Best Laid Plans

Things often don’t go the way we expect in Mexico. For that matter, anytime we travel anywhere. That’s part of the fun of it – staying flexible and going where matters take us.

We arrived in Cabo Pulmo mid-day yesterday after an easy drive until the last 6 miles which were a gravel wash-board road – never fun, but particularly not when pulling a trailer! The “campground on the beach” described in our book turned out to be a gorgeous stretch of white sand beach completely surrounded by a barbed-wire fence and locked gate with only one camper inside. We parked the rig on the road, wandered into the campground on foot, and approached the loan camper to ask a few questions. He was cold and surly, and shrugged his shoulders when asked about any security or safety concerns camping here. He clearly didn’t want us to join him in the campground. Since the situation also violated our Three-Plus-One Rule (we won’t camp alone; only in places where there are at least three other campers, and we make four) we decided to head to a different spot back in La Ribera on the paved portion of the road. This campground isn’t on the beach – it’s about a 10-minute walk away – but has the usual modern amenities of bathrooms, full hook-ups and Wi-fi (sorta). There are 5 other campers here. We walked the beach in the afternoon for an hour and a half and will drive back to Cabo Pulmo today sans trailer for some snorkeling in the turquoise water above the only coral reef on the west coast of the Americas.

Highway Shrines

(We scheduled this post to appear on our blog before we left in case you wonder how it got here while we were supposed to be without internet; now you know)

You’ve all seen the crosses along some U.S. highway marking the spot where someone has died in a traffic accident. Well here in Baja they have a tradition that goes quite a bit beyond that. Families of the victims build shrines in their honor at the location of the traffic accident. Many of these shrines are tended to regularly, cleaned, painted, and with fresh flowers. They range, as you will see in the photos, from quite modest to very elaborate, presumably based on the relative wealth of the families that place them. Many include photos and statements about the people they’re remembering, although most folks just drive by them and never see these details. It appears that they are held in fairly high regard. If you look closely at the pictures, you’ll see one that was left isolated on a pile of dirt as a result of the excavation that had taken place during a highway improvement project. It reminds me of those old pictures of houses on the top of the remnants of Denny Hill, north of downtown, as the regarding was underway.

Hitch Itch

We've got a bit of a case of hitch itch - the RV'ers term for the travel bug, so: We’re leaving Los Barriles to go about 30 miles down the Sea of Cortez coastline for a couple of days. We’ll take the 5th wheel and camp on the beach,  so we probably won’t have email or be able to update our blog until Wednesday night when we get back. If you’re curious where we’ll be, you can check our SPOT location by using the tool in the sidebar to the right. Our destination is Cabo Pulmo, a national park noted for containing one of the few coral reefs on the Pacific coast. The water is shallow, no more than 35 feet, so the plan is to use our snorkel gear and perhaps rent kayaks. We’ll report on what we see when we get back.

Continuing Local Explorations

We continued yesterday’s local tour this morning, but on foot. Our house is about 50 feet above sea level, but behind us is a series of hills that rise to over 1000’. Our stroll took just over two hours and we returned to the house in time for lunch and to avoid the heat of the day. The weather has warmed up since Friday; today it reached about 80. We decided to follow some dirt roads up into the hills to see what we could see. Here are some of the views of Los Barriles and the Sea of Cortez from the top of the hill. We also took a couple of shots of our neighborhood. Can you see our 5th wheel parked behind the house?

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!

A Day in the “Other” Cabo

We drove south about 60 miles to San Jose Del Cabo, historic urban center for the south cape of Baja. San Jose, as it’s referred to locally, is where the “Cabo” airport is, about 40 miles north of the other Cabo, Cabo San Lucas where most of the fly-in visitors end up, as well as those arriving on cruise ships. It’s this second Cabo that includes the famous rock arch you see in all the travel photo ads.

We’d heard the historic center of San Jose is worth seeing and that there are a number of interesting art shops just north of the center, so we thought we’d check it out. This also allowed us to go to the only RV supply store in Baja for some supplies. We went to the RV place first, did our business, then asked the proprietor for a local lunch recommendation. We ended up at “Milo’s” just down the block, an outdoor palapa-covered restaurant with about 15 white plastic tables and colorful table cloths. We were the only gringos there during our whole meal, which suggested we’d found a true Mexican restaurant. Cathryn had shrimp ball soup, with shrimps wrapped in rice balls in a spicy red sauce base, and Bob had chicken fajitas. Some of the best food of the trip so far. As you can see from the photo, the place had a Seattle connection. The proprietor’s sister lives in Kent, Washington where he has visited several times.

