-by El Gitano Peñasco, "The Peñasco Gypsy"
It seems I’ve been getting more mail recently from travelers who want to visit our little community. Some of the mail is actually coming in from Amigos and Amigas who’ve been here before and “love” PP, but they all have the same question: “…but is it safe to drive to Rocky Point…”?
Of course it is (I’ve been responding). Everyone, seasoned or not, needs to use their heads wherever they are driving these days and when coming down to Peñasco (or heading north) it is never wise to begin the journey an hour or so before sunset or sunrise (and no driving the road in between those hours).
But here is another truth and I’d bet the farm that if anyone denies what I’m about to say they are either a blowhard, stupid or an outright liar. There is a lot of ‘empty’ wide open space between the border and Peñasco and whenever we look in our rearview mirrors these days and see, out of the ‘azul’, a car is gaining on us we ALL ‘pause’, so to speak, and ponder the situation...
Then as the car nears we realize it is just another weekend crazy warrior from Arizona breaking the speed laws to get to paradise as if it might not be here when they arrive. And as they pass by (and sometimes flip us off, glare or just blow on the horn) we relax a bit until the next wild-eyed, crazed, disrespectful Phoenician comes rolling up from behind and the process starts all over again.
Of course the people who are writing to me are also worried because the U.S. State Department keeps issuing those warnings. So I also tell them, in part, the ‘Gov’ has a ‘liability’ issue they deal with whereby ‘if’ they don’t issue such warnings and on the remote chance something goes terribly wrong (e.g.) driving here, they can’t (or won’t) be sued for not ‘sounding the alarm’, so to speak.
At the end of the day, driving back and forth between Peñasco and the border is, IMHO, safer then driving on many roads in the USA and as long as drivers stay alert, keep off the cphones, stop the texting, don’t drink and drive, keep the speeding down, etc., they too will be just fine and have an incredible, wonderful, safe and peaceful good time here on the Sea of Cortez!
A Gypsy can always dream!
¡Viva Puerto Peñasco y México!
elgitanopenasco@gmail.com
