A fireside feast and surprise send-off

On the final day of our trip, we headed back into town to get a flat tire fixed. While lunching at a small restaurant, we noticed a man walk through the kitchen carrying a four-foot (1.2-meter) yellow fin tuna. We asked for a cut of the fish and were told we could have the whole thing for 80 pesos -- an even $10.

Back at our campsite, we set to cooking and feasted on the fresh tuna, guacamole and cous cous. After, as we relaxed by the campfire and marveled at the evening's celestial display, we had a most unexpected visit. A large truck pulled up behind our van, and eight members of the Mexican navy got out and surrounded us. Armed with M-16 machine guns, they strategically covered our campsite within a few seconds.

The leader of the crew asked to see our identification and we variously produced driver's licenses, passports and tourist papers. The authorities told us the Sea of Cortez sees a lot of boat traffic and that the navy regularly patrols the area. Once they determined that we were not smuggling drugs, they chatted with us for awhile. When they left, we breathed a collective sigh of relief.

The next morning we broke camp and drove nearly 600 miles (966 kilometers) from L.A. Bay to Tijuana -- having surfed, hiked, met whales and had encounters with both sides of the law. We breezed through the border crossing and made it to San Diego by twilight.

© 1998 Cable News Network, Inc.
A Time Warner Company
All Rights Reserved.

Terms under which this service is provided to you.