Lynn Hamman - In the know in Loreto!

For most of the time that I have lived in Loreto Bay I have been receiving a steady stream of email notifications and announcements about what is happening in the larger community outside of this development.  These emails arrive in my inbox with random frequency, sometimes several a day, often several times a week, but they share the same source, Lynn Hamman, who manages a Yahoo Group that serves as the distribution point of a wealth of information for the English speaking community here.  

In fact, those of you who are familiar with this service would have received one such announcement recently, that I was resuming making posts to this Living Loreto Blog.  That is when it occurred to me that this would be a helpful Blog topic for those of my readers who are not yet aware that such a service is available, but who are interested in learning more about many aspects of life in the town of Loreto.  Before I go any further, it is very easy for you to join this group and start receiving these messages, just log onto: www.groups.yahoo.com/group/Loreto_community and join the group of almost 1,000 who are interested in keeping up to date about what is happening in this community.

But back to my story, I arranged to meet with Lynn one afternoon at the beautiful oceanfront property that she shares with her husband Randy, just north of downtown Loreto.  We sat in the cool breeze of their second floor Living Room, overlooking the beach and the Sea of Cortez, and I asked her how she came to be the conduit of all the essential information for the ex-pat community here in Loreto.

Six years ago, when Lynn was enrolled in a Spanish class at the local University, the Instructor wanted to spread word about the class among the English speaking community and Lynn volunteered.  Not having access to any current email list she created her own copying e-addresses from a phone directory of English speaking locals.  Starting with 300 – 400 email addresses she began by sending out a few announcements about the classes and quickly received many replies asking her to spread the word about other events and announcements – and so it began.

As the number of announcements increased and the number of contacts grew, the process of generating hundreds of emails became more tedious and time consuming as Yahoo limited the number of contacts that could be included in each “blast”.  When Yahoo later cut that number in half, effectively doubling the time and effort required for each mailing, Lynn had to find a better way.  That is when, three and a half years ago, she started the Yahoo Group that I linked to above, stream lining the delivery to what is now a list of over 900 recipients.

As the sole moderator of the Group, Lynn personally screens all incoming messages to maintain the integrity of the information going out over the site, and edit where necessary, for the consistency and quality of the messages.  Those messages cover a wide range of topics, some of the most important deal with information about civic utilities such as water and electricity and changes or interruptions in service, or others concerning civic administrative procedures including billings etc. and regulatory changes in areas like Immigration and Fishing Licensing.  There is also frequently information about local businesses; restaurant and store openings, closings and special menus or events, meetings of groups, information about local events in town like anniversaries or festivals.     

I know from my own experience that this is an important service and a reliable source of information for many people who spend time in and around Loreto and so it occurred to me that there may well be some readers of this Blog who are not yet aware of it – hence the subject of this posting.  Joining this Yahoo Group will be of particular interest to the increasing number of Loreto Bay Homeowners who are beginning their adventure of Living Loreto, and are planning to spend more time in their Casa away from Home here in the Baja.

While managing this busy service may sound like a time consuming challenge, there is another important aspect to their lives that keeps Lynn and her husband Randy fully occupied.  They are also the Hosts of a very popular boutique lodging, Hamman’s Vacaciones (www.stayinloreto.com).  When they were having their home constructed on a choice beachfront lot about 6 years ago they decided to incorporate two self contained one bedroom suites; Mango Deck a free standing casita, and Tequila Sunrise a private condo unit on the ground floor of their residence.  They also added a bedroom unit that is available as additional accommodation for larger parties renting one or both of the other suites.

Their Guests enjoy these very comfortable self-contained units with private entrances as well as the oceanfront location with spectacular views and access to great amenities like the beautiful private swimming pool, outdoor fireplace, and even an aviary with a collection of colourful tropical birds.  With their years of local experience, Lynn and Randy can fulfill their role as Hosts very well indeed, providing a wealth of information to their Guests so that they can make the most of their time visiting Loreto.   A testament to the success of this operation is the large percentage of repeat visitors they have, people who consider this unique property as their “casita away from home”.

