AS THE TORTILLA BURNS – Part Two – Chapter Two

 

A Slow Motion Tango

I will put Mulege at your feet, he said to his bride,
For you Dear Sofia, A Villa to cherish.
Forever, he wooed as he looked into her eyes.
And many years later his promise was made, grinning in pride,
Dancing a Slow Motion Tango Under Tangerine Skies.

To you Dear Sofia, Mulege at your feet, he cooed.
High on a mountain top, a piece of land, a glorious seascape multi-hued,
The sleepy village of Mulege lay below,
The river and palms, little white houses, with a birds eye view.

From below and beyond the vista you see, of mountains, the desert and out to the sea,
Sheltered and hidden in the middle of the desert, its an Oasis you see.
Basked in warm sun, as melodious tunes drifts through the air,
Sounds of Mexico have lured and captured you, by the beauty there.

A painted red terrace, a happy color of rose,
Catching reflections of a sunset, a fine line of green trim,
Rod iron trellis, from lanterns hang, tiny tea lights that dimly glow,
As Bali umbrellas set in the round table, spin in the wind.
Settling your spirit, rest and relaxation, soothing your soul.

Bougainvilleas blooms bright red, purple and pink a dramatic contrast,
Against the Amarillo Villa, set like a castle, high on a peak.
Humming Birds darting in and out sipping sweet nectar with their long beaks,
Tiny bodies standing still for only a moment, you catch a glimpse
Of their beautiful rainbows, iridescent like fairies and nymphs.

Brightly colored birds fly overhead, landing in the trees, parrots and finches chatter about,
Frigates fly high, their tail feathers spread in the sky, soaring high like kits on a string,
Dipping and climbing, wings spread wide, Dancing A Slow Motion Tango Under Tangerine Skies.
Mulege at your feet, he wooed that night, to his sweet Sofia, with her soft brown eyes.

The day turns to night and the music still plays a gentle rhythm in their head.
Words from a Spanish love song, echo through the village, dancing cheek to cheek,
Their bodies so close together, they can hear their hearts beat.
His hand in hers, As he looks into her soft brown eyes,
They dance on the terrace, A Slow Motion Tango Under Tangerine Skies.

Where has the day gone, Mulege, Mulege, My Sofia Dear,
At your feet, I promise you, never to leave and nothing to fear.
Their voices speak softly now, as the skies turn black and the stars appear.
Into the night, Mars ignites, there Venus, ooh! A shooting star…make a wish.

Polo and Sofia sat on the terrace late, gazing into the night, hearts on fire,
Happy faces, wide smiles, you ask, could it be that promise he made to his wife one night,
As they sat on the terrace holding each other tight, and kissed in the night.
As the wise owl flew overhead and sat on a perch, hoo, hoo…hoo, hoo,
Oh it felt so right!

The music played on, tiny lights in the trees, soft sounds of the sea,
That’s how it began, the night Polo wooed Sofia, telling her how much he loved her,
As the sun began to rise, there is a story of tangerine skies,
The night Polo proposed to Sofia with soft brown eyes.

And in the morn, the color of the bougainvillea did change from bright red to apricot,
The color of Tangerine, an apricot hue.
Today you can see the star kissed bougainvillea,
Where the light hit the flower, transforming them,
Into a subtle color of apricot and blue.

And so, on one knee the promise to keep, To Dear Sofia with the soft brown eyes,
A dance on the terrace, A Slow Motion Tango Under Tangerine Skies.

Mulege, Mexico
October 2004

Mulege

The trip down from Bahia De Los Angeles to Mulege is roughly a four hour drive, the flat endless stretch past Guerrero Negro was very desolate.  Making my way past some interesting mountain peaks and a very winding road I reached the town of St. Ignacio.  Set in a valley crowded with date palms, an oasis, a wonderful change from the dust of the peninsula.   Surrounded by hues of green and a cool breeze off the Pacific, it began to feel more like what I was looking for.  St. Ignacio was inviting, but upon closer inspection, the main event in town was the mission, San Ignacio de Kadakkman, a central plaza, a few shops and mostly dirt streets.   A few start up hotels, Ignacio Springs Bed and Breakfast and a trailer park.  I drove through and continued on my way to Mulege.

Mulege would be the next stop on my tour and I planned to spend a few days exploring opportunities.  After descending the steep curves on the grade into Santa Rosalia, I was only a few miles to Mulege.  In the distance I could see the mountains that sheltered Mulege, when a beautiful rainbow appeared.  The sight of rainbow gave me hope that this would be a delightful experience and perhaps I was reaching the destination I had visualized in my mind so many times, The Promised Land.

