Winter in Baja Day 79: No diesel ’til Sunday

Bahia de los Angeles // 

This morning we sit on the beach with Josh & Darci and hash out our individual needs for the coming days leading us to the conclusion that the time has come to say goodbye.  We take a group photo and exchange hugs, and a few tears are shed as I watch them drive away.  Their companionship has made our winter one I will never forget and it pains me to say goodbye and not know when we’ll see them again.  

While Josh & Darci made the decision to make their way to the border, our plans hinge entirely on whether or not we can get our hands on some diesel.  Yesterday, while our trailer was in the shop being repaired, Josh filled his gas tank at the only station in town and learned that they are currently out of diesel.  Sammy, our mechanic, told us he had access to some and if we left our 5 gallon jug we could come by and pick it up in the morning.  But when we arrive this morning the jug is empty and the diesel Sammy thought he had access to was not available.  We head over to the gas station to learn that the next fuel delivery is on Sunday, today is Friday.  For a brief moment we consider trying to make it to the next gas station 105 miles away but we’d really be pushing our luck and on a highway with no shoulder of any kind.  We quickly decide the risk isn’t worth it so we set out to find a place to camp, somewhere preferably protected from the high winds forecasted for tomorrow.

A couple of miles out of town we veer off the road and onto a dirt track that leads us down to the beach.  As we approach the shoreline we pass a random concrete slab that, funnily enough, actually looks like a pretty appealing place to park.  It’s a clean, solid, perfectly level surface (something we haven’t experienced in months) and is tucked up against a cliffside that will very likely protect us from tomorrow’s wind.  With that, we’re sold.  

I am far more delighted than I ever would have guessed to be parked on a surface other than dirt or sand.  Sometimes, when this lifestyle starts to wear us down, it’s the tiniest of changes found in unexpected places that can give us the reset we need.  Once again we’re camped somewhere that I doubt anyone has ever sought out and yet we couldn’t be more content.  All in all not a bad place to be stuck for a few days without fuel.