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January 21, 2025

Big Trip Day 375: Death of an Eggplant

Hello friends, 

Justin here, and I’m excited to announce that Big Trip has officially passed the one year mark! 🎉 We’ll talk more about this in our next newsletter, but it’s still a big deal.

Meanwhile we are still here in Southern Baja, and quite a lot has happened since we last wrote! It starts with a trip from La Paz to San José del Cabo, located at the southern tip of Baja. San José del Cabo is the sleepy step brother of the party destination of Cabo San Lucas, which is just up the road. We chose to spend a few days in SJC to check out some chill surf spots before heading over to the west side where we expected the waves to be a little bigger and more challenging. Once again, we stayed at the Hyatt (for free!) since it has become our unofficial sponsor by providing us with such excellent credit card point deals.

As always, our search for good waves was complemented by our quest for good food, which proved to be even more successful. Surprisingly, we enjoyed the food in San José del Cabo much more than in La Paz. One Sunday morning after surfing, we followed a crowd of locals to a garage-sized spot specializing in birria, where we enjoyed slow-cooked fall-apart juicy and tender goat, which was served in a stew and inside a fried taco with cheese and onions. This was truly the breakfast of champions. And it’s a good thing that birria wasn’t available for dinner, because it allowed us to discover El Burro, our favorite mariscos (seafood) spot. There, we were served tuna ceviche tostadas and shrimp tacos that absolutely blew our minds. 

Tuna (and fish) tostadas for the people.

Dory enjoying a birria feast.

As we were driving around town, we stopped to check out a couple skateparks. I took a lap around the bowl and was quickly reminded that I am simply too old for this sort of thing. Dory had better luck on the half pipe. The waves were a little too small here, but we did enjoy a few mellow sessions at a wave called The Rock.

Justin contemplating his life choices (note the location of the skateboard.)

Dory living out her Avril Lavigne dreams.

After a few relaxing days getting reacquainted with our surf idiot lifestyle, we embarked on a three day sidequest to San Diego, for the sake of friendship! We left the car behind, and once again flew into Tijuana and crossed the bridge over to San Diego, where my mom graciously picked us up. On this quick trip to San Diego, we attended the wedding of our good friends Brian and Chrissy. Brian and I grew up on the same street and he has remained one of my best friends for nearly 30 years. I’ve known him since I was in middle school, and we spent countless days body surfing, skimboarding, and surfing together. 

I recently found a collection of personal essays I wrote for my high school English class. In one of the essays, I was attempting to eloquently describe a day at the beach. I began by recounting a time when I was watching Brian run and catch a wave on his skimboard. I then stated, “I yearned to tell Brian how great he was”. Well Brian, if you’re reading this, consider my yearning fulfilled. I think you were especially great on that day. I still think you are especially great. Now at last I can finally stop yearning! Brian and Chrissy’s wedding was absolutely beautiful, a good time was had by all, and Brian was once again great.

Congratulations Brian and Chrissy! We love you guys!

The day after the wedding, we pounded some electrolytes and flew back to Baja for our next Mexican destination: Cerritos!

Cerritos is on the Pacific Coast around an hour and a half from San José del Cabo. It’s a little beach town nestled in with the sand, dirt, and cacti. At first, we found it peculiar to learn that there are new hotels popping up all the time in Cerritos despite the fact that there are no paved roads and all the water for the town is brought in by truck from the distant mountain aquifer. We later learned that the big draw to this area is the long sandy beach that is perfect for lounging or hanging out, along with the waves that are ideal for surf lessons. No matter how big the waves are out in the ocean, by the time they roll in on the north end of the beach, they dissipate and become little lines of white wash perfect for beginner surfers to try standing up on and riding. Dory’s Dad, Steve, was kind enough to remind Dory that she took a surf lesson here when she was in high school! Now that I know Dory has been surfing for over 20 years, I’m expecting her to be landing a lot more 360s. 

The vibe at Cerritos in 2024.

The vibe at Cerritos in 2005. Shoutout to Dory’s dad Steve for the photos, also featuring Dory’s brother Jake and a surf instructor who was evidently named Marco!

