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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
Showing posts with label Baja. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Baja. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Hola everybody:
Hope you're all well and not feeling too down about those shitty Canadian winters. I want to take advantage of the fact that I'm still connected in my room to send what will probably be my second to last email of our trip.
We will be leaving for parts unknown, as planned, on Tuesday.
Today we had the most beautiful day. We were finally able to complete our trip to Espiritu Santo Island. The weather was perfect, sunny and clear with only a hint of wind. We left around 9:00 am in a very nice boat. There was only another person going along so we were really lucky to go at all. Usually they don't go unless there is a minimum of 5 or 6. The price was pretty good too better than their competitors.
The island itself is unbelievable. The rock formations are incredibly diverse. You can see pitted, volcanic type rocks or beautiful, smooth pastel cliffs. The water is marvellously clear and turquoise in colour which contrasts very nicely against the white sand. After about an hour and a half we circled Espiritu and actually came to another island, circled around that one as well and headed for and outcropping full of guano droppings which is home to a colony of about 400 sea lions. There are about 50 machos, those are the enormous males and believe me, they are huge.
We dropped anchor in a little bay which housed dozens of sea lions, many of them babies. We put on our wetsuits (I hate those but the water is cold) and jumped overboard. The marine life is extraordinary. Beautiful, colourful blue, yellow, green fishes of all sizes but the incredible thing was swimming with the baby sea lions. At first we were a little hesitant, they are not that small but the guy on the boat, a kid really, dove in and asked us if we wanted to touch them. Of course we said yes and is that possible? He assured us it was. He had borrowed the underwater camera from the other person on the trip. He didn't swim for as long because he didn't have a wetsuit. Anyways we followed Paco and soon there were dozens of curious sea lions around us. You put out your wrist and they come and gently nip on it. It doesn't hurt, they just squeeze a little with their jaw. It's a way of getting to know you. They would come right up to your mask at look at you. You could
touch their flippers and their bellies, but they don't like to be touched on the head. It was like being in a whirlpool of sea lions. What a great experience. It's so rare to be able to swim with creatures like that in the wild. We stayed in the water for quite some time. Paco took a lot of underwater pictures and we will be getting them emailed to me. After that experience we left for this beautiful beach, again white sand, turquoise water, bizarre rock formations, the possibility for pictures was truly endless. We had lunch there and relaxed.
It was perfect. We headed back just as the wind was picking up so the ride back in was quite bumpy.
Garth had invited us to La Ventana where they were having a burning bush party but we were too tired to make it. It can be tough driving that road at night and Stan is still nursing a cold.
This was definitely a big highlight. We look forward to seeing lots of whales when we hit the road next. Hasta luego yet again,
Josiane
Hope you're all well and not feeling too down about those shitty Canadian winters. I want to take advantage of the fact that I'm still connected in my room to send what will probably be my second to last email of our trip.
We will be leaving for parts unknown, as planned, on Tuesday.
Today we had the most beautiful day. We were finally able to complete our trip to Espiritu Santo Island. The weather was perfect, sunny and clear with only a hint of wind. We left around 9:00 am in a very nice boat. There was only another person going along so we were really lucky to go at all. Usually they don't go unless there is a minimum of 5 or 6. The price was pretty good too better than their competitors.
The island itself is unbelievable. The rock formations are incredibly diverse. You can see pitted, volcanic type rocks or beautiful, smooth pastel cliffs. The water is marvellously clear and turquoise in colour which contrasts very nicely against the white sand. After about an hour and a half we circled Espiritu and actually came to another island, circled around that one as well and headed for and outcropping full of guano droppings which is home to a colony of about 400 sea lions. There are about 50 machos, those are the enormous males and believe me, they are huge.
We dropped anchor in a little bay which housed dozens of sea lions, many of them babies. We put on our wetsuits (I hate those but the water is cold) and jumped overboard. The marine life is extraordinary. Beautiful, colourful blue, yellow, green fishes of all sizes but the incredible thing was swimming with the baby sea lions. At first we were a little hesitant, they are not that small but the guy on the boat, a kid really, dove in and asked us if we wanted to touch them. Of course we said yes and is that possible? He assured us it was. He had borrowed the underwater camera from the other person on the trip. He didn't swim for as long because he didn't have a wetsuit. Anyways we followed Paco and soon there were dozens of curious sea lions around us. You put out your wrist and they come and gently nip on it. It doesn't hurt, they just squeeze a little with their jaw. It's a way of getting to know you. They would come right up to your mask at look at you. You could
touch their flippers and their bellies, but they don't like to be touched on the head. It was like being in a whirlpool of sea lions. What a great experience. It's so rare to be able to swim with creatures like that in the wild. We stayed in the water for quite some time. Paco took a lot of underwater pictures and we will be getting them emailed to me. After that experience we left for this beautiful beach, again white sand, turquoise water, bizarre rock formations, the possibility for pictures was truly endless. We had lunch there and relaxed.
