Baja California - by Small Plane

I owned a small plane for many years.

A 1958 Cessna 175.

(4-seater. Tricycle gear. Franklin engine. Good for short runways.)




Bought it used in Liberia, West Africa in 1982.
I learned to fly there.

Built in 1958! 

A couple of missionaries flew it to West Africa. 

From the US. Via Brazil. Yikes.

Every landing in Liberia had a welcoming committee of small boys. Especially for a "missy" pilot!

I learned to fly over the jungles of West Africa.
Serious "bush" flying.

Yes, that's the runway. Straight ahead. 

Flying in Africa - is a very cool story. For another day.

But it made me comfortable flying into short fields and dirt airstrips.

Landing strip - by the beach. Handy - if that's where you want to set up your tent.

And - it brings us to to Baja.
It's relevant.

Because - the best parts of Baja are visited by small plane.
I kept that plane from Africa.

Flew it from Liberia to Switzerland when I worked there.
Then brought it along when we moved to New Mexico.

(My company, Pan Am, said I could ship a 'vehicle'.
They probably didn't expect it to be a plane.)




Where's Baja?
Not everyone knows.

Baja California is not in California.
It's in Mexico.

It's the long lean peninsula off the western coast of Mexico.
Between the Sea of Cortez and the Pacific Ocean. 

Below California.

Thus the name "Baja".

"Lower" California.

But not part of the US.

(Of course, that doesn't bother us.

We're from New Mexico. 

Which is not in Mexico.)

Mulege. The landing strip is to the left. See it?

Baja is remote and crazy beautiful.





Not Cabo San Lucas, down at the far end.
Not Ensenada, up near San Diego.

But the thousand or so kilometers in between.

The Fish Whisperer?

 It's a dry, dramatic, desert peninsula.
Amazing coastline and craggy mountains.




Wonderful for flying.

And the water is the perfect temperature.




There's wildlife:
Birds. Dolphins. Reptiles. Fish. Whales. Corals.

Amazing plants.
Ocean life.

With hardly anyone around.

It's not real easy to get to some parts of Baja without a small plane. 

So one time, Stan and I flew down to a tiny airstrip over Christmas.

I'd been there before, and wanted to show it to him.

Yep -  that's the runway. To the left. 

We'd brought our tent and a couple of sleeping bags.

Stan always brings his guitar. Even to the beach. In a very small plane.

We set up camp on the beach, under a straw palapa umbrella.
About 100 yards from the airplane.

It was parked on the sandy airstrip.

The view from our tent.

No one else around.

But there was a place nearby that sold fish tacos and cold beer.

That'll do.




For Christmas, they made pumpkin tamales.

Perfect.

View of our 'home' from an early morning swim in the sea.

Landing at Punta Chivato. Nearby. Easier than at San Francisquito.

When my kids were small, we'd pack them into the back of the plane. 

Mikey and Erik, collecting shells at Punta Chivato.

Head across the Sea of Cortez - to Baja California Sur.





We could make it in a day from Albuquerque.

Crossing the border into Mexico at Nogales.
(You had to stop at both sides of the border to clear customs.)

Kilian and Trish

The beach - the Sea of Cortez - is calm and shallow.

Perfect for small children.





Someday, they'll finish paving the road.

Maybe they have already.





The place may become wildly popular.





Another Cabo San Lucas.
High-rise hotels. Hip bars. Mega malls.

Who knows?

I'm just glad I had the opportunity to experience it - for many years - like this.






Welcome to Baja.

African Monkey Business

View on website.

Once, when I was working for Pan Am in Liberia, in the west of Africa, 

we lost a monkey in an airplane.

Staff party at the Director's house. Pan Am Robertsfield team. My boss, Mr. Kassimu, bottom left.
Hassan next to me, and King next to Kassimu. Catering chef in white.

We found the cage. 

It was empty. 

We took that plane apart - but - never found the monkey.

Between searches for missing monkeys. 

For years afterwards, if things went wrong at the airfield, we blamed it on that missing monkey:

"Missing supplies? Probably that monkey." 

"No radio contact? Monkey probably ate through the wires."  

The monkey was easy to blame. 

Everyone saved face.

There was a small zoo in Monrovia, the capital and main city of Liberia. 

There were pygmy hippos, snakes, ant bears, parrots - and 3 mischievous chimps. 

Pygmy hippos are awfully cute. Young ones about knee-high!

One day, one of the chimps got out of his cage. 

He began running through the small zoo, opening cages and letting the other animals out. 

He was all excited, having a great ol' time.

You can see the chimp, up on the top of the cage.

As the chimp approached the leopard cage, we all held our breath. 

But chimps aren't stupid. 

He didn't open THAT cage. 

Instead, he jumped up on the top of the enclosure. 

He just - walked around, driving the leopard inside crazy. 

These days, with covid, those episodes come to mind. 

Sometimes, things are just not entirely within our control. 

Once we understand that - it makes things easier.

Drawn by Erik Rempen

How to deal with a virus? 

Lockdowns? Schools closed? 

What about visits to old people? 

Mental health issues? 

Travel restrictions? 

Who knows?

Chiles are used in India to ward off djinns - wonder if they work on a virus?

Sometimes there aren't any real good answers.

Analog tools. Good for lockdowns. 

Our job right now? 

Staying in good spirits for those around us. 

And - the third African monkey story: 

We were sailing our small catamaran 

(possibly the ONLY catamaran in the entire country of Liberia at the time) 

in a lagoon near a place called Monkey Island. 

So involved, we didn't realize we were standing amid dozens of sting rays.

We were watching the flocks of birds. Underfoot, dozens of sting rays. 

On one pass, sailing near the island, the boat got stuck on a sand bar. 

Stopped. 

The chimps - big ones this time - began to wade into the water and head for our boat. 

VERY scary. Yikes. 

Dealing with monkeys - is ALWAYS trouble. 

You never know WHAT they'll do.

Kind of like djinns. 

Maybe - a virus, too.

When dealing with monkeys - or viruses -  the best response: A small glass of French wine. Maybe two.