1991 July Eclipse Baja

The year of living free, camping on a beach on the pacific side, 60 miles north of La Paz, near flor de malva, for 8 days and nights. Heaven. 

The longest solar eclipse I've seen for 6'48" of darkness. Pure hedonism, surfing, claming, drinking, smoking, grinding, chillin. A nomad Baja adventure. 

A journey to record and witness the event was embarked on by me and few friends. We left LA for the peninsula on the 2nd of July at 4pm. We got an old gas tank from a junkyard off a peter built diesel truck and strapped it down in the back of an old chevy 350, 4x4 and filled it with 150 gallons of extra gas, 110 gallons of water, 2- 55 gallon white drums, 2 ice chests of beer, steaks and tortillas, 2 telescopes, video recorder, 3 cameras, lots of film,10x20 tarp, 2 surf boards, golf clubs\balls, etc...followed by the Toyota '83 4x4 loaded for bear. There was a lot of hype of overcrowding and possible lack of gas stations running out of gas hence the diesel tank, we just siphoned the big tank into the trucks when we ran out and to run the trucks for radio without worrying about battery conservation.

We got to the border by 6pm and drove till tired at 2 am and pulled over to sleep on the side of the road near Catavina. We made it Loreto by sundown on the 3rd, bc we stopped along the way to see the old churches and towns. Hit up El Nido for dinner and drinks, then headed to a family friends house in town by 11pm. We parked out front, bc nobody was up and slept in\on the trucks til daybreak of the 4th. Hung out w them in the morning over bloody Marys and visited till 10 or so. Hit the road to Ciudad Insurgentes\Constitution and beyond. Got ice n beer in Constitution by noon and headed for the coast. We drove til 9 pm looking for the right road to the beach somewhere south of Isla Santa Margarita. Bumpy washboard road, vados and pot holes, I was driving the big chevy and hit a big bump, it flew the fan belt off the pulley, in the middle of no where, literally, pitch black night, half drunk I fixed it in no time. Couldn't find the road in the dark so we camped somewhere near the beach in a wash. 

On the 5th we packed up at daybreak and found the road to the beach we wanted by noon. The roads were narrow with overgrown cactus slapping the side view mirrors, I caught one in the right cheek, a 3 barbed, apple sized tip hit the mirror and flipped around and stuck its landing dead center of my cheek. bullseye, lol. We stopped the trucks shy of the beach on the sand rise to scout the beach for a good campsite, soft sand and a loaded truck and a bad decision to go for it left the chevy buried in sand up to the axle, 40 feet down the beach, Oops! Oh Well here's the campsite. 

After having a few beers, a joint and smoke we figured we'd get it out tomorrow, 6 days before the eclipse. We had the Toyota to go back to town to find some help and ended up with 2 6"x10' boards to use as traction to back out of the hole, what a project this was. 4 guys digging out sand, emptying the truck, except for the gas tank and managed to get her back up to the harder sand packed entrance. We let some air out of the tires and moved camp to the spot we wanted on the 6th of July. Phew!! Finally. 

With the campsite set up 4 days before the 11th we enjoyed the time to ourselves, nobody around for miles north or south of us. We didn't see anyone else the whole time except for the pelicans.

The spot we choose was dead center of the eclipse shadow. Surfing and barbecued rib eyes, corona beer w lime and some marijuana to sooth the hot days in the breeze and shade of the tarps. 

We had brought a remote plane glider and set out to the hills north to fly it, we took the Toyota down the beach a ways and climbed up the 40 foot sand hills for a view and launching point. Hitting golf balls out into the ocean, frisbee, cards at night. Good fun. The tide came up and covered where we got the chevy truck stuck good thing we moved to higher ground. We went clamming at 3 am one morning, as it was the lowest tide of the month, pitch fork in hand, two lanterns, no clams, the tide was so far out we walked 1/2 a mile out before it was up to our ankles. We must have walked right past them. No moon out either. Just a calm breeze at night and so many stars, so bright out there. Magical! Every night was cooler than being on the East side. 70 not 82.  

