I’m no stranger to Mexico. My husband Thom and I have visited the country dozens of times throughout the years. But one thing we’ve never done is driven the Baja Peninsula. Every now and then I’d find an article or book describing the many interesting sights and towns we could find the further south we traveled. So, after several decades of hints, Thom happened to read something earlier this year about the Sea of Cortez and specifically about a town named Loreto. With that motivation, I finally convinced him that now was the time. Of course, as with all travel, the journey got more complicated the closer it came to our departure date. And now that we’ve gone and returned, I’m reminded that all travel, like life itself, is a series of adventures, trust, and even a few potholes.
The Loreto Malacon (Boardwalk)
In case you are wondering, Loreto, is a small Mexican town nearly 750 miles south of the California border. The internet is filled with photos and articles about this pleasant little town on the Sea of Cortez. Thom’s main interest was spending time on the Sea with its abundant sea life. Me? I am always eager to travel to locations I’ve never experienced before.
As I was researching places to stay and things to do, I discovered our timing was perfect to visit a special area about halfway down Baja. A large lagoon on the Pacific side of the peninsula is one of the few breeding and birthing areas for large Gray Whales who migrate each year from Alaska. March is considered the best time to get up close to see (and even pet!) these magnificent creatures. I was ready!
What to do with Kloe?
Then life got complicated. When I contacted our long-time dog sitter to watch Kloe during our absence, I discovered she and her husband were moving out of the area! What to do? That’s when we decided that this would be the perfect opportunity for us to try out a service that we’d learned about from our friends Liesbet and Mark. Liesbet is a blogger I met last year who regularly travels around the country doing pet and home sitting for other people. (And yes, she writes about it too!)
Within a week I had joined an online pet-sitting community, posted information about our home and our needs for Kloe, and had several people contact me for potential sits. Out of the five or six that applied, a retired couple from Oregon seemed to hold the most potential. They were familiar with our community, could drive here from their home, loved to walk (a big requirement for Kloe), and wanted to be here during the time we would be gone. After several emails, we SKYPED with them for about 30 minutes and they committed to staying in our home and watching Kloe during the travel. We were set!
Driving along the Sea of Cortez near Mulege.
This new pet-sitting arrangement seemed perfect. Kloe could stay in her own home with nearly constant companionship, she would be walked daily and fed her normal diet. Meanwhile, our home was secure with people staying here, and importantly, we were saving a small fortune by not having to pay up to $50/day during our nearly two-week trip. Our sitters stayed for free in our home and got to enjoy our community in a place they wanted to visit. It is a win-win for both sides.
The funny thing is, when we explained to other friends that we had found these wonderful people to stay with Kloe in our absence, many were shocked. How could we possibly allow strangers to stay in our home and watch Kloe for nearly two weeks? Now, we are very accustomed to people acting horrified when we tell them we are spending time in Mexico—but this time nearly as many people expressed misgivings about leaving our house and dog in the hands of people we didn’t know.
Enjoying our last night in Loreto with new friends.
But doesn’t all travel require a strong degree of trust? Doesn’t a full and happy life require a strong degree of trust? As I’ve said before, I think it all boils down to what Albert Einstein said, “I think the most important question facing humanity is, ‘Is the universe a friendly place?’” He continued with, “This is the first and most basic question all people must answer for themselves. For if we decide that the universe is an unfriendly place, then we will use our technology, our scientific discoveries and our natural resources to achieve safety and power by creating bigger walls to keep out the unfriendliness and bigger weapons to destroy all that which is unfriendly…”
A glimpse of some of the bad potholes along the way.
One more issue remained for our trip to be a success. When telling a neighbor about our plans to drive down Baja, he insisted on showing Thom a YouTube video about the road conditions. The video he offered showed a road badly pockmarked with huge potholes during a torrential rain shower. Our kind neighbor warned Thom that we should carry two spare tires with us on the trip just in case we bottomed out on some of the potholes.
FYI… if you are interested in what service we used to find our pet and house sitters you can follow this link. If you sign up you will get a 20% discount and I get 2 months free! https://www.trustedhousesitters.com/su/CELsnIwx
And Baja Mexico? It is as beautiful, interesting and as colorful as we expected. The people everywhere were friendly and welcoming. The food and margaritas were tasty. I achieved my close encounter with whales, and Thom got his Sea of Cortez fix. And what about the potholes? Sure, we did have a section of about 50 miles where the roads were pretty sketchy. But after driving through the worst area Thom looked at me and said, “That was it?” We were both reminded of the Mark Twain quote that says, “I have spent most of my life worrying about things that have never happened.”
