Hey all - its been a few days, and I have some more free internet, so that warrants an update.

Last time I wrote I think was after I had just arrived in Guadalajara. I had spent the night in a field and then found the hostel in the city. The hostel was amazingly clean and gorgeous. I had a room with 6 beds, but only one of the others was occupied. I quickly met Stacey and Nick, two Americans from Bend, Oregon, who are in Mexico for a few months. We talked a bit before I headed out for a tour of the historic centers for the day. Thats when I got to see the church with all the nice boxes for the saints.

That night, I hung out at the hostel with Nick and Stacey and one of the guys who worked at the hostel, humberto. It was nice and relaxing. I also got to meet my roommate, Carlos. He has been staying at the hostel for 2 months now, and is the self-proclaimed "Most Handsome Guy in Jalisco (and surrounding areas)." Jalisco is the name of the state Guadalajara is in. The motto there was "Jalisco is Mexico," because most of the famous traditions Mexico is known for originated in the state of Jalisco.

The next day I saw some more of the city, which is ridiculously huge, and only got bigger as I was there. The city is full of churches and museums, and most were very reminiscent of Europe. At night, Nick and I and Carlos headed to the main Cathedral to take some pictures of everything lit up. By chance, an all female Mariachi band was playing by the cathedral, and we got to sit in on a great free show. It was actually my second free show of the day. When I tried to visit an art museum downtown that is recognized as a UNESCO heritage center, I found it closed due to a telethon that was raising money for it. I saw 2 bands play there, and I also saw about 8 different kinds of cops there for security. There were city cops, state cops, federal cops, some form of military, some kind of SWAT type unit, and another unit of baseball catchers. These guys were seriously more heavily equipped than hockey goalies. I don´t know what they were expecting to go down at the show, but it must have been big. While watching the ridiculous amount of cops file past, and being the mark for free money that a white guy is in Mexico, a young girl approached me and asked if I would donate some funds to her in Jesus' name. I said no, but she was persistent, and when I finally asked her if she understood spanish, she got serious and offered sexual services for a mere 10 pesos, which is the equivalent of a dollar. When I burt out in laughter, though, I think it offended her and I blew my chances. Blast!

The next day I checked out some of Guadalajara\'s parks and some more sites. The parks in the city are beautiful, and well worth the visit. Carlos and I headed out again that night to go to the Cathedral for an organ concert, Catholic style. It was awesome. It was extremely dramatic and powerful, and I was impressed with how many people were out, but the city was very lively every night I was there. We headed to a bona fide Mexican Cantina from there that is famous for a bicycle it has hanging up behind the bar. The story is some guy came in on his bike loaded back in the 1920s to take a leak and left without the bike. Apparently it´s been up there ever since. The cantina was a cool experience. Carlos and I headed back with a couple of beers to the hostel where the private security guard hooked us up with some meat and beans and other ingredients for some dinner, which Carlos cooked up. The three of us sat and talked hunting, fishing, and languages (Carlos knows 5 himself) and ate and headed to bed.

This morning I packed up and talked to a couple of the new guests in the hostel, one of whom was from DC. I said goodbye to Carlos and headed for the bus station. It´s practically impossible to hitch hike out of big cities, so I decided to go the easy route today and take the bus. Getting to the station made me realize once more how ridiculously big Guadalajara was. I think I would have needed a solid month to even get started in that place. I got my ticket to Guanajuato and cruised in style. Coming into the town here was cool as hell. The whole town is a UNESCO world heritage site, and its main streets are all underground, hence the sunject of the email. I will stay here a few days and then head to Dolores Hidalgo, the small town where my Mexican friends live. Until then, you can check out some of the pics the Texan Violators posted on their site of our fishing excursion at http://www.southboundtravels.com/days-12-14.html.

guadalajara 2

ok, since i had a really good time with those gringos i told you about, i figured i could elaborate a little more on some things while i have free internet access.

the first thing i noted about them after meeting the texans was that they were more than generous. after offering me a ride and then a spot in the fishing boat for a day, we loaded everything up to take barbara (the hollander) to the boat to baja. when we found out that (despite once again what our guide books said) the boat didnt leave til the next day, these guys (kyle, ben and bird) put their 10 gallon hats together to try to figure something out for the little lady. eventually we ended up finding a hotel room next to the dock for her, and we headed out.

