A Day of Local Exploration

Curious about the area around Los Barriles, but not wanting to log lots of kilometers, we decided to drive north and south of our house and take a look at what’s along the shoreline. First we headed south and discovered lots of little enclaves scattered along the Sea of Cortez shore. One appeared to be a Mexican neighborhood, but mostly they looked largely occupied by gringos, many with small-ish fishing boats or RVs parked in the yards and driveways. They also appeared to be largely uninhabited, many with storm shutters still installed, as is usual when owners leave their homes unoccupied 6 or more months each year.

One place astonished us. We entered the gates of the Rancho Buena Vista Hotel (Google if you’re interested, but add “Baja” in your search, otherwise you’ll end up in California) and walked into the office to find a Mexican man at the desk, alone. The grounds, dotted with a number of duplex bungalows and lush vegetation, looked lovely. We asked if we might walk around and take a look. He encouraged us to, and told us to let him know if we wanted a drink at the bar. Turns out he was the ONLY person in the entire place – no other staff, no guests! He said the next scheduled guests would arrive in a week. The rooms were spacious and well furnished, the bathrooms modern, and the beach absolutely superb white sand and sparkling turquoise water. Even a pool and hot tub. And he said for $110/night we could have any room in the place – and this includes 3 meals daily for 2 people!!! We’re thinking we should book a family vacation QUICK! What do you think kids and Mom and Dad?

After stopping at the grocery store in town, we headed north. We’d stumbled across a woman who makes jalapeno mango jelly as well as mango chutney, and Cathryn bought a couple of jars at her house. Turns out she and her husband (gringos who live in Colorado in the summer, here the rest of the year) hold major leadership roles in terms of involvement with the local Mexican community. Ivan is president of the Rotary Club, which anyone can join – no need to be affiliated with any sort of business or organization. The club’s sole function other than social contacts is to do good deeds in the community. They work largely with the local schools, as well as provide scholarships to college-bound high achieving students, and fund construction and furniture costs for dorms at the Internado schools, which are boarding schools many rural kids attend 5 days per week because there are no schools where they live. They travel home each weekend. The Club finds and installs computers, raises money to buy books, you name it. Annette encouraged us to get involved, which we’d love to do if we were staying longer, and will if we return here next winter. Annette described a number of activities she’s involved in, many of which focus on the needs of women and children. Very intriguing! They tell us Los Barriles’ population is almost entirely Mexican in the summer months, approaches 50% gringo in the peak winter months of January through March, and in between that during spring and fall. Amazing!