O Dilly O My!

About a week before anybody really said the name Odile I was watching EEBMike seeing this large circular mass come together down south. Then when it was finally worthy of being named I said to Jae oh how cute they named this storm after the famous DQ ice cream bar Dilly. That made perfect sense to me! Large, round, circular, fabulous & famous I mean every body knows the Dilly Bar right! Who the hell has ever heard of Odile well now everybody especially all that love Baja will remember that damn bitch Odile!

Living here you tend to watch all possible hurricane threats coming close to your area, mucho preparation should always be done if such luck runs out. The forecasters called this one heading west and away from land but personally I wasn't buying it and 2 days before we started our prep. Water, Gas, Food, Generator, Check! Oh but wait, tie down, pick up, put away anything that can blow away then cut all the excess palms plants and make sure your palapa has good netting and tied down, storm shutters on, candles out, flashlights etc etc. Fortunately we didn't have riders in so we were pretty much as prepared as we could get. As Odile barred down straight on to Cabo and towards us the power went dark  around 8pm and she started to blow as you think you know what to expect! You certainly were not going to get any sleep so you sit listen and peek out the door as the rain starts pelting the casa and filling up the yard with water and debris.

Yes the 1st arroyo ran good and yes took out a section of the new pave job.

 Mother nature is wonderful, strong and always to be respected fortunately we did not get the brunt of this ass kicker but we still guessed the wind was gusting 80 - 100 MPH here on the East Cape. So being the adventurous type about 2am, Jae and I decided to gear up and take a cruise in the T-rex to check out the town and beach yes I know most would call this stupid but nature calls. The ride was a experience not be forgotten Dilly was a kicken and the beach was not even close to "do" able as we sneaked close between a couple big rock walls Ok video made time to head back and hope your roof and windows hold. By mid morning people started peaking out from their respected security spots to assess the occurred personal damage and the general condition of the town, no death's or serious injury's so really all in all pretty darn lucky here.  

Securing our out of town compadre's casa.

After such a storm life gets quite interesting we all know of the drama in Cabo now but at the time you are only worrying about your issues and then to check on your friends and neighbors your world is really right here in front of you in the present. We have satellite communication so we did get word out to family and friends that were concerned not knowing! Thank You All for your concerns for us it is much appreciated!! After we cleaned up our busted to hell yard we learned of our friends serious issues and damage on the Pacific side and proceeded to load up water, gas and tarps to head over and help how we could. As we traveled towards Todas Santos it became quite apparent that the Pacific got hit hard with the winds as 2/3 of the power poles were busted like twigs and the concrete power poles proved to be no bueno. Pulling into Todas it was a freaking war zone something that is hard to explain in words but very very sad.

San Bartolo spring water!! Yea

The recovery efforts put forth by the Mexican Government, relief organizations, CFE, water districts was really impressive to witness I know lots of people will complain but only for there selfish needs. What I witnessed was a incredible feet of planning and work that did not waste time to bring essentials to the people and then hired anybody that wanted to make money to start cleaning up their respected towns. After the first week people were starting to get get a little jumpy w/o power, water, and limited communication the gas lines were long the stores of course did not have much and life really evolved around basic needs only. When the lights came on and water came out of the faucet after 16 days everybody was ready for normalcy which for me personally, was a long cold shower that was mucho appreciated.

Baja Laundry

Close to the Cabo airport.

Of course we had a group that was really set on coming over to ride and since the LaPaz airport was now open the plans were made and coming yes sir lets rip. But oh wait ride where? stay where? restaurants? crap! I rode several days cleaning the way with my shovel and machete, found the only Hotel Pescadero Surf Camp, the other hotels were hosting all the CFE Crews from the mainland. As usual, Jaime, always accommodating was running in rustic mode but found room for us! and we welcomed the first tourist's back to Baja. The trip turned out to be a blast riding was a little tricky but totally way cool crossing MUCHO water in creeks, arroyo's slinging mud everywhere for a awesome experience. The group who has been with us several times and understanding the lack of basic services for a extra challenge but making the trip more memorable and we certainly appreciate the guys who's commitment to come have fun with Captain Baja Gracias!

These crazy French guys love Baja Sur.

PS. We certainly appreciate all those that are caring enough to donate for the recovery of Baja Sur if so inclined to help we recommend Baja Strong program which can be found on FB. Also I just drove back from SD on a supply run and Hwy 1 is no problem only one long construction wait just south of Loreto.


Captain