Gorditas
The lady on the square in front of the cathedral was making gorditas, a gordita being a stuffed tortilla. The whole process, from watching her make them, figuring out what she was putting in them, and finally eating them, was really fun. As my sister, Susie, exclaimed when we drove through the wrought iron gates of LaCaille in Salt Lake City for brunch once,”Oh, I see. It’s not the meal, it’s the experience!”
The gordita lady had a large, bowl-shaped griddle, possibly made from a steel drum and fueled by propane, set up next to a card table, which held all her ingredients. Each gordita was made to order. First, she would take a small fistful of tortilla dough roll it into a ball, and then flatten it in her tortilla press. Then she picked the newly-made tortilla up in her hand and piled whatever fillings you wanted on it. The choices were champillons (a chopped onion and mushroom mixture), chicarones (pork cracklings), chorizo (spicy sausage), minced veal, and requeson, which appeared to be a soft, ricotta-like cheese mixed with cilantro. After the fillings were in place, she brought the edges of the tortilla up and around to seal them all in, then re-flattened the whole thing in the tortilla press before putting it on the griddle to cook. When it was done on both sides, she served it up with shredded cabbage, a little mayo, and some salsa on a plastic plate. You ate it right there, sitting on the chairs she had set up, then handed the plate back to her husband, who wiped it off and put it back on the stack to re-use. All this for 150 pesos ($1.50 American) apiece. And they were delicious!
Swimming with Sea Lions
Yesterday, we took the boat tour around Espiritu Santo, which is the large island four miles out from Playa El Tecolote, where we are staying. There are over 900 islands in the Gulf of California, most of them protected, with limited access, and this is one of them. We went out in a panga with six other people—an Italian couple, a French couple, and a Mexican couple. Our capitan, Jesus, didn’t speak much English, but the Mexican guy, Rene Alejandro, spoke excellent English, which he said he learned growing up in Tijuana and watching American TV and reading comic books, and he translated for us. The island is very wild and desolate, and is uninhabited except for one little area where fisherman live and fish. The highlight of the trip was visiting the sea lion colony on the far side of the island, donning our snorkeling gear, and getting into the water to swim with them. It was a little scary at first, especially when the big males swam by—they are HUGE! They didn’t seem to pay us much notice, but the pups (born last May/June) were very curious. They would swim around and around us, right side up and upside down to view us from all angles, then dart off after a buddy, come back, and repeat the whole process again. After our swim, we motored over to a beautiful little cove for lunch and sunbathing. Lunch was another adventure in eating for us—two kinds of ceviche (fish and shrimp) and pickled marlin. There were also ham and cheese sandwiches on white bread for the timid, but Steve and I both went for the more exotic. It was great!
Today we are just hanging out on our beach, relaxing. We’ve been here a week now, and will probably move on, still heading south, to Los Barilles, tomorrow.
Monday, February 12, 2007
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Los Cerritos
This entry will be out of order because I´m sitting in the labanderia (laundry) using their computer while my stuff is getting clean and using their computer. The laptop wouldn´t plug in there, so Steve left with it to find an internet cafe, and I have two blog entries saved on the laptop and ready to paste in.
We are staying at Los Cerritos, a gorgeous beach on the Pacific side of the Baja, a little south of Todos Santos. When we first pulled into the camping area, we were bummed out--it was just a parking lot and seemed kind of trashy, and we thought we wouldn´t stay more than a night. However, someone left, and we were able to find a better spot, with an unobstructed view of the ocean. You can´t park on the beach here--too soft, and the dunes are in the way, but it´s close by. The whales come by here, and a big form of entertainment is to sit on the dune or the beach and watch for spouts. Some are as close as a couple hundred yards from the beach, and we see lots of spouts, some whale backs, and an occasional tail. The far end of the beach has huge rollers, and is popular with surfers. It´s been fun to walk down there and watch the action.
