Adventure from the Past: Baja, Mexico

I went on a trip to Baja once. It was near Spring Break in the year 2003. I went with friends from college. Corley and Tim the kiteboarding duo, Danielle, Corley's significant at the time and general good time party girl, and Doug and Carmen, the adventurous couple with so much cool, they could sell it on the streets.

In the first picture above, we are: Tim, me, Corley, Danielle, Carmen, Doug.

We packed up in a Ford Ranger and a Honda Passport and drove south. Sacramento, San Fran, LA, San Diego, US/Mexicoborder, and then Baja, wide open in front of us. Our plan was to camp the entire time, mostly on beaches, and reach the southern tip of Baja (the infamous party town, Cabo San Lucas), and then make the round trip home.

Danielle had spent some time in Spain, which automatically qualified her for the position of communications officer. Carmen and Doug knew enough to be dangerous, so that helped too. Tim, Corley, and I were helpless. I relied heavily on good looks and booze to aid me in foreign relations.




So many adventures were had; it would take months to catalog. We kiteboarded in E. Coli infested waters, did some scuba diving, paddled around to different islands in the Sea of Cortez, drank steadily, dominated the beach volleyball scene at Cabo, ate like local kings at every meal, and even met a bona fide working girl! Tim remembers how soft her hands where when she introduced herself. Never trust a girl running down the highway in the middle of the night in heels.

There were constant federal checkpoints along the highway, about every 80 km. Each one was the same, a small horde of short men in camo, literally dragging M16 machine guns along the ground behind them, asking the same questions. Where are we going? Where did we come from? How much marijuana do we have? This last question was always asked once they got a good look at Tim and me. Tim and I had decided buy all new clothes for the journey. It was all purchased as Goodwill, with a $45 self imposed spending limit. We looked pretty rough. The infrequent showering may have also contributed to our gruesome demeanor.

The total trip involved over 5000 miles of driving over the course of thee weeks. It was an epic endeavor.

I would love to go back to Baja someday on a similar adventure, but with so many other places to go, who knows if I will ever go back? Has Baja seen the last of me? At least with these pictures, I haven't seen the last of Baja,...

I leave you with this last picture, a spectacular kite jump I performed in front of a crowd of local children (not seen here) along the Sea of Cortez, near La Paz. I have never been so popular.