Sept 23, 2000

Back to Baja

Now that the dog days of August are over, Linda and I made our traditional fall return to
to Percebu one week late on Sat, 23 Sep. Leaving Yucca Valley at 5 a.m., arriving at the
OLD border crossing in downtown Calexico at 8:30. The high winds that were with us most of
the way from Yucca had disappeared and the weather was warm and pleasant. At the crossing
we were given a RED light and sent into secondary, but after a courteous and perfunctory
inspection we were on our way. No problems at either the Laguna Salada Army checkpoint or
the one at El Chinero, just waved us on through. Guess it's our great looks. After a brief
stop in San Felipe for essentials such as "La Cerveza Mas Fina", we got to Percebu at 12:30.
It was obvious that it had rained recently, which made cleaning up the accumulated blow sand
even more fun, but no complaints. We were back home. The weather was warmer than usual for
this late in September and there were very few residents on the hill, other than Dean and
Barbara to the south preparing their casa for the big birthday bash next Saturday, hers and
Jorge Lopez, Guadalupe's youngest son, who manages the campo on a daily basis. Sunday
we settled into our Baja routine of "trabajo de la casa en la manaña" and playing in the ocean
in the afternoon followed by cerveza later. A tough life, but we're strong enough to handle it.
Monday, we purchased a kilo of "Camarones Grandes" fresh from the ocean. Still
$16.00 per kilo. The beach price hasn't changed for a few years now. Anticipating we
would be seeing fisherman through the camp frequently, we never bought any in town,
but he was the last we saw. The weather remained warm and humid at times with little
breeze, probably because I had finally gotten my AIR 403 Wind Generator in place and
wired and was waiting for wind so I could test it's operation.
On Wednesday we headed into San Felipe to resupply essentials (Cerveza) and other
misc items. Mercado Horse just off of the traffic circle has become an excellent place
to find just about anything we need, including fresh produce and a great fresh meat
counter. I hadn't bought propane in town for quite awhile and was surprised to find
that it had gone up dramatically, higher than back in the U.S. Back in Percebu, we kept
our appointment with the ocean "en la tarde". Thursday Patti Lopez, came by to
invite us to a "small" party for Jorge at Steve and Maria's. Far more neighbors showed
up than anticipated, but we all had a great time well into the evening. The food was
superb, but that is to be expected. Amparo Lopez and the other family members are
great cooks. Saturday, 30 Sep the day of the big birthday bash next door. Dean
and Barbara spent all week getting their new casa ready for the party which started at 4 p.m.
The results were a resounding success, a great time had by all. "Comida muy buena y muchos
refrescos". We pooped out around 9 p.m. Getting old, I guess. On Monday we drove into
town for more "essentials" and decided to drive out to Cantu's cove (Steve's beach), just north
around Punta El Machorro from San Felipe. In the late 70's this was my favorite place to stay
in San Felipe and the first stop Linda and I made on our honeymoon in 1981. We hadn't been out
there in maybe 15 years and were curious about how it might have changed. The biggest change was
the dozen or so brick houses that had been built there and the "oficina" where there was a $15.00
per day camping fee posted. Other than that, it is still a secluded, peaceful cove. There was only
one couple on the beach. The Palapas on a bluff above the beach where we had camped many times
were still there. This day turned out to be the warmest since arriving. At noon the temp was 92 and
the humidity 70 %. The usual fall weather sure was late in making it's appearance.
Tuesday finally saw some change in the weather. Cooler, with scattered clouds coming up from
the South. By Noon the clouds had thickened and the wind increased, finally spinning up
my Wind Generator. IT WORKED. SHAZAAM. Got up above 10 amps charge at times. At 2:00
p.m. it started to sprinkle and by 3 we actually got some rain. Not much. By Wednesday a.m.
the weather system was gone and the previous pattern back. Thursday brought more wind, but
nothing else. It made the water much cooler, down into the mid 70's from the low 80's earlier in
the week, but still OK, except for Linda. She prefers it bathtub warm. I finally got my Trace
2500 watt AC inverter wired up and it sure was a pleasure to run a power drill or soldering gun
without starting one of the gas generators. Friday we started packing up to head back to
Yucca Valley on Saturday. The weather was finally settling in to the Fall pattern we were
used to. Just in time for the Columbus Day weekend. All of the "touristas" will be coming back
starting with this week. After an uneventful trip back to the "Estados Unidos" on Saturday, we
arrived back in YV at 7 p.m. Now it's time to get ready for our return for Halloween and
"El Dia de Los Muertos". Also, Jorge and Patti's Anniversary. Always a great fun
time with all of "Los Ninos" coming around for treats and a great fiesta at the Cantina.