After lunch we headed downtown and wandered around for an hour or so, but didn’t really see much to capture our interest. To the south of the main square the stores sold standard tourist stuff, and the art stores to the north seemed mostly uninspired and overpriced. We soon tired of the tour and headed back home to Los Barriles.

We ended the day with a beer on the roof-top deck, although we have to admit we were a bit bundled up. After all it never got above 72 today and was very windy.

Quiet Day In a Very Nice Place

We spent the day puttering around the house:, catching up with the news on the internet, reading books on the roof-top deck and generally goofing off. We did do one project -- you know us -- if we get around a house, we’ll find something we think needs doing. This place came with one of those bar-height tables and 6 chairs. Unfortunately there was only 2 ½ inches between the seat of the chair and the bottom of the table, so you couldn’t scoot under it while eating. At least for Bob, that resulted in lots of food in his lap instead of on his plate or the table. So we got Russett’s permission and her sawz-all, and “cut their legs off” so to speak, on the bar stools, that is. We now have a properly functioning dinner table. Ah, the simple things in life!

We might have hung around the house and goofed off all day anyway, but we had an excuse: we were hoping “Ponytail Doug” would come by to see if he could sort out our software/hardware problems that kept us in the “office” (see previous post on this topic) while using the internet. He finally showed up about 5:30 just as Cathryn was fixing us margaritas for cocktail hour. Once we said hello, and explained the problem, and Ponytail Doug got started, we proceeded with the margaritas. We can’t let technical difficulties interfere with life’s priorities. Doug did all those mysterious things techies do by rapidly opening and closing all sorts of black screens with white letters for almost two hours, all the while mumbling about hardware suppliers, hackware and how they didn’t need to make things that complex. But ultimately he got it all fixed. Total charge: 300 pesos, or about $27.

Baja Nicknames

While Ponytail Doug (his ponytail is about 24” long, by the way) was pounding away on our computers, I asked if I could take his photo for use on the blog. He hemmed and hawed and ultimately said he’d rather I didn’t. So what do you want to read into that? I’ll leave it to you. We have run into a number of characters down here, usually middle-aged or older guys, with funny nicknames such as Rattlesnake Bill and Fossil Mike. It could be that almost everyone down here is of a certain age, and therefore named Bob, Dave, Jim, Mike, Doug etc, and the nicknames help distinguish between multiple people with the same name. Or maybe at least in some case it’s because they either are, or like to project, that they are “hiding out”.

Movin' In

Jim and Phebe left around 9 this morning on their drive north. We then began “moving into the house”. This involved bringing in things like bathroom gear, clothes, a few select kitchen items and all our food. We also took advantage of the luxury of a washing machine and did our week’s worth of laundry, including all our bedding from the Arctic Fox. While we change the sheets in the 5th wheel weekly, lots of dust and other elements find their way in, so it’s best to give everything a good cleaning once in a while. Bob intends to wash the exterior of the 5th wheel sometime while we’re here. After 4 months on the road and something like 3000 miles it badly needs a bath! And the house is equipped with a “solar dryer”, so we haul our wet laundry to the rooftop deck and peg it out on the line. Even jeans are dry in less than 2 hours because of the warm sun and stiff breeze in the afternoons. Gotta love it!

We did take some time to read our books and enjoy a cool drink on the roof top deck, so it wasn’t all work and no play. While up on the roof, we heard bells in the distance. We looked out over the dry wash (arroyo) adjacent to the house and saw a group of free-range cattle passing by. We’ve occasionally seen groups of cattle wander up the road immediately outside our house, which is one of the reasons it’s important to keep the gate closed, as any landscaping would soon be gone if these cattle, which are accustomed to foraging in the dry desert, got in.

Working in the Office

Bob also spent time adjusting our internet to work here in the house. While not entirely successful, we do have something that works for now. This interim solution has resulted in our creating a “home office” at the location where the antennae cable enters the house and the wi-fi repeater resides. This repeater is not working as intended, so we connect the laptop to it via an ethernet cord, which unfortunately is only 3 feet long. We have a tech guy coming by in the next day or two who we’re told will be able to fix us up. If not, we’ll just buy a couple of longer ethernet cords so we can move laptops out of the BATHROOM. Actually it’s the spare bath, so it’s not quite as hilarious as you might think.

