time for a pilgrimage...

It's that time of year again. Our annual family adventure. Some of us fly, some of us drive. We may stay for 2 weeks or we may stay a month. It can all vary, but one thing that doesn't is our commitment to spending time together... to slowing down our minds from the fast-paced lives we leave behind... to just being present with nature and each other. And of course the surf is amazing as well :)

There is no greater gift than being here with family and friends. Surfing and laughing, catching up on the life we've lived since the last time we were together. I treasure the time together and I treasure the solitude and peace. There is so much space, and whether you are aware of it or not, a shift happens. You stop reaching for your cell phone, you don't even think about facebook or the tv shows you are missing. Spending an hour watching the birds race along the beach feels like 5 minutes. Life is simple again- eat, surf, read, beach walk, surf, eat, sleep. And lots of laughter in between. Within a week, our bodies are bronzed from the relentless sun and strong from all the surfing. Eating only fresh food and spending hours in the ocean initiates a natural detox. Sleep is deep here, under a sky with more stars than one sees in a lifetime.

Although I find this experience incredible, it's not for everyone. However, I encourage you to take the time to find your own 'pilgrimage' to still your mind and clean your body. Be present with yourself and those around you. Connect and be in alignment with your truth. Give yourself this gift...

When this post goes live, I will have been there a few days. I can pretty much guarantee there is a smile on my face :)

Here is a blackberry video from our previous years...

 

Pilgrimage | Our Baja Adventure

Each year, we pack our surfboards and make the journey down Baja. It is a special time that allows us to slow down, live healthy and just be with each other and nature. Our property is remote and the habitat is extreme. It is desolate, yet packed with so much beauty. An orange ball of fire wakes us in the morning, warming the dewy sand. The turquoise waters are rich with life, sea turtles and dolphins visiting us in the surf. And the stars... this is where they come to rest, I have never seen so many in one sky.
This time for us is about laughing and loving... and living this one life. 

2010 Travel Favorites

2010 didn't hold as much travel as recent years, however it was enough to satisfy these wandering feet of mine. My trips were quite diverse. Twice I camped on the beach in Baja, waking up to orange sunrises, thousands of sea birds and crashing waves. I lived on fresh fish, tortillas, tapatio and coronas. Everyday I sat on my board, feet dangling below in crystal blue waters, waiting for the next wave. It was heaven.

On the opposite spectrum, I had two trips to Europe, both times visiting Switzerland and Italy. I experienced Venice swimming under a foot of water, which, in its emptiness was eerily mystical. I walked quaint Italian villages bordering the Alps, the streets lined with incredible shops stocked with salamis and cheeses, local fruits and vegetables, the side alleys winding back to vineyards and olive groves. I sat in the Zurich train station, watching hundreds of people walk by, their own world of where and who guiding them through their day. Here it is cobblestones, quaint coffee and chocolate shops, expensive fashion and restaurant tables lining the streets. I drove along country roads through lush green pastures, with only cows, batting their long lashes, necks laden with huge bells, to witness the massive, angular, snow-topped peaks jutting out of the land.

Of my days of travel, some were filled with only the best wines and cheeses and meats. On others I was fulfilled with only the goodness of the sun and the sea. But on each and every day, I never took for granted what a gift it was... what a luxury these experiences were, with loved ones or in solitude.

Another Baja Adventure

I had a five hour drive through the desert once I arrived in Loreto. The air on my face felt like a blow dryer, with the odd cloud giving me only moments reprieve. On the eastern side of the Baja Peninsula, the desert was lush from recent rains. It had come alive with yellow flowers covering the sandy ground, with the odd bright red bloom atop the tall cardon cactus. The roads were very narrow, with steep shoulders so that every time a truck passed I tucked my arm in and held my breath, expecting the side window to be torn off. Miraculously, it was always a clean pass...

As I crossed to the western coast, the land became much more desolate and barren. It is much drier. I passed two donkeys walking a path that follows the highway. Walking to and from where, I had no idea. Besides the odd small town and deserted building along the way, there is nothing here, just a straight stretch of highway that disappears into the horizon.

Normally, we all drive down. My family and I try to take at least one vacation a year together, and it's usually a 40 hour drive to our property in Baja. Although we dread the drive, there is something therapeutic about it. We are forced to slow down, detach from the fast-paced lives we left, and enjoy the time together. So although I missed the 40 hour drive, the drive through the desert, wind blowing, music blaring is helping me slow my mind and appreciate both where I am coming from and what lies at the end of the desert road.

The mornings come quickly. Sleep is so deep here. A red ball rises from the ocean, the sand and water glowing in its light. Everything is still. Then there are the birds, swooping in perfect unison, only inches above the water.

The land looks barren and yet it is teeming with life. In the morning, the tracks in the sand betray all that is hidden. The afternoon winds pick up as the land is heated, creating perfect offshore conditions. We sit patiently in the ocean, waiting for the next set to come out of the horizon. Pelicans fly by, swooping in a sort of dance, and then the arch of a dolphin crests, under, then crests again. The winds whips at the breaking waves, so that rainbows form on the backside, showering us in color. One of us takes each wave, a long ride into the beach... the winds carrying our hoots and hollers far down the bay.

This... is heaven.

Todo Santos SX-70 Style...

Todo Santos, translating to All Saints, is an oasis of palms and orchards off the dry, desert highway on the Pacific Coast of Baja California Sur. Centuries old, this quaint Mexican town is rich in tradition and art. I opted out of the galleries, and instead walked her streets, seeing her through the lens of an SX-70...

Hotel California

The Eagles sang about it... and whether this is the Hotel California they sing about, it doesn't really matter, for this quaint hotel on the Tropic of Cancer in a desert oasis is absolutely stunning. Stunning. The details and colors and overall feel of the place just made you want to sit and take it all in.  However, as a side-note, in my short time there, I didn't see any "mirrors on the ceiling or pink champagne on ice"...

The back courtyard and eating area were so exquisite in color and decor... the perfect place for sipping a cold cerveza or margarita.

I could hang out in this lobby all day...

This takes chilling poolside to a whole new level...