The Road to Mexico: Todos Santos

Part II (o Segunda Parte)

Apr 17, 2025

The New Year began and we had no idea what was in store…

January of 2020 - remember that? We were all so innocent then, living our lives without care and in total freedom… we had no idea.

Our 2020 began with a bus trip from Cabo to Todos Santos in Baja California. My Spanish was even worse than it is now —and Jason’s not much better— but we managed to find our way to the station and buy the tickets.

I remember being in disbelief that I was actually in and traveling around Mexico, my nomadic dreams coming to fruition right before my eyes. I watched the landscape roll by the bus window and allowed my imagination to run wild with places to explore, people to meet and things to do. Yes —this was happening.

We arrived in Todos Santos, a small town with very interesting stores and things to do, including the Hotel California. After haggling with a taxi driver, Jason decided it was too expensive to get us to our place closer to the ocean and out of the town center. Taking advantage of gringo tourists is not uncommon and he refused the driver’s price. So we decided to hoof the 2 miles to our home for the month. Backpacks in place and hikers ready to go — I welcomed the adventure. However…

It was HOT.

…And there were several places I felt my life was in danger with the speeding oncoming traffic. Sidewalks were sparse, narrow and rarely useful. With a few water breaks and some careful navigation, we made it to our new home unscathed —except for the need of some showers!

The Villa

We approached the gate of the villa and I was immediately in love. Andre, the owner, greeted us and showed us to our apartment. Sand, cacti and palm trees surrounded us and it was a short walk to the beach…

Dog Attack!

After unpacking, unwinding —and of course showering— we decided to head to the beach for the sunset. There were many interesting homes along the way —many of which, we came to find out, were owned by Canadians or Americans. The walk was super short (especially after our trek earlier) and the setting sun provided us with some relief from the heat.

At the end of the road, as we approached the path to the beach, we noticed a small pack of neighborhood dogs forming and they quickly made their way toward us. The leader of the pack was an adolescent German Shepherd and he made a b-line for me. Suddenly, I was surrounded by barking, growling dogs. I was a bit concerned, but did my best to remain calm and kept walking. They advanced on me and Jason immediately jumped in, attempting to disperse the pack. He escorted me away from them and the Shepherd took a snap at the back of my leg, only catching my pants. He then moved over to Jason and caught a bit more than his shorts, giving him some puncture wounds on his leg.

Something else distracted the pack moments later, and we kept walking — as they ran off another direction. We both love dogs —so we were confused as to what just happened, and shaken up at the prospect of how badly it could have gone.