The landscape was much how you would imagine Mars to be. Rough and lifeless terrain periodically disrupted by a variety of cacti going by names of cardon, cholla, pitaya, cochal, senita. My father loved these things and was constantly pointing out the varying species as we rambled down the dusty trail. An occasional sign of life, or better stated, a sign that a human had once passed through the area could be seen in the way of an odd road sign, a broken down vehicle or a random burial. Hearty local travelers were rare to come by but when we did cross paths, the individuals all were wearing the earth and the heat that daily traumatized its skin.
Tipped off by my fathers friend, we were told that a late season north-west swell was due to grace the coast. Knowing the geography well, our contact instructed us to head off to Cueva del Pirata and camp at "The Wall". While we were keen to beat further south, breaking up the drive was welcomed.
As progress was made towards the coast, a sudden shift to the scenery began to take hold. The rust color that blanketed every part of life had suddenly seemed to have been over taken and over grown by a field of beautiful green.
"How can this be"? my father pondered aloud. The beauty was extraordinary and though minimal, took an edge off blazing heat of coming on from the afternoon sun.
As it turned out, our quick trip to the coast did not manifest to much in the way of wave riding. Hot and glassy conditions, quickly turned onto windy crumbles with a late overcast sky settling in from the west. Enjoying the many faces that nature was showing us, a fellow traveler quipped that there was high chance that a named hurricane would be peeling around the southern Mexican state of Guadalajara in three days time.
As the sun sank over the restless sea and the sky exploded with stars, I sat looking on as my father and our new surf comrade, smeared over by varying shades of yellow light emitted by our meager camp fire, brimmed with enthusiasm about the potential incoming wave making machine.
"This could be the swell of the summer"!
