Many people told us we shouldn’t go to Mexico. It is scary. It is dangerous. The people are unfriendly, or will rob you. We heard all of the stereotypical phrases you can imagine.
We crossed into Baja excited, but with a bit of trepidation. Were these people correct? Were we making a huge mistake? We couldn’t help thinking about the things we had been told (even though a fair number of people told us the exact opposite). Who should we have listened to?
After almost a month in Baja, we are glad we didn’t listen to the nay sayers. We have found the people to be incredibly friendly, kind and welcoming. One example is Christmas Eve.
We are in Agua Verde sitting in our little screen room making dinner when two of the local young people we say hello to every day on the beach walk up to the Wee Rover. They wanted to wish us a Merry Christmas and to invite us to their family’s Christmas Dinner later that evening. Well, it wasn’t quite as simple as that! We used our simple Spanish, and Google translate, and 15 minutes later we figured out they were inviting us to the family dinner. We didn’t want to impose on their family time, but it seemed like they really wanted us to come, so we said we would stop by to say hello.
Well, a few hours later we had eaten a second dinner, played with the kids and the dogs, showed everyone photos of Vermont and our travel route map, and taken photos together. All with very little actual communication! They even invited us to come back in the morning to open presents with them.
Such a welcoming family and place…we felt lucky to be a part of their family, if only for a short while. We are extremely glad we didn’t let the fear dampen our adventure! Onward and upward…well actually onward and southward. On to the next adventure!
Tidbit: We have not only met amazing locals during our time in Baja, we have met many other travelers. Most we only spend a few days with and say adiós, but a few turn into good friends we hope we will meet again somewhere down the road.
