The Baja

Foxy

2012-02-02T11:37:00.007-07:00

Foxes . . gray foxes to be exact. Both these pictures were taken by my "trail" camera, a remote camera that uses a sensor to snap a picture with a flash when it detects movement. They also allow a tracker to gather photographs of the animals who leave tracks on the landscape while the tracker sleeps. It seems that lots of folks in Los Barriles and Southern Baja see these animals on a regular basis because we are in the middle of what biologists call a "gray fox irruption". That means the the habitat is perfect for these animals right now, and that any predator that would reduce or cause the population to move on is not present.

When you think about it, the neighborhoods that have been created in the Los Barriles area are perfect for these animals who can climb anything like a cat, move around in the dusk or night and eat a wide variety of things. Some of the good parts of having them around is a lack of little critters like rats and mice, and they also eat bugs. One of the bad parts is that they eat fruit, nuts and things we like as well.

I have been watching the foxes and their tracks for a couple of months this winter and find that they also must have a sense of humor . . they live right in our yards, our gardens and probably know all about us. They know what time we go to bed, when we get up and what we put in the garbage and who visits whom . . good thing they can't talk eh?

However, if you can learn to see fox tracks among all those of domestic dogs you will be surprised by what they can climb, and how they spend their days in places where they can hear what you say. I wonder if they speak Spanish or English?

Take care and good tracking! Linda

East Cape 250 Off Road Race

2012-01-30T11:02:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a big day in San Jose. The East Cape 250 started and finished just outside of town in Guaymitas. We drove down too late to watch Pat Ryan roar by but went to the finish line to congratulate he and copilot Kyle Maisner. They drove their class 1 Chevy powered car to a 6th place finish. The key word being "finish." These races are tough on every car no matter how well it's built. Every race, many cars fail on the course because of metal fatigue, flat tires and numerous other maladies due to the conditions of off-road racing. Congratulations Pat and Kyle. Well done.

Meet Linda Jo Hunter

2012-01-26T11:43:00.001-07:00

My good friend Linda Jo Hunter has agreed to contribute to 'the baja.' Here is a short bio of Linda.

Author of "Lonesome for Bears, A Woman's Journey in the Tracks of the Wilderness" Lyons Press 2008 and the Co-founder of the International Society of Professional Trackers and an artist. She likes to look at the world from many different perspectives and has circumnavigated the Baja Peninsula 14 times on a small cruise ship as a deckhand. As a boat Captain her first yacht job was to bring a 98 foot yacht to Cabo San Lucas. She and her husband Mike travel to Baja for six months in the winter. They both try and play as hard as they can surfing, outrigger canoe paddling, fishing, painting, playing music, tracking animals, and exploring. Linda's interest in Baja is one of the natural history as it exists today reflecting the history of the people here and how they have lived.

Note:
Linda forgot to mention that she is also an excellent photographer.

Her husband Mike is a luthier among other things. When the bridge on my Tama acoustic guitar (my main guitar for over 35 years) started to come off, he repaired it flawlessly with minimal tools.

Photosynth App for Smartphones

2012-01-23T16:31:00.000-07:00

This is my new favorite app. It was developed by Microsoft and is available for FREE! For Iphones, it is available from the app store. After you 'click to view' click and drag with your mouse on the photo to see the complete photo. This is 360 degrees and stitched automatically. The stitching made a funny blurred spot on the guy in the middle of the photo but he was moving. Check it out. Great app.

Being Human is so Hard . .

2012-01-17T11:47:00.004-07:00

Yesterday, at the Lord of the Winds Kiteboarding, Windsurfing contest here in Los Barriles I was walking past the rider's meeting when I overheard someone say, "It's too bad they don't know how to do this."

Trying not to make a snap judgement myself, I walked on by. Over the course of the day, however, I started thinking about humans. We seem to have such a limited view out of the windows of our eyes. On top of that, the little bit of information our brain seems to receive from all of our senses is strongly colored by filters.

After three days of watching the competitors, the committees and volunteers put on an awe inspiring event, a true extravaganza for Los Barriles, I was jarred by these words my ears transmitted to my brain. I did glance at the person, and he seemed not to be one of the competitors, but rather a spectator with his family. But, what can a person really tell in a glance huh?

Why is it human to use our limited view on the world and make judgements about things? I know that by publishing this blog, I am certainly not going to solve this problem for anyone. However, it is a human problem and appears in every part of our lives.

I am a tracker, or at least I like to think I am one. I have been studying animal and human tracking for almost 20 years. I am still learning. One of the things you learn as a tracker, after many years, is that things are not what they seem because our brains try and trick us. You see, the way I figure it, if you have lived to any age of relative wisdom, your mental hard drive is pretty full. (That's why you can't remember names) So your old helpful brain likes to label things and made snap decisions without enough information to save you some thinking effort.

The good news is that if you slow down just a little, and try to pay more attention, you can learn to gather more information. For instance, if you are in a cafe and someone serves you coffee, look at the person. Who knows, perhaps your server is someone who has climbed the North Face of the Eiger and if you look at them you might see something astounding. That is particularly true here in Baja. We are surrounded here by very interesting, experienced, exciting and endlessly fascinating people.

The race committee and the volunteers for the Lord of the Winds contest had enough experience and knowledge to fill several books. It would take a week, at least, to find out what they had all done, where they had been and what they knew . . and that would be just for the race committee.

The comment overheard might have been about something else, who knows, but it did make me wonder how many short sighted judgements I make in a day.

We all do it. I guess this is my way of saying to the Lord of the Winds contest . . WAY to GO. You pulled off another wonderful event in style!

Who am I? Hi, my name is Linda Jo Hunter, author of "Lonesome for Bears, A Woman's Journey in the Tracks of the Wilderness", Lyons Press 2008. The book is about four summer seasons of guiding in Alaska at a remote lodge where we took folks out to see Alaskan Brown Bears eating salmon and living in the wild. I am also a plein air oil painting artist and the co-founder of the International Society of Professional Trackers. I will be commenting on this blog from time to time about Baja stuff. Look for some Baja animal tracks and photos soon.
I welcome comments, by the way, about anything.

If that made you curious you can look at my webpage: www.strumminbear.com

Lord of the Winds - Day Three

2012-01-15T20:10:00.004-07:00

Lord of The Winds day three saw some lighter winds but the committee was able to complete several rounds of course racing for all competitors. The water was beautiful, the air was warm and spectators came out to watch. This photo is of the Expert Kiters, just before their start . . and, just as I was wondering why they don't tangle kite lines, two kites twisted together bringing their riders down in a splash. But, being the experts that they are it was just minutes before the riders got them untangled while still in the water, and took off upwind heading to the mark. Tomorrow, wind willing, the big race will take place where everyone heads upwind almost all the way to the pyramids and then back to a screaming finish right in front of the contest site. I will see you there! Linda

PS The RoadRunner has some great baked stuff in their booth. Yum.

Burro Treats

2012-01-14T10:40:00.000-07:00

Our friend Marcia has pet burros. Not really but they come to her house daily, stand at the gate and make all kinds of racket until she comes out with her special bag of treats. So what is the secret thing that Burros love? Wait for it... Gumdrops. Seriously. I happened to be in the neighborhood the other day to witness these goofballs hollering at Marcia for their gumdrops. Who knew?

Travel Channel at Lord of the Winds

2012-01-13T05:16:00.000-07:00

Have you wandered over to the beach lately? It's filling up with wind surfers, kiters, food booths, people and HUGE sand castles. Our very own "Lord of the Winds" tournament organizers have enticed the Travel Channel to cover the event. What is really fun is that they brought a team of sand castle architects. Their first structure is on the beach in front of the Palmas hotel but is being torn down Friday morning to make room for the next one. My buddy Jim Brik and I were watching them finish filming yesterday afternoon. For their promo spot, they had their team stand behind this incredible sand structure and shout "The Travel Channel Moves You!!" I couldn't hear all that was being said but evidently the "crack" team misunderstood and thought they were supposed to shout something else. Check out the video for the results.

Colin at Roadrunner Open Mike

2011-12-30T12:09:00.002-07:00

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

2011-12-29T09:42:00.001-07:00

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

2011-12-25T13:07:00.000-07:00

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

2011-12-23T15:43:00.000-07:00

Check this out. Good video!

Mexico is Indeed Safe for US Tourists

2011-12-23T09:56:00.000-07:00

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

2011-12-20T20:49:00.001-07:00

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

2011-12-06T09:14:00.001-07:00

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

2011-11-28T18:35:00.001-07:00

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

2011-10-30T10:57:00.000-06:00

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

2011-10-22T11:03:00.000-06:00

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

2011-10-20T22:26:00.000-06:00

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

2011-10-20T08:32:00.001-06:00

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!

2011-10-19T12:35:00.000-06:00

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

2011-10-19T11:09:00.000-06:00

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!

2011-10-14T13:42:00.000-06:00

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

2011-10-06T11:52:00.000-06:00

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

2011-09-27T19:38:00.000-06:00

Man what a little rain will do for the countryside.

Hurricane Hilary

2011-09-25T10:27:00.001-06:00

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

2011-09-23T15:45:00.000-06:00

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

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

GVWR: 2990 GAWR: 3500lbs.

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

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

Spring suspension, EZlube 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" Exteriorgrade plywood floor, Upgrade to 3/8 inch walls.

4 inch Drop SpringAxles.

Sand Pad for Jack.

2 in. coupler.

LED tail lights.

4 Wall ties, 4 Surfacemount floor ties,

Upgrade to RadialTires, Interior mount w/spare.

ATP Fenders.

Hitch lock.

Secure door lock.

Adjustable drop stinger.

Swing-down tilt protector.

Air vents

Internet Rumors and Innuendo

2011-09-15T09:17:00.001-06:00

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!!

2011-09-05T11:30:00.000-06:00

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

2011-07-26T09:40:00.000-06:00

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

2011-07-24T09:31:00.022-06:00

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.

2011-07-23T09:07:00.006-06:00

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

2011-07-20T18:30:00.002-06:00

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!!

2011-07-18T03:21:00.016-06:00

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

2011-07-12T00:00:00.014-06:00

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

2011-07-03T23:05:00.005-06:00

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

2011-07-01T18:47:00.013-06:00

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

2011-06-29T10:56:00.001-06:00

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

2011-06-23T07:23:00.002-06:00

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?

2011-06-22T13:39:00.006-06:00

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?

2011-06-12T10:01:00.003-06:00

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

2011-05-20T15:38:00.000-06:00

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

2011-03-21T08:40:00.004-06:00

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

USA Today Gives Mexico Positive Press

2010-12-12T17:31:00.000-07:00

My friend Jim sent me this today. It bears reading if only to feel better about the treatment we receive from the US press. It's about US citizens retiring in San Miguel. Not only does the article paint a fairly accurate picture, there is a side-bar that gives you some honest questions to ask yourself before coming.

The church La Parroquia in San Miguel

Merry Christmas!

