Baja Trip: Day 6 (no more storm)

The big news of the day was that the Tropical Storm had finally passed us over and we could now get outside without worrying about getting washed away or crushed at sea by the unpredictable waves.

We started the day late because the storm had to pass and we were tired from our previous night of doing nothing- it's tough watching movies and eating. So, we woke up and watched one of our movies that we borrowed in case the weather continued to be unBaja-ish and finished "There Will Be Blood" around 2ish. It was another good one but a bit confusing to me, which is frustrating because I enjoy analyzing movies so if anyone has a movie analysis of that movie let me know what the freak it's about.

After the movie was done we figured we'd drive on out to the East Cape like normal and go ride some waves. On our way out past the super market and just before a major arroyo that we had to cross we ran into a little problem- the road was washed out and being repaired. We waited in a Mexican traffic jam for about 45 minutes before deciding to try and find our own way. We found a couple other ways to go, but they all ended up with our car having to either swim across a river = bad option or driving up to a little shack most definitely being used for drug trafficking. So we drove back to our original crossing point and when we got back everything had cleared up; at least we didn't wait around the whole time.

As we drove out on the East Cape, the waves looked much more organized and there was no wind, so we knew we were in for a treat as long as the size could hold up as the waves wrapped around to our favorite break. As we off-roaded our way to the Punta Perecta we once again found the waves rolling in and no one out in the line up. The only thing that could have hindered our trip was a ditch/trench that the rains had put in our path. We didn't exactly notice it until it was 10 feet from our front tires and it gave us quite the bump as we tried to drive right over the gap in the road. I just grabbed the glove compartment as if that would stop our car from its predetermined path, but obviously it didn't work. There were no problems, but it was enough that we got out and checked to see that we didn't blow out our front tires. Thank goodness we didn't because it would have been an interesting night with only one spare tire and at least 20 miles back to our place in San Jose del Cabo.

Once we got to our spot, the trench was quickly forgotten about. The three of us paddled out for our second epic session of the trip. We started at about 5pm and got out of the water at dark, around 7:30. The sky lit up with pinks, oranges, yellows, and reds as the sun set behind the mountains on the horizon and all those colors were reflected in the water and the waves we were riding. It's unexplainable how gorgeous the scene was. It was like surfing a water color painting- unreal! The waves might not have been as big as this past Sunday, but with the three of us out there and the sun setting these waves had to rival Sunday's. Wish y'all could be here.

-Peter




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So it's Fonz and we are back on line down here in Baja. The storm has passed and after a slow morning we decided to make the slow wind out the East Cape around 2:30.

The tropical rains washed out several of the roads leading to the East Cape so as you can imagine it took quite a while for them to be repaired and re opened. We sat in traffic for a half hour and then decided to blaze our own trail... ha well not to much after a half hour of hunt and peck we went back to find the roads re-opened.

Next stop Punta Perfecta. We passed by Shipwreck on the way out and it looked really good again today. You could see that the lines were coming back. The roads were full of surprises, but we made it back to our favorite spot. Not a soul was there. Just us and the horses. We stayed out for a good two and a half hours. The waves just kept rolling in.

It's not just surfing out there. Sure the three of us were trading wave after wave, but there is a lot more to it. Off in the distance to the east you could see the swirling clouds of tropical storm Lowell that had passed through. Then we watched brush strokes paint the sky as the sun began to hide behind the mountains to the west. It was so wild that every once and a while you would get distracted and then a huge wave would sneak up on you. Together the candy colored sky, the storm nurtured waves, and the good friends all come together into an amazing composition.



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So it's Beak here, blogging after an unbelievable day of surfing. It took a while to get out there, and we started pretty late (since we watched a movie at the house this morning), but it was well worth it. After leaving the house in the late afternoon, we drove down to the East Cape road only to find that the initial section had been washed out by the storm. Construction crews were working on it and there was a line of cars waiting. After almost an hour of waiting, they opened it up and we went out to our surf break!

The roads were very rough. The rain had created many pockets that you didn't want to land your car in. We checked out shipwrecks and it was breaking pretty well, but there were 3 guys out so we figured that was toooooo crowded for us (we're so spoiled down here). Instead we kept driving (I'm glad we did) to our own break that we had to ourselves for 3 hours until it got dark. We were trading off waves all night long and many waves would go with nobody on them just because we were all paddling out after catching another wave. It was truly unbelievable, the water was warm (80 degrees), there was no wind, and the sunset ended up being spectacular. Check out our slide show to see pictures from my water camera I had in the pocket of my trunks during this session.