Upon entering the town of Mulege the lush green of palms trees greeted me, a tranquil spot set along a lazy river.  I set about locating a place to camp for a few days, my first stop, The Orchard RV Park.  They offered camping and palapa house rentals.  I drove up and met Judy, she showed me a few available rentals and I decided on a one bedroom with air conditioning with a playa roof parking area right on the river for $55.00 per night.  I thought a bit expensive, but the only place the animals would be comfortable.  I unloaded the animals, cats and dogs, they were very happy to get out of the truck and into a cool room.  I then headed into town to buy supplies and check out my new surroundings.

Mulege was peaceful, quiet in July and very hot.  My original plan was to spend a few days in Mulege and then head down to La Paz and Los Barriles before making a decision on where I would soon live.    Mulege was inviting, warm waters in the Bay of Conception, white sand beaches and palm trees.  The village was quaint with a discernible tropical air and the laid back attitude of the locals reinforced my first impressions.

The next morning, I strolled up to the office to chat with the only American person I had seen, Judy.  I wanted to know about rentals and what was for sale in  the area. Judy had white blond hair a friendly smile and piercing blue eyes that twinkled when she spoke.  She worked in the office handling the rentals of camp space and palapa houses. She lived on the premises in a tiny trailer and drove around in golf cart.  She was a bit odd, especially after spending more than a few days talking with her.  She explained to me that she had made her way down to Mulege after being contacted by aliens.  She was waiting for someone to come and get her.  I wasn’t making any judgements on her sanity, everyone has there own thing and we sort of became friends.  I thought maybe she was really lonely, the summers in Mulege were void of any Americans.

Judy introduced me to Hugo and Josefina Martinez from Mulege Real Estate.  A Mexican couple, seemed interested in helping and both spoke perfect English.  It seemed things were running smoothly.  We set up an appointment to look at property in a couple days.  I spent the evening with Judy, we headed out to the Sea of Cortez to a little restaurant on the sand, El Patron, for dinner, beers and a few shots of tequila, my treat.  We sat out under the stars watching the waves roll in, our feet in the sand.  El Patron sits at the end of the river where it meets the Sea of Cortez a great spot on long summer nights when the air is still and hot.  We laughed a lot and talked about Mulege, what it was like, the people, about opening up a new business and my plans.  Everything seemed to fit, Judy was my guide and I trusted her.   We made plans to go out to Coyote Beach the next day, I drove us back to the Orchard and slept peacefully that night.

The drive out to the Bay of Conception was breathtaking, beautiful clear blue water, reminded me of Italy and The Almalfi Coast.  Set amongst catus, red mountains rugged and jagged, the blue waters sparkling in the baking sun of the desert.  Coyote Beach is a world renown beach for photographers, the water about 90 degrees was a refreshing change.  We set up my lounge chairs, opened a couple beers and sat right in the waves lapping at our feet.  I was feeling right at home, I loved this place.  We spent the day and evening at Playa Coyote and stopped off for dinner at Berthas on Burro Beach, another great spot to enjoy the hot summer weather.  Tacos and beer right on the beach, sailboats dotted the small harbor and the gentle waves of the Bay Of Conception lapping at our feet.  The next morning I would be meeting with Hugo and Josefina to look a t property, I was excited.  Sometimes in my life I have just fallen into the most perfect situations and this felt like one of those times.  I was trusting my instinct, it felt right, everything did.

The next morning I set off with Hugo and Josefina to look at what was available to rent or to buy.  They had a few properties to show me in my price range.  I wasn’t really sure what I was looking, I knew I wanted to keep writing, so something small.  In the back of mind, I realized I had a whole lot of furniture in storage, so I would need space for most of that stuff.  The first place was a small house for rent for $400.00 a month, really small and furnished, the second house was an old Mexican house, small and needed a ton of work, no plumbing, hardly a roof, just not what I was looking for at all.  Then Hugo said, we have  another house on the hill, its for sale or for rent.  I said, show it to me.  It was up an winding little dirt road at the top, the owners were at home and I was introduced to Polo and Sofia.  First they showed me the rental part of this house, a three bedroom, living area, one full bath and two half baths with an incredible view of the river below and the Sea of Cortez.  It was beautiful, immediately I fell in love with it.  Then I asked to see the rest of the house and how much it was for sale.  They showed me two casitas or small houses in disrepair and the owners apartment, which was about 2000 square feet, one big room with a huge kitchen, the entire villa was 5000 sq feet and they said 2 acres of land, the cost was $190,000.00 US dollars.  I could see the potential in the old Mexican villa and the two people who desperately wanted to sell it.

