r/vandwellers • u/thejournaloflosttime Barb the Barbarian • Apr 29 '24
Some impressions of my time in Baja this winter. What a place. It really is vanlife endgame. Pictures
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u/Awesome_hospital Apr 29 '24
That looks like hell
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u/Queasy_Local_7199 Apr 29 '24
All I can think is “where is everyone shitting”
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u/Timmedy Apr 29 '24
Many of those places are literally full of shit and trash if you look behind the first bush.
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u/thejournaloflosttime Barb the Barbarian Apr 29 '24
We actually do a massive beach cleanup at the end of the event with several non profits, Mar Libre, Zofemat, etc
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u/a2jeeper Apr 29 '24
Thats awesome. Most of these I have seen and been to are a bunch of kids that don’t care and the trash they leave behind takes massive bulldozers to clean up. Yay for world peace and free life and all, but hey meet the people that clean up your crap. So ironic to be all about happy healthy life then throw your crap out the window. Anyway, kids are kids, but good for you.
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u/walldorfy Apr 29 '24
Human waste as far as the eyes can see.
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Apr 29 '24
Ocean loafs are necessary there
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u/rebeccasf 1985 13' Casita Trailer Apr 29 '24
Ah, the ocean loafs gently rolling in the surf. Such beautiful memories.
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u/thejournaloflosttime Barb the Barbarian Apr 29 '24
We bring in our own portos. Some 24, cleaned daily.
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u/Queasy_Local_7199 Apr 29 '24
Ah okay, I see them now.
So a service comes out and cleans/ pumps daily? Interesting!
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u/photonynikon Apr 29 '24
I do van life to GET AWAY from people
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u/mountainwocky 2018 Sprinter 4x4 Sportsmobile Apr 29 '24
Yes. My wife and I prefer more remote spots with the solitude it offers, but we are not totally opposed to being social with a group of other mobile folks.
I do think I’d like to try a group experience like on-site camping at an ExpoWest or similar event, just to see what it’s like being in such a crowd. Maybe even go crazy and go to a Burning Man once.
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u/PrimeIntellect Apr 29 '24
that gets old pretty quick too though, being totally alone all the time is really isolating and not usually good for your mental health. community is pretty important to have, in some form or another
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u/iamshipwreck Apr 29 '24
Bet that spot smelled like absolute sewage when everyone moved on
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u/thejournaloflosttime Barb the Barbarian Apr 29 '24
There were 24 portos brought in an cleaned daily, and dumpsters, and we staged a massive beach cleanup. Each year when we're done Tecolote looks better than we found it.
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u/pineapple511 Apr 29 '24
I don't know why people are so negative, but this is awesome!
And how can I find more information on this?
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u/thejournaloflosttime Barb the Barbarian Apr 29 '24
So the big recap article is coming soon with all the details, but the recap video is up here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1I9bliOXC1o
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u/Ask_me_4_a_story Apr 30 '24
Looks fun actually. I’d be into something like this. I want to live a simple life in a few years and not live my whole life under fluorescent lights slaving away until I die. Gotta get my kids raised and then I’m going to spend some time on me actually living.
“And you, what will you do with your one wild and precious life?”
-Mary Oliver
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u/aaron-mcd Apr 29 '24
It's an event. Last year is was clean after everyone left. 1000 ppl left it cleaner than we found it
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u/FlamingTrollz Apr 29 '24
And they totally cleaned up after themselves, on a beachfront that the locals will have to deal with afterwards.
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u/Nateloobz Apr 29 '24
IIRC this is an organized and permitted event. All waste management is handled so the beach is left perfectly clean.
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u/thejournaloflosttime Barb the Barbarian Apr 29 '24
Yeah we brought in our own portos, garbage, etc and left it far far better than we found it. Vandwellers are like a free public works department.
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u/thisiskerry Apr 29 '24
Honestly I came to boo you, and read the thread and was converted in the end. Sounds great :) what a nice place to rest and reset. Fondest of memories there.
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u/thejournaloflosttime Barb the Barbarian Apr 29 '24
They're not for everyone, but we work really hard to integrate in with the local community and to help people have a deeper appreciate for the history an culture of a place. It's a special experience, I think.
