Mexico Day 11: Dreaming of Bolivia

Salt flat near Vizcaino to a beach near Bahía de Asunción //

Darci and I were excited for this morning’s sunrise on the salt flat.  After catching the tail end of last night’s sunset when we arrived here, we knew sunrise would likely be a gorgeous sight that we would want to photograph.  It didn’t play out quite the way we’d hoped.  Instead we wake to a monochromatic scene.  A solid grey sky nearly blends into the dirt that surrounds us.  This featureless landscape is void of any vegetation and so dynamic light is the only thing that could bring interest to our surroundings.  Without it, it feels drab and dull.  The dirt we are parked on, just adjacent to the salt flat, is spongey and sticky and has made it’s way on to every surface of our trucks, campers, rugs, chairs, and feet.  The decision to pack up and go is an easy one.  

Just as we are about to drive away the sun breaks through the clouds and the salt flat lights up.  We pause our departure, wander onto the crusty surface, and snap a few photos.  I can’t help but think about Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia.  Measured at 4,086 square miles, they’re the world’s largest salt flat and are a bucket list destination for overlanders traveling the Pan-American highway.  Josh, Darci & Hannah will likely find themselves there next year and I hope one day we’ll find ourselves there too.  For now, we had a mini Uyuni right here in Baja.  

Continuing on down the highway, we later arrive in the seaside town of Bahía de Asunción.  We refill our water at the local purificada and then make our way to a well-reviewed restaurant with the hopes of finally filling our bellies with fish tacos; a treat we’ve been waiting for since we crossed the border 11 days ago.  Thomas welcomes us into his restaurant and offers us our choice of breakfast or lunch.  The choice is easy and we are later served some of the freshest halibut tacos and coconut shrimp that we’ve ever had.  As is the case at many restaurants in Mexico, everything is prepared from scratch.  It’s everything we hoped for and hard not to order more before we leave.

For maybe an hour (I never keep track of time here) we follow a dirt road that hugs the coastline with the vast Pacific Ocean stretching out to the west of us.  When we descend down into an arroyo we arrive at Shell Beach, a place Josh & Darci stayed at last year that I’m excited to experience myself.  I don’t make it ten paces past the truck before sitting down and sifting through the millions of shells that surround us in every direction.  What had once been large clam shells had since been broken into all shapes and sizes and polished by the water over time making for the most unique beach I’d ever seen.  How much time did it take the ocean to sculpt these shells into what they are now?  “Millenia?”  Josh guessed.  In a deep state of fascination I meander down the beach observing and collecting shells while Mark and Josh position the trucks and set up camp.

As sunset turns to dusk and dusk turns to night, the humidity ramps up and every surface becomes covered in dew.  We put most of our things away to keep them from being soaked come morning and go to bed looking forward to a full day sitting still at this beautiful beach tomorrow.

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