Welcome to Todos Santos

Each morning begins with the sound of chickens – roosters actually. One begins to herald the sun sometime around 3:30 or so and soon several chime in creating a call that travels the neighborhood like a game of Ollie-Ollie-All-In-Free. I have to smile even if it awakens me. It reminds me of Kauai. A few days ago I opened my front door just before dawn to the sound of an owl greeting me, Good morning!

Dawn is a precious time here in Todos Santos. Most people like to watch the sunset each day, but I prefer the sunrise. There is something so fresh, so filled with potential, so earthy about it. It’s a delight to awaken in the dark and lie in bed looking out the window at the star-filled sky. Slipping out of the sheets and into a light shift, I pad out to the living room while opening windows and doors to let in the cool air. With a cup of tea and a lit candle the new day is honored with quiet reflection, until the sun begins its ascent into the clear blue sky and everything heats up. The doves begin to coo and the geckos give their farewell chatter just as the line of tall fan palms at the back of the property turn from dark silhouettes, to golden orange, to brilliant green. So far it has not failed to amaze me. I cherish each moment as a gift from the Universe; wow another day, a new adventure.

That’s not to say that this move has been stress-free. As much as I often try and pretend otherwise, that wouldn’t be honest. Every so often I have to stop, and admit that fear of change does show up, a new country, a new language, new friends, new, new new. Sure we’ve been in Abreojos on and off for a couple of years, but this feels more real. This isn’t a beach house where we can be isolated from the populace if we choose. It’s got a day to day life that just isn’t there in Abre.  Or maybe it’s just that I am choosing that here.

Then there’s the whole house to get settled and stocked, register with the power companies, a phone/internet line to get installed, Mexican bank account to open, shopping to be done and all this in another language. (Keep opening Jill. Keep letting it all in, don’t shut down, just go with the flow.) Our Spanish is improving every day, and when it comes to construction or work related conversations Robert is getting pretty darn efficient! And I seem to have hit a point where, even if I am butchering the language, I’ll try anyway. For so long I really tried to speak it only correctly, but I see that it held me back and I approached it with fear. Something shifted for me this past summer, I began to let my mind go and let my heart speak. And you know what? It works!

Leaving Abreojos our caravan of 2 trucks and a trailer spent 3 days getting down here, though it’s only a 10 ½ hour drive. But between a flat on the trailer the 1^st day (everything was fine and numerous people stopped to offer assistance) and then a long delay south of Loreto as the highway was closed due to an accident, we just decided not to push. When we pulled up to our new home there was a bottle of French champagne and mineral water in the cold fridge with 2 crystal glasses, courtesy of our wonderful real estate agent, Alvaro Colindres.  I love French champagne…..

Amidst boxes and disarray we polished off the bottle that evening, after walking to the beach for sunset. After all, we couldn’t find the stopper for the bottle and heaven forbid it go bad!! Within 2 days or so everything was pretty cleared up – except the extra bedroom/catchall. Then we went to Cabo for supplies and began the whole process again. We’ll be going back and forth quite a bit to start, I can tell. Thank goodness for Costco!

But we’re here. We’re going for it. Things arise that flummox me and make me anxious, but if I stop and allow it, breath and let the emotions flow, I know the answers will come, somehow.  The people in Todos Santos have been more than welcoming. From neighbors, to shopkeepers, to baristas everyone has offered assistance and we are so grateful.



photo by Alvaro Colindres

This beautiful adobe home is fast endearing itself to our hearts. It cools us in the heat of the day, and warms us during the evening chill. It asks nothing of us but our authenticity, our participation in making it and the surrounding soon-to be-garden a space of love and peace.   I think we’re going to get along very very well.

It's Getting TIme to Leave!

I awoke this a.m. to a light fog drifting in and out of the bay here in Abreojos. One minute the distant point is visible, the next gone. Light wisps separate the houses along the beach. It is achingly stunning in its own way and so different than usual.

