I’ve just returned from some time off. In fact, I finally made a trip to my favorite place in Baja, Mexico, a trip that we had cancelled three times due to COVID. I had some real concerns about going: COVID for sure, and even just the process of getting there. Face it, air travel has become treacherous in the last couple of years. All in all, I needed to make this trip and it went better than I had hoped, although not without some bumps. Reflecting upon my experience, I want to share with you 6 things I learned while travelling.
Expect the unexpected. As the trip approached, I was expecting to see some changes, at least in our flight. After seeing how air travel had changed during the pandemic, I was keeping my expectation low. I was surprised to find out 2 months before my trip that somehow the casita I’d booked a year ago for three weeks got double booked during the middle week. I contacted my host and we ended up having to move to a different casita for that week. That turned out to be significant.
My airline changed my itinerary 3 times in the weeks before the trip, requiring some changes to our stay.
Then, there was a fishing guide we signed up with that we have wanted to try for a long time. He showed up the day before and told us, yep, we were overbooked, so he wouldn’t be taking us out, but would set us up with a relative who would. This segues nicely into…
Go with the Flow. The second casita had two levels with bedrooms downstairs and kitchen/living upstairs. I managed to injure my knee by missing a step on the slick tile stairs going down. That had a big impact on our stay as we don’t rent a car there, we walk, usually several miles daily. Well, that was curtailed a bit. I found the equivalent of an ACE wrap there (i.e. plain gauze wrapped tightly) and curtailed non-essential walking. More pool time for me!
The guide we went out with got us into fish, but he could not gaff a fish. That meant Bruce lost a big dorado because the guide knocked it off the line while repeatedly trying to gaff it. We still came home with plenty of other fish.
There is something to be said for being flexible and patient. While my knee injury was a big drag, being able to relax and modify our activities and expectations made for a peaceful time, nonetheless.
Change is the constant. This was our first time back in 3 years. Things in town were different. Some of our favorite tiendas and restaurants were gone. We found some new places. Staff at our facility changed, we made new friends with the new staff. The airports were all under construction, so getting around to our terminals and to customs was different. We managed to get our connections OK. While we don’t like change, sometimes it leads to new experiences and new friendships.
We booked time on this trip to be there for their Dia de los Muertos celebration. 3 years ago, there was a stage in the plaza with folklorico dancers and music, ofrendas, and food booths brimming with local delights. This year they decorated the square. I enquired at the info center and they said there was a celebration at 6 pm. When we went there, there was nothing. I was disappointed, but we had a quiet night with a nice meal out anyhow.
People are still lovely. As always, I was impressed by the willingness of people to help, to share and just be friendly. It is common for the locals to greet us while we walk through town. A smile and salutation go a long way in simply showing regard for one another. Folks put up with my terrible Spanish- helping me to learn and correcting my incorrect tense. They share their stories –as when I saw a mounted head of a large boar in this guy’s carport. I tentatively asked what it was. Turns out a tourist shot a 420# boar and this gentleman was a taxidermist who preserved it. Remarkable work. That sucker had tusks. People were patient as they explained things to me, and had a great sense of humor. They appreciated my effort to speak in their language, and my curiosity about their culture and customs.
It’s a small world. Really, really small. There I was, sitting in Mexico, talking to a gal from the casita next door who lives in Alaska, telling me a story about meeting the daughter of her doctor from when she lived in Hawaii while she was in Peru. As it turns out, her doctor’s other daughter is a doctor I’ve worked with here in Oregon! And I’ve taken her doctor, T. Dilcher, salmon fishing here in Oregon. (Kanani, if you are reading this, I am talking about YOU!). But wait, there’s more. After we got home, I got an email from this gal, telling me she was talking to a good friend of hers from nearby Coos Bay, who knows us from a lapidary club, and whose family member was once my patient. Tiny? Yeah.
Our other “neighbor” down there is the cousin of a gal Bruce grew up with in California. They got on the phone and contacted her and had fun recalling each other. Honestly, we are so connected in this world! It truly is just one big web that we’re all in. Everything we do affects us all.
I am blessed. There is something to be said about seeing how others live. We do take oh-so-much for granted up here. Walking down there is a 4-wheel-drive sport. If you do not watch your feet as you walk you can break an ankle on the rebar or bolts sticking up in the middle of the sidewalk or the gaping hole in the water meter cover. We have safe and clean city water and don’t have to have water trucked in. We can order something off Amazon if we can’t find it locally. We can trust something to show up in our mail system. We have national laws that enforce food safety and health. The list goes on. I am fortunate to have lived in a way that affords me some travel so I can see the world about me and experience the lives and generosity of others. And I find these experiences enrich my life in unexpected ways.
I hope that you all have the chance to travel and see new things and make new friends.
Next up – well, I am not sure. I’ll have another topic in a couple weeks. Please join me then.
Wonderful read! Thank you for sharing