Ho Ho Ho - Santa comes to Baja’s back-country

Fishing village of El Delgadito

I’ve just returned to Mulege after a week of traveling around some of the more remote parts of Baja with a group of people who do an annual trip to bring gifts of toys, clothes, sunglasses and food to some of the isolated fishing camps and pueblos on the Pacific side of Baja around San Juanico (join the dots at https://share.delorme.com/RobertLambeck). The variation in landscape is remarkable and is reflected in the different villages scattered through this tough landscape - little windswept fishing camps constantly exposed to the Pacific where the people seem moulded by the tough conditions, but were very welcoming and appreciative of the gifts that they received; and tucked into mountain gorges were unexpectedly lush oases with permanent spring water, date palms, oranges, pomegranates and flashes of color from bouganvillias and other bright flowering shrubs.

Christmas hats

While most of the group are there for the gift giving, one guy, Steve, is involved in assessing the additional needs the communities and then working through his networks to have these addressed - a wheelchair for a disabled person here, a generator there, some medicines, seeds for growing vegetables, and visits by volunteer doctors from the US. All very impressive and inspiring! A big thanks to all they crew who let me tag along on their inspirational venture!

Santa's sleds

Snoring with the goats

Party time in La Parisima

After parting company with the rest of the group Steve and I went into the village of La Parisima where a visit to a local winery turned into an invitation to join the whole family for a barbecue before returning to the town square for their annual traditional town festival for singing and dancing, the crowning of the new town queen and political speeches that went on way too long (don’t they all?).