Playa Cerritos, Todos Santos

We wake up early as the sound of crashing waves overtakes that of the generator and pop out for a sunrise session with basically only us in the water.  The waves were a bit messier, but no complaints from us…other than volleyball we can't think of a better way to exercise and pass the time.  We have been having a few issues with the fridge and other electrical items in the bus over the last few days so after drying off and watching other suffers enter the water we drive half way up the beach to the "surfer colony" resort and decide to splurge on breakfast in order to use their internet.  $10 hasn't always been a splurge, but when you eat as well as we do for almost nothing, these items become big decisions…. We send a few emails, eat a ridiculously good plate of chilaquiles and then dip in the pool, (making sure we get full value from our $10 breakfast).  We spend the better part of the day wading, talking with the resort marketing manager, a few of the couples staying here and a couple from Colorado (previously from Oregon) staying at the hacienda overlooking the beach.  We agree to meet them for happy hour/sunset sangrias at the hacienda pool and then head back to Todos Santos.
We didn't really have any needs, but wanted to walk and explore a bit in town.  As we saw on the drive through, the town is beautiful and one could spend hours or days walking through all the galleries and shops.  We also look briefly at the ads in the window of a real estate office and realize our expectations are true…this little community not only caters nicely to a gringo population, but has already matched the prices if you choose to stay here.  We have little money to spend and even less places to store things…so we settle instead for some ice cream and head out to explore the beaches.  We drive around for hours looking for this magical free camping beach where surfers gather all winter but are sad to find only deep sand beaches and worse yet, deep sandy roads leading to them.  If this camping exists where we think it does…it's only for those with 4wheel drive.  Bummer.
Back to Cerritos, we park this time away from the restaurant (and its generator) and on a small bluff overlooking the break in between two properties.  No sooner do we get setup and a few swedish surfers walk up checking out the spot for their rv.  We assure them that we made it up the hill okay without bottoming out and they decide to joins for a while.  We talk with the guys, then walk up the hill for our sunset happy hour.  As we learned earlier, the hacienda was the first project of the developer that also owns the surf colony (and who has scripted a few other resorts/developments on the beach) and is really a masterful piece of work.  Each suite feels really remote but shares common spaces and 4or5 giant kitchens and living rooms between them.  The pool, outdoor bar and patio is also perfect and provide a spectacular backdrop to sunset as we hangout with our friends from this morning and meet a few more.

Everyone is so excited to talk about our trip, but we are eager to hear about their lives, travels and dreams as well.  For me…meeting people along the way is easier than any time in my life.  For once there is easy conversation about the environment we're all sharing and they are immediately drawn to the bus, or jen or karma (or all of the above).  All three of these things are so intoxicating to everyone we come across that they want to learn everything about us and our journey.  Welcome to my world.  And what a beautiful world it is- I'm just (happily) along for the ride...