*Baja~ El Mogote has tons of Dolphin activity!!

We have been on this beach for about 11 days now and I found out through some Canadian folks, that come down to the condos for 4 months out of the year, that this beach area is called El Mogote (pronounced El Ma-go-tay).
We have yet to see any Whale Sharks in or out of the water, although the boats come in every single day and stop in front of the van. 

I think they may be seeing other things in the water like Manta Rays, Dolphins or Sea Turtles for I can't see a 40 foot Whale Shark coming this close in with two sand bars, for I'm sure they wouldn't be able to make it out...but what do I know!

We have, however, seen a ton of Dolphins. I see at least 3-4 different pods a day with anywhere from 5-12 Dolphins in each pod, it's quite awesome to see. 

I have seen and swam amongst Dolphins throughout my life and every single time I see them it's almost as if it's my first time ever seeing them, they are so magical and quirky. I especially love watching them fish! I have also been able to get some pretty good shots of them so that always makes me happy!!! I have some great video but they are much harder to upload with our data limitations so I have frozen a few images from those videos to show you what I've been seeing for the past few days!

There isn't much going on here at this beach, it's very secluded, I'm sure due to the road getting in and off of the sand. It's definitely not made for every vehicle and with the condos being a few miles down the beach everyone that stays there takes a water taxi into town. We have had the beach to ourselves for the most part, other than a few early morning walkers and the tour boats, it's just us. We like it to a point, for we have a lot of privacy but at the same time we would like more of a Santispac experience where we were meeting locals and other travelers daily. Maybe along the way we can find a nice balance but for now, it's pretty nice having the privacy. 

Our usual daily visitors

When Jamie goes into town to upload videos, run errands or get groceries, I stay back with the van and the girls. This is time I use to center, read, write, do whatever I want or need to do without interruption...these days I've been trying to learn some hoop tricks, reading and spending some time with the dogs! Savannah could definitely care less but my Chili Moon loves every single second of it.

There is one more night before we have a full moon, although the moon the past couple of nights has been anything but dull! It has been cloudy though, so I only get to see small glimpses of the beauty that shines above.

I'll take it. I'll take anything I can get while here in Mexico. Who knows when we'll be back or when things will change. This experience has been nothing but great so far and I'm sure it will just keep getting more exciting with more memories.

PEACE

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*Baja~ Connecting with "Lady Luck" & the Locals

Feb. 17, 2016
I have been waking up & getting out of the van exceptionally early these days, which to me is about 6 a.m. I am loving the time to myself, Jamie is still sleeping and the dogs don't want to get out of the warm covers that early so it's just me, the water and the Sunrise...it's awesome. I have always felt that I was meant to live on the water, either by house or by boat. Growing up in Florida, I lived close to the ocean and was there every chance I got, also being a surfer, swimmer & water polo player I was always in some sort of water. It's my happy place!

The early morning provides some grounding and centering time for me and my mind which I've needed for some time now and it's just so peaceful out here, I wish I could bottle this up and have it with me forever. At this time of the morning I will either do Yin Yoga, read or write and I'm always taking in my surroundings; the birds flying in the air or diving for fish in the water, the waves or (today) small ripples coming into shore, the peacefulness of no motors on the sand or in the water, the crabs scurrying across the sand trying not to be eaten by the hunting birds, the butterflies suckling the ice plant leaves....it really just doesn't get any better than this on these early mornings.

It's a little strange, I call it Divine, others would say it's ironic or coincidence...whatever you believe, but lately I've been talking to the Universe a lot more than usual and asking for some kind of change. It's a long story. I know this life, all life, is always ever-changing but right now I need a big change, something so totally new and different. As soon as I even start to think this, on this certain morning I was walking down the beach by myself, talking to myself, in less than 20 minutes I saw 6 Butterflies, 4 of them different than the one before. I know from past experiences and research that seeing Butterflies are a reminder that there is always change in the world and seeing them in 'flocks', many at one time or many different ones in a (small) moment in time means that a big change is upon you. I'm always one for looking at signs...especially when I was just talking to the Universe about it! 

Once everyone was up and the bed was made and put up, I was sitting in the van with my legs propped up, just chillin'. I was thinking of what was going on this morning; mind, body, spirit-wise and something caught my eye. What I saw was so small I was surprised that it even caught my eye. I looked at it from my viewpoint, then looked at it outside of the van...it was a Peach Ladybug on the weatherstripping of my door jam. Obviously, Ladybugs are a sign of luck but they are also a sign of change, a sure sign of bringing blessings of abundance, and a symbol of taking action of your dreams.