We didn't take a lot of pictures of those 4 days or video, we saved the film for the day of the eclipse. I found an whale vertebrae good size, bigger than a bowling ball and about as heavy. By the day of the eclipse we had relaxed enough to take in the solitude and peace of our location. We played cards and dominoes at night talked story, Ribeyes, eggs, jalapeños wraps every morning for breakfast, Ribeyes and beer for dinner. I worked for a meat delivery at the time and got a deal on 2 boneless, 20 lb each, rack of steaks. Not a lot of veggies but a sack of potatoes to boot. Just the basics, lots of chips and salsa Nomad style. 

On the 11th we woke to sunrise and jumped in the ocean for a bath like everyday, wore wet towels and hats for sun shade like a muslim, had breakfast and began tasks for our reason for being there. With the 10" mead telescope set up w solar filter, powered by the Toyotas battery, and the video recorder w mylar filter to record the passing of the moon for the entire time of first contact to final contact with some loud AC\DC playing in the background of ambiance, we recorded for 1' every 5 minutes. until totality.Then we recorded the whole almost 7 minutes of darkness, caught the Bailey Beads and Diamond rings on film. Two tripods, lots of wires and anticipation. By 11:30 am we were ready for the 11:48 am start of the show. Me and another were working the tripods and the others were taking pictures of the surrounding landscape before during and after to show the light difference through the event. The video was longer about 2 hours before and after totality of 7 mins. We could feel the excitement in the air as it approached, calling out the times of when to record and talking while we recorded each minute duration up to and after first and last contact of the moon's passing. During totality we let the video go so we recorded all our reactions and comments. Some of it rated R not PG. That's life... 

The shadow could be seen coming in over the pacific from the northwest pretty fast, the Sky was clear all morning and when the shadow was about 2 mins before overhead the birds were flying inland and it was getting cooler. The hair was standing up on the back of our necks and arms. Calling out "here it comes, Oh my god look at that!" etc.. The moon had come into the path of the sun and the entire area went dark, it was still lit by the refraction all around, it wasn't pitch black but the difference was seriously noticeable, like being under an umbrella, way off in the distance you could see where it was still lit on 3 sides of us as we were next to a sand hill to the east of us. Looking straight up overhead w the naked eye was amazing, and through the 10" scope w the filter you could see the solar poles w streaming magnetic plumes in violet\purple like lightning constantly erupting far out away from the black disk with a halo of white and purple light all the way around the sun. Amazing!!! What a trip to see! We all got to see it taking turns during the 7 min ordeal, in the shadow of the moon on earth in the middle of nowhere was a sight to behold and an adventure to tell stories about. As the end was near we waited for the light to come back by almost noon, and when it did it too was as memorable as seeing it cover us in shadow. Like a slow uncovering of shade it brought back the full light and we all cheered its exit. 

Baja, the place to be in July 91, By the end of the totality, we were sate with our accomplishment and began the tedious filming until the end of the moons passing, lighting up the hibachi for lunch and a cold corona or two or three, and reflecting on what had just happened in our conversations. b-tchen to say the least, purely profound. A day to remember and to share. 

The rest of the day was storing the gear and jumping into the ocean, for the last night on the beach we had a bonfire, party and feast before the long trip back to rat race the next day. We got up at daybreak had breakfast and packed up our site and rubbish as not to pollute the world. The trip back was fun but long, I dont remember if we stopped or drove straight through, now the 12 of July and at 9am we left the beach and got home by sunset the next day. If we stopped I couldn't tell ya where we did to sleep, I think we crossed the border around 4 pm on the 13th. I remember the long lines of cars and the kids selling gum and souvenirs. I do remember jumping in to the pool at home and sleeping to unpack the trucks later.