A Partial Retraction

Recall yesterday’s blog post in which we described how complacent we’ve become with the driving conditions on Mex 1?  Well, we still mostly feel that way, but today gave us pause and slid us backwards a bit on the continuum toward hyper-vigilance any time there is an oncoming vehicle.

We left Bahia Asuncion in very heavy fog this morning, something we’ve never before experienced in Baja, though highway signs warn of it in many places. When we got back on Mex 1 some 50 miles later and away from the huge lagoons which are the birthing grounds for Pacific gray whales, the sky cleared and driving was normal again.  We were following Doug and Jill, and being followed by Greg and Debbie. Suddenly our windshield was sprayed by a large quantity of broken glass, and we wondered if the truck that had just passed us, or Doug and Jill, had experienced a broken windshield.  Doug and Jill almost immediately pulled to the side of the highway (another lucky experience in finding a rare pullout), we all pulled in behind and got out of our vehicles.

It turns out the extended mirror on the driver’s side of Doug and Jill’s motor home had collided with the mirror of an oncoming 18-wheeler and shattered with what they reported was an extremely loud crash. 

We learned this is the second time this has happened to them in the 4 winters they’ve now come to Baja.  Doug and Jill seemed to us to be admirably  calm under the circumstances, and Doug pulled out a spare mirror, mounted a ladder, and duct-taped the spare onto the broken skeleton of the old mirror.  While it didn’t provide a perfect rear view, Doug felt adequately comfortable, and so we continued on.  We did note from that point that we all seemed to be hugging the right edge of our highway lane even more closely than before. 

Note to self and other Baja-bound RVers:  don’t leave home without a spare mirror and plenty of duct tape!