Looking Ahead

Bags packed. Truck gassed. House locked. Friends kissed. Goodbye, Loreto Bay. I'll miss my friends, especially the Mexican moms. I learned that mothers are the same everywhere. We need each other. I enjoyed our weekly gatherings where we talked about the things women talk about, only here it's mostly in Spanish. There were days when that was a strain, but I always felt better for it. I'll also miss the Canadians. Prior to discovering Loreto Bay I'd never known any of my neighbors to the north. What fun I was missing because Canadians, I've decided, are the wittiest people on earth, and good sports who don't mind our American arrogance when we tease them about Canada.

We had a fun winter, but now we're ready to return to our home in the good old Midwest. We have 2300 hundred miles to travel. We hope to make it leisurely by making long stops for site-seeing. Robert insists on making the Baja trip in one day landing us in San Diego. We've done it before and it's not that bad. Once you are headed home on the Transpeninsular Highway you really want to get it over with as quickly as possible.

To those of you who like to read my posts about Baja and Loreto Bay I am sorry to no longer be a source of information as we don't plan to return for the rest of the year. There will be no more swimming with dolphins or cruising in catamarans. No goats on the highway or worms in the brown sugar. No bats in the house or cows on the boulevard. No riding in the back of pick-up trucks. No more fish tacos for breakfast. I'm looking forward to new stories in new places. You're welcome to come along--follow along in print, if you please. For awhile though, we will be home living our old normal life which I suppose might appear boring to some, but we manage. Besides, it won't be long before we cook up another adventure....so stay tuned.

Last days in Loreto

I let the week get away without writing. We were busy every night entertaining friends on the terrace. Since the discovery of the planet Saturn in our telescope (thanks to the celestial expertise of Cathy Martin) we have been inviting people over nightly to show it off. I never was that interested in the night skies until coming to Loreto. Here, the stars shine so brightly you can't help but continually looking upward at them.

Robert and I managed to get one Rumba lesson in with Roberta, the former ballerina. We stepped all over each other in her living room until finally we captured the rhythm of the rock step, the cucaracha, and the box step. It will take a lot of practice before we move smoothly. I've been wanting to master this dance ever since I saw another couple do it last year at a lounge in Las Vegas. They looked so stunningly suave as they effortlessly performed this dance that emphasizes movement in the hips while the upper torso is practically rigid. Robert had great difficulty keeping his long arms contained while trying to rock his hips. Meanwhile I rocked mine easily, but paid for it the next day when my hips screamed for Advil.

We began packing in preparation for our departure (Sunday, the 15th.) It took a lot of work to get ourselves packed and the house emptied of personal items plus perishable food. I gave everything we had away to the friends who remain there. 10 pounds of Wonder flour and a couple pounds of semi-sweet chocolate chips to Cecilia, my Mexican friend who bakes; a large ham and everything else to Laura, my other Mexican friend with three kids. Janice will store our bicycle and Drew and Cathy the telescope. Allison gave Betsy to Lynn and Sharon who really wanted her all along. As we see it, Betsy is a Baja dog. She's been there since she was four months old. Lynn and Sharon are retired and living full time in Loreto. They can provide the stability and attention we weren't so good at. Okay--they are better parents. Betsy will be so happy with them and their daily walks on the beach.

We don't plan on returning for quite awhile--maybe not until next winter and even then not for a great stretch of time. We will vacation, but not live for months like we have. The reason, primarily, is that we want the village to develop more. We have been living through construction. We were nine months in from October 05 to July 06, and then four months this year. We'd like our next experience to be closer to what the village promises--amenities, activities, programs, community. It will take a little, or maybe a lot, more time.

In the meantime there are other adventures that await. We're already scheming those up.

Postcards from Todos Santos

We just returned from another trip to Todos Santos. It's late, so I'll write more later. All but the first of these are photos taken in the La Poza area, our favorite spot.

Riding the Rhumb Line

It's a day like today that makes living in Loreto Bay great. We gathered friends for a cruise on Mick and Joyce's 50 ft Catamaran. The day was a bit overcast when we took off at 4:00 pm from Puerto Escondido but by 6:00 the sun brightened the sky to make for a pretty sunset.

The Rhumb Line is a fabulous boat with a well-designed galley and beautiful kitchen. It is stocked with every amenity from flat screen televisions and a killer stereo system, plus all the navigation equipment and boat stuff that I know little about. Of course, Robert was in heaven. He spent most of his time chatting with Mick about the boat. Allison and her little friend, Liana, had great fun exploring the cabins and bunks. Of course, for me, the highlight was the dolphins that we encountered near Danzante Island. As usual, several of them rode the bow to our delight. We didn't see any whales, but it is late in the season for that.

We anchored for awhile on a calm spot near the island. Though it was a bit cold several people went swimming. Later in the season as it gets hotter snorkeling is the thing to do. Unfortunately, we plan to leave in a few days so we'll miss out on that. Everyone brought a dish so we had quite a picnic. Mick and Joyce provided the drinks; and at sunset the mimosas. Halfway through the cruise we all planning our next ride. "Does Thursday work for you?" I can hardly wait.

Things to learn

We ate a late breakfast at Del Borrachos then went to town to get an oil change for the Tahoe. After the 'mechanic" emptied our oil he went inside to look for a filter and guess what? He had none for a 2007 model Tahoe. All we could do was tell him to put the old filter back on. Next time, we'll bring our own to Mexico. Later, we strolled the beach and then took our sunset walk on the deserted golf course. Right now as the course in under construction we feel free to use it as our personal park (kind of like we do at home with ours.) It really is a beautiful setting and when the remodel is finished will be a stunning golf course. I think Troon is involved with its design.

We are trying to understand the stars. The nights are so dark here that the stars shine extra brightly. You just can't help noticing the stars. I know so little about astronomy and now regret it. Robert adjusted our telescope to the skies and we got out the Night Sky guidebook but fumbled through it like it lost travelers trying to read a foreign map. Neither of us could make sense of anything. Now I'm doubting if what I previously thought was Orion's belt is instead the band on Leo's hat. Not really, there's no hats in constellation lore. Still, how frustrating. Yet another thing I want to learn--after the Rumba. I saw a couple dance the Rumba last year. They looked so cool I couldn't keep my eyes off them. I whispered to Robert, We will learn to dance like that! Now is the time since we are down the street from a former ballerina and dance instructor, Roberta, who I know would love to show us. I have visions of dancing the Rhumba on our terrace under the stars that we finally are able to name.

This is Semana Santa, the week of Easter, so everyone has the weekend off. Loreto Bay is like a ghost town. However the Inn is full of Mexicans (mostly from the mainland) here on vacation. Tomorrow, the beaches will be full of Mexicans camped out under make-shift shade structures. They will swim and picnic and enjoy the holiday.

We have no plans for Easter this year except an afternoon cruise on Mick and Joyce's Catamaran. A few neighbors like, Lynn and Sharon, and Janice, will join us as we start from Puerto Escondido. We'll bring food to have our own little Easter feast. Not sure how an Easter egg hunt would work on a boat, but we could give it a try, though Allie would be the only child there. We are really breaking with tradition, but it will be nice to recall later how we spent Easter on a beautiful boat on the Sea of Cortez.