In closing, I would like to acknowledge the great contribution Lynn has been making to improving the communication and building stronger bonds within the ex-pat and larger community here in Loreto.  As we grow together, this becomes a more and more important link for those of us here and for those who look forward to sharing the experience of “Living Loreto”.

   

Water, Water, Everywhere – the “Best” of Loreto!

I have a confession to make – I am not much of a swimmer, in fact I think I could be best described as a “sinker” instead.  So it was from this perspective that I decided to check out the first annual open water swimming race from Picazon to Coronado Island recently.  For those of you less familiar with the Loreto area, but who have been reading this Blog, the name Picazon may be familiar because I have written about it before (“In the La Picazon” May, 2009).  This is one of my favourite spots near Loreto, La Picazon is a beachfront restaurant incorporated into the home of the owners Alejandro & Imelda, located about 10 km north of town across from Coronado Island.

The swimmers met the night before to receive instructions and “carbo-load” with a pasta dinner that the organizers provided, courtesy of Pedro at Porto Bello Restaurant in Puerto Escondido.  Saturday morning was clear and sunny, as usual, and fortunately very calm when the participants and their supporters assembled at La Picazon before the race.  Following final registrations and a “warm-up” session on the beach, the 28 swimmers took to the water about 8:30 am.

I gather the expectation was to swim from point “A”, the beach at Picazon, directly across to point “B”, the white sand beach on Coronado, in a more or less straight line.  However, once the swimmers were well out into the 3 mile wide channel, they were pushed north by strong currents caused by the sea conditions associated with a recent storm hundreds of miles south of here.  By halfway many swimmers had been pushed north of the island and some had to be helped back on course by some of the escort boats accompanying them.

The first swimmer arrived at Coronado in the impressive time of 1 hour 22 minutes and more than half the field (water?) finished within the next hour.  As a point of interest to those not familiar with open water swimming, the field (there should be a better word in this case) of swimmers were about equally divided between those who swam with and without fins, with the “finned” swimmers having a distinct “mechanical”  advantage.   By about 11:30 boats began to return the swimmers from Coronado back to the beach at Picazon where a good sized crowd of supporters and the curious had gathered to welcome and congratulate them on successfully completing the crossing. 

Alejandro and Imelda provided a special “fast food” menu with self-service to accommodate the large number of hungry people and soon every available seat, including some temporary beachside tables under awnings, were filled with people animatedly talking about the swim that had just taken place and listening to stories shared by the participants. 

Eventually the organizers began the award presentations, recognizing each individual swimmer in the order that they finished, and presenting them with a medallion commemorating the event.  This lead to a joyous celebration and I was struck by the obvious camaraderie among all the participants, sharing in each other’s success, regardless of where they each had finished. 

The swimmers had come from near and far to join in this inaugural event; about 1/3 from in and around Loreto, representing both the local and ex-pat communities.  I met several from Loreto Bay as well, including Kevin, a Homeowner, and his friend Lynn, both from California who were experienced tri-athletes and had made this trip to Loreto specifically to take part in the race.  All told, about 1/4 came from La Paz and about the same numbers from the Mainland, one of the female swimmers was visiting Loreto from London England, saw the Poster and joined the swim  – an impressive turnout of exceptional athletes for the first such competition, one that promises to become an annual event!

Continuing the “water” theme of this week’s posting, I also had the opportunity to experience one of my favourite pastimes here in Loreto – a chance to get ON the water for a half day cruise on the Sea of Cortez.  I was contacted recently by a regular reader of this Blog, Jon Riksford, who introduced me to his new Sailboat Charter service based from the marina at Puerto Escondido, 10 km south of Loreto Bay.  Jon has been operating a successful Charter business in San Diego (www.shelterislandsailing.com) for a number of years and first visited Loreto a couple of years ago, when he realized that this would be a perfect location to operate a branch of his sailing operation.