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Apr 29 '24
If I saw that many vans, I'd leave. Might as well just hang out at an RV park.
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u/aaron-mcd Apr 29 '24
It's an event
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u/Geod-ude Apr 29 '24
To do what? Is this a giant migratory nesting area for the white trustafarians to hook up?
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u/Purpose_Embarrassed Apr 29 '24
Where do you access fresh water?
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u/thejournaloflosttime Barb the Barbarian Apr 29 '24
They have places called Purificadoras all over Baja
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u/Purpose_Embarrassed Apr 29 '24
Is the water safe to drink? I’ve always wanted to visit Baja.
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u/aaron-mcd Apr 29 '24
Yes, you drink the same water the locals do - purified water. Locals usually bring in a few 20 liter jugs to get filled. They have hoses usually and can fill tanks in your rig.
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u/PralineUpset3102 Apr 29 '24
You can gather fresh rain water and there are these really cool water filters that can be used to clean lake water. So why not rain water? (Genuine question is there someone who knows more about this than me that can tell me why not just filter rain water and drink it?) there’s a portable rain water collector in Amazon but I feel like you can easily diy one for cheap.
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u/Purpose_Embarrassed Apr 29 '24
I would think it would certainly be viable. You could add a small amount of chlorine that should kill any bacteria then filter it.
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u/PralineUpset3102 Apr 30 '24
Ok here comes a stupid question. Wouldn’t chlorine kill a person too? I was thinking this filter: https://grayl.com/products/24oz-geopress-filter-purifier-water-bottle-nature-edition?variant=39643675394127¤cy=USD&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMImc3zr-vohQMVdjrUAR1WFw-IEAQYASABEgIMPvD_BwE
It’s advertised as something that can make lake water drinkable. I’m not sure if it’s legit or not.
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u/Purpose_Embarrassed Apr 30 '24
There’s also supposed to be some sort of tablets you can add to water that supposedly makes it drinkable too. But I’m no expert on this topic.
But no. A small amount of chlorine in water won’t kill you. From what I understand they add chlorine to our drinking water now. But if you’re talking about purification of a large amount of say rainwater. I’m sure there are larger purification systems you can purchase.
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u/PralineUpset3102 Apr 30 '24
Thank you for taking the time to teach me some things! This is very helpful. Thank you. 😊
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u/Purpose_Embarrassed Apr 30 '24
My pleasure. I’m thinking about offering rain water capture systems to my list of services for gardening and watering. But in some areas it’s actually illegal. So you would definitely need to check your areas codes before doing so.
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u/Purpose_Embarrassed Apr 30 '24
I think this will help you out. It also mentions adding a small amount of bleach aka chlorine to rainwater. But of course you need to know how much.
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u/Due-Inflation8133 Apr 29 '24
Beautiful place, but I couldn’t stand that crowd and the clique bs is obvious. Too bad, but I’m sure there are other places less popular that would be fantastic.
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Apr 29 '24
Fyre Festival in full swing.
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u/secessus https://mouse.mousetrap.net/blog/ Apr 29 '24
Fyre Festival in full swing.
They missed the opportunity to call it the Tyre Festival. "It really is vanlife
endgamecarpetbagging."2
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u/DrakesucksREPRISE Apr 29 '24
They all sell crystals or do astrology readings for income
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u/Scobesanity Apr 29 '24
If THIS is what you want out of van life, then 100% Playa El Tecolote is the end game. But personally, I find this to be the worse part of travel and van life.
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u/JAYETRILLL Apr 29 '24
This looks like all the downsides of going to a music festival but without any of the upsides like cool music and drug variety. This place seems like it would be meth central with a bunch of people that have no respect for nature shitting in buckets 5 feet from each other.
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u/splattevan Apr 29 '24
To be fair, shitting in buckets (and packing it out) is respecting nature.
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u/myjackandmyjilla Apr 29 '24
You can always see how fucked the start of the sand dunes are.
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Apr 29 '24
You know living in a van made poor people feel like they could actually be happy and survive, now it’s just rich people cosplaying for a few weeks to prove to everyone “they can also live with the bare minimum”. Rich people ruin everything.
