WITH EACH PAVED ROAD
Originally Published the Week of May 10, 2024 in Western Outdoor Publications
When I first moved down here to Baja, it wasn’t difficult to find some space. The vistas were grand. The beaches were expansive.
The sky was big and the “world” went from horizon to horizon.
There was a rugged tranquility of the desert frontier by the ocean that pervaded every aspect of life. It was inescapable.
You knew you were somewhere sublimely and beautifully alien. You knew you were perhaps in a different portal of time, space and dimension from where you had come from.
There’s a certain anxious edge to knowing that you had to actually “THINK” about your day. Not just how to get to work or your dinner plans, or what you were doing for the weekend, etc.
It was much more primitive.
Do I have enough gas?
Is there gas?
Do I have food?
What will I eat and how will I get it?
Do I have enough water?
How far do I need to travel today from Point A to Point B and back?
Is there electricity today?
Will I be able to cook today and is there enough fuel?
These things had to actually be planned. And any glitch or bump in that road of existence could mean a bad day or at least a really inconvenient day of the worst kind.
Because nothing was really “convenient” per se. But, that was the beauty of it.
You had to actually rely on yourself a lot more.
The only thing convenient was the free clean air and the ocean and Baja desert. All around. All the time.
I could climb a rocky hill stretch out my arms like the famous Jesus statue above Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. Looking out over the blue empty ocean and desert and not see a single person!
Far as the eye could see.
In my own mind I could stretch my arms and laughingly tell myself, “I own all this! It’s mine!” And yell to the wind and jump up and down.
Metaphorically speaking, yea…I did own it!
It’s a silly exhilarating feeling. Kinda like the way a kid feels in his first treehouse. ALL MINE!
You want hold onto that feeling.
…and you always want it to be that way.
I would revel in the thought that I hoped to share this with my kids and grandkids someday and others who would appreciate the special place.
A dream. A hope.
And today I’m sitting here in my office overlooking the waterfront and am quickly reminded that the vibe is eroding with increasing velocity.
A BMW just drove by. A Mercedes Convertible as well.
Down the street there’s another chic-chic boutique hotel almost completed that I would never be able to afford a night (not sure I would want to…but that’s not the point).
There are two yachts in the bay that are too large for the local marina. I’m told one is owned by Microsoft people. The other might be the owner of Home Depot and an NFL team.
I will have to take a detour home tonite because they’re digging up and paving a dirt road that went over the hills to a little-known remote beach.
Well, everyone knows about it now because a condo complex is planned for it. There’s big billboards around town.
“Own a piece of secluded paradise. (Emphasis on “secluded.”)
A week doesn’t go by where I don’t run into folks that are house hunting here “to get away from it all.”
If you build it, they will come.
There are farm-to-table organic farm restaurants and wine-tasting rooms popping up next to French, Italian, Asian and Fusion eateries.
I often read the social media boards to check what local gringos are saying and thinking.
Recently, someone posted, “What turns you off about restaurants in Mexico?”
One replied, “Furniture made from wood pallets or plastic chairs with beer logos on them.”
Another wrote, “Lack of Michelin 5-star restaurants.”
And another, “All the waiters that don’t speak English.”
Say what? Ouch!
Harsh.
Personally, with each comment…with each new bit of development in the name of progress…with each dirt road getting it’s first coat of asphalt…
It feels like a little more of O.G. original Baja…original Mexico …erodes away.
Yes, I can still climb that rocky hill and scream this is “All mine.”
But I probably have to do it a lot quieter because there’s a housing development and condos on that hill now.
And step gently so I don’t get busted for trespassing.
Harsh. Wish I had my treehouse back.
That’s my 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.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: jonathan@tailhunter.com
Or drop by the restaurant to say hi. It’s right on the La Paz waterfront!
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Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter International
Website:
www.tailhunter-international.com
Mexico Office: Tailhunter International, 755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Sur, Mexico
U.S. Mailing Address: Tailhunter International, 8030 La Mesa Blvd. #178, La Mesa CA 91942
Phones:
from USA : 626-638-3383
from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863
.
Tailhunter Weekly Fishing Report: http://fishreport.jonathanroldan.com/
Tailhunter YouTube Video Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBLvdHL_p4-OAu3HfiVzW0g
“When your life finally flashes before your eyes, you will have only moments to regret all the things in life you never had the courage to try.”