was in a drug store, trying to ask the Spanish speaking clerk how to find a doctor & another customer stepped in to help. He then proceeded to call his doc, got me an appt in 20 min., then led me there in his car - I was plenty nervous, but it worked out fine.
A neighbor in the park killed a scorpion near the bathroom - we now have a creepy souvenir.
I bit the bullet & got my hair cut very short - I talked about it for a while & built up the nerve - we thought if it's horrible & we hate it, we just won't take any pictures & no one will see me for a few months, butr we both actually like it. Problem is, now you really see the gray!
We took a day trip to Todos Santos, about 1 hr north - lovely drive, actually a 4 lane hiway with shoulders & some huge cacti along the way! It's on the Pacific side, so wilder waves. We plan to head there next, so did some scouting - Los Cerritos beach is a surfer area with glittering gold & black sand and the beach close to town had huge, crashing waves. On the way back we stopped for tacos - chorizo & pork chop - go figure!
The highlight of Cabo area is definitely the trip out to Lands End! We took a water taxi from the marina for $10 US each - a tour past Pelican beach - lots of birds, of course, & fish to see thru the glass bottom of the panga (small boat), out & around El Arco (the arch), past Lovers Beach & Divorce Beach & passed by a sea lion colony (one very proud up on a large rock). The rock formations were breathtaking, beautiful beaches, people kayaking, paddle boarding & all sizes of boats out touring. We got out at Lovers Beach for 2 hrs, then the boat returned for us.The tide was still fairly high, but we wanted to walk thru the Arch - this required crawling thru a hole in the rocks, squeezing thru a narrow opening, walking along the edge of a rock wall with the waves pounding - all this was the easy part! The last hurdle was a rock tunnel that the waves poured into & out of - tried to time the waves, but we got soaked going thru. Coming back out was even worse, I had my legs washed out from under me twice & had to cling to t", he rock wall. We damn near drowned, but boy was it fun!!
Today I ventured out alone for shopping, first to Cabo, then to San Jose - had a successful day, crossed several things off the list!
We continue to eat well - fresh shrimp & fresh strawberries today. The weather is good, warm & sunny. We've really settled in well to this life of leisure, getting back to "reality" will be a shocker.
Hope everyone back home is having a great winter!
Pictures won't upload, will keep trying. I figured out the pics, have to decrease their quality big time to get them to upload. First 2 are santa maria beach, Cacti on the way to Todos Santos, in Todos santos, Me looking at the Pacific, El Arco (the arch at Lands End), the scary tunnel - me going in clutching my bag, fairly low water, us under the arch, Robin going back in the tunnel, Another lovely sunrise that I slept thru, us, tanned & short hair.
Still living the dream!

Great start to 2013, Camping in Cabo

We had a wonderful Christmas Eve, a road trip through the mountains to the charming Mexican village of El Triunfo for wood fired pizza with our new friends, Renate, Randy& Wendy, Randy & Marilyn. We exchanged small gifts & later enjoyed sitting around the campfire. On Christmas day we drank ceasars, shared our chili & later went out for Mexican food with some more new friends, Serge & Suzanna. We decided to be brave & just order "the special"- Birra D Res - turned out to be delicious beef soup, followed by pina coladas.
We were lucky to spot a baby turtle washed up on shore which we sent back into the sea, then Robin found a newly hatched baby turtle that had escaped the safe enclosure & was soon to be sea gull food - this one also made it to the sea with help!
We were spoiled by having fresh, warm empanadas & tamales delivered daily to the camping area in Los Barilles. We left there Dec 26 & headed south to Cabo. There are only 2 RV parks in the Cabo area & one was full. We have settled into Villa Serena RV Park, not on the beach but only a short drive away. We have full hook-ups, WiFi, laundry, all for $392 US for a month. The next day we were off to Costco for cheap booze & the fixins for pina coladas & to Walmart for groceries.
We spent a great day at Playa Chileno, beautiful sandy beaches, rocky outcrops & coral reef for amazing snorkelling & not crowded. We saw dozens of different colorful fishes, just snorkelling in off the beach! then enjoyed our picnic lunch. Shortly after we arrived back at the campsite the 3 RVs with our 5 new friends all arrived at our new RV park. So much for peace & quiet! We were also joined by Ken & Sharon who we met at Santispac beach, it turns out they live 15 min. away from us back home! Happy Hours are back to being a bit more lively.
We found out that our house was broken into, seems only some mail was taken - now we get to worry about identity theft. Thanks to some really great neighbors, friends & family we have been reassured that our house is in good hands - we are very grateful for everyones help & concern.
We have explored San Jose Del Cabo on our own & Cabo San Lucas with The Gang. Definitely the most aggresive salesmen - trying to sell boat rides, fishing, condos, souvenirs, T-shirts, etc., etc. I wiil return for actual shopping on my own.
We learned a fun, new game - Left, Right, Centre - 9 of us played one evening, both Robin & I won a game, beginners luck!
We spent New Years Eve around our propane campfire, we were actually still awake at midnight to watch the fireworks!
Today was another road trip, with Randy & Wendy to scout out their next camping spot. We took the East Cape road (dirt road) along the coast to Los Frailes - 80 kms took 4 hours!!! - Definitely the worst road yet. We did have a yummy lunch in Cabo Pulmo (again, eating our way thru the Baja). We took the long way back & it only took 2 hrs! All of our Gang will be gone by Jan 4, so will
be back to making our own fun. We are planning many more beach days!
Pictures: sunrise at Los Barilles (taken by Robin while I slept), baby turtle, village of El Triunfo (with cobblestone streets), Playa Chileno, Flea market in Cabo (x3), our yard in Cabo RV park, Mexican kids with their New Years pinata (in our RV park), us eating (surprise!) in Cabo Pulmo.
Still Living the Dream & Loving it!

