Time to take a break from applying ointment to Gael for awhile. More on that later.


We managed to exit the USA on the 29th Sept, two days before our visa’s were due to expire, so we have left the door open to return, if we choose, to by getting out on time, although there can be complications in obtaining a new visa. We will miss all the camping in National Forests and on BLM land. So much free to access public land in the States. It dwarfs Australia in this respect.


It only took us about an hour to complete the border formalities at Tecate, and so enter Mexico. Tecate is not far from Tijuana, but is a much smaller town and doesn’t have the bad reputation that Tijuana has. All the border staff were great, and fortunately for us all spoke English.


After buying a few supplies we headed across to the Baja west coast town of Ensenada. A busy, but not chaotic town, that had the last Walmart that we will see for a while, thank God. Whilst in the carpark we bumped into Martin and Franzi, a young Swiss couple living their dream of driving the Pan American Hwy in their 1998 Landrover. We camped out on the coast with them that night and discussed where we had all been in the past and where we might be headed in future travels. We really enjoyed talking to like minded people who share similar, although unique, day to day experiences.


We are just ahead, by a week or two, of the Snowbirders. These are octogenarian Canadians and Americans from the northern states who head to the Baja for the North American winter. Us being here early means that things are nice and quiet, but the down side is that the weather is still hot and unstable. Hurricane’s are not unheard of at this time of year down here.
In fact the further south we go the more uncomfortable it is becoming. Hot and humid would sum it up.
As of the present we are nearing La Paz towards the south of the Baja peninsula. The temperature in La Paz early this week (12th Oct) is expected to be around 37C, with crippling humidity for two Tasmanians.
With this humidity come bugs. Millions, no, billions of blood sucking, biting, and mainly invisible to the naked eye, bugs. The locals call these little bugs ‘can’t see ums’.
It’s getting to the stage where I will have to do the shopping by myself. The appearance of Gael’s white face and arms and legs covered in red bites, is starting to scare small children in the Supermarkets.
Must go! Gael is calling out for more ointment! Her body looks like one of those puzzles where you join the dots.


Presently we are finding Mexico doesn’t offer much by way of stunning scenery, with the coast south of La Paz on the Baja and parts of the desert being the exceptions. This southern part of the coast has a big diving and eco focus. In fact if you just visited this part of Mexico you could probably fool yourself into believing all was well here environmentally, with their rubbish recycling bins very visible. I have a nagging feeling that like in the rest of the country the rubbish is just taken out of view of tourists and burnt. I hope I am wrong!
On this trip Europe and the USA have probably spoilt us. We are sure Mexico was a beautiful place once but plastic waste, in the main, is destroying the place. Whilst not as bad as Albania or Morocco, for example, it is still quite a problem.


The Baja California appears to have gone through a boom and bust cycle. The peninsula is covered in failed tourism ventures. It would appear that it does not hold the same fascination for the American tourist that it may have in the past.


On returning to La Paz after hitting the southern end of the Baja, we have decided that with Gael needing some preventive maintenance, she won’t let me go into more detail (secret women’s business), and preferring that it be done at home, we will head back the Baja into the USA to ship home. If they will let us back in without having to go all the way down to Guatemala and back again that is. That would be a real pain in the bottom.


We have considered leaving the truck here in Mexico and returning later, but as Gael will already be picking berries for many years to come to pay for the trip to date, she became visibly distressed when I suggested she might need to take in ironing as well. This, I tried to explain, would be necessary to cover the cost of truck storage and return air fares, etc.


The bottom line however is that Gael’s health is more important than any selfish desires for extended travel on my part. Also her capacity to undertake paid work into the future should not be compromised.
What a wonderfully considerate husband and human being I hear you say!