We slept in this morning, enjoying the comfy Baja Cactus beds to their fullest extent. Erin awoke in the middle of the night and was upset that I hadn't taken her up to the loft to sleep in the twin beds up there, so I kept my promise, and set her upstairs with her kitty, her nite-nite, and a flashlight, then went back to bed myself. We all finally roused ourselves out of bed at 8:30. We then made our way over to Mama Espinoza's for deysayuno. On the menu for this morning, Huevos Rancheros, Heuvos Estrellados con Tocino, and hot cakes for the kids. As always, the comida at Mama's was delicioso!
Mama's has a tienda next to the restaurant, where she sells many souvenirs and trinkets. Last year, Erin had picked put a little leather purse, which she promptly left behind in the grass at the gas station at Los Pinos...about 30 miles north :) The funny thing is, she never mentioned that it was missing...until we get to Mama's and look through the store and she says, "Look, Mommy, it's a purse just like the one that I lost." So, of course, we have to get another one to replace it! Although we are having a wonderful time, we know that we have a long drive ahead of us today, so we bid a fond farewall to the Familia Espinoza, and return to our hotel to pack up.
After a quick gas fill up and a snack stop for refrescos and jugo, we get on the road at 10:30 am. The recent storms have washed out many of the puentes (bridges) along Mexico 1. There was a major bridge washed out near San Quintin, and another here in El Rosario. The construction crews have been busy, and most bridges are either repaired or in the midst of repair, with temporary roads set up down in the arroyos. That is another thing I love about Baja...the tenacity of the people. Mother Nature breaks down roads, floods major parts of the city, or washes out bridges and the people come together to make things work. And, although the wether has been unkind to the roads, it has made the desert absolutely flourish. It is brilliant shades of green over every surface in this area, and there are fantastic splashes of color where the wildflowers have become a blanket along the desert floor.
Along this stretch of the highway, there are great distances where there are no communities and very few people. It is along here that a fellow Baja Nomad, Amy, was in a car accident and lost her beloved dog, Pickle. Before our trip, I made up some posters with Pickle's picture and Amy's information. So, as we pass through Catavina, Chapala, and Punta Prieta, we stop in the tiendas and hotels and put up the posters. Hopefully, Amy and Pickle will be reunited. I just wish that we were able to find him, but we did what we could :(
We arrive in Guerrero Negro at about 4:15 pm, gas up the car and go to the bank. We then make our way to Hotel Malarrimo, check on our room and our whale tour for the following day. There was a mix-up with our hotel reservation, but they do have a room for us, so it's no problemo. We get into our room, Room 8, and unpack some of our things, freshen up and head to the restaurante for dinner. Tonight: Sea Scallops with Roasted Mulege Garlic, Shrimp in Garlic Butter, and Battered and Pan Fried Clams. We have been dreaming of a meal at Malarrimo's pretty much since we last left in September! It did not disappoint :)
During dinner, we thought that we recognized a woman in the the restaurant. It turns out that we did recognize her...it was the Gatto family, Peter, Cher and their 5 children, whom we had met at Malarrimo on our last trip....6 months ago!! What are the odds? On the last trip, we were heading north and they were heading south to their new rancho in La Paz. On this trip, we are both heading south and they have invited us to come and visit them. They have a large ranch outside of La Paz with horses and everything! We look forward to the visit.
We have traveled about 203 miles today, and are exhausted! It is time to turn in for the night...as we have whales to watch early tomorrow morning!! Buenes Noches!!
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