January 23, 2014

At Home in Todos Santos Awaiting WiFi

Debbie and I arrived in Todos Santos two days ago. We got here at 9 a.m. and the movers showed up two hours later. By 2:30 they were finished unloading, unpacking and setting up. Today the art is hung and the Costco list grows by the minute! I am listening to country music on Dish TV. Anyone who knows me well knows that makes me happy. And sad, being country music. Suits my mood today. It’s emotional. It’s life. It’s bittersweet.

Right now the WiFi is going in, so I’ll be off the puny Mexican smart phone and online here, on my laptop … soon. The house is amazing and I am so grateful to be living here. The views are awesome. The breezes warm and salty. At night the only sound I hear is the pounding of the surf. My dogs are happy again. All the uncertainty and chaos of the last two months is behind them. Order rules. Rokko jumps on my (our) bed, rolls around and practically levitates in his joy. Romo’s wearing the bark collar because his exuberance erupts from his mouth! Zor would be wearing one too. He barks by far the most, but he gets off the hook because he’s too little for the collars! And since we’ve had workers here every day, there’ve been constant opportunities for the dogs to express themselves vocally….

Before I go any further, I have to share that I have a heavy, heavy heart today. Yesterday Ross Giovannoni, the last man I loved, passed away from complications following hernia surgery. We didn’t make it as a couple, but that didn’t mean we didn’t love one another. I came to realize that it was too much to expect a man in his mid-50s who hadn’t been in a relationship in decades, to succeed in one. He tried. He wanted to. But he was used to being alone. He liked it. And the fact that he had a stubborn streak a mile wide didn’t help much either. He just didn’t get the whole concept of being a couple. I couldn’t be with him long term, but that doesn’t change the fact that he is etched into my heart. I can feel him over my shoulder right now, nodding and chuckling. “Yup,” he’d say, “You know me, Annie. I’ve always been half a bubble off.” He had the best smile. He was rough, tough and gruff. At the same time, he was the most tender, sweet, gentle-hearted man I ever met. His birthday was Sunday. He just turned 56. He had a wacky sense of humor and nicknamed us Goof and Dip. So I say, “Rest in Peace, Goof. I know you are in a much better place where there is no more suffering. Your Dip.”

My prayers go out to his family who have known too much sorrow and loss. Lindy, his sister-in-law, is someone I’ve never met in person, but she’s become a soul sister with me over the last two and a half years.  When my heart was in pieces after Ross and I broke up, she always understood and respected my feelings. She stood by me and propped me up when I needed it. I am forever grateful for her friendship and send her strength and loving support today as she in turn supports the rest of the family. My prayers go to his friends as well. The loss of Ross is felt deeply, by many.

That’s about all I feel like writing now. In spite of my sadness, I am overjoyed to be here. It is the first house of my own I’ve had in 32 years and it suits me. Everything I brought down fits here perfectly. My Spanish is coming back quickly and we are heading into town tonight for the Todos Santos Music Festival, which is in its second and final weekend. Time to get done with the back-breaking hard work and have some fun! I even brought paints with me. This is a “pueblo magico,” or magical town. It inspires. I am prepared to be inspired!

Hello and Hola. 

Let me introduce myself ... in case you don't know me. My name is Ann Hazard and I've spent most of my life vacationing, traveling, writing and living in Baja. I've written four books and (way too) many articles about this most magical, untamed peninsula located 20 miles from where I now sit, in San Diego. Actually, let me clarify. The "way too" many articles ... that was all my fault. I wrote so, so, so many articles on tourism that I burned myself out! If I am tempted to do this again, please smack me upside the head!!! Remind me that I don't fish and I'm not a Cabo person. I am an old hippy artist. I'm moving to Todos Santos ... where surfers, artists and metaphysical types coexist in harmony with the local Mexicans. This is where I belong! 

I left Baja in 2009. Now it's 2014 and I am aching to be back. Correction. I am moving back! I'm single now. I'm 61 and I live alone with two remarkable Miniature Schnauzers, Rokko and Romo. These dogs, my "boys," will be sharing this new adventure, this new chapter in my life. They're a bit freaked out. The house is mostly dismantled. We switched from a snazzy 2012 Lexus to a 2007 4-door Wrangler. Much of our furniture and all our houseplants are gone. I tell the dogs daily that we are a family and we are never going to live apart. But they don't quite get it yet. I am neither of their first mother. I got each at seven months of age, a year apart, so they have reason to be concerned that I might leave them. But they can relax. I won't. Ever. They don't know it yet but they are going to fall instantly in love with Todos Santos. We aren't city types, my boys and I. We need space---big open skies, wild towering mountains that edge down to empty beaches with no leashes---somewhere we can breathe, bark and play without bothering anyone. 

We leave next Friday, the day after Gayle's 29th birthday. Gayle is my daughter and the love of my life! Well, Lennox (her son who's seven months old) and Mike (her husband) are right up there. They are hippies, artists and surfers, so they can't wait to come down and spend some serious time. Gayle is already thinking Presidents Day weekend! Debbie, my bff, is driving down Baja with me and the boys and spending a couple of weeks (this trip). She's bringing her eight month old Chihuahua, Zorito. He and Romo are bffs as well. Rokko, being the oldest at two and a half, is the alpha, the head honcho and my soul mate. He is my best-ever dog and Romo is his awesome, cuddly, goofy sidekick. I am blessed to be heading off on this greatest adventure of my life with this crew. 

That's mostly it for today. I just realized I can upload photos from my phone. Yay!!! So....

Meet Rokko. He keeps a watchful eye on me lately, making sure I don't sneak off and disappear....

 This is Romo, still a puppy at 19 months. Also a bit concerned....

 Gayle and Lennox at Thanksgiving in Buena Vista.

 Mike releasing Olive Ridley Turtles in Buena Vista at Thanksgiving.

 I took this while Mike was surfing at Cerritos Beach just south of Todos Santos. The water here is light blue. You can see fish swimming through the breaking waves. There is no kelp. The water and air hover around 80 degrees, and the surf. Oh yeah.... It rocks.

 Mike and Lennox on Vicente's (formerly my dad's) boat, the Dottie B II at Thanksgiving.

 Deb and I flew off to Baja Sur on five days' notice in early November. I woke up one morning and had a need to go NOW like I'd never had before. Was this crazy idea of moving back to Baja meant to be? I was alone and I wanted to be very sure it was "right." I read a book by a local Todos Santos author, Elizabeth Day called "Living with Gusto." That brought me around immediately. It catapulted me into a whole new head-space and put me in the right mood. What were the signs? Well, first thing after landing in Cabo, we got a free upgrade to a Mexican Porsche (it's a Camaro). Next there was the complementary upgrade to a mini-suite at Hotel California. The perfect house for me, my family and special friends was next. It wasn't even one I'd picked out online. Finally, a cheap first class upgrade on the fight home. Yeah, baby. Like my friend Judy says, when things are right, a thousand angels line up and make it so....