Merry Christmas 2012 from Los Barriles

We'll be sitting on the beach, with our feet in the sand, drinking cervesas for Christmas. We have found an RVing "family" to spend it with - 2 couples travelling together from Washington (with 5 dogs)  & a German woman  travelling alone with her dog. We have been enjoying their company - meals out, cervesas by the campfire & trips out exploring. They have shown us a lovely waterfall & pond at the end of a dry arroyo that appears out of nowhere, tumbles down the rocks into a stream that slowly disappears again. Another trip involved going to the dump where we watched cows pulling open plastic bags & eating the garbage! We have plans to enjoy "Christmas pizza" in El Triunfo with them on the 25th.
We've watched a "dune buggy, etc." race through the sand - spectators much too close to the action, but exciting. Out our front window we see dozens of kite-boarders  -which means that it's awfully windy! We also see "flying" manta rays near the shore - they leap out of the water, the fall back in, kind of like skipping a stone along the water. Could be warmer, but still wearing shorts,( sweater required, even with the campfire, which is next to the community Christmas tree.)
Robin & I did a day trip to Cabo Pulmo - hoping to return for a snorkelling trip as it has the only coral reef in the Sea of Cortez. Another delightful Mexican road - first paved, then full of potholes, then the pavement ends & the washboard sand begins. Lovely beaches but lots of waves that day. Excellent taco lunch (picture to follow).
We plan to move to an RV park just outside of Cabo San Lucas on Dec 26. If it seems OK we may stay there 1 month - it would be a treat to have full hook-ups & WiFi every day. After that it's the long road home - Robin keeps telling me that it will then be my turn to drive - not likely!
We miss family & friends, but we look forward to catching up in the spring, we hope everyone has a wonderful Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year!

Still Living the Dream!

Tecolote - turtles & snorkelling with sea lions

We left Loreto Dec. 2 (on the Sea of Cortez) & crossed over (not thru) the Sierra La Giganta mountains accompanied by thousands of yellow butterflies. We passed through the middle of the Baja peninsula to Ciudad Constition, crossing many arroyos (dry stream beds) seeing evidence of massive amounts of water, leaving boulders on the road. Glad we were not here in hurricane season. We made a day trip to the Pacific coast - 55 km to San Carlos, a small fishing village where whale watching later in the winter is popular. We found it strange to see cacti growing so close to the ocean, we saw many large birds - crested carracas, vultures & ospreys & collected more shells.
Next to La Paz, back on the Sea of Cortez, a large city, which we bypassed, as did all the big trucks on their way to the ferry to the mainland. Another tiny, curvy road. We set up on Tecolote Beach - great long sandy beach, free camping amongst the sand dunes - stayed 10 nights. No services except for a few beach resturants, very peaceful. We drove in to La Paz for shopping, more tacos & to mail Christmas cards ( Dec 5, hopefully we don't beat them home).
We did an amazing boat tour - to Isla Espiritu Santo - beautiful scenery as we motored around the islands & we snorkelled right next to a sea lion colony - quite intimidating having sea lions swimming just below you & comorants (big birds) diving next to you. Lots of colorful fish in every size as well. Lunch of ceviche tostados ( I wasn't going to eat "raw" fish but I'm still alive & well) on a secluded beach & then we were very lucky to have a large family of dolphins swimming alongside the boat on our way back.
We also lucked out as we were invited to participate in a baby turtle release - a local beach resturant protects a site where turtles lay eggs & when they hatch they keep them until dark & release them into the ocean (no pelicans at night) - unforgettable!
I have experienced my first Mexican haircut - cost $6.50, non English speaking hairdresser so not quite what I wanted, but it will grow. I'd like to color my hair also, but I can't read the instructions & I'm afraid of the results!
We rented a 2 man kayak on our beach & decided to venture over to Balandra Bay (we thought it was "right around the corner"). Not quite- it took about 1 hour to paddle there & longer to return as there were a few whitecaps & some good sized swells by then. I snorkelled part of the way back - overall a good time, but pretty sore for a couple of days. We have decided that a 2 man kayak is the way to go - two people paddling is much easier & one can rest if the one in front isn't watching!
Feels a bit more like winter, we have had a few cloudy, cooler days & 1 full day of rain. We moved to a full hook-up campground in Los Barriles to recharge the batteries, fill with water & catch up with internet, then back to free beach camping just outside of town.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays - still Loving It!

