Thinking of El Sur
The inversion lingered for a sixth day today. The sun actually managed to burn through the fog for most of the day but the temperatures are still very cold, hovering around the freezing point even in mid-afternoon. Despite that fact the well-meaning city employees who maintain the open-air ice rink that sits right across the street from my office still couldn't manage to keep one troublesome corner of rink from melting. Go figure.
As long as we have sunshine I don't mind the cold, but I know I'm unusual in that respect. Melissa, my girlfriend, is particularly cold sensitive (odd, since she grew up in St. Louis which is just as cold if not colder than Reno) and has been having a tough time lately. I think it helps that she can now fixate on the fact that we've decided to take a vacation in early March; by that point even I will probably be sick of winter.
I know she's really excited about this. For the last few weeks, every time I walk in on her using the computer I can't help but notice that she's somewhat obsessively looking for vacation deals online. To tell the truth, I'm pretty excited too. The best choice to me at this point seems to be Los Cabos at the far end of the Baja Peninsula.
Baja is one of those places who's very name can get my blood pumping. To me, the name itself is evocative in a wild and trascendent way--just saying the word makes me think "untouched, foreboding, unspeakably beautiful." It's one of those place names, like "Sahara" or "Amazon" that just makes you want to grab a good pair of shoes, an old backpack and lots and lots of Imodium AD and head out.
I'm going to have to compromise, of course. Melissa, God bless her, isn't really the Adventure Travel sort. I'm sure we'll end up in one of those resort cities full of gringos like ourselves. And don't get me wrong, we'll have a great time. But what I really want to see is the country, even for just a day or two. Although the resort cities get all the attention, most of Baja is completely empty and Baja Highway 1 travels the entire length of the peninsula. To me, driving the length of the Baja would be one of those trips of a lifetime, like climbing Kilimanjaro or rafting the Colorado through Grand Canyon. It's one of those things that if someone has to ask why you want to do it then they aren't going to understand (somehow this guy got a web magazine to PAY him to do it; I hate that guy). I suppose it's the romantic in me. I so want to believe that there are still unblemished corners of the world waiting to be discovered, unplanned adventures waiting to happen, wild places where you can remind yourself that the world is actually a pretty big place, and your petty problems are really insignificant.
That's going to have to wait, though. For now, it's probably best just to get down to Cabo for a few days before it's overrun with Home Depots.
As long as we have sunshine I don't mind the cold, but I know I'm unusual in that respect. Melissa, my girlfriend, is particularly cold sensitive (odd, since she grew up in St. Louis which is just as cold if not colder than Reno) and has been having a tough time lately. I think it helps that she can now fixate on the fact that we've decided to take a vacation in early March; by that point even I will probably be sick of winter.
I know she's really excited about this. For the last few weeks, every time I walk in on her using the computer I can't help but notice that she's somewhat obsessively looking for vacation deals online. To tell the truth, I'm pretty excited too. The best choice to me at this point seems to be Los Cabos at the far end of the Baja Peninsula.
Baja is one of those places who's very name can get my blood pumping. To me, the name itself is evocative in a wild and trascendent way--just saying the word makes me think "untouched, foreboding, unspeakably beautiful." It's one of those place names, like "Sahara" or "Amazon" that just makes you want to grab a good pair of shoes, an old backpack and lots and lots of Imodium AD and head out.
I'm going to have to compromise, of course. Melissa, God bless her, isn't really the Adventure Travel sort. I'm sure we'll end up in one of those resort cities full of gringos like ourselves. And don't get me wrong, we'll have a great time. But what I really want to see is the country, even for just a day or two. Although the resort cities get all the attention, most of Baja is completely empty and Baja Highway 1 travels the entire length of the peninsula. To me, driving the length of the Baja would be one of those trips of a lifetime, like climbing Kilimanjaro or rafting the Colorado through Grand Canyon. It's one of those things that if someone has to ask why you want to do it then they aren't going to understand (somehow this guy got a web magazine to PAY him to do it; I hate that guy). I suppose it's the romantic in me. I so want to believe that there are still unblemished corners of the world waiting to be discovered, unplanned adventures waiting to happen, wild places where you can remind yourself that the world is actually a pretty big place, and your petty problems are really insignificant.
That's going to have to wait, though. For now, it's probably best just to get down to Cabo for a few days before it's overrun with Home Depots.
posted by Yukon Sully | 7:21 PM
1 Comments:
It would be nice if there were a single corner of the planet that American companies didn't pollute with their shitty architecture and rampant consumerism.
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