Colin at Roadrunner Open Mike

I have a confession.  You probably haven't noticed but I get real excited about our Wednesday open mic at the  Roadrunner Cafe in Los Barriles. There is a lot of talent walking around loose on the streets and we are lucky enough to harvest some of it. Forgive me for posting the open mic night so frequently BUT we had some really neat kids show up last Wednesday and Colin deserves some airplay. This young man is doin' it!

Is Mexico a safe place to RV? ~ Baja Good Life News

I've posted several articles related to safety for tourists in Mexico. The following post is from an RVer's perspective.

"What about the Banditos, Drug Lords and Gangs? We can never talk about RVing on Baja without someone raising these questions."
Click on the following link for the story.

Is Mexico a safe place to RV? ~ Baja Good Life News

Roadrunner Open Mic Photos

Another fun open mic night at the Roadrunner Cafe in Los Barriles. The Roadrunner hosts this event every Wednesday evening from late October until June. If you're in the area join them for dinner and entertainment. If you are a musician, bring your ax and a song and join in.

Great Health Video

Check this out. Good video!

Mexico is Indeed Safe for US Tourists

  

DECEMBER 21, 2011
From "Baja Good Life News"

DESPITE THE HYPE,
MEXICO IS INDEED SAFE FOR TOURISTS

HSI's Craig Morganson is working to dispel myths and repair damage to Mexican Tourism and its impact on travel companies.

Click here to read the complete story.

Read a related article:

Los Californios Moto Club at the Roadrunner Cafe

The Los Californios Motorcycle Club has stopped and eaten at my wife's restaurant many times. These guys look like they are livin' large. What could be better than cruising the loop on a beautiful day in Baja California Sur with a nice bike and good friends? Not much in my estimation. Last Sunday they stopped for lunch and I went out to chat with them a bit. Fortunately many of them have great English so I don't have to embarrass myself with my below average Español! Yuri Lugo and I traded info and he emailed me the link to their site. Click here to see a slideshow from their ride.

Southwest Air Announces New Flights

Air fare price wars would be a welcome change...

Southwest Airlines and AirTran Airways Receive Route Approval from the US DOT to Operate New International Flights; Fares as Low as $109 one-way.  Click here for the story:

Less Mexicans Heading North

This is pretty interesting. Mexicans are less interested in going to the US for financial gain than before. Should Americans be happy?  Think this through.

Click here to read the story.


Better Lives for Mexicans Cut Allure of Going North

Tyler Hicks/The New York Times

Antonio Orozco, center, with his sons Andrés, left, and Samuel, in Agua Negra, Mexico. Many Orozcos have crossed the border for work. View the Slide Show »

Music This Week on the East Cape

You have plenty of music events to choose from on the East Cape for the first week of November. Monday night the local band 'Los Viejos' will be playing the Trinidad RV Park. Music starts at 7. Mike will have good eats all ready to go. Enjoy a relaxing evening of mix of rock, blues and country.

Following the gig at Trinidad, the Roadrunner Cafe will host her first Wednesday open music night for 2011. Happy hour runs from 5 to 7. There will be appetizers, drinks/cerveza and desserts available. Casual atmosphere, no cover charge just a fun time with friends.   624-151-5807  for more info

And last but certainly not least, on Saturday November 5, the East Cape Art Association will have it's 2nd annual music festival. Just below the photo is a link where you will find the details and ticket info.

LOS BARRILES - MUSIC FESTIVAL 2011

Follow this link for full details:  Los Barriles Music Fest

Bisbee's Black and Blue Wrapup

And the winner is....

 
 Bad Medicine!!
You never know how this is going to turn out. Their first day fish won the overall prize. Great job guys.
See the final standings at CatchSat.com.  Great site with all the data and lots of videos.

Bisbee's Black and Blue Day Two Results

There were a lot of fish hooked today but only one weighed. Francisco Navarro fishing aboard the Pegasus landed a 329# Blue in about 9 minutes. He was entered in all the daily prize categories except 5 and 10 thousand. Their catch earned them 3rd place in the overall team standings. Congratulations to Francisco and crew for making the most of their opportunity. Got to the CatchStat site for more details.

Bisbee's Black and Blue Day One Results

Sounds like the first day of the Bisbee Black and Blue Marlin Tourney got off to a good start.  At last report, bad medicine was holding the top spot with a 409# Blue.  Here's a short video of the weigh in. Like I said before, if you can get over to the docks, it's pretty exciting watching the fish come in.



