That's My Story

BAJA TRANSITION

Published in Western Outdoor News week of Oct. 22, 2006

Hombre, fishing days like this are just fine! Where else but in the Baja can you wake up; jump in a boat; go catch some fish and still be back in the office by 8:30 a.m. taking calls and handling e-mails? I’m blessed and I know it. At 8;30 a.m. some of my amigos are still eating their morning cereal over the paper and coffee or sitting in the car pool lane or standing in the Starbucks line. I’ve put a dozen fish in the boat; had a breakfast of leftover dorado fish tacos; and snuck in a cerveza to wash it down (I forgot to bring water!).

I really enjoy this time of the year in the Baja. It’s not the summer and it’s still not quite winter or even fall. The urgency and hectic frenzy of the summer fishing season is behind us and it’s still not the holidays. It seems that the whole of the Baja sort of exhales and ratchets down a few notches. It’s like a ballpark just after the game is over or being among the last few people at a huge picnic and you get to go picking through the leftover goodies on the buffet line all to yourself.

The sun doesn’t seem as high and the brisas del norte (northern winds) are starting to blow a little more regularly. Those summer days of glassy calm waters will soon be memories. In the span of a week, the sometimes-oppressive humidity of the summer/fall simply vanishes and the weather isn’t just comfortable. It simply doesn’t exist. You don’t even think about it! You only notice the bright glare of the sun but also notice that it’s a tad cooler in the shade.

This is the one time you truly can tell the tourists from the locals. While the tourists continue to sport Docker shorts and Hawaiian print shirts; tropical wrap-arounds and sandals, we’re wearing long pants, sweatshirts and shoes to temper the morning “chill” even though the day will still eventually reach 90 degrees. In 3 weeks, I guarantee I’ll have my sheepskin Uggs boots on and the tourists will chuckle.

And the food! Andale! A hot steaming bowl of pozole soup or fish albondigas (meatballs) soup swimming in fresh cilantro, rice and a dash of jugos de limones (lime juice) not only tastes good, but is a welcome meal on evenings when two weeks ago, it was too hot to even think about eating.

But the best part is the fishing! To a large degree, you can actually find your spot on the ocean and call it your own. Plant your philosophical fishing flag on your personal honey hole and fish your brains out. If you really want to find some solitude, whether it’s a beach, a reef, or a high spot, it’s here to be found even close to the large metro areas. You can be as lonely as you want.

The last 3 times I’ve been on the water, we saw barely another boat. No one was even jabbering on the radio. There’s something really special about silence out on the water. No boom boxes. No one named Jose making animal noises on Channel 16 or speaking so fast in Spanish it sounds like a single 5 minute word. You can hear yourself think and the only sound you’re keyed to is the sound of your clickers going off and the pop and sizzle of another cold one being liberated from the confines of the ice chest …just like your soul.

That’s my story. If you ever want to reach me, my e-mail is riplipboy@aol.com.