i have to say, the drive to tepic was one of the most refreshing parts of my trip down here. first of all, i got to sit in the back of the marvelous rig that you can see pictures of on that website i sent ( www.southboundtravels.com - am i getting any money for this advertising?). but the best part was cruising in the open air, listening to creedence, james brown, the who, and scores of other musicians who i have been missing ever since arriving in the land of the accordian. i also found out along the way that ben builds custom mountain bikes, something i hope to take full advantage of int he near future. we had a great time discussing mountain biking while cruising the mexican highway. then, of course, there was the beer drinking. and then the beer drinking was fun too. we also drank some beers. then we had some roadside discussions on religion, along with some roadside shits. at one such discussio, we managed to pick up the most worn out mexican i think i have ever seen in my life, and we dropped him off in tepic.

once we finally got to the lake, we also managed to fit four guys in one fully loaded pickup for a night´s sleep. its the first and most likely last time i have ever or will ever see a 6´5" texan sleep across the utility box of a pickup. after being awakened by some mexican fishermen at the crack of dawn, we had a nice day on a beautiful lake that im sure youll be able to see pictures of soon on their site. so theres some more about my trip to tepic.
\r\n \r\nyesterday in guadalajara, i slept for the most part, since i now have a bed, which is a step up from a hay field. i walked around int he afternoon to see some old buildings and mail some film home to mommy. its a crazy mix of old europe and mexico here, which makes for a beautiful setting with lots of smog. something else we saw plenty of on our trip to tepic and back was the cause for some of the smog, the extreme lack of knowledge of any ecological system. all trash is burned here, at best. that is, if it makes it from the hand to an actual trash can, it gets driven to the springfield tire fire. if not, it stays on the sidewalk, or on the hiking trail in the national park, or in the water, or wherever. its a sad state of affairs. anyway, the government palace is extremely european, and there is a crapload of history here, with a bunch of statues of dead spaniards. the cathedral is hilarious. its just like a cathedral in a european city, only slightly more gaudy. the business side of the catholic church in latin america is extremely present (i dont know if i should call it business "side," which implies that the church may be used for something else, say spiritual salvation?) in the many displays dedicated to various saints in the church. each saint gets a nice sculpture or painting of himself in a clasic stance of distinguished saintliness, and then in front of each one, quite obviously, is a large box for money. there is a sign on each box indicating to whom you are giving your money. \r\n\r\n \r\nafter the church, i walked around a few plazas and hit up a chinese buffet. classic. my stomach seems to have shrunk, though, as i only managed to put away 2 plates, a meager showing at best. back int he hostel i met some great people who started planning me a birthday party. we´ll see if i stay til then, but theyre cool anyway. ok free internet is done. i go now, take care. \r\n\r\n \r\n \r\nmuller \r\n\r\n",0]
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yesterday in guadalajara, i slept for the most part, since i now have a bed, which is a step up from a hay field. i walked around int he afternoon to see some old buildings and mail some film home to mommy. its a crazy mix of old europe and mexico here, which makes for a beautiful setting with lots of smog. something else we saw plenty of on our trip to tepic and back was the cause for some of the smog, the extreme lack of knowledge of any ecological system. all trash is burned here, at best. that is, if it makes it from the hand to an actual trash can, it gets driven to the springfield tire fire. if not, it stays on the sidewalk, or on the hiking trail in the national park, or in the water, or wherever. its a sad state of affairs. anyway, the government palace is extremely european, and there is a crapload of history here, with a bunch of statues of dead spaniards. the cathedral is hilarious. its just like a cathedral in a european city, only slightly more gaudy. the business side of the catholic church in latin america is extremely present (i dont know if i should call it business "side," which implies that the church may be used for something else, say spiritual salvation?) in the many displays dedicated to various saints in the church. each saint gets a nice sculpture or painting of himself in a clasic stance of distinguished saintliness, and then in front of each one, quite obviously, is a large box for money. there is a sign on each box indicating to whom you are giving your money.

after the church, i walked around a few plazas and hit up a chinese buffet. classic. my stomach seems to have shrunk, though, as i only managed to put away 2 plates, a meager showing at best. back int he hostel i met some great people who started planning me a birthday party. we´ll see if i stay til then, but theyre cool anyway. ok free internet is done. i go now, take care.


muller

guadalajara 1

Time for another edition of the newly named Mullers Mullings, a semi to moderately weekly update on the travelings and doings of Brooks Miller.

Right now I am in the second largest city in mexico, guadalajara. I actually have a bed to stay in here as well, although I must admit I am paying for it. But I can talk more aboutt hat later. When I last updated everyone, I was still in baja California, in the city of La Paz.

