Feliz Cumpleanos Daniel

January 18, 2013 – Yes today is my birthday, the big 58, hard to believe it is only 2 more years and I can collect my TWU pension, I look forward to that for sure. We are now in the Rancho Verde Campground located at km 142 on Hwy 1, one day we will have a leased property here.

The last couple of days of been cool and windy, a big change from the 2012 January tour which was the warmest ever, about 5C or 8F warmer than this month. After leaving Loreto we continued south to Ciudad Insurentes then onto Ciudad Constitucion. When we arrived at Palapa 206 we were greeted by Mike, we always look forward to seeing Mike & Bertha. Nigel also dropped by, unfortunately all his Baja racers were in the shop (he has 3 now), however he was able to show everyone some video that was taken from his last race, he has been driving for 6 years now, racing for 3, we believe he turns 13 this fall.

When we left the next day for La Paz and Tecolote it was very cold, lots of frost, likely around 0C or 32F, not uncommon for this time of year but definitely unwelcome. The good news was sunny skies and calm winds, the bad news was that changed as we made the turn to the Sea of Cortez about 75KM away from La Paz. The wind was howling from the northeast and we slowed down, often only traveling 60-70 km per hour (40-45 miles per hour). We hunkered down forming a barrier with the RVs against the wind which never really abated. No swimming, kayaking or stand up paddle boarding, just to rough although the water was warm enough. Instead we hike up to the peak behind the beach and stood on the head of the pregnant women, what a view! FYI much easier getting up the coming down, I am happy to report no injuries were sustained.

Our trip to Rancho Verde went smoothly, great stop in El Triunfo, breakfast was great at the Caffe El Triunfo and other local sites. Very pleased that the wind has stopped and temperatures have risen. The gang had a good hot dog roast tonight with our propane campfire, tomorrow we head to Los Cabos and the bottom. Would not have had my birthday anywhere else, perfect ending for the day.