East Cape Kiting and Windsurfing

2010-11-26T07:40:00.020-07:00

The area around Los Barriles is world famous for its kiting and windsurfing. The main reason naturally is the WIND! How clever is that? Actually the best part is that the wind is generally parallel to to beach. Not offshore; not inshore. That means you can take off from the beach, go groove in the wind for awhile and sail back in without a bunch of brutal tacking maneuvers. During the winter, the wind is from the North mostly; summer it comes mainly from the south.

The most well known area is called "North Beach." It's located North of Los Barriles. Go figure. A newer hot spot is between Los Barriles and La Paz called "la Ventana." Great winds and less well known.

This video is from Exotikite. They have a school and store in Los Barriles. I can't recommend one school over another from personal knowledge but my grand daughter and her boyfriend both work for Exotikite. What are ya gonna do?

If you're a kiter or windsufer, check out the Lord of the Wind contest being held here in January. This is going to be huge, get your hotel reservations soon.

Stuff To Do Around The East Cape

2010-11-25T12:28:00.017-07:00

Some folks have the idea that there's nothing to do out here but fish and kite. In fact a buddy in San Jose del Cabo calls our area "Los BORE-ilas." Hardly. Maybe a little slower paced but there's plenty to do.

How about I start with the obvious: Fishing!!! Of course there's fishing. World class it is. You can charter a boat from several different hotels and private operators. Here's a list that I compiled in a few minutes with Google. It's pretty good and I've undoubtedly left folks off.

Agave Hotel
Baja Marlin
Hotel Buena Vista
East Cape Resorts
East Cape RV
Los Pescadores
Martin Verdugo’s
The Reel Baja

Several restaurants around town will cook your fish for you. (Googly, Googly Batman, I'm not going to do ALL the work for you.) You can also get your fish smoked over at Smokey's Cantina.

I'll tell you where the good hot springs are, where to dig a hot tub on the beach, where to kite, where to ride horses, where to rent quads, where to ride bikes, where to find the waterfalls and where to rock and roll. Just don't hold your breath; I'm a slow poster.....

Music Night

2010-10-28T11:55:00.001-06:00

Thanks to those who skipped the ball game and joined us last night. We had a nice crowd and a truly unruly bunch of musicians. The songlist was all over the map with country hick songs requested by yours truly to nice jazz standards like "girl from ipanima." This week our "band" lineup included Maya (percussion, guitar, vocals, 3 or 4 other things), Jennette (guitar, percussion and vocals), Big Jim (guitar, standup bass, vocals and safety supervision), Ray (standup bass) Mary Mary (guitar and vocals), Mad Mike (drums) Vinnie (accordian and vocals), Easy Ed (harmonica), Dave (guitar and vocals), Rio (vocals). (I think I left somebody out. If I did, email me. I'll mention you twice next time.) There is lots of talent within our little community and lots of talent that passes through. Huge thanks to the musicians. Great job. Only a couple of us practice together on a regular basis.

Next week Roadrunner Cafe will serve dinner. The restaurant will be open to serve you at 6PM on Wednesday the 3rd. I don't have the complete menu but the main course is spiral ham. We also have great desserts and cerveza, wine and well drinks.

Music will start about 7; we'll play until 9 or so. Musicians: Please come a bit early if you can.

Music Night returns at Roadrunner

2010-10-19T15:35:00.000-06:00

The Roadrunner Cafe will be hosting her first open music night of the season next Wed, Oct 27. If you never made it last year, bring an instrument or your voice and join in. If you want to do a particular song that is not in our songbook, make at least 10 charts to share with the other musicians. If you have questions, click on the "comments" at the bottom of this post and leave them there.

We'll try and get started about 7PM. There will be a special food menu and drinks available.

Old photos of Baja California

2010-10-12T08:45:00.000-06:00

While I was trying to find info about the subject of my last post, I stumbled across a great photo site. This photo purports to show the execution of one of the fellows involved in "Cabo Fierro."

Click here for more photos.

Cabo Fierro

2010-10-02T11:36:00.009-06:00

Most of you know that I work for Cabo Riviera. The location of the development is a 600 acre parcel on the coast by La Ribera. Before it was purchased by the Cabo Riviera group, this property had been controlled by a local "ejido" since after the revolution in 1910.

Speaking of the revolution..... That wasn't a real smooth segue was it?
But if you're interested in old stories and history, stay with me for a couple of minutes.

There is some old rubble on the property, literally buried in salt ceders. Remains is a better description; there are only a couple of recognizable objects. I mentioned this to a young man who works with us named Diego. He told me that it was the site of "Cabo Fierro." As near as I can tell, during the years prior to the revolution, some local fellows were opposing the rule of Porfirio Diaz. Troops were soon dispatched to re-educate the miscreants. The soldiers found the trouble makers holed up in a building built with thick, brick walls. The bullets were unable to penetrate the walls and the protesters survived the attack. Naturally they became instant heroes.* According to Diego, the site where I found the rubble is the area where the anti-Porfirio folks were attacked.

Months later a lady I work with, Cristina, and I happened by the spot again and decided to stop and take a look. We soon found a trail that the workers had opened up. Cristina dove right in with her camera in hand; I followed looking for snakes. At the end of the trail we found an old well and a small structure near and above it. It obviously had been abandoned for years.

After some fine detective work (standing in one place and looking around) we realized that the well was once the source of water for the old abandoned brick aqueducts that provided local farmers with irrigation. The brickwork had been there a long time before being repaired with concrete. On the side of the little structue, we found a drawing etched in the concrete and a date. The date is 1964 and the drawing is weird.

See what I mean?

I noticed that the workers were occasionally taking the old bricks from the site and stacking them. After inquiring I was told that the bricks were being saved to be used in the Artists Village area of the Cabo Riviera.

If any of you have heard anything pertaining to this, please write. It's pretty interesting.

*
(I was told that later the protesters were caught by surprise while celebrating in town and all killed but why ruin a good hero story?)

The Little Bite Part 3

2010-10-01T14:03:00.004-06:00

Cont.......

If you are stopped for a traffic crime in los Cabos but are innocent, you have rights. Drivers here have the legal right to go to the station immediately and resolve the problem. If you make it clear that you want to go to the station, normally the cop will back off, give you a verbal warning for the supposed infraction and say something like, “I will give you an opportunity today.” I’ve been given several opportunities. Each time, my little voice encourages me to say something like, “Gee sank you so vedi much. I gotta opportunity right hea’ fo’ ya mista." My inner voice has an accent. Too much TV maybe.

You know, when you roll it over in your mind a few times, the idea of dealing with a simple traffic ticket right there on the street almost makes sense. The poor idiot that let his tags expire pays the “fine” directly to the underpaid cop. Then both parties just drive away with no paperwork and no court date. The cop has no reports to file. The bureaucracy is smaller…… Hmmmmmm

Or maybe I’ve been here too long.

The Little Bite Part 2

2010-09-28T16:17:00.000-06:00

If you’re a normal, safe driver in a rental car driving with your seat belt on, you are about 99% safe. But even in the US, you can get pulled over for “no” reason.

Let’s say you’re in beautiful downtown San Jose del Cabo and the police stop you. They have this horrible sounding horn; you'll know when you're supposed to stop! Naturally you will be a bit nervous. Here’s a little primer for how the conversation might go:

You, the Nervous Tourist: “But officer, there’s no stop sign! I would have stopped if there was a stop sign. How was I supposed to know?”

Very serious los Cabos Police Officer: “Si señor but I have give you ticket and take license. You pay to station they give you license. 500 pesos”

Here’s where it gets good.

Nervous Tourist: “But officer, if I go to the station we will miss our flight. Can I pay you here?”

Officer: (whose attitude suddenly improves a bit) “Si Señor but I no have receipts.”

Less Nervous Tourist: “That’s ok, I don’t need a receipt.”

Officer: “OK, you pay me now.”

Slightly Emboldened Nervous Tourist: “Will you give me a discount for paying in cash?”

And so on until an accord is reached. You make it to the airport on time; he drives away with some extra cash.

Next: Part 3, Conclusion

The Little Bite Part 1

2010-09-27T17:24:00.002-06:00

I was driving through San Jose del Cabo, Baja Sur one cool, December night when I saw flashing lights. A traffic cop had cornered some poor local teenagers on the other side of the boulevard. The officer had his ticket book in one hand and his pen in the other, poised to write the ticket. The young man was talking and gesturing. You might think the cop was listening to his excuse. O contraire! He was simply waiting patiently for the driver to add some pesos to his “Christmas Bonus.” It is called “mordida” by the locals meaning “a little bite.” In plain language, so that slow folks like me can understand: a bribe. Remember that the citizens of most of the world generally believe that all Americans possess unlimited financial resources. Maybe they think that the

government distributes some of the trillions they borrow to us lucky citizens!!

The cops can be intimidating when they stop you. They are actually pretty harmless especially if you have only committed some minor atrocity like a “DWG” (driving while gringo). They will stop you for obvious visible problems such as no plates, expired tags and things like that. (See my blog titled, “Give ‘im Fi’ Dolla’ ”) A recent addition to their repertoire is the seat belt law that was passed a few years ago. It seems that the law only pertains to the front seat. Imagine being stopped for not wearing your seat belt. The vehicle that has stopped you is an official municipal police pickup. The back of the pickup has between 3 and 8 cops sitting on the sides of the pickup, hanging on for dear life with their toenails because the creed of machismo dictates that you can’t look like you’re nervous and grab a handhold.

I’m pretty sure you weren't stopped out of concern for public safety.

Tomorrow: Being stopped by the cops in Los Cabos.

East Cape Magic Village 300 Race

2010-08-25T15:47:00.001-06:00

I hope that's a decent translation. It's actually called,"Cabo del Este Pueblo Magico 300" But what it really means is there's a big off-road race on Sunday the 29th. You should check out the map and find a good spot to park and watch the race go by. What is really the best is a slightly elevated spot that views a straight stretch with a curve somewhere in it. Ya gotta see these machines go around curves! If you can find a straight stretch with a curve and a JUMP, you're there. Bring snacks and beverages and prepare for the weather before you go; it could be boiling hot or it could be raining.

If you've never been to one of these off-road races, they are a lot of fun. Most of the participants are local boys and some are darn good drivers. The Jeffries family for example has been doing this for a lot of years here in Baja along with many others.

If you go, be extremely aware of where you are at all times. These guys move FAST.

Saludos!!
Bob

Cabo Business People

2010-08-24T14:20:00.000-06:00

I met a local couple the other day while working in the office out at Cabo Riviera in La Ribera. They were having a nice quiet lunch and I verbally bludgeoned them into taking a tour. Well maybe it wasn't quite that bad. They actually went willingly. During the tour I found out quite a bit about them and decided they provide the type of subject matter I'm looking for. And no, they didn't buy a lot. Not that day.

