Just Another Shitty Day in Paradise….

       Frank and I are already ten days into our month long stay in Baja, Mexico.  It’s taken me this long just to empty out the mental garbage which has accumulated from busily hurrying through a  daily routine regimented by numbers:   how many shifts I work, how many patients I visit, how many minutes I spend with each one, how many meetings I attend, how many times I work out in a week, how many calories I burn.  So far, the days down here have been filled with a whole lot of nothing.   It's been a bit unsettling and I've had to overcome a niggling guilt for spending long unproductive hours napping and reading airplane novels.  


     Our excuse for coming down to this part of the world (as if we need one) was the destination wedding of Frank’s nephew.  We spent our first few days on the East Cape by the Sea of Cortez lounging around the pool of our resort by day and participating in wedding festivities at night.  After a brief visit to Cabo Pulmo, where we snorkeled at the only live coral reef in this neck of the woods, we made our way over the mountains to Todos Santos on the west side where we’ve rented a spacious two level house for the month.  Our new home, "Casa Gallo" comes equipped with a raggedy looking though friendly white cat and has spacious well proportioned rooms all of which overlook the Pacific ocean.  From the first night when our designated greeter, a pleasant young man named Chewy, merrily welcomed us, Todos Santos has gradually yielded its many charms.  Ever since hippie artist types "discovered" it in the mid-sixties, the once forgotten town has become an intriguing  mixture of ex-pat art galleries, expensive shops and restaurants, juxtaposed to taco stands and super mercados.   Less than an hour drive from La Paz to the north and Los Cabos to the south, Todos Santos offers amenities which have attracted a colony of full time gringo residents from all parts north--we've seen tons of South Dakota license plates.  And who can blame them for wanting to live here?  We've already experienced the friendly warmth of a close knit community and its natural beauty is truly unique--the kind that slowly grows on you.  The semi arid desert landscape rolls towards rugged mountains shrouded by clouds to the east  and pristine beaches stretch for miles along the west coast.

       The area is known for a stunning diversity of birds, turtles, humpback and grey whales that migrate from Alaska and come up to the shore so close, you can see their eyeballs.  The fact that powerful waves and deadly currents make swimming dangerous can be forgiven because there is not a single high rise hotel, a vender hawking cheap jewelry, or a jet ski in sight. 

      It hasn’t taken us long to institute what has become a precious daily ritual.   Every afternoon about an hour before sunset, we haul books and beach chairs down to the beach.  My husband and I are simple people.  It doesn’t take much to entertain us.    We are quite content to quietly watch the pelicans play chicken with the waves as the departing sun paints the sky and sea with bold strokes of rich color.    Last night we both agreed that we will probably never get tired of watching a capricious and unpredictable body of water which promises endless possibilities in any given moment.     Like children anticipating Christmas morning, we crane our necks and strain our eyes searching the horizon for the sight of a dolphin playfully leaping, a whale breaching, or a turtle’s head poking up from the waves.  Even if we see none of these things, we delight in the waves hell bent on self-destruction as they swell and form perfect turquoise arches before slamming into the shore and disintegrating into a chaotic jumble of froth; we are addicted to the delicious sea spray and the gently cooling breezes; we luxuriate in the spaciousness of having the entire beach to ourselves; we are simply in jaw dropping awe of the magnificence of each night’s light show—no two sunsets are alike, each one competing with the last for best of show.   Already I have taken dozens of photos in a vain attempt to capture the grandeur of each one. 

 

The great turtle escape

But we are most excited about the turtles. The beaches near Todos Santos are home to three different endangered or vulnerable species of turtles—Olive Ridley, Leatherback and Black Turtle.  Once considered a delicacy in this culture, the eggs are now collected by various groups of local “tortugueros” devoted to protecting these species. From October through April, the tortugueros  patrol the beaches at night, searching for nests hidden in the sand by the mama turtle, and then carefully transport the eggs to a hatchery where they can incubate safely out of the reach of predators and poachers.  After 45 days, the hatchlings are ready to be released into the sea, facing odds that are not exactly in their favor—only one in a thousand (a conservative estimate at best) will survive to maturity. But without the efforts of the dedicated tortugueros, the survival rate would be even more dismal.  On our first Saturday night in Todos Santos, we decide to see for ourselves what all the hoopla is about. We find that it is an unexpectedly moving experience.   To witness these little guys purposefully scurrying to their almost certain doom is to feel the wonder of the incomprehensible mysteries of nature.  Even after all of the years I spent photographing countless wildlife releases for the Colorado Division of Wildlife, it’s hard to overcome my inclination to interfere (can I take them home and feed them?) and withhold human judgment (poor babies!).  To witness the whole kamikaze mission definitely requires a certain amount of faith that there’s an order and purpose to it all beyond our limited understanding.

Brave little guys heading out to sea
 

    Despite the fate awaiting the hapless creatures, I root for them anyway as they valiantly scuttle headlong towards waves that will swallow them up and Fed-ex them to their destiny.   There is always the possibility that one of these brave hatchlings will be the very one who gets to live and thrive and prosper for two hundred years.       

Stay tuned for more tales from Todos Santos--el Pueblo Magico!