Surviving a Cormack McCarthy nightmare

The landscape here is reminiscent of that described in numerous Cormack McCarthy novels from All the Pretty Horses through to The Crossing and Blood Meridian. It’s an unforgiving landscape yet stunning at the same time.

It’s not a place I feel comfortable with and perhaps it’s because I can see myself surviving in the wilderness of Canada but not here. To find oneself far from help or civilization in this landscape you had better know which cactus to eat, what to do in the event of a scorpion bite, how to fight off the buzzards and how to find your way out.

It’s a stunning landscape but at the same time scares me. Sunsets are stupendous (is it the dust in the air),

Caleta Lobos anchorage

the vegetation curiously intriguing (can’t figure out how it survives),

A tree will do anything to find water

the animals scarce (except rabbits and birds) and the sea yet one more barrier to survival. I guess I’ve been reading too much Cormack McCarthy recently and apart from Suttree his stories are depressingly harsh.

We’re enjoying it despite Cormack. We climb mountains, kayak the coves, eat well and ethnic (even celebrate with challah!),

Marilyn’s infamous challah

bike through towns, watch the kite boarders ( would like to try it but haven’t yet had an opportunity to get to the right location) and generally enjoy what Mexico has to offer. I can say that we’re not shovelling that white stuff like the west coast is now doing!

he landscape that here is so similar to tha