You may have read the tongue-in-cheek article in the Gringo Gazette about Robert Jankovics and his service of providing US license plates for us "extranjeros" who have trouble renewing our original plates. I know several people who use this service and are extremely grateful for it. Believe me when I tell you, it's much better to have legal plates than some of the other options we use. The local cops are wise to the home-made sticker scam. If your state refuses to renew your plates because the car is not present, this may be your best next option.

He and his wife however are much more involved in the area than simply providing license plates. They also have a hotel located in Cabo San Lucas, Hotel Cabo Paraiso, condo rentals and some other stuff. I should have written it down....... They also have available a private beach on the sunset side of the Pedragal that is a beautiful site for weddings and other events. Here's a couple of photos:

That's all I have for now.

No Bad Days

A Journalist's View of Mexico

2010-08-20T14:39:00.053-06:00

American journalist Linda Ellerbee who has spent several years in Puerto Vallarta has written an honest and straightforward article about many of the positive aspects of Mexico. Every country has their dark underside but I'm a bit tired of the US press portraying the country of Mexico as a dastardly den of degenerate drug dealers.

I'm not going to beat you with my soapbox but if you don't already understand this one thing, please try and understand it now: The drug killings along the border are primarily caused by the insatiable demand for illegal drugs IN THE US. This problem was not created by the country of Mexico. This is simply supply and demand economics 101 but with illegal products that people are willing to kill and die for.

Here's some homework for you:
How are the drugs distributed in the US?
How are billions of dollars worth of drugs taken across the border without help within the US?
Why aren't there ever reports of the FBI closing in on an American "drug lord" counterpart inside the US?

Most of you are already familiar with Mexico but I hope you enjoy this article. It's by Linda Ellerbee who is well known in the world of journalism. Click on the link below.
Mexico: One Journalist's View

One more thing: Since I'm on a roll here, check these statistics. Interesting.

“Mexico’s homicide rate has fallen steadily from a high in 1997 of 17 per 100,000 people to 14 per 100,000 in 2009, a year marked by an unprecedented spate of drug slayings concentrated in a few states and cities, Public Safety Secretary Genaro Garcia Luna said. The national rate hit a low of 10 per 100,000 people in 2007, according to government figures compiled by the independent Citizens’ Institute for Crime Studies.
By comparison, Venezuela, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala have homicide rates of between 40 and 60 per 100,000 people, according to recent government statistics. Colombia was close behind with a rate of 33 in 2008. Brazil’s was 24 in 2006, the last year when national figures were available.
Mexico City’s rate was about 9 per 100,000 in 2008, while Washington, D.C. was more than 30 that year.”

I'm just saying.........

Storm Season

2010-08-07T18:03:00.001-06:00

It's that time of year again. There's a tropical storm below us that looks pretty harmless at this point. Check out progress at Wunderground among other sites.

However, now is the time to start thinking about storm shutters and preparing for hurricanes. If you don't use storm shutters (many don't here in Baja) and you don't have a generator (see last parenthesis) at least do the basic things that will help make a storm a little more bearable. I've been through several and never had wind damage that amounted to anything until JOHN. Nasty storm. Took out 6 sliders and a couple of windows.

Bad things that can happen sometimes as the result of a hurricane:
1. We lose power
2. A bridge or critical arroyo gets washed out
3. A water main breaks
4. Stuff breaks including windows (think about water damage)
5. The gas stations run out of gas
6. The food stations run out of food
7. It gets hotter and more humid afterward than is bearable
Etc etc

On the bright side of this is that in the last few years, Baja California Sur has made big improvements to the infrastructure. We have bridges over all the major arroyos. We have many more gas stations than just a few years ago. The power company is taking a more active role in storm preparation. We have many more grocery stores. More hardware, more everything. More cows on the highway. I just threw that last one in there for free. So recovery from a storm these days is in many ways, easier to handle.

But you could be stuck at your house with no gas, no electricity, no food, no flashlights or candles or A/C and so on. Picture this if you will: It's 8pm. There's no power. You have no lights, no refrigerator, no TV, NO A/C! Waddya gonna do? It's WAY too hot to snuggle. You can't play cards in the dark. So picture clearly all these things and decide the level of protection you need and then the level you want and make some decisions.

Or buy airline tickets at the first sign of trouble.
Where's the fun in that you COWARDS!

Have some stuff ahead of time:
Gasoline: Nothing worse than not being able to drive around after a storm and look at broken stuff. I think we won't run out of gas so quickly any more since the proliferation of gas stations in the area. We even have 2 in Los Barriles now! But remember: just because you're paranoid doesn't mean we WON'T run out of gas.
Food: Same deal. We have enough stores around that if you have a car (and gas) you might be ok.
Propane: If you're using a gas stove or gas water heater, check your gas NOW.
Electricity: Small generators are getting cheaper and cheaper. A generator that costs under $1000 can even run an small A/C unit if you're careful.
Kayaks: Several years ago, a bunch of enthusiastic Buena Vista/Los Barriles fellas lead by Steve Chism took their kayaks down one of the raging arroyos. Sounds like fun.......kinda........in a self-destructive suicidal way. Forget the kayaks.

This is by no means an all-inclusive list but if you go to the National Hurricane Center site, they have a BUNCH of good stuff for you.

Get ready or not. Here they come.

The Best Bisbee East Cape Yet

2010-08-01T21:50:00.003-06:00

In my opinion which is worth exactly what you paid for it, this was a great fishing tournament. There were plenty of fish caught, lots of fish released, and good stories too.

Congratulations to the Bisbee family and Clicerio Mercado. They put on a good show.

Thanks to the Spa Buena Vista Hotel and the Valdez family, Cabo Riviera for sponsorship and to all the participants. For the final results for the winners and winnings, go to the Bisbee's site.

Here's a few highlights:

Day one, Tom Lansing on the Dreamweaver weighed this monster 581# Black Marlin. It's right there in between the little girls with the blue jackets. Tom had a good tourney, check the photo at the bottom.

This young man whose name may be Jordan, sorry it's an age thing, while fishing on the "Awesome" brought in a nice 119 # Tuna to steal the prize from the boat who had already weighed a 118 pounder. The Awesome had the daily winner for about 45 minutes when Don Whittier (pictured below) brought in a 120# Tuna to take it from the Awesome. Wow. The thrill of victory 3 times and the agony of defeat twice. All in one day and in one category. That's fishing.

Don not only swiped the victory from the team on the Awesome, he won the Tuna class all three days. Hard fishing and a little luck. Congrats.

In case you don't recognize this illustrious threesome, on the left is the Governor of Baja Sur, Narciso Agundez who fished with Oscar Daccarett (in the middle and who has won a few tournaments during his fishing career.) And on the end is Martha McNab, a local Buena Vista girl who was recently accepted into the Royal Billfish Slam Club after catching all 9 species of billfish. She is one of only SEVEN ladies who have accomplished this.

Hey it's Tom again! Nice Dorado guys.

That's all folks. Can't wait for next year!

Bisbee's East Cape Offshore

2010-07-29T22:13:00.002-06:00

Day one was exciting: Day 2 was unbelievable!!!!!

If you want to read about it, go to my Cabo Riviera blog.

Basketball Fashion Statement

2010-07-29T10:47:00.001-06:00

This has nothing to do with Baja other than my son lived here for several years and visits yearly. He and his 3 on 3 basketball team decided to show some pizazz with their unis this year.

The Bisbee Offshore

2010-07-28T21:57:00.000-06:00

The Bisbee got off to a great start today. I put photos and info on my Cabo Riviera blog since they are sponsors of the Bisbee. So check out the action at http://caborivieraresort.blogspot.com/

Thanks, Bob

Nice Dorado!

2010-07-28T21:53:00.001-06:00

My friend and Donna's breakfast customer, Barry, brought in a NICE dorado the other day. I forgot the exact weight but it's over 70#. NICE ONE Barry.

Que Milagro!

2010-07-27T11:56:00.004-06:00

I know it's been a while since I've posted. My bad. Uninspired. Lazy. Etc.

But it's Bisbee season again here on the East Cape! Today is registration day for the Bisbee's East Cape Offshore Tournament. Here's today's schedule:

TUESDAY JULY 27 REGISTRATION
3:00-7:00pm Registration and distribution of Team Bags at the Hotel Buena Vista.
6:00-7:00pm Angler, Captain and Deckhand Meeting on the Pool Deck. Attendance by at least one Team member is mandatory.
7:00-9:00pm Kick-Off Cocktail Party.

I'll be there in official capacity as a sales rep for the Cabo Riviera marina development. (but I'll try and enjoy it too......)
Come by and check it out. The usual cast of characters will be present.

See you there.

Bob

Mom's Day in San Jose

2010-05-11T15:12:00.000-06:00

Happy Mothers' Day. Hope everyone had a good one. We enjoyed a day on the beach followed by a great meal by Chef Steve at his house and then followed by a live Rock and Roll concert by (drum roll) ......heck I don't even know if the kids named their band! Anyway Steve and Helen's two boys and their pal are sounding pretty good these days and treated us to several good tunes from Hendrix and Led Zep to Nirvana to a couple of new bands that I don't know the names. Pretty versatile covering 40 years of music. Here's some pix.

Baja Peninsula Video circa 1949

2010-04-04T16:11:00.006-06:00

This video was forwarded to me today from my friend Martha here in Spa Buena Vista. If you're a resident or a Baja fan, you're going to enjoy it.

The Buena Vista Death March

2010-04-03T16:05:00.005-06:00

I've mentioned that I walk with a friend and neighbor in the hills around Buena Vista. The nice lady that we walk with, Brigitte, is shall we say "adamant" about walking. Those of us who have had the dubious pleasure of being dragged up and down, over the rocks and through the mud kicking and screaming have earned our blisters. We tell each other that we're in better shape. We claim that we've lost a few pounds. It's possible I suppose......

On the other hand, we have a good time walking early in the morning. We've seen turtles come out of their nest on the beach and watched baby owls grow up. A deer nearly ran over us one morning.

Here's a short slide show of some of the things I've been able to photograph with my phone.

More Turtles

2010-03-31T10:24:00.011-06:00

My walking partner Brigitte called the other morning (at 5AM...) and said we would walk the beach that day. There was a fresh hatch of little baby sea turtles. The nesting season is pretty much over but there are always some stragglers. We found 6 turtles which were so cold that they seemed lifeless and were easy prey for the birds. We warmed them up in our hands while I detailed the dangers of ocean life and how they shouldn't befriend strangers especially ones that could eat them. In a few minutes they were charged up and ready to go.

Here's a little video of one making his way into the water.

The True History of Snagging (Honest!)

2010-03-27T14:41:00.021-06:00

I was looking at new marlin lures the other day. They were on sale for 50 bucks apiece. Are you saying “wow great price” or are you choking and thinking “you gotta be out of your mind!!!?” If you’re thinking the latter, you may be one of those non-fisherpersons out there that just don’t understand the dynamics of fishing. Ya wanna catch fish? Ya gotta have gear.

