Ospreys

As we travelled through central Baja we kept seeing ginormous nests on top of power line poles. I'm not much on birds, and barely know a crow from an ostrich. We stopped to take some photos anyway. I looked it up later and found out these are Ospreys.





The Osprey in the nest finally got fed up with me and flew off across the highway, where it amazingly landed on the back of its mate! Unfortunately I didn't get a very good picture, but it was quite an aerobatic feat.

Las Ballenas Gris (The Grey Whales)

Thursday we rolled into Guerrero Negro, which is on the west coast in northern Baja California Sur. After having a quick lunch, we drove out to Laguna Ojo de Liebre, which is down a 20 mile dirt road.

Laguna Ojo de Liebre is a protected area and a World Heritage site, and each year several thousand Grey Whales make their way down from Alaska to calve and mate.

One of the biggest surprises throughout the trip is the lack of tourists in most of the places we’ve visited on the peninsula. Ojo de Liebre was no exception. At the edge of the lagoon sits a nice little restaurant with an outdoor dining area facing the water. Though there was seating for probably 100 people, there were only five or six visitors when we arrived. Since there were so few people, we were able to charter a panga for just the two of us and a guide. Except at the very end of the boat ride, we were the only people on the entire lagoon.

The tide was out when we set off in the boat, so the first part of the trip involved wading out about 50 feet to the panga. The water was fairly warm but probably a bit too chilly for swimming in.

As we rode the boat to the primary whale-watching area, we passed some sea lions and a school of porpoises. The porpoises were beautiful, playful, and larger than I expected. One rode our bow wake for a little while.



We picked a perfect day to go out, as the weather was cool but not cold, and the air was so still that much of the lagoon looked like a sheet of glass.

Very soon after we started spotting whale spouts on the horizon we were actually among them. Most of the whales we saw had a calf with them. Apparently the pregnant females arrive earlier than the other whales. I guess that most of the calves we saw were only a few weeks old.



The whales were incredibly tolerant of the boat, especially considering they were caring for newborns. There were a few times we felt guilty as it became obvious that we were badgering a single whale for to long. Overall though our guide was very respectful of the whales and didn’t do anything that would be considered too aggressive or inflammatory.



Sometimes the whales definitely showed a curiosity about us. You could see them peering at us through the murky water as they swam by, and sometimes they would roll on the surface and stare at us. There was also some spy-hopping going on, which seemed pretty incredible to me considering their vast size and the shallowness of the lagoon.





The highlight of the day was when a mother and calf swam directly below the bow of the boat, just a few feet below us. Most of the pictures didn’t really come out well since I was jumping around in excitement. Apparently Robin and I both had the urge to jump in with the whales at that point.





More photos can be seen here.

These words and pictures don’t do the experience justice. It was simply incredible. It’s a tragedy that these whales are still being hunted in certain parts of the world.

Shrines

Shrines are everywhere in Baja. From the simple cross dedicated to the passing of a loved one, to the elaborately adorned mini chapels dedicated to saints – you can’t travel more than 5 kilometers along Highway 1 with out seeing one. Often there are clusters of them along the road marking particularly “unlucky” spots where many people seem to have died. The highway shrine itself is not at all foreign to me, as you see them from time to time in the US marking the spot where someone lost their life, but these are different. The elaborate detail with which they are constructed, the continued care they are shown, and most of all, the sheer number of them along the highway are like nothing I have ever seen.

We visited a shrine dedicated to the Virgin of Guadalupe (one of many) right off the highway. It was in the midst of a sea of graffiti covered boulders and cactus, surrounded by large piles of broken, discarded prayer candles in decorated glass jars. There were several candles burning in the shielded compartment below the shrine, and new silk flowers around the alter. The old faded flowers lay scattered along the desert floor, intermixed in the piles of shattered candle holders. The fragmented glass showed vibrantly colored images of the virgin, cartoonish looking children, and even the pope.



I wondered about the people who visited this shrine. Did they make a special trip to this out of the way location, or were they travelers who carried prayer candles with them stopping at the shrines as they came to them? What did they think as they removed someone else’s prayer candle to make room for theirs? Did they see it as a revered object of someone else’s prayer and place it carefully on the growing pile outside, or did they toss it nonchalantly? Seeing intense reverence and the blatant disrespect in such close proximity was not unusual in Baja, but this was probably the place where I was first intensely aware of it.



