No pasa nada

Todos Santos, BCS, November 8, 2007

As I re-read and then post the blog entry below, written last night, I am disgusted with myself. It appears that yesterday morning, I came to the conclusion that there are only two things to do here: golf or nothing. Exploring the mission in town, finding a good desert hike, sitting in a downtown bar practicing Spanish by chatting up some locals – all perfectly good options to both golf and nothing – had escaped my imagination.

Perhaps the frustration with not finding a taxi that could take me back to my hotel on Tuesday strangled my sense of adventure. But, I have now bored myself. I hope to have a more interesting, less self-pitying entry to share with you tomorrow. If not, I should quit this obsession with travel and stay home. Perhaps armchair tourism is my style.

Egads, let’s hope not. On to a more adventurous day!

Todos Santos, BCS, November 7, 2007

Last night, I lay awake unable to sleep and wished I were home. I missed Ben and Carly. I was squirming because I saw two very large bugs in my room – or really one beetle and a large spider – right before going to bed. I was unhappy because my ground-floor location required keeping my sliding glass door closed, even though the room was stuffy and humid. And, the surf was particularly violent last night. In the still of the night, the roar was deafening and I had visions of a huge tsunami crashing into my casita, which sits only 150 yards from the beach and no more than a half-dozen feet above sea level.

As I lay awake, I weighed the possibility packing up this morning, trying to get a seat on the Alaska Airlines flight from La Paz (it only departs on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday), and heading home.

In the middle of the night, the thought of “wasting” three more days with nothing more to do than sit by the pool, walk on the beach, catch up on NYT Book Reviews and read novels wasn’t pleasant. Because of the poor transportation options, I realized I won’t be able to play golf. If I had someone to share the cab ride to the courses down by Los Cabos, it wouldn’t be so bad. We could split the fare, and we could work on finding a ride back together. But alone, it would cost me $200 roundtrip, and the cost of the golf would double that outlay. And who knows if I ever would get back?

If I go home, I thought, there is so much I can do, so much I can get done.

By daylight, my outlook improved. I could see that the surf, while high and noisy, was still no closer than it was the day before. I began to re-examine my options. I’ve already paid for this hotel room, so I wasn’t going to save any money going home early. The sun is going to shine down here for the next three days, for sure. And what exactly do I have to get done back home? What are those urgent items on my “to do” list? And what’s so wrong with not having anything to do? Isn’t that what some people think vacation is all about?

The problem is, I’m just not very good at having nothing to do. I decided to spend the day seeing just how lazy I could be, and seeing if I could figure out how to enjoy that.

No, I couldn’t manage to take a nap, in spite of how little sleep I got last night. I tried, but I couldn’t quit fidgeting. But I passed the day without doing anything that could be considered athletic or productive. I didn’t write postcards or go for a hike. I didn’t learn anything new about Mexican history or Mexican culture. I never even left the hotel grounds.

Instead, I had a leisurely breakfast while checking my e-mails. I read the second half of the Ann Patchett novel I brought. I read two more NYT Book Reviews. I took a picture of the bunch of green coconuts on the tree above my head. I got in the pool – just to get wet and cool off, not to get any exercise. I sat in the sun. I sat in the shade. I had lunch up on the terrace above the bar and scoured the horizon with my binoculars looking for whales. I made small talk with a couple from Denver and Palm Springs whom I didn’t even like. I checked my e-mails again. I had a margarita at the bar and talked to a couple from New York who recently bought a house down here. I had a salad and a glass of wine for dinner. That’s it. And I managed to spend about 14 hours doing all of this nothing.

I am not yet sure that I enjoyed it. How do you know when there’s so little to remember?

Tomorrow, I’m ratcheting it up a notch. I’m going to walk into town to find some jewelry for Christmas presents and cash for my ride back to La Paz on Saturday and a book about the region. I’m going to walk along the beach if the surf isn’t too high. The other thing I’m going to do … I’m going to have nothing but dessert for dinner. Yes, me, the anti-sweet, protein-loving me. Will wonders ever cease?