Mexico Day 124: This is why we bought a truck camper

Agua Verde, Baja California Sur //

A few more campers and sailors arrive for the weekend, but it’s still as quiet and laid-back as it has been all week. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop, for the weather to turn nasty, or a group of partiers to show up, but every morning that we wake up here appears to be the start of another blissful day.

Today is our fourth day at Agua Verde, making this the fourth place we’ve stayed at for longer than three days since November. The fact that this spot is free is the icing on the cake. It almost feels like a crime to be able to call this paradise home without paying anyone for it, but that’s exactly why we got the truck camper in the first place….traditional vacations are expensive, but camping on public land offers million-dollar views and memorable experiences for next to nothing. This is why Baja became our favored winter destination. It’s the perfect blend of adventure, beauty, and a low cost of living.

Even though we’re in a remote location (the nearest pavement is an hour and a half away), there are three little restaurants located on the other side of the bay. At lunchtime, we paddle a half mile across the bay for some fish tacos. The restaurant is a small, plywood structure with a thatched roof and a handful of tables set up in the sand. At the tables next to us are sailors exchanging stories. It’s hard not to eavesdrop as I overhear tales from sailing around the world. When I hear a man express how he believes the Sea of Cortez to be the best 200 miles to sail in all of the world, I feel even luckier to be here. I may be a land dweller, but I can attest to the feeling that the Sea of Cortez is someplace special.

When we return to the camper, we both take a refreshing shower outside in our bathing suits, only using a few gallons of water. Running out of water would be one reason we would need to leave, so I verify with Mark that there will be plenty leftover before indulging. When I go inside and look in our little 8×12 mirror, I hardly recognize the caramel color that my skin has turned since arriving back in Baja. On the Pacific coast of mainland Mexico, we were almost always beneath the shade of one giant coconut palm or another. Here, the shade is much harder to come by, and it’s why, for a lot of the day, you’ll find us in our chairs tucked up along the shaded side of our truck. And in looking around at everyone else’s campsites, that’s precisely where you’ll find them too.

The intensity of the sun indicates the fact that spring is here. It’s crazy to think that in less than two weeks’ time, we’ll be putting Baja in our rearview mirror and returning back to the States. But I can’t get sentimental just yet; there’s still too much left to savor before it’s over.