Visit to residential areas of Bahia de Los Angeles...

As you're wandering the dirt streets of Bahia de Los Angeles, admiring the residential areas of the town, where its citizens actually live, you shouldn't keep your eye out for mansions, "Gringo ghettos," planned communities, as such features just don't exist in the town, as of this writing as of January, 2008. There are no "beautiful people," no jet-setters, movie stars, wealthy real estate tycoons, world-class entrepreneurs in town, instead the small town is populated by real people, most of whom earn a living the hard way, and live in quite modest dwellings. If you're looking for mansions, look elsewhere, as you won't find any in the town of Bahia de Los Angeles.

Photo: In the U.S., this city street would be considered a four wheel drive trail, but in Bahia de Los Angeles, it's just another city street, as it heads west toward the alluvial fan.

Photo: One of the nicest houses in town, as it is well-maintained, features a "view lot," and has satellite television, and a panga parked outside.

The climate of Bahia de Los Angeles, located on the Sea of Cortez is dry, hard-core desert dry, as the town receives an average of only 2 inches of rain a year, and sometimes no rain at all. Tourism is the major industry in town, due to the abundant fishing and other outdoor activities found in the area, but other than tourism, there are no other industries, so the economy of the area is somewhat, well... distressed. Municipal services are minimal, and outside of the unnamed main street, which runs parallel to the bay, the streets are dirt. With an annual rainfall of less than two inches, dirt streets aren't a problem, unless you're attempting to keep your car, clothes or your house clean, as dust swirls seem to be everywhere.

Photo: This new-construction house is being built on a defunct railroad flatcar, so the house is long and narrow. Since Bahia de Los Angeles rarely experiences floods or hurricanes, will this house remain on stilts forever?

Photo: Many residents live in trailers, dead motorhomes, or shantys constructed from locally-procured materials, and this view, looking west up the alluvial fan, reflects up a typical Bahia neighborhood.

The residential streets head west from the unnamed main street in town, which parallels the bay, climbing the alluvial fans, that head toward the towering Sierra la Libertad mountains, west of town. I asked several people, including a municipal police officer the name of the main street in town, and everybody, including the officer, said the street was unnamed. I assumed it would be named something like "Bvd. Benito Juarez" but, alas, it, and every other street in town, doesn't have a name. Quizzing the friendly officer ever further, I found out if you're a stranger to town, and want to find a particular house, that you just ask around, as Bahia de Los Angeles has a population of less than 1,000, and everybody knows everybody. You guessed it; the residential streets are unnamed and street signs are non-existent.

Photo: I enjoyed this custom Ford Taurus, sans hood, as it heads east, along a street leading to the Sea of Cortez. Middle School Benito Juarez is to the left of the photo and the stylized arches, welcoming the visitor to Bahia de Los Angeles, appear in the background of the photo.

Photo: Not far from the middle school, I point my camera west, and take a photo of a neighborhood that clings to the slopes of the alluvial fan, that heads towards the desert mountains to the west of town. The paved, unnamed main street in town appears to the middle of the photo.

You won't find mansions in Bahia de Los Angeles, as most houses are quite basic, and only about half of them offer running water and electricity to the residents. That's not to say that the typical residential house is a shanty, as that isn't the case, as the houses are quite basic, but most people seem to live quite comfortable. Electricity is generated locally, in a plant on the main street, and is generally available about 12 hours per day, which can make life sort of interesting. The lack of electricity seems to eliminate honky tonk bars, strip joints and red light districts, which makes Bahia de Los Angeles a quiet, boring town to gringo tourists looking for excitement, but it makes the town a place where real people can live, and raise families, without fear of corruption. However things are changing, as of my visit to Bahia de Los Angeles in October, 2007, many government electrical crews were working in town, to connect the town to the main electrical grid. Soon, the town should enjoy electricity, on a 24/7 basis.

Photo: I was hiking around the residential neighborhood, not far from the museum, and I noticed this guy working on his Suburban, so how could I resist not taking a photo?

Photo: Across from the museum, I noticed this couple who appeared to be moving into a new house, as they seemed to be unloading household items from their Dodge pickup truck. Being the ever-vigilant photo-freak that I am, I had to snap the photo, and later publish it on this web site.

The streets of the town are dirt and unnamed, but the residents are friendly, and seem very content. Although Bahia de Los Angeles seems very primitive by U.S. standards, who can dispute the scenic beauty of the small town, as its sandwiched between the blue Sea of Cortez, and the arid, craggy, desert mountains? The town may seem modest, but where else can you find such spectacular surroundings? The residents of Bahia de Los Angeles are truly fortunate people.

Photo: How could I resist this photo? I was hiking on the unnamed main street of town, just south of the municipal park, when I spotted this guy unlocking the door to his residence, so I hastily pulled out my camera, zoomed in, focused, and snapped this photo. Oh yes, I performed a bit of work in PaintShop Pro to make this photo happen.

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