Yesterday when we pulled in, we were happily surprised to find Len and Betty Kerr, our ¨neighbors¨ on Playa El Tecolote. Yesterdaay was Len´s 65th birthday, and we decided to go into the little town nearby, El Pescadero, to celebrate. We got a recommendation from one of the other Rvers camped near us. To get off the subject for a minute, that was an interesting story. He´s been coming down to this same beach for 14 years. At first he and his wife used to drive down, but now they leave a truck and their 5th wheel at a storage area in the town, and just fly down and pick it up, spend 4 or 5 months, then put it back in storage and fly back home to British Columbia. Oh, and speaking of British Columbia, 90 percent of everybody we´ve met is from B.C., and I´m learning to speak Canadian, at least British Columbian, along with Spanish. ¨Yeah¨ always comes in pairs, as in ¨Yeah, yeah¨ instead of just ¨Yeah;¨ if you´re nervous about doing something, you´re not a wuss or a wimp, you´re a ¨jam tart,¨ and if you don´nt check in with them when you say you will, your kids will ¨have a bïrd¨not a fit.
Now back to the birthday bash. We drove into El Pescadero and found the place, La Choya withoug any trouble. It´s a teeny place, bright orange half-walls of stucco, and a palapa-style roof. Maybe six tables. Two sisters run it, do all the cooking. No English spoken.There were only about 5 things on the menu, which was written on a large dry-erase board. We weren´t even sure they were open because the sisters were out front, washing down all the chairs, but they invited us in, not letting us sit down until they wiped down some chairs for us. Steve, Len, and Betty wanted beer, which they didn´t serve; we were told to go across the street, buy the beer at the beer bar, and bring it back. Can you see that happening in Utah! We were the only customers in the place, and the food was prepared as we waited. It was amazing!Steve and Len had the house specialty--chili rellenos--which were stuffed and dripping with cheese. Betty had camarones (shrimp) sauteed with garlic. She counted--there were 20 good-sized shrimp on her plate. I had the chicken in mole sauce, and it was to die for. I´ve never had mole that good. I asked her what was in it, and didn´t understand a word of what she told me. She left, and a minute later, came back with all the ingredients to show me! Chili negro (black chili), cinnamon, cloves, sesame seeds, and raisins, simmered a long time. Our meals were served with rice, refired beans, salad, and warm tortillas. And for dessert, she brought us each a smal plate with chopped apples and jicama drizzled with strawberry jam. Light and refreshing. The price for all four meals? Forty dollars American, and that included a generous tip. After dinner, they introduced us to their families, who live right there, with hugs and smiles all around. It was a really special evening.
Tonight it´s watching the sun set over the Pacific and looking at stars.
We are staying at Los Cerritos, a gorgeous beach on the Pacific side of the Baja, a little south of Todos Santos. When we first pulled into the camping area, we were bummed out--it was just a parking lot and seemed kind of trashy, and we thought we wouldn´t stay more than a night. However, someone left, and we were able to find a better spot, with an unobstructed view of the ocean. You can´t park on the beach here--too soft, and the dunes are in the way, but it´s close by. The whales come by here, and a big form of entertainment is to sit on the dune or the beach and watch for spouts. Some are as close as a couple hundred yards from the beach, and we see lots of spouts, some whale backs, and an occasional tail. The far end of the beach has huge rollers, and is popular with surfers. It´s been fun to walk down there and watch the action.
Yesterday when we pulled in, we were happily surprised to find Len and Betty Kerr, our ¨neighbors¨ on Playa El Tecolote. Yesterdaay was Len´s 65th birthday, and we decided to go into the little town nearby, El Pescadero, to celebrate. We got a recommendation from one of the other Rvers camped near us. To get off the subject for a minute, that was an interesting story. He´s been coming down to this same beach for 14 years. At first he and his wife used to drive down, but now they leave a truck and their 5th wheel at a storage area in the town, and just fly down and pick it up, spend 4 or 5 months, then put it back in storage and fly back home to British Columbia. Oh, and speaking of British Columbia, 90 percent of everybody we´ve met is from B.C., and I´m learning to speak Canadian, at least British Columbian, along with Spanish. ¨Yeah¨ always comes in pairs, as in ¨Yeah, yeah¨ instead of just ¨Yeah;¨ if you´re nervous about doing something, you´re not a wuss or a wimp, you´re a ¨jam tart,¨ and if you don´nt check in with them when you say you will, your kids will ¨have a bïrd¨not a fit.