You can see all the results and videos from day 1 over at 'CatchStat.com'

746 LB Marlin Caught!

746 LB BLUE MARLIN, ONE DAY BEFORE BISBEE!

746-Pound Monster Marlin Caught on Bisbee Registration Day!

The Little Boat that Could…Pisces’ Tracy Ann!

Click here to read the story!

Open Music Returns to the Roadrunner Cafe

It's official.  The Roadrunner Cafe will have its first open music for the upcoming season on Wednesday, November the 2nd.  I've kept track of many of our musicians this summer. There are several here already and many more coming.  Should be a great start!  If you've never joined us before, you're missing a real nice evening. There is always a variety of musical styles for almost any taste.  Well, we haven't had rap yet.  But we had sea chanties one night!

This year we will have happy hour from 5 to 7.  If you come early, you can watch Jon the sound guy struggle with the sound equipment while Bob follows him around offering absolutely the most un-sound (no pun intended) advice ever heard. Donna, Mayte and Co. will have appetizers and desserts to offer also.
Be there!
Questions:
624-156-2820   cell
124-8038          Roadrunner

The Bisbee's Black and Blue is Due!

It's starting again: The 18th of October marks the umpteenth running of the Bisbee's Black and Blue Marlin Tournament. Hundreds of fishermen and ladies, pro and amateur, are going to plow the fertile waters around the Cape of San Lucas. Here they hope to catch and land the top prize which amounts to a small mountain of moolah!!! There have been several very large marlin caught already this fishing season including a behmoth Blue that was initially believed to be a genuine grander!!


I can't tell you anything about marlin fishing. But I can tell you that if you want to enjoy the Bisbee tournament, go hang out at the marina in Cabo for a few hours. Do some shopping, have lunch but keep an eye open for a crowd forming by the weigh-in scale. When the fish start coming in, it is exciting. One day at the 2010 tournament, an 800 pounder was weighed TEN MINUTES after the scales closed. It would have beaten the daily winner by 200 pounds.

Oh the joy of victory and the agony of defeat.

Colorful History of Hotel California

I found this in the online version of 'Escapes' magazine which is the official publication of Coldwell Banker Riveras. Great article, I think you'll enjoy it.

By Romana

The Hotel California was founded in, 1947, by a Chinese immigrant named Mr. Wong. After three years of construction, it opened on February 5, 1950,.  Mr. Wong lived in the 16 room hotel with his wife and seven daughters.  Wanting the locals to believe he was Mexican, Mr. Wong changed his name to Don Antonio Tabasco which didn’t work as well as he had planned since he soon became known as “El Chino,” meaning “The Chinese Man” rather than Don Antonio Tabasco.

Click here to continue...

Near Rancho la Venta

Man what a little rain will do for the countryside.

Hurricane Hilary

I added a link in the top menu bar to check the latest hurricane weather. It goes directly to the Wonderground Pacific hurricane page. It looks exactly like the graphic above.

Speaking of weather... If you are curious about historical conditions here on the East Cape, click on the weather gadget on the left side of the blog.  That takes you to the Wonderground administered site for individual weather stations. You be looking at data from our station which is in the Spa.  If we have a good rain, you can see how much there was.  If we have a good blow, you can see the wind speed.  Sorry, won't show if the fish are biting.

5 x 8 Loadrunner single axle cargo trailer

$2495.00  cell: 624-156-2820 
or 624-151-5807

Used one time from Salem Oregon to Los Barriles (Almost new!)

GVWR: 2990 GAWR: 3500 lbs.

Dimensions: 11' 8" outside length; 6' 10" outside width.

6' 2"/80" overall height. (Extra Height 6 inch).

Spring suspension, EZ lube hubs with grease caps.

Tires: Bias-Ply , 15" White Modular (5 hole on 4 1/2).

Frame: 2 in. x 3 in. tube, 2" X 2" Angle cross members.

3/4" Exterior grade plywood floor, Upgrade to 3/8 inch walls.

4 inch Drop Spring Axles.

Sand Pad for Jack.

2 in. coupler.

LED tail lights.

4 Wall ties, 4 Surface mount floor ties,

Upgrade to Radial Tires, Interior mount w/spare.

ATP Fenders.

Hitch lock.

Secure door lock.

Adjustable drop stinger.

Swing-down tilt protector.