It was perfect. We headed back just as the wind was picking up so the ride back in was quite bumpy.
Garth had invited us to La Ventana where they were having a burning bush party but we were too tired to make it. It can be tough driving that road at night and Stan is still nursing a cold.
This was definitely a big highlight. We look forward to seeing lots of whales when we hit the road next. Hasta luego yet again,
Josiane
Hola Everybody:
I hope the snow is melting just like the evil witch in Wizard of Oz but if not spring is just around the corner.
Weather in Baja is mostly predictable although it does get windy sometimes and if it blows from the north you do need a sweater to go out at night. Again I'm not complaining. We're still in sandals, capris and for Stan shorts so it's definitely better than Canada at this time of the year.
On Monday we went for a drive and ended up further than we had originally anticipated. We headed for Los Barriles which is another windsurfing, kite boarding hangout. The day was beautiful, clear and sunny with only a little bit of wind. Los Barriles is about 2 hours away from La Paz and there appears to be a fair bit of gringos there, afficionados of the two sports mentioned.
We stopped there for lunch and went to this cafe which appeared to be a throwback to those old fashioned diners which used to be so common in the U.S. at one time or another. Not surprisingly it was owned by Americans which would explain the nostalgic feel to the decor. The woman who owned it was baking fresh cinnamon buns and the smell was quite heavenly. I just had to have one so I took one to go after we had our lunch. I find it hard to resist that smell. It was as good as I thought it would be, maybe better.
We decided to continue on to San Jose and Cabo and go for a boat trip to Los Arcos.
The scenery was spectacular with the Sea of Cortez peeking around corners of the road and the stark desert silhouetted in sharp contrast. Baja is home to the tallest cardons in the world. Cardons are cactuses. They are quite a site indeed. Some can grow to a height of 50 feet. We've seen some at about 30 feet but we're still looking for that elusive 50 feet wonder.
San Jose was busy with traffic so we pressed on to Cabo impatient to make that boat. A boat wasn't hard to find. I bargained the guy a bit impressing him with my command of Spanish....haha It does help though. While on the malecon, the last time we were in Cabo with Kaiulani, she distinctly heard a guy said that prices are 50% less if you speak Spanish. It's only fair. There is a price for gringos and a price for Mexicans.
We hopped on the boat with our two strapping guides who insisted they had to stop for some refreshment of the alcoholic kind. "No hay problema".
The boat was glass bottomed so they took us near some reefs where we were able to observe many colourful fish. Stan was very happy. They threw some tortillas into the water and it was a regular feeding frenzy.
That whole area is quite magical. The rocks are volcanic in nature and full of holes and mysterious crevasses. There are lovely beaches punctuated by beautiful, white sand. We took some nice pictures but I can't download them onto Facebook just yet. We will have to wait till I get home. Because the guys like "our command of Spanish" they decided to take us to where we might be able to see some whales. There were a couple of other boats and they had seen some whales so we waited and were not disappointed. We saw our first 3 whales that afternoon rising out of the water with their tails held aloft. It was a majestic site. We will be going to Puerto San Carlos where apparently they can get so curious that they literally rush out to meet the boat.
Yesterday we spend most of the day at the beach and although we didn't swim we were able to walk the whole length of the beach without getting a heat stroke. There were only a few other people and we had a great spot sheltered by a sand dune.
Today we had a leisurely breakfast at our favourite restaurant. It's cheap and delicious so we keep going back.
We went to see Garth in La Ventana but he was away again. We have been going to the movies a fair bit since they have a Cinepolis in La Paz with about 14 or 15 screens. Today we went to see Vicki, Christina, Barcelona, the latest Woody Allen. Allow me a small critique here. W.A. has been mining the same terrain for far too many years. His mother lode has certainly run out. He has moved the action from New York, to London and now Barcelona but it's still the same old-tired "shtick". He pretends to savage all the bourgeois trappings while unable to portray anything else. I still enjoyed it mostly for Javier and Penelope but I could really sink my teeth into this one if I were writing something serious and the result might not be pretty.
