Feliz Navidad

El Tríunfo

Located at 1,700 ft (518 m) on the Transpeninsular Highway between La Paz and San Jose del Cabo, El Tríunfo (The Triumph) was a bustling mining town in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Today it is much smaller (pop. 327) and quieter, and many buildings are just brightly-painted brick facades. The mining-era ruins are extensive and well known, and include a smokestack designed by Gustave Eiffel. Tourists are also drawn to the “piano museum” and the Café El Tríunfo, owned by an ex-biker from California (his motorcycle is in the lobby).

The Transpeninsular Highway through El Tríunfo

Descanso

Descanso is a place of rest, “a cross placed at the site of a violent, unexpected death, in memoriam" (link). Driving in Mexico you can't miss them – small (and not so small) homemade crosses, shrines and memorials to those killed in highway accidents. Roadside memorials are are often clustered around dangerous curves.

Dangerous curve on the Transpeninsular Highway

Roadside crosses belong to a long tradition of public memorialization of private grief (Everett 2002) and are found in many countries, including Chile, where they are known as animitas (link), Ireland (link), the U.S. Southwest (link) and Canada (Belshaw and Purvey 2009), but they are rooted in the Hispanic culture (link). During Spanish colonization of the Americas, people that died along the way were buried and the sites were marked with crosses sanctifying the ground. Descansos in New Mexico date back to the 1700s (Everett 2002).

Houses in Gringolandia

November is the beginning of the return migration of Americans and Canadians to Gringolandia. Most spend the scorching Baja summer in other parts of North America and have second homes on the East Cape. The return of the gringos marks the start of the real estate season with for sale signs popping up all over the place. The houses are generally large and fully furnished; some even come with vehicles and other toys (ATVs, kayaks, etc.). This is largely a market for gringos.

Having bought, remodeled and sold a number of houses, Rande and I have an interest in real estate. And having discussed living outside the US, we've’ve visited several nearby open houses to learn about housing and the real estate market.

If you’re wondering what your dollars can buy in Mexico, here are some pictures from a lovely East Cape house on the Sea of Cortez that’s listed for US$1,100,000.