Historically, men have spent their last dime on any new equipment that might help catch more fish. In fact the famous Viking fisherman, Eric the Blue, (I read somewhere that he earned his name from an ice-fishing adventure that ended badly) bought a new ship every year. His favorite sales rep, Iven Ja-öber, always promised that each years’ new boats would be a guarantee to greatly improved catching rates. Eric, the eternal optimist, believed Iven but his fish-catching never improved. Finally Eric's wife Olga couldn’t take it anymore. She started screaming at him in front of his friends, “How can you spend our last dime on a new boat every year and still not catch fish?!” Boy was his face red! Being embarrassed in front of his friends made him so angry that he changed his name, quit fishing forever and started pillaging and plundering. He will never be remembered as a great fisherman but man could he pillage!

Men kept spending more money on fishing gear and boats each year without catching more fish. Of course if you listen to the tales told to the sound of lattes being steamed in the morning, you would be convinced that everyone was catching boatloads of fish with the exception of you. The ancient mariners fine-tuned their tales of monster fish they had battled. They could hold their listeners spellbound for hours with stories of epic proportion. However, they could not figure out how to answer their lovely wives when asked "Oh, you're catching monster fish? So where are they already. Don’t tell me they got away or you threw them back!!!" Something was rotten in Denmark but it wasn’t fish. Soon most of the wives were nagging their poor husbands mercilessly. The whole fishing fleet became so desperate that they hired an evil genius wizard to solve their problem. After several weeks of meditation and incantations, inspiration came. "If the fish won't bite the hook" he reasoned, "the hook will bite the fish!!" He told the fishermen that if they built a treble hook big enough, they could just yank it through the water and whatever fish happened to be in the way... FISH ON! The fishermen tested the invention and found that it worked far better than expected. Now they had actual fish to verify their tales of bravado. It became a secret joke among the Vikings. One would look at the other and say, “She’s nagging.” Naturally the new method took on the name “she’s nagging” and was eventually shortened to “snagging.”

Today we have sophisticated equipment to help us in our quest to conquer the elusive lunker. We have depth finders, fish finders, weather reports, moon and tide charts and every shape and color of lure that you could imagine. You can also buy over-sized treble hooks at any tackle shop in the world. It looks to me like we will continue to keep these hooks in our tackle boxes even in the face of fines and possible jail time until nagging is also outlawed.

Shirts

2010-03-19T15:51:00.005-06:00

All right, you asked for it. Here's a look at part of my shirt collection. I couldn't photograph the whole thing without showing you how messy my closet is. Satisfied?

The Fishermen

2010-03-08T07:22:00.004-07:00

There are two types of fishermen: sport-fishermen and serious fish catchers. My old granny said that there was only one type: lazy, good-for-nothing liars but this is my story and I’m stickin’ to it.

Both types of fishermen are found anywhere that fish can be caught. Many times they are fishing side by side. Both can be found using an appropriately sized hook or lure cast from a fishing rod. A sub-classification of sport-fisherman is called the “fly-fisherman.” This type will never be confused with a serious fish catcher. Their fishing rods are the diameter of spaghetti noodles and designed to cast extremely small hooks that have microscopic pieces of lint attached. Fly fishing was invented for those who are too squeamish to touch pieces of dead fish or worms. My friend Jim B. who is an accomplished fly-fisherman will argue that last point but he’s a fisherman and you know what my old granny says about them. Also, JB maintains that there is honor in not catching fish and the process is as important as the outcome. Go figure.

Sport fishermen and serious fish catchers have one particular thing in common. Both types regularly calculate the size and weight of their fish instead of actually measuring and/or weighing. There is a universal system invented by a fellow named Lenny. It’s called “Lenny’s ingenious estimation system” or “LIES” for short. This is a specific form of math like calculus or something. It was designed to add length and weight to a fish that is directly proportional to the time that has lapsed since the fish was caught. With a little creativity, this same method is applied to the fish that got away. In a rare instance, I was actually able to apply the math to a world-record tuna that I didn’t even hook. This practice gave rise to the saying that….”fishermen are born honest, they just get over it”.

A sports fisherman will quit fishing to have his lunch under a tree or to take a nap. Occasionally he will even throw perfectly a good fish back in the water. He would rather use a lure or fly instead of bait. If he goes home empty-handed, he just does not care.

Then there are serious fish catchers. Their goal is to catch their legal limit at least twice and go home with a cooler full of fish. The least scrupulous serious fish catchers frequently practice what is termed "snagging." To snag, you take this big hook, fling it in the water as far as possible then jerk it to the bank as hard and fast as you can until the hook stops. If you’re lucky, it stopped because an unlucky fish got in the way. It’s not real important which part of the fish gets in the way as long as it’s hooked well. The snagging method was designed to improve your chances of catching fish. This is much better than going home empty-handed and then catching flack from the wife. Although snagging is illegal in many parts of the world, it is accepted by most cultures as a fair and balanced way of putting food on the table. It is actually thought of quite highly in Alaska where it is occasionally legal.
(See “The origin of snagging” elsewhere in this blog)

Personally, I’ve done both. I’ve fished just for the pure enjoyment of it and I’ve snagged salmon to fill the freezer. Once I even had a friend offer to teach me how to fly fish.

My fly-fishing friend is a purist. In his mind, tricking a fish into biting an artificial bug is the ultimate thrill. When he describes how making the perfect cast and presenting the bug in the most natural way results in a hooked fish, his eyes tear up. Mine glaze over.

I had to listen to him wax stupid over fly-fishing so many times that I eventually accepted his offer of a lesson. First he selected just the right fishing rod ( not pole!) out of his collection for me. We practiced in the back yard. He was very patient but I soon got the idea that I wasn’t getting the idea. He talked about loading the rod correctly which turned out to be different than putting it in the trunk in such a way that it didn’t get broken. Finally after many lessons he called and said we would go to his favorite stream and do some real fishing. I have to admit that I was a little excited. I’ve never been particularly opposed to sticking worms on a hook but I wanted to catch a fish on a fly just to see what all the fuss was about.

We arrived at the spot, parked the car under a tree and unloaded our outfits. I put the rod together just like he showed me. He hand selected the perfect artificial bug for me from his own special box of hand-made bugs. We waded into the water. He positioned himself several yards away for his own safety and began casting. It was just like he told me; watching the fish come up and inspect the piece of lint you were offering was pretty exciting. I cast and retrieved all afternoon. I finally felt like I was catching on even though I wasn’t catching fish. I loved the way my bug hit the water with a “splash” but for some reason my friend winced every time it did. His bug was lazy; it just kind of landed quietly with no fanfare. My opinion was that all the fish he hooked were retarded for biting such a boring presentation and I certainly didn't want to catch any retarded fish. Finally we were loading up our gear at the end of the day. My friend put his hand on my shoulder and said, “After one day of fishing, I believe you have developed your own style.” Heck, I knew I had done well but not THAT well! He continued, “Your style is very similar to an elderly lady chasing a dog with a broom.”

Well so much for fly fishing. I knew it was a bad idea to begin with.

2010-03-07T08:58:00.004-07:00

I'm not part of the techno revolution but I gotta tell you about a site. Go to http://www.vpike.com/ Somebody please explain to me how the heck they have 3-D photography of most of the addresses in the US and some of the rest of the world.

How Orwellian.......

My new grandson

2010-02-22T21:21:00.005-07:00

I am today officially a GREAT grandad. Although my buddies have assured me that I'm not that great. My wife's grand-daughter Erica gave birth to a dandy 6#9oz boy on Saturday. Not a record but for sure a KEEPER!! Everybody is fine except for Papa Jorge who is a bit nervous about handling his boy. (He'll get over that in a hurry, right??)
This young fella, Julien's the name by the way, makes the fifth generation of the Ryan clan in Los Barriles: Marcia, (she's 88 but don't tell her I said so) Marcia's daughter Donna(my wife), Donna's son Pat, Pat's daughter Erica and Erica's son Julien. Five. Pretty cool.
Here's some photos:

Parade in Los Barriles!!!

2010-02-19T11:46:00.006-07:00

A fellow I know in San Jose calls our little town "Los Bore-iles." (I won't mention his name but his initials are Jeff King.) DUDE! We have exciting things going on here! Boring my hiney! Check out the video of our 1st annual Mardi Gras parade. We went some of the way on this one with several expenses spared!
I "borrowed" this video from Dr. Mary's You Tube site. (I've always believed it is much easier to ask forgiveness than to ask permission.Hope she doesn't read my blog) Click on her name above to go to her You Tube channel.

How to: Replace a headlight and lens in Baja

2009-12-22T15:07:00.029-07:00

My brother-in-law happened to be riding in my car one of the few nights that it rained here in the winter. My headlight lens was broken and as soon as rain hit the light bulb, it burned out. I explained to him that I hadn't been able to find a lens here.

The day he left to return to the US, I found a note in the kitchen saying, "I bought you a headlight replacement kit. It's in your car." I was impressed. I couldn't figure out where he had found a kit for an '87 Cutlass.

Here's the kit as found in the car

Ok, lets see what we have here.

Ok, I have a light, clear tape and a coke bottle. That's it????

For starters, I know I have to put the bulb in. That's easy enough.

So far so good but I still have to figure out how in install the lens part of the kit. I'm getting an idea here, stay with me.

I'll cut this bottle and........

TAAAA DAAAA!!! Thanks Mike, you're the best. The kit worked perfecty.!!

100% of La Rivera Cows Agree.......

2009-11-27T16:53:00.004-07:00

I sell property for a resort development named "Cabo Riviera." Our office is located in a nice little town on the coast of Baja California Sur called "La Rivera." Next to our office is a great restaurant serving mainly Mexican food. (whoda thunk) They have a new chef this season who is very good. Everyone I've talked to who has eaten there comes away satisfied with the food and the price, myself included.

Now it seems that even the local Bovines United club endorses the restaurant. It has become so popular a meeting place that there's standing room only.

Stand-up Boxer

2009-11-20T16:21:00.003-07:00

I've been walking the beach every morning with my pal Brigitte. Every day we come across something interesting but this dog had me baffled until I got close enough to see what he was doing.

The Tourists

2009-11-15T15:32:00.005-07:00

Los Cabos is a great area to visit. It is basically a little sleepy fishing village that has been heavily infiltrated by folks like the Jones family that have what is called “expendable” income. When their extra money starts building faster than their kids can spend it, it is called expendable. At that point, Jim and Jean Jones stash the extra cash before the kids realize that their cars and wardrobes should be replaced.

