A Week of Vacation in BAJA

And she’s back from the dead!! With a post that was supposed to be uploaded 2 months ago. But well, here’s a little recap of Baja California Sur. We have a week off between the first and second trimester. We are going on vacation with nine people: Xaver, Lydia, Paula, Dana, Victor, Alliya, Théa, Emilia, and me.

We are making a road trip, from San José to Cabo San Lucas, to La Paz, then to Cabo Pulmo and back. Here’s a list of my favorite and less favored memories:

What was nice:

• very relaxed accommodations with hammocks in front of the house.

• our drives in the car through absolute nothingness. It’s so dry here that the whole region consists of nothing but cacti, palm trees, and crystal-clear beaches, with a few wild horses in between.

• The sunsets. See for yourself:

• My time with Paula, she is truly becoming a better friend. And I also have a great time with Lydia, Emilia, and Xaver.

• The water is sooo pleasant; the beaches are truly paradise-like.

• La Paz on Independence Day. Everyone is dressed in green, white, and red. There’s a huge show with traditional dances and music, and a lot of decorations.

• A trip to a deserted island takes us to a landmark of the region, a stone mask. I find it super recognizable, very cool.

• Our time at the beach with henna tattoos, Spanish music, card games, and Yahtzee.

• Our fancy giant car.

• The cool sky.

• doing nothing. Reading.

• One more time. The SKY.

• Summer dresses and beach outfits. But I know you don’t really love this part:

And here are unfortunately a few things that weren’t so great:

• my migraines. I have headaches almost every day, and my stupid pills no longer work. I think it’s mainly due to the weather. I’ve never been in a place with such high humidity. As soon as I step off the plane, my skin is moist, whether from the outside or inside, I have no idea, but it’s nearly impossible to breathe.
• The worst part is on the very day we make the trip to the island. While the others eat ceviche, I nap on the beach. While the others snorkel with seals, I feel nauseous on the boat. And while the others go looking for food on the way back from the boat, I realize I’m getting dizzy, my fingers are numb, and then I lose consciousness for a few seconds. That was scary; it hasn’t happened to me before. But luckily, the others are there to look after me. Then it gets a bit better, but on the three-hour drive to the next place, I still have to throw up a lot. The next morning, it’s finally over and I know I have great friends.

• Dana and the French girls. Somehow they don’t do anything and aren’t in the mood for anything. That’s annoying and makes it hard to plan things for everyone.
• Traveling with our backpacks. It’s soooo hot and exhausting.

• The sun is very strong. We are all fighting a bit against sunburn.

• the water is great, but unfortunately, there are also jellyfish, which we unfortunately don’t see. We walk right in, and my skin is perhaps a bit more sensitive because I have to deal with tentacle marks on my skin for the next few weeks.

• This is the prettiest photo I found. But the towns are so desolate and seem so hastily built, without history, without personality. The people are poor; they live here just for tourism, which brings fat Americans with tattoos from California to Mexico. Moreover, I meet an Uber driver who was deported from the USA after decades. He comes back to Mexico but doesn’t know the place at all and had built his whole life somewhere else. Now he has to start completely anew. Poor guy, I feel so, so sorry for him.
  

• Flying back. A week of summer vacation is just too short :(

And here are a few more pretty photos and impressions. So then, until next time, hopefully, it won’t take another two months. Kiss