Santiago

We arrived in Los Barriles yesterday around 4 and found Jim and Phebe working on packing, so we spent some time backing the 5th wheel into the yard and got it all set up. We then joined them for a cerveza on the roof-top deck followed by a delicious tenderloin steak dinner.

Tuesday morning found Jim and Phebe busy getting ready to pack head north to the U.S., so we packed a lunch and some drinks in a cooler and drove south about 30 minutes to the palm oasis town of Santiago, about 5 miles off of Mex 1. From there we drove 20 minutes west up one of the nicest dirt roads we’ve encountered into the biosphere preserve. Once at a small parking lot, we paid our $6/person entrance fee and proceeded on a short walk to the waterfall and pools. It was about 3/10 of a mile and a drop of about 150 feet from the parking lot to the base of the waterfall. The pictures tell the story best, so we’ll let them speak for themselves. We sat at the pools for about an hour and a half, eating our lunch, talking to some other visitors and grabbing a short nap, warming ourselves in the sun while lying on the large granite boulders. Next time we’ll bring our books and stay longer!

After we left the waterfall we returned to the truck and drove 20 minutes back to Santiago. We’ve included a link to some pictures if you’d like to see more of the falls and the town. Santiago is probably the least influenced by gringos of any we’ve seen in Baja, and well worth a visit, very lush and beautiful as it’s set adjacent to a lagoon filled with date palm trees. We plan to spend some time in a local restaurant next time we come this way.

We returned to Los Barriles around 4PM and found Jim and Phebe were finished with everything except last minute items that could only be attended to just before leaving tomorrow morning. So we spent the evening having cocktail hour and another delicious dinner, which included Russett, our next door neighbor and local landlady and friend. In bed shortly after 10, a little past what’s referred to as “Baja Midnight”.
http://picasaweb.google.com/BobWhite1/Santiago?feat=directlink

El Triunfo

We had a leisurely morning on the beach at Los Cerritos, then hitched up the RV to head back to Los Barriles to see Jim and Phebe once more before they returned north, and to move into the house. We left about noon, headed north for the first hour until we got to the junction with Mex 1, then turned south for an hour to get to Los Barriles. Todos Santos and Los Barriles are almost exactly opposite one another on the peninsula but are separated by the Sierras de Lagunas mountains which rise to almost 8,000 feet, so it’s a long way around with no direct connection by road.

About 30 miles north of Los Barriles is the old mining town of El Triunfo. The silver mines opened here in the mid 18th century, and by the mid 19th it was the largest town in Baja, with a population of over 10,000 folks. It was also, briefly, the capital of the state of Baja Sur. While only a relatively small number of historic buildings remain, there are enough old roads and other infrastructure to get a sense of its former size. We walked around and enjoyed a quiet hour or two exploring and absorbing the history. The town is noted for three things: its baskets made by local women, a restaurant (which was closed on Monday when we were there, so we have an excuse to go back) and a museum. Cathryn purchased a nice bread basket made by Ramona, a local resident, for 200 pesos, or about $18.

We looked around for the museum and finally had to ask someone where to find it. A fellow took us around the corner and introduced us to another man who took keys out of his pocket and ushered us through a door into a dark room and closed the door behind us. We paused and looked at each other with raised eyebrows. As our eyes adjusted to the dark room, we found it contained a grand piano, and about 30 white plastic chairs.

Our guide lead us through this room and then into a series of other rooms turning on the lights ahead of us as we went. It turns out this was the Museo Musica (Music Museum), and we were the only people there. The museum must have contained nearly 100 pianos and a scattering of other instruments including organs, horns, harps and other unfamiliar old instruments. There was limited documentation explaining what each instrument was, sometimes hand-written on small cards much too small to read. But at least one piano was a 1757 Steinway grand made in Boston. Many others were from the early 19th century. There was no explanation of why all the instruments ended up in the small town of El Triunfo in Baja Sur, and unfortunately the care they’ve receive does not bode well for their long-term preservation, though the warm, dry climate may help. We found it fascinating, and can only imagine how someone with more knowledge of pianos would find it even more interesting.

El Triunfo now has somewhere between 500 and 800 residents, depending on who you talk to. Current gold and silver prices are causing some companies to think about reopening some of the old mines on the Cape, El Triunfo among them. This is setting up a classic conflict between the poor underemployed local citizens and some of the gringo ex-pats who want to preserve the current environment from many of the chemicals that are used to extract the silver from the ore. Tough trade-offs.

