Hola Everybody:
Yesterday I felt that my email was a little rushed and didn't quite capture the full flavour of this pretty little town so I thought I would add a little more details. I was writing the email in the kitchen of the owners of the yurts while they were preparing supper so it felt a bit intrusive.
The town itself only has 3 restaurants to speak of. Two are near the plaza and one is outside the main drag and called Tota. That's also where we stayed in a charming cabin for the first two nights. Right now I'm connected outside and still wearing capris and sandals so although it gets windy it's still hot enough to sit outside and bask in the sun. The wind might not be good on the ocean but it's a welcome respite from the heat. The sun is still very hot because San Ignacio is actually an oasis in the middle of the desert. The Jesuits planted the date palms and right now there are about 10,000 or so date palms and other assorted varieties of palms although no coconut palms, for some strange reason they don't seem to grow here. It doesn't rain coconuts but it certainly rains dates. Due to a shortage of manpower most of the dates end up on the ground although some do get picked and sold locally. San Ignacio is located near what is apparently the longest river in all of Baja. The yurts themselves were chosen because they would not disturb the natural harmony of the date palm grove, yes it's a grove, not a forest as I so erroneously mentioned previously. For those of you who don't know what a yurt is it's a circular building used primarily by inhabitants of Mongolia. They could easily assemble and disassemble them while on their nomadic tending of the herds. Of course, as I said before, these yurts are much more luxurious and come with full amenities. Wait till you see the pictures! We were only going to stay one night but it was so cool that we opted for two instead. It's very peaceful right now with the wind rustling gently in the palm fronds. The breakfast is included and was fantastic. We got real homemade bread with flour from the U.S. It's hard to get good flour for bread making in Mexico, not sure why.
Yesterday we went kayaking along the river. The river is quite wide and mostly tranquil. The banks are, once again, all lined with date palms. Everything was fine until it was time to get out of the kayak. Maybe I'm a total klutz or just incredibly unlucky when it comes to any type of water activity. I was sitting in the front and Stan pulled up to this ramp which was quite slippery. I put one foot on the ramp but Stan couldn't hold the kayak steady so I was spread out doing the split between the ramp and the kayak, not a pretty picture. Of course something had to give and that something was me so I ended up in the water. Luckily I could swim to where there were steps but I was thoroughly soaked and I banged my leg getting a pretty big bruise. It wasn't earth shattering but I still didn't like it. Maybe it's because I'm a taurus and although I love the water I still prefer la "terra ferma".
Regarding San Ignacio normally it would be packed with tourists because of the whales but Mexico has been hit really hard by the economic crisis and it's not just a pinch, it's more like a major squeeze. For towns which are really dependent on tourist dollars the economic prospects are pretty bleak right now. It's not just here either but it's everywhere we have been so far. Even Cabo business is down by 40%. Normally we wouldn't even be able to stay in these yurts
without reservations. In the past reservations had to be made at least one year in advance but not so this year. Their pain is our gain but it's a small comfort.
At Tota's we were the only residents. It was a bit sad to see him put on his apron to serve us in his restaurant where we were the only customers. I don't know why I found that gesture so poignant or maybe he really didn't want to soil his clothes but somehow I don't think so. At least we sent a little business his way.
Tomorrow we leave for Guerrero Negro and we will be crossing one of the driest deserts in the world, the Vizcaino desert. Apparently there are cactuses there which look like inverted carrots, very tall with a little "head" of leaves just like in a Dr. Seuss drawing. They are called boolums.
The sun is really hot on my arm as I'm typing this and I feel really bad for all of you stuck wih this endless winter. Canada would be so great with a little less snow. Hope this captures the feel of the place a little better. It's "muy tranquilo" as they say here. Nice to hear from everybody.
Hasta luego,

Josiane

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