We’re getting ready to leave this week, headed to Todos Santos to move into our new home. Friday is the scheduled departure date – provided that we actually can go into the town’s municipal office and pay our 2014 taxes. They offer a substantial discount for those willing to pay in advance and Nov 1^st is when they begin taking your money – but only between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. Short office hours apply. If we can actually get it done, if they really are open that day, we’ll pay, finish packing and head south.

The plan is to drive to Bahia Conception on the Sea of Cortez, almost ½ of the 10 hour drive to TS, spend the night at a gorgeous campground at the water’s edge, and then finish the drive on Sat. There have been workers sprucing up our casa in TS readying it for our arrival. And I am very excited!

We’ll be bringing down a trailer full of furniture, kitchen stuff, clothes and more. Both trucks will be packed to the gills. We won’t be moving fast. But this is not the first time in the last few years that we’ve moved; each time gets a little less traumatic. Still there are mixed feelings to be sure. This summer on the beach in Abreojos has been wonderful, one of my favorites ever. The opportunity to look out the window, across the garden to the ever changing water, flocks of birds, dolphins lazily swimming past or hunting in just a few feet of water right in front of the house, well, it takes my breath away every time.

 Still, I am excited to be a part of a new community, especially one as magical as Todos Santos, with its wonderful culture, artist community, fresh foods, great restaurants, interesting people, new places to explore, and a new home and garden to play with. Never having started a garden from the bare ground up, it’ll be a wonderful challenge and exciting canvas for us both! I keep dreaming of the outcome – someplace that feels nurturing, lush, and magical, has lots of fruits and vegetables and tons of flowers growing, secluded alcoves where you can paint or enjoy the bird song with a cup of tea, places for hidden trysts, and a wonderful patio for dining and entertaining. But first we’ll be working on getting a garage built, and a bodega (storage house). All the plans have to include a guest house and a big bright airy art studio with the adjoining workshop, of course.  We are situated right next door to a mango orchard with massive green leafy trees that shield us from salt spray, noise and neighbors and when fruiting offer an unlimited supply of fresh juicy mangos. Our friend Paisley, who adores mangos, would be in heaven there in June! And I’ll be brushing up on my mango chutney recipe.

Todos Santos hosts many activities throughout the season (Nov- March). We’ll both be participating in a plein aire painting workshop this coming Feb. Tango classes were offered last year; we’re hoping that they are available again this year! La Paz, an easy 50 minute drive from TS, has a great cooking school with day long courses concentrating on authentic Mexican fare. The menus sound beyond delectable. And of course, I have already alerted La Palapa Society that I will be returning this year to assist in the volunteer program. Our charming Spanish teacher, Serena, who we worked with last spring to get us back on track with our language skills, has since been hired to head La Palapa and I will get to work alongside her – or at least under her charge. She is so full of life and fun! We’re both just hoping that this new, and exciting position for her, doesn’t curtail our Spanish lessons…..

It’s funny how the mind wants so badly to hang onto what is known, what feels comfortable, even though the possibilities ahead are endless! It’s been a great summer here at the beach house in Abre. We’ve gotten so much done on the house here. The garden has new stacked stone walls, the bathroom has been painted and towel racks created and hung, the whole exterior has been painted a cheery orange to set off the turquoise and aqua doors. All in all it is looking quite charming. And now it’s about time to close it up for the year and move forward to something new. Wow, the gifts of Love keep on giving and giving!

So we’ll finish packing this week, load up, walk the beach as much as possible, then close up the house until next summer. When the time comes to drive out the road I’ll be ready. But until then I will soak up every morsel of this beauty, every vista of blue-green water, each soar of the pelicans, the call of the osprey, the crash of the surf, the smiles of my friends here, and I will let my heart say a prayer of gratitude for each one.

Then I will get in my vehicle and head out, singing loudly to the music on the stereo, ready to go to new adventures!

Todos Santos

When we came down here to Todos Santos in April, it was with the intent that we explore a new place, maybe look around, and see what is available. We rented Casa Fuente for 1 month and then moved over to Casa Rivera for the other 2. Both are very near the water and have great views.