Air vents

 

Internet Rumors and Innuendo

This post is not specific to Baja but to humanity in general. Let me apologize in advance to my 'lecturing' tone. I've tried to soften it.

Before the internet, we had the telephone (instant communication), before the phone,(and telegraph), the only form of live news was voice. Today, with the internet connecting literally BILLIONS of people, a single comment can become the unverified truth in minutes.

My wife received the "Costa Rica Turtle Egg Harvest" email this morning. I've seen it before. This is a good example of someone using real pictures and falsifying a story. At first glance, you see what looks like a whole village of people gathering zillions of turtle eggs. The horrifying photos are accompanied by a story that claims the evil villagers are quickly sending the turtles towards extinction. Looks bad but remember that the same internet can be used to verify a story in seconds.  Google 'Costa Rica Turtle Egg Harvest'.

I've received and heard of many such hoax emails.  The turtle egg story might evoke strong emotions;   how about the 'Nigerian Bank' scam. Google that one.  Wow!!!

I still think the best way to spread rumors is face to face. At least that way you have a chance of backtracking to the originator of the rumor!! By the way, you know what I herd? Sheep. (works better verbally...) Ok, no more preaching but there will certainly be more bad jokes.

Blood donors needed!!

Hi folks. Just got back from the states to find that our friend Susan Tucker is still in the hospital and needs blood. I also saw that Amparo's sister is in need of blood. Please check this link for more information. Thanks. Bob

Our Weather Station

For those who use it, our weather station is working fine.  However, there is a software glitch with the folks on the other end.  I've written both Weatherlink who are the gatherers of weather data from individual stations and Wunderground who are the folks that assimilate all that data and make forecasts and keep historical data.  I'm hoping they solve the problem soon.

Bob

Baja Bird Watch

Do you like birds?  Me too!!  In fact I had a delicious chicken salad at the Roadrunner yesterday. However today's post is about birds that haven't been invited to dinner. I'm not actually a bird watcher but I can  identify most of the birds I see around los Barriles and Buena Vista.  When I'm stumped, I call Steve Chism or Robert Emery for help. Steve gave bird watching tours in a past life and Robert is curious about anything he sees and has studied birds a bit also.

Why am I telling you all this?  Hey, this is a small town.  You have to find entertainment where you can!!

My friend Brigitte sent me these photos of a mama Horned Owl and her 2 owlets. She has a nest in a little arroyo and returns every year. Not Brigitte, the owl. Brigitte walks early in the morning and is treated to sights like these frequently.

The next photo was taken just below our house. This is a Harris Hawk. They are particularly interesting because they hunt in packs.  You won't see them as frequently as other large birds in the area such as Ospreys, Cara Cara or Buzzards but they are around.

Click here for a good Baja Bird site.

I finally got the results from the Dorado Shoot Out thanks to bumping into Robin Wade who is the East Cape editor for the Western Outdoor News.  Just click on the link above and you can see who won a brand new 2010 Ford F-150 and about 70,000 bucks worth of other prizes.  

I guess nobody posted photos of the tournament anywhere that I could find them. So instead, here's a picture of my daughter Amy and her friend Josh releasing a small Chinook salmon on the Gulkana River in Alaska in about 1985. Cute kids, no?

Hurricane Dora

In case you haven't been paying attention, hurricane Dora is within striking distance.  The consensus of the prognosticators has her missing Baja Sur to the West.  Let's hope they are right!!  Check the Weather Underground site for updates. Here's a look at a 5 day forecast as of 5 PM EDT JUL 20 2011.

If you are here in Baja Sur and are new to hurricanes, here's the place to read about hurricane preparations. There are a few things to consider when facing a hurricane but at least nowadays we have grocery stores and can buy gas. I'll never forget waiting in a line that must have been a half mile long waiting for my turn to buy gas. You had to assume that the arroyos would be full of water and that the gas trucks wouldn't get here for days or more. Now we have gas stations on every corner and bridges across the arroyos!! Woo Woo!!! Donna and I even broke down and bought a generator a couple of years ago. Of course there weren't any mega grocery stores either. Shelves were almost empty before the storm ever arrived. When I lived in the cold country, I worried about freezing to death in the dark. Not anymore.......

Bored??? How about some Racing, Fishing, Swimming and Books!!

Hi friends. Do me a favor.  If you ever hear me complain about not having enough to do, would you please slap me?  Here it is, almost the dog days of summer.  It should be slow and boring right? NOT SO!