Here is a link to a few more photos.

http://picasaweb.google.com/BobWhite1/Triunfo?feat=directlink

Sting Ray Gymnastics

Late yesterday afternoon we sat on the top of the dunes and watched a dozen sting rays leap 4 or 5 feet into the air and do a barrel roll before falling back into the sea. This went on for about an hour. We have no idea why they do this but it was both amazing and amusing. In addition, as we’ve observed each day, throughout today as we looked offshore we saw spouts from grey whales and an occasional breach. They’re far enough offshore that only with our binoculars can we see them clearly – fun.

We’ve decided to stay here one more night. The original plan was to move on for one night in Cabo San Lucas, but since it’s only 40 miles south of here, we decided to make it a day trip instead. We had planned on doing both tourist stuff and a shopping trip at Costco, then return to the beach as quickly as possible. At some point there are a couple of things we’d like to see and do in Cabo, but they can wait. For now we’re more interested in the laid-back Baja experience.

Hope all is well with everyone. Send an email when you get a chance to say hello. We’ll have daily internet again by Monday night.

Exploring Beaches

Today we went exploring. We started up near Todos Santos, 15 kilometers north, and went out a dirt road about a mile to Punta Lobos. We’d heard two versions of what we’d see: lots of sea lions, or lots of fishermen and their pangas (small open fishing boats). Version 2 was correct, at least today. The beach was backed up by an estuary and stretched to the north about 2 miles. A sign indicated because it was a turtle nesting area, no driving on the beach was allowed. This prohibition seems to be largely honored except right at the estuary at the south end of the beach where the fishermen use their trucks to move their pangas back and forth from the shore.

Our second beach, down another mile-long road was called San Pedrito. Our camping books said there used to be a full hook-up RV park there, but it was washed away 4 years ago by a couple of hurricanes. According to the story we were told, the land was subsequently sold for redevelopment, but because the sellers didn’t own the land, the development never proceeded. We can’t tell you how many times we’ve heard some version of this story up and down the Baja. The former campground is once again a campground, although with no amenities. We talked to several folks who said someone does come by to charge for the camping, but they weren’t absolutely sure they had any authority to do so. But since the fees were only $50 a month, and they did haul away the garbage when they came, everybody pays up. This place had quite a different personality from the beach where we’re staying at Los Cerritos. Most of the folks here seem to be surfers, in small vans or tents. A number of them we talked to were a bit longer in the tooth than your mental image of surfers might be. We were there about 12:30 in the afternoon and several of them were already quite drunk – but at least in a friendly way. Two different groups invited us in to chat and share their shade, but did not offer us a cold one.

We’re now back home and chilling at the beach. We’ll go over to a neighbor’s this evening for happy hour, which consists of taking our chairs to the top of the sand dunes, along with a couple of beers. We don’t have a plan for tomorrow but think we’ve decided to stay here one more night before going back to Los Barriles.

Todos Santos

We drove into the town of Todos Santos around 11:00 after a leisurely morning with Cathryn studying her Spanish and Bob reading the manual to his new camera while sitting outside in the sun drinking coffee. On the way into town we stopped at an RV park in El Pescadero we’d checked out last year as well. Unlike last year, the park was nearly deserted. Todos Santos was unchanged from last year: well preserved buildings full of quality art galleries and many restaurants. Unlike like last year, however, the town had an empty feel to it. While we were told last winter that tourism was down, it’s beginning to feel that it is even more so this year. It must be quite challenging to the Mexican people, as tourism is the second largest component of their economy. The funny thing is that the prices seem a little higher than last year, so the economic theory of supply and demand doesn’t seem to be working the way one would expect.

We had a great lunch in town, did a little window shopping, stopped at the wonderful market we found last winter to buy some vegetables and fruit, then headed back to our campsite. Just as we were leaving town we ran into Jim and Phebe, Dick and Jo who had decided to make a day trip over from Los Barriles! We chatted a few minutes and then went our separate ways. Altogether a nice outing. Shortly before bedtime we sat outside observing the very brilliant stars – something we don’t see at home as the lights from SeaTac airport across Puget Sound make it impossible to see many stars anytime of year.

Los Barriles to Los Cerritos

We left Los Barriles this morning to drive to Todos Santos about two hours away, then another 15 kilometers south past Pescadero to the beach at Los Cerritos on the Pacific side of the peninsula . Los Cerritos is apparently a famous Baja surfing beach, although at least this afternoon it was a fairly small break, close to shore, so not much surfing activity. We’re camped at a free beach, meaning nobody quite knows who owns the land, but whoever it is, they don’t seem to mind folks camping here. There are about 20 rigs camped nearby and each of us has between a quarter and half acre to ourselves. As you can see in the pictures, it’s wide open, so not particularly private. There are no facilities, and no water or power, but we’re self-contained this year so it’s a great spot to spend a few days. We’re about 100 yards back from the shoreline and have a nice view of the beach beyond the dunes. The sunset tonight was spectacular.