I wanted to find a place where I felt comfortable, but also I wanted to explore and expose myself ever deeper to the language of Mexico. So right away we signed up for Spanish lessons. We meet every Friday at one of the local coffee houses and spend 1 ½ hours with Serena, who is charming, sweet, makes us laugh and is a very good instructor.

I contacted La Palapa Society http://palapasociety.org/ and offered my services in whatever way might be helpful.  For 6 weeks I  volunteered every Tuesday afternoon from 3-5 assisting teaching kids age 5-7 how to speak English.  I even taught some art classes – all in Spanish- quite the intimidating, yet thrilling feat I must admit!

We’ve explored and walked the streets and beaches. We’ve tried many of the fun, funky and lovely restaurants – though certainly not all of them! We’ve taken the 1 hour drive to La Paz, gotten our temporary resident cards, explored that city somewhat and gone the other way to Cabo San Lucas to visit visiting cousins and check out the shopping.  We’ve done quite a bit, and still had lots of time for personal growth and exploration.

And what I have found is that as I open myself up to everything, as I let go of old patterning that just feels so ridged and caustic, I connect even further and faster with everything around me. It’s been an amazing 3 months for me in a place that for some reason has allowed me to face a lot of things in my life that I was hesitant or just plain resistant to facing. For some reason I finally allowed myself to truly stop and look. To say that it has been a time a great change might just be a massive understatement!

And we are in escrow on a house here in Todos Santos.

Everyone who knows this town had told me before I came that I would love it, I guess they were right. We looked and looked at everything - lots, houses, in town, out of town, way out of town, and found the place that seems to fit just right. Funny, it’s a brand spankin’ new home, has tons of charm and is called Casa Antigua. I laugh at the irony of it. But that most likely will change when we begin to meld with it.

Made of adobe, it has an earthiness that we find charming, though as yet there is no landscaping

(and I do mean none!) so the pictures feel a little abrupt with no plants to soften the edges.  We are directly adjacent to a mango orchard, and the picking is unreal. There is beautiful tile in the kitchen and baths, wonderful light, a boveda in the great room and best of all – plenty of room for a guest house, garage, workshop and studio to be added to the property as we choose.

We sign the escrow papers tomorrow and we’ve been by the property gazillions of times visualizing the space, the gardens, the everything. Here is the link to the realtor’s page: http://www.ricardoamigo.com/Properties-CasaAntigua.asp, wish I could say it does it justice….

So we’re on to a new chapter in our lives! As it stands it looks like most of the time we’ll be here, except  maybe Aug, Sept and Oct when Abreojos is at its finest and here is fiercely hot and humid. Robert will most likely be up in Abre even more than me as the surfing there is his dream. And I’ll have someplace more suited to me here. J

Just wanted to let you know what’s up as I have been amazingly derelict in that department. We’ll be back in SD mid Aug for a quick visit. Hope to see many of you then!

xxoo

Baja Update 4-12-13

It’s always been a dream of mine to sit in the bathtub, soaking luxuriously, while enjoying the
setting sun, or the ocean, or just an expansive view. Perhaps with a glass of wine, or a cup of tea. Well, here we are in Todos Santos in the 1^st of 2 houses that we have rented for a total of 3 months, and I can do just that. The realization slowly crept up on me the other evening that indeed, I have my tub! I have since decided that to really appreciate this whole experience, I had better try it out in all parts of the day. I think the star gazing will be wonderful! :)

We left San Diego in late March and headed to Abreojos (Abre to the locals) for what was to be a short 6 day stop. The idea was to break up the long drive to Todos Santos and do a few more updates on the building projects that Robert always has going. Driving down Baja is spectacular, other-worldly even and I realized that I enjoy long drives. My sister questions my sanity on this point, I know, but if the drive is scenic I revel in the beauty of Nature and I have yet to be disappointed in all my trips up and down the peninsula. Early morning fog clung to the sides of the mountains as we left El Rosario and headed into the heart of the desert, over the spine, and south to Baja Sur. Rays from the rising sun set the mist aglow and it felt utterly magical.

