10/27 - 10/28

Photo: Baseball with the local kids

Turtle Bay is a small fishing village connected to the road system on the Baja peninsula. The town isn't much, but does have a couple tiendas (small stores) and several small restaurants. It also has a ball field, complete with covered dugouts and spectator stands. Clearly baseball is big here. A game was pulled together with cruisers and local kids, all mixing together in a rotation game. (Take a turn at bat, then work your way through the field.) The local kids (only boys came to play!) didn't speak a word of English, but it didn't matter, some things, like baseball, are universal. We had an absolute blast, I actually got two hits (hadn't swung a ball in over 30 years!) and played the outfield for a while. John stuck it out in the scorching sun longer than me, playing catcher and fetching balls for a couple of hours.

After the game, we stopped at a small bar/restaurant along the water. A palapa (palm frond) roof over a single room with a bar counter, small food prep area in the back, and a patio out front. They had cold beer, soda, & water, and a hand written sign on a scrap of cardboard identified their single food item offed that day, Shrimp Cavichi Tostadas. We ordered a couple Tostadas and a cold drink and settled on the patio in the sun. Figuring we would take a rest and freshen up before that evenings gathering at another restaurant, we headed back out to the boat, only to decide we were too pooped from the afternoon in the hot sun and never make it back to shore that evening. Early to bed for us!


Photo: Beach Party

Day two in Turtle Bay was all about a big potluck beach party. Volley Ball, tug of war, beachcombing, and water play filled the day. Locals setup a bar to sell cold beer, a few small food stands, and a couple booths with handmade wares for sale.

The universal language of this day for me was hard candies and stickers I brought to share. The local kids and adults alike were happy to receive the sweet treats. Some were bold and came up and asked for some, while others were shy and just walked nearby, happily accepting when I offered. Once the candy was all distributed I started giving the kids stickers (with Mom's permission). To have a little fun with a couple of young teen boys, I offered them smiley face stickers, to which they giggled, then declined. One of the adult men saw the boys decline and pointed to his own shirt to indicate he wanted a sticker, so I stuck one on his shirt and one on his buddy's as well, then gestured to the boys, showing them that these men were wearing smiley face stickers, only to receive more giggles and declines. I moved on. Later, after making the rounds of the beach party, I came across the two teen boys again and gave them the "are you sure?" look as I showed them the stickers. This time one of the boys turned away and the other motioned for me to put one onto his buddy's back, which of course I did. This got the boys laughing and kidding with each other, so I took advantage of the distraction and stuck one on the culprit's back as well. They were having fun now!

While I was causing trouble with my candy and stickers, Johnny was having a blast playing beach Volley Ball, which he paid for later with a sore back for a couple of days. It was all good fun and we ended our day with a panga (open boat used for fishing and/or taxi) ride back out to our boat in time to watch the sunset. Tomorrow we would head out for the next leg of the rally, Turtle Bay to Bahia Santa Maria.