Santispac Sunshine

We are currently in Loreto, have finally caught up with laundry & will update our adventures. We actually had some iffy weather, foggy with a bit of rain as we travelled to San Ignacio - we also heard a "clink" as we just ticked mirrors with a big bus! No damage!
 San Ignacio is a date palm oasis with a church built of lava that has walls 4 feet thick & a lovely garden with name tags for all the strange plants & cacti - very helpful. We just stopped for a short visit then proeceeded down Cuesta del Infierno  -(the grade to hell) to Santa Rosalia. This is the steepest hill in Mexico, definitely more than our 6-8%. This town was a copper mining area, lots of huge abandoned buildings, old wooden houses & a church designed by A.G. Eiffel, same guy who designed the Eiffel Tower. Apparently the church was prefabricated, set up for the World's Fair in Paris in 1889, then taken apart, shipped to Mexico & put back together - not much to look at, but cool story.
We stayed at San Lucas Cove, a fishing camp - the campground we were looking for (per our trusty book) - is now a strip bar & maybe a bit more.
Onward to Bahia Concepcion & Playa Santispac - so far the best spot to camp! Beautiful sandy beach with palapas, calm water (good for relaxing on my floatie), friendly people, Mexican fellows who arrive daily behind the RV with fresh fish, shrimp, scallops, veggies, eggs, cinnamon buns, souvenirs & water to fill your tank. All that was missing was beer delivery - for that you had a short drive to Mulege or grab a chair at one of the 2 beach resturants. All of this for $7 per night! No services, but you can`t have everything! We spent 4 glorious nights there & will spend more on our return.We set up next to a couple who live in OK Falls, a 10 minute drive from Penticton - small world.
We have quite a shell collection, not sure what we will do with them, now Robin is collecting choya wood - old dried cactus, maybe for carving.
We tried kayaking, loved it & will now be looking for used kayaks. We got a look at a huge turtle- just it`s head- when we were out kayaking. It would have scared us but we knew it was out there.
We have time for lots of reading, doing a bit of biking & definitely caught up on sleep.
Had to throw in some thing about food - excellent ice cream!
The beach pics are Santispac. Our RV is one on the left.

Hard to believe it`s December, as we ``Live the Dream``.

It was a halibut of a catch!

WiFi again, so a quick update. We've made it to Guerrero Negro today, just had fish & shrimp tacos & orange ice cream! Our journey has taken us thru Rosario, where we had lobster burritios at Mama Esponitos, then into the land of boojum trees - cirio cacti that resemble an upside down carrot with orange fluff at the top - very strange indeed. Catavina, where there are huge hills of boulders, surrounded by many different cacti, great for more pictures. So far we have only seen 1 dead cow on the side of the road, no auto accidents, thank goodness. The road continues to change - from narrow to actually quite like home, but then quickly back to crap! We measured the lane - 9ft 2 in. We spent 3 lovely nights at Bahai de Los Angeles - facing the Sea of Cortez, with sunrise out our front window. We watched pelicans diving for fish, picked sea shells & met some interesting folks.
The highlight this week has definitely been fishing for halibut off shore - out at sunrise, temp up to 27 by 9:30. Yesterday Robin caught 4 puffer fish, unfortunately toxic (lucky we found this out in time!) Then I caught 2 halibut, today Robin caught another halibut. We have eaten some, delicious! We also were lucky enough to see a group of dolphins swim by.
We have been thru 3 military check points, today they actually came in & searched. We are off to Bahai de Conception probably tomorrow - this is where the real beach camping happens, but likely no WiFi. Will catch up after that.

Still loving it!

San Quintin - pinos, strawberries & beach

Went to sleep listening to crickets, woke this morning at 5:00 hearing a very vocal rooster. The valley we are in is agricultural, covered with huge fields of strawberries (picture), squash, tomatoes & pinos (cucumber - this discovery took a lot of gesturing with the guard at the gate). A lot of this is grown in equally huge greenhouses, the fields are surrounded by 5-6ft fences made of black plastic. A strange sight indeed. We spoke with a very informative tourist officer who recommended La Lobera - a large sea cavern housing a group of seals. We didn't facor in the drive out there - 5 km of a definite 4X4 road, but the end result was spectacular - not only a group of seals begging us for food, but an "otherworldly sight". The walls of sand, lava & rock have been carved by water & wind into curves & outcrops. We have been rock-hounding, especially since dinosaur & wooly mammoth remains & ammolite have been found here.
Yesterday we decided to walk to La Playa (the beach) - it took an hour each way, through garbage strewn scrub, then sand dunes but we made it, sharing it with a Mexican family & a couple fisherman a ways down. Robin, of course had to get soaked, searching for shells & interesting rocks. We walked through a herd of goats & another of sheep along the way, free & being herded along. Lots of pictures of the kids & lambs. We have a resturant next to the campground - Posado Don Diego, having a Sunday buffet. We enjoyed it, despite not really knowing what wewere eating!
Spending time reading, relaxing, watching the hummingbirds coming to the feeder we brought.
There will be no internet for a while, heading to Catavina, then Bahia de Los Angeles, on the Sea of Cortez for more beach, sun & sand.

Still "Living the Dream!"