We Shouldn't Have, But We Did

We went to Larry and Raquel’s for another dinner of fish tacos and margaritas again last night. The food was fabulous and the margaritas were potent, as we’ve come to expect. Dinner here is not exactly like going to a restaurant at home. We sat at a table with 5 other people for a couple hours while we ate. This was everyone in the restaurant and bar. Those present included Larry and Betsy (the owner and his girlfriend; we won’t go into their complicated and somewhat sad stories or what happened to Raquel; maybe another time), Chris and Jeanne, a couple who live in San Diego and have owned a home next door to Larry and Raquel’s for the last 15 years, and Dan who was visiting the area for the first time. Only Dan and the two of us actually ate dinner, but all of us engaged in a discussion that ranged from fishing to children to the moons of Jupiter (which we saw through Larry’s huge telescope). These people have lived “colorful” lives, none of which we would choose for ourselves, but who created an interesting mix for the evening. Many of the people we met in Baja last year were snowbirds, much like us; these folks last night fell more into the category of ”Baja characters”, and thus in many ways were more interesting.

This morning after breakfast, exercise, showers, and dropping off our laundry with Concha to be picked up tomorrow, we went to see the Bahia de los Angeles museum, something we missed last year. It’s small but nicely done, exhibiting photos, stories and artifacts from the days of vaqueros (cowboys), silver and gold mining, and much of the marine life of the area. The people who settled this area were tough and tenacious, and many of the names that populated the area 100-150 years ago are still present.

We’ve also had our first interactions with food vendors, local Mexicans who arrive in small trucks roaming the campgrounds seeking customers. Cathryn purchased vegetables from Roberto and his son Alfonso and discussed the high cost of law school in Ensenada, from which Alfonso was forced to drop out because he ran out of money. Bob purchased chicken tamales and empanadas from another vendor.

Talk is picking up about a new hurricane, Rick, forming southwest of the Baja peninsula and moving slowly in this direction. We’ve decided to hang out in this area a couple more days to see how that evolves before we continue. Residents say Bahia de los Angeles is a perfect place to “ride out a hurricane” as it’s well protected by large off-shore islands to the east and mountains to the west. We’ll see. We’ll plan to skip the fish tacos and margaritas tonight.