Like a Bedouin clan of gypsies but really just a bunch of adventurous American retirees living in Mexico, we traveled from San Felipe on the Sea of Cortez to the west coast of Baja. Our plan was to travel west, then south along the coast to Bahia Blanco. The first night we camped near Catavina at Rancho Santa Ines. Day 2 we caravanned along the dusty trails of El Palmarito, more appropriate for quads and sand rails than six Jeeps and off road vehicles, some pulling trailers or campers. We set up camp high atop a plateau overlooking the hungry Pacific just south of El Jakeru. That night the biggest storm of the year hit!… Rushing at us like an angry lioness, all wind and rain and fury.
For Al and I, this was our first “off the grid” camping trip with our Flagstaff Camping Trailer. We survived the night without being whisked away like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, and we learned the capabilities and limits of our Baja Pop Up. In the morning many of our fellow campers wandered over to our Pop Up, squeezed in and enjoyed a dry sit, cuppa coffee and shared tales of our frightful night.
One couple in their young 80s were camping in a tent, which did not last long into the storm. Al and Marion spent the night wet and tired, sitting in their Jeep. Since our Pop Up has two beds, we naturally invited them in for a nap… and to stay since the roads were flooded and we could not leave for awhile.
I enjoyed the opportunity to get to know Marion, who spilled forth with clever hacks for just about everything. From using a plastic bag stuffed into the heel of your boot to help slide your foot in, to placing a small slice of elastic band on the back of an earring to keep it securely in place. My favorite senior women’s camping hack is, for those with less agile knees, cut a plastic bottle such as Ocean Spray into a funnel to pee. Also, Marion used a small collapsible one-step stool to jump in and out of her Jeep. So that she didn’t have to bend down and assemble the step stool each time (counterproductive on the exit) she tied a rope to the handle and with one tug her step stool jumped to attentive readiness.
After several days of camping in this one location, the soggy roads cleared enough to allow passage. We drove through muddy rivers traversing and weaving along the rain sodden trail. We finally did make it home with a hefty list of needed repairs, but in the end we made the very best of a camping trip that got away from us.
We made friends out of strangers, learned the limits of our camping equipment, and we witnessed the desert as never before: lush as a jungle, green and blooming with flowers so brilliant that certain cacti, like Agaves, give of its life for that one amazing bloom.
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