Mi Palapa Es Su Palapa
Trip Start
Jun 21, 2008
1
7
35
Trip End
Sep 03, 2008
Bahia Concepcion,
Mexico
Saturday, June 28, 2008
We did not know if we were going to stay in Bahia Concepcion which is about 25 miles south of Mulege and is described as having some of the most pristine beaches in all of Baja. We could also drive all the way down to Loreto (which is more of a sport fishing tourist town with lots of Gringos) or maybe even ALL the way down to La Paz. But isn't that the definition of freedom?
We hopped on the bike with no clear destination and started riding south on the winding costal road. Again, the scenery took our breath away and we decided we need to bring our friends from home and some camping gear and return to this place! What a paradise!! It did not take us more than 40 minutes before we saw a small hotel and decided to stop for the day. Bahia Concepcion it is! The hotel was called Buenaventura which I thought was fitting, and it had small beautiful rooms right on the beach.
We decided to go to the small bar/restaurant to see what they were offering up for lunch. We have literally been eating fish tacos everyday (except for the hamburgesa con queso) so I was determined to order something else . Felix, the bartender cooked up the best carne asada burritos I have ever tasted! As fate would have it, perfect Mexican Spanish was then interrupted with perfect American English.
Aiming for paradise!
Gerry, Miriam and Jorge raised their bottles of Dos Equis and said "cheers!!". It took about two minutes before we were in full conversation about soccer, Spanish travels, and the Acapulcan club, Palladium, with the silver-clad Montezuma warrior chanting, "Dance with the Devil!!!". I was so excited to meet someone else who had danced with the devil...Team LA, you know what I'm talking about!Ok, Jess here...first off, Malin's burritos tasted so good because Felix, the bartender/chef, never cleans the grill!...you have all of that carbonized Mc-goodness of garlic, onions, peppers, and built up everything that has been cooked on it throughout the ages...although I didn't say anything at the time because Malin's smile would probably have faded into a pale-green "doh!" face, but hey, that's the beauty of Baja! Personally, I love it!!
The drive to Bahia Concepcion was only 25 miles from Mulege where we spent the previous night, so imagine spending the morning packing and preparing for the day's journey, and then just 45 minutes down the road you see the most beautiful Corona-commercial beach you've ever seen, you then have a religious experience and find yourself saying alms to Mary, Joseph and little baby Jesus in your helmet, and then out of pure Catholic guilt, you decide to pull over and say, honey, it's only 10am, but we've arrived!
Time to rewind the entire morning's process...off with the gear, off with the aluminum luggage, tank bag, etc...everything in hot, sweaty, slow-motion playback.
The first sight of the bay
I gave 100 pesos to the caretaker Juan (who calls me Jazz instead of Jess, and pretends to play a trumpet and laugh when he says it), and he went for a beer run for us back into Mulege where we started. He also gave us some ice for chilling beer, but not for potable use!...it kinda stunk like diesel.So picking-up where Malin left off, our new friends asked if we wanted to dive for callo (scallops)...I asked when and where, and Gerry put down his beer and said right now, and right here, pointing out at the crystal clear water! Hell yeah! I strapped my hunting knife around my waste and followed Gerry's lead...at first glance, everything looked like coral and rock, but soon my eyes became trained to look for the open shell of the callo...before we knew it, we had over 20 scallops loaded into the kayak that Miriam and Malin were piloting around. It was awesome!
And then Jorge, the master chef, showed us how to clean the callo before he whipped up the best ceviche I've ever had right there on the beach!...he used fresh lime, tomato and an onion he borrowed from Felix's pantry. I brought over the beer that slightly smelled like diesel, and we had a beach party!
Gerry is firefighter/paramedic in Julian, CA but lives in Tijuana - just like Doc Joe he's got a killer medical kit...(this is becoming a common theme for us!) His girlfriend Miriam is a banker in Tijuana and is the youngest daughter in a very traditional Mexican family...so Gerry has his work cut out for himself showing the family elders that this San Diego boy is worthy to be with their daughter!...in fact, this was their first trip without a family chaperone!
Jorge has studied hospitality and worked at different resorts in La Jolla but lives with his family now in Tijuana.
Another shot of the bay.
He started feeling restless and answered The Call to Adventure for himself - he decided to hitchhike his way all the way to Brazil! Traveling solo can be difficult, but he's a charming bloke who plans on working at restaurants in resort towns on the way down to earn some money. Literally just a week earlier, he strapped a pack to his back, said goodbye to his parents, and walked out of the house and down the street. Now that takes some cajones grandes!...and makes Malin and I feel a bit uppity having a motorcycle and all.Throughout the evening the five us had a blast! Gerry brought some chicken down with him and handed it over to Felix to cook up for us while we had a tequila-laden billiards tournament. The chicken was wonderful and interestingly tasted a bit like Malin's carne asada burritos from earlier...hmmm..... The next day Gerry and Miriam headed north back to Tijuana, Jorge hitched a ride down to Loreto with Mike, a sport fisherman from Nevada, and Malin and I took off for La Paz. As quickly and serendipitously as it started, it had ended...a beautiful memory in a beautiful place.
Comments
So fun!
Jazz!!! Ha ha Ha! I like that! It looks like paradise there. Forgive me, all my vegetarian and vegan friends, but I think I would like to pretend like I was in 'The Blue Lagoon' and do some callo diving, too. (I wouldn't eat them though) I can't wait to have an adventure like this someday with Miles. Keep up the fun and memories in the making! Love you guys!