Brooke and the squid.

our home for a week

spina, not the one though

Jay vs. the Spina

As we get to Punta Cabra which is a little north of the hostel we stayed at I asked Brooke, "How adventurous are you feeling?" She shrugged, "let's do it?" and we attempted to make our way to the beach site that was just past that sand dune. We made it a whole two feet into the sand before we were stuck. And then kept getting ourselves more stuck. We dug, put boards under the tires, realized that we were backing up into a cactus(which we were later informed are called spinas). Luckily after a seemingly long time a local fisherman named Arnolfso came and started the process of teaching two gringos how to get out of the sand. I had a little fight with the spinas and came out licking my wounds, Brooke was able to avoid them for the most part. In retribution, we did end up removing a couple spinas to get out of the sand. The shovel method didn't work so Arnolfso came over with his truck and pulled us out. We proceeded to back out and try to turn around in the only part that was also sand. Arnolfso marched back and helped us dig out. Soon after this experience we parked and didn't move for two days.

After we settled in, I took a tweezers and pulled a half centimeter prick out of my toe, the local told us that it hits the nerves and that it would hurt even more tomorrow. Sweet. It's a couple days after now, and I still have a little fat toe. The spot was quite picturesque with two beaches right on either side of the point. We saw dolphins swimming by and heard sea lions argueing about who was more macho. Our first dolphin sighting had Brooke b-line-it for the beach where she had a closer look. We practiced surfing, ate, and played backgammon. We were awakened at about 2.30 in the morning to the sound of a truck rip roaring past us with a shining light. This was quite alarming since it was friday night and who knows what they were up to? Fortunately they cruised through the dunes and went back where they came from. The next day we asked Anfonsfo what that was all about and he said without thinking that there might be something strange about the whole ordeal that they were looking for wild pigs? Whatever gets them going. After two nights at Punta Cabra we packed up and drove the van to la bahia de los angeles. We have spent one night here probably one more to come. Nice people, beautiful views, the prospect of getting on a boat to see whale sharks (shouldn't it be one or the other?) and lots of wind. Next up, cruising over to the pacific side to check out the seven sisters point breaks which is pretty much straight west of here and then down to guerrero negro for a little whale watching.

Wanted: pavement

Well, we made it across the border without a hitch, bought turist visas and a permit for our van all before 1 o'clock. We had a four hour drive ahead of us on unknown roads and just a few hours of sun left but we decided to make a sprint for it. We arrived in Santo Thomas from the highway and discovered that the road to the coast was a gravel and dirt road that was washed out from the rains two weeks ago. It was a stressful two hours and after 1000's of potholes, going through running water, and a super scary bump we made it to our destination, Puerto San Jose. It is a small agricultural area on the coastline with a lighthouse and huge cliffs down to the ocean. We camped there for two days and paid a guy named Victor for the use of his land. He said there are usually tons of surfers there, yet we were the only ones. The surf was a bit intimidating because of a rocky reef and large boulders so we took it easy. Jay caught a few waves and even stood and rode one all the way through. It made the previous day's drive all worth it.
We got up early this morning and drove south to sandier beaches and safer swells. We should be in the Erendira area for a few days. We are going to have to re-think all of our plans because road conditions are really, really bad and we don't know how much the van can take...we have a long way to go. If anyone wants to donate an SUV we'll take it :).