Now back to the birthday bash. We drove into El Pescadero and found the place, La Choya withoug any trouble. It´s a teeny place, bright orange half-walls of stucco, and a palapa-style roof. Maybe six tables. Two sisters run it, do all the cooking. No English spoken.There were only about 5 things on the menu, which was written on a large dry-erase board. We weren´t even sure they were open because the sisters were out front, washing down all the chairs, but they invited us in, not letting us sit down until they wiped down some chairs for us. Steve, Len, and Betty wanted beer, which they didn´t serve; we were told to go across the street, buy the beer at the beer bar, and bring it back. Can you see that happening in Utah! We were the only customers in the place, and the food was prepared as we waited. It was amazing!Steve and Len had the house specialty--chili rellenos--which were stuffed and dripping with cheese. Betty had camarones (shrimp) sauteed with garlic. She counted--there were 20 good-sized shrimp on her plate. I had the chicken in mole sauce, and it was to die for. I´ve never had mole that good. I asked her what was in it, and didn´t understand a word of what she told me. She left, and a minute later, came back with all the ingredients to show me! Chili negro (black chili), cinnamon, cloves, sesame seeds, and raisins, simmered a long time. Our meals were served with rice, refired beans, salad, and warm tortillas. And for dessert, she brought us each a smal plate with chopped apples and jicama drizzled with strawberry jam. Light and refreshing. The price for all four meals? Forty dollars American, and that included a generous tip. After dinner, they introduced us to their families, who live right there, with hugs and smiles all around. It was a really special evening.
Tonight it´s watching the sun set over the Pacific and looking at stars.
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
Even more recent photos...
Click on the pictures for a better view:
This is our camp site near La Paz.
This was a pretty road/trail. We are east of La Paz near Pitching League (Picilinque)
When we turned back I discovered that we'd been followed by some stealthy character.
The fish are biting...
This is our camp site near La Paz.
This was a pretty road/trail. We are east of La Paz near Pitching League (Picilinque)
When we turned back I discovered that we'd been followed by some stealthy character.
The fish are biting...
Sunday, February 4, 2007
Recent photos 2...
Click on the pictures for a better view:
This is the first time I´ve ever seen a school bus pulled over by the police.
Downtown Loreto close to old town. Loreto is a beautiful place.
Sandy snuck away and was later found in a fabric shop. She looks guilty don´t you think?
This is a panga. It is used everywhere in Mexico for just about everything. These guys had been out 25 miles fishing overnight when we saw them returning home.
Ballena Gris. The moms would saunter along with the baby following closely behind.
Whale tail
This is the first time I´ve ever seen a school bus pulled over by the police.
Downtown Loreto close to old town. Loreto is a beautiful place.
Sandy snuck away and was later found in a fabric shop. She looks guilty don´t you think?
This is a panga. It is used everywhere in Mexico for just about everything. These guys had been out 25 miles fishing overnight when we saw them returning home.
Ballena Gris. The moms would saunter along with the baby following closely behind.
Whale tail
Sunday in LaPaz
We drove in again today to pick up our laundry and do some more catching up on emails. While Steve was doing his thing on the computer at the internet cafe, I walked across the street to the cathedral, and happened to be there at just the right time to attend Mass. I got there about 15 kminutes early and easily found a seat, but by the time Mass started, the church was filled to capacity. The experience was lovely; it ended up being a High Mass (where many of the congregation's responses are sung, rather than spoken), accompanied by a guitar, an accordion, and a tamborine. There were no missals or hymnals, but everybody seemed to know the words and the tune. It was lovely--happy and reverent and uplifting all at the same time. To my surprise, my Spanish is good enough that I was able to identify which gospel was being read, and even got the gist of the homily. The priest was an excellent speaker--I wish I had understood more.
