This time of year there are so many interesting, even exciting things happening in Bahia de Los Angeles on the Sea of Cortez. Yesterday a change in the wind slammed into the coast from the west and by early evening blew a few kayakers out into the bay in a threatening way and caused some caring folks to get their boats into the water and go to their rescue. Doc Abraham and others brought them all in to a secure environment. We were there to see the event, to help pull a kayak or two out of the water and wind and to safety.
Today we went into town for supplies and a meal. It takes us a half hour in each direction but there is no rush now and we enjoy the ride. We ate, e-mailed, and bought our stuff and eventually headed back down the 4 mile dirt track for home. A mile or so south of the village we encountered a strange sight that we couldn't identify at first, in the dusty distance. As we drew closer we see three or four gringos leading three burros, tiny beasts. The burros are tied by ropes to an aging Volkswagen bug. They are pulling it in the direction of the village. What a sight Mary Ann and I agree: burros pulling a VW and led by the owners of the vehicle. It really was something.
As we approached we pulled off the road to allow them to past. The man in front of the lead burro smiled.
"Isn't this classic?" he said.
"Wish I had my camera!" I responded. "I have a tow rope if we can help."
"We'll be OK." He said. And they were off toward town, a wagon train if you will.
I have no clue how this all turned out. I'm sure they got to town. The gringos most likely found the burros wandering wild in the desert. While they belong to the old Diaz Ranch, they aren't fenced in and go where they please. They cause problems at Gecko and they try and break my PVC water pipes during the dryness of summer with the complete lack of water, but they are sweet and will allow you to approach them at times, occasionally will allow you to pet them. There is an old one, scared and worn down. I wonder if that one might have been at this same location when we lived here. There were no homes here back then and we had nothing but time. There was a small band of burros that came by occasionally to entertain us. We loved their visits, looked for them in the otherwise deserted desert.
Doc Abraham tells us they can live up to forty years. Just possibly the oldest one was part of the band that helped us while away the months in the early '70's.
Sometimes I think of putting water out for them. But that would be sporadic support and I don't want to do that. And then they'd just look for more water and I won't have it.
In the end, I guess tonight, we're pretty much on our own to develop our lives. While the human race has caused a few changes to this concept, independence is pretty much what we see when we watch the natural environment here from day to day across time. Most of us in the animal kingdom are on our own.