I left the bus statio in La Paz at about 12:30 to go to the dock for the boat, which is about 20 km outside town. I went to the window to buy my ticket, and was informed that the ferry would leave at 5pm, the next day. Of couse this comes after asking 3 people in La Paz when the ferry leaves, and consulting the world wide interweb about times of departure, none of which informed me that the ferry only operates on tuesdays, thursdays and saturdays. Fortunately I had some food with me, and the beach was close by. Both my guide book and Denise´s had recommended the beach next to the ferry as the most popular. Once again, the guide books were incredibly inaccurate, as I was the only person on the entire beach until 4 mexicans showed up later in the afternoon. I swam a bit and walked down the street to a restaurant where I spent some time drinking beers and eating cheap steak.

In the morning I was visited at my spot on the beach by a fellow beach sleeper of the homeless variety. He kept me company for a few hours and I gave him whatever food I had. He enjoyed practicing his english on me, and he couldnt stop laughing at the fact that he would be going into town later that day to get some cookies. Apparently theyre really good. I went to wait for the ferry around lunchtime, got my ticket, and sat at a street vendor to eat some lunch. He was an older Mexican who, with his friend recommended all the best sites in Mazatlan: the women. I asked if there was more to see, and was informed that the women were enough. I also ate some rancid beef from this guy that kept me in the bathroom for quite some time.
\r\n \r\nWhen the ferry finally came, I boarded, and it was nothing like my previous ferry experience from Los Mochis. It was pretty dirty, smelled of exhaust fumes, and had a subpar dining area. I suppose I was spoiled by the other ship, which had better service than most airplanes I have been on. The ride was a good 16 hours, and the food was shit. Literally, they fed us shit. Actually, it sucked, and drinks were way overpriced, and coffee was not free like my other trip. I got to sleep a few hours on the floor, though, since there was plenty of room for a sleeping bag. \r\n\r\n \r\nAfter arriving in Mazatlan, I walked past the obnoxious taxi drivers basically trying to pull me into their cabs, and walked through the historical district of town. Passing a coffee shop, I was noticed by some fellow gringos and their female companion from holland. After talking for a bit, I found out that the guys were on their way around Central America, fishing and drinking beer the entire way. The girl was heading to where I came from in the baja. Since they were heading south, I decided to get a ride with these guys, and i soon discovered I would be riding in style. they have a 1998 Chevy pickup with a bench seat in the rear and a fishing boat for a roof providing some shade. You can check their site out at \r\nwww.southboundtravels.com. We rode to tepic in the south, and headed out to a lake from there. These Texans should first be commended on the spectacular feat of beer drinking they accomplished on the ride. Next, they should be commended on their fishing skills and knowledge, which they plan to use to open a lodge somewhere in central america. We only caught a few fish, but they managed to hook an 8 pound bass a few days before for the young lady from Holland. we took our fish to a local restaurant, and paid 6 bucks total to have them cooked up in what came to be my best meal so far in mexico. \r\n",1]
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When the ferry finally came, I boarded, and it was nothing like my previous ferry experience from Los Mochis. It was pretty dirty, smelled of exhaust fumes, and had a subpar dining area. I suppose I was spoiled by the other ship, which had better service than most airplanes I have been on. The ride was a good 16 hours, and the food was shit. Literally, they fed us shit. Actually, it sucked, and drinks were way overpriced, and coffee was not free like my other trip. I got to sleep a few hours on the floor, though, since there was plenty of room for a sleeping bag.