After Mass, since Steve was still "computing," I asked the girls at the counter where "la tienda de telas" (fabric store) was. They showed me on the map I had,and, since it was only a few blocks away, I walked down to check it out. After consulting my handy dandy phrase book, I was able to ask a clerk to direct me to the "algodon" (cotton), and I picked out a couple of pieces. It itsn't great fabric, but the quality seemed better than the stuff I saw in Loreto, so I bought a meter each (a little more than a yard) for under $2 American a meter.
It's lujnch time, so when I finish this, we'll find someplace to eat. There's a little old lady with a table and charcoal grill set up in the square in front of the cathedral, and she's selling whatever it is she's cooking. Nothing written on her sign rings a bell, so we will smile and point, I guessl. It will be an adventure.
After Mass, since Steve was still "computing," I asked the girls at the counter where "la tienda de telas" (fabric store) was. They showed me on the map I had,and, since it was only a few blocks away, I walked down to check it out. After consulting my handy dandy phrase book, I was able to ask a clerk to direct me to the "algodon" (cotton), and I picked out a couple of pieces. It itsn't great fabric, but the quality seemed better than the stuff I saw in Loreto, so I bought a meter each (a little more than a yard) for under $2 American a meter.
It's lujnch time, so when I finish this, we'll find someplace to eat. There's a little old lady with a table and charcoal grill set up in the square in front of the cathedral, and she's selling whatever it is she's cooking. Nothing written on her sign rings a bell, so we will smile and point, I guessl. It will be an adventure.
Saturday, February 3, 2007
La Paz at last!
Hello from the City of Peace! La Paz is a truly beautiful place. The malecon (waterfront walkway) stretches for three miles along the beautiful turquoise Gulf of California. There are palm trees, benches, sculptures, little lookout piers all along the way. I´m sitting in an internet cafe by the town square, right across the street from the cathedral. Pictures next post.
We are camped on Playa Tecolote, which means Owl Beach, about 15 miles outside of LaPaz. It´s very scenic (pictures next post) and the camping is free. There are quite a few RVs camped here, and everyone is very friendly. In fact, it´s hard to walk all the way down the beach because people stop you and want to visit. Almost everyone we´ve met here, as well as elsewhere along our route, seems to be from British Columbia. The couple in the RV camped next door to us on the beach are from Vancouver, and live on their 40 foot power boat there. The guy, Len, just retired, and he and his wife, Betty, are on their first Baja trip, just like us. We´ve spent the last two days just hanging out and relaxing--walking on the beach, riding our bikes, and general hanging out. Today we came into town to grocery shop and do laundry. The waiter at the place we had lunch--fish tacos, of course-- drew us a map to the labanderia (laundry), which we found without too much trouble. Then the fun began! The lady inside spoke absolutely no English. My Spanish is coming along, but the trouble is that, although I can usually ask for what I want in Spanish, I can only occasionally understand what they tell me back. Eventually, I figured out that she was the proprietress, and that she was using all four of the washing machines. Doing the laundry myself was not an option-- she would do it for me. Somehow or other, we were able to negotiate a price--about $10 American for tres loads, and I could pick it up after 7 p.m. tonight. I was proud of myself, because I was able to ask (and understand her reply) in Spanish what the hours were tomorrow (Domingo) and Monday (Lunes), and agreed that we´d come back Lunes and pick it up. Phew!
Now it´s off to the supermarket and then back to the beach.
