Bahia de los Angeles stop 13

March 4 and it is a travel day. We traveled with Norm and Lois – we led this time. We left early so we could make stops. Only problem was, there wasn’t much to stop at. This is one problem we have found. It is impossible to get off the main rig with our big rigs and their unpaved, bumpy, dirt roads. We finally pulled off and ate lunch, rested and wasted time so we would not be early. It was a beautiful road when we turned off of highway 1 leading to Bahia de los Angeles. We drove through the cirio plants. They are so unusual. The campground was right on the water. We have had some awesome views at different campgrounds. I have tried to take pictures out our door so we can show the water views we have had. We wandered up and down the beach and checked out our new quarters. After a siesta we headed for the school where we were to have our dinner and present the items we had brought for the children – paper, pens, pencils, clothes, computer disks and cds as well as other items. We had collected over $360 US dollars and 2200 pesos between us. It was to be presented. Betty’s brother, who works as president of a soccer league in Ottawa had sent complete soccer outfits for about 20 kids – shoes, socks, pants, jerseys, balls. The kids were there to receive the outfits and they were excited. One of the ladies of the community does a lot of cooking for special events so she had chile rollenos, refried beans and other items. She also had fixed a different kind of flan. John probably liked it better, since there was no liquor included. Enid and Bruce were quite disappointed because Antonio (who speaks excellent English) had gone to Ensenada and was not there to receive the items and the money. It was decided to wait and present the money when he arrived. It also made it interesting because plans were now uncertain as to what was going to happen and when while we were at this stop.

March 5 started with a tour of the sea turtle project. It is located in the campground and was begun by a government grant in the early ‘70s. The campground was built with the same funding, we think. At one time it must have been state of the art but it has been allowed to rundown. There are indications there was electric although we were told that the community of 600 people has only had electricity as we know it for a little over a year. They used batteries and propane before then. They probably went to bed early as well! We find that is one way we save on our need for electric. The young lady talked about the turtles indicating that there were seven types of sea turtles and that Baja California has six of them. The other one is only found in Australia. There were skeletons of each type including the leatherback. In the three tanks there were three different turtles, although one tank was empty. She indicated a fisherman had bought two of them in. They seemed unable to use one of their front flippers. She said they were small for their age. She was quite informative saying that the people still think of the turtle as a delicacy as turtle soup but they do understand that they are protected and should not be captured. Enid informed us that once again there had been a change in plans. The weather had been rough enough that we would not be able to go out on the boats. Instead Antonio had arrived back and had set up a trip to San Borja for anyone who wanted to go. It would be a six our trip in a 14 passenger van. Those who could be ready to go by 11 would need to take a lunch. We said we would go and off we went on one of the best event s of the trip. We traveled through unbelievable terrain where the flowers of the dessert were in full bloom and we were in the area of the cirio which only grows in Baja. It is the plant – bush or tree – that looks like an upside down carrot. They were beautiful as were the flowers. We traveled yet another rocky road – but no water and only one time when the back scraped bottom. Our driver was excellent. We arrived at San Borja which is a small ex-mission. It was built in the mid 1700’s by Jesuits, handed over to the Franciscans in 1767 and to the Dominicans in 1773. The 18 year old son greeted us. He was quite impressive especially when we learned he had mastered English on his own by listening to visitors, watching TV and using the internet. We passed only one vehicle and it was the German van that we had seen before at San Javier. We asked Arturo if he knew German as well. Yes, he did. He actually lives in one room of the mission. There were more rooms than we have normally seen. He carefully took us through and pointed out many points. Before we entered he had asked us if we wanted a group picture. He took all of the cameras and hung them over his shoulders and arms and proceeded to take our picture. Inside he taught a number how to take the best picture with features on their cameras that they did not know about. He was so entertaining and informative. He showed us his garden, pointed out a beautiful flowering pomegranate bush. Behind the mission were the remains of the original mission. He is in the process of trying to restore the newer section by pouring calcium into the walls that are very thick. He is also cutting stone to fit where it needs to be. He is chinking the sections where there are leaks. He is a busy young man. We also saw the graveyard and had pointed out that the indentation was a mass gravesite of over 1500 Amerindians. After eating our lunch under palapas we walked to see the springs. These springs were the reason that people were able to live there. They provided water and it is used for irrigation now. There are a number of rock walls. We were told they kept the cows out of the garden area. There were many crops including grapes and dates. The grape vines were from very ancient plants. After our walk we climbed back in the vans and began our 2 hour trip back to camp. Our driver stopped often for us to take pictures of the beauty of the land. We were told that the week before there had been 3 days of light rain off and on. It had brought the beauty of the desert to a point we had not seen as we traveled down the peninsular. By the time we got back we were tired. At 7:30 we had to be at the community center to present the money that had been collected for the school children and the library. When we arrived we saw all of the items that different people of the community had made. There was a lot of jewelry out of abalone as well as shell creations and some small pocketbooks. Antonio had arrived and gave us a slide show on the area and the turtle project (which he must be in charge of) as well as describing the boat trip that we would be taking. It was interesting that we were told later that the fee for camping at the campground was to be $5 a night. For 4 nights and 23 trailers that comes to $460. When Bruce and Enid went to take it to Antonio he said come with me and he took them to the school and had them present that to the school for their needs. He told them that we meant so much to the community. It made us feel good.