The shrines to loved ones killed in accidents range from extremely simple to outrageously fantastic. Each of the towns we visited had shops were memorial wreaths were well stocked in vibrant silk flowers of all different hues. Some of these shrines have been constructed on very narrow dangerous curves and I wonder how the people managed to get there and build the shrine in the first place without being killed themselves. And how do they visit these shrines in dangerous places?

One of the most common forms of shrines is a spirit house like the one pictured here. They come in all different shapes and sizes and usually have prayer candles inside. This particular one had a jug of water (maybe for the plants?) and a candle.



This shrine is kind of a combo – it is to memorialize someone who died, but features a prominent statue of the Virgin of Guadalupe. Notice the locked storage area underneath. I wonder if the people who visit this shrine also visit the person’s grave site. Is the site where they died more important because that is where they believe the spirit left the body?





This is one of the strangest shrines I saw – a cement cactus. This one left me with a lot of questions too.

El Hotel

The following was composed Jan 23:

Our dreams of lying on sun drenched beaches have been destroyed. We left Guerro Negro after a night filled with wind, cold, and rain and headed south - convinced that it would get warmer. Well, it has improved, from highs around 42* to highs around 52*. Not even close to sun bathing weather. People are walking around in thick coats, hats, scarves, and even gloves.

We are now in La Paz, about 4 hours north of Los Cabos. We spent the night here last night and then traveled south today around the tip of the peninsula and back. Neither of us had ever been to Cabo and we found it was not really what we were looking for. If we had been at one of the all inclusive resorts ordering margaritas and lazing around, I could have stayed, but this is not that kind of trip.

The hotels we have been staying in are typical Mexican hotels, not the tourist ones. The buildings here are built out of cinder blocks with re-bar supports and then covered in concrete. Some of the older ones include brick work, but most are of the cinder block variety and all aim at keeping the occupants as cool as possible with high ceilings, tile/linoleum floors, some with ceiling fans or old window box air conditioners, and of course, no insulation. It’s been really great because they are generally clean and cheap, but we are definitely glad we have our sleeping bags or we would freeze. The biggest problem we have had is finding cheap hotels with off-street parking in the bigger towns. When all you own is in your vehicle, you get a little nervous about where to leave it overnight.

Last night we paid 350 pesos (about 35 USD) for a one star hotel - a typical older, run- down place, but more expensive due to the fact that that it was in La Paz, which is the capital of Baja California Sur, and within walking distance of the malecon (waterfront).

Tonight we discovered something new, the “love hotel”. Love Hotels are not intended for typical tourists, but rather for secretive meetings. They are located on the outskirts of large towns and totally surrounded by a big wall. Each room actually has its own garage so that your car can not be seen by casual observers – perfect secured parking! This place is extremely nice by US standards as far as amenities, and quite luxurious after the places we have been staying.

They have both “regular” rates (about 5 hours worth) and nightly rates - we spent 450 pesos for the night (about 45 USD). I am writing this while lying in the new king sized bed. John is sitting in one of the leather chairs over at the table and watching cable TV (mostly in Spanish). There is a soft amber glow to the room caused by the recessed lighting in the ceiling dome.

The strangest thing is that they have this kind of wooden turnstile “window” where a delivery person can place your order and you can pay without them being able to see you. No mildew smell, no cold and muddy tile floors, no squeaky beds and screaming neighbors – I am feeling really spoiled.

Llanteria

We managed to get a bolt in our tire while driving through a new development area outside of Loreto. We drove the 4 miles into town and stopped at the first llanteria (tire repair place) we found - a fancy one that also sold Firestone tires. The guys had our tire repaired and back on our truck in about 10 minutes and it cost us.....30 pesos - that's 3 USD. Unbelieveable. In the states - it would have taken an hour and cost us at least $25. Since we had no idea how much it would be we were quite taken aback and extremely pleased. John was giddy. I kid you not - he was so happy about the easy and cheap fix for our tire that he was fairly skipping. :)

I am working on a few posts right now offline - will have something interesting for you tomorrow!

