Bahía Concepción, Baja California, Mexico

995 miles from San Francisco

There are few unenjoyable things about being on a white sand beach with 80-degree, crystal clear water lapping up on the shore. Yet, there we were, scrambling out of our tent at dawn to escape what had begun to feel more like a microwave than a domicile. 

After 45 minutes of cooling, we felt ready to take on the day and began to set up camp. During the daily coffee ceremony, as we have come to know the making of that heavenly substance, a group arrived at the campsite directly next to ours... despite the almost entirely vacant beach. They set up camp and began to play music loudly, the pinnacle of which came in the form of Guns n Roses ‘Welcome to the Jungle,’ not the most soothing beach ballad in our eyes, and amplified further by the enthusiastic singing from one of the women in the group. We couldn’t help but smile, and were quickly called out – “Los pinche gringos están sonriendo.” 

Not the best start to a friendship, but tensions dissolved quickly as we joined them in the water and struck up a conversation with Elias – a young man of 26 whose teeth were covered by braces and whose body was wrapped in an array of interesting tattoos. Elias is, in short, awesome. Extremely genuine and kind, he immediately expressed interest in us, our travels and, perhaps most significantly, in the culture of our hometowns. He introduced us to the rest of his group, and we proceeded to spend the next ten hours together – sharing stories of home and vocabulary lessons in both directions. Our favorite phrase was ‘piel vieja,’ literally ‘old skin’ – which is how they described skin wrinkled from long periods of time in the water, what we’d deem ‘pruney.’ 

The peak of the cultural exchange took an edible form – as we were invited to join in their feast of homemade ceviche and cóctel de pulpo. The only issue was our sole good to offer in return was our supply of PB+J’s. High in protein, sure, but not particularly compelling when placed opposite fresh ceviche. Even still, we brought our bread and spreads to their campsite and they eagerly tried (and requested second helpings!) of the American classic. We still felt as though we benefited unfairly, though. The ceviche was the best either of us had ever tasted. 

After the feast, we chatted with Elias and began to get a clearer view into his daily existence. He is one of three children, his father passed away, and he lives with his mother and sister in Santa Rosalia. He is a 1st-6th grade teacher, with a love for grammar and an equally strong passion for electronic music. The conversation returned frequently to asking whether we’d heard of Hardwell, or whether we subscribed to Fatboy Slim’s motto of, “Eat. Sleep. Rave. Repeat.” Elias sure as hell did. 

In return for his limitless patience and affection for molding young minds, he gets paid $127 (USD) every two weeks. Hardly a living wage, but worse still when you consider his secondary education, a degree specific to teaching this age group, and the years of experience required to secure this job. He told us about one teaching engagement that required him to ride a hybrid burro-horse for 2.5 hours to get to the farm where classes were held. That position proved to be very isolating as it was too remote for him to return home more often than every few months. 

Financial realities aside, Elias is a genuinely happy human. He has a girlfriend, named Kenia, who lives a few miles south. He loves American culture and told us that it has a large influence on the people of Baja California – specifically in entertainment and fashion. He referenced brands such as Aeropostale and American Eagle, which are particularly well liked, and discussed his love of Lindsay Lohan movies, including Freaky Friday.  

We are incredibly thankful to have met Elias and his friends and to have been shown such an incredible dose of hospitality despite a rough start to our friendship. 

Elias told us that he’d like to visit San Diego one day. PB+J’s on us when you do, my friend.