Todos Santos, where gringo Baja dreams come to roost. People either seem to love this place so much that they immediately plop down a deposit on a plot of land north of town, or they leave scratching their heads wondering what all the fuss is about. We’re somewhere in the middle. It’s a nice place, and I can sort of understand the appeal, but I’m also able to leave without the thought of buying land ever crossing my mind. I guess I could say that for just about everywhere.
A day that would have probably passed by without a word if it were just Ali and I, instead turns into a day filled with the anticipation of cupcakes for the kids. That’s the beauty of having kids around—they bring excitement to even the most mundane, like a forty-first birthday.
Los Cerritos beach—this is where we became those old fogey travelers that say, “You should have been here back in…” For us, this place was unrecognizable as the beach that existed six years ago. Some massive edifice was built right out on the point, which if you ask me is the one place they shouldn’t allow building. I mean, it’s the focal point, the heart, of the entire beach. Allowing one person, or one company, to defile it so they can make a couple million dollars just seems so shortsighted.
The beach itself has gone from dunes and bluffs to crappy $300,000 (three rows back) “full-ownership” homes. Universal in their ugliness. And beyond those is some other massive structure with a three-story tall cinder block wall around it. The beach is well on its way to being an eyesore.
But it’s packed full of gringos. So somebody won. The little restaurant has gone from being a decent beach bar to being an $18 US for three tacos sort of place. Yeah, prices are in US dollars. They then take that price and convert it to pesos using an exchange rate five percent below market. So, those are really $19 tacos.
We made the most of it, had a fun day, but won’t be going back any time soon. Won’t look forward to it the way we did after our last visit.
Progress.
Ouest went nuts on the boogie board, getting some nice rides at least fifty yards long. She’d pop up, pick the board over her head, and high-step-run back through the surf to me for her next push into the waves.
“Okay, Ouest, just three more waves and we’re going to head in.”
“Five.”
“How about four?”
“Five, pleeeease.”
“Five more, but then we’re heading in. Promise me.”
Lowe caught a few too, but after being rolled around in a wave and coming up sputtering he wasn’t so keen on it any more. I have to remind myself he’s only three. It’s too easy to push him into doing whatever his sister is doing.
Ouest putting on a show. I have no idea where she ever learned what a ballerina dances like. Are girls just born with certain things ingrained in them?
Not feeling like searching for a boondocking spot on Christmas Eve, we opted instead to pay for dry camping behind this resort. A few years ago this is where we boondocked.
See, I can’t stop talking about Los Cerritos like a crusty old man. The place is dead to me.
14 Comments on “Todos Santos”
Some of these places look like a moonscape to me. Don’t you miss trees?
Trees block my view.
Trees are up in the mountains to the east.. Very nice change of venue. The trail was not easy, our 8 y.o. would have prefered the beach walk. Better go there before the boomers buy it up and install a chair lift.
I rode motorcycles and traversed through Bozeman, MT, Seattle and most of Oregon in the early late 70 to early 80’s.
Returning, now, I don’t recognize those places.
I have never been to that part of Mexico. But, looking at it, the beaches look more like dirt than sand. Someday visit the West coast of Florida. With all the problems that Florida has, there is still nothing like the sections of the west coast that are still pristine….especially if you are sailors. Many of these areas are only accessible by boat.
We feel for you, Pat. Some sad day we’ll all get together and mourn the collective loss of our undeveloped boondock sites turned gringo-monstrocity. BYOB (bring your own bus) people! Sheez. Merry Christmas 🙂
BYOB. I like that. Why does everybody have to build something so “permanent?” Visit, enjoy, move along. Stop leaving behind four bedroom, three bath, piles of concrete. Sigh.
It’s interesting to me to see the development in baja…. I get the crusty old guy comment and I’m only 52!
I am a recent traveler to baja….. I started in ’92. We have a place in the south end of Bahia de Los Angeles that we are going to get rid of because our life on the mainland is just so much more.
It’s all changing.
My biggest concern is where is the potable water going to come from?
I do love that desert-scape on the sea, though…. it is a remarkable juxtaposition.
When are you getting on the ferry?
Happy New Year and safe travels
Mark and Cindy
Happy Birthday, Pat!
Those cupcakes look just like the snowman birthday cakes you had growing up! Did you have snowman cakes too Pat?
We just looked up those old family photos to show the kids and we all commented on the snowman cake pictures. 🙂 Funny you remember them too.
WHOAH. That’s crazy sad.
But happy birthday! And hey, we both hopped onto the planet in the same year. I’m glad yours was good
your bride is lovely and i can’t believe you guys are in your 40s…course i had my last kid at 41, so there is that. 🙂 enjoy! we haven’t been to Baja since (huge guess) before 2010?