[A/S] Baja Caravan

[Terry Tyler <tylerbears@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Doug,

My simple suggestion is do your homework and start doing it tomorrow. 
Why do I say that?

A few years ago after we led an official WBCCI caravan from the Hot Air 
Balloon Festival in Upstate New York to the Hot Air Balloon Fiesta in 
Albuquerque, we extended it into an impromptu two month caravan to Baja 
and back. The one characteristic which made the trip particularly 
enjoyable for certain members is they had done their homework during 
the months prior to the caravan.

Their homework was a conglomeration of things. But the common thread 
was all of them had become enthusiastically and intimately acquainted 
with specific aspects of the Baja they wanted to experience. What do I 
mean?

I remember one family knew all about french bread, bakeries and towns 
(with street names) where they were located; another knew the location 
of the best villages for refilling their water tanks or for buying 
reverse osmosis water by the gallon; another knew which side roads has 
access to fabulous remote beaches; another knew which restaurants 
offered free overnight RV parking; another knew about rock caves and 
yellow granite stone quarries and the list goes on and on.

The one place everyone knew about was the beach at Baja Conception for 
boondocking directly on the water's edge. Surprisingly, the Baker of 
french bread brought loaves of bread to us. The city bus dropped him 
off at the entrance to the beach. We purchased everything he brought. 
He caught the return bus home. Many days were like that where 
unexpected adventures occurred.

One person had picked up an AAA book with the big specialty map for the 
Baja and had made notations on the map of every item mentioned in the 
book. They were a delight to have on the caravan. Their daily 
enthusiasm was contagious to the point of sheer delight whenever they 
told about what they hoped to see the next day.

So - my suggestion is spend at least 10 minutes every single day 
between now and your rendezvous day - doing homework.

IMHO, if you CANNOT limit yourself to 10 minutes a day of homework, 
you'll love the caravan. Everyone on our caravan told of spending far 
more time than that on becoming knowledgeable about the Baja BEFORE the 
caravan.

If 10 minutes a day is too much or inconvenient or not interesting, 
you'll be one of those with a "ho hum" caravan experience.

New topic. If you'd like to receive a blurb I wrote on economical 
boondocking around the continent, let me know. It was written before we 
decided to lead a Baja caravan. Each of us has a different preference 
when it comes to full hook ups. We just happen to be among those who 
thrive on not needing hookups every night.

Two last suggestions about your Baja caravan. Try to learn some basic 
spanish phrases like where is the bathroom -- and learn to recognize 
common road signs like construction ahead or detours. The more you 
learn, the better it'll be for you.

Second, if you have a polaroid camera, stock up on film and bring it 
with you for those occasions when/if the Federales have a road block 
and want to inspect the inside of your rig. It also helps to have a 
friendly voice and a smiling face which knows how to say, "Please wipe 
your feet before coming inside my house" and "Would you like a picture 
of yourself standing in my doorway - holding your gun and looking 
handsome?"

You get the idea? Most of the the guys are just kids learning the 
ropes. When they came inside, we encouraged them to pet our two cats 
(they love to be petted) and to take a couple pieces of leftover 
halloween candy we saved for just such occasions. On your caravan, your 
rig may never be "inspected" for "guns and drugs," but if it is, a bit 
of forethought about "your attitude" may make the experience palatable 
and not a fiasco.

Have fun and it'll be an adventure to remember. It was for us.

Terry