Sunday, December 16, 2007

Cabo, Part 3 -- The Flora





Cabo is a unique microhabitat for a diverse array of flora, readily evident even to the casual botanist like me....a huge array of succulents and cacti (saguaro, candelabra etc) in the flatlands and foothills of Baja peninsula give way to various types of palms (dates, royals) and other small salt-loving plants as you slope down to the Sea of Cortez. Its quite beautiful and in some ways unexpectedly lush. Theres also a local legend called the salt wood tree, which I believe is a species of banyan tree so common all over Asia. Apparently, the root system of this tree favors soil with high levels of salt, and the circulatory system actually processes the salt and eliminates through its leaves. Note to self: dont park your shiny new car under a salt wood tree because the secretions will eat through the paint in less than a month. MORE PICS COMING SOON

Friday, December 14, 2007

Cabo, Part 2 -- The Fish Story




Second day...on a fishing boat called a panga skippered by an effusive, arm-waving Italian industrialist who now lives in Los Barriles. Note to self: never get on a small boat with a guy who takes his sport fishing too seriously. Andrew and I caught two 12-15 pound tunas within the first hour of fishing. Then several bites but no real action for a couple of hours. And suddenly I'm locked in this 30 minute death struggle with a type of dolphin known locally as a dorado for its preternatural golden sheen. truth be told it also has strong dashes of red, turquoise green and ice blue. but doradorojoaquaazulado, mercifully, was deemed far to difficult for gringos to pronounce. The fish was so damned strong he nearly tipped me over a couple of times, and actually dragged me from one side of the boat to the other as he struggled to break the line and I simply to hold on and not fall in the Sea of Cortez. We werent using a harness, so the butt of the fishing rod was jammed into that tender flesh north of pubic and south of abs. If you dare, gaze on the picture above, but be warned...the sight of my bruised self is not for the faint of heart. But the fish sure is pretty, aint it? I thought so too and it was a total gift being so close to something so beautiful and powerful. Even as the noble beast was chewing through the fishing line. Ah, but not our obsessive Captain Guido Ahab...nope not him. Ive never seen a grown man so pouty and disappointed in broad daylight. I think he was mad at me, but he was also shaking his fist at the open sea, swearing some sort of unholy vengeance straigh out of a novel. Strange to be sure, but it didnt impact my sense of elation not in the least Im happy to report...

Meditate and Destroy!!!



So get back from Los Barriles in Mejico and found this excellent little gift (from me) in the mailbox. I just love my new Meditate and Destroy t-shirt and all it stands for...to see more about the folks who masterminded this little gem of consumerism check out the Dharma Punx web site:
www.dharmapunx.com

G

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Cabo, Part 1-- Dogs and Dozers



Just back from 8 days in a little rustic town about 45 minutes north of San Juan de Cabos called Los Barriles. Yup that means The Barrels for hapless gringos and gringas like us. Its a sleepy little place, formerly the exclusive haunt of red-faced, big-bellied fisherman hell-bent on wholesale slaughter of marlin. Nowadays its more of an adventure travel destination with incredibly lean muscular teens from the US, Brazil, Italy --doing unbelievable things on kiteboards and windsurfers -- sharing the limelight with said rednecks. And then there's the latest generation of American vacation home colonizers, now it's the 40 something year olds' turn to invade Mexico. Ahhh, the joys of a global economic upturn as it trickles down to the Third World...

Los Barriles is rampant with new residential and commercial building, road construction, street paving and general mayhem all done in the name of civic beautification and the almighty gringo greenback. Amen. Amen. Streetlights are even going up on the main streets where you wouldnt have seen a thing at night previously if not for the accidental neon burnish of a few tourist bars and restaurants. And most telling of all there are slightly bemused workers painting crosswalks on streets. Unfortunately, the behaviors of local drivers haven't caught up to the good intentions of Los Barriles bureaucrats...no one actually stops when youre in the supposed safety of the hash marks. Which phenomenon I learned the hard way...

And such hard-won wisdom isnt confined to yours truly. The stray dogs or "pie dogs" (as they say in Asia) laze about the streets and sidewalks in search of shade. Some of the large bullying breeds actually snooze in the streets or even in the freshly minted crosswalks, daring pedestrians and drivers alike to make them move. Which they generally do with souped up pickups bearing down on them. Yes, my friends, all is well in Los Barriles, and everything is as it should be. Same as it ever was, same as it ever was...

Monday, December 3, 2007