My Escape
I have done a lot further traveling in the past 18 months than I have for the past 4 years. And before that? Pfft!
I looved, my flight from LA to Loreto. The crowd on the plane was fun-loving and mischievous!They already looked pretty relaxed. It was just the thing to get me in the mood, and off of thinking about customs.
On the customs sheet, I wrote down that I was bringing in packaged foods. They were all in a plastic bag labeled "gluten-free foods." Although they searched a plastic bag that had a few misc things in it, including some food I bought on the plane, and they confiscated that, they left the gf foods alone, and this saved the trip for me.
My ride was waiting for me, as were all the other passengers in the van. I was near to the end of the line.
We got to see the development which stopped being built along with everything else. Loreto is a sleepy city/town, and I likes it that way. There is a selection of places to eat to please anyone; it has mostly locally made crafts; no one hawks at you as you walk the beginning of El Camino Real. (or almost no one). The shops close up at 8, although I think some of the restaurants and bars stay open.
After a brief reunion with my alleged traveling companion, I begged for a real meal. We had our dinner early and then went to the orientation meeting. This is where we realised that we wouldn't be eating breakfast at the hotel, and better come up with an alternate plan. We also got to meet the other members of the group, and it was a promising lot. After the meeting, we lit out for the only supermarket in town, and bought water, our breakfast, and Chocolate Silk. (who knew?)
On our van ride to the Bahia Magdalena on the other side of the peninsula, we became aware that we were traveling with an bird biologist. This made the trip through the desert even more interesting. When we arrived on the other side, there was just enough time to put more clothes and sunblock on before heading out on our first panga (skiff) ride.
We were totally spoiled the first day. A baby grey whale decided that (s)he wanted to play, and came right up to the boat. Later there was spy-hopping and breaching of all sorts that we watched right from shore. We made a short pass by the Mangrove swamp for a bit of birding, and after 2 hours of whales and birds, we came to our temporary home on a barrier island.
There are a selection of photos from the website, which show what the experience is like here
It's the best kind of camping, because the tents were already set up, and they cook for us. There was a bathroom system that was really well thought out, and a solar shower. The sand was very fine, and was omnipresent. The first night I wasn't so comfortable, but the next night I was. Included in the camp library were books on the eco-system, as well as the flora and fauna of the area. Terry was fairly knowledgeable about all of these things, but did refer to his resources from time to time. He did mention that there was no water source on the island, so the small-sized coyotes would be drawn the the large swaths of tent material collecting dew, and would tend to lick it. I had auditory hallucinations about this. I looked for prints the next day.
I had been worried about a couple of meals, but the cooks went out of their way to accomodate J and me. I was glad for the gf bars, but they ran out of tabouleh and ended up not using my quinoa. There was always enough to eat, and while others were eating their evening cake from the camp "oven," I had hot chocolate. Before dinner was cocktail hour, when they mixed up the virgin mix, and put a bottle next to it. The first night was Marguerita night, which didn't really please me, but the piña coladas the next night were lovely.
For the second day, we voted to spend half our trip in the Mangrove swamp. Since it was windy and choppy, that was an excellent idea. It got us out of the wind, and the whales really didn't want to be close to a boat in that weather.
Then we went on a "2 hour hike," which J dubbed the 'march of death' beforehand, since the half hour hike lasted over an hour the day before. But the picture caught the essence of it. :-D
And then there was the collection place where found items we left. Because it is so dry, they were dessicated, and not smelly. The porthole wreath is evidence that Martha Stewart *may* have been there. There was a turtle, a hammer head shark head, and various shells and barnacles.
I looved, my flight from LA to Loreto. The crowd on the plane was fun-loving and mischievous!They already looked pretty relaxed. It was just the thing to get me in the mood, and off of thinking about customs.
On the customs sheet, I wrote down that I was bringing in packaged foods. They were all in a plastic bag labeled "gluten-free foods." Although they searched a plastic bag that had a few misc things in it, including some food I bought on the plane, and they confiscated that, they left the gf foods alone, and this saved the trip for me.
My ride was waiting for me, as were all the other passengers in the van. I was near to the end of the line.
We got to see the development which stopped being built along with everything else. Loreto is a sleepy city/town, and I likes it that way. There is a selection of places to eat to please anyone; it has mostly locally made crafts; no one hawks at you as you walk the beginning of El Camino Real. (or almost no one). The shops close up at 8, although I think some of the restaurants and bars stay open.
After a brief reunion with my alleged traveling companion, I begged for a real meal. We had our dinner early and then went to the orientation meeting. This is where we realised that we wouldn't be eating breakfast at the hotel, and better come up with an alternate plan. We also got to meet the other members of the group, and it was a promising lot. After the meeting, we lit out for the only supermarket in town, and bought water, our breakfast, and Chocolate Silk. (who knew?)
On our van ride to the Bahia Magdalena on the other side of the peninsula, we became aware that we were traveling with an bird biologist. This made the trip through the desert even more interesting. When we arrived on the other side, there was just enough time to put more clothes and sunblock on before heading out on our first panga (skiff) ride.
We were totally spoiled the first day. A baby grey whale decided that (s)he wanted to play, and came right up to the boat. Later there was spy-hopping and breaching of all sorts that we watched right from shore. We made a short pass by the Mangrove swamp for a bit of birding, and after 2 hours of whales and birds, we came to our temporary home on a barrier island.
There are a selection of photos from the website, which show what the experience is like here
It's the best kind of camping, because the tents were already set up, and they cook for us. There was a bathroom system that was really well thought out, and a solar shower. The sand was very fine, and was omnipresent. The first night I wasn't so comfortable, but the next night I was. Included in the camp library were books on the eco-system, as well as the flora and fauna of the area. Terry was fairly knowledgeable about all of these things, but did refer to his resources from time to time. He did mention that there was no water source on the island, so the small-sized coyotes would be drawn the the large swaths of tent material collecting dew, and would tend to lick it. I had auditory hallucinations about this. I looked for prints the next day.
I had been worried about a couple of meals, but the cooks went out of their way to accomodate J and me. I was glad for the gf bars, but they ran out of tabouleh and ended up not using my quinoa. There was always enough to eat, and while others were eating their evening cake from the camp "oven," I had hot chocolate. Before dinner was cocktail hour, when they mixed up the virgin mix, and put a bottle next to it. The first night was Marguerita night, which didn't really please me, but the piña coladas the next night were lovely.
For the second day, we voted to spend half our trip in the Mangrove swamp. Since it was windy and choppy, that was an excellent idea. It got us out of the wind, and the whales really didn't want to be close to a boat in that weather.
Then we went on a "2 hour hike," which J dubbed the 'march of death' beforehand, since the half hour hike lasted over an hour the day before. But the picture caught the essence of it. :-D
And then there was the collection place where found items we left. Because it is so dry, they were dessicated, and not smelly. The porthole wreath is evidence that Martha Stewart *may* have been there. There was a turtle, a hammer head shark head, and various shells and barnacles.