Macho - the sailing goat!
I've never met a goat before, so I can truly say that Macho is in a class of his own.
Macho is the goat companion of a guy living on a nearby beach.
My neighbour and I had sailed his Hobie Cat over to visit another sailor and others on that beach and we go to meet Macho. Of course we had to stop at a little hotspring on the shore along the way. The tide was low, so there was not much water in the pool, but it was very warm!
He is just like a little dog, following his owner everywhere, and bleating if he is of sight for even a minute!
And he sails on the boat with him all the time! Today, it was decided that the two boats would sail over to yet another nearby beach, where there are even more Hobie Cat sailors living, but no more goats. We were out in some pretty good size swells in a good stiff breeze, but Macho takes it all in.
That evening, we all went out for happy hour and supper at a local restaurant, and the goat came along, and made himself quite at home, as long as he was with his owner!
Harley is in no danger of losing his job as fat cat, but Macho was certainly a character.

In the following photos, Macho is on the other boat with two other sailors!







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Well, look at that. The temperature looks warm in the sun, but this web-cam shot taken out my front window in LL a couple days ago shows there is still more than a little of that white stuff around. Good thing I am not there, as there is likely a lot of snow in the driveway, too.

Another beautiful day in paradise, but not much news to pass on.

Might go to a Chili baking contest in Mulege today, or, maybe not. We don't want to strain ourselves, now do we!
We have moved back from our isolated post on the far side of Bahia concepcion and are now in the relatively busy Santispac beach area.

Got to go sailing yesterday, and perhaps today on a Hobie Cat. (Click on any photo for a larger view).

The last two mornings have been calm right after sunrise, so I have been able to get in some good flights with the r/c helicopter. Even trying to get a snippet of video for you, but the internet here is, um, challenging, so that may have to wait!

Shorebirds on patrol shortly after sunrise, on a rising tide.



Found some Saskatchewanians at a nearby beach in some big, classy rigs, one complete with wind turbine.You can tell that they are homesick for blowing snow and ice fishing! (Sorry Marta!)

Don't you just hate it when the dolphins make too much noise and wake you up in the morning? I had finally found a 'rooster free' zone on the deserted east shore of the Bahia Concepcion and was looking forward to sleeping in!

Then there was this sound halfway between BJ going up a flight of stairs, and a rattling wagon coming down the road, mixed in with splashing sounds. So I had to get up to investigate, and saw this big pod of dolphins heading south down the bay.

I guess the lead dolphin was too proud to ask for directions, but I could have told him they were headed for dry land and a dead end. Sure enough, well after coffee and breakfast on the beach, they all came by going the other direction.

It was a large group and hard to estimate numbers, but I would say there were 1-200 of them in the bunch. One had seaweed stuck on his dorsal fin; I hope they had not gotten caught up in the fisherman's nets at that end of the bay?

It was calm out this morning, so no more excuse was needed to perform some manoeuvres with the CX-2 r/c helicopter that is along for times like this.

I am beginning to think that this is a fairly isolated spot I have found .

Two years ago when I was navigating an isolated section of coast south of San Felipe and Puertocitas, I had thought that area was deserted, when I only met another vehicle every 3 or four hours. But I have been in this area now for four days, and have yet to see a vehicle.

The hardships continue, I tell ya.

Ever tried using a laptop while lying in a hammock, on a beach? It's tough, I'll tell you. Then, just when you get it all set up and start to type, ... well, you look at that water, which is calm this morning, and decide that it is just begging to be snorkeled in.

So you do. Not that it was a great snorkeling location or anything, but sometimes you just have to do it for the team. Saw quite a number of fish, and a few bottom dwellers when I started to hear strange sounds.

Sure enough, the dolphins were back - still looking for a way out of the bay. They didn't come to close. I guess they were awed by my ability to splash about on the surface - having not thought to bring a weight belt to counteract the wet suit that I did bring.

So being all wet anyway, I decided to have a shower - especially because there would be no need out here to set up my elaborate tarp and truck door shower stall.

It struck me as only a little bit ironic that in Pismo Beach at the State campground, where I had paid to stay - and paid again for each minute of shower time, that the water was not hot enough.

Here, in the middle of nowhere where I am camped for free, on the beach, the water was too hot! But that is because I had left the shower bag on the hood of the truck till noon.

So, back to the hardship. I was just sitting down (laying down, actually, would likely be a more accurate description for a hammock?) once again to tell you about the tribulations (I think that is four syllables, Anders) of life here, when out of nowhere, a tribulation struck!

Laptop battery has expired! Now, I've had to get up, go find an extension cord, and run it out from the camper to the tree (the hammock is actually attached to both the camper and the tree), and turn on the power inverter before you can see these words.

My camper batteries are not tested that hard here, and are performing flawlessly. My little solar panel is peering up at the sun and just stuffing the batteries full of fresh little electrons. As we speak.

Unfortunately, you will not get to learn about these latest sacrifices I have made for you, until I decide to leave this idyllic life, and get back on the highway where there is some wi-fi.

Ha - your loss.

I really will have to get one of those satellite internet systems that you just plunk on a tripod down, aim it at the correct spot in the sky, and you are online.

If any dealers out there want to give me a free system, I promise to promote it shamelessly? With pictures!

