It's been a busy week, as you can tell I missed posting last week, but I missed a whole bunch of months so I guess I ‘m doing better then before. We went camping last weekend as it was a long weekend here in Mexico, Revolution day was on Monday, and man is it a lot of work to pack up to camp for three nights. We took our four dogs and three cats with us to make it an extra fun adventure and we managed to return home with everyone so it was a success. Camping with cats isn’t too bad. It's only mildly stressful as there are lots of coyotes and foxes where we like to camp and our cats are town cats. I'm sure they know enough to avoid strange dogs on the street even though they live with dogs, but running for your life from a wild predator is a different story. The other issue is being able to catch them when you're ready to leave. The youngest one, Globo, is a wild cat once he gets outside and doesn't want to be touched, Xolo is a little better when camping but in the yard at home he won't let you get close to him and Mongo is 15 years old and has been a house cat up until recently. She still spends most of her time indoors but she does like to go outside in the evening if we are sitting outside. She's easy to catch unlike the two young ones, but also more vulnerable to the coyotes. Thankfully even though we heard lots of yipping in the night the coyotes didn't come into our camp and all the cats allowed themselves to be lured by breakfast in the morning before we packed up and then stuck in their cages. They complained a bit but thats the price of a bit of freedom.
We have been going to the same spot for the past three years, El Conejo. I was brought there 24 years prior by a ride when my girlfriend and I were hitchhiking home to British Columbia from Todos Santos. We got arrested in La Paz for open alcohol in a vehicle and when they searched my bag they found about a joints worth of marijuana. That started a whole process of threats of incarceration and an offer of money in return for freedom. They wanted $500 US but we were down to our last $47 and as they bartered with us, bringing to price down by $50 each time I held firm at my original offer of $47. They set us free and fleeced the driver of the truck we had caught a ride with for 1200 pesos or 120USD and sent us on our way. Jesus quickly drove to the beer store ad bought another six pack and when I refused to hand him a beer behind the wheel took us to his brothers house where we sat in the back of the truck and each drank two beers fast. The same police van rolled by us as we pulled away from his brothers place all smiles and waves this time. Jesus dropped us off on the road north and turned around to go back to catch the ferry to the mainland. We still had a ballena of Pacifico in my bag the police didn't confiscate and a pack of smokes Jesus had bought and by the time we had smoked a couple cigarettes and finished the beer a van with BC plates stopped for us. We had a ride all the way back to Canada, or so we thought, but first Martin had to return to El Canejo to pack up his camp. It took him five days to do that and we were stuck 13km from the highway with no food or water nor any money even if we were in town to purchase any. Nardo ran the campground and would come by in the evening with fresh caught lobster or fish cooked to perfection which he happily shared with us. We didn't speak any spanish beyond the rudimentary hola como estas donde esta baño etc. so it was a little hard to communicate but he made sure we at least had something to eat everyday. There was another Canadian there who I met again in Pemberton a few years later who had cooked a big pot of five bean chilli which he shared with us during our stay also. As hungry as we were while there I had fond memories of my stay in El Conejo and was happy to get the chance to return 22 years later. Nardo still runs the camping area collecting fees from the surfers and tourists who show up, they still catch lobster during lobster season and there's always fresh fish straight out of the sea, sometimes you find a rock oyster on the beach or the neighbour will go and dive for them. Every time we go there, which is usually about twice a year, I pack food for us and always bring it back untouched. Nardo is a wonderful and it's much easier to just eat with him and MIguel at his house. A random chance discovery that has become a wonderful place of refuge from the world for us. I like to marvel at the way the universe works, if you just give the pieces time to fall into place you'll see they fit perfectly together every time.
We're a lot closer to El Conejo now so ideally we'd get there more often but it's still a five hour drive each way and packing up seven animals and two humans is too much work to go for a night or two, even three nights didn't feel like enough time. Once Miriam has settled into her job a little more maybe then we'll get there more often but you know I'm pretty happy to stay at home too. We live in Cabo, holiday destination for people all over the world, what's not to love, we need more free time just to explore the places around here, there's so much to offer and we've only scratched the surface and yet to go looking for the hidden gems.