Driving the Spine at sunrise

San Diego to Abre takes about 13 hours and we usually break it into 2 days. Each evening’s stop is well planned and appreciated as the road can be demanding in its need for attention. But the Mexican government has been very busy improving its condition and it really isn’t that bad – just don’t drive at night…..

Projects on the casita and the national Mexican holiday of Semana Santa (the 2 weeks sandwiching Easter) extended our stay in Abre but the new bathroom is now looking very upscale and is that much closer to being finished! YEAH!!

As we headed south toward the Sea of Cortez on Monday the 8^th we both breathed a sigh of relief. Abreojos is so very windy this time of year – to say nothing of deserted. With both of us driving separate vehicles it gave me long pause for reflection and dreaming. What exactly do I want to create while in Todos Santos? What am I looking for and how do I want to go about exploring this part of the world? There are times in my life when I know exactly what I want and times when I just have to be OK with not being exactly sure, but willing to let go and explore it all to find out. And it can change day to day.

Bahia Concepcion

The trip from Abre to Todos Santos is about 12 hours so the choice was made to break it up and spend the night on the Gulf side half way down. Santispak Beach, south of Mulege, hosted our little

Camping for the night at Santispak Beach

caravan for the night and we dreamed sweet dreams listening to the soft lapping of the wavelets on Bahia Concepcion. Pulling out in the morning and driving down the winding road as it hugged the cliffs overlooking the bay with its white sand beaches I marveled at the dolphin pods that were cavorting everywhere. By late in the afternoon when we pulled into Todos Santos we were quite ready for settling down in our ‘new home’.  The realtor escorted us to Casa Fuente at the far north end of T.S. (El Otro Lado, it’s called) and welcomed us here.

The house is beautiful with an ocean view and only 1 house between us and the water. We’ve plenty of room to spread ourselves out and there is even the most perfect room for my studio! Robert is checking out the nearby surf point even as I write this, just ¼ mile up the road. We’re looking forward to exploring the area, getting to know the community, and improving on our Spanish.

I look forward to days and nights of creativity, and of course, long soaks in that awesome bathtub. :)

I love you

What if I just said, "I love you."

Plain and simple, yet elegant in its utter truth. Would you run? Would you hide? Would you begin to think thoughts questioning my motive?

Or would you, could you, simply allow yourself the joy, the sweetness, the warmth that is being offered with no strings attached? No ulterior motives, no askance in return. Just because you are you.

Every day Spirit offers us unlimited love - the stars, the moon, the sun, a child's smile, trees, a greeting, a bird song - and we so often pass by it unawares. We've become immune, numbed, blocked off and we've been taught that that is 'normal'.

Today, this holiday season, I offer you a moment to just stop, take a breath, and accept a second of pure unconditional love. Fill your heart, fill your belly, with this divine essence. Let it embrace you. Let it cuddle you.

And then, go forth and remember it all day; in moments rekindle the feeling.

And pass it on~

Oh What a Night!

       

It wasn’t until we turned out the lights on our way to bed at 11:00 last night that I noticed the amazing light show going on across the bay. Relampago! (Lightning at night, as opposed to rayas -daytime lightning)

Even though we were tired we sat out on the porch overlooking the water, across to the Baja peninsula, the Sierra San Francisco and the amazing show that was happening. From a long dark cloud came flashes so frequent that it was as if someone had switched on a strobe light. Without exaggeration I would easily say that there were about 6-8 strikes per second and the longest amount of time between strikes was just under 1 second. The sky was ablaze in flashing lights – right, left, center, higher from the horizon, lower, it never let up. While few bolts were visible to the eye, it was spectacular, none the less. Add to it the phosphorescence in the breaking waves and the shooting stars from the Perseid Meteor Shower and needless to say, I was breath-taken. Only reluctantly did I go to bed. It fueled me in an interestingly energetic way. I fell asleep hearing some high vibrating sound that I could not place into any known category.