After stashing cash for what seems like an eternity but is actually only most of their lives, the Jones decide they need a vacation. It is mid January and they want sunshine! Their neighbors have told them about the wonderful beaches in Cabo. They would like to go but isn’t Cabo in MEXICO? So they bombard the neighbors with questions about drugs and murdering banditos. The neighbors have been there several times and assure them that Cabo isn’t like that. The Jones make their decision: To Cabo it is! The travel agent clinches the deal and the next thing you know, they’re stepping out onto the tarmac feeling the warm air of Los Cabos. They go through the line where the travel documents are inspected and stamped. Luckily, their bags appear quickly on the belt. Finally they pass through the baggage check with no problems. This all goes fairly quickly which isn’t always the case.

Suddenly and without warning, they are surrounded. The banditos are hard to spot even though they’re in plain site: deceptively dressed in casual dinner attire and speaking plain ENGLISH. The lead gang member lulls them into a false sense of security by offering kind words of welcome, then a second says they will be taken to their hotel without charge. Jim whispers to Jean, “Let me handle these jokers.” Out loud he says “I don’t know what you boys are selling but we don’t want any.” A third bandito then says, “Would you like to play a round of golf for free?” Before even finding the shuttle bus, they succumb to a time-share appointment.

In a short time the Jones are checking into an air-conditioned hotel room. By now, they’re relaxed after the harrowing escape from the banditos. In fact they are so happy to be there they don’t even bother checking the price of the room. This is heaven: beautiful room, beautiful pool and beautiful view. Who wants to think about money at a time like this? Their sleep is untroubled. The next morning, Jim and Jean slowly wander down to the pool-side restaurant still in a vacation fog. After paying 25 bucks for an omelet and coffee, the fog begins to lift. Jim says, “Honey let’s go verify our room rate.” When the clerk tells them the price (with a straight face) they are forced to control their reaction as not to appear like a couple of hicks that just fell off the truck. Jean’s hand involuntarily covers her mouth because her jaw has dropped several inches. She hopes that the clerk will think she’s stifling a yawn. Jim nods as though he’s ok with the bill which hides the fact that he’s trying not to throw up. They back away slowly, yawning and nodding, and retreat to the room. The kids are quickly called, instructed to empty the savings account and wire the money. Jim is beginning to think they made a mistake in coming to Los Cabos.

After the price shock wears off, the vacationing couple wanders out to see the town. They discover the Catholic Church next to the central plaza and spend some time walking around the old part of town. Jim, being a man, offers a constant commentary about which things would not be done that way in the US. “Look at this air-conditioner Jean. You can’t mount an air-conditioner over a sidewalk where someone can run into it! That’s against code!” Jean nods even though none of his commentary has reached the part of her brain that separates noise from spoken language. She’s an expert at ignoring his diatribes after having practiced for close to 30 years. Jean has no concern whatsoever about codes; she’s too busy soaking up the culture of San Jose. While her husband is mentally repairing the infrastructure, Jean is seeing colorful art displayed on the sidewalk and enjoying the old architecture. One of the buildings she studies was built in the 1700’s. After a welcome few minutes of silence Jim turns to face his wife, pointing out another building-code atrocity and ironically steps into an un-marked hole in the sidewalk.

A small crowd forms quickly to offer assistance. Jim is bent but probably not broken he thinks. A woman from the drugstore across the street says “You go doctor. I take you.” Jean quickly agrees and they help the poor man to his feet. Jim is adamant that he doesn’t need a doctor but the woman is just as adamant that he had better go. He reluctantly agrees. The doctor is only a short distance away and Jim is seated in the “examination room” quickly. Mr. Jones is wary; he’s sure he’s seen this same office in an old Bogart movie. The doctor doesn’t speak a word of English but goes about his business smoothly and efficiently. Soon he says, “rye-o ekis” or something like that and helps Jim to the next room. He’s told to sit. The doctor fiddles with an ancient machine that Jim assumes takes X-rays. Now the wallet starts talking to Jim. “Mistake going to Mexico man, mistake going to the doc. You only twisted your ankle and now you’re going to have to pay for a doc and x-rays and probably medicine. This is MEXICO DUDE! You’re a gringo! He’s gonna charge you 10 times his normal fee.” Jim is worried. The doctor finally comes back with the film and shows Jim that he has a slight fracture just above his ankle. He should have a cast and it will only take a little while to place it. Jean, who is listening, wisely agrees and stares Jim into silence.

Finally everything is done: Jim has a nice cast and a pair of used crutches. Now comes the real pain. The receptionist hands him the bill. The numbers are making him dizzy. With a quivering voice he says, “2500 dollars?????” The receptionist quickly replies, “Oh no señor, the bill is in pesos.” “How much is that in dollars, I only have dollars” replies Jim. She quickly puts the numbers in her calculator and holds it up. Jim is confused and says, “150 bucks. For everything??!!” He pays the bill and hobbles out with Jean.

Jean leads him to a park bench near the church. Jim is quiet for once. He’s amazed thinking about how quickly and inexpensively his ankle was mended. Abruptly a slight surge of shame forms and dissipates as he remembers his attitude when the bill was presented. There is a large band of musicians playing mariachi music on the stage. A smiling woman walks by and offers them tamales which they quickly accept for less than a dollar apiece. They also buy cups of red juice which has a slightly bitter-sweet taste but is delicious. Jim is staring at something in the distance. “Look at that old building, that’s really beautiful. See it honey??” Jean smiled back and said, “Yes, it’s really something isn’t it.?”

Old School Solution

2009-11-12T23:50:00.006-07:00

A couple of years ago, 2 friends of mine decided to grow sweet corn. Scott has been in Los Cabos for a lot of years and is always looking for some kind of project. Maybe the projects are always looking for him, not sure. John has been involved with the organic farm produce sales and marketing since day one I think. He's another guy who doesn't let any grass grow under his feet. So they found a few acres of good land and managed to harvest some corn last year. According to reports, the corn was GREAT! This year they went about prepping and planting etc. Finally Scott needed to use John's 1950 tractor to continue getting the planting done. It wouldn't start. After examining the engine, he found that the gear on the distributor shaft was broken. He looked around and wasn't able to find a way to repair or replace it. After much thought Scott decided he could make it work. He mounted the distributor in such a way that he could power it from the shaft of the engine. Bicycle sprockets were used to get the gear ratio right. Take a look at the video. This is old school.

Baja Facts

2009-11-05T16:09:00.003-07:00

Hey I'm back. I've been busy and sidetracked and frankly, uninspired. I did start walking every morning since I last posted. Haven't really exercised in 3 years and I'm already feeling more energetic. I received an added bonus the other morning when we found a turtle hatch that had just finished: An inverted pyramid area about 20 feet wide at the beach tapering back to the nest covered with little bitty turtle tracks. My walking partner, Bridgette, demanded that I dig through the nest and make sure all the little buggers made it out and whaddya know? There was a single straggler whom we had the pleasure of introducing to his new habitat. This type of thing might turn me into a flaming cactus-hugger! Naaahhhhhh

What prompted my post today is a couple of articles I found on the web. The first was a mis-informed piece about murders in Mexico that placed heavy emphasis on murder and failed to explain that what they were reporting was exclusively drug-related. So I started looking up numbers and "facts" which in principle are also called "truths" but are hard to come by these days. The first link here has some "hard" numbers and provides their sources. Page down from here and start reading at "The Truth About Safety In Mexico" to see the data and links. This page offers good general advice about your vacation in Los Cabos. It's actually a lot of common sense but there are some good tidbits to be found too. The third post I'll share came from a blog that quotes Reuters News and surprised me but hey, could they print it if it wasn't true??? You can borrow my rose-colored glasses if you're having trouble with that last question.

That's all I have for now. I'm working on a couple of stories and my first interview. Stay tuned.

Baby Sea Turtles Released

2009-10-21T06:55:00.006-06:00

Thanks to my friend Steve Chism, amateur geologist, local naturalist, author and puppy lover, I have photos of the recent baby sea turtle release in front of the Palmas de Cortez hotel in Los Barriles. (Steve is also an official, Mexican certified turtle research assistant) He participated in the release in which a few hundred newly hatched baby sea turtles were released into the Sea of Cortez. This event serves the dual purpose of ensuring that a known number of sea turtles survive from the nest to the water and to raise public awareness of sea turtle nesting habits and how we can help ensure their survival. The greatest danger in the life-cycle of sea turtles is from the point the eggs are laid to re-entry into the ocean. On the shore, the mother sea turtles are exposed to predatory animals and poachers as they go through the ritual of depositing their eggs. The eggs are in danger of being eaten by a large number of predators from crabs to foxes and the nests being compressed by motor vehicles. Then during the hatch and return to the sea, the baby sea turtles are exposed to an even larger group of predators when you add birds and shore fish to the list.
If you are in the los Cabos area, ask around and see if you can find out where a baby sea turtle release will take place. It will be well worth your time to attend. Take your kids or borrow some; they'll love it.

Rick Outa Here

2009-10-21T06:20:00.004-06:00

Rick is still attempting to weaken and dodge the Baja. There's still the possibility that he could stall over the Sea of Cortez, pick up steam again and follow the warmer water to the North. Which is basically what happened 3 years ago with hurricane John. As John approached San Jose del Cabo, it slowed, turned East and followed the warmer water to landfall almost RIGHT ON TOP OF US! By the way,San Jose hasn't been clobbered in years. Maybe they really do have the hurricane deflecting machine.

With a little luck, this will be the last storm of the year. And good riddance to them.

Tropical Storm Rick

2009-10-17T18:04:00.016-06:00

Every year around the first of October, we Bajanians get restless for the "all clear" signal. This year we had a close call when Jimena skirted us on the Pacific side and did her damage to our compadres to the North. We've had plenty of rain but not enough to cause flooding and do us some damage. So for a week or so, we've been living under the delusion that the worst is over. HA!

It looks like any hope we had of easing into fall is now being threatened. Tropical storm Rick is heading toward us with the promise of lots of rain in a short time and possible winds of the high-velocity type. (See above illustration.)

We locals are in high hopes the storm will start losing strength when it passes over cooler water as it approaches Los Cabos. This idea is reinforced by the weather folks over at NOAA. Here's an excerpt from the National Hurricane Center:

RICK IS STILL INTENSIFYING...WITH THE 10 NM WIDE EYE BECOMING BETTER DEFINED AND THE EYEWALL CLOUD TOPS COOLING DURING THE PAST FEW HOURS. SATELLITE INTENSITY ESTIMATES FROM TAFB AND SAB WERE 127 KT AT 18Z...SO THE INITIAL INTENSITY IS INCREASED TO 130 KT BASED ON THIS AND THE SUBSEQUENT INCREASE IN ORGANIZATION. THE CIRRUS OUTFLOW IS GOOD TO EXCELLENT IN ALL DIRECTIONS. QUIKSCAT DATA NEAR 14Z INDICATED THAT RICK IS GROWING LARGER IN SIZE...AND THE WIND RADII HAVE BEEN EXPANDED ACCORDINGLY.

