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It has been a sad revelation to me that over the past few years my little micro-community at Camp Gecko in Bahia de Los Angeles is suffering greatly from the economy. We have cut our journeys down from sometimes 4 trips a year to one and I know a few of my friends who are traveling there even less than half that.

And, since the ejido sold some land and even well before, there is a less friendly vibe in the town, in our experience, from merchants. It is sad to see that we are a pain in the ass for the privilege of handing over our pesos for their over-inflated two-tiered pricing. There are decent places to shop but it takes a long time to find the little houses that aren't on the main drag that do fair business.

There are friends there that still show up that have been going for years but you can see the disappointment on their faces when we, more specifically the twins, load up and say goodbye and the camp is, virtually, empty.

When I walk around the camp and I think about the memories and the times I have had there with family and friends it makes me a bit melancholy. I am wondering if the economy will ever recover to the point where a semblance of life as we knew it will return.

I don't think that is the case for us. I think there are limited windows in time and you either move on or get stuck soaking up tequila for breakfast to soften the hardness of chronic isolation. Others do well with it and embrace the small lifestyle and seem genuinely happy and involved but I know some, if their partners would agree, would cut all ties to the US and distance themselves further from the border.

We did just have a BBQ at a friends and met many very nice people who love it there and are maybe at a place in life where that is perfect. It was a great time and it was nice to be with a group of people having fun.....community.

Of course, none of them have young children so that makes a heck of a difference.

I am reticent to even voice this but I feel that when/if, since there are no guarantees, we make this move to La Paz my days in Bahia will be limited at best if not eliminated.

We rarely see the friends we had there that were such a huge part of the place being special to us. I know I am done spending real money on my place and have partnered up to split the costs.....I think that it will become a stopping place for us and, hopefully if things turn around, a place to meet friends again.

On the other hand, when a window is closing we can choose to look for another. Just last night my wife was talking to people about how much they pay for Spanish lessons here......that was like a drink of cool water to her......and she is so good at it and charismatic in that role that I know she could be persuaded by some to part with their pesos in exchange for her instructional genius. Windows.....

As I walked around our temporary neighborhood around 11ish last night for the dog's last walk and watched and listened to the life around me I felt, well, right.

Christ, is this my mid-life crisis? To live daily with my family without the complexity of the SoCal treadmill? Or, is the diving economy driving me to a better and more simple place? Regardless, I am wanting this adventure to unfold for us all.

Apologies for my meanderings.

Gonna run the malecon in a bit and be alive.

Patch, you simply stated in a very open and honest way something many of us go through in life, albeit in different circumstances and in different ways. We head out into life and eventually make a stake in something that we believe in; that we think will be forever. But then the years pass and sometimes things change. We change. It takes a strong person to be able to face that and have the courage to risk change again when the time comes.

Especially when we are no longer in our 20's or 30's.

It happens in jobs, relationships and places we choose to live, north and south of the border. I have gone through a similar process these past few years and can truly understand your mindset right now. Sometimes it is hard to let go of the past but not doing so will keep you from ever reaching what awaits you and your family on the road ahead.

Best of luck my friend - thanks for sharing that...

It is interesting to read these thoughts from a person a good bit younger than I. Usually they come from us old geezers who get lodged in "Remember When......" One with runway ahead for at least a couple, if not more, transitional flights. I've made a lot of them.

Trite, but true, the only thing constant is change. Some of us were lucky to be born into situations that mandated frequent and substantial change, though it may not have seemed good fortune at the time.
We have felt what you write many many times; the juxtaposition of good things we leave behind for the adventure/reinvention in the future.

Meander all you like...it's part of the process and makes for enjoyable reading for those of us who may not take flight again.

The hard to find.. is found ... when you have nothing left to lose... and scale does help move it along... IMHO

Best wishes for you and yours.. and thanks for sharing...

Originally Posted by dusty

It is interesting to read these thoughts from a person a good bit younger than I. Usually they come from us old geezers who get lodged in "Remember When......" One with runway ahead for at least a couple, if not more, transitional flights. I've made a lot of them.
.

I hear exactly what you are saying.
I think my mortality is so present for me because, in a nutshell, death and dying are what comprises so much of my career. I have helped hundreds a people, willing or not, out of this life and onto whatever is on the other side and many of them in not so pleasant of a fashion. It is a strange thing to do over and over and my mind is telling me to boogie. I just went for a run in the heat of the day here, past Kate's taco stand, which was doing some business, and almost two miles up off the malecon. Found some very nice neighborhoods, if not anybody else foolish enough to run in the heat, and had many buenas tardes and holas exchanged. Life is good.

Loved hearing your perspective.

If the economy truly is a large part of what has changed there, I don't think it's going to change back for a long, long, long time.

Decades.

Given the decline in tourism throughout the panoply of Mexican resorts, I'm thinking that unfortunately, just like NOB, there is a double standard.

What I'm getting at is that in a place such as Cabo, there remain people willing to bend over backward to satisfy the Gringos.

The diff is nothing more than MONEY.

Like ice cream, change comes in all flavors! There are some who stagnate for fear of change....fear of the unknown. Others who make changes simply out of boredom, to add a little spice or interest to their life. Others who are aware enough of their surroundings to make a conscious effort to reach for something better, fresher. I think it's each persons individuality that makes those personal choices either with great agony....or apparent ease. I believe that sometimes there's a little voice inside each of us that either whispers or screams "It's time to move on." My little voice's name is gut instinct.

The time you've shared with friends & family at BOLA was right & brought you pleasure through the time spent there....at the time spent there....or you'd have already moved on. It sounds like BOLA is grazed out for you, but you can find a new pasture without abandoning the good times & memories created there. That's the good thing about fond memories, not even change can tarnish them!

Many things you've expressed sound like La Paz feels right to both you & Mrs. Soulpatch & I think the little patchettes will thrive wherever their parents decide is the best fit.

Meandering is just a plot plan of what was, what is, what can be. It's all right, expected even, to be melancholy over moving forward from a place that fit so well for so many reasons & for whatever length of time. But I sincerely feel you have the right mental attitude to know you'll be moving forward rather than stagnating because of the perceived safety & comfort of the "known".

Head West.....'errrrrr South, young man! Forward ho! On to newer & better adventures, new friendships, new opportunities!

And fer GAWD sakes, don't be tempting cardiac arrest running in the heat of the day here, let alone uphill!

some one said, THE EASIEST WAY TO COPE WITH CHANGE IS TO BECOME PART OF IT.
I have always liked that saying, although I find it difficult to follow

There are too many great quotes in here for this simple minded man to bother figuring out how to fit all of them in but I will just say they are profound.
Saludos y gracias y es la tiempo para vivir.
Apologies for my brutal, yet improving, Espanol.