March 6 was a wonderful day. It began mighty early – we were to be on the beach at 7 am. Seven pangas came into sight. We crawled into them as best we could. The fisherman driving ours showed his strength by picking me up and getting me over the side. We went out past islands and saw blue heron, cormorants and osprey. There was a huge osprey nest. Seals swam past us performing their gyrations up and down all around us. They appeared to be playing hide and seek with us. We saw one island that appeared from a distance to be all white. The smell told us that the cormorants had roosted for so long that deposits had accumulated for many years. We stopped on one for a potty break. A rattlesnake was seen so we didn’t stay too long. The water was choppy and the boats were smaller than on the whale watch, most held 6 people. Consequently it was decided we would not see the sea lions. We bounced back across. Our boat driver was soaked but he had positioned us so we were not to wet. We landed at an area where the clams were. You should have seen all of us clamming. They were small but as it turned out they were mighty good. They had sea water added to them after we got back. Some ate them raw but most of us were waiting until they were cooked. Bruce & Enid had a huge pot and a burner. Tom sort of took over cooking. They cooked and cooked, we had gathered so many. We ate and ate! About the time most everyone had their fill the local lady who was making a cake for Felix and Joann’s 50th wedding anniversary arrived. It was so large that we decided to go ahead and present it. It was quite good; a white whipped cream frosting with little pieces of confetti-like on top, strawberry jam and then the cake that also had pineapple and other ingredients in it. She had gotten big 5 and 0 candles to light as well as a heart with a bride and groom. Since Betty and I were in charge of birthdays and anniversaries, we presented the cake and served. Afterwards we ate spaghetti with Norm & Lois. Needless to say there were clams in our sauce. There was a nice campfire down on the beach which most everyone went to and enjoyed. John told us that Larkin and Lucette had told him of their problems as they traveled to this campground. Larkin looked at something off the road and nearly lost his small trailer. He said it went from one side to the other at nearly a 90 degree angle. When they arrived they found the refrigerator had thrown everything out, one cabinet was off the wall, tops of a number of counters were no longer attached and it was a general mess. I stayed up to read and Winston went to bed. The awnings began to bang and flap so I went to put them in. As I came around the corner Bob was preparing to do the same. I think I startled him. He jumped about 6 inches. I guess it was a good thing I was there because he had his big awning out and with the way the winds were he could have had problems. We got the awning in.

March 7 and it is Joann and Felix’s 50th wedding anniversary. As for us, it was a quiet day. We picked up shells – very, very small ones that were all around the rvs. They were in the sand. It was amazing to me that their were 3 main types – one I call a swirled horn, a snail type and an olive just like is found in Florida. We decided to go back on the road to the mission. We wanted to re-look at the flowers that were so beautiful and also the rocks. Winston was hoping to find some lava rocks. Much of the area has been volcanic at some time. Research indicates that at one time all of Baja California was attached to Mexico itself. The shifting of the sea and land caused it to come about. As we drove back we realized it was lunch time so we found a neat little place. First the lady thought we wanted to rent a room but after indicating we were hungry we soon received menus. Winston had a fish taco and I had flautas. It was preceded by a cream soup that was good but we had no idea what kind it was. We went to buy water at the grocery store. We learned another lesson; next time we will be sure we have larger water containers. We had a 10 liter one and a 5 liter one. We paid the same price for both garrafon de aqua of 6 pesos. Another lesson learned. When we got back it was siesta time followed by a driver’s meeting. After the driver’s meeting Betty and I presented Joann and Felix with a card that everyone had signed and then said we had a surprise. Everyone gathered around while Rolf and Firman held the ends of a metal pole. In the middle was a piñata filled with suckers and wrapped chocolate candy. A blindfolded Joann had first chance to hit it with a small baseball bat. Then Felix tried. Finally between the two of them, it was broken. Candy went flying. We all laughed and had a good time. Hopefully they will remember their 50th anniversary! Tom had told a number of us that if there were more clams he would make polenta. We laughingly told him it was just Italian grits. Seventeen of us gathered around and joined in sampling a cactus wine that Jerome wanted to have finished before we cross the border. We complied. It was different – very sweet. It didn’t smell good but the taste was unusual and not bad. The polenta was excellent, served with either clams or Italian sausage over it. Polenta is coarse ground yellow corn cooked with cheese and butter. It turned cold so everyone got done quickly and headed for the rvs. Bruce and Enid are having battery problems so some of us loaned them blankets. Winston said they were wandering around with flashlights. They probably were in bed by 7. We turned the generator on to recharge our batteries since we still had two more days to go without water or electric. Propane was down to a third so we will have to conserve. Most everybody seems to be doing well. You do hear generators running off and on at all times of the day. One thing we notice here is the number of unfinished buildings. So often it looks like such a good beginning and then it stops. Evidently often the government gives so much money, but not enough to finish a project. Another thing that seems to bother us is the fact that you can usually tell when you are coming to a community by the trash dump beside the road. It seems like it could be back hidden instead of right there.