ya llego!

i made it safely to Loreto. my little car was just fine (just a little dirtier than usual) and I didn't run into any problems whatsoever. got to socal easily on thursday evening. of course, it took me 6 hours to go 300 miles and then after i got into LA it took 2 1/2 hours to go 40 miles. it's not a new experience for me but everytime i'm in it i just feel it's UNBELIEVABLE! i could never live there (unless of course i got a KILLER postdoc there and could still work in baja...).

the morning of FRIDAY THE 13TH i ran my last minute U.S. errands (mail taxes, birthday cards, bills) and still hadn't seen a COSTCO anywhere near the hotel or near the freeway so i put a few phone calls in to friends to see if they could find one for me on the internet while i was driving towards the border. just at san diego TWO people called me back to give me the location and after getting slightly lost i found it, got my stuff, and headed towards the border. at the border, i got the green light and i was on my way!

my goal was to reach Ensenada before 5 pm to get my tourist card and get to the bank (easy deal) and then reach either San Quintin or Cataviña before nightfall to stay for the night.

from Tijuana to Ensenada there are some great views of the Pacific along the way


there's also the giant jesus, or as i like to call him: JEEEZUS!


yes, that's a 3-story house below him, that's how giant JEEZUS! is.

i had to laugh after the phone shenanigans trying to find the costco, i see this at an intersection in Ensenada.


of course it was after i passed this last COSTCO i realized i had forgotten stuff like the most important thing: VIDEO TAPE. got the candy (for last year's neighbor kids), got the pistachios (for a fisherman friend), got the dr. pepper (for emergency caffeine). no videotape. i'm so stupid. but then again, noone's died for lack of videotape, but people could die for my lack of caffeine, so there is a bright side...

i finally got to loreto around 6 pm Saturday night. i was debating with myself on what to do first, should i find a hotel, find some food, find my friends? i decided i should try to find my friends. i stopped by the dive shop, noone there. now keep in mind that the only person who knew i was coming was my friend at the dive shop. and even i hadn't fully decided to make this trip until 2 days before i left. when i usually arrive in town, i'm pretty conspicuous: giant white van pulling a trailer with a bright red boat. people who know me see me right away and i usually get honks and waves. i've even been reprimanded for being in town once for two days before going to see my fishermen friends. they had seen my van, known i was in town and gave me a hard time because i'd waited two days before finding them. i was actually trying to find a place to live...GOSH!

so this time i'm thinking, i'm in my little white car, nobody here has ever seen it, my hair is still short but now it's this assy red color i can't get rid of. noone is going to recognize me. i'm not here 5 minutes and all of a sudden there's honking and people shouting MICHELE! from this truck behind me. i'm dyin! so much for faking my own death and hiding out in mexico...

i then get to my friend's house and her sister is coming out and i say hi. she tells me that ivette is now living upstairs so i go up and ivette is so happy to see me and i yell at her for not writing me when she had the baby and she yells at me for never writing. she gives me a big hug and brings me in the house. she wants to know how long i'm staying, where i'm staying? she says i can stay there with them since the upstairs apartment is so much bigger than her other. she said she had started wondering when i would show up. i'm just sitting there trippin. i ask her aren't you SURPRISED to see me? don't you remember last year when i said i might not be able to come back for a long time? that last season was my last official season? pshaw she tells me. you can't stay away from here. you belong here. i knew you would come.

i keep protesting. I, ME, the one living my life, didn't even know if i could or would come back. i just decided like 5 days ago. she's having none of it. she says she knew i would come.