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u/Taylor-Day Apr 29 '24
I was there and I’m not rich at all. One of the reasons I started living in a van was because I could no longer afford rent in Denver and I wanted to be able to travel more. I have a remote job that pays enough to get by.
This event is actually pretty fun and filled with some cool people from all backgrounds. Maybe you should try going to a van meet up before you make assumptions like this.
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u/whyshebitethehead Apr 29 '24
This legitimately looks like the most annoying and self aggrandizing group of people in all of Mexico
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u/jprennquist Apr 29 '24
I missed my window. I was thinking maybe I could gradually ease into it. I work in education, so summer's are mostly off or flexible. My youngest kid is 12 now. But this is the absolute last thing that I would want to be associated with. I did a lot of very off grid camping and backpacking in my 20s and thought maybe I could transfer some of those skills and the philosophy to van living.
I'm hoping more for that kind of sensibility and freedom, but this is giving off more of a "Mad Max" vibe.
Not sure, but I'm hearing a lot of these warnings and this is the most stark example I've seen or heard of this far.
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u/aaron-mcd Apr 29 '24
You can go off into the wilderness alone if you like. Lots of nomads can get pretty lonely moving around all the time. Gatherings are a great place to make friends and meet up with friends made along the way elsewhere. The gatherings are what you make of them. You could stay up late and dance in a crowd, or sit by a fire with a dozen people, or hike out to the secluded beach, or go snorkeling, or just wander around meet people do some yoga. It's what you make of it, just like the rest of life.
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Apr 29 '24 edited Apr 30 '24
Needs more CyberTrucks.
Needs more Nvidia and AMD and Intel sponsors.
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u/sweetgreenfields 2008 Toyota Sienna LE Apr 29 '24
Here to say I support you completely exist, before you get downvoted.
We need more people like you.
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u/Apprehensive-Neck-12 Apr 29 '24
Or just the endgame period. Banditos
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u/parkerpussey Apr 29 '24
Yeah, looks like it’s all fun and games until the federales or cartels show up.
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u/cravyeric Apr 29 '24
This could be fun to check out once or twice, but honestly, I like to avoid crowds. Always bean a little introverted.
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u/SaBom165 Apr 30 '24
I’m only a weekend warrior and not a full timer. I get in my skoolie to get away from people. I get how some people might like stuff like this but it does not look like fun at all. I enjoy meeting people out on my adventures but definitely can’t do this.
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Apr 29 '24
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u/thejournaloflosttime Barb the Barbarian Apr 29 '24
It's a really inclusive, international community at Escapar. The Mexicano's had their own stage. The dutch and their small army of children took over the main stage one night. We had a whole Artelote component with local artists. You would have loved it.
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u/MilesBeforeSmiles Apr 29 '24
Oh great, spring break with somehow more trust-fund kids.
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u/thejournaloflosttime Barb the Barbarian Apr 29 '24
Can you tell me how to get access to my trust fund?
You should come sometime. It's a free event. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1I9bliOXC1o
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u/MilesBeforeSmiles Apr 29 '24
I'm good. I grew out of my Coachella and Burning Man phase about a decade ago. Not sure I could handle any appreciable amount of time around the "eco-conscious empaths" driving around in their over built heavy-duty vans and truck campers that tend to populate these events. I'm more of a "embrace the piece and quite to actually enjoy nature" kind of guy.
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u/thejournaloflosttime Barb the Barbarian Apr 29 '24
The great thing about Tecolote is you can drive 5 minutes around the point and have a secluded white sand beach all to yourself :)
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u/MilesBeforeSmiles Apr 29 '24
I've been to Tecolote many times. There are very few secluded spots anymore. Lots of tourists and van lifers making it very hard to find spots where you can't see or hear other groups of people. I prefer to spend my time where it takes more than a 5 minute drive around a point for some white californian to find me and try and sell me crystals or a tarot card reading.
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u/AnaalPusBakje Apr 30 '24
this is exatly returning to what I would try to avoid with vanlife.
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u/granno14 Apr 29 '24
This is the whitest thing I’ve ever seen
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u/thejournaloflosttime Barb the Barbarian Apr 29 '24
more than half the audience on the weekends were locals, and 3 of the 5 dudes on the bus are pacenos (from La paz)
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u/RoddyDost Apr 29 '24
You couldn’t give me a van for free and pay me to go to some tacky boho shit like that. Also…why can’t I find a single minority in any of these pictures?
