Diana and Picazon

Another nice day in Loreto, especially after finishing “chores” of going to the laundromat, washing the filthy truck, and buying some groceries.

Shortly after lunch a local girl showed up at the Arctic Fox inquiring if we wanted to buy some tamales made by her mother. She was here 2 days ago, and Cathryn bought 2 delicious tamales then, so invited her into our RV and bought 8 chicken tamales today. They make good lunches! Diana is 11 years old, speaks no English and was eager to chat. Cathryn especially likes talking with children because they enjoy teaching her Spanish words she doesn’t already know when she stumbles at some spot in the conversation. She learned several new words today, including “tianguis” or “open air market”. Diana was perplexed when Cathryn said we were going to the “mercado in el arroyo manana”, so gave her the correct word. Diana was interested in looking at our laptop computer and seemed excited by the idea of “correo electronico” or email. Sweet, beautiful girl.

Tonight we went to Jupiter’s home, the guy we met at Bahia de Los Angeles last week who lives here 7-9 months each year and in Steamboat Springs the remainder of the time. His wife flies into Loreto tomorrow, so was not part of our plan unfortunately. He gave us a tour of his lovely home which they built in the last 2-3 years – artsy, colorful, and Mexican in style but larger than most. The 3 of us then left to dine at one of Jupiter’s favorite local restaurants, Picazon (which by the way strikes us a very odd name, as it means “itch” or “uneasiness”).

To get to Picazon, you leave town headed north on a one-lane dirt road often adjacent to the shoreline and continue about 5 miles through 10-foot tall brush and trees, with no homes or buildings anywhere in sight, and occasional “dips” that only a high-clearance vehicle would be comfortable navigating. Had Jupiter not been with us, we’d surely have turned back assuming we were on the wrong road. Instead, we eventually came upon a most lovely site! Alejandro and Imelda run the restaurant there as well as have their home on the property. It is open air, right on the beautiful beach, with outdoor tables under the stars. Alejandro conversed with us as he took our orders and served us, updating Jupiter on their two sons who now attend college in Guadalajara. Bob had a delicious shrimp burger, and Cathryn had a shrimp and fish wrap.

Accompanied by terrific margaritas, a cool breeze, and views of sailboats and mountains beyond, we thought we’d died and gone to heaven. It was a lovely evening, accompanied by interesting conversation with Jupiter. See the photos of the 3 of us taken by Alejandro and of Alejandro bringing us our first round of margaritas.

So tomorrow we leave the campground in Loreto and move on to Playa Juncalito, a favorite beach from last year where we expect to stay for awhile until leaving for La Paz next weekend. There are no facilities of any kind at this beach, so we’re happy to have a somewhat larger RV this year, with a bathroom and a few more comfortable amenities. We’ll drive 3-4 miles into Puerto Escondido every couple of days, a nearby marina and port, where we’re allowed to use the internet in the bar as long as we buy a beer!