The waves at Cerritos can be good for intermediate or advanced surfers as well, but the conditions rarely lined up perfectly for us. After waves that were too small in Cabo, the main problem here seemed to be that the waves were just too big to have a good shape. In fact, these big waves were part of the historic swell that impacted the entire Pacific Coast and destroyed various piers up and down the California coastline. 

During the three days when the swell was at its biggest, I decided to see if I could surf some 15’ bombs. It’s preferable to have a surfboard that is extra long (at least 7’) to help you move faster when paddling into enormous waves. My 6’ 3” surfboard was too short for these conditions, but I decided to give it a shot and would just have to paddle extra hard to catch the waves.

While Dory supervised with binoculars from the beach, I paddled out at a surf break called San Pedrito. On my first paddle out, I made it quite far, duck-diving under several broken waves. But then, just as I was nearly reaching the lineup (the place where I would sit to wait and try to catch waves,) a rogue set wave appeared on the horizon. It was big. I padded as fast as I could to get past it but to no avail. As the monster wave crashed right in front of me, I duck-dived as deep as possible. The turbulence ripped the board out of my hands and violently rag-dolled me, pushing me deeper and holding me down for long enough that I needed to climb my leash up to the surface where my surfboard was bobbing up and down. I took a much needed breath and prepared to go in the washing machine again as two more gigantic waves came towards me. Before I knew it, I had been pushed all the way back to the beach. Having been totally rejected by the ocean, I decided that maybe that was enough “surfing” for the day. 

The surf report, per a local surf shop.

The next day, the waves were slightly less enormous, and I managed to make my way all the way out to the lineup. But as I feared, my surfboard was too short, and no matter how hard I paddled, I couldn’t get enough speed to catch the waves. After an hour, I ended up paddling back in without riding a single wave.

The day after that, I decided to try my luck using my other surfboard, which I had lovingly dubbed “the eggplant” for obvious reasons. This surfboard was longer than my other board (and purple-er), but for reasons that will be boring to non-surfers, it still wasn’t quite right -- a little too fat and round, and therefore challenging to submerge under water when duck-diving. Despite its not-quite-right-ness, I successfully paddled the eggplant out to the lineup. A nice wave started coming towards me, I padded hard and caught it, dropped in, rode down the line for a few seconds, and then the wave crashed as I jumped off my board. After the wave briefly tumbled me, I surfaced only to discover that my beloved eggplant had broken in half.

The eggplant in happier times, getting its namesake paint job.

So for those keeping score: sadly, during this historic 3-day mega swell, I caught one wave, which snapped my surfboard in two. Technically, that was a $350 wave. But that’s how it goes with surfing sometimes.

For the following two weeks, the waves dropped from scary gigantic to just regular big, which was perfect for me! But Dory (while she has been surfing for over 20 years) hadn’t become a professional surfer until Big Trip, and the big waves were still a little too intense for her. But again, that’s how it goes with surfing sometimes. The conditions are rarely perfect. When you arrive at a surf spot, it’s common for someone to say, “you should have been here yesterday!” And no conditions last forever, so sometimes you just have to be patient.

R.I.P. the Eggplant, 2024 - 2024.

During our time in Cerritos, we stayed at Libra Hostel. The owner is a French-Canadian guy named Dave, who like many other expats in Baja was looking for a place where he could live freely and have more for less money. His approach to creating a life in Baja is admirable. The hostel property is located on a hillside, which he purposefully selected so that he could reduce water usage by implementing a gravity-fed greywater irrigation system. He planted lots of fruit trees to create an edible garden throughout the property. He installed composting toilets and encourages recycling and composting of food waste. The rooms are made from old shipping containers, which he dropped in by crane so that he could minimize the impact on the natural vegetation. In the end, he created an oasis in the desert where you can relax on the deck overlooking the ocean, meet other travelers while using the communal kitchen, and pick a passionfruit while standing under the outdoor shower. We loved it here, and have come back repeatedly as we’ve bounced around the Southern Cape.

Permaculture gardens and the upper deck at Libra!

A truly magical outdoor shower.