We are camped on Playa Tecolote, which means Owl Beach, about 15 miles outside of LaPaz. It´s very scenic (pictures next post) and the camping is free. There are quite a few RVs camped here, and everyone is very friendly. In fact, it´s hard to walk all the way down the beach because people stop you and want to visit. Almost everyone we´ve met here, as well as elsewhere along our route, seems to be from British Columbia. The couple in the RV camped next door to us on the beach are from Vancouver, and live on their 40 foot power boat there. The guy, Len, just retired, and he and his wife, Betty, are on their first Baja trip, just like us. We´ve spent the last two days just hanging out and relaxing--walking on the beach, riding our bikes, and general hanging out. Today we came into town to grocery shop and do laundry. The waiter at the place we had lunch--fish tacos, of course-- drew us a map to the labanderia (laundry), which we found without too much trouble. Then the fun began! The lady inside spoke absolutely no English. My Spanish is coming along, but the trouble is that, although I can usually ask for what I want in Spanish, I can only occasionally understand what they tell me back. Eventually, I figured out that she was the proprietress, and that she was using all four of the washing machines. Doing the laundry myself was not an option-- she would do it for me. Somehow or other, we were able to negotiate a price--about $10 American for tres loads, and I could pick it up after 7 p.m. tonight. I was proud of myself, because I was able to ask (and understand her reply) in Spanish what the hours were tomorrow (Domingo) and Monday (Lunes), and agreed that we´d come back Lunes and pick it up. Phew!
Now it´s off to the supermarket and then back to the beach.
Streets of Loreto Part 2, Junclaito Beach, and Whales´Tales
We had a great time exploring Loreto. The city has been occupied since the 1600’s, and was the capital of Baja Sur until the 1800’s, when a hurricane destroyed most of the city and they decided that La Paz was a safer bet. The old, historic part of town has streets of cobblestone and interlocking cement tiles, lots of little shops and cafes, and just oozes charm. The mission is still there—Our Lady of Loreto—and is beautiful. We couldn’t go in on Saturday because of a funeral being held there. After the funeral mass, they loaded the casket into the back of a pickup truck, and piled all the flowers and wreaths on top of it. Then, with a police car escort, the truck made its way slowly through town , presumably to the cemetery, with all the mourners walking alongside and behind it. On Sunday morning before we left town, I walked over to the mission hoping to go to mass, but I was about 45 minutes early, so I just went in and said hi to God, and left. Other great things about Loreto: a bakery 2 blocks from our RV park, a bookstore/fabric shop (the fabric was very poor quality, so I didn’t buy any, but it was still fun to come across a fabric shop in Mexico), and excellent fish tacos. Actually, we’ve eaten fish tacos in almost every town we’ve stopped in, and I haven’t had a bad one yet. They sell everywhere for 10 pesos (one dollar) each.
We didn’t go very far when we left Loreto—just about 14 miles down the coast for a couple of days of dry camping on Juncalito Beach. There were quite a few RV’s parked there, both right on the beach and tucked away in some palm trees, but we were able to find a secluded spot at the north end of the beach and settled in for a couple of days of relaxing.We had actually planned on spending only one night there, but I got a touch of tourista, so we stayed an extra day. How I got it is a mystery—although we had forgotten to add bleach to our water that day, all I did was brush my teeth with it. Steve used the same water I did with no ill effects, and his stomach is usually way more sensitive than mine. But Imodium did its magic, and we were on the road again.
We left Juncalito Beach yesterday, still heading for LaPaz, but took a side trip to San Carlos, on the Pacific side, to take a whale-watching tour. The one RV park in San Carlos has closed down, and we were wandering around wondering what to do because we were advised that it wasn’t safe to boondock on the beaches around there, when we stumbled upon the whale-watching operation. The owner, Fito Gonzalez, generously offered to let us stay in the parking lot there. So, after making reservations for an 8 a.m. whale-watching tour, we moved in. Later in the evening, after he had closed up and everyone had gone home for the day, we were visited by the local policia, who were out patrolling, and, although they didn’t speak English, made it clear that this was private property and we couldn’t camp there. I explained to them in my best Spanish (which isn’t saying much) that we were booked for a whale-watching tour at “ocho manana,” and that Fito had given permisio for us to stay acqui. Miraculously, I was understood AND believed!
