April 10, 2007

Playa Santispec (quattro)

Beach Living Continues


Yesterday was a day of exploration. Beginning with a drive up a cobbled road to the top of a mini-mountain where a microwave tower overlooked the bahia, we enjoyed the view.



The road was about ¾ mile long and every rock had been hand laid, I suspect by persons in custody doing a little hard time. Good craftsmanship, nonetheless.

Next was Mulege, a town devastated by rains following last fall’s hurricane. After the hurricane fizzled, the storm hung over the mountains, dumping 20 inches of rain in 20 hours, causing major flooding from the river that bisects the town. Many of the roads are still a mess. Other than that, it was an interesting town, with very narrow streets, a town square and the usual souvenir shops.
















We lunched at El Patron, at the end of a long, dusty, rutty road, nestled on the shoreline. Fish soup at 100 pesos apiece was scrumptious—the best lunch of the trip. A fine gravel floor and a bottle of Corona added to the ambiance as we looked out on the bahia.

Next, a short drive and then a climb to the lighthouse, where we were able to look ‘upriver’ viewing the path of the river that ravaged Mulege.



About 8 of the rigs remain on the beach—the others have departed for the RV park in Mulege. We will likely join them because we have a group dinner scheduled in Mulege tonight, plus the fact that we need to top off the gas tank, and we don’t want to hassle that in the a.m. So, we will be beach bums until about 2, then push a few buttons and be on the road.

Some observations on our beach experience at Santispec:

The hordes of Mexican families who were here when we arrived were an extremely well-behaved bunch of people. Had such a number of norteamericans gathered on a beach during a warm, holiday weekend, it would be a series of drunken brawls, blasting boomboxes and foul-mouthed teens. The Mexicans conducted themselves impeccably, went to bed by 10, and the kids were respectful of their parents, evidence of the strong family structure still present in the culture. We respected the fact that this was their beach and their holiday and tried not to crowd them or intrude. There were certain sanitary issues which I have already commented on, and the ATV road races, but other than that, these were good neighbors while they were here.

In general, we have found the Mexicans to be warm and friendly, and at no time have we felt any threat to safety of person or property, whether walking city streets late at night, or driving dusty country roads during the day. Always good to count your change, though.