This weekend you could have restocked your book supply at the ALMA book sale.  Or you could have volunteered to help with the Association for the arts 'sports and crafts' fair as did our grand-daughter Melody from Oregon. OR you could have entered the annual 'Dorado Shoot Out' presented by the Van Wormer family. OR you could have watched and/or participated in the 'Los Cabos Dessert Challenge' off road race that was held in the El Tule arroyo. I managed 2 out of the 4.  Whaddya mean, "not bad?"  If you could hit a baseball in the major leagues 2 out of 4 times, you could name your salary!!

I missed the weigh in at the Shoot Out and will attempt to gather the facts for a post later. Of course we're dealing with fishermen so the facts will be scattered amongst rumors and exaggerations...... I did hear that the winning fish was 52 pounds.  I don't think they've ever had a winner under 50 pounds.
Kudos and congratulations Capt. Kit and Co.

The Association for the Arts folks are repeating their classes next Friday. If you're interested, you probably could still get involved. If you click on the link, you can send an email.  I will post photos and details after this Friday's activities.

I did however manage to see some of the 'Dessert Challange." My presence was heavily influenced by my wife. Her son Pat has a class one car and raced in the finale on Sunday. There were only 3 trophy trucks but the start is impressive.

Pictured here are:
Pat behind the wheel,
Wife Mayte giving last minute instructions like "drive careful dear" and
Co-pilot/son-in-law Jorge getting in the car.





An old friend, Jay Manning from San Jose won the class one race. Pat blew a tire and came in 4th I think.
This video is of the class one start:

Fishing Tourneys

I didn't post a fishing tournament schedule this year.  "Skipped a groove man" as my young friend from LA used to say. 

However the best are yet to come.  We still have the Dorado shootout which starts July 16.  I fished it once about  3 years ago and it was a hoot. What impressed me the most was how well organized it was, especially the awards dinner.  Capt. Kit McNear from Western Outdoor News was and still is in charge. From the start, it was a seminar on how to do it right.

It's almost time for the Bisbee East Cape fishing tourney again. Registration is July 26. I spent a lot of time there last year watching the boats come in.  The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat were experienced several times as  bigger fish came to the dock. Click here for the wrap up. I've known the Bisbee's Mexico organizer Clicerio Mercado for quite a while and he knows how to put on a good show. 

The last I'll mention is our own ALMA "For Pet's Sake" tourney.  It is a catch and release billfish contest that is scheduled for Oct. 28, 29, 30. I couldn't find results from 2010 on the internet but as I recall, the ladies team cleaned UP last year. Besides a bunch of good stuff, I think they won this year's entry into the Bisbee offshore.  WOW!

If you don't fish, you might want to get tickets to the award dinners. I haven't been to one yet that wasn't worth going to.

Caduaño Water Park

Donna and I stay pretty busy with the Roadrunner Cafe and other activities. So we went to the water park at Caduaño for the day to relax. It's only about 20 minutes from los Barriles.  It was our 3rd or maybe 4th time. If you haven't been, let me tell you a little about it.  It's not just a bunch of pools and slides; there are hundreds of square meters of beautiful landscaping, a volleyball court and several areas where you can walk or rest quietly that are away from the noise and activity.  They have plenty of parking and snack bars with good prices. There are many employees keeping things orderly, there is a first aid station that I had to use the last time we went (Bloodied my toe on a rock) and nice restrooms. This is as good as it gets folks. Where else can you spend all day in such pleasant surroundings for 150 pesos per adult?

I'm going to let you in on a secret. There is a beautiful pool that is pretty much exclusively used by groan-ups. I mean grown-ups. There are no slides, no spraying water tricks that lure the children. Wonderful place to hang out. And it's quiet!!! It's behind the kiddy pools. Check out the last photo in the slide show.

I always see someone I know there and this time was no different. This is an old friend Kelli Castiñeiras (and her boys), who has the MEX SUN day spa in San Jose del Cabo. I think Mr. Castiñeras was buying a bag of hamburgers at the time of the photo.



Here is a short slideshow to give you an idea of what goes on there. Below the slideshow, there is an individual photo that I had to bring to your attention. You can't come to Mexico without knowing what "baño" means but if you don't, you can surely tell by the graphic painted below the word "baños". If you have an Ipad that doesn't display the slide show, click here:

Enjoy.

