Our very comfortable suite which was situated along the beach in Rosarito overlooked the Pacific Ocean where it is quite easy to get in touch with the harmony and peace so powerfully offered by nature there.

A morning walk along the beach as the continuous symphony of waves broke on the shoreline allowed me to wake up energetically and convincingly from a good night’s rest and get ready for a long day of running.

The first steps of the day were taken by Olivia, our wonderful coordinator.

Just outside of our hotel suite on the main road heading south, we began a 75 Km, or almost 50 mile run to the coastal city of Ensenada.

The morning involved mostly coastline scenic running as the Pacific Ocean offered us the inspiration and energy to carry the Torch along a busy highway.

The sun was quite direct and hot but the air was perfect as it was cooled by a soft Ocean breeze. Along the way we ran by a huge statue of the Saviour Christ.

Bansidhar was very happy to see this coconut stand at the end of his run.

This was too good to be true.

Some of the locals driving by offered their goodwill with a honk or a wave when they saw us carrying a flaming torch through the relatively small communities.

A few people asked what it was all about as we gave them the opportunity to hold the Torch and make a wish or prayer for harmony and peace. It is always a pleasant surprise when people stop to share with us this way of spreading harmony as we run down the roads and highways of with the Torch.

As we approached the busy tourist town of Ensenada we were greeted by our good friend and coordinator Olivia, who so kindly found a nice hotel for our accommodations and a restaurant with delicious genuine Mexican food. She has treated us to many good eating establishments here in Mexico and they seem to keep getting better and better.

Before our dinner though, Olivia arranged for us go to a school called ‘Alfredo E. Uruchurtu School’ where over 200 children and staff greeted us in the courtyard, as is usual here in Mexico. The weather here allows for many events to take place outdoors even in the winter months.

After the introduction by our best Spanish speaking runner, Banshidhar(Carlos Medieros), we all took a try at introducing ourselves in Spanish, some better than others.

The children love it when they have to guess where Homagni and Salil come from as they pick some student volunteers to help them demonstrate a jumping kangaroo as a clue to their nationality.

We offered a Certificate of Appreciation to the Director Salvador Guitterez Ortiz for his kind welcoming of our run to the school on short notice. Rosalia Reyes Avalos, Vice-Principal or Sub-Director, as it is commonly called here, then chose four children to accept our Torch Bearer Award Medallions on behalf of the whole school.

We feel that anyone who participates in our events deserves our appreciation and some type of recognition for their contribution to world harmony in their own respective fields of endeavor as well.

We have one more day of events here in Mexico before we head north again and eventually return home. Our experiences in this small area of northern Baja California (B.C.), Mexico have been delightful and exciting in many ways.

We look forward to another day of events interacting with the kind and hospitable people here. Hopefully we will also have a chance to interact with the powerful Pacific Ocean here in Ensenada which is a Mecca for surfers and cold ocean water lovers.

Although the water is a bit colder than we expected, it quite clean along the coastline and the waves have been very inviting, especially to our main surfer and Master of Ceremonies, Banshidhar. Maybe we can all learn how to surf here, for harmony, of course.

– Arpan DeAngelo

Distance: 75 km

Team Members:
Salil Wilson (Australia), Jeromy Cheatham (USA), Olivia Acuna (Mexico), Homagni Baptista (Australia), Arpan DeAngelo (USA), Jowan Gauthier (Canada), Bansidhar Mederios (USA)

Gallery: See more images!