RICK SHOULD REMAIN IN A NEARLY-IDEAL ENVIRONMENT OF LIGHT VERTICAL WIND SHEAR AND OVER WARM SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURES FOR THE NEXT 18 HRS OR SO. THUS...IT SHOULD CONTINUE TO INTENSIFY UNTIL AN EYEWALL REPLACEMENT CYCLE OCCURS OR IT REACHES THE MAXIMUM POTENTIAL INTENSITY FOR THAT AREA. BASED ON THIS...THE INTENSITY FORECAST CALLS FOR THE HURRICANE TO REACH CATEGORY FIVE STATUS IN ABOUT 12 HRS IN AGREEMENT WITH THE SHIPS MODEL. AFTER THAT...GRADUALLY COOLING SSTS AND GRADUALLY INCREASING SHEAR SHOULD START A STEADY WEAKENING TREND FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE FORECAST PERIOD...WITH LAND INTERACTION ALSO BECOMING A FACTOR DURING THE 96-120 HR PERIOD. EYEWALL REPLACEMENT CYCLES COULD CAUSE FLUCTUATIONS IN INTENSITY SUPERIMPOSED ON THE GENERAL TREND INDICATED IN THE FORECAST.

I'll post updates at irregular, un-predetermined intervals.

After The Rain

2009-10-15T07:38:00.007-06:00

The storm didn't amount to much but we got a lot of well-needed rain in absorbable doses. (is "absorbable" a word? IS NOW.) We'll be green here for several months and the transition to dryness is very gradual. Sometimes we get some rain in January or February that will prolong the change to dryness.

The top photo was taken yesterday. I'm standing next to the highway above Hotel Rancho Buena Vista; Los Barriles is in the distance.

The bottom photo was taken in the spring of about 1971 from the beach just a short walk from Hotel Rancho Buena Vista and looking towards Los Barriles.

Tropical Storm Patricia

2009-10-13T10:38:00.005-06:00

Looks like tropical storm Patricia is going to skirt the Cabo/San Jose area on her way out to open water in the Pacific. That's fine with me. Right now we're having good rain: no flooding or damage and no wind. The ground is soaking it all up and the aquifer is is being replenished. It's a beautiful thing.

Arriving Home

2009-10-05T15:18:00.006-06:00

Just South of Santa Rosalia is the orphanage I mentioned earlier. A friend had asked us to deliver some items and we planned on visiting with our friends Doug and Diane who oversee the orphanage. Diane was very sick with the flu so we didn't get to see them. Here is the lady of the house and one of their young charges who swore to me she wasn't skipping school.

Everything is green from the recent rain storms. We were going to drive over the mountains from a cutoff just North of Loreto that comes out at La Purisima but we didn't this time because of the recent storm; the road was most likely in poor shape. The mountain road probably isn't a shortcut but when you get to La Purisima, the road is paved again. La Purisima has a river that has water year around and there are hundreds of palms growing there. After passing through La Purisima, you drive south to Insurgentes, on to Constitucion and then La Paz.

We evidently just missed a dandy rainstorm that hit La Paz. As you can see in the video, there was lots of water left over. Every low spot on the highway had standing water. The water was running enough to wash out some holes in the road and the holes were well marked by the cars that had fallen into them.

We got home to Buena Vista around 9 in the evening.

The trip was 2 days. That's too fast to enjoy but we had a commitment at home that had somehow moved forward a few days. Taking 3 days instead of 2 is much more relaxing and allows for a few hours of stops here and there. If you plan to come down via Highway One, try to take 3 or more days. Do your homework on the internet and find out what's here to be seen or to do. If you're coming between December and February, pre-book a whale-watching tour. Find out where the cave paintings are and visit one. Or you could stop at one of the wineries. There are a couple to choose from.

Saludos!

Still Driving South On The Baja

2009-10-02T15:45:00.035-06:00

Something I forgot to mention is that there are military stops scattered here and there. If you are traveling south, they rarely stop cars with US plates. I guess they figure we're not smuggling pot INTO Mexico. If they stop you, they will ask where you are travelling from. Then where are you going. That's about it. I've always been treated with courtesy at these stops. Remember: by and large they are simply doing their job.

When you return North, they are more concerned with US plated vehicles. You might get searched for guns and drugs. Generally speaking these soldiers are lightly trained young men who are living in very basic conditions with very little entertainment outside of searching cars. It's always a good idea to carry something to give the kids. Believe me when I tell you, they will appreciate it. I handed out bottles of water one trip and Reece's peanut butter cups another time. One trip North I had a backpack in the back of a trailer and inside, I had somehow left a cleaning kit for a .22 caliber rifle. At the last stop before Tijuana, a young soldier found it. He asked me what it was. I told him and asked if he had a .22 rifle. He said yes so I gave him the kit. I've never seen a half-dozen soldiers lose interest in a car inspection so fast. The other boys were all huddled around the lucky one checking out his prize. The thing to remember is don't be afraid or worried. Normally they just ask a few questions and send you on your way.

Meanwhile, back at the journey,
I already told you about the long drive without gas between El Rosario and Guerrero Negro. If you get in a jam you can buy gas at Cataviña on the side of the road. This guy with the drums must really get a kick out of us dummies that can't do the math. Oh yeah, I said "us dummies." I've bought gas from him 2 or 3 times.

There is a section of road in the mountains I think between Cataviña and Gurrero Negro that has new pavement. They have not replaced all the signs yet. You'll recognize it because of the lack of curve signs. There are 2 curves that are nasty. I went into one at night doing 50 or so and nearly didn't come out the other side. So if you can't see how sharp the curve is, fear for your life.

You will drive past a gas station (or into it maybe) then through a military base just North of Guerrero Negro and soon after is an agriculture stop. They'll take any fruits or veggies from you and ask for 10 pesos "cooperacion" (like a donation) and then you drive across a pipe that sprays something, presumably bug killer, up under your car. As soon as you clear the sprayer thing, pull over and get your tourist visa stamped at the little trailer.

Next is Guerrero Negro but there's not much there if you're not going whale watching or need gas or a hotel. It's always like an Oregon coastal town: overcast, windy and cold. They have salt production and whales, not much more.
It's about 130 miles to Santa Rosalia from Guerrero Negro. There's gas at Vizcaino and San Ignacio. The first few miles out of G.N. is kind of blah then there's a yucca forest with huge yuccas. It's really green now because of the storm that just blew through. Then you pass San Ignacio, then arrive at Santa Rosalia. If you are going to get gas, buy it at one of the first 3 or so stations. The last one in town is a notorious ripoff. Bajanians with more than a few trips under their belts all have stories about the various tricks they use to rob or short-change you there. Santa Roselia still has quite a bit of un-repaired hurricane damage but all services are restored and traffic-wise, everything is normal. There's some great photo ops along the coast as you travel south past Mulege and Loreto and on through the mountains. Stop when you see something good. You have time: don't get in the "we have to get there" mode. Promise?

Next: Arriving home.

A Drive Down the Baja Peninsula

2009-09-30T22:02:00.067-06:00

We're back! You didn'teven know we left didja? We took a quick trip to Oregon to visit family, go to the doc and buy a pickup to drive back down.Everything went well. Donna's brother-in-law Mike, was given a nice retirement party by his kids. My mom

celebrated her 79th birthday but I don't know if it was her first time. We had a barbecue at my sister and bro-in-law's house. All kids and most of the grandkids were there. We were missing 2 of my 3 boys, Bob and Wayne.

My 18 year old tore up a knee playing basketball and is still on crutches but we managed to have a good time together.

The weather was GREAT. Didn't rain for the week we were there. In fact, it was pretty hot a couple of days.

We started back down the Baja Monday morning, crossing the border at Tecate around 10 AM or so. I had a couple of motorcycles in the back of the pickup to deliver for a friend and some clothing articles for an orphanage just south of Santa Rosalia at the little village of San Lucas. There is a store there and the orphanage is right across the side street, on the right side of the highway..

The young man who inspected our vehicle was very efficient and cordial. He checked all the numbers on the motor bikes to make sure they matched with the documents I had. He asked me if the clothing was new or used. I knew it was a trick question but I figured I had a 50% chance of answering right so I said "used." He then told me that he couldn't allow me to carry the used articles of clothing across the border because of the flu. I then quickly said, "I meant new!" He laughed and ignored me even though I assured him that they had been washed thoroughly. After verifying that the bikes were ok, he sent us on our way but with a warning that next time, he wouldn't allow the clothes. By the way, if you take stuff like quads or bikes, always take something to prove that you have a legal right to possess the item. I met some kids once in Cabo that had their motorbike confiscated because they couldn't prove that they owned it. The police allowed them to have the documents faxed down but it was quite a time-consuming hassle.

This is the second time we have crossed at Tecate and I doubt I'll ever cross in Tijuana again. At Tecate there's less traffic and once you cross, you're in the country. I admit that driving along the coast south of Tijuana is one of the nicest drives anywhere but I really hate the traffic and delays etc associated with Tijuana. And you save like 6 bucks because you don't have to pay the tolls!! Woo Hoo!!! (I've been hanging with my friends from Monterrey again, could you tell?)

After you cross through the inspection, the road is fairly well marked; follow the signs to the highway that will take you to Ensenada. The drive down to Ensenada is pleasant. You'll pass through small villages, grape fields and wineries. There's construction on the highway between Tecate and Ensenada but they've built a nice bypass and you're not left waiting for 2 hours behind a flagman.

The road from Tecate ends at the highway to Ensenada. Turn left towards Ensenada, you'll drive for a bit before you are actually in the city. There's a marked truck route but stay on the road that says "zona touristica" or something similar. When you see that there are 3 lanes, stay in the middle lane. Take a left on Gral Agustin Sangines. Across the intersection is "Club Vegas", on the right is the navel base, you can't miss it. Stay in the right lane, watch for stop signs! There's like hidden stop signs. You'll pass the hospital IMSS, go through one light then turn right at the second light. There's a big sign at the corner that says "Soriana and Home Depot." Now you're cool. Drive south. A few minutes south will be a Costco on the left and a shopping center on the right if you need stuff or fast food. You are now on the main highway headed South.

South of Ensenada you will be passing through lots of small towns. The highway is also the main thoroughfare that the locals use. So you might creep along at 30 to 40 mph for quite a ways. Be ready for it and don't get impatient. If there's lots of locals going slow, go slow with them. There's a couple of places that have "speed trap" written all over them. There's another place south of Ensenda that also has road construction and a bypass road. The locals if they're in a hurry, will try and pass you in the dust, on a corner, wherever. Let 'em pass. Just make sure and give yourself enough space in front that they can squeeze back in when a Metro bus appears suddenly in the dust cloud.

When we drove through the wine country at Santo Tomas, there was a pretty good smoke cloud that looked like a brush fire in the hills behind the L.A. Cetto vineyard. I don't think it was threatening any homes; we didn't see any emergency equipment.

You don't have to worry about gasoline until you get to el Rosario. Fill up there just before Mama Espinoza's restaurant. From there, the next gas stop is at Cataviña but it's not a Pemex; it's a guy with 5 gallon cans of gas and you'll pay dearly if you forget to gas up in el Rosario. It's a good photo op though. After Cataviña, the next gas is just a few miles before Guerrero Negro.