He began by bringing  Jambo Deux, a 47 ½ foot Beneteau sailboat from San Diego around the Baja peninsula, stopping in Cabo and La Paz before establishing his home port in Puerto Escondido last winter.  For the past six months he has gone through the demanding process of acquiring all the necessary documentation and permits to comply with the Mexican regulations governing such charter operations and becoming a qualified professional Skipper in Mexico.

Jon generously invited me out for a half day cruise and encouraged me to bring some Guests along for the ride, as his boat can comfortably carry 8 – 10 passengers.  So earlier this week I was joined by Dar and Ed and we met Jon at his Charter office near the main dock at Escondido mid-morning.  Tied up at the end of the dock we first saw Jambo Deux resting against the beautiful backdrop of the “Hidden Harbour”.  Jon has a permanent moorage in the harbour, but usually can have the boat on the dock when he has a charter booked, making boarding the boat a simpler and landlubber friendly procedure.

After we stowed our bags of lunch provisions, cold drinks and other odds and ends, Jon gave us a brief tour of the spacious accommodations below decks of this beautiful boat, including all important (but simple) operating instructions for the two “heads” or on-board washrooms.  There are three staterooms, one forward in the bow of the boat and two aft, side by side below the large cockpit.   There is also upholstered banquet seating around a large dining table that can be converted to a fourth double berth, as well as a compact galley (or kitchen) and a nav. desk with below deck controls and readouts for all the electronics and navigation systems.  The effect of the gleaming hardwood paneling and trim with the white upholstery made the spacious saloon area very inviting.  

As Dar, Ed and I got comfortably settled in the cockpit area, Jon retrieved the dock lines and soon we were underway, motoring out of the marina area of the harbour, past the outer anchorage at its entrance, locally known as “the waiting room” and into the open water.  Although it was a calm day, once we were away from shore and heading toward Carmen Island, Jon pointed out the line of ripples midway across the channel marking a line of wind that we headed for.

Along the way he introduced us to the basic navigation and sailing features of the boat and we had the opportunity to take the helm (steer) as he stowed lines and bumpers making the boat seaworthy in the expectation of some sailing ahead.  The large cockpit would comfortably sit up to eight around a folding table, and with twin wheels aft there was plenty of room for a group twice the size of the four of us on board.  Forward, the spacious deck also had plenty of space to stretch out for some “rays” and there were matching kayaks lashed to the rails on either side, providing more options for fun on the water as well as snorkelling and casual fishing for lunch.

Once we reached the line of wind we had seen at a distance, Jon unfurled the mainsail from the mast where it is stored and released the Genoa headsail and we were underway and under sail!  This reminded me of one of my favourite moments from my own, sadly limited, sailing experience – when the onboard engine can be shut off and only the sound of the wind in the rigging and the water rushing by becomes the accompaniment to the true sailing experience!

As we relaxed around the cockpit table over a delicious lunch provided by Dar from the Bajaja kitchen, Jon described typical excursions ranging from a half day to a full day on the water and even extending to multi-day trips for smaller groups.  The itinerary can vary with the whims of the passengers and the wind conditions on the day.  Often the time aboard is divided between sailing and enjoying one of the many anchoring spots within easy access of the home port.  Snorkelling, kayaking, and swimming are some of the water activities that can be enjoyed at anchor, as well as the incomparable luxury of lazing about on a beautiful boat surrounded by the beauty of the Sea of Cortez.

As the wind began to die, it was time to retrace our course back to Escondido under power and enjoy the dramatic approaches to this beautiful harbour.  Adding to the enjoyment of this perfect day was the calm and confident presence of our Skipper Jon, who balanced the obvious skill and experience that comes from a lifetime of boating, with the relaxed and charming attitude of a true host, making sure his guests aboard enjoyed their experience fully.  I was reminded of a sailing instructor who had once advised me that the goal of a proficient sailor was to always conduct oneself with “grace and decorum” – a perfect description of the way that Jon handles himself and his boat.

If you are interested in sharing an unforgettable experience like I have described here, you can get more information on the website I linked to at the beginning of this posting and select “Loreto, Sea of Cortez Sailing Charters” at the top of the page for more details and contact information.  Although my opportunities to enjoy a day on the water are rare, I have long understood that the BEST part of the life experience in this pristine place is to be found – on the water – and that’s a truly special part of “Living Loreto”.         

