Amigas Gone Loco

                                                * Guest Blog!* Guest Blog!* Guest Blog!

      This installment of More Fun In Mexico is brought to you by my second travel companion                     Christine Baudrexl.

Recently two of my coworkers conjured up a very impromptu winter getaway to the whale watching beaches of Cabo San Lucas. The idea of traveling together with these very intelligent, humorous* girlfriends to the remote,adventurous, desert terrain near the tropic of Cancer seemed like the stuff a Quentin Terrantino film. The backdrop full of scorpions and stinging centipedes (which I later learned made one of my friends nervous.)** There are rattlesnakes that when coiled to strike can reach 10 feet! (Also a concern for this friend on our horseback ride through the desert.)***

Mexico is a very beautiful but not a gentle land. For all of its colors and Day of Dead relics,the skulls of longhorn cattle intermingled with brush and cactus, delicious fish tacos and tuna ceviche, calm beaches with crashing waves and premium blends of top,agave, tequila, Mexico is a place where you could get "Gringo'd" (Kindly explained by our gracious host as "overcharged") If you were a local or knew one you got the "Local" price . Our hostess and her friendly neighbor, with much kindness, skill and class, took us all under their wings and their "Casas", quickly explaining the economic ways of Baja life.

We were certainly three very different amigas! My palest girlfriend wore spf clothing and hats. She was a gear model straight out of "Lands End" catalog. She took the most amazing camera equipment to get the most primo shots of the whales we saw and of things we did. What an artist eye! My other traveling companion/roomate sported a wardrobe of cute dresses and outfits. She possesses journalsitic talent rivaling that of Hemingway and Gellhorn**** and documented and described all of our travels, told wonderful stories and was such a wonderful conversationlist. And myself? Well versed in the college of street smarts, fun travel, survival and trivia, I wore Harley and active wear. I learned and laughed a great deal with my two pals in the best way by living with them for 5 days. I was amazed to discover the real creativity between both of them and together we three spun a travel tale with a common thread of high adventure on a low modest price on the Peso to dollar ratio!

Nerve racking enough are the stories about boarder patrol, Federales with guns and the drug cartel, being lost forever naked in a Mexican jails. We found that Cabo is surprisingly safe.Except for the driving. We traveled the streets of Cabo by dune buggy and noticed "Alto" means "Stop' and its a red sign shaped like ours in the states.Yet no one really seems to pay attention to it. Not really so safe. My literary journalistic, comrade tells us all its just merely a suggestion, not really a street sign. Where were the Law Firms of Pedro, Paco and Ramo, personal injury lawyers?

By the end of the week we were grinning at our good fortune,the sights, the beach, the land, the food. I giggled to my girlfriends next to me in the back seat of the car, "Baja Baja Baa Haa haa ha ha! Bahareahha! Bahareah! Mamma Mia let me go! Easy Come Easy Go!" Bohemian Rhapsody in unison that would make Freddy Mercury proud...tooling down a Mexican highway, hair tossing, heads bouncing like "Wayne's World".*****

Three amigas gone Loco!

*The check is in the mail. 

**This is an understatement. To call her 'Safety Girl' is an understatement. The safety of everything was cause for concern - from horse back riding (no, they do not provide helmets, its a beach, sand is soft) to ratio of dogs to staircases in our hostess's home (two dogs, at least three flights of stairs. You do the tripping math.)

 ***See above and add ginormous moths to the list.

****Fine. I will include my Amex card along with the check.
*****Bohemian Rhapsody and Wayne's World are copywrited somewhere, I am quite sure. No uber talented English rock bands or Saturday Night Live sketch comedians were injured in the singing of this song. Freddy Mercury may have rolled over a time or two but really, that ship sailed with the lip synch debaucle at the summer Olympics.

Not the sort of  'hog' you ride.

When not imitating British rock stars or being patted down, Christine works as a recovery room nurse at a top ten hospital on the Coast of Illinois. She makes wine, hikes with her dog Jack and rides motorcycles. Harleys, I think...