Making Friends in Playa Cerritos
Still expecting for someone to tell us we aren't allowed to camp here on our bluff- but until they do our days here look like more of the same.We hide away from the sun most of the day and use the occasional cloud cover as an opportunity to surf or explore. Today saw a great cover for a few hours as the offshore storm sent winds our way. It also meant the best surf we've seen, even if only for a few hours. We continue trying to learn and enjoy watching the locals and kids ride the waves with grace and ease.
Biggest perk of our current location is still meeting other travelers. Our two neighboring resorts provide lots of conversations from those who have chosen to stay for the week and we are curious what(or who) tomorrow will bring since most of the friends we've made are flying home tomorrow morning. After surfing until our arms are rubber, we headed back up the hill to look for our sunglasses (which apparently were lost during our sunset tour last night) but have no luck. We do however meet another couple and spend some time talking about our trip, his trip years ago and his friend back home who is trying to make the leap as we speak. No sunglasses, we head down the hill with our eyes squinting into the sun disappointed at our lack of focus the night before.
A quick siesta for jen, and we head back to the surf colony for anther chance to get online, enjoy a happy hour drink and swim in their pool. The pool is so comfortable we can't help but stay for one more, but it pays off as we meet Kent, who was drawn in by Karma and he needed a puppy fix. We immediately struck up conversation as he and his wife Lynn are considering an extended trip south of the border as well. We get ready to head back but Kent offers a beer back at his place which turns into happy hour, and then another, and then an invitation to dinner and a late night swim in the ocean and pool. Certainly no shortage of conversation with these two as we have many parallels. They have spent the last decade building and remodeling homes, and the last few years trying to payoff debt…all so very familiar. Also no shortage of giving from these two as they essentially offered for us to move in for a few days only minutes after meeting us. We settled instead for an exquisite dinner and superbly grilled steaks. What a great connection and what a perfect evening on the beach. Sounds like we might just repeat tomorrow night!
We wake up to another gorgeous sunrise and it quickly reaches full heat. We decide to have breakfast and hide out in the bus, but before we finish our chorizo breakfast tacos we have multiple visitors. First Frank and Fransisco stop by to say goodbye and drop off gifts of food and wine (we love these guys). We hear about their amazing spa day in town yesterday and give them a tour of the bus before they take off for the airport. We hope we are lucky enough to run into these two again in future travels. Minutes after they pull away Tim and Linda (our intro to the hacienda and everyone we met there) stop by to say goodbye as well, but also deliver great news. They found our sunglasses before leaving and dropped them off at the hacienda bar! Sounds like one more walk up to the hacienda is in order… All our departing friends inevitably make us remember the last day(s) of vacations past and that familiar feeling of when its over and the countdown to the airport begins. We gain an even deeper respect for the journey we are currently on and are thankful and appreciative of the work we put in to get here.
No sooner do they pull out, we return to our tacos and a new vehicle rolls up, this time with new friends. Kellee and Jamie (and their dog Rena) are also driving south and have been on the road about as long as we have, but left from San Diego. They also made better time south and have already been around the cape, so they decided that the best way to spend the rest of uber-hot september was renting a cheap house on the beach north of town. Jen and I have been contemplating the same thing for the last few days and are excited to hear that the option still remains if we decide to stick around. They are the first real travelers we have met on the trip and we take some time to check out their rig and talk about travel stories before Jamie get antsy to jump of his board and hit the surf, so they set up their beach umbrella (we are still in need of one of these) and migrate to the beach.
Several hours of perfect sunny weather later the wind picks up instantly to stormy gusts and we are scrambling to keep the awning from ripping off the bus. Jamie runs up to lend a helping hand and they are rapidly picking up their gear as well and running for cover. We all stand behind the bus for shelter from the wind and enjoy a beer and a tostada before heading up the hill to grab our sunglasses. We talk of our experiences so far and decide to reconvene tomorrow at their rental casita for dinner and to celebrate mexican independence day.
Jen and i talk about how fortunate we are to keep running into amazing people like those we spent the last 24 hours with, have a quick snack before grabbing some homemade sangria and a bottle of tequila and head down the beach for another evening at Kent and Lynns. We have another amazing dinner watch the tropical storm blow by expecting a bit more rain and storm but in the end got only the wind.