Giving Thanks - a new season begins!

I have mentioned that there is a lot of new commercial development underway in the Loreto Bay community this Fall, I opened our new Real Estate Office this past week, next door to the new First Contact Property Management Offices where Chris and Dawn Smith have set up to manage their properties in the development.

This past week was also a “soft opening” event for another new business opening within Loreto Bay, the Bajaja Deli Bar which shares the building with USG Construction at the south end of the “race track” median between the Founder’s Village and Agua Viva.  This large contemporary style building is not actually part of the Loreto Bay Condominium regime, as the lot was owned privately before the development began.

USG Construction (www.usgconstructiongroup.com)  is a General Contractor that was formed earlier this year by three principals, most of whom have been involved with the Loreto Bay Development since the early days; Ed Tait, was the first Loreto Bay employee on the ground and was responsible for initially setting up the construction project, Groff Ward whose company West Coast Millworks fabricated all of the cabinets and much of the woodwork for the initial phases of the Loreto Bay Project, and Brian Partridge who has a lengthy background in all aspects of overseeing construction.

When USG leased the building for their construction office, they realized that because the property was originally designed as a residence, it would also lend itself to operating a restaurant/bar in the same location – a long-held dream of Ed and his wife Darlene and a shared interest of the other two couples as well.  Thus the Bajaja Deli Bar & Grill (www.bajajaloreto.com) was born!  After months of preparations including renovations to the kitchen and securing the necessary permits, a couple of weeks ago they began serving Breakfast and Lunch between 8:00 am and 3:00 pm.

But the big event was planned for this past Monday – a Canadian Thanksgiving Buffett – complete with a full afternoon of Canadian Football on the satellite TV in the Bar!  Announcements were made on the well established Loreto grapevine and soon they were sold-out by reservations, and then over-sold, and finally over-over-sold!  For those of my American readers, we Canucks celebrate our Thanksgiving in early October (I guess it has something to do with the fact that our harvest is earlier in the north), but in most other important respects the celebration is the same – like Turkey – but more about that later!

I arrived at Bajaja mid-afternoon and joined a small group of “early birds” in the Bar to watch the second half of the football game.  The main building is arranged around a central sunken courtyard with a covered patio area overlooking the swimming pool which makes up most of the back yard.  At one end of the pool there is a separate building where the Bar is located.  Tables were set up in the sunken courtyard, in the colonnade between the courtyard and the pool and on three sides of the pool deck with total seating for over 70 people.  As the afternoon progressed more people arrived and congregated in the Bar until that space overflowed into the other areas where people found seats, and enjoyed meeting and greeting each other as they relaxed over cocktails.     

 Meanwhile, preparations were well underway for the Thanksgiving feast that was to come!  Located behind the kitchen on the pool deck, a propane burner was set up to heat a large deep fryer where each of four large Turkeys were being cooked under the careful eye of Geoff, the Master Turkey Fryer!  For those of you who haven’t experienced deep fried Turkey this is one of the best (and fastest) ways of cooking fowl.  The fully thawed bird is immersed whole in cooking oil, which is maintained at 375 degrees, and it cooks to a golden brown in only 3 minutes per pound.  The cooked meat is succulent and juicy, without any of the oiliness you might expect from this cooking method – delicious!

In the kitchen, the staff chef Jessey was hard at work, with assistance from all the partners preparing the side dishes of mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, peas, carrots, gravy, stuffing and all the trimmings that make up a Thanksgiving feast.  By the time that all four birds had been cooked to perfection, a separate room was prepared for the buffet and soon the table was surrounded by appreciative diners loading their plates with the delicious food. As platter after platter of carved Turkey was delivered, and the side dishes were replenished, eventually everyone was seated and enjoying this traditional meal – in very Untraditional surroundings.  With the setting sun silhouetting the mountains to the west, and the verdant greens of the golf course fairways stretching beyond the bougainvillea trimmed wall around the illuminated pool – this wasn’t the way Thanksgiving used to be!

