* 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...