Around 1:30 a.m. I awoke to use the bathroom and as I passed the big picture window in the living room I saw that the storm had moved closer; the lightening was stronger and more frequent. In awe I awoke Robert to say that he might want to see this.

After watching from the comfort of the house something told me that the storm was coming here and that it would rain, but I dismissed it as there has been no cloud build up as of late and on a normal year our rainfall measures 3”. To add to that, we have been in a drought for some years now. I crawled back into bed with only a sheet to cover me. We always sleep with the door and windows wide open to both enjoy the fresh air and hear the ocean better.

Some 2 hours later I awoke to the sound of pounding rain on metal roof, which I admit amplifies the noise considerably. It was pouring!

Thought #1: I have to close the windows and door a.s.a.p.! I know it will flood inside if I’m not quick. Heaven knows how long it has been raining already!

Thought #2: My studio window is open and my beautiful handmade papers are right under the open window. This could be disastrous!

Thought #3: Oh thank heavens Robert sealed the new roof of the studio just the other day…..

Thought #4: Wow, this is really cool!

When it rains here, you can practically hear the Earth sing. It vibrates with a song that speaks of life and renewal. It is hard not to join in with her, humming your own grateful tune, as all is being quenched and cleaned.  It matters not how many puddles there might be to sweep up later.



My newly planted veggie garden

I know it rained for at least a couple of hours. It lulled me into a deep sleep and when we awoke later in the morning all the plants glowed green and vibrant. No more dust! The gray water system, which isn’t yet really up and going properly had collected an extra 11 gallons or so from just a small area of run off.  (Had it been completed, Robert says at that rate we could have amassed over 200 gallons!) The tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, basil, and all the ornamentals were practically singing they were so happy.

The neighborhood was up and moving, sweeping standing water from patios, fixing leaks, and generally feeling more lively than usual. Driving into town the distant buildings shone their true vibrant Mexican colors and could be seen from the top of the hill in La Beliza, some mile and a half away. I saw that the airstrip and the road leading in were both under about a foot of water.  Speaking to the cashier in the co-op it was clear that the beauty of the tormenta (storm) touched everyone. Even all the campers along the point seemed pretty amazed by the whole experience.

And now the humidity has risen considerably.  For a desert town, it feels very tropical. But the water has gotten warm and a swim is definitely in order for this afternoon, if not sooner.

Just when I think this place is magical, it does something that astounds me even more!

Mother Nature you rock!

Morning Magic

It’s the sheen of the mirror-flat silver water flecked with soft pinks from the rising sun. In the calm water the dolphins’ daily march is recorded easily as they break the smooth expanse with their sensuous movement. They circle through the crescent bay each morning in search of breakfast.

It’s the glowing orange orb that crests the mountains across the water and colors the clouds vibrant breathtaking hues of orange, coral and pink. And the pelicans that glide effortlessly through the still air proving to be the true Masters of Flight.

It’s the 2000 terns that gather each summer to camp on the beach, their calls more incessant than any rooster, yet less shrill and somehow calming. It becomes a constant background noise the entire length of their month long stay.

It’s how when they are disturbed they rise as one through the air filling the sky so densely with small white bodies that the horizon monetarily disappears. Watching them there comes a moment that they synchronize in flight, moving and becoming as one. A change of direction, signaled only God knows how, and the mass of white becomes one of dark gray, only to reverse to white once again with yet another turn. How do they do that?!

It’s the calm of the morning air, filled with promise for a new day, bright and fresh. Looking down at the extreme low tide, the water’s edge filled with fisher-persons and a fisher-dog, who eagerly patrols the tide pools and often as not catches baby halibut or crabs himself.

It’s knowing that I have another day to celebrate Life, to share it with my beloved partner and our friends. And I thank the Earth and Sky, the Universe and all the Beings therein for all that has been and all the will be, but mostly – all that Is.

My gratitude is beyond measure~