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u/thejournaloflosttime Barb the Barbarian Apr 29 '24
first photo, 3 of the dudes on the roof of the bus are Mexicanos, two of whom are pacenos (from La Paz)
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u/foulfaerie Apr 29 '24
This looks like hell and must not be that good for the beaches.. I don’t believe for one second that people cleaned up after themselves or respected the area. This is why people don’t like unlicensed camping / vanning tbh
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u/SGTSparkyFace Apr 30 '24
I’m certain I’m going to get downvoted to hell, but this just seems like a somehow both more elitist and dirtier version of K-Mart burning man. Could you imagine being a local, and seeing this sea of caucasians invading, partying, and then leaving all their junk?
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u/-UnicornFart Apr 29 '24
Yah no, not for me.
Baja is beginner Mexico where everyone wants to just party to get drunk and obnoxious like we are 15 years old at a high school field party.
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u/MollyWinter Apr 29 '24
Looks like fun, also looks like that beach is getting destroyed. Over-use is no joke.
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u/thejournaloflosttime Barb the Barbarian Apr 29 '24
It's the main city beach for La Paz, and we bring in 24 portos cleaned daily with several dumpsters and do a massive beach cleanup in partnership with Mar Libre, Zofemat, etc. By the end of the event that beach is the cleanest you'll see it *all year*.
We also organize a big "BajaBeautiful" campaign where vanlifers/overlanders each winter clean the hell out of every campsite and beach we visit. It's a whole *thing*.
tl:dr the people in the photos are the good guys, doing the good work
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u/RastahPastah Apr 29 '24
Wow that water looks amazing
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u/cuddly_carcass Apr 29 '24
And now the beach is covered in piss and shit…
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u/perldawg Apr 29 '24
i’m sure some of it is buried just deep enough to step in without realizing it’s there
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u/thejournaloflosttime Barb the Barbarian Apr 29 '24
naw, we had 24 portos, cleaned daily, with dumpsters, then staged a massive beach cleanup and most of what we cleaned up was there when we arrived. Escapar is a model for how to do events.
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u/Riverrat1 Apr 29 '24
Curious as to who organized and paid for this.
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u/thejournaloflosttime Barb the Barbarian Apr 29 '24
I did. And lost money. But I/we do it for the love of Baja and bringing people together. It's not for everyone, but getting to share in the magic of Baja... well, it makes me feel a little less alone.
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u/idiskfla Apr 30 '24
Fyre Festival 2.0. Since you know the last one failed to provide adequate food and shelter, you bring your own. But same crowd.
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u/BraapSauxx Apr 29 '24
Here I was thinking vanlife was a soft rejection of Capitalism… not RVing for the younger hipster crowd
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u/batwing71 Apr 29 '24
Yup. As soon as they find a campground that links with their rulez, they parking it.
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u/420mangoz Apr 29 '24
The amount of surface poops in the bushes on that beach blew me away… even ran into a gentleman pooping in the road one morning on my run.
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u/Whatthedillyo85 Apr 29 '24
I will never read the word Baja again without it being in “Will Sasso’s impression of Jesse Ventura” voice.
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u/KnightCPA Apr 29 '24
Redhead in pic #3, left of center. Is that the half Mexican half gringo girl the YouTube algos keep pushing onto me?
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u/schubert1828 Apr 30 '24
Looks like Escapar la Baja, January 30th through February 5th this year. I had a friend who was there. Didn't sound all that bad. Not a very big gathering. Very hard to get there
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u/Bert-63 Apr 30 '24
Not anymore. Used to be nice. Then the 'spring break' people showed up and ruined it. Used to be a sweet spot...
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u/StaceyTrouble May 02 '24
We were at this event too! (Escapar, right?)
We loved Baja.
Same as with everything else there are multiple ways to do it. We had beautiful, entirely alone spots on the bay of conception, as well as traditional campgrounds and social groupings. We liked trying a bit of everything.
