Somewhere north of El Cardonal //
This morning I lay in bed reading until the sun comes up. A welcome change of pace from the last few days. Mark & I put in a few hours of work, eat some breakfast, and then the five of us set out on a walk.
The road from camp weaves along the coastline, a few hundred feet above the shore, offering expansive views of the Sea of Cortez. Along the way we cross paths with a bike-packer named Eddy who left Los Angeles 2.5 months ago to ride the Baja Divide Trail. He has an energetic and positive demeanor despite having woken up this morning to all of his food having been stolen by raccoons. Hannah offers him some of her snacks, which he gratefully accepts, we chat briefly and then part ways. During the entire interaction I stare in awe at the small pouches attached to his bike that carry everything he needs for months of travel on two wheels. Sometimes I think we’re living with little until I meet someone like Eddy. And I absolutely love that shift of perspective. Our tiny truck camper feels like a mansion when we return to camp.
The rest of the day is extremely mellow. I fight the voices in my head telling me I should do this and I should do that and instead find a nice, warm rock to sit on and stare at the ocean. If I want the sense of overwhelm I’ve been feeling lately to dissipate I need more time to simply sit and take it all in. Watching the waves crash against the rugged coastline is as mesmerizing as watching a campfire. I take note of the fact that I never notice how alive the planet is until I’m near water.
The nearby mountain is causing the sun to set on us by 4:30pm, not at all helping our internal clocks to keep us up until a reasonable hour. By 6:30 we’ve all gone inside and by 8:30 lights are out. We’re not even outside long enough to catch the stars. I guess we’ll just have to wait and do that in the morning.
Sunrise at a new favorite beach. 
Meeting Eddy, a bike packer, while out for a walk. 
Camp as seen from the air.
Drone photos taken with the DJI Mini.
Land- based photos taken with the Canon R6.
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What an absolutley beautiful beach you are camped at! I hope you get some nice downtime. I can see where meeting Eddy would put a new appreciation on your life style living on the road!
Great write up on the cactus sanctuary in your earlier posts. How super to see such a place and with a host as nice as Lupe.
Eddy is an adventurous soul and I can relate to him. My brother and I rode our bikes from Astoria OR to Bar Harbor ME back in 1988. And yes, raccoons will ransack your bike painiers if you have food in them.
Your travels and beach camps look like so much fun! Thanks for sharing! Your write ups are a great respite from the winter.
Safe travels!
That is quite impressive Rick. I sure would love to sit around a fire with you one day and hear some of your stories. I hope we get the chance to meet one day.