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October 31, 2000

Víspera de Todos Los Santos

Linda , Red and I headed south Saturday at 6:15 a.m. Cold (40 deg) and clear morning. Looking
forward to warm Baja weather. Arriving at the border, we drove through the "No Declaracion"
since we didn't have much aside from personal items "y dulces por los niños". Of course, we were
given a red light and sent to secondary inspection. Once there, we accepted an option to pay
"un impuesto" for whatever we might have in excess of our personal exemptions.
After a relaxed and uneventful cruise south, we arrived in San Felipe just past noon to find lots
of standing water and mud on some of the streets. The storm that had barely touched us in Yucca
Valley while flooding Southern Arizona, had also hit Baja hard. There was considerable highway
erosion from flooding waters and at the highway turnoff before the airport a portion of the road
was gone completely, but there was a road crew at work filling the void. After a short wait, we
were allowed through. The remainder of the road on to Percebu was severely eroded in places, but
passable. Arriving in Percebu, we found some severe erosion in places, but only slightly in our yard.
Dean and Barbara told us that it had rained for 12 hours straight with lots of high wind. Although we
found some evidence of roof leaks in our old trailer, we were pretty lucky overall. The weather
was clear and calm, but a little cool (68 deg). We decided that the swimming season might be over.
Our days (Sunday to Tuesday) were spent visiting with friends, working on repairs and adding
some new shelves to accomodate a doubling of our battery capacity from 1100 Ampere hours.
Unlike our previous trip, vendors showed up every morning selling "Camarones" and other
foodstuffs, including fresh fruits and vegetables. We gorged daily on fresh fried shrimp.
Tuesday, just before dark, the trucks filled with "niños" showed up for their treats. We had
brought so much candy and other treats that we still had a huge surplus left after they were all gone.
We took the remainder down to the fiesta at the Cantina in the evening. A great gathering of
the Lopez family and many of the camp residents. As usual, Linda and I were probably the first to
leave, having to prepare for our departure in the a.m., but we had a great time. Except for one day
of overcast and a brief, very light rain the weather was perfect. One more perfect trip.

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May 30, 2001

This page has been suffering from neglect for quite awhile now. Halloween was the last trip that
was chronicled. Missing since then are Thanksgiving week, Christmas and Presidents Day. not to
mention numerous trips in March, April and May (including Cinco de Mayo). In fact, for the first
time ever, I spent more time in Baja during February to May 2001 than in the Estados Unidos.
Cinco de Mayo is our Percebu anniversary and we have managed to spend at least a long
weekend around that date in Percebu every year since 1982. This year it was 10 days. Typically,
the weather was Perfect, albeit far warmer than usual for early May. Highs in the mid 80's
with two days reaching into the mid 90's. Fortunately, the humidity remained moderate and the
water temp was also in the 80's. With all that and Cerveza Fria, who could ask for more ?
The beach crowd was smaller than usual for that holiday and unusually quiet, for which we were
grateful. Linda especially enjoyed the week since May 10 is Mothers Day in Mexico and Sunday
was the U.S. Mothers Day. Double the fun with many celebrations (and presents) for Mom.
We are in the process of building a room addition to our trailer home and we enjoyed watching
the brick walls going up a little higher each day. The walls were just about finished as we left.
Martes, 22 de Mayo I headed back alone to Percebu to transport some doors and windows for
our room addition. The weather had warmed up to mid-July temperatures, hitting over 100 in the
lower deserts. I drove my Ford Ranger to save on gas and really missed not having A/C on the
road. At the Mexicali border crossing, I pulled straight into the Declaracion line, Paid my
duty and headed South. The entire trip was uneventful. There is now only one Army checkpoint,
located at El Chinero and I was waved on through. The extensive highway construction just
above there was mostly finished. Arriving in Percebu at Noon, I found it HOT and HUMID, mid
80's and 80 percent humidity. Each day was about the same, with little wind, but the water was
still comfortable at 88 - 91. I found my new walls finished, but the rest of the concrete work
had not been started and the workers had gone on to another job up the hill. No complaints. The
work should be done by the time I return in June (I hope). I spent the a.m. working on small jobs
and the p.m. swimming in the ocean. A hard life. Jueves, 24 de Mayo, my neighbors, Carol
and Ernie, invited me to share dinner with their family. An excellent meal with great company.
They have been in Percebu for 30 years and it was great fun to share stories.
On our previous trip in May, we had brought down a Suzuki Samurai to play with and it's
been great so far. It's a shame that trial lawyers and incompetent drivers killed it in the U.S. It's
successor (Sidekick) is bigger, heavier and more expensive, but harder for Morons to roll over. It
sure makes it nicer driving down to the beach (especially at low tide) in the Hot weather. Best of
all, it handles the deep sand at a slow pace. As I get older, I find slower more comfortable.
In the morning, on Sabado, 26 de Mayo, I left for home to spend the holiday with Linda and
Red Dog, missing the big Memorial Day Poker Run scheduled to begin at Noon. By then, the
beach was PACKED with no room left and there was a steady stream of vehicles coming in from
San Felipe, which also seemed to be filled to capacity. After a quick stop to add money to my Baja
Cellular account, I headed for El Norte. All the way to Mexicali, the road was a steady stream
of vehicles heading South. It appeared that San Felipe and Rancho Percebu were in for some
raucous nights. After this, the crowds should get thinner and thinner. Some of our most enjoyable
evenings have been spent in July, when the heat has settled in and the crowds have gone. Time to get
ready for the next trip south on June 10th.