We had a minor adventure getting into our campsite today. On the approach from the highway we could already see where the RVs were parked, but the road, such as it is, is dirt and not well-defined. There are a series of tracks wandering across the half-mile of desert between the highway and the beach. Bob followed what he thought was the right road (we’ve since been told it was – last year) but about two thirds of the way there we came to a 10-foot deep gully that the truck might have made it through with 4 wheel drive, but the trailer simply wasn’t going to navigate. The road in this far had been fairly straight, but was only about a foot wider than the trailer between a barbed wire fence and a series of small trees and bushes. We spent about a half hour slowly backing out, and after having made it about halfway back to the track where we should have taken a right turn, were a bit frazzled. About this time Mo, a fellow who was camped at the beach and had been watching us struggle, drove out to where we were and showed Bob a place he could drive forward into, and once there, could turn around. Ten minutes later we were in our campsite, and 10 minutes more were sitting next to the 5th wheel having what Bob thought was a well-deserved beer. Later in the afternoon we had Mo over for a thank you beer as well. Typical of RV-ing in Baja, everybody helps out where they can.

We spent the afternoon taking a siesta, walking on the beach and cooking fish tacos for dinner made with some Dorado bought from a local fisherman for about $2.75 or 30 pesos. We plan to spend three days on the beach and visiting Todos Santos, a designated “Magic Pueblo” and a major art center for Baja. We’ll tell you more about Los Cerritos in future posts.

By the way, for those of you up north, the daytime temps have been in the high 70s, the night-time lows in the high 50s. The sun comes up about 6:15 and it gets dark just before 7pm. No other editorial comments or comparisons will be made.

We're Back In Baja

We’re Back in the Baja

After 6 weeks at home in Olalla and a great round of visits with family and friends, we flew back to Baja Tuesday, January 5th. Our great friend Jim Richards picked us up, and not entirely coincidentally, his brother and sister-in-law from Texas too, at the San Jose del Cabo airport. He brought us back to Los Barriles where he and Phebe have been staying in the house on the hill where we left our rig while we were home. We stayed that night, and the next, in our RV in the yard while we got a few chores done and re-provisioned the refrigerator and cupboards. Jim and Phebe provided us with a couple of great dinners, and evenings of lively conversation and cocktails with them, as well as brother Dick and his wife Jo, and one evening the next-door neighbor Russett also, who we enjoyed so much last November. A word of warning: don’t ever drink two of Jim’s delicious margaritas in the same evening if you need to have coherent thoughts or fine motor control. It was good to reconnect, and we’ll be back at Los Barriles next Monday when we make the transition from the house being Jim and Phebe's to being our place for the next six weeks. They leave Los Barriles next Wednesday for a quick trip back up the Baja peninsula and then to Olalla, where they’ll stay a week or so before leaving for their place in Costa Rica for the rest of the winter and early spring.

A Walk in the Harbor, December 26 th

It was a wonderful day for a walk!

Skiing Today At Crystal Mountain

Great fun was had by all. Can you  belive in less then two weeks we will be back in Mexico!

It's Cold and Crisp Here In Olalla

Home for the Holidays

Yesterday morning we completed our packing and closed up the Arctic Fox RV for six weeks. We went with Jim and Phebe to one of our favorite Los Barriles restaurants for lunch, El Viejo, an open-air, family-run Mexican restaurant right on the main street in town. Following a delicious meal and discussion with Jim and Phebe of plans for our return in January, Jim and Phebe dropped us at the airport at San Jose del Cabo. An uneventful flight home followed, including quick passage through Customs and Immigration, and arrival at our home already warmed by Cathryn’s parents’ trip earlier in the day to crank up the heat, a refrigerator stocked enough to allow us to have meals today without benefit of a trip to the grocery store, and a coffee table piled high with mail and boxes of items Bob had ordered online while in Mexico, courtesy of a drop-off from Lynn and David who kindly collected our forwarded mail while we were gone.