This morning (January 31st, I think), dawned bright and sunny, with no wind and calm seas. We climbed into a panga (an open boat that looks sort of like a driftboat) with a single woman from England, a vacationing Mexican from the mainland and Luis, our panga driver, and headed out into Bahia de Magdelena to look for whales. It took about an hour to get out to where the whales were, and then the fun began! First, we started spotting spouts off in the distance, then an occasional dark back, and some tails. Before long, there was whale action all around us, and we could see them clearly. Most of the time, the whales were 30 or so feet away, but some came as close as 15 or 20 feet, and one swam right next to our panga and came up about 8 feet away. It was VERY cool.
We left San Carlos after the tour and drove the 45 minutes back to Ciudad Constitucion, back on the highway, Mex 1, that goes to La Paz. We camped in a little RV park just off the highway. It’s an interesting place. The owners, a British guy and his Mexican wife live on the premises, as do what appear to be her parents. The parents have chickens and peacocks, who parade around the grounds. Berta, the woman owner, speaks excellent English, and told me all about herself. She was a secretary at a company in this city, and met her husband when he came here to work for that company. They’ve been married for 11 years. They have an adorable 6 year old son who looks totally Latino, and I did a double-take when I asked him his name, and he replied “Nigel.” He is bilingual, and speaks unaccented English and correctly accented Spanish.
We didn’t go very far when we left Loreto—just about 14 miles down the coast for a couple of days of dry camping on Juncalito Beach. There were quite a few RV’s parked there, both right on the beach and tucked away in some palm trees, but we were able to find a secluded spot at the north end of the beach and settled in for a couple of days of relaxing.We had actually planned on spending only one night there, but I got a touch of tourista, so we stayed an extra day. How I got it is a mystery—although we had forgotten to add bleach to our water that day, all I did was brush my teeth with it. Steve used the same water I did with no ill effects, and his stomach is usually way more sensitive than mine. But Imodium did its magic, and we were on the road again.
We left Juncalito Beach yesterday, still heading for LaPaz, but took a side trip to San Carlos, on the Pacific side, to take a whale-watching tour. The one RV park in San Carlos has closed down, and we were wandering around wondering what to do because we were advised that it wasn’t safe to boondock on the beaches around there, when we stumbled upon the whale-watching operation. The owner, Fito Gonzalez, generously offered to let us stay in the parking lot there. So, after making reservations for an 8 a.m. whale-watching tour, we moved in. Later in the evening, after he had closed up and everyone had gone home for the day, we were visited by the local policia, who were out patrolling, and, although they didn’t speak English, made it clear that this was private property and we couldn’t camp there. I explained to them in my best Spanish (which isn’t saying much) that we were booked for a whale-watching tour at “ocho manana,” and that Fito had given permisio for us to stay acqui. Miraculously, I was understood AND believed!
This morning (January 31st, I think), dawned bright and sunny, with no wind and calm seas. We climbed into a panga (an open boat that looks sort of like a driftboat) with a single woman from England, a vacationing Mexican from the mainland and Luis, our panga driver, and headed out into Bahia de Magdelena to look for whales. It took about an hour to get out to where the whales were, and then the fun began! First, we started spotting spouts off in the distance, then an occasional dark back, and some tails. Before long, there was whale action all around us, and we could see them clearly. Most of the time, the whales were 30 or so feet away, but some came as close as 15 or 20 feet, and one swam right next to our panga and came up about 8 feet away. It was VERY cool.
We left San Carlos after the tour and drove the 45 minutes back to Ciudad Constitucion, back on the highway, Mex 1, that goes to La Paz. We camped in a little RV park just off the highway. It’s an interesting place. The owners, a British guy and his Mexican wife live on the premises, as do what appear to be her parents. The parents have chickens and peacocks, who parade around the grounds. Berta, the woman owner, speaks excellent English, and told me all about herself. She was a secretary at a company in this city, and met her husband when he came here to work for that company. They’ve been married for 11 years. They have an adorable 6 year old son who looks totally Latino, and I did a double-take when I asked him his name, and he replied “Nigel.” He is bilingual, and speaks unaccented English and correctly accented Spanish.
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