After a few days at Libra, it was time to start our second Trusted Housesitters dogsit in Mexico, just up the road in Todos Santos. We arrived at the home and were greeted by the owners, Sue and Scott, and their dogs Timber and Clea. Sue and Scott moved down from Colorado seven years ago to live in their custom-built home. Scott owns a standardized test prep company and Sue is a social worker, and they both work remote. Their stunning beachfront home overlooks the sand dunes and the sea. After Scott showed us around and offered us some delicious local IPAs, we got to chatting with him about where we’ve been on Big Trip, and mentioned our rock climbing eras in Greece and Asia. With a bit more digging, we discovered that not only have Scott and Dory and I climbed some of the same climbing routes, but Scott actually bolted some of our favorite multipitch routes in El Potrero Chico, on the Mexican mainland! He was delighted and a little shocked that we knew his routes (Satori and Off the Couch, if you’re curious) and we felt like we were meeting an actual celebrity. A small world for sure.

After giving us the rundown, Sue and Scott headed out on their trip to visit family in the States over Christmas, and we were left to care for the two elderly but delightful pups. Clea was a little nervous but warmed up to us by the second day. Timber, on the other hand, was described as the town mayor as he carried himself with great confidence wherever he went. They were both rescue dogs and were well behaved, low maintenance, and very sweet. Our responsibilities were feeding them and taking them on two off-leash walks around the neighborhood per day, and that was pretty much it.

Timber and Clea enjoying a serenade

A typical perfect sunset on the rooftop at Sue and Scott’s house.

We quickly realized that we had hit the housesitting jackpot! The dogs were easy to care for and fun to hang out with. The house was absolutely dreamy. Every morning, we would sit on the upstairs deck drinking coffee and watching whales breach in the ocean just past the dunes. I surfed every day at La Pastora, the local break just ten minutes down the road. On Christmas Day, we brought home an order of al pastor pork with all the fixings and made a delicious Mexican feast. We skateboarded on the porch and took walks on the gold sand beach. This was the life of luxury that dreams are made of! For the first time, we did not want our housesitting assignment to ever end. But unfortunately, we did not own that home, or those dogs, or that life, so we eventually had to pack up our busted up Subaru Impreza and go back to being homeless.

Back on the road in the ever-faithful Impreza!


In a last minute decision upon leaving our dream home, we decided to head back to the Sea of Cortez side of the peninsula. My buddy John Paz had told me that he and his family were over that way in a town called Los Barriles. It was 2 hours out of our way to get there, so we were initially deterred. But through a combination of John’s persuasive lawyer tactics and our affinity for side quests, it became an easy decision to take the trip over. 

We arrived at Martin Verdugo’s Beach Resort just in time for an all-American potluck and karaoke. This place is what I like to call “Cheeseburger in Paraíso.” It’s essentially a trailer park on the beach full of expats who come down for the winter to escape the cold in the US or Canada. The residents spend their days cruising down the beach on ATVs, fishing, and kite surfing. I find all expat communities to be a little weird, and this is no exception. But when I think about where I’d rather be during the winter, Los Barriles or Kansas, I’d definitely go with Los Barriles. John’s in-laws are two of those snowbirds who come down for the winter, and this year, John had even convinced his own parents to come down to enjoy Christmas at the beach. 

Cheeseburger in paraíso country.

We met with the whole family including John’s wife, Michelle, their kids, Walker and Lilly, and the grandparents. John gave us a tour of the grounds and secured us a spot to pitch a tent behind his in-laws’ trailer. The following morning, we took a ride in their rented side-by-side down the sand to a little cafe for breakfast, followed by some snorkeling right off the beach. Walker spent the entire trip clutching a postcard of a fishing boat that he had become obsessed with, although he assured us he didn’t want to get on the boat, just look at it. Lilly toddled around with an alarming degree of fearlessness and was clearly the boss of all adults present. It was awesome to hang out with the kids and see John and Michelle; the trip was a great little detour and we’re so glad we didn’t pass up the chance to see another friend during our travels.

Group pic with the Paz family!

We bid farewell to Los Barriles and headed back to San José del Cabo, where this newsletter began, for another friendship-related sidequest. Once again via airplane! But you’ll have to wait for the next newsletter to find out where. 

Thanks as always for following along!

Love,

Justin & Dory

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