Fellow nomads, travelers, and friends! We are in the midst of doing something that I never thought I’d do. Why? Because everyone knows it’s dangerous. And everyone knows what they know, right?

We’re driving our bus, The Huckleberry, all the way down the Mexican Baja peninsula! Yepper, we’re driving 800 miles down crime-infested cartel-controlled territory. Through armed military checkpoints where corrupt government officials are going to shake us down for pesos (and perhaps even kidnap us and hold us hostage!).

Oh wait … none of that is true? But EVERYONE said it was so …

BAJA BOUND

We are traveling the length of Baja to join in a festival called Escapar. It’s supposed to be this gathering of like-minded people who live in vans, skoolies, overlanders, and the like.

You know, our kind of people.

I have never been in Baja before, so I had no idea what to expect. And I still don’t. As I type this we are in the middle of day five, and are at about the halfway point in a little wide spot in the road called Playa Santispac. The photo above was shot from the back door of the bus.

It’s a hard life we’re living, I know.

The only real difficulty we’re experiencing so far are some of the roads. Many are fine, and many are not. Our bus is ten feet wide and the roads are maybe six inches wider. The dropoffs are considerable and should we creep a tire over the lip, we’d flip. Oh! And we share this road with 18-wheelers. The kind who think we’re going too slow, so they pass us with whiskers to spare been us.

But other than that … LOL! … it’s actually a beautiful trip. The desert down here is gorgeous and the beaches are open and calm.

When we crossed the border, we opted for the longest visa possible … 180 days. Will we stay down here the whole six months? Nope. Or maybe. Right now the beauty of the trip is that we have no plans other than Escapar. We’re noting the places we pass so we can visit them on the way back up.

And yes, we are going to have to retrace our steps. Baja is one way in and one way out. Mexico 5 to Mexico 1, period.

Lots of videos will of course be made, but the part that I’m struggling to express is just how much I love it here. The people, the food, and the camaraderie of the fellow travelers we’re meeting along the way.

So yea … we’ve found a wonderful adventure and I can’t wait to share the rest with you.

The BIG PROBLEM with Skooliepalooza ...

Imagine the scene. A thousand school buses scattered across a wide swath of the Arizona desert. Only these are not junked wrecks, oh no no no, they are homes. Repurposed homes on wheels. Whose owners come together to celebrate a nomadic lifestyle. To share stories, offer a helping hand, and to enjoy ten days of camaraderie.

Well, that’s what we thought …

Before we crossed over into Mexico, we spent a week at an event called Skooliepalooza. It was … wonderful and not. It’s basically a thousand mobile-dwelling nomads in a wide spot in the Arizona desert. Only this gathering is … well, as the organizer put it … feral.

We found most of the people to be wonderful. Free thinkers. Just out there living their lives as they want. Kind and welcoming.

And then there were the anarchists. The ones who felt that personal freedom meant that they should try and destroy everyone else’s sense of freedom. The ones who played bazzilion decibel music all night long, only ending around 7am when their personal rave ended. In-person trolls who took enjoyment from the misery of others.

And no, I’m not exaggerating.

What did we do? We simply moved to the other side of the festival, maybe a mile away. Was it quiet? No, but it was quieter, and that’s really all that we could have hoped for. Sometimes it’s best not to allow bad folks to control your emotions.

But now the big question is … will we go back next year?

(Spoiler alert: Yea, we will. The good far outweighed the bad)

The Reflections Podcast

And we have wonderful news! We’ve officially started our video podcast. It’s called Reflections and is simultaneously broadcast on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and many other outlets.  Similar to The Moth from NPR, each episode showcases storytellers who share tales from their own lives.  Successes, failures, lessons learned.  Travel, humor, and real life.

Here’s a little behind the scenes … putting together a podcast is WAY harder than making a video. LOL! Hunting down speakers. The edit is completely different. So yea, there’s a learning curve. But that’s what life is all about, right?

The first episode is live and can be found just about everywhere. Head to the YouTube channel for the video version if you’re curious.

This newsletter is a production of Mastering The Second Half LLC and supports the work we do on our YouTube Channel, our Podcast, and our Learning Academy. For more information, please visit rickhiggins.com.