While we’re very eager to see all of our family and many of our friends, we must admit that leaving warm (82 degrees) sunny Baja, Mexico and waking up this morning to rain, gray skies and 48 degrees was a bit daunting. Lynn tells us nearby Bremerton registered TEN inches of rain in one day earlier this week, so we know everything is soggy, and the forecast for the forseeable future is more of the same. Ah well . . . we have loads of fun plans during the six weeks we’ll be home for the holidays and are truly happy to be here (or at least Cathryn is – Bob threatens to jump on an airplane back to Baja next Friday after Thanksgiving dinner, and return December 19 for Christmas plans!) We’ll take up blog-writing again in the first week of January when we arrive back in Baja. We hope you’ve enjoyed sharing our experience

Waterfall and swimming pools

Russett came to the house about 10:00 this morning, and the five of us loaded into Jim and Phebe’s Subaru to head up into the hills. We drove 5 miles up a nearby arroyo, a dry river bed which only has water in it during rare periods of extreme rain or hurricanes. (cut and paste this link into your browser  to see an aerial photo of where we went. http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=23.67488,-109.7903&ll=23.67488,-109.7903&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1    Eventually, the arroyo had wide, shallow stream rivulets running through it, and at Russett’s instructions,Jim kept driving on through the sand and water. Eventually we entered a shallow canyon lined with granite and gorgeous rock walls with astonishing numbers of cactus, trees and flowering bushes sprouting from the rocks. Jim parked the car and we headed upstream on foot.

The water remained shallow – never more than knee-deep – and we worked our way over rocks, through the stream and gradually uphill for perhaps a quarter of a mile. It was really gorgeous and many photos were taken. After taking a rest in the shade to cool off and have some conversation, we picked our way back through the canyon to the car, drove down the arroyo about a mile and parked again. Wandering up yet another small canyon, we found ourselves a quarter mile later at a lovely 75-foot waterfall with a large pool at its base. It wasn’t long before Phebe plunged into the pool to cool off, and Russett and Cathryn quickly followed. The water was cold for 2-3 minutes, but quickly felt refreshing. Russett was correct that we’d love this place, and we certainly will return when we’re here again after New Years, hopefully bringing any guests who visit us, including Lynn (Bob’s sister) and David. If you'd like to seem more pictures, click on the picture titled Los Barilies Waterfall and Swiming Pool. 

Los Barriles Waterfall and Swimming Pool

Fishing Round 2

Monday morning Jim, Bob and Cathryn piled into the Subaru to head to Punta Pescadero again while Phebe went on a walk with Russett. Bob exited the car about 4 miles short of our destination and took off in his running shoes. Jim had done some work on our spinning rod while we were in La Paz last week adding some features to make the clipping on of lures easier. He also added an 18-inch leader with a fly at the end, in addition to the lure to give it weight for casting. As happened last weekend, Jim caught a number of fish one-after-the-other and released each . Cathryn hooked 3 fish in the first 15 minutes, but only one made it all the way to shore. All 3 were Ladyfish, a slim, silver fish which is fairly acrobatic and jumps into the air while trying to fight the line. Pretty! By the time Bob arrived, it was just late enough in the morning that the fish had ceased biting, so we headed back to the house for showers. We have enjoyed our little efforts at fishing here, so expect we’ll keep trying when we get back home.

Fun Weekend: Los Barriles

Jim and Phebe greeted us warmly at the home they’re renting this winter in Los Barriles and opened the yard gate so we could park the Arctic Fox inside the fence for the 6 weeks we’re back in Seattle for the holidays. We had a lovely reunion catching up on each other’s news on their roof-top deck. They invited Russett, the next-door neighbor and landlady with whom they’ve become good friends, to join us for dinner, and she arrived with flowers and chocolate cake. Phebe prepared a fabulous meal of shrimp curry, rice and salad, and Jim made delicious margaritas. Following dinner, everyone ushered Cathryn back to the roof-top deck, put a blindfold on her eyes and a walking stick in her hands, with instructions to take swats at a piñata Bob had purchased back in La Paz and hung from the palapa in honor of her birthday. What a hoot! We ate Russett’s delicious chocolate cake and candy from the piñata and talked “late” into the night – past 9:00. Cathryn had a perfectly lovely birthday and felt very generously feted by friends and Bob.

Fun Weekend: La Ventana

Saturday morning we drove to La Ventana, a small fishing village an hour south of La Paz with 1,000 year-round Mexican residents. The population swells to about 2,500 in winter months when the wind blows, and Canadians and Americans come to wind-surf and kite-sail. The bay is gorgeous with aquamarine water, mountains covered densely with cardon cactus and other green desert vegetation to the west across the road, and a large island a few miles off-shore offering interesting vistas. We were charmed by the place.
 