On the beach of Coronado Island off of Loreto Bay.
Again, isn’t life like that? We can either stay home and try to protect ourselves and be safe, or we can head out on adventures. We can worry about things that never happen or we can make the best of (and enjoy) things as they come. We can be flexible and try new things and experiences, or like hamsters on a wheel, we can just keep going around and around. We can trust that the Universe is friendly, that people are basically good, and that things generally work out well for us. Like nearly everything that happens, it is SMART to remember that the daily choice is ours to make.
Okay, your turn. Have you ever faced a fear that turned out to be little or nothing? How trusting are you? How do you feel about traveling to unusual places? How about pet sitting? I welcome your comments and input in the section below.
FYI… if you are interested in what service we used to find our pet and house sitters you can follow this link. If you sign up you will get a 20% discount and I get 2 months free! https://www.trustedhousesitters.com/su/CELsnIwx
What a beautiful town this Loreto – will visit it for sure one day! Thanks for sharing your journey, Kathy! You’re completely right by saying that there is no need to worry about things that may never happen. Life is too short and we have to live every day richly. Wish you more interesting trips.
I’m late reading this, but it seems it’s on a theme with your next post about Amanda Palmer. She, too, was exploring a life filled with trust and positive outlook. Good post, Kathy. Welcome back.
Hi Lynne! Yes, it is was certainly on my mind when I wrote this post about our travels because I read most of the book on the trip! Trust and staying optimistic is always good. ~Kathy
In my life, I have tended to say yes to challenges and new adventures. My life has been more interesting and fun because of this inclination, I think. Sometimes things do go wrong. But I believe that a “can do” attitude and a lifetime of experiences problem-solving my way through new situations has helped me be more resilient and capable when bad situations do arise.
Jude
Sounds like a great adventure, and, whales! Yes!!
I’ve always kicked myself more about the opportunities and experiences I’ve passed on, than the ones I tried. Yes, sometimes they didn’t work out; a few were even a disaster. But disasters happen to people in the course of life anyway, even if you stay home and wrap yourself in bubble wrap. I do like to be as prepared as possible for new places & experiences, but recognize that the unexpected will always happen, and sometimes it’s glorious.
Hi Beverly! Isn’t that the key. As a planner, I also LOVED to be prepared, but I also recognize that you can’t plan for everything even if I wanted to. Far better to make loose plans and stay flexible and then flow with what is happening. And as you say, that can be “glorious!” Thanks for sharing this bit! ~Kathy
Perhaps the biggest fear I ever experienced was writing and publishing a book. Not because of doing the work, but the possibility that people might judge me poorly because of it. Guess what, most people liked it and I derived a great sense of satisfaction when I learned that it helped many retired couples find joy in their relationship.
Hi Nora! I agree that writing and publishing can be scary! But we all have our “things” right? Good for you for facing that fear and now you have the pleasure of knowing it is helpful for others. Trust! ~Kathy
Sounds like a great adventure Kathy. We have never used the services of a pet sitter but have done many home exchanges and I do remember being apprehensive prior to our first home swap, which was many years ago now.
As we loved the whole idea of home exchanging we created our website some years back as our retirement project to keep us busy in our retirement and so far so good. Home Exchange 50plus now has 950 plus homes in 50 plus countries and many of our members require pet care and are happy to look after pets when house swapping.
Many of our members are new to home exchanging and are naturally apprehensive about letting strangers stay in their home whilst they are not there. Home exchanging is built around trust and we always recommend that, prior to agreeing a swap, that communication between both parties is essential to get to know each other and provide info about home and location.
Brian
Hi Brian! Welcome to SMART Living 365. My husband and I did a home exchange last year and it worked out well–however, we didn’t ask them to take care of Kloe when we did it–which would have made it much easier for sure. Also, because we both still work it made it a bit challenging because we had to coordinate so far in advance to make sure it was a place we wanted to go AND our place was a place someone else wanted to come to. But like I said, we had no regrets. But because there was an annual fee, we decided to let it go. I just went to your site and saw that there is fee, but you have to fill out a form first to find out what it is. I usually avoid sites like that 🙁 Perhaps in the future you could change that–I’m sure there are others like me who dislike that. Otherwise, it looks like a good service. ~Kathy
Hi Kathy
Thanks for the welcome. We do have a small annual membership fee which is displayed on our Welcome page so no need to fill out a form to see our costs, but the point you make does suggest that we need to rethink how we display our fees.
Arranging a home exchange does normally take longer than for a more traditional vacation, some of our members are now working on 2019 swaps!