Before we tavel on to Guerrero Negro, I want to mention Doña Anita Grosso de Espinoza: "Mama" Espinoza. I only met her once but I know from the old Baja rats that have traveled the peninsula for decades that she is a very special lady. Before you go, do a web search on "Mama Espinoza." You'll be amazed at the references to her. She was born around 1908 or so, opened the restaurant in the 30's and has entertained guests since. I didn't see her this trip and honestly don't know if she has passed on or not. By the way, the restaurant has good food and I normally stop there to eat. There's a hotel next door that has wireless internet.

Continued..........

How to Learn Spanish

2009-09-17T17:07:00.011-06:00

I hate to beat this to death but I can’t believe I spent almost a quarter century in Alaska freezing every winter: wearing fuzzy boots and earmuffs, fishing through a little hole in the ice and running around in short sleeves when it warmed clear up to -20. I’m still not used to the idea that I can walk around in shorts and a loud flowery shirt here in Baja Sur almost every day of the year. It seems like such a huge change of lifestyle but as I told you in an earlier post, there are a lot of similarities: Both states are tourist destinations that are famous for their fishing, both are remotely located in relation to their parent countries, both were settled early on by missionaries, both were whaling destinations and the list goes on. Both are still “frontier living” no matter how you slice it. Oh, and did I mention the futility of expecting an Alaskan OR a Mexican to arrive anywhere on time?

I guess it’s because of the similarities that I adapted so quickly to life here on the Baja. That plus I already knew all the drills. We used to have the same conversations back in Alaska. “Hey ya wanna go fishing this weekend? The girls are all going to Anchorage to go shopping for ukuleles or something.” Here in los Cabos you simply substitute La Paz for Anchorage.

Another fact of life for us pioneers is the communication systems. Somebody will say something like, “The phone system here sucks.” I smugly reply, “You think this is bad? We had a ten party line in Alaska!” Or I hear, “I really wish we could have regular TV.” Then I start some long boring commentary about the fact that there were no live TV broadcasts in Alaska so they used to send TV to us on tape. The tapes went to Anchorage then to Fairbanks so the “daily” news was actually 2 days late. Football was 2 weeks late, and we got Christmas specials clear into March and …………..
My friends have quit complaining to me.

While the similarities are almost predictable; the differences quickly reveal themselves in the culture and language. The true locals of los Cabos who call themselves “Choyeros” have a polite, indirect and non-confrontational style that we Americans don’t appreciate. We are frequently considered rude because of our direct, get-to-the-point style and we can unknowingly cause our own trouble because of this. For example let’s say the neighbor’s dog eats all your chickens. We (American persons) would immediately confront the neighbor, stomp our feet, call the cops, demand that the dog be destroyed and sue for compensation. A Mexican person whose chickens have been killed might greet the neighbor, inquire about the health of his family and casually comment, “It seems that my chickens have tempted your poor dog beyond his ability to resist killing them. Oh and by the way, I can put fresh feathers in your pillows for a good price.”

I owned a bakery here for several years. My baker, bless his heart, understood how we Americans are. I would walk into the bakery, jump directly into my command mode and tell him that I want this and that and tomorrow he needs to do the other thing. He would listen and nod his head and when I finally wound down he would smile and say, “Fine, and you?”

Is that subtle or what?

So then I did a quick rewind and we would inquire about each others’ families back to about 4 generations, their children, grandchildren and Bessie the cow before continuing with work. It was a beautiful thing.

Language is a whole ‘nother issue. I’ve tried to learn to speak acceptable Spanish but so far haven’t really succeeded. I got desperate enough to tell my Pentecostal friend I wanted to go to church with him so I get the gift of tongues in Spanish. He said, “It doesn’t work that way” and graciously left off the “you idiot” at the end of his sentence. I’ve been here 10 years: watching my Spanish improve is like watching evolution.

On the flip side of this coin, I know Mexicans who have lived in the U.S. for a couple of years and speak great English. They say they learn by watching TV. That’s almost scary. Of course when my Mexican friends bring it to my attention, I insist that the reason they learn English more quickly is because English is much easier to learn! That always starts an argument that I ultimately lose because my Spanish isn’t good enough to argue effectively.

A good friend (Mexican, his Spanish is excellent..) finally came right out and told me to my face that my Spanish was terrible and that I needed to do something. I indignantly told him in my best whiny voice how I had taken two classes and that half of my Mexican customers and all my American customers at the café speak English to me so how could I practice more and that it’s harder for older people to learn and bla,bla,bla….. He held up his hand to stop me from continuing with any more lame excuses and said:
“Listen my friend, all you have to do is find a nice Mexican girlfriend and you will learn Spanish quickly.”

How about that?

The idea weaved around in my brain for bit while my little voice offered a running commentary: each piece of advice contradicting the last. Finally I casually mentioned my friend’s advice to my wife Donna. She got downright offended! She said, “That was a mean thing for him to say to you” and then she said, “I think your Spanish is excellent.”

Isn’t she the best………

Marty

2009-09-16T15:58:00.011-06:00

There's another storm out there but it looks like it's going to go away to the West. The name made me pay attention; we had a storm named Marty about 5 years ago that was a little destructive. We'll get some more rain from this bad boy which will probably be fine. The area has turned green everywhere. What a welcome change. It's so green now that when there are rain clouds over the mountains, you can imagine that we live on a real tropical island like Hawaii.

Baja Legends

2009-09-15T20:37:00.023-06:00

Before there were expensive hotels and 873 ways to spend money in los Cabos, the peninsula was made up of a few sleepy little fishing villages. These little towns had grown up over a few hundred years of foreign traders traveling from Europe to the Far East and back. San Jose was a major water stop for the ships returning from China and beyond and became a favorite spot for pirates and privateers to lay in wait for a prize. As the Spanish missionaries worked to spread their faith, missions were established all the way up the Baja. Whaling ships were active for several decades in the waters around the Baja peninsula but the whalers took their oil back to New England and left nothing behind. The pearl industry changed La Paz into a small city but after the pearls were gone, the city became quiet for many years.

Then in the 1940’s, over 400 years after the Spaniards found the Baja, things changed. Somehow a few adventurous souls (with way too much time on their hands) discovered that the Baja Peninsula had the most amazing fishing they had ever seen. Guys like Bing Crosby and John Wayne to name a couple of them. As they spent more time here the need for services became more apparent. Rustic hotels were built with landing strips that could handle small planes. Places like the Rancho Buena Vista which was started in the mid 50's. Later the money started pouring in so the rich could enjoy Baja along with the rest of us. Of course after there was money here the folks that figure out ways to get some of it followed along. That is in a nutshell how we got from there to here. We've gone full circle: the pirates have returned. Read this in your best Johnny Depp pirate voice: "Take all you can get, give nothin' back. Arrrrrr"

Also during these last 70 years or so, Baja was discovered by another type of person: the Adventurer. These were the people that had no interest in financial gain from the Baja but found the land completely enchanting. There were many but one I’ll tell you about is Jimmy Smith.

I met this character at my café several years ago. There was this fellow sitting outside dressed in coveralls, sporting a handlebar mustache and smoking like each one might be his last. When I saw him I thought, “Here’s a guy with a story” and I wanted to know what it was. After introductions we started chatting aimlessly and got to know each other a bit. My instincts were correct; he was as interesting as he looked. I learned that he lived in Los Barriles and I hoped I would have another chance to hear more of his story.

It turned out that he had to visit the bank next to my Café occasionally and he would come in for coffee. I took time whenever he was there to visit and was never disappointed. As a natural course of events we told each other how we came to be in the Baja and he told me the most amazing story about how he met his wife. I won’t re-tell his story here but go HERE to read it. Even if you don’t have a single romantic bone in your body, you’ll come away wanting to propose to your wife all over again.

According to everything I know, Jimmy started traveling the Baja in 1953 on a Triumph Motorcycle. There were few actual roads back then: more like connecting trails between ranches, arroyos and wilderness. He stopped in San Ignacio for gas and rest for a few days. This turned out to be a major event in his life as he met his future bride there. (READ the STORY!!)

Later on, Jimmy started coming down in a small airplane, eventually married Guadalupe and became a resident of Baja California Sur. His exploits include finishing 2nd place in the first Baja 1000, doing “airvacs” in his bushplane and insulting Erle Stanley Gardner who was a famous author back in the day. In fact, Jimmy referred to him as FA which I assume stands for "Famous Author." I can't for the life of me imagine what else it could mean. After the "incident" it was told that "FA" was furious and refused to call Jimmy by his name instead addressing him by the nickname, "Grinning Gargoyle."

He started writing at some point and his book “The Grinning Gargoyle Spills the Beans” is a classic read. It’s full of great personal stories including the story of meeting and marrying his wife. If you can’t find a copy, contact me.

The last couple of times I saw him at the cafe, he was carrying on about an abandoned motorhome, and overdue rent and going to jail. If I can ever piece it all together, I'll post the story.

Jimmy died a few years ago but his memory lives on. I hope he wasn’t the last of his breed.

Follow these links for good reading about and by Jimmy.
Aticle by Gene Kira
This one by Gene was written after Jimmy's death
Baja Racing News article, includes The Courtship of Guadalupe
A letter from Jimmy to author Daniel Ford about Harvey Greelaw
The Buena Vista Volunteer Fire Department by Jimmy
Pelona the Cow by Jimmy

The Left-Turn Signal

2009-09-09T18:30:00.014-06:00

Now instead of driving poorly in Alaska, I drive poorly in Baja Sur. And I LIKE it. Everybody runs stop signs. Little old ladies, 12 year old kids, cops, everybody. In fact running stop signs has evolved into an art-form. You approach a 4-way stop at regular driving speed and don't even consider hitting the brakes until you see another car already in the intersection because he rolled into it a split-second before you. I'm thinking that there may have been ice here at one time.

I got an inkling that I wasn’t driving in Kansas anymore during my first trip down the Baja Peninsula. I was stuck behind a slowpoke in a curvy section of hills and had been creeping along for several miles. I was so completely over having to follow this guy. In fact I was darned close to hyperventilating when I came around a corner and there ahead of me was a little straight stretch. In a microsecond I did the mental math and knew I could pass. The Hallelujah Chorus started playing in my head and all my frustrations were throwing each other high 5's. Just as I was mashing the gas and yelling “YEEEE HA!” the guy in front of me turned his left blinker on. Talk about your basic mood change! We're out here in the middle of Nowheresville, BCS, Mexico and this guy is turning left? I don’t see no stinking left turn. I breathed in a paper bag that I keep under the seat for such emergencies. Then I realized that since the guy was going to turn he would be out of my way. So I backed off a bit and waited for him to turn. “Why he no turn?” said my inner voice. The voice had a point. So I re-did the calculus and I realized that we were getting closer and closer to the point of no return: me not being able to pass. He didn’t turn, still didn’t turn, not turning still and I couldn't see a place for him to turn. Then: he DIDN’T TURN! Instead, He turned OFF his blinker and continued on his way.

