TRANQUILO!

Originally published the Week of Dec. 8, 2015 in Western Outdoor News

You can tell the season’s changing now. The obvious signs are here in town. It’s that slow gap between the end of summer, but not quite Christmas…yet.

 

Town is kinda empty. Tourists are mostly gone. Fishermen? Gone for weeks now. Snowbirds filtering in from their frosty homes in Canada and the Dakotas.

 

It’s not as hot during the day. A subdued Baja sun casts longer shadows. There’s always a breeze.

 

Nights are cooler. Visitors are still in shorts and t-shirts. Us locals are more prone to long pants and sweatshirts.

 

Chatter in the neighborhood coffee cafes tend towards the “chilliness” of the weather (“We used two blankets last night!”) and the upcoming holidays (“My wife is cooking her chicken mole this year!”).

 

Chatter comes easy. Coffee is savored slowly while cold hands wrap around chipped mugs.

 

Everyone is moving at a slower pace.

 

You may have heard that Mexico is the land of “manana.” (Tomorrow). Right now, add “tranquilo.” (Slow and calm).

 

Don’t move if you don’t have to. If you have to move…Tranquilo! Take it easy. No rush. No stress.

 

You hear it a lot. Como estas? How are you?

Tranquilo.

How are things?

Tranquilo.

Are you busy?

Tranquilo.

How’s the family?

Tranquilo.

 

A little different from the hecticness in states. Here in Baja, many folks have their Christmas decorations and trees already. If you head to the store to buy decorations, they’re sold out.

 

There’s no Thanksgiving in Mexico to act as a speed bump before Christmas! After Halloween, we slid right into the holidays.

 

Lots of the Christmas gift shopping is already done. Much of Mexico had their “Buen Fin” (Black Friday Shopping) several weekends ago.

 

I inadvertently wandered into that madness to buy some stuff for dinner and got crushed by the holiday shoppers! Twenty minutes to find parking. Twenty minutes standing in the check-out line. Sheesh…my bad.   Feliz Navidad!

 

The rush is over!

 

And so what do we all do now? For the last 9 months all of us have been working pretty much 7-days-a-week.   The next three months are “tranquilo.” Sort of.

 

If you ever wondered what your favorite captains and “Baja guys” do when you’re not there, I’m sure it’s similar to what my crew will be doing.

 

For the captains, it’s time to clean and repair gear. Time to scrape the hulls; paint the fiberglass; and finally take in the motors for that long overdue 4-zillion-hour scheduled maintenance.

 

For those who had steady work, they can kickback a little during the off-season. Or work to help supplement their savings.

 

A good number of the guys head off to fish commercially at the islands or at the various fish camps that dot the Baja shoreline. They’ll drag big coolers full of ice with them; fish for a few days and stay in the fish camps.

 

It’s more economic to just stay out at the camp. After several days, they’ll bring the fish back to the waiting trucks from the seafood wholesalers.

 

Life in the ramshackle sites is a combination wild west mining camp and outpost trading post. Think about a bunch of guys camping…it’s the same no matter what the country or culture. Exhausting solitary daytime work. Campfires and camaraderie… beer, beans and and tall tales on the beach at night.

 

Some of our other guys…

 

Chalo and Pepe usually take it easy in the off-season. Old-timers. They’ve put in several decades fishing. It’s been another long good season. Let the young guys go shiver in the fish camp!

 

These two guys take their rifles up in the mountain every few weeks to hunt deer and pigs.

 

Gonzalo goes to town and helps his family with their little restaurant. Brother Chuy leaves his panga on the trailer and goes to work picking chilis for the local chili ranchers.

 

Julio has a mechanical background and gets boat repair jobs in the shipyard. Omar drives a taxi several days a week while Luis has a part-time job driving a truck for the city.

 

Marcos has the best tranquilo off-season of all. He’s still single. He has a concrete block house with a tin roof and chickens in the yard. But, he also has satellite TV.

 

He sits on the couch with a beer in one hand and the TV remote in the other. He loves watching American football and Mexican soccer in his undershirt and shorts.

 

So, the other captains tell me. He’s a popular guy. No wife. No kids and a TV with sports. The other captains love hanging out at Casa de Marcos!

 

Gabriela makes all our breakfasts and lunches for our fishermen nine months of the year. Her neighbors love her kitchen fragrances. She’s been making Christmas tamales for weeks and freezing them for the holidays.

 

Miguel is one of our shuttle drivers. He is working in a toy store and on weekends he dons a Santa outfit to wish everyone Feliz Navidad at the town square near the mission.

 

With the doves and pigeons. For tips. Because it makes the kids smile.

 

Life outside the fast lane in Baja. Until next season. Manana. Tranquilo. Take it easy.

That’s our story!

Jonathan

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Jonathan Roldan has been writing the Baja Column in Western Outdoor News since 2004.  Along with his wife and fishing buddy, Jilly, they own and run the Tailhunter International Fishing Fleet in La Paz, Baja, Mexico  www.tailhunter-international.com.  They also run their Tailhunter Restaurant Bar on the famous La Paz malecon waterfront.  If you’d like to contact him directly, his e-mail is riplipboy@tailhunter-international.com  or drop by the restaurant to say hi!

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Jonathan Roldan’s

Tailhunter International

 

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