Many thanks. Brian
Hey again. I saw the “notify me of new comments” bell was off (as a default), so I’m adding this new comment to make sure it’s on this time and see the replies. 🙂
Hey Liesbet! Did you see my response? 🙂
Saw this one in my inbox, but not the previous one (since the bell wasn’t selected).
This post is such a good example about stepping out of your comfort zone, and of trust and new experiences. Sometimes, it is best to “expect the worst”, like in the pot hole situation, to only discover that it wasn’t too bad. It looks and sounds like you had the most wonderful time in Baja – especially the whale watching was incredible, I”m sure! I hope you will write another post (with more photos) about your two-week vacation! I take it (or hope) that the house and pet sit experience worked out and was a good one? Thanks for the mention, Kathy!
Hi Liesbet! Yes…sometimes being prepared for the worst OR just keeping expectations low is a good way to go. And yes, the whales were amazing. I didn’t plan to do another post. But Thom and I are thinking of putting together a book on travels and inviting other bloggers to participate. Thom LOVED the title, Travels, Trust and Potholes so we might do a play on that. Would you consider submitting one of your blog posts to be included? It would be fun to put something like that together and see everyone’s “version” don’t you think? Let me know. ~Kathy
Sounds interesting, Kathy. I like that title as well. Let me know what you have in mind, once you come up with “the book”, and I’ll have a look through my blogs for a suitable post/contribution. I will need some time, though, since I’m crazily swamped with stuff right now.
We loved our family trip to Loreto! I’m so glad you had a good time, and that the dog-sitting arrangement worked out. Years ago a friend in Zurich told me that she house-swapped with people in various countries. She always trusted that they would treat her home as well as she treated theirs and she was never disappointed.
Hi Lizzie! Yes, isn’t Loreto a great place for a family trip? Our weather was really nice, a bit windy for the first couple of days but really perfect after that. The water was a bit chilly for us…we’re wusses when it comes to cold water. But it made for some lovely touring. And I think the house/pet sitting thing is similar to when we do the home exchange–trust makes it all go smoother! Thanks for sharing your input! ~Kathy
HI Kathy, glad you are back from your travels! I admit to not being a good reader of many blogs these past weeks, but spring break allowed me a little time! Loreto isn’t terribly far from La Paz; our windsurf town, La Ventana, is just 45 minutes south of there. Hans could tell you stories about his journeys from Sacramento to La Paz, easily a 3-days drive. Don’t drive at night due to those potholes, random cattle and federales! Talk about trust!! You mentioned Liesbet…she tells me there is also a free sitting exchange for those just looking for housesits, like we would eventually need. Glad your trip was memorable and relaxing!
Hi Terri! I knew that you had traveled (and windsurfed!) in La Paz and your photos pop up every now and then on my FB feed too. I’m sure you have a few stories you could tell as well. And YES about no driving at night–not because there are bandits or bad people–but as you say, because of the herds of cows AND horses. In fact the horse photo on my blog masthead was a small herd that crossed the road during the day. And I think we passed and slowed way down for about three small herds of cattle. Definitely an adventure. Liesbet did mention there were some free sites out there but I like the idea that when a person pays to sit they are likely more “serious” about it. We have another sit lined up at the end of summer and of course I am as hopeful as I was this one. So happy to have discovered it. And yes to memories and relaxing! ~Kathy
Welcome back, Kathy and Thom! I love the quotes from Einstein and Twain. I think there is a big difference between SMART trusting and blind or naive trust. You, of course, did it the SMART way. I’d love to read more about your trip, the house sitting experience, and your new friends… it looks fantastic!
Hi Janis! I completely agree. Thank you for pointing out that there is a difference. I believe in “positive thinking” not “magical thinking.” Researching my options and recognizing my choices are important parts of my planning process. In many cases when people get into trouble when they travel it is because they haven’t thought things through beforehand. Just yesterday someone asked me, “Weren’t you at all worried about being in Mexico?” I had to laugh and told them that #1: We don’t hang out with drug dealers; and #2 Guns are illegal in Mexico. Both of those are big elements when it comes to safety in Mexico. And yes, we’ll have to get together again soon and talk about Mexico and our house sitting experience. I think you’d love it. ~Kathy
Looks lovely! When we had our beloved dogs we did have to work our vacations around our dog sitter. When she moved we had a couple of others that were OK but really didn’t give us peace of mind because we were spoiled by our former sitter, worked for our vet, for 10 years! Traveling to different areas is fun but I think I would have packed the extra tires and extra gas.
