Escape
to Baja, CA
By Oscar Montealegre
On-line Forty-Niner
She
wakes up to the sound of the ocean. It’s
cloudy outside and the sky is gray. But
Kelly does not care because she is away
from home, spending a couple of days in
another place.
Even though it is only the city of Rosarito
of Baja California, Kelly doesn’t care as
long as she is surrounded with people from
a different culture who have different norms
from the people she left temporarily in
Los Angeles.
Rosarito is only 18 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico
border. It is part of a region known for
endless beaches and desert hills. A getaway
from Los Angeles that contains international
differences.
By mid-morning, Rosarito is already awake
and vibrant. Smoke is coming out of the
tasty taco stands, kids are walking around
selling bracelets and packets of gum. Shopkeepers
are spitting all their verbs, nouns and
adjectives in order to persuade shoppers
to enter their store.
While we are walking down the street, I
bump into a longtime friend of my parents
who resides in Rosarito. Humberto Gonzaelez
is his name. He is originally from Madrid,
Spain, but he now lives in a few houses
he owns in Baja California. Humberto considers
himself a Spanish expatriate who does not
follow life’s norms that have been unconsciously
structured into us.
“Baja California is very beautiful. It is
not a place to come for a day or two and
just leave. You need to be here for a long
time and you will discover the beauty of
Baja. But if you could only come one or
two days, it is better than nothing,” said
Gonzalez.
Kelly decides to buy a couple of tacos from
the Juana’s taco stand. We then walk to
the beach and eat our breakfast as we stare
at the Pacific Ocean.
“I come to Rosarito or Ensenada at least
four times a year, yet I never get tired
of these places. The favorite part is eating
at the beach in the morning. This is what
life is all about,” said Romero, who has
plans to live in a foreign country after
she graduates from college.
Two local young adults approach Kelly after
she eats. They are trying to convince her
to ride their horses for a small fee. Eventually,
Kelly gives in and therefore we both go
horseback riding along the coast.
The cloud is still gray and it seems like
it is going to rain hard soon. Our time
is up with the horses. We give them the
money and they are extremely appreciative
of us forgiving them business. In fact,
they instantly managed to find an umbrella
and sell it to us for $3 as soon as it began
raining.
The bars have already opened and the music
is pumping loud beats that you can hear
them as you walk along the road. We go in
and have a hot drink. Inside there is another
American couple. They too are frequent visitors
of the Baja region. However, they do not
visit Baja during times of heavy tourism.
“We tend to come during the low season of
tourism. Not too many people come to Baja
in November or February. Therefore, we come
to Baja during those times. It feels like
the city is dedicated to us, and we avoid
the hassles of tourism,” said Alan Birges,
a studio lights salesman who has been visiting
Baja since he was a teenager.
The afternoon is coming to a close and we
decide it is time to depart Rosarito and
return to our homeland. Time to go back
to the daily routine at school and work.
It doesn’t matter because Kelly is aware
that when she gets annoyed with Los Angeles,
she can always pack her bags and drive off
to Baja again and all her problems will
be forgotten.
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