In addition to enjoying the delicious food, this was an opportunity for the guests to celebrate the beginning of a new season in Loreto Bay.  A few hardy souls had been here all summer long, many more had recently returned, some staying for weeks, others for the whole winter and so the conversations were “when did you arrive”, “how long are you staying”, “what have you been doing all summer”, re-establishing the sense of community that is one of the most important features of Loreto Bay.  I was also pleased to see some “Townies” from Loreto joining the festivities, it is good to have events where Loreto Bay and people who live in town can meet and mingle in a social situation.

After finishing off our feast with more tradition, freshly baked pumpkin pie with whipped cream, darkness began to fall and people took their leave, finding their way home in the warm night air, under the darkened silhouettes of Palm trees - adding a welcome new dimension to the celebration of giving thanks, particularly for those of us fortunate enough to be “Living Loreto”.   

The Long and Winding Road

 

It is not without a small degree of trepidation that I begin this, my fourth season of writing “Living Loreto”.  While I am excited about resuming my regular routine of posting stories about my life here in Loreto and the thoughts and activities that I want to share with you, my loyal readers – after my four month hiatus from Loreto it is a bit intimidating to begin the process again, considering the obligation I feel to produce these postings every week for the next eight months.

But, having said that, I realize that the best way to begin again is to do just that – begin!  I returned to Loreto almost two weeks ago, driving here from my summer locale, Calgary in Canada.  This year, however, rather than taking my regular direct route south from Alberta through Montana, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, Nevada and California before entering Mexico, I decided to take a different route, see some new scenery and do some visiting along the way.

In addition to the appeal of a new itinerary and visiting friends along the way, I left Calgary almost a month earlier than in previous years and so I had the luxury of making a more leisurely trip – almost three weeks, instead of the 4 or 5 days that my direct route normally takes.  Taking this additional time had the added benefit of postponing my arrival here earlier in September, when the combination of high temperatures and humidity make life at this latitude challenging, even for those who are acclimatized – let alone for me, having spent the past several months in what can be generously described as a “temperate” climate in western Canada!

So, when I left Calgary I headed west, instead of south, and crossed the Rocky Mountains into  British Columbia where my first stop was Penticton, a small resort city in the south-eastern part of that neighbouring province where I visited friends who are also Homeowners here in Loreto Bay.  Penticton is built around a beautiful large lake which is a vacation hub for many visitors as well as a large retired population.  I was impressed with the growing number of small “craft” vineyards in the area, the microclimate of the south-facing hills being ideal for a thriving local wine industry – Napa Valley North!  But just beyond these acres of lush green irrigated fields, the rolling hills covered with scrub brush in shades of rust and brown, reminded me much of the Baja environment and I realized I was homesick for Loreto with still over 4,000 km to go!

My next stop was Vancouver Island, but first I traveled further west through some of the most scenic mountain terrain in southern BC and along the Fraser River Valley, skirting the suburbs of Vancouver until I reached the major Ferry terminal at Tsawwassen south of the city.  I waited there for the departure to Nanaimo (Duke Point) and spent a relaxing 2 hour trip aboard, before getting back on the road again on the Island and travelling an hour south to the small town of Duncan, which was my next stop.  Although I used to travel Vancouver Island for many years on business, and stopped regularly in Duncan for meetings, in my working life I never had (made) the time to stop here and visit close relatives who live there, an oversight I had great pleasure correcting on this trip.

When I left Duncan, I headed to Victoria, on the southern tip of the Island, the Provincial Capital and one of the most beautiful cities in western Canada.  I have visited Victoria often over the years and it remains one of my favourite places in the whole country – with one of the mildest climates, great architecture, and a breathtaking setting where you are never far from the ocean and rugged coastline.  Here too, I was welcomed by close friends who are Homeowners in Loreto Bay and enjoy their summers in this very different environment of beautiful gardens, stately homes and verdant rainforests – truly the best of both worlds!   

Upon leaving Victoria I took a second Ferry, this time