Hi Haralee! Hasn’t the internet has become such a wonderful resource for those of us who love to travel–and the pet/house sitting hookups are just one piece of the puzzle. Between home exchanging, Airbnb, uber, and now this…there are so many wonderful ways to travel in less expensive ways. I can’t wait to see why people come up with next!!
And thank you again for your interesting and stimulating guest post for me while I was traveling. That too is a wonderful experience as a blogger. Your topic on fashion was something that would never have occurred to me to write but fit right in with “rightsizing” and SMART Living. How perfect is that? And I loved reading everyone else’s thoughts as well. ~Kathy
I might have felt cautious about house and pet sitters before, but since reading Liesbet’s posts, I haven’t had a moment’s hesitation. (Other than the fact that one of my dogs would immediately run away from anyone who isn’t me. Hopefully that will change soon.) Besides, you did your due diligence – emails and a Skype conversation. Some people do seem to worry rather needlessly.
I wouldn’t have enjoyed the 50 miles of sketchy road, but it wouldn’t have stopped me from seeing the whales or the Sea of Cortez. I’m with you… and Mark Twain.
Hi Karen! I know…until I was fortunate to meet Liesbet and her husband I had never really considered it myself. But once we had both Thom and I were sure that if we found sitters that were half as sweet and conscientious we would be pleased. Of course, I would have LOVED to have them sit for us but their schedule is pretty packed. Now we just have the opportunity to meet other great people who like to do the same thing.
And yes about the sketchy road. But isn’t there ALWAYS a few sketchy experiences on any trip (not to mention life itself) that we can either just move on from or let them ruin the trip? Of course there were a few other things that I would have preferred not happen, but why give them any time or energy. I vastly prefer to focus on the good things and let go of the rest–in life and in travel. Thanks as always for your thoughts! ~Kathy
Welcome Home, Kathy and Thom! I am glad to hear that you had a wonderful trip and that Khloe had great people to take care of her (I would love to read more about that). I agree with you and Einstein – deciding if the world is a safe place or a hostile place significantly colours our perceptions and actions. I am glad that you took the risk, enjoyed the adventure and have continued to discover what an amazing place our beautiful world is (and can be)!
Hi Donna! Thank you! And Thank you again for helping to cover for my blog while I was gone. I LOVE reading all the comments that you generated and how many people agree that our social interactions are VERY important. And I also know that you are a world traveler that is rather fearless in where and when you want to go. One of the best things about blogging and reading other blogs is the inspiration we can get to go and do the things that we enjoy. Looking forward to connecting with you in person again this fall! ~Kathy
An adventurous life does require a great deal of trust. We are having our daughter’s wedding in Cancun in December, despite the warnings of tainted alcohol, drug thugs running rampant and reports of many shootings. We have regular shootings in a neighborhood not far from our upscale home. Danger is everywhere, and you can’t let that stop you from living.
Happy travels!
Hi Michele! Good for you for not being intimidated by the media. Sure tragedy happens sometimes…but it also happens right here in our own communities. Unfortunately, the press about such things tends to LOVE to highlight and dramatize things and completely ignores the millions (yes millions) of people who travel there and have a wonderful time. Thank you for your comment and your travel good wishes. I hope the best for you and your daughter this December! ~Kathy
Thanks for the link to house sitters! The more I read about this (and positive experiences), the more I’m considering it. I want to do a cross-country Rt 66 trip …maybe next fall…and have wondered how to accomplish it with our dog.
I think through lots of scenarios when traveling…tend to over pack because of the “what if’s”. I think I’d have put 2 tires in the car, plus spare gas, spare water, tent & sleeping bags, fully stocked emergency kit with bandages….hah. Wonder what my Cross-country vehicle should be with all that extra stuff!
Hi Pat! You’re welcome. I am very happy to refer them because so far our experience has been great. And we are planning another trip in late August for three weeks and already have a younger couple from D.C. who want to come. Isn’t that great? We are very happy that it is available and a win-win for both sides. And hahaha! about your precautions. The problem is of course, can you ever plan for everything that could happen? That’s why we did take the car in for and all-over tune up and Thom did check the tires, but again, his worry was far worse than it turned out. What out for well-meaning friends (or family) who attempt to “warn” us of the dangers. Most of the time they haven’t done it themselves they are only spreading things they have heard. That’s why I almost ALWAYS join online travel forums with current experiences from people who are doing what I want to do. I HIGHLY recommend that to anyone who is traveling. There is a great Baja Mexico Facebook group and they gave all sorts of tips and advice before we went. I look forward to hearing how your travels go! ~Kathy