We're staying in La Paz till the 20th and then the road odyssey will begin anew. Love to hear from all of you. Hope going back to work isn't too rough. Hasta luego,
Josiane
P.S. I know it appeared as though I didn't like Vicki, Christina, Barcelona but on the whole I have to say I rather enjoyed thanks in part to Penelope Cruz.
Share your holiday memories for free with Windows LiveT Photos. Get started now.
I hope the snow is melting just like the evil witch in Wizard of Oz but if not spring is just around the corner.
Weather in Baja is mostly predictable although it does get windy sometimes and if it blows from the north you do need a sweater to go out at night. Again I'm not complaining. We're still in sandals, capris and for Stan shorts so it's definitely better than Canada at this time of the year.
On Monday we went for a drive and ended up further than we had originally anticipated. We headed for Los Barriles which is another windsurfing, kite boarding hangout. The day was beautiful, clear and sunny with only a little bit of wind. Los Barriles is about 2 hours away from La Paz and there appears to be a fair bit of gringos there, afficionados of the two sports mentioned.
We stopped there for lunch and went to this cafe which appeared to be a throwback to those old fashioned diners which used to be so common in the U.S. at one time or another. Not surprisingly it was owned by Americans which would explain the nostalgic feel to the decor. The woman who owned it was baking fresh cinnamon buns and the smell was quite heavenly. I just had to have one so I took one to go after we had our lunch. I find it hard to resist that smell. It was as good as I thought it would be, maybe better.
We decided to continue on to San Jose and Cabo and go for a boat trip to Los Arcos.
The scenery was spectacular with the Sea of Cortez peeking around corners of the road and the stark desert silhouetted in sharp contrast. Baja is home to the tallest cardons in the world. Cardons are cactuses. They are quite a site indeed. Some can grow to a height of 50 feet. We've seen some at about 30 feet but we're still looking for that elusive 50 feet wonder.
San Jose was busy with traffic so we pressed on to Cabo impatient to make that boat. A boat wasn't hard to find. I bargained the guy a bit impressing him with my command of Spanish....haha It does help though. While on the malecon, the last time we were in Cabo with Kaiulani, she distinctly heard a guy said that prices are 50% less if you speak Spanish. It's only fair. There is a price for gringos and a price for Mexicans.
We hopped on the boat with our two strapping guides who insisted they had to stop for some refreshment of the alcoholic kind. "No hay problema".
The boat was glass bottomed so they took us near some reefs where we were able to observe many colourful fish. Stan was very happy. They threw some tortillas into the water and it was a regular feeding frenzy.
That whole area is quite magical. The rocks are volcanic in nature and full of holes and mysterious crevasses. There are lovely beaches punctuated by beautiful, white sand. We took some nice pictures but I can't download them onto Facebook just yet. We will have to wait till I get home. Because the guys like "our command of Spanish" they decided to take us to where we might be able to see some whales. There were a couple of other boats and they had seen some whales so we waited and were not disappointed. We saw our first 3 whales that afternoon rising out of the water with their tails held aloft. It was a majestic site. We will be going to Puerto San Carlos where apparently they can get so curious that they literally rush out to meet the boat.
Yesterday we spend most of the day at the beach and although we didn't swim we were able to walk the whole length of the beach without getting a heat stroke. There were only a few other people and we had a great spot sheltered by a sand dune.
Today we had a leisurely breakfast at our favourite restaurant. It's cheap and delicious so we keep going back.
We went to see Garth in La Ventana but he was away again. We have been going to the movies a fair bit since they have a Cinepolis in La Paz with about 14 or 15 screens. Today we went to see Vicki, Christina, Barcelona, the latest Woody Allen. Allow me a small critique here. W.A. has been mining the same terrain for far too many years. His mother lode has certainly run out. He has moved the action from New York, to London and now Barcelona but it's still the same old-tired "shtick". He pretends to savage all the bourgeois trappings while unable to portray anything else. I still enjoyed it mostly for Javier and Penelope but I could really sink my teeth into this one if I were writing something serious and the result might not be pretty.
We're staying in La Paz till the 20th and then the road odyssey will begin anew. Love to hear from all of you. Hope going back to work isn't too rough. Hasta luego,
Josiane
P.S. I know it appeared as though I didn't like Vicki, Christina, Barcelona but on the whole I have to say I rather enjoyed thanks in part to Penelope Cruz.
Share your holiday memories for free with Windows LiveT Photos. Get started now.
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