To Todos Santos

To Todos Santos
Up before dawn and to the roof to look at stars. They are so brilliant in all this darkness! In the distance, the hum of a boat’s motor, a fisherman getting ready for a day of work.
Then down to our room to watch the dawn. By 6:00 there was just enough light that we could distinguish sea from sky.
A little later, the four of us (Cinda, me, and our two hosts) drove north a mile or so along the beach to a thermal spot. Two of us dug into the sand just a few feet from water’s edge, and about two feet down we hit hot water. 
Then the other two women went swimming, husband host occupied himself sitting the beach and sketching some house ideas, and I sat happily with my feet in hot sandy water. I stayed fully occupied digging out each time a sand wall collapsed or when the sea breached the moat I’d put around my hot spot.
The water was so hot I couldn’t go deeper. I tried go deeper but but nearly scorched my hands. With a good shovel I could have gone deep but would have needed a bit of the surf to cool the water off.
After beaching, back to the house for breakfast, a fast dash about town to say goodbyes, and then we were off, once again heading inland, through the village of San Antonio, north, then southwest to Todos Santos.
I simultaneously loved and loathed the place. Funky and trendy. Laid back, but in such an upscale way I almost felt out of place. It’s the first place we’ve been that people didn’t smile and greet one another on the street. 
There are more coffeehouses than in Bisbee. More overly-tanned women dripping turquoise. And more loud drunks. 
We were next to a few rowdies in Gurrero Negro, but they were nothing compared to the crowd of partiers in our poor hotel in Todos Santos. We prayed it wouldn’t last all night, and thankfully it didn’t.
We took a drive to the beach, and immediately saw whales blowing. They were likely headed north on the long migration. We saw just a few then headed back to town. The partiers were in full obnoxious mode but soon went out to eat, and likely continue drinking. They came back early and it quickly got quiet. We got good sleep.