That's My Story

JUST SHUT UP FOR A MOMENT. ..

Originally Published the Week of Nov. 24, 2010 in Western Outdoor News

           Having spent almost 2 decades here now in Baja, I have experienced some incredible adventures.  But some of my best experiences have happened when absolutely nothing is happening. I’ll explain.

            So often, when we have visitors or clients here, there’s a mad rush to be here…do that…experience this…cram as much excitement into a vacation as possible.  I get it.  I love it.  I’m the same way myself.  When you’re \in the tourist industry like us, it’s not bad for business either.  No complaints!

            But some of the most rewarding times have been when we just crank it down a notch from super amp down to slo-mo.

            A perfect example is when we SCUBA dive.  Everyone is in a rush to get in the water.  See the mantas.  See the sharks.  Explore. Jump in!    Get from point A to point B and go “Diver Dan” on us.

            I often tell my folks, that at some point they will see me simply stop.  I explain that “this is not a race.”  It’s supposed to be fun.  I will simply stop swimming and let myself sink to the bottom and either kneel or lie there.  And I want them to do the same.

            I get some blank and questioning looks.

            But amazing things happen when we all shut up and slow down. It’s like that both above and below the water. 

            Look up.  Watch the slow ascent of bubbles to the surface.  Stop moving.  Fish suddenly don’t view us a huge threatening shapes.  They come out to investigate.  They swim close.  Schools swirl around us.  Little sea eels poke their curious heads out of the sand that we normally would not have seen.  Coral comes alive. A sea turtle comes to check us out. A sealion pup darts playfully in and out of the divers.  We’re now IN the big aquarium and it’s a wonderful show.

            I look around and even through the dive masks I can see smiling eyes!

            When I lived on the East Cape, I would sometimes take a few of the hotel guests up in the hills just to step away from the lights; the tequila shots and hooting at the bar. 

            One nice thing about Baja.  A few steps away and you’re out in the frontier wilderness.

            We’d walk up the hills just a few hundred yards up a path I knew well.  At the top of a hill, everyone would look back down from the darkness on the hotel lights and take a breath.  But, I would tell everyone, don’t look down…look up!

            And there would be a collective gasp of surprise!

            Zillions of stars…constellations…galaxies…shooting stars…an unimaginable  light show that could never be experienced unless you were up and away from the bustle. Other than some “oohs” and “ahhh” and alot of pointing into the night sky, not much else needed to be said.  An unforgettable experience found in silence.

            Sometimes when I’m guiding, I will do the same thing.  Stop the danged boat.  Look. Listen. Put down the beer cans, boys.

            Shhhh… Look at the birds.   See the ripples there.  Flat spots and current lines.   Water colors.  Those ripples are really nervous water with bait being pushed just below the surface.  Was that a jumper? Look closely.  Is that structure below us?

             Let’s just top chasing the fish and stop for a moment.  Let’s read the signs.  Throw some bait and let the fish come to us for once.  And, if not, enjoy the moment.  The noisy world will return soon enough when we rev up the motor again.

            Even in rowdy Cabo San Lucas a few weeks ago. After one of those days packed with activities and social events and parties related to the Western Outdoor News Tuna Jackpot, I stepped out onto our little patio behind our hotel room on the marina.   It was 2 a.m. in the morning.

            And it was a quiet you don’t often experience in Cabo.  No blaring disco music.  No hawkers on the sidewalk.  The yacht motors were idle.  The tour boats were all moored.  The outboards were all asleep for once.  The marina lights were beautiful and except for the sound of rigging occasionally pinging a mast from the sway of a boat, Cabo San Lucas was incredibly serene…a description not often associated with fast-paced Cabo.

            In a few hours, it would all return to a behive, but for that moment, I pulled out a patio chair and just sat and listened.  And sighed.  And imagined what it used to be like before we brought all the noise to Mexico and grateful to find a little slice of Baja serenity. They are few and far between and it’s too bad we have to actually search it out these days.

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Jonathan Roldan has been a columnist for Western Outdoor News and editor since 2004. He lives with his wife, Jill, in La Paz , Baja Mexico where they own and operate the Tailhunter Sportfishing Fleet as well as the Tailhunter Restaurant Bar on the historic La Paz waterfront.  www.tailhunter-international.com.   is their website.  If you’d like to reach Jonathan, his e-mail is riplipboy@tailhunter-international.com