Still Headed South

We are in Loreto and headed south - here are a few pictures to hold you over until we get a good wireless signal again.

San Diego Zoo
Shipwreck on the beach

California Adventures

California is in the midst of the coldest temperatures they have seen in 30 years. There was snow and ice through much of Northern and Central California as we went through and it was a cool 56* here in San Diego yesterday. Over 80% of the total winter citrus crop has been lost so far. Hundreds of thousands of people are affected who have jobs in farming, packing, processing, and trucking. Governor Schwarzenegger has declared an emergency and they are anxiously watching the trees to see how badly they were damaged. Previous cold snaps have ruined the current crops, but not lasted long enough to freeze the trees themselves, this one is different. It has already been colder and stayed colder than in previous instances and people are deeply concerned.

Having never driven through the central valley of California I was amazed at the scale of the agricultural operations. Yes, I know they call it the salad bowl, and of course I was aware of how much of our food comes from this area, but it’s one of those things that you can’t really understand until you have seen it. We drove for miles along endless seas of trees. They stretched toward the hills beyond our line of sight in orderly rows that seemed so precise we were convinced they laid them out by GPS. Most of the area we went through was planted in nut trees and vineyards, but we passed an occasional orange or avocado grove and thousands upon thousands of well furrowed fields waiting to be planted. There were also huge numbers of cattle. Some were basic feed lots growing beef cattle, but many had huge milking sheds at least a kilometer in length. We got used to seeing the huge mounds of manure covered over by white plastic and studded by old tires and rims pushed through to hold the plastic down on the pile. Milking sheds and manure piles are common in both Texas and Washington, but the scale here was just unimaginable.

We went south and then west from Modesto and crossed through Pacheco pass where we stopped at Casa de Frutas. Casa de is actually a large roadside complex with
Casa de Restaurant
Casa de Wines
Casa de Carousel
Casa de Hotel
Casa de Train

Casa de Diesel
Casa de….

It was campy and fun, not too crowded, and we bought great dates and oranges. We did not eat at the restaurant, but they apparently used to have a waiter there who was famous for cup flipping. Just the type of thing you look for in a roadside attraction.
We tried to visit another roadside attraction we read about just west of Gilroy that consisted of "circus trees" - trees that had been woven and twisted and pretty much trained to grow in very freaky ways, but apparently it is located inside of an amusement park that is closed for the season.

I did have a bit of luck coming out of Gilroy though, I spotted money on the side of the road. Of course, it was a fake, huge $1000 bill printed only on one side, but still it was money, kind of, sort of, ok - not really.

We saw another type of cash crop in the more desolate land between the mountains in the west and the really fertile central valley - oil. Every once in a while we would drive over a rise and see huge fields of oil wells. Not as plentiful as I remember from Texas, and the pumps themselves weren't as large, but it was still a bit jarring to see them there right after passing an orchard.

When we finally made it to the beach in Oceanside it was a chilly 60*, but we went for a walk anyway. The sand there is studded with tiny gold colored flecks and the whole beach shimmered in the late afternoon sun. It was not the warm sunny beach we had been anticipating, but it was still warmer than Seattle.

We're Off!

We have left Seattle! We are homeless and jobless (mostly).

My last day at work consisted of cleaning out my cube and then teaching a class on ReportNet from 10-4. No one from my team, and very few people in general were in the office due to the snow and ice so it was a bit weird - no one really to say goodbye to. I will still be doing some work remotely for the next few weeks trying to help out my replacement (who isn't official yet), so I am unemployed, but not really.

John spent yesterday getting people to pick up the rest of our furniture (sold on Craig's list) taking the left-over junk to Goodwill, and sending the last boxes of "to keep" stuff to his parents in Colorado. Then he packed up the remaining stuff and put it all in the Jeep to make sure it fit. I think we will end up shedding things as we go along. We have:
* box of books/electronic connectors
* "kitchen" box for road food
* box with tools and coats
* medium suitcase with ALL of our clothes
* small suitcase to take in each night with next day's clothes and toiletries

* dufflebag full of camping stuff

* big camera and pillows
* backpacks for our laptops

We slept on the floor of the apartment last night on our thermarests and sleeping bags after doing the final cleaning and sorting. This morning we got up and said goodbye to a cold and snowy Seattle. We headed to the Starbucks for our last latte and off we went.