Even looks like a little heart on it's right wing!!

I take signs seriously and was pretty stoked that I had not only seen one small sign, say one Butterfly or something of the sort, but I had seen 6 Butterflies (most of them different) and now this Ladybug that wasn't even the color of Red and Black, like I'm used to seeing! I know something big and maybe even scary is on the way but when you ask for change, change is what you're going to get!
 

Moving on....

Every morning around 6:45 I see a man coming to the only trash can on the beach, he spends about 25 minutes here and then leaves. It seems he either works for the condos or lives there and picks up trash on his way to the trash can, then takes whatever trash is in the can and takes it with him back to the condos (I'm guessing). 95% of the time he is on foot, but sometimes I see him on an ATV, that makes me think he may work there. 

I did however meet the guard that tends the gate at the soft, sandy road we came in on. A day or so ago, I was sitting outside doing one thing or another and a man rode down the soft sandy road on an ATV, drove over to the van, (he was dressed in a security guard type uniform), so in my thought process I was thinking he might ask us to leave. The man approached the van with a big smile on his face, he asked me if I spoke Spanish, I told him very little. We had a conversation in broken English and broken Spanish, laughing with each other that some words we just couldn't grasp. The man is the security guard at the gate for the condos, his name is Luis and is such a nice guy. Our conversation ended up going like this: After seeing how little or how much Spanish I spoke and providing names, he asked if we were camping here... I said that we were and waited for him to say something. He said he was the security guard for the barrios (neighborhood/condos) down the road and he had no problem with us camping here for as long as we wanted, for, to him, we were more eyes-on & security of the beach and the people in the condos, as well as anything else that seemed suspicious. I thanked him and he took my hand in his, put his other hand over the top of my hand, looked at me and said, "Now, we are friends." I said, "Si, si Amigo!" I can't help but just love it here. Everyone we meet is just like this and see us as help more than a problem...can't beat that!
Now, every day I see Luis on his ATV about 3 times a day, we wave and smile, it's pretty much like being neighbors...it's kind of cool!

I have yet to ask him what this trap type thing is by the trash can. I thought maybe for crabs but it's just so random and odd...if anyone wants to leave a comment on what you think or know it is PLEASE leave a comment...I'm dying to know what it is! 

PEACE

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*Baja ~ The first few days on the Dune beach

Days 8, 9 & 10
We have been parked on this beach just North of La Paz for a few days now and couldn't be happier with our choice to park here.
The first couple of days we got settled in, relaxed and laid out in the Sun, getting some good base tan. I can take a lot more Sun and element than Jamie can, so I think I was in the Sun most of the day, for 3-4 days straight, before I needed a bit of a break.

The tide comes in and out as usual, but doesn't come anywhere near the van, so that was a great thing to figure out and know after a few days so we wouldn't have to lay awake at night wondering if we were going to get sucked into the water! haha (Yes, I have quite the imagination...but you never know).

 I love walking the beach at Sunset with Chili Moon. My littlest one is a very curious gal and is learning about the water, waves, birds and all of the different smells for the first time...it's quite amazing to watch her grow, especially at her age (6 y.o.).

This is a sand dollar. They start as round "balls" that turn flat within time. Sand Dollars are actually Sea Urchins!!!

Mama and the Moon

A little bit at a time...she goes in a little deeper every day!

I am learning that with the tides coming in and out, and probably due to storms, there is a lot that washes up on this shore...mostly dead stuff, everything always fascinating to see. With that, I apologize that most of my pictures may seem morbid but it's what is washing up and what I am seeing daily...the circle of life!

Seal. Curious to know what that perfect circle hole is on the body...??

A lot of coral washes up every day with the tides

A dead Blow Fish has Chili Moon very curious

Shell. Feathers. Big dead fish.

A very brittle skeleton of a Manta Ray....I think!

There are boats coming and going all day long, but mostly between 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Some of the boats have company names on them but most look like locals that are taking visitors out to snorkel. We have seen some really nice boats out here and for some reason, they all seem to motor right in front of where the van is parked....we're going to have to figure out why, I know it's definitely not because of the van, even though we do seem to get oogled at! haha 

At the times where I seem to not be able to find anything to do (I know, I know I'm on vacation), I am tanning, wading, wire wrapping, coloring, reading, working out, learning some tricks with my hula-hoop & taking long walks with Chili Moon. 