While back in La Paz, Mady was a student at the school with us. She’s a French woman married to a British man, and they live in Hood River, Oregon half the year and in La Ventana half the year. They invited us to park our RV in their yard and spend the night. We did and had a wonderful time. They built their home 5 years ago after spending previous winters camping on the beach in an RV and falling in love with the area. Larry is a serious kite-sailor (and scuba diver, mountain biker, etc) and Mady plays piano, bikes, teaches a yoga and pilates class 3 times each week, and they have an active social life with many friends in town. Larry designed their gorgeous home with many artistic and architectural touches, and it has a drop-dead-gorgeous view of both the bay and the mountains. Mady and Larry scheduled a dinner party including 3 other part-time La Ventana residents we’d previously met on the beach at Playa Juncalito a few weeks back. Potluck dinner on the upstairs terrace and lively conversation followed, and as usual, “Baja Midnight” had everyone heading for bed by 8:30.

Sunday morning Larry and Mady led us on an hour-long walk through the hills and trails toward the mountains behind their home, followed by breakfast at their favorite local hang-out -- which cost all of 200 pesos or about $16 for all 4 of us, for a delicious all-you-can-eat buffet with fresh fruit, eggs, pancakes, fresh-squeezed papaya juice, coffee, etc. Mady and Larry are friendly, generous, entertaining

Reprise: La Paz

Last February we spent a week in La Paz over two visits. We loved running on the Malecon, and we spent a fun evening at the Carnaval parade and celebration, but overall came away with a pretty negative perception of the place for two reasons: Bob lost his wallet there, leading to a couple weeks of hassles with Mexican and Washington bureaucrats (which of course had nothing to do with La Paz); and secondly Cathryn got stopped and extorted by a couple of traffic cops, an experience which left a really bad taste in her mouth.

Having now spent two full weeks in La Paz while attending school, we’ve had the chance to reappraise our feelings about the city. This time we came away enormously positive feelings. First, the city is an authentic middle-class, cosmopolitan Mexican city of about 250,000 residents. We walked through El Centro (the downtown area) and saw hundreds of little shops that had nothing to do with tourists or gringos and everything to do with meeting the needs of the local population. We went to restaurants where everyone (except us) was Mexican, and we were able to have tamales and empenadas for less than a dollar from sidewalk carts. We felt completely safe there, and people were polite and helpful. Overall a great place we’d be happy to have the opportunity to visit again.

Graduation!

We’re very pleased to have completed our two weeks of Spanish classes yesterday. The school does a nice job of reinforcing students’ hard work and accomplishment by conducting a Graduation Ceremony. There were 6 of us who completed our studies yesterday, and at a ceremony in the salon we were each given a Certificate of Achievement and asked to make a brief speech (in Spanish, of course). As usual, a cake and coffee were served, but in this instance they went one step further and added candles to the cake in honor of Cathryn’s birthday (which is actually this Sunday), and the entire staff sang a Spanish birthday song to her, followed by the traditional Happy Birthday song in English. Very thoughtful!

Cathryn is pleased that she can now speak in the past and future tenses, though her speech in those tenses remains halting. Bob feels good about the two weeks in the sense that it provided a good base on which to further build his ability to speak. The biggest challenge for both of us was the large volume of information in a very limited amount of time. Learning the language requires a lot of memorization, and with sometimes hundreds of new words coming at us daily, plus grammar and conjugation of verbs, there simply wasn’t time to absorb it all. But we have our school materials, notes and flashcards and are committed to practicing while we’re home during the holidays as well as when we return to Baja in January. Both Mackenzie and Adrienne have offered to speak Spanish with Cathryn while we’re home (Mackenzie is fairly fluent having lived in Costa Rica with a non-English speaking family for 4 months; Adrienne because Spanish is one of her two majors at University of Colorado). Vamos a ver.

This morning we pull up stakes in La Paz and head to La Ventana, a small fishing village on the beach about an hour down the road. We’ll stay only one night, then head to Los Barriles to visit Jim and Phebe for a few days before flying back to Seattle on Wednesday.

A NEW New Background Color

Bob recently changed the background color to our blog and asked for comments. Three people commented that it improved the readability of the blog, but Mackenzie said the new color was wierd. Adrienne didn't like the new color and said the old one provided better background for the photos, which is what she looks at more critically (in the positive sense of the word) than most. Valerie offered a link to a site with a wider range of blog formats for us to look at. We'll have to wait until we get home and have more time on the internet to do that research.  In the mean time, Bob has changed the color again and tried to strike a balance between readability and setting off the photos. Thanks to those who provided comments and please know the current color is "a work in progress".

