Baja California Sur, Buena Vista

---

The truck found me... a day later than anticipated.

Spent a day hot sweaty and bum sore waiting for a call from the Karen.
None came... rebooked the room I had left in the morning... showered ... went out to eat a Mexican Combination at the La Perla Hotel, while watching the Saturday evening traffic pass by on foot and in vehicles along the Malecon.

The fish soup at Playa Tecolote was much more exciting than the presented four renditions of tortillas ... wrapped, crisped, deep fried and melted... all with cheese the same colour and had it not been for the spoonful of refried beans in the middle of it all and the left over salsa from the chip apperitif it would have been a meal bland beyond description.

It has been made clear to me .... I am not a Mexican food aficionado ... god help me for the next few months!!

Got on the truck and we drove to the end of the town , when all were given till 1:30 to explore the place... in the heat of the day...'mad dogs and english men go out in the noonday sun' was a most apt quote!!

I volunteered for truck security since I had just spent three days in La Paz. Never did find the fish market!

Rob spoke on the magic phone for almost all the time that the peoplewere wandering around town. At one point Karen came back and we went off to find ice and had coffee too.

By 2:00 everybody was back and we were off down the coast to Los Cabos. Did we make it? Of course not.
1. the govenor on the truck would not let it accelerate beyond 30.
2. The manual for the Scandia truck was in German and I with German as a second language had to keep my cool as another
person intervened and wanted to know better about reading the manual.
3. After a few starts,like three, we finally stopped beside the worst pile of roadside garbage I have seen since on this trip. SHAME
Mexico! There was even a shrine to something or other where Merrick lit a candle to the patron Saint of Mechanics. All the spent
glasses and votive candles had been crashed and spplintered at the edge of the shrine... pretty disrespectful and disgusting.
4. When all else failed Gary the 21 year old disengaged the govenor that keeps the engine at 80km/hr and wwe were on our way.

Of course we did not go to Los Cabos at all. We stopped at Los Barriles ...along the coast ... on the advice of the Lonely Planet and Eugene from a set of Ramadas in Buona Vista.


Stayed with:
Eugene Masciarelli
23580 Buena Vista B.C.S. Mexico
telephone ... fax... [phone]
[e-mail]

The man has four ramadas and three other rooms for very reasonable prices. We had a great time and the man was exceedingly friendly, helpful, and a font of interesting information.



The truck stands on the beach. Will did not listen or did not hear and the truck became stuck in the lose beach sand. While the men dug out the rest of us started the evening meal. WHO want to eat when it is so damn hot? And we had coleslaw, boiled potatoes and a slice of slightly frozen ham with a "BONE?"

Next morning it was fried sausage scrambled eggs and toast!.... it gets F&%$ing hot by nine... who can keep eating?

And joy of joys ...I am on cook group...with Pablo thankgoodness and for dinner day two we make german potatoe salad minus the eggs and pickles, marinated chicken wings and salad. Breakfast was just fruit, cereal and TOAST! What will thesepeople eat when ther is no more sliced bread? I refuse to eat the bread.




DAY ONE AT THE BEACH.
I sleep in a little toolsheddy thing in Eugenes courtyard with a toilet and headless shower beside it. The two other groups have access to two ramadas (round thatched huts). The others tent on the beach and have the use of shower and toilet in a ramada under construction. Only one of the two previously mentioned ramadasa offers to let people use the facilities. Often people put their sleeping bags on the roof of the truck and sleep up there. Never me...afraid to roll off! The day was spent dooing laundry, going to 'town' with Eugene, had coffee at the Paradiso and doing my cook duty after walking to the old Ranchos Buonavista and sitting beside the pool.

Before going there walked into the sea 1) to cool off; 2) because I had to pee badly, and 3) wanted to feel the waves on my body.

Well did a royal f)&*(^*k up!!! Camera got wet!!!...won't work!!! Will buy a new one ASAP can't wait to get trhe red one fixed...not long enough in one place.

DAY TWO AT THE BEACH.
After breakfast duty lazed about and did absolutely nothing. Went to town again around 12 and had lovely coffee at Caleb's bought stamps at a "postoffice". Did not really look like one but once having walked past office desks did find post boxes and a wicket that sold stsamps. The post cards are not tooexciting from here but those without internet deserve some contact.

Bought fruit from a pick up truck that comes to the house twice a week. Helped look for Gary's lost wallet. Took Sue's bankcard and withdrew $2000 pesos. Did not go to the restaurant to eat and drink. Helped cook diner for Eugene, Min, Paul and myself which we ate in the courtyard.... tuna, lentils, cuccumbers, wine, beer and some kind of ground root that I still need to learn the name of.

NO Camera...No Pictures.... So Sorry...

WE retrace our route tomorrow...taking the Pacific route would be much tooo logical... an dwe must be in La PAz by 12:00. The ferry to Los Mochis leaves at 3:00.

I will be taking the train from La Mochis to Chivava(sic) 14 hours each way and if the truck does not wait ...LET ME KNOW WHERE TO FIND YOU!!
Have had it with driving past interesting things and being the tail of a dog.... notice we did not make it to Los Cabos ...the most prized destination in the world...OK ...words on an ad for the place ...but there must be something special there to encounter other wise such a grand claim would not be made!!

I feel another muteny coming on!! From what I hearonly a half day wasspent at Grand Canyon...can you believe that ...the be all and end all of American destinations...greater than Disneyland and the Alamo .... more visited than Vermont and Yosemite..... on more lists than Florida and New York. Good thing I never really wanted to go there.

Anyway I know what is on my list and if I don't get enough time to do the places justice....TELL me where the bus will be in so and so many days and I will catch up!!!

NO MORE TAIL OF THE DOG!!!!!

---

Comments

[Linda Ziegler]

Lost Blog
Barb, when I couldn't read this blog any more, I went and read your India trip blog. When I came to the end of it I kept clicking and went into this blog. Went as far as your Alskan adventures. Hope you can access it this way. Good luck