Making jewelry on the beach

 About the 3rd day we were here, I put my wet suit on to go for a swim but once I got out & under the water, my goggles started acting up. I didn't think this was a problem since I'm a swimmer & brought 4 other pairs of goggles but out of all 5 pairs, not one pair would work in the water, due to bad rubber, breaking straps, leaking or the lenses being too scratched . I had to go without, which made the experience much less enjoyable and wrote goggles down on the next shopping list.

Ready to go...will the goggles work this time!?

I'll let you know how it goes in the next post!

PEACE

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*Baja~ Valentine's Day a different way

Day 11

  Happy Valentine's Day to all you lovers out there!
We don't celebrate Valentine's day but we did go shopping so it kind of seemed like a celebration to us. We got a few things to make a nice big breakfast, so the morning of the 14th I cooked us up a great big fatty brekkie that was to die for!

  

We had bacon (which was much thinner than what we're used to but very delish), farm fresh eggs, I chopped up a fresh white onion along with some amazingly fresh, thick Chorizo (yum) with half of an Avocado, mix that in with some Dirty Chai on the side (brought from the States) and you have yourself the "Breakfast of Fatties"!!! I don't think I did much for a couple of hours after that one!

A little later on in the day, we decided to go for a swim. To catch you up on the things around camp, first though.... In the mornings right after sunrise, I am usually out reading while I make Chai or coffee. I see the same two guys walking the beach collecting trash that has washed ashore the night before. We started talking due to the trash collecting, because I have been doing the same thing during the days and it became a conversation piece when they saw a huge chunk of the beach didn't have trash on it anymore. I met them (Peter & friend, retired Canadians) and every morning we would meet-up around coffee time and talk about different things. Yesterday I asked Peter if he knew why all of the snorkeling boats come right to the water in front of the van, he said, "They come out here because this is where the Whale Sharks are." You could imagine my excitement as I heard this and now was even more totally stoked to get in the water to see one of these amazing beasts! They grow to about 40 feet long and feed off of Plankton, so they are totally safe to be around since we don't become part of their food chain. With this information, NEW goggles for both of us and a now digested belly, we decided to get in the water and go for a little underwater sight-seeing.

 I put my wet suit on but Jamie doesn't have one so he went in with just his board shorts. The water was a little chilly at first, but once you get used to it it's not too bad, plus it was a pretty hot and sunny day so that always helps. 

We stayed in the water for about 30 minutes but didn't see anything more than each other and a Blow Fish that I scared the crap out of when I swam over it. We had fun though and got some pretty good exercise in, so that's always a plus!

Something strange was captured on film that day!

As we dried out, it was still pretty early in the day so Jamie decided it was time to switch the tire on the back of the dirt bike. He learned when he went for that ride with Al & Tom in Mulege, that before he rode it again he would need to change the tire to a more suitable tire for the terrain. The old tire was a Shinko Hybrid street tire that he changed to a Sedona, we brought the tire with us so we wouldn't have to try to find it in Mexico or have it shipped if we ended up needing it.

The rest of the day was pretty much laying out, relaxing and watching the boats cruise North and South as well as watching the birds scream at each other and dry out their wings. 

There are so many different kinds of birds around here and they are always yelling and screaming at each other, some dive bomb other birds in the air while some run after them on the shore...it's quite entertaining!

As the Sun started to set, Chili Moon and I went for our nightly Sunset stroll and I noticed the water is starting to get really choppy and rough, so there may be a storm coming through. 

Grumpy Blow Fish

Not sure what this was, but it was big

That dead Seal from a few days ago

When I got back, I started making dinner and went to take a picture of the lights lighting up around La Paz...but my camera lens wouldn't come out. I tried 3, 4, 8, 12 times, I couldn't get it open at all, it wouldn't even turn on. I knew the battery was full so I started to panic and the evening was starting to turn very sad all of a sudden. I asked Jamie if he could try to get it to work and since he's "The Fonz" and all, of course he got it to work! I have always had problems with electricity and anything that has to do with power, whatever I can't get to work in a hundred tries, he or anyone else will try once and it works like nothing is wrong at all. Jamie says this is due to my 2 near death experiences so I'll just go with that, either way, we seem to always have success in the end....and now that my camera is working again that's what counts right now!

PEACE

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