I returned to the Orchard that afternoon to think about the house and what I could actually afford and I how would go about purchasing it. It would need a lot of work to bring it up to standards, if I was going to turn it into an Inn and Spa.  I already had the furnishing and spa equipment needed to open.  The house needed electricity, as only bare wire existed, water was an issue and needed new pumps, this was only the visible work that need to be done.  I wanted to live in the house for awhile so that I could determine exactly what it would cost and how long it would take. 

I spoke with Judy who seemed to know so much about the people and ways of Mulege.  Judy had given me insight on the house, she had told me that Polo and Sofia were eager to sell, the house was in disrepair and they no longer had the money to fix it up.  They had been living there for almost 30 years.  Hard times had fallen on them, financial worries threaten them.  The sale of the house would give them an opportunity to start over, they wanted to open a Teinda out the road.  She assured me that they were honest people and that I could trust them. Her words to me, were that they were wonderful and very sweet people.  I accepted her word.  I felt as if this was a win-win situation for all of us.  I would be helping them and  I would have a chance of started over myself, I had wonderful plans.

I called Josefina and Hugo to make another appointment to see the house and to meet with Polo and Sofia again.  I wanted to have another look at the house and spend a few hours poking around to see what was actually there.  I wanted to try and get as much information before making a decision.

I asked if it had clear title  and all four of them, Polo and Sofia and Hugo and Josefina all replied, Yes, this house has clear title.  I was sold, I agreed to rent the apartment with three bedrooms for $400.00 a month for four months and offered to buy the house.  I made arrangements to pay my four months rent in advance and return to Mulege in 10 days to continue with the sale of the house.  Everyone was all smiles, they would get their money and I would get a beautiful house, that needed a ton of work, but in the end, would be a beautiful Inn and Spa and a place to write and live.  It would be my masterpiece.  I wrote them a check for $1600.00 US Dollars and signed a lease agreement for the four months beginning August 1st.  I would return in 10 days and begin the process of buying the house, in Mexico I knew this would take some time and I was prepared to do this.  Polo offered his services for surveyors, accounting and the corporation I would need to form in order to buy this house.   I was elated, I had found the house I had visualized in my mind.  It would mean lots of hard work in the years to come, but I felt this was my destiny.

I spent a few more days in Mulege wandering through the streets, getting a feel for things.  I knew I would spend at least four months here getting to know the people and seeing if this was what I really wanted to do. I drove back to Rosarita Beach and called Roger to let him know that I had found a beautiful house.  He was happy for me and explained all the things I need to know.  I was planning to move down over the month of August, I would be making trips up and down the Baja moving in and buying supplies for Mulege.

My journey had begun, I did not know what was in store for me, I was following my instincts and I knew all would be revealed in time.  I let myself feel the joy of a new beginning and the challenge that lay before me.  This time I would be all on my own, my ideas and efforts would be the theme for this adventure.  I felt a strength and calm, knowing I was headed the right direction.  I knew this would be an opportunity to grow beyond myself in many ways, beyond what I had previously know in my life.  It seemed simple, lots of hard and a happy heart.  The pain of leaving behind my family and friends and the security I had held onto for so long, was giving way to the unknown.  As I packed my trailer for the first load of supplies to take down, I was filled with confidence.

 

September 26, 2007,  Notes…..I am reading a wonderful book, today the word of suffering comes to mind, what about suffering is it something we do to ourselves, is it about growth and strength, the opposite of happiness, would we not know happiness if was not for suffering.  I am no longer afraid of my place in the world, but I am accepting it all as the universe is preparing for something better, inside myself.  Knowing that I am on a path….writing when I can, I think a lot about what I am writing.  The universe has made a path for me, and the things I saw as obstacles are now becoming the path, being happy with I have, it seems to be enough, to do what I need to do.  Write this story…everyday as I live I remember the things they say to me, opportunities are coming my way, I cannot force them to happen, Time is what I need, I live a very simple life, simple food and a simple job I am surviving without all the things I thought I needed. Time is what I have seems to be what I have needed the most.  I have me and that seems to be enough for now.

~ by clairedelores on May 16, 2008.