Back to the ranch-part 3
Sierra de San Pedro Martir moonrise
Waiting, I hate waiting. Not that I am an impatient person but trying to arrange to get my two horses transported off to Canada in a week to ten days has turned into a nightmare, with a mentally deranged truck driver and horse transport company that doesn’t seem to think that they need to tell me where my horses are at times, and when they will arrive, and when questioned flies off the handle. I also dislike unprofessional people who claim to run businesses but are probably just barely surviving as they are either, just assholes, or incompetent or both…there, rant done. I’m saying a little prayer to the horse Goddeses, I understand the Greeks have a few as well as the Egyptians, that my two make it to Canada alive.
So, being back at the ranch doing a major clean up and dealing with the rest of this crap has me in a rather dour mood, I’m trying to not let it flavour my day but it can be hard to shake off.
We spent a few days in Ensenada at our favourite place-Estero Beach Hotel and RV rounding up what we thought we might need, food, supplies and a few good meals:)
The setting here is always one of beauty, we were one of two RV’s in the entire park and the estuary always is a wonderful place to sit and simply observe the bird life that congregates here. Our go to place in Ensenada, great hotel, staff and wonderfully quiet place close to the city but far enough away.
We maneuvered our way down Mexico 1 with it’s constant construction, my thoughts are by the time it is finished (widening and shoulders) they will be starting all over again at the beginning, and out to Cueva del Pirata in Camalu on the coast. This hotel/restaurant has a few RV hook-ups with water and power, the sewer is not finished yet but in the works, and a lovely view of the Pacific Ocean from the cliffs above. Not the spot I would want to be in a serious earthquake but a nice view and a safe place to leave the trailer with a night watchmen and friendly staff so we could head back to the Sierra to relieve the current house sitters.
This is a beautiful drive, it shines best early in the morning, or late in the day when the shadows loom. The road wasn’t as bad as we had expected, summer heating storms sometimes can wash it out quite a bit, same old bad 4×4 road, the cats were not amused, one was carsick, poor guy. We made it in with the dually and hopefully not too many scratches, the house sitters were packed and ready to go. House was still standing, after 11 months we didn’t know what to expect. I don’t think they will be asking for a reference.
The next week and a half we spent cutting wood and basic cleaning, cobwebs, bathroom doors, floors and showers before heading out to what was left of the gardens. That took a few more days and quite a few front-loaders of dead plant material to see my way to what was left alive. We’ll see what comes back in the Spring but I think future house sitters will have less to water sadly. Not everyone is suited for gardening and I quite expected some clean up, just not of everything. The price we paid for our freedom no doubt, but always hard after the 8 years I put into so much of it.
The rest of the time was spent on small repairs, the solar hot water circulating pump was not running but that took only a few minutes of wiring, cleaning out clogged taps, fixing cupboard doors and door sills and cleaning up after the Conservation handyman that spent two months in the trailer..ugh…that will never be used again for that…not enough clorox in the world for me to want to clean that again…yeah, I’m being bitchy, but man, how hard is it to clean, or pick up a screwdriver and fix something like a cupboard door hinge. I guess I would make a good house sitter:)
The only bonus of all the watering and cleaning was the time spent outside enjoying all those amazing things the ranch has to offer. The daily walk to turn the water pump on, the butterflies and birds, dragonflies and some amazing spiders and webs!…a place of beauty.
The apples were ripe, I had to pick up a front loader full and put it in the compost pile, sad they were not donated to the orphanage in Vicente Guerrero or to the Grandpas down at the coast, a home for elderly men, or even sold. If there is one thing I’ve learned here, little goes to waste unlike the US and Canada. I made a batch of apple butter for the road…so delicious and we packed a few boxes to give away here in Ensenada to our apple fans.
The dogs were in good shape, Pepita looked like she had swallowed a barrel and Wags, well, he runs so much he is always trim. I kept looking to the horse field though…I was certainly missing them, sometimes things just never feel the same and this was one of those times. I do love this ranch, it’s beauty is incomparable, it is a magical place but I really like what we are doing now, returning was wonderful but I wanted to get back to being AstroGypsies.
We made a trip down to the coast to replenish the kitchen, it was bare so we tried to leave the essentials, tinfoil, plastic wrap, dish soap, toilet paper, good thing I’d brought a few spare rolls. I wasn’t aware these South Africans were going to leave us like Old Mother Hubbard. I realize they were on a shoestring budget but all we asked is you leave it like you found it. C’est la vie, I am now letting it go and moving on.
Our new sitters arrived, on a motorbike, well one of them, then he had to go back for her. Too much weight on the bike with their camping gear, he dropped her off, came in and unloaded and went back to retrieve her. I liked them right off the bat. Ranch stock, sensible and adventurous. I hope they enjoy their two months there. They said they had been on the road for a many weeks and needed a break, this is a wonderful spot to put your feet up for a bit and soak up nature!
We made our way back down the mountain to Cueva del Pirata and spent the night. The night sky was beautiful and the Milky Way setting over the small point into the Pacific. I felt ready for a few weeks in Ensenada, waiting for the horses to be transported so I would be in cell phone range, which brings me back to the beginning…here I am still waiting…Looks like we will have a few more weeks here at this rate and I need to find something to do to vent my frustration. I can call the crazy horse transport representative, tell her she is a fool, and crazy, or both (which after digging up some other’s reviews reveals I’m not the first) find out just where she has left my poor horses until next week (a million $ facility she said) and arrange somehow for another shipper, probably get overcharged, or wait it out, after reading reviews on several companies they all seem to come up like this one..YIKES! Are they all the same?
What to do, what to do…anyone have a spare horse trailer? Sleepless in Ensenada.