I have managed to see a bit more wildlife since I have adopted the wait (in a hammock) and see attitude. I saw my first Mexican Mule Deer, a Common Loon (Gavia Immer)(for Garry!), some other loons, grebes, gulls, vultures, ravens, shorebirds, some raptors, and a little coyote trotting down the beach last night.

On the domestic side, a small band of cows came by to check me out. They did not look that tame, but most of them had ear tags, so I guess they belonged to someone.

One that came by later had a big chunk of cactus stuck to her side, so I guess even the local animals run afoul of the flora on occasion.

Shells, anyone?

I'm pretty sure these local grass-cutting contractors were not even getting minimum wage, but they were willing to work for food.




The wind came up fast. And very strong. I had been setting up the satellite dish to see if I could set a new record for southern reception just before happy hour.
Harley had sought shelter behind the trucks back tire, but was getting covered in the sand that had started to blow. Whitecaps had formed in the bay in almost no time, and I was glad I wasn't out there in a small boat. It was likely a coincidence, but the cruise ship anchored offshore at Loreto pulled up anchor and headed for perhaps more protected waters.
Everything loose was tied down or thrown in the cab and all the open windows were closed to keep out the dust and sand. The day-use beachgoers were gone quicker than you could blink.
So we hung out in the camper for a while, watching the waves come in - and making a big dent in the fresh strawberries we had picked up the day before when going through Loreto.
We had spent three days at Santispac Beach, south of Mulege, and it was time to have a change of scenery. Said so-long to the Cranbrook camper who was my nearest neighbor at that time - 200 yards down the beach, noted the first Saskatchewan licence plate and camper I had seen this year, (in Mexico) and headed south.
Road maintenance workers were cutting roadside scrub and grass with - machetes!
The nice little town of Loreto was on the way, so we pulled in to re-stock supplies. Bought some groceries, and averted a crisis by buying the only bag of cat litter in the store.
Went to the 'water store' and had my drinking water jugs filled with purified water and once again brought the hose out across the sidewalk and filled the camper's tank as well.
They asked me how much water they had put in my tank. I guessed 10 gallons, and the total price was 300 pesos, about $2.70. Then to the pemex station to keep the gas tank full, and to fill a couple of extra water containers for the shower and for general cleaning.
Then it was out to the waterfront to have some lunch while watching the fishing boats come and go.
Checked the e-mail and the home weather while in town, and got the gas meter reading from my place at home (thanks Andrea!), sent it to the gas company, and asked them to e-mail me the amount of the bill so I can pay it online.
We pulled in to the intended beach destination with just enough light to set up - and recognize some of the longer term folks (and their dogs) we had met here last year.
And of course, we always meet new folks to exchange stories, itineraries, advice, and admire each others travel rigs.
The next day dawned typically sunny and warm.
It was time for Harley's cat nap, so I went for a hike down the shore and over the ridge to the next bay which is Puerto Escondido.
This is a very large and developed protected harour, and I noted quite a few Canadian boats anchored there, as well as some fairly extravagant craft.
Sometime in the past they have dredged out massive channels all around here and put in concrete walls, presumably with nautical type real estate in mind, but there is not a single building on these channels, even though they are overgrown and starting to fall apart.
There are also whole sudivisions laid out with divided roads with medians, sidewalks, and streetlights - but once again it is all overgrown and not a single house.
There are unused bridges to nowhere, underground power and water lines, and roads ending abruptly in chain-link fences.
Natural arch along the shoreline.
And a view of Juncalito beach from down the shore
It was not exactly happy hour when I got back to camp shortly after lunch, but my new neighbors and friends from Oregon convinced me that they had some beer that had to be used up before they could get new ones - so I did my best to help them out, as any good neighbor would.
After some serious beach chair sitting and starting on those strawberries was when I decided it was time to try out the satellite dish. After the big wind came up, we gave up on the satellite TV for today and made do quite well listening to satellite radio on my newly improved camper sound system, while finally starting on the pile of magazines that I never find time to read at home.
And we might just throw a DVD on the old player if that doesn't take us through to bedtime.

In the rarely seen wildlife category, we spotted the One-legged Grebe, and a fine specimen of the really rare Sand Snake!

Lastly some Mexican harbour fishes.

Santispac beach is a pretty nice spot, and I was in no hurry to leave. But I decided to move out to the far side of the point, which was much quieter and had a wider ocean view.


But don't think that I was just relaxing and having a good time! I was hard at work, as well. The time was finally right to finish installing the extra floor panels that I had managed to find in the States.

With Harley supervising the job from his perch by the fridge (note the nose), the job went very well.
Here, he is testing, and apparently approving of the final product!

Since we had discovered that we were back in the mountain time zone, it meant that happy hour came sooner.

On this side of the point, we were almost 50 feet from the water at high tide, but the beach here almost has more shells than gravel and sand.Since this camp area features it's own restaurant and bar, I decided to go down and see how all the 'caravan people' were doing. And to see how Zulema was doing behind the bar!
She seemed to be doing just fine, and when not pouring drinks, she would blow up balloons for the resident pit-bull in the restaurant to run around and chase. She said I could post her photo here.

But in spite of all the good times, I was very dedicated and got up at 6:30 in the morning to capture the sunrise for you.I also managed a new record for how far south my satellite dish would pick up a signal.
But on Saturday, we pulled up stakes, and rolled the tires on south of Loreto so see if there is weather down there as well. Not sure what the internet access will be like for the next few days, so there may not be an update for a couple days? But I'm sure you will tough it out. I know that I am!

Manana!