Tropical Storm Lowell Crosses the mainland

The storm has crossed the peninsula! Now we just have to hope it didnt take all the surf with it and that it didn't wash out all the roads.

It is a good thing that it has stopped raining because I don't know if I can handle another movie day. Last night we were exposed to the worst movie I have ever seen in theaters (Thank you: StudioCanal, Twentieth Century Fox & Mathieu Kassovitz). I guess I could thank them for making it 1 hour and 20 minutes long...? The premise... its not even worth your time. Lets just sweep this one under the rug and pretend it never happened.

Baja/Tropical Storm Day 5

Q: Hmmmm... what do you do in Baja when it rains? When the waves are stormy and unsurfable? When the ocean is muddy from run-off containing probably every type of hepatitis? When no one is really in Baja other than you and your two other friends?

A:


Then we went to watch a horrible movie with Vin Diesel in the Mexican theaters and another at the apartment called, "7 Layer Cake," and that was our day. You didn't miss much, but I do recommend 7 Layer Cake (at least I think that's what it's name was; the title was in Spanish and supposedly nothing like the actual title of the movie). Maybe tomorrow things will be more eventful...

-Peter

Arrivare Sir Le Beak!

Que dia! So if I had to summarize today in a few words it would be: Stormy surf, Guacamole and lots of laughs.

Let's begin with the surf: So we played surf chasers this morning before Sir Le Beak was to arrive at the San Jose del Cabo Airport. Our quest took us up and down the Cape until we settled for a few storm swells, none of which were particularly friendly. In the end Peter battled his way out at Punta Perfecta, while I settled for exploring a left break on the inside. I found my left, but had plenty of sets crash on my head. Later in the day we headed back to Old Man's for more of the same.
Team Baja's consensus is "Storm please go away...how about 500 miles south...please"

Now for guacamole. You can thank John and Peter for this one. As we got out of today's afternoon surf session John proclaimed "I want to make an enormous bowl of guac...with like 10 avocados." 5 minutes later we headed to our favorite store, MEGA of the commercial Mexicana to get the fixins. 3 hours later Peter didn't eat dinner because he at a half gallon of guacamole.

Laughs just go with the territory.

We are fired up now that the crew is back together. John landed relaxed and ecstatic because he had nearly the entire plane to himself. Tomorrow is another day and perhaps we'll find the perfect wave... in the meantime we'll keep having a good time.

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Peter's Turn:

Hornbeak flew in today and the 3 Musketeers are back together in Baja. It's nice to get my 4th trip to Baja in full swing with everyone. Today Fonz and I drove the hour trip to Punta Perfecta again hoping against the windy, sloppy conditions we saw at the Cape for some picture perfect waves- our hope was squashed as I struggled out past the inside sets to scare the crap out of myself as very large waves kept shifting around out on the point trying to pummel me. It was pretty trashy surf out there and at one point it started to rain, so I caught some white water foam back onto the shore where I found Fonz still on shore getting ready to surf an inside break. He tried it for a while and then came to much the same conclusion that I had: storm surf = not good.

After we both finished paddling around dodging the waves the best we could, we had lunch on the cliff over looking the break and then drove into town to pick up Hornbeak. Once le Beak got in he talked us into going back out in the surf and because he was so enthusiastic, we found it easy to forget our earlier experience in the day and followed his excitement. We went out again at "Old Man's" in San Jose del Cabo only to find much of the same conditions we found earlier in the day at Punta Perfecta.

I must have paddled around for 20 minutes without successfully getting to the break so I gave up to find Hornbeak and Fonz on shore pondering whether they should enter the slosh or not. I bet they got a kick out of watching me get dominated out there. Eventually they went out and surfed some of the stuff closer to shore. Once they'd been out there a while and I'd been resting, I decided to join them again because even getting pummeled in the surf is better than sitting on the beach- and it's always better with two other friends. This time I hung around on the inside surfing and experiencing a washing machine type environment until things cleared up just enough for me to sprint out past the sets to the outside. Now finally I had arrived at my destination. But it turned out to be much like the inside sections of surf just that now the waves were twice as big and more disorganized (bad combination). Now the task of getting back to shore in one piece was the chore. I ran into some guy out there who thought the surf was great because, "sometimes the waves almost look surfable." I'm not sure where that guy usually surfs, but I just waited for one moderately crappy wave and rode it about 20 yards before body boarding it onto shore. After that much paddling mostly, I was definitely done for the day.

Hopefully everything clears up tomorrow and we can get back to Punta Perfecta for another perfect day. Then I'll be able to see if that dog remembers how to shake.

