Living in the desert has its wonders, the saguaros, the gila monsters, the heat, but one thing the desert doesn’t have is surf. When Tucsonans get a hankering for salt water, they head south, south of the border, to Puerto Peñasco (Rocky Point), Mexico.

Rocky Point is the spring break capital of Southern Arizona but there is more to Rocky Point. The trick is to connect with the locals and to do that, you have to get off the beaten path, literally.

On one trip down to Rocky Point, we decided that we would drop off some used clothes and household items at the Esperanza para los Ninos Orphanage, just ten miles from Rocky Point. We had been given directions but you couldn’t miss the sign along the highway. We turned onto the dusty road, bouncing along in our old Volvo, loaded down with donations. It was a rutted road, but we weren’t concerned, until the dirt turned into sand. Before we thought to stop the car we were stuck. Fortunately, we were only about a quarter mile from the house, so my son and I got out and walked.

The Esperanza para los Ninos Orphanage is a completely volunteer-run facility that houses over thirty children and is always in need of supplies and donations. As we approached the main building, there were about a dozen children playing out in front. A caretaker and his wife came out to greet us and I explained about the car. The caretaker took off in a truck to help dig our car out. In the mean time, we went into the main building of the orphanage to meet the children.

When we visited, the main house was dimly lit but the children brightened it up. There were smiles and curious gazes everywhere I looked. They were clean and appeared well cared for. They were busy, doing their homework, playing together, reading and following us. They proudly showed us their toys and their books and they asked us to read to them. I was impressed with the circumstances yet it was obvious that the need was great.

I spoke with one of the volunteers and she told us the history of the orphanage. Many of these children had parents but their parents were too destitute to support them. So the children lived here, for anywhere from a month to years. We sat and visited for about an hour, drinking our bottled water in the shade of the porch. Even if you don’t speak Spanish, the volunteers are gracious and more than happy to communicate any way they can.

When no one appeared back from the car after half an hour, I decided to go and check on things. The men were still struggling to free the car from the sand. It was getting dark and we still had to get to Rocky Point before 7:00 PM. The men made a last ditch effort and the Volvo crawled out of the sand.

When we got back to the house, we unloaded the donations, thanked our hosts for their help and prepared to depart. The caretaker then suggested we leave by the back road, which we didn’t know existed. As we drove away from the house, the kids and volunteers waved us on a safe journey. Then we noticed that, although not paved, this road was much more stable and well-traveled. I guess the joke was on us. We hadn’t come in the main road at all, but would the story have been as good if we had?

For more information on the orphanage, go to http://www.esperanzaparalosninos.com/