Winter in Baja Day 16: Tide surprise

San Juanico -> Adolfo Lopez Mateos

I went to bed last night thinking of all the things I wanted to do today.  Paddleboarding, swimming, bocce ball, frisbee.  This beach is a giant playground and I couldn’t wait to savor another day here.  Little did I know, the tide had other plans for us.

The first thing I noticed when I pulled up a chair and joined this morning’s conversation among the group was how big the waves were, much bigger than yesterday.  High tide was nearing and so was the water’s proximity to our camp.  None of us seemed to be quite awake yet because it took a solid ten minutes of watching the water get closer for us to put the pieces together and realize we might soon get wet.  We all keep an eye on the tides via apps but none of us are ocean savvy enough to realize that tide isn’t the only thing to consider, so is the swell…hence the bigger waves.  

Once we put it all together, and learned that high tide was still an hour out, we realized we needed to pack up camp and get to higher ground.  There was gear everywhere…solar panels, paddleboards, a kayak, tables, chairs, a gazebo tent, rugs, and more.  At first the packing was slow, not entirely sold yet that we were in harm’s way (though Mark was convinced) but it was becoming more apparent by the minute.  Everyone tossed most of their outdoor equipment in to the back of our trailer to speed up the process.  Then, not two minutes after pulling away,  the water came pouring in covering every square inch of where we’d been set up.  We watched through the screen of our drone controller, while Mark flew it over our campsite, feeling simultaneously relieved and validated at our decision.

I was so discombobulated at this point.  I’d barely just woken up.  I had every intention of spending the day playing on the beach and now we were on the road with no plan of any kind.  Getting breakfast at a local restaurant allowed us the chance to wake up and figure out what we wanted to do, not to mention exhale in relief that that had not happened in the middle of the night for we all would have likely lost some of our favorite gear.

We decided as a group to travel two hours south where we could do a proper resupply in a town with an actual grocery store and then find a spot on the edge of the lagoon outside of town.  We arrived in the late afternoon to a perfect little nook surrounded by mangroves where we circled the trucks and settled in as though that had been our plan all along.  

After sunset, mosquitos began to swarm prompting a movie night.  We set up Josh & Darci’s enclosed gazebo tent, gathered the chairs, strung the lights, grabbed a few snacks and kicked back while we watched an 80’s classic…“Three Amigos”.  

This could not have been a more fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of day and yet it all unfolded so easily.  I can’t imagine a more easy-going group of friends to travel with.  

I can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings.