the Adventure Lifestyle magazine

letter J • • • • Travel. Sometimes it's a plan of escape, an opportunity to learn new things, or an effort to gain perspective on life. Two years ago, I escaped to Baja, Mexico. At that time, things were financially challenged here at blue. The situation was stressful. Many things were going on and I needed to get away, to clarify my thinking, to figure out what to do. All the problems revolved around money, a subject I never dreamed I would become so focused on when I originally started blue. Baja, I thought, would be perfect. The endless coastlines of the East Cape, the limitless bays of the Sea of Cortez, and nothing but cacti and endless rocky roads in between. There would surely be lots of time and space to think. Once there, every morning I said to myself, "I will get some perspective today. I am here to clarify my thinking, and get some sense of direction on things. " It became a mantra I repeated ro myself frequently throughout each day. I waited for my thinking to be clear. But every day came and went, and despite the flexing of my brain muscles, no great ideas appeared. At least 10 days into my trip, I stumbled upon a hidden beach cove on the Sea of Cortez. Palapas, little open tenrlike structures made of palm leaves, lined the shore, all inhabit- ed by a diverse group of travelers who had made this special beach their temporary home. Two specifically were the most memorable. An organic farmer from Vermont came down wi th friends a few months before and never left. She had bid her friends returning home goodbye. A First Nations Canadian told me he had made over a million dollars building log cabins back home. When an international ski resort company tried to develop the land of his people, he spent all his money on lawyers, "playing," as he said, "the white man's game." Now, his days were spent living simply on this hidden beach. I spent a lot of time talking with these new friends. The girl had long since run out of the small amount of money she arrived with in Baja. Her daily sustenance was the clams that could be easily found on the shores right on the beach, campfire donations and the generosity of others' shared meals and fishing bounty. For money she occasionally sold her handmade wire jewelry. She was blissfully happy on what were all sunny days, there. Meeting her reminded me of the spirit I had when I started blue in the first place. Somehow when I left that beach, I didn't need to repeat that mantra of gaining perspective. I had gained it effortlessly. That's how it happens with travel, and winter escapes, if you give yourself enough time. AMY SCHRIER FOUNDER :r :r w o

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