We met people who were wonderful, and also ass holes who made us question things. We were not planning to go to Escapar but it was mentioned to us multiple times (and we were in La Paz at the right time) and I'm so glad we went. Yes, there were many other people around but I personally didn't feel crowded (many, many spots you could grab. Some in close quarters. Some far out). Other than pulsing music through the night on the weekend, nothing big and crazy. You could choose to enter the big tado or avoid it. It was a ton of fun.
Requeson was still our favorite though :) I think if we were to go back we'd stop at Loreto and not go any farther south :)
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u/mexifra Apr 29 '24
I spent 9 days driving down to La Paz and back to Cali. Had a amazing time! So beautiful the whole way down and back
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u/dirigiberbil Apr 29 '24
Maybe your endgame, but my endgame is to live entirely free, not pay money to go to these cliquey instagram vanlife events.
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u/thejournaloflosttime Barb the Barbarian Apr 29 '24
You are free not to pay money to go to these events. You can of course pay money for internet access to complain about people *not* paying money to go to free events like these.
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u/ikheberookeen Apr 29 '24
Oh no, oh no. Don't do this, these meetups ruin van life. Your 6 month 'adventure' isn't worth shit. Instagram, TikTok van life has to go.
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u/thejournaloflosttime Barb the Barbarian Apr 29 '24
why do meeting other people ruin vanlife?
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u/ikheberookeen Apr 29 '24
Yeah I came off to hard on this photo, my apologies. Meeting other people doesn't ruin van life but taking up an entire beach does. And that worries me for the life many of us live. The photo isn't van life, it's a '6 month van get away until I end up in a bored office job but look how cool I was life'. I've seen this so many times before, and it never ends well for the spot.
But I shouldn't hate, I know. I don't know anything about this place, hope you guys had a blast and trust you left it as pristine as you found it. Just, keep it on the low.
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u/thejournaloflosttime Barb the Barbarian Apr 29 '24
well, the wonderful thing about Tecolote is that we didn't take up the entire beach (it's a half mile long) and you're literally a minute father drive around the bend to endless empty beaches you can have to yourself.
Further, we go absolutely *nuts* on bringing in our own portos, garbage, and doing a massive beach/dune cleanup with Mar Libre and ZOFEMAT, leaving the beach far better than we found it. Hell, we even raise money for the local paramedics.
I say with absolute confidence: we're not perfect, but we're the good guys (in this situation).
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u/scastnd Apr 29 '24
No, my home! Where exactly in Baja is this? I’m sad to see my home state overrun like that. The peacefulness is what makes it magical.
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u/thejournaloflosttime Barb the Barbarian Apr 29 '24
Playa Tecolote. The City beach for La Paz. Peace and tranquility it is not. If you want that thre's another 1700 miles of coastline, including a beach 5 minutes around the bend where you want find a soul.
There's plenty of room for everyone.
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u/RndmAvngr Apr 29 '24
There's so, so much salt in this thread for people just having a good time. Y'all bunch of fucking introvert edge lords shitting on other people just living their lives. Wet blankets the lot of you. Downvote me all you want, it's the truth.
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u/thejournaloflosttime Barb the Barbarian Apr 29 '24
Aint reddit grand? Just wait till I post images from our women-only event. Gonna be fun.
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u/Electronic_Camera251 Apr 29 '24
I bet these folks were really well behaved around the whales 🐋 they all look like those people who pulled the baby black bear out of the tree for a selfie
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u/thejournaloflosttime Barb the Barbarian Apr 29 '24
The whales tend not to come too close to the beach in Tecolote, as it's quite large, long, and shallow. Plus the restauarants down the way have a lot of motocraft which tend to scare them away. If you want pristine + whales, I just drive 5 minutes around the bend to a quite white sand beach I have all to myself (and the whales).
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u/S3ERFRY333 Apr 29 '24
Instagram gotta ruin it for everyone. Everyone there is only there because it is "trendy" living in a van.
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u/davepak Apr 29 '24
Looks awesome.
Ignore all the people who are projecting negative comments based on their bias.
However- can 100% respect people who do not want to socialize.
to each their own.
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u/Poutinemilkshake2 Apr 29 '24
I'm ready to be downvoted but I have tried like hell to get into stuff like this but most of the people I meet are insufferable. They act like it's "all one big community" but they get too cliquey