Are you kidding me? What kind of sick joke is that? This poor guy is being followed by a crazed Americano who watches too much TV and owns guns. Dude! Are you sure you want to play road rage games??? Finally I was able to pass after a few more curves. As I passed, I saw that the driver was an ancient Mexican farmer who was concentrating on his driving so hard that I couldn’t even imagine he would do turn-signal jokes. Finally after a similar scenario replayed itself a few times while traveling south, I realized that the drivers were trying to signal me that the road was clear and probably safe to pass. Go figure. I take back all that verbal abuse and those hand signals. Please forgive me. Ok stay mad then. I said I was sorry for crying out loud.

Listen up: when they give you the left blinker, sometimes they are telling you what to do, not letting you know what they are doing. Hmmmm. Bass ackwards from what I was taught but hey, I have at least half a brain; I can learn the system. As I continued down the Baja, I checked my theory a few times and sure enough it worked.

A few years and many lessons later I was driving North towards Todos Santos just at sunset. As I came over a little rise, there was a car in front of me with the left blinker on. I went through my checklist: Left blinker on and driving on a straight stretch? Yes. Is there a car coming? Yes. This meant that maybe this was a real left turn signal or the driver was bored and wanted to see if I could avoid the ensuing head-on crash when I tried to pass. So I followed patiently for several miles. The car didn’t turn left so I decided that it was a false blinker and really didn’t mean anything. I waited until I saw a safe stretch with no oncoming traffic and started to pass. As I pulled even with the other car, the driver turned left off the highway. She was completely and blissfully unaware of my very existence as I was about to run into her car! Well at least she gave me plenty of notice, no? I hit the brakes hard and turned left with her, hoping that we could both make the turn. While my little voice was screaming, “Mo brake!!! mo brake!!!,” we exited the highway: she driving nonchalantly and I standing on the brake pedal and crying out for God to save me. After spinning a couple of circles, crashing through the dirt and cactus and a couple of fences, my car slid to a stop. I squinted through the billowing cloud of the man-made dirt storm. As I watched, the woman in the other car casually drove away into the beautiful red skies while the left blinker could still be seen glowing through the little clouds of dust that streamed from her tires. She was looking straight ahead, smiling and totally unconcerned that my poor cleaning lady was not going to be happy with the contents of my boxers.

Is there a lesson buried somewhere in this? Maybe.

If you drive in Baja California Sur, you will eventually encounter a left blinker that even the owner of the blinker doesn't know its purpose. You MUST approach every left blinker with deep suspicion and mistrust. If the car in front of you has its left blinker on, it might mean he's turning left. It may mean he wants you to pass. It could mean that he's drunk and is using his emergency flashers to warn everyone about his condition but the right blinker is burned out. What it most likely means is that Paco is tone-deaf and his wife isn’t in the car nagging him to turn it off.

So now I’m looking for an old car, something like a '59 Cadillac with those cool fins. I want to cut off the back two feet or so and hang it on the wall. I'll wire the left blinker to operate continuously.

Friends will come over and see the classic rear-end of a Cadillac on the wall and say “Hey that’s cool, but why is the left blinker on?”

“Oh that. It means the same thing as it does out on Highway One here in Baja: Absolutely nothing.”

Dr Marvin! I scooped!! I'm a scooper!!! I scoop!!!!

2009-09-08T21:17:00.007-06:00

Hey. I'm not braggin' but.... (If I'm not braggin' why's there a "but") I just wanted you fine folks of bloggerage to know that I got my first scoop. NOBODY carried the Palmilla fire story. You know what that means??!!! Do you understand the significance???? Actually it means that the fire story was so unimportant as to go unnoticed by everybody but me. 'sob'

Left Blinker: Prolog

2009-09-08T20:38:00.008-06:00

I said earlier in the blog that I was going to tell you about left-turn indicators. Let me give you a little background first.

I'm an ok driver. I try to drive the way "they" drive wherever I am. I hate it but when I pass through L.A., I go just as fast as the slowest guy: 85. In Boston, they honk with the middle finger of their left hand. In Idaho, I wave at every car that passes.

What's bad is that when I DO get pulled over, I'm a lousy excuse-maker. I think I've actually improved in the area of excuses since I've been down here in the Baja but read my post titled "Give 'im FI' DOLLA"! in the August archive and make up your own mind.

Once I got stopped in Oregon for sliding through a stop sign. I saw him in the mirror and thought to myself, "Well looks like I'm getting a ticket." Then my little voice came to the rescue and said, "Jus' esplain him about driving to the ice." Hey now there's an idea. No cop in his right mind would listen to such nonsense but why not try? I pulled over, the policeman approached and asked if I had noticed the stop sign. As I handed him my Alaska license I explained, “Sorry about the stop sign sir but I’ve been driving on ice up in Alaska for years; if you come to a complete stop up there, you might not get going again until spring.” He gave me "the look" (YOU know the look? Yeah, I thought so....) for my efforts, went to his car and called in my license. When he returned he said, “I gotta let you go. I have NEVER heard that one before. It might win me the pool today".

Pool winner for the day? Heck, I bet I got overall winner for the week.

to be continued....

Culture Clash

2009-09-05T14:44:00.016-06:00

I love living in Baja Sur. The beaches are the best ever, the people are generally great and the pace of living suits me. I can walk out my front door almost every day of the year in shorts and flip-flops. I suppose after living in Alaska for almost a quarter century, good weather seems important to me. It's not all bougainvillea and honey though. I hit a speed bump too hard just about every day.

The locals here seem happy for the most part. I think one of the reasons is because they have developed a thought process that doesn't allow them to get bogged down in irrelevant details. They are able to hold one thought in a row for more than a few milliseconds unlike their counterparts to the North. A friend calls this ability the "linear thought process." One of the manifestations of the linear thought process is that the users of said process don't clutter up their minds with a lot of unnecessary ideas thereby avoiding needless confusion and worry.

The problem begins when users of the "non-linear thought process,” whom we call Americans, attempt to translate their non-linear thoughts to the store clerk who uses the "linear thought process." In the non-linear thought process, we Americans randomly make a lot of assumptions based on what we think of as common life experiences.

For example, my youngest son and I were waiting at the airport one day. Micah was hungry and suggested we get some nachos. I said “great idea.” Then I remembered where we were and asked him to go check the price first. I watched as he walked over to the snack counter and asked the price. He hurried back to tell me, “They only cost 10 pesos, dad. It’s a deal!” “Great, get me some too,” I answered, and handed him 20 pesos. I watched again as he hustled through the non-crowded airport to the nacho man. My mouth had already started watering by the time he returned. He walked up and handed me my 20 back. “Hey what’s up. Where’s my nachos?” I asked.

“They don’t have any.” was his answer.

Jimena leaves destruction in her path

2009-09-05T08:56:00.006-06:00

Jimena was nice enough to bypass us with her wind and fury but she picked up more water on her way north and has inundated a path through Baja from San Carlos to Santa Rosalia and beyond. Check "The Baja Pony Express" site for stories and photos.

Spanish: Lesson One

2009-09-04T16:36:00.013-06:00

As I mentioned before, I owned a coffee shop/bakery in San Jose del Cabo for several years. We had Mexican employees of course and our place became very popular with the local Mexican residents. You can imagine that I was trying to improve my speaking skills quickly.

If you've never lived in a foreign country and tried to learn the language, the first thing you need to know is that you can't always translate the words and expect the same meaning. Naturally the culture of the country affects the significance of the words and phrases. For example, the word "stupid" in English is pretty harmless. We will say "That's really stupid" and mean that something was frustrating or planned poorly or something. Down here, the same word is a HUGE insult. "Stupid" here means like you're an uneducated backwoods hick Indian that eats snakes and donkey dung and makes human sacrifices. Or something like that. Trust me, don't even use the word out loud unless you know who you are talking to and they know you. After having a few people like clerks and secretaries look at me like I was the most rudest human being in the world, I asked some questions and got straightened out!

Another thing that happens here is that we English speakers have a tendency to guess at words. Maybe we hear a conversation with familiar sounding words and hey! we're not Stupid for crying out loud! So we store up a couple of words for the right moment and then spring 'em on the poor unsuspecting Mexican who gives you the "look." (You'll know it when you see it)

Here's a couple of examples from Yours Truly who has bludgeoned the local dialect unrecognizable. Take the English word "embarrassed." I heard a word said in a sentence that had to be "embarrassed." It is the Spanish word, "embarasada." Sounds right, right? So after I told a Mexican friend that I was "embarasada" about something, he laughed and "How far along are you? Embarasada means pregnant." So far, not too embarrassing. Another word is "exitado." Sounds like "excited" no? Well yes, excited but in a sexual way. I misused that one too. It gets worse. This one is like WAY embarrassing. I used to confuse 3 words: miedo (fear), marido (husband) and mierda (the worser word for poop.) I was trying to ask an employee "How was her husband." Guess what I asked her. I didn't realize my error until I saw the "look." It was a doozy.

I will say with all gratitude that Mexican people are extremely forgiving when it comes to language. If you give it your best shot, normally a Mexican will go out of their way to help you communicate. It's a beautiful thing.

Hurricane Jimena again

2009-09-04T16:29:00.003-06:00

I received an email today claiming that Jimena has done terrific damage from landfall to Santa Rosalia. One report stated that the Mulege river crested over the bridge. If that's true then those folks are suffering. If any of you have contacts or web links, please let me know.

Bob

Palmilla photos

2009-09-03T14:37:00.008-06:00

I couldn't stand to leave you with depressing fire photos so here's some nice ones to look at.

Agua at the One and Only: the aftermath

2009-09-03T12:12:00.016-06:00

I received a couple of photos anonymously of the aftermath of the fire. They speak for themselves. I'm sure the Market Restaurant will be able to handle the extra traffic. If you were planning on staying at the One and Only Palmilla I wouldn't change plans because of the fire.

Correction to the Palmilla story

2009-09-03T09:34:00.004-06:00

Thanks to an anonymous comment by a reader, my history has been corrected.

And I quote:

"The fire was in 'Aqua' is the new restaurant with the beautiful Palapas. The other restaurant that was remodelled is called 'Market', formerly known as restaurant 'C' which is the remodelled original Palmilla Hotel Restaurant."

So there you have it. This person sounds like they know what they are talking about so I won't go too far to verify the comment. I'm sure they are probably connected to the Palmilla somehow. (I used to go visit a friend there years ago who was I believe the head sous-chef at the time. I won't tell you his name but his initials were Jim Wallace. Great guy, married a lovely local girl and has been moving up in the high-end restaurant world ever since. Somewhere along the line my age and poor memory has clouded the picture.)

Thanks "Anonymous." I appreciate it.