A Visit To a New Friend

We’ve completed our second to the last day at Spanish language school, and the Finish Line is within sight with only one day remaining. While each class remains a challenge, and we’re very tired when we get home, we see real progress, feel these two weeks have been of tremendous value, and we’re glad we enrolled. We continue to feel the instructional materials are excellent, the quality of instructors is very high, and the school offers a good return on the cost. More on the school experience when the week comes to an end.


Back home we have a good friend, Andrea Tull, who has a close friend we’ve never met, Katy, whose mother, Mary Lou, lives in La Paz 8 months each year. When Andrea learned we were coming to La Paz she suggested we make contact with Mary Lou. Last night we met her.

Mary Lou and her husband Neil first came to La Paz 40 years ago on vacation. 15 years later after retiring from 40 years in engineering work at Boeing, they began driving down the Baja in an RV for extended visits, and in the mid-80s bought property in the city of La Paz. Over the ensuing years they established an exquisite garden that looks like a tropical arboretum with olive and grapefruit trees, a couple dozen species of cactuses, flowering vines, and many plants unfamiliar to us, plus hordes of birds. The lushness is astonishing! They built a lovely one-bedroom home with high ceilings and tile floors, a small swimming pool, and outdoor living space under the palapa to sit and enjoy the garden, play bridge and enjoy meals, coffee or cocktail hour. Mary Lou’s daughter and son-in-law subsequently built a two-bedroom guest house on the property, and they purchased the adjacent lot to extend their garden space. Mary Lou’s husband died a decade or so ago, and she continues to spend 8 months each year here, and the summer months in Washington near her 4 adult children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

We spent an hour at her home this evening, then went to Campestre Restaurant & Grill for a delicious traditional Mexican dinner. Mary Lou answered our many questions about her life in La Paz, and we were quite impressed with her adventurous spirit and the very enviable life she has carved out. Her grown kids come to visit each winter. We never cease to be amazed and impressed with the many ways in which people have created rare and wonderful lives outside the United States. We hope to see Mary Lou again in March when we head northbound and return through La Paz.

We Changed Our Background

We expect you might have noticed that we changed the color of the background on our blog from white to black at the beginning of our trip, and from black to green today.  Cathryn said she thought the black background was less readable then the white. Bob thought the white background was boring. So how about you? If you have an opinion let us know by posting a comment or sending us an email.

The Weekend is Over!

We were up early and back to school this morning. As part of the educational process at Se Habla...La Paz they rotate the instructors each week, so today Bob began with Marta (no photo yet) and Cathryn has Merit again in the morning, same as last week, and Alexa (Bob's instructor last week), in the afternoons. Based on today's sessions, we agree the change is beneficial in terms of exposing us to different teaching styles and accents. Alexa, for example, is from Mexico City, where they say d's with a "dth" sound and v's like a "b".

After school today we went to a small shop where they have looms and do weaving in the backroom. They sell their products plus other woven products from different areas in Mexico. The workshop was fascinating, and some of the rugs were very nice. Bob bought Cathryn a small throw rug for her birthday next Sunday. She's happy with her gift!

They Won’t Take Big Bills??? Learn From our Mistake

Twice last week we tried to use our two 1000-peso bills (each worth about $75), once at a gas station and again at Wal-Mart, and both times they refused to take them. At Wal-Mart we had actually spent more than that, so we thought they should take it. All we could figure was that perhaps they had a policy prohibiting taking bigger bills, like some stores do in the U.S. We figured we’d eventually go to a bank and get them changed. Later, we were talking to the woman who runs the RV Park in La Paz where we’re staying, and she was surprised we’d had this problem and asked to see the bill.

We were embarrassed to find we’d not looked at the bills sufficiently closely. It turns out we were trying to pass off a 1000 Costa Rican Colones, which is worth a whopping $1.75! It seems that when we got our pesos from the Gig Harbor Bank of American branch before we left home, they gave us these two Colones bills(instead of pesos) as part of the package. We’re a little grumpy about this now, but expect to be majorly grumpy if and when they refuse to make it right when we talk with them on our return home. Maybe we’ll be pleasantly surprised, but we expect they’ll say: “We don’t know that we gave you those bills, maybe you’ve mixed them up”; in other words, “you’re lying to us”. So next time you’re traveling out of the country and order some foreign currency in advance, here is one more thing to think about as they’re counting our all that strange-looking money for you!