We are off to see the world!

Yes, my friends, the long awaited time is near. John and I are selling and giving away as many of our possessions as possible and we are hitting the road this Saturday. We have purchased a ’99 Jeep as our travel vehicle, having decided after I broke both arms in July that motorcycles were not such a good idea after all.

The Plan:
We will be heading out along Highway 101 toward Mexico, stopping along the way wherever we decide to stop. We are planning a definite trip to the zoo in San Diego, and then it’s off to Baja to do some whale watching. We will hang out in Baja for a little over a week, then make our way across to Texas to visit relatives on our way to New Orleans for Mardi Gras. A possible trip to Washington DC comes after that, and then MAYBE on to Florida to enjoy a little sun and witness a space shuttle launch (depending on NASA’s schedule). Next – relative visits in Kansas, Colorado, and Texas before getting back to Mexico.

Be warned – these plans are tentative and will, of course, change. We should be in Guanajuato, Mexico by the beginning of April and spend a few weeks there in language school. Then it’s off toward the coast, through Belize, and into Guatemala where we will spend some more time in language school and then spend a few weeks volunteering at a coffee collective before enjoying the rest of Central America. We will have to ship the Jeep across to Ecuador from Panama as there is an expanse of jungle there called the Darien Gap that has no roads across it. We are thinking about flying into Columbia and then to Ecuador to meet our vehicle as we would like to visit Columbia, but it isn’t really safe to drive cross country there. Then it’s off to the Galapagos Islands for a week or so.

We are meeting friends in Peru in October(?) and then continuing down the west coast of South America, with a side trip to Easter Island, until we reach Tierra Del Fuego. At that point we will have traveled from the tip of North America (Prudhoe Bay, Alaska on motorcycles in June/July ’06) to the tip of South America (Tierra Del Fuego, Argentina).

From there, the plan is to continue up the east coast of South America into Brazil and up through the Amazon. At that point, the plan is fuzzy. We are not sure which continent we will tackle next, but you can be certain it will be interesting.

Work:
John quit Microsoft in September and had an adventure of his own on his motorcycle before coming back to Seattle in late November. He will be working on independent software projects while we are on the road.

My last day at work is Friday, January 12th. I will be doing occasional consulting jobs for my company while we are on the road. This includes some material development and a bit of client training now and then when they need me and I am close enough to be flown to the client site without a huge airfare bill. This will help a bit with costs, but we will mostly be relying on our retirement savings until it all runs out and we have to go back to work.

Contact:
You can track our progress, read our blog, and view pictures here and leave us comments!!

If you have friends in one of the areas we will be visiting who would enjoy hanging out with gringos and playing tour guide – please let us know!

Interested in joining us while we are on the road? It would be really fun to meet old friends in far away places. Track our progress on the website and when you get that travel itch – send us an email and book a ticket!

Documentero

I haven't even reached Latin America yet and I've been overwhelmed by the system.

The jeep I bought before Christmas had a bank lien against it. So after I paid the guy for the jeep and took possession of it, he went down to pay off his loan. The bank called to let me know they were sending the documentation to the state licensing department and that I could pick up my title after 10 working days at one of their offices.

Today I went to the licensing office, waited in line for 45 minutes, and was told there was no such transaction in the system. Their suggestion was to go to the other licensing office closer to the location of the vehicle purchase, so I drove 20 miles out there and stood in line for another 45 minutes.

From what I could divine (the paper-pushers weren't too forthcoming), the bank sent the paperwork to the state offices in Olympia, and put the title in the name of the guy I bought the jeep from. The title is effectively frozen until that paperwork (hopefully) reaches him, at which point I have to do the title transfer again.

The problem is that we're leaving for Mexico in 9 days. Oh, and I can't take the vehicle into Mexico without being the owner (well, there are some ways around that, but they are painful). This doesn't leave much of a margin for everything working out to a happy ending. We'll see.

On a brighter note, I had a nice conversation with 3 unrelated people while standing in line. We talked for about a half an hour about travelling, mining, panning for gold, working in the Peace Corps, living in Mexico, and a whole slew of other topics. I'm finally learning to open up a bit and chat with strangers.