Land's End Historical Perspective

Here is a little historical perspective on Land's End in San Lucas. The first image is from 1852. The view is looking NW as depicted on the postcard. The water looks like it was rough that day....
The second image is a photo taken in the early 70's from about the same perspective.

Am I Safer Here in Baja than in the States?

Here is another excellent article about safety while traveling in Mexico published by the good folks over at Lonely Planet.  Let me know what you think about this opinion.

Read more:
Are Americans safer in Mexico than at home?

Southwest Air Announces New Flights

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

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

Less Mexicans Heading North

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

Click here to read the story.


Better Lives for Mexicans Cut Allure of Going North

Tyler Hicks/The New York Times

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

Music This Week on the East Cape

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

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

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

LOS BARRILES - MUSIC FESTIVAL 2011

Follow this link for full details:  Los Barriles Music Fest

Bisbee's Black and Blue Wrapup

And the winner is....

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

Bisbee's Black and Blue Day Two Results

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

Bisbee's Black and Blue Day One Results

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



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

746 LB Marlin Caught!

746 LB BLUE MARLIN, ONE DAY BEFORE BISBEE!

746-Pound Monster Marlin Caught on Bisbee Registration Day!

The Little Boat that Could…Pisces’ Tracy Ann!

Click here to read the story!

The Bisbee's Black and Blue is Due!

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


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

Oh the joy of victory and the agony of defeat.

Colorful History of Hotel California

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

By Romana

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

Click here to continue...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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





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

Old photos of Baja California

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.

The Little Bite Part 1

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 US 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.

The Left-Turn Signal

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.”

Left Blinker: Prolog

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....

Hurricane Jimena again

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

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

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

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.