Music at the Roadrunner

I haven't mentioned Donna's restaurant for a while. So I thought I would post a slide show of some of our memorable music nights for last season. We had many good musicians come through, some of whom I don't have a single photo. If you were one of the participants or came as a spectator, here's a short retrospective for you. If you click on the photo, it will enlarge and you can scroll manually.

Costa Brava Fire

The community sends her condolences to the folks in Costa Brava who lost their homes and possessions. The following report was written by Theresa Comber of East Cape RV and Awesome Sportfishing .


Note from Theresa Comber and photos by Bob Farmer
We had a VERY frightening situation this morning - 6 am and one of the palapa casitas at the beach front Costa Brava RV Resort caught fire - eventually with tragic results as I believe 6 units all along the north wall were completely destroyed, propelled along by exploding tanks, cars, boats, four wheelers, all melted to bare metal. Thankfully, none were occupied and no injuries. With flames 100 feet high, the cascading embers even covered our East Cape RV Resort and were all over the shore and in the water. The worst of it is that early mornings there is no water pressure in the entire pueblo. So, the poor, desperate folks at Costa Brava had literally no defense. With few residents, they did a stellar job moving cars, four wheelers, hustling hoses, eventually controlling what could have been a firestorm in that RV Resort full of palapas. The most important thing that happened was when Jose Luis Gonzalez, the dirt excavator, and his sons arrived with his two water trucks. Clearly they are the Los Barriles ad hoc fire department. They beat the Buena Vista Fire Department, which showed up about 45 minutes after the onset. There will be conjecture as to how it started - after speaking with 'Eddy', the RV park manager, he said he had turned off the electricity to all those units two weeks prior. It's been hot - perhaps spontaneous combustion with fluids; perhaps mice in a car or RV. Here are a few observations for any palapa/trailer situations. When leaving, disconnect the propane tanks so they can be whisked easily away from a flame. Disconnect batteries in cars, RVs, four wheelers. Dump any gas from any cans and boat tanks. Leave keys with a nieghbor so vehicles can be moved. Install a fire suppression system on the roofs - they are easy, inexpensive and could save assets in a fire. (We have them installed on all palapas at the East Cape RV Resort - stop by and we'll show you how they work.) The BIG problem remains - how to have sufficient water pressure 24 hours a day; having no pressure in the wee hours of the morning (which I believe is specifically by SAPA and controled at the pumps) proved tragic today. I invite an ad hoc group to visit with me to insist that SAPA come to their senses about this issue. Theresa Comber, East Cape RV Resort, combertheresa@hotmail.com, 14-10231.

The Better Crossing Signal

We saw this crossing signal in Guadalajara. I've always wondered why they didn't say "Walk" then "Run you fool!" This comes close. Click on photo to view the video.

Is it safe?

I got this link from my friend Kelina who has a very informative blog about Cabo Riviera. But if you want to buy property here, come see ME!!!!!!

Where have I been?

Lost in business. Between the restaurant, remodel, music, attempting to sell real estate and laziness, I just haven't been motivated to post.  We managed to go to Guadalajara for a few days so I decided to share it with you.  Here's some photos.

Hi KT

Hi KT.   I haven't posted much in a long time.  Thanks for the note.  If you post your email to me, it will be private; I have to approve it to publish.

Bob and Donna

Entrepreneurs in Mexico

The following article is an email from my pal Ed who is having an interesting time in Mexico this year.




Thanks everybody for the responses to my first report from Baja! Now it is time for an update.

Eileen is back from the Yucatan and is now selling Chiclets at the Tijuana border crossing. I’ve lost my singing and dancing job at Buzzard’s so I sold all my fishing gear and bought a second-hand Snap-On rollaway tool box, a Coleman stove and a lantern. I’ve converted it all into an “Ed’s Best Beans and Tacos” stand. Viva free enterprise and an honest peso!! Eileen is complaining about driving the Subaru because I used the bumper jack to make my tortilla press. She has negotiated the wholesale purchase of nine large portraits of Elvis on black velvet. I told her “Don’t let your business expansion replace quality”. Chiclets to Elvis is a big jump.

Slim, the Mexican communications magnate, came into town and bought a taco. I told him how my wife and I got into business and asked him if he would care to franchise the Best Beans and Chiclets enterprise. He noticed one of the velvet Elvis paintings so I told him the story. He was interested but wanted his portrait sold as opposed to Elvis’……It was decision time for Eileen………………

Love, Ed