Winter in Baja Day 76: Powered by the sun

Las Animas //

A thick layer of grey clouds fills the sky this morning and subsequently drains us of enthusiasm for exploring.  I hate that the lack of sun affects Mark and me so greatly but it’s a fact nonetheless.  We consider making it a driving day but it’s my birthday and I’d rather be on the beach in the company of good friends.  The occasion causes me to reflect and regardless of the clouds, I spend the entire day in a state of gratitude for this life that I absolutely love.

Darci and I take refuge from the bees inside the gazebo tent and talk for hours about life.  The moment we see shadows cast in the sand we both spring upright and exit the tent.  The sun has come out.  Our mutual enthusiasm tells me that Darci is as solar-powered as I am.  

I spot Mark on a paddleboard and decide to go join him.  Our campsite is located on the end of a spit where a long, winding channel fills and empties with the incoming and outgoing tide.  High tide has just passed and the channel is full so we paddle as far as we can go.  At most, the water is 12” deep, on average about 5”, and it changes by the minute.  It’s a fun lazy paddle with beautiful mountains rising to our left and jagged foothills to our right.  With the water on its way out of the channel, our return trip becomes a game of trying not to get stuck in the shallows.  At times we plant one foot on the channel floor and push ourselves forward as though we’re on skateboards.  Finally we remove our fins and let the water simply take us where it wants.  We’re soaked, happy, and hungry by the time we return to camp.

Prepping dinner takes twice as long as it should thanks to the sunset.  For what feels like an hour or more the sky puts on a glorious show.  It glows in all shades of yellow, orange, and pink, and none of us can take our eyes off of it.  In this moment the level of contentedness is high.  And with that, the desire to leave tomorrow is fading.  We go to bed deciding that we’ll leave it up to the sun.

Thanks to Darci for taking and sharing the photos of Mark & me that were used in this post. : )