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Le Beak has arrived:

The flight down from LA was so awesome. I had a window seat all the way down the baja peninsula and the views were wonderful. Plus the plane was only half full so I had the row to myself. A 2 hour flight is so much better than a 24 hour drive along a single lane road with no shoulders with large semi trucks barreling down on you.

2 hours later Fonz and Peter picked me up at the airport in the giant green 4x4 wagon! 4 surfboards and 3 fishing rods inside the car, and a special treat of freshly made doughnuts from the panadaria (or the Mega, because Peter and Fonz had been going to the Mega 3 times a day). It was so nice to be picked up at the airport in the car packed with surfboards and Fonz and Peter ready to go surfing. In 30 minutes we had dropped my stuff off, and we were out in front of the Cabo Surf Hotel.

So the surf was pretty choppy, and huge, but we tried it out for a bit. I felt like I had a duck diving practice session instead of a surfing session because the waves just kept coming. There were no sets, it was storm surf.

Then we went to the store, and picked up tons of avocados and tomatoes etc and made the largest guacamole bowl I have ever seen. All 3 of us could not finish it, it was an amazing dinner. Then it started raining at night so we headed over to the pool to swim in the rain before heading off to bed. It was so warm all night and it looks like it might be clearing up, so hopefully tomorrow it will be glassy and sunny.

Baja Dia Dos

2 years later the adventure continues

Hey this is Fonz from the East Cape:

With a tropical storm brewing due south our hopes were high for some good surf and we were not disappointed. The morning began with a quick surf at Old Man's, a great longboard spot, in front of the Cabo Surf Hotel. Peter and I were sharing a 6'6" potato chip and a 9'6" Olea and just buying some time with this morning surf while we waited to pick up a few boards from a good friend. Old Man's came through and this was a great place to start off the day with some 3-4 consistent rollers. Needless to say, the potato chip was very out of place.

Once we picked up the boards and we headed for the East Cape. Tropical storms haunt the coast this time of year, but those same storms bring much needed water and of course good surf. We didn't make it far before the siren song of the San Jose Del Cabo MEGA lured us in for some "donas" and "agua fresca." Crispy Creme has met its match.

Now back to the surfing. So, we wound our way out to the grated dirt road that follows the East Cape coastline. The windy road would give us quick glimpses of what we had in store for today. Finally we arrived at our first uninterrupted view and it was magnificent. Shipwrecks was going off! There was a bit of a crowd battling for some clean overhead breakers. We were tempted but decided to muscle on as our sights were set on Punta Perfecta.

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I guess it's my turn for an update, so here's Peter's review of the day:

Baja has not disappointed this time or any other time for that matter. It's a beautiful place that everyone should visit at some point. We were actually talking about how freakin' hot it is down here and how people hundreds of years ago had very little chance of thriving down inthis desert on the ocean, but now there's no excuse for anyone who reads this not to come down here for an epic adventure- you can buy as much water as you need and cheat the sun by hiding out in the A/C of your car. There's my Baja tourism plug.

Today was quite simple: tried to wake up at 7:30 but got out of bed around 9ish, went surfing at Old Man's, picked up some boards, went to the East Cape and surfed a head high right point all afternoon until my shoulders about fell off. Not a bad first day by any means, especially if a professional swimmer's shoulders are getting tired.

Punta Perfecta, an appropriately named right point, provided me with the best surfing of my life to date. There were four people out there today including me- are you kidding? Plenty of waves that went unridden and that was the best part. There was no pressure, no crowds, and a ton of space to try something new and see how it works: trying to walk the nose, working on bottom turns, taking off later and later in a wave.

After we finished surfing, Fonz said we should check out a restaurant called "Cross Roads" for lunch. We drove maybe another mile and a half down the dusty and extremely bumpy Baja dirt roads and found your typical bar restaurant with plastic lawn chair furniture for its customers all sitting right on the water. We ordered a couple Pacifico ballenas and some food while we watched the sets roll in at the place we had just been surfing. We could see Punta Perfecta from our plastic chairs and Pacificos, and I'm not sure it gets much better than that.

After I finished stuffing myself with my Dorado sandwich, I decided to teach this little mut that was hanging around our feet how to 'shake.' It seemed like a nice thing to teach the owner's dog, and it was a great way to entertain myself as the Pacifico settled and the waves played the part of the television. I wasn't sure if the dog was ever going to pick his paw up, but after I gave him almost the full top part of my fish sandwich's roll in tiny bits as treats and half an hour, he finally started to pick up his front paw- at least just enough for me to grab it and turn his effort into a shake. Before I left it looked like he knew what he was doing, barely. I'm sure we'll be back to see if he remembers the trick. That'll have to be the next update.

That's all from me for today. Take it easy.