Thursday, March 25, 2021

Baja Sunrise | Los Barriles, Mexico

ODOMETER: 84,770 | TOTAL MILES TRAVELED: 6,555

We have decided to settle in Los Barriles for a period of about 6 weeks. It is a beautiful place with camping right on the beach and gives us the ability to wait out the cold winter weather in the U.S. and complete a project we have been working on. Since we have established a routine, these blog posts will remain the same unless we take a special trip.

The sunrises are beautiful at the appropriately named “Baja Sunrise” campground so Grant and I often have our morning coffee on the beach. We loved doing the same thing at our house in Charlottesville, as it is an amazing way to get grounded, feel gratitude and start the day off on the right foot.

We often either paddleboard or take a walk on the beach before we head off for school and work. Since the WiFi at the campground is unreliable, we have found Playa del Sol, a quaint kiting resort about a mile down the beach with an outdoor coffee shop and great internet. It’s a lovely “walk to work” and they graciously allow us to sit there (as long as we buy food and drinks) from 9:30am until between 1:30 and 4pm for Jack and Stella to complete their virtual classes and for Grant and I to work on our project. The staff here is incredibly friendly and the food is excellent. We are slowly but surely developing a slight addiction to their soy lattes, zucchini bread and chicken tostadas.

There is also a “yoga by the sea” class here every Tuesday and Thursday which Grant and I have really been enjoying. A few times a week in the afternoons, we run/ride in the desert where we have discovered an amazing trail system. The rock gardens, steep grades and technical nature of the trails are challenging and in spite of consistently leading an active lifestyle, Grant and I are happily noticing an increase in our fitness. Run/rides are followed by a swim in the chilly ocean, which is always incredibly soothing and refreshing.

There is a fisherman named Juan whose boat is anchored off of our beach. About once a week, we buy about 2 kilograms of fresh fish from Juan, which we then eat for the rest of the week.

We get fresh produce from a local farmer’s market, an outdoor “stand” that is open daily from 7am to 11pm. It is usually supplied on Mondays, so we have learned that that’s the best day for produce. It is also seemingly operated by the same man, as we’ve never seen anyone else working there.

At the campground, we have gotten to know our neighbors, Heidi and Talon from Lake Tahoe. They have been here full-time for about 5 years, minus a couple of months they spend at Hood River, OR each summer. Talon is a retired pilot, an avid kiteboarder, mountainbiker and exerciser. At 62, his physique resembles that of Thor and Grant and I admire his dedication.

Heidi is the sweetest lady you can meet. Also very fit and beautiful, she takes care of the local kiters, constantly catching their kites and helping anyone that needs help with anything. She and Talon are a lot of fun and Grant and I enjoy sharing grilled fish with them at least once a week and it feels nice to be among new friends.

One night over a campfire on the beach, Talon told us a story about a plane crash he was involved in as a young pilot in the 80’s. He took a very long time to tell the story in as much detail as possible and during that time, you couldn’t hear a single peep from anyone else. We all sat in awe, jaws dropped and thought that it would make an amazing movie. It involved a Seneca plane captained by Talon, four other people, drug smugglers and the Haitian government. 3 people survived the fiery crash and if it wasn’t for Talon’s skills and leadership, the incident would have ended in complete tragedy.

We have come to love Los Barriles and it will be hard to leave when it’s time. It is a special community in a magical location that we have come to appreciate very much.

Travel with us:

Travel Diary

Travel

This is a daily log and photos of what we’re up to.

Sailing Tahiti to Australia | Leg 3: Bora Bora to Fiji Passage

Sailing Tahiti to Australia | Leg 3: Bora Bora to Fiji Passage

After having waited in French Polynesia for two and a half months, we excitedly sailed out of Bora Bora around 7:30 am on Saturday, September 4th. Like the rest of French Polynesia, Bora Bora was in COVID lockdown, and we had spent the last week waiting for our departure paperwork to go through all the requisite bureaucratic channels. This required multiple trips to the local gendarmerie (police station), where Grant quickly befriended the two kind and helpful officers, Alex and Bruno.

read more
Sailing Tahiti to Australia | Leg 2: Mo’orea to Bora Bora

Sailing Tahiti to Australia | Leg 2: Mo’orea to Bora Bora

It took us about 24 hours to get from Mo’orea to Bora Bora on August 28 2021. Like the rest of French Polynesia, Bora Bora was in COVID lockdown, and we spent a  week there waiting for our departure paperwork to go through all the requisite bureaucratic channels. This required multiple trips to the local gendarmerie (police station), where Grant quickly befriended the two kind and helpful officers, Alex and Bruno.

We made trips to get water, fuel and provisions, but apart from that we had to stay on the boat. We passed the time snorkeling (saw a giant moray eel!) and inventing new water sports.

Once we received our exit paperwork, we were finally free to leave for Fiji.

read more

Reflections

Reflections

These are our personal thoughts on some of our experiences.

How Big Is Too Big?

How Big Is Too Big?

Lessons From the Road | How Big Is Too Big?Does Our Built Environment Affect Our Relationships? The “Big Mac” symbolizes the belief that more is better. If one beef patty is good, wouldn’t two beef patties be better? Similarly, the colloquialism of the “McMansion”...

read more
Lessons from the Road | Less is More: Adventure over Stuff

Lessons from the Road | Less is More: Adventure over Stuff

Lessons From the Road | Less is More: Adventure Over StuffWe have been on the road for about four months, and while that’s a relatively short time, I think that some of the big lessons happen in the initial “adjustment period” of an experience like this. One thing is...

read more
My 10 Favorite Books of 2020

My 10 Favorite Books of 2020

My 10 Favorite Books of 2020Welcome to 2021! Most of us couldn't wait to see the back of 2020, looking forward to better times with hope and anticipation. If you are at all astrologically inclined like I am, you know that on December 21st, our world experienced a rare...

read more

Our Trip

Trip

Our Trip

Trip

Culture Nomads Travel Blog | Our Trip

HOME      ABOUT US       TRAVEL BLOG      CONTACT

Get in Touch:

1 + 6 =

TRAVEL WITH US!

We are currently sailing the South Pacific to Australia.

 

Thank you for joining us, have a great day!