November 17, 2021 Wednesday

       Weather shift today, at least for a while at the heat of the day. Wind came from over the water, very cooling, especially in the shade. There is a catamaran, yacht, and a sailing boat in the little bay. I walked deeper into the water and watched the “minnows” and some larger fish swim in schools and feed in the sand kicked up by my feet. A couple of locals came by while I was out in the water and offered green clams they had cleaned and caught. I was a bit hesitant. Kurt and Diane bought some juice from a vender yesterday morning and less than two hours later were really hit with “the revenge.”

This is the "crew" from Woodland, Kristina, Paul, Jim and Judy experiencing Armando's at the Santispec beach. They are known for having the "deadliest margaritas." One OK, two you are on the edge, three it is a good thing you only have to walk across the beach to your trailer!

        There have been lots of water adventures by our group in the last few days. Bill and Liz have a two person kayak and they went out this morning in the bay and along the islands while the wind was still. They reported seeing birds roosting on one of the islands and other beaches and homes. Yesterday, when Jim, Mary, George and Liz went out in the hour sightseeing tour and encountered a settlement of big houses on one of the islands. They suspect they are owned by Norte Americanos or wealthy Mexicans as they are larger than we normally see here. This afternoon another group went out and saw the fellows who had offered the clams catching and cleaning them at one of the islands. That group consisted of Greg, Ann, Kristina, Paul, Euclid and a fellow from Tijuana, more about him later. They reported seeing stingray, different types of beaches on the islands, a little island where the pelican hang out when they are not fishing off the beach we are parked on. The water is so clean they could see the varied life below them. Kristina took her kayak out this morning for a couple of hours and floated along the different beaches seeing a stingray that she watched gliding along till it stopped and drove into the sand completely burying itself. We had been cautioned about doing the “shuffle” with our feet to disturb them out of the sand so we do not step on them, We are only parked about 50 feet or less from the beach, it is common for us to walk out into the water quite far out to get up to water to our chests and cool off. Some wear water shoes, some are barefoot. So far no encounters with stingray. Kristina said she mostly saw them near the rocky part of the beach to the left of us. 

This is the view from our back window with our outdoor kitchen and our Cobb cooker. Nature never made a more beautiful kitchen. Everyone in our group enjoyed the same view, even the tent camper. It has been such a joy to be here. We are told in January and February the RV's are two deep but every tries to not block their neighbors view, if possible. It is just good manners in Baja. 

         So about the young fellow, Mario, from Tijuana. I had the good luck to encounter him on the beach this morning, enjoying a lengthy conversation about lot of subjects. Tucker started the conversation by running up and greeting him so our talk turned to the importance of animals in our lives. He adopted a little dog that was going to be “thrown away” as it had been born with a defect that caused his eyes to be too wide apart. He kept here and said she has become one of the best dogs he has ever had. In his other life, he is a teacher of physics and math. He also raises cocks and once and awhile he will sell one but he does not fight them. The reason he was here was that is with a support crew for the Baja racers. We went on to talk about how important the races are to Mexico and that SCORE, an international organization, actually, runs them each year. Our talk turned to the relationship between Mexico and the US. 

He sees the border situation a bit differently. He said there have been instances were people who have committed  crimes in Mexico have escaped over the border into Mexico. But he hopes that in the far future, we envision some a kin to the EU were Canada, US and Mexico cooperate with mutual laws and free movement could be allowed so that all the countries could benefit mutually, though we both agreed, many major changes would have to occur. He is a person who speaks three languages. He was fluent in English, speaks some German and, of course, Spanish. We ranged over many topics including US  and Mexican politics.

So a goodbye to Santispec, wishing I could convey the heat of the day, the cool of the breezes, the feel of the sand and the schools of small fish as well as the full moon at midnight. This place leaves a memory of calm, and a natural rhythm of the day.