No Dias Malos

There’s a saying in Baja,

No Dias Malos (No Bad Days)

I might be living the good life in Baja, but no bad days is a tough mantra to live up to.

All my life my moods have fallen prey to even the subtlest shifts of light. A pastel sunrise easily softens the edges of my mind. The dark scares me and I’m convinced bad guys live in shadows. Am I the only one with moods this fickle?

We just celebrated our first full moon cycle in Baja and I don’t know if I can blame the moon or not, but I’ve been moody as hell. Too much sun? Too much fun?

I’ll admit, I’m not always as present as I’d like to be. We’re plugged into our phones with international plans and unlimited data. Some days we spend more time connecting with friends and following the gps on our phones than exploring dirt roads with the true spirit of adventure. Social media has changed the way we travel, for better and worse. Instagram has helped us connect in real life with kindred spirits and develop meaningful relationships. At the same time, I catch myself scrolling for no real reason except I can, when I’d be better off doing just about anything else.

Most of my friends, that don’t live like we do, probably think my life is one big, easy breezy vacation. I’m in Baja, what’s not to love? First of all? The fucking wind! I’m so sick of the wind. It forces me inside, with clothes on when I should be sunbathing after an epic snorkel around an island.

Also, we’re not on vacation. We’re poor. We’ve budgeted and simplified in order to gain our freedom. Freedom from the necessity to trade all of our time for money. Making sacrifices is how we afford to travel. I miss yoga classes and bicycle commutes, running water and couches. A lot of things that I traded for a vagabond life. Some days I’m just grumpy and I want a to take a bath with a bottle of wine, but I can’t remember the last time that happened.

You’d think my life would be pretty simple, condensed to 96 square feet, but I can’t keep my head screwed on half the time and it drives me crazy. In the last month, I’ve lost two pairs of sunglasses (and cursed the sun), my keys (and cursed adulthood), gotten sick multiple times (and cursed Mexico’s water), been stung by jellyfish (and cursed the ocean), lost my temper and found that I need more alone time than I give myself. So I hide. Then the FOMO (fear of missing out) kicks in and I get to thinking — we drove all the way down here and what if I don’t see everything I want to see? So I feel guilty for hiding in bed with a book when it’s all I want to do.

You feel me yet? Traveling is not always easy. And the more I accept that instead of trying to make everyday a good day, the happier I am. Because without the bad days, there would be no good days. Finding a healthy balance takes practice and it’s one I’m still working on.

Now I’ll tell you what I love about our trip so far. Baja is super chill and things have a way of moving more slowly down here and I like that. It’s mostly an untamed wilderness, the kind of place I feel at home. The landscape is dotted with enormous cacti, about 30 ft tall and hundreds of years old. Like, forests of them. Sandy roads, not much more than mule trails, that probably date back to the conquistadors, zigzag across the spines of mountains, linking oases, old ranches and Spanish missions from the 1700s. Hiking in the Sierra La Laguna mountains is like hiking into the past. Everywhere we go, we glimpse into the history of this vibrant country and it’s humbling and inspiring.

Baja has miles of white sand beaches, turquoise water and tons of amazing marine life. The Sea of Cortez is an inland sea, with calm and clear water. We’ve been swimming with whale sharks and gone snorkeling out our front door. It’s winter, bikini weather and margaritaville. Sounds like vacation huh? ;)

We can camp for free on primitive beaches or pay a small fee to local caretakers for things like trash service and outhouses. Food is cheaper than dirt down here and beer even cheaper. We can get a six pack of Carta Blanca for 48 pesos. That’s $2.57 USD.

We’re practically saving money in Mexico. And you can too if you want to pack up your entire life into a vehicle, rid yourself from debt and drive south. I dare you. Fuck the wall, Trump and all that irrational American fear. We feel safer here than we do in most of the US. The people in Mexico are friendly, resourceful and generous. You will almost never get ID’d again and lots of puppies need homes. The stars are bright and tacos are everywhere.

No Dias Malos