So what is Baja?

Well it's been a whirlwind week here on our epic off-road adventure down the length of the Baja peninsula.  As you know if you have been reading the blog, I have tried to give pretty good descriptions of the types of trails, roads, and towns that we have been on and through.  However, I haven't spent much time talking about the desert flora and fauna, the people, the cooking... the things that make this land unique and wonderful.

One of the first things we learned is that because the plants hold the water in this harsh desert climate, they have evolved defenses to keep hungry animals from eating them.  This means that every plant in Baja was trying to hurt us.  Spines are the defense of choice for most plants and they are SHARP.  Almost all of us experienced at least a few of these painful reminders of even slight trail mistakes - especially Chris.

Danger aside, the plant life in Baja is amazing and diverse. The giant Saguaro and Cordon cactus grow to 50 feet tall at the rate of only an inch a year.  They are the cacti that everyone envisions when they think about the old west or the desert - heck even that tall, dark giant that I am using as a background pic for this blog is a Saguaro.  They are kind of like a woody tree and woodpeckers drill into them to make nests.  In some places, so many of these giants grow that it's virtually a cactus forest.  Very impressive.

There are dozens of other cactus varieties that come in all shapes and sizes from the squat barrel varieties to the skinny, multi-branched cactus bushes (don't know the name) that hold their "tentacles" out in the path to snare careless passing dirt bikers - like Chris.  Lots of varieties that would take pages to describe in detail.  Harsh, dangerous, and very beautiful.

The endemic Cirios (Boojum trees) look a bit like a very tall, skinny cactus, but are a different plant altogether. Their trunks are perforated with millions of slots and holes, and, when dead and dry, the trunks become hollow.  As I said in a previous post, the natives fill the dried trunks with concrete and use them for pilings, posts, beams - all kinds of stuff.  They appear to be very strong.

Since we were all riding big, red, loud dirt bikes - and concentrating very hard on not falling down, we didn't really experience all of the wildlife of Baja.  But we did see some very cool animals and birds.  There were speedy little chipmunks running across the path every so often and we saw a few coyotes here and there - including the pack on the beach.  Both Isaac and I ran over a couple of snakes (unavoidably, we weren't trying to run them over) and at least one of them was a rattler.  Hardy, tough cattle and free-roaming horses are everywhere - and we learned that if you see one goat crossing the trail, SLOW DOWN.  There are twenty more right behind him.

The birds were fantastic.  At one water crossing, two Roadrunners were racing around on the rocks.  Very cool.  Several times I saw majestic Caracaras (crested, hawk-like birds of prey) perched on top of tall Saguaros - looking for prey, I guess.  White-winged Doves (like the Stevie Nicks song) are common in every town and village.  At our rancho lunch stop on day three we saw lots of multi-colored finches flitting from bush to bush, and at our hotel in Loreto, tiny metallic green Calliope Hummingbirds were feeding on red flowers by the fountain.  We raised flocks of Pelicans and sea gulls as we rode down the beach, while Magnificent Frigate Birds soared overhead.  At one point a beautiful Red-tailed Hawk, with a particularly vivid orange tail, seemed to be pacing me as I rode along the trail.

But it's the people of Baja that were such a surprise to me.  Proud, happy, warm, giving people...and no matter the age.  The teenagers were just as respectful and nice as their elders.  Hardly any graffiti or sign of "thugs" - and then, only in the cities.  The people of the countryside could not be more welcoming and we always felt completely safe.

The food we were served by these folks was nothing short of amazing.  In the U.S., most Mexican food is flavored with this very distinctive "Mexican spice" flavoring.  It doesn't matter if it's a Taco Bell or a regular "Mexican restaurant."  In the States it's what we think Mexican food should taste like, I guess.  But there's no sign of that "spice" in Baja.  It would be impossible to begin to describe all the different and wonderful flavors of their cooking.  They don't grow a tremendous amount of beef in the scrub and desert of Baja, but the fresh seafood is off-the-charts good.  And it is all prepared with absolutely fresh ingredients.  Everything is chopped, sliced, prepared, and cooked right when you order it.  No steamer tables of pre-prepared stuff.  It takes a little longer to get your food, but relax, it's worth it!

By contrast, today I had the opportunity to wander around in Cabo San Lucas.  Once you get past the beautiful water and gorgeous rock formations offshore, Cabo is like any generic resort city.  But worse.  In Cabo, everyone is on the make. You can't walk ten feet without being accosted by someone with their hand out trying to sell you something - drugs, drinks, fishing boat trips, food, hookers, massages, sombreros, jewelry, sunglasses... whatever.  I wasn't impressed.  Cabo is nothing like the rest of this beautiful peninsula.  Oh, the resort is beautiful, but you can KEEP the rest of Cabo.

You know, when we were kids in Jacksonville, Florida, there was a strip of land near our house that we called "Baja".  It was basically a long spoil island of sand dunes that ran about a mile out between the St. Johns River and Mill Cove.  My brothers and I would ride our dirt bikes out there on the trail that ran the distance along the spine of the dunes.  Sandy and hilly with some rocks thrown in for good measure - I guess it must have been practice for the adventure of a lifetime that we just completed.

But Baja is way more than a sandy, 1,000-mile-long spit of land jutting out from southern California.  Way more.  As I sit here in this very nice resort, I see lots of tourists who came here to Baja California Sur for the beach, the bars, the resorts, the shopping, the parasailing, the "Jeep excursions", the fishing, the hawkers, the hookers, etc.  They are having a wonderful time I guess, but most will never experience the real Baja.

The real Baja is six little kids in a tiny seaside fishing village smiling and laughing as they take turns sipping from a cold Coke bought for them by the gringo dirt bike riders.  The real Baja is enjoying a fantastic meal at an outdoor restaurant on the village square in San Ignacio, watching the local families strolling along, enjoying the cool, perfect evening.  The real Baja is three 70-year-old surfer dudes standing around in their wetsuits at Scorpion Bay, waiting for the tide to bring the long, breaking waves.  The real Baja is sitting under a palapa at a hotel/restaurant in Bahia de Los Angeles, enjoying some authentic home-made salsa and ice-cold Pacifico beers while the owner's one-eyed Great Dane begs for scraps.  The real Baja is a farmer working hard to scrape out a life on his little rancho far from civilization and happy to get some snack foods from passing dirt bikers.  The real Baja is a couple million happy, hard-working, friendly people, who would give you the shirt off their backs, even if it's all they have.  Because that's what hospitality means to them.

And I have found that the very best way to experience the real Baja is by dirt bike.  I continue to be stunned and amazed as I reflect on the incredible variety of places, views, missions, ranchos, animals, birds, plants, and cacti we have seen and all the incredibly welcoming people we have met in our short week here in Baja.  I can tell you one thing for sure:  I will be back.