After arriving in Mazatlan, I walked past the obnoxious taxi drivers basically trying to pull me into their cabs, and walked through the historical district of town. Passing a coffee shop, I was noticed by some fellow gringos and their female companion from holland. After talking for a bit, I found out that the guys were on their way around Central America, fishing and drinking beer the entire way. The girl was heading to where I came from in the baja. Since they were heading south, I decided to get a ride with these guys, and i soon discovered I would be riding in style. they have a 1998 Chevy pickup with a bench seat in the rear and a fishing boat for a roof providing some shade. You can check their site out at www.southboundtravels.com. We rode to tepic in the south, and headed out to a lake from there. These Texans should first be commended on the spectacular feat of beer drinking they accomplished on the ride. Next, they should be commended on their fishing skills and knowledge, which they plan to use to open a lodge somewhere in central america. We only caught a few fish, but they managed to hook an 8 pound bass a few days before for the young lady from Holland. we took our fish to a local restaurant, and paid 6 bucks total to have them cooked up in what came to be my best meal so far in mexico.
\r\n \r\nafter we left the lake, we headed back to tepic, where we bought some goods, and then i left ben, kyle and bird to head west as they went south. i waited at a gas station and asked for some rides, but everyone was heading the wrong direction. finally, a charter bus stopped and i took a chance. i talked to some of the passengers and they loved me for knowing spanish, so we all went to the driver together to ask if i could get a ride. the driver said sure, and i got to talk to a bunch of guatemalans on their way home from LA for christmas. it was a comfortable and free ride in the bus to guadalajara, and i hopped a fence and slept last night in a field. In the morning, they even opened the gate for me so i could walk right out and i headed into the city. I finally found the hostel after 2 hours of encountering the classic Mexican problem of faulty guide books compounded with Mexicans´ apparent lack of knowledge of time, distance, or streets where they live. \r\n\r\n \r\nThats all for now, I will talk to you all soon.",1]
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after we left the lake, we headed back to tepic, where we bought some goods, and then i left ben, kyle and bird to head west as they went south. i waited at a gas station and asked for some rides, but everyone was heading the wrong direction. finally, a charter bus stopped and i took a chance. i talked to some of the passengers and they loved me for knowing spanish, so we all went to the driver together to ask if i could get a ride. the driver said sure, and i got to talk to a bunch of guatemalans on their way home from LA for christmas. it was a comfortable and free ride in the bus to guadalajara, and i hopped a fence and slept last night in a field. In the morning, they even opened the gate for me so i could walk right out and i headed into the city. I finally found the hostel after 2 hours of encountering the classic Mexican problem of faulty guide books compounded with Mexicans´ apparent lack of knowledge of time, distance, or streets where they live.

Thats all for now, I will talk to you all soon.


Brooks

the mountain

Hello everyone - I think I have a name for these updates, thanks to inspiration from one Gwen Keech, none by some of you as Curts girlfriend (and others not known at all). The name is derived from a nickname from high school, when a large, loud, obnoxious kid used to call me brother and I Muller (instead of Miller). The rest is fairly simple I would think. There it is, if you dont like it, bummer.

So I got to Todos Santos around lunch a couple days ago (since I dont even know what day today is I dont know when I got there). Ok, so i just checked the computer, and it says its Friday, so I got there on Tuesday at lunch. I asked around about the location of the small town of La Burrera, which is supposedly where the National Park begins. My guide book says to take a taxi, but I always go thr cheap route, so I got some food and water, and got a ride out to the spot where the road to La Burrera began.

Ther trucker dropped me off at a spot where the sign indicated the road headed to La Burrera, but when I got closer, it was fenced except for an opening for cars and said private property. So I walked over a couple hills where I had seen construction workers, and they assured me that was the road. I walked back and started heading down the dirt road into the mountains. After a solid 30 minutes in the desert, a truck picked me up and took me another 20 minutes. From there, he said it would be another 2 hours. Since it seems Mexicans have absolutely no concept of time or distance, I wasnt sure what to expect. Every time I ask if I can walk somewhere, the locals usually say No! thats at least half a kilometer...so its a 10 minute walk at most. I guess they think most Americans are riding around on Segways everywhere. So anyway I walked until dark, which was about 2 hours, and threw the hammock in a tree to sleep.

Upon waking, I assembled my belongings and headed into the mountains further. After another 30 or 40 minutes I got to a ranger station, and was greeted by a happy toothless ranger and his skinny dog. And also more flies than I have ever seen in my life. After talking with the ranger, it was arranged that I could leave my large pack in his shack, and I would take my smaller day pack to the mountain. I figured I would return about lunch time the next day but told him early afternoon to be safe. He said he would come back to unlock the door. He also told me there was water at the top of the mountain, which made me feel better, since it was HOT, although I was carrying about 2 gallons.

I departed from my toothless, friendly amigo and headed down the trail. At first it was pleasant, a small dirt road that was relatively flat. Then it turned vertical. Literally 99% of the trail was basically straight up. There were lots of places on the trail that were cut into the desert, giving two walls on either side, sometimes 6 feet high. The trail was so vertical that on the way down I could put my hands on either wall and swing down, not using my legs. So, of course, going up was fun. It was virtually desert the entire way, and I began to wonder about the accuracy of my guide book, which described grassy meadows, pine trees, and deciduous forests at the top. They said it was unlike anything in the Baja. I started to think that it was unlike anything in the Baja only because physical exertion was required, whereas everything else in the Baja (snorkeling, beah lunging, riding ATVs) is basically relaxing and requires almost no effort. At one point I laid down near the top and took a short nap. Then I headed on and got my surprise. There was literally no transition period, just an abrupt beginning of green. It was seriously awesome, and cooled down a lot at the top. It was like hiking in pa in the spring. I was running very low on water, and decided to head on to find the water my friend told me about. The only sign of water I saw was a small stream, and I figured this was it, since stranger things have happened to me here. Not wanting Giardia, I opted out of the stream drinking, and headed back down a bit until dark.

I slept on the mountainside which I was informed later is full of mountain lions, and had multiple dreams of various friends offering me things to driunk. Some showed me where there was water nearby on the mountain, others showed me where I could find it in their houses, and others offered me boxes of Jumex (the tropicana of mexico). I woke up before the sun rose to head down. There was no Jumex in sight. I ran half the way, wanting to get water, and wanting to get out of my shoes. My heel was already cut from the day before at the beach, and it sucked. I made it down by 10, and I sat at the hut for about 20 minutes thinking of how I was going to get my pack out of the locked building. 2 guides showed up and we talked about my problem after they fed me and gave me water. They were really cool guys, and honestly put as much effort as possible into breaking into the hut that was made of sticks. We couldnt get in, and after a bit, their students showed up for the trip they were guiding. The guides met with some friends, who were cousins of my buddy, and said he wouldnt be back today since he was in another small ranch. I spoke to some of the students, who gave me food as well, which was awesome since I only had honey and tortillas left. They all left and I was alone again wih the flies, thinking nobody would be around to get my pack out.

I sat down to read for a while, and it must have been about 2pm when I realized how I could get in. The walls of the hut were made of sticks bent around vertical supports with other small sticks stuck in between. I couldnt take apart the main wall, but between the roof and the top horizontal support was a small area I could take apart. I took out all the sticks, and slid my way through the tiny hole. Once inside, I was still a good 8 feet off the ground with my ass hanging outside the building. I posted up against the horizontal supports and made my way in and celebrated. I threw my pack out the hole and squirmed back out. I was halfway through rebuilding the wall section when my toothless friend showed up and informed me that it was still fairly early afternoon. I explained the situation, that I thought he wasnt coming back, and I was sorry for the hole in his wall. He was totally fine with it, and I fixed the wall. He was actually almost happy about the whole thing and had no problem with me whatsoever. We shook hands and I left to walk out of the park with little water once again.

This time I got lucky, and I got a ride after only about 30 minutes all the way into town. I got my jumex and water and fruit and loaded up. I went to the bus station, not wanting to wait for a ride, and paid my 5 bucks for the trip to La Paz. This part may qualify as too much information, but its funny, so here it is. On the bus, stuffing myself caught up with me, and I ran to the bathroom. Everything went as planned until I headed for the paper. there was none. In fact, there was nothing at all in the bathroom even close to toilet paper. Plus the bus exhaust seemed to be located under my ass in the toilet, so I had to get out. I remembered I had my little pocket dictionary for Spanish, and the pronunciation guide pages and the prologue served me well (who needs those anyway?).

And here I am in La Paz about to head to Mazatlan. I will catch the boat out at 3 and arrive tomorrow morning. Talk to you soon.

back in la paz

im dirty today. very dirty. and back in la paz. tomorrow i get on the boat to mazatlan. thats all im gonna say for now, since ill be writing more tomorrow. ¿what are you gonna do about it?

the first installment

Hello everyone - when I last talked to you over a week ago, I was leaving Creel in the Sierra Madre in central Mexico for a train ride to Los Mochis on the Coast. I had just left Luis, the pompous yet kind Mexican. There is actually a lot more could write about my visit with him, so maybe just a few sentences. Basically, if youre white, it seems to be assumed that you are given a free expense account by the U.S. government to do whatever you want. Life is never hard for white people, and everything in life falls right into our hands. I talked to Luis about stuff like this for a while, as he offered his opinions on America and racism (which I think I already talked about). Its fairly annoying in the first place to think about how some people view you as a white person traveling around, not ever having had to work for anything. At the same time though, it si ridiculous to realize (as a friend has said) that I am indeed part of the fortunate 10% of the worlds population who can do as they please as far as travel. Even for a Mexican to visit his neighboring country is a hassle to get papers, and that hassle is nothing compared to those living in the Middle East who would like to travel (like another friend). The more I move around then, the more I feel like I have to keep seeing these things, since I beat the odds and was given the privelege of being born in one of the countries that controls the movement things and people throughout the world. Anyway, thats that for now, onto the trip where I left Luis. I headed out to the station when it opened at 10 although Luis said the train didnt come until 2 pm. It was a good thing I went early, though, since the second class train left at 1230 and the first class one at like 11 or 1130. I checked the times and headed for something to eat for the ride. When I got back to the platform, I started repacking my stuff so the new food would fit when a perhaps-American, maybe whiter Mexican girl approached and asked "English or Spanish?" Not sure which she preferred, I just went with SPanish right away but said I knew both. So we started conversing in Spanish, and she asked if I would like to split a cab from the town before Los Mochis to the boat that goes across to Baja California. At first I said I wasnt planning on going that direction, but asked for a minute to decide while I packed my stuff. As I said that the train rolled in, and I gave sort of an "oh well" glance. But then I figured what the hell, I dont have plans, so I jumped on the first class train to actually spend some money for the first time in the trip. In the train, I learned that Denise is actually from Germany but lives and works right now in Cuernavaca Mexico. So we spoke Spanish the whole time, but she does know English pretty well also. Her mother, Elena, is in Mexico visiting her before Denise has to leave to renew her visa to work more in Mexico. The train ride was beautiful, and we saw a lot of the same stuff I saw during my drive with Luis. Big canyons, lots of desert, and cool rock formations. As we got down out of the mountains, we crossed a river at sunset and it was all extremely pretty. We got into the town at dark, and found a cab for way more expensive than we were told and headed towardthe coast. Our driver, Manuel, was extremely nice and told us a story of his grandfather who got rich being a bandit and then got poor by having 24 kids. The drive was pretty quick and we were on the boat by about 11pm. The boat took a solid 6 or 7 hours, but the ride was interesting. When we first boarded, we went right to the restaurant for the meal that was included in the trip to be greeted to the Smashing Pumpkins blaring over everything. It was quite odd after 2 solid weeks of traditional Mexican music, but I was hungry and didnt really give it too much thought. So we had dinner and pretty much everyone went to sleep. Denise and I hung out on the deck to check out the ride and when we came back inside, people were sleeping in every possible spot imaginable, making for a slightly eerie ghost ship feeling. The sunrise from the ship was awesome, since it came just as we reached Baja. We finally got on shore at about 730 am and headed to the nearest town of La Paz. After arriving in La Paz, we asked about the best beaches, and found out they were right where we had gotten off the boat. About 200 meters of walking would have been sufficient, but instead we had ridden all the way into town. So we headed back out to the beach and hung out for the day. We slept on the beach that night under constant mosquito attack. But it was definitely nice sleeping on the sand. The next day, we hung out on the beach again (my life is really difficult, I assure you), and then headed back into town for a hostel for the night. While in town, we asked about the best beaches in the area, and we received a tip on a very secluded beach further south called Cabo Pulmo. So we took a bus that after noon to the crossroads where you can head out to Cabo Pulmo. Then we got two rides to get into the town, the second ride from a woman photographer doing a story on diving in Cabo Pulmo for the San Francisco Chronicle. It turns out that Cabo Pulmo is actually a diving and fishing Mecca that has had the same two families inhabiting it and protecting the living reef since 1900. It was pretty cool and all of the residents were more than welcoming. We rented a cabana from Nancy, who was slightly less than friendly and had much more of the typical American in her than Mexican. She always seemed just a little "off," like she was waiting for you to pay her for something, like water. We understood that we could fill up our water in her restaurant for free, but everytime we did she would come out with a question like "can i help you?", making geting water a fairly uncomfortable task. The beach was amazing in Cabo Pulmo, and we snorkeled and saw a bunch of fish on the reef. The last night, we moved out of Nancys after finding an abandoned cabana on the beach and we slept there. The next day we swam a bit more and then headed out for the town in the back of a pickup, and finally made our way by bus to Cabo San jose, further west. The beach in San Jose was much bigger than in Cabo Pulmo, and the waves were awesome. It was a good time playing in the water for a few hours. Anyway, we stayed in our place two nights, and this morning I said goodbye to Elena and Denise as they headed back to La Paz to board the boat for the mainland and I headed north to Todos Santos to begin a 3 day hike into a national park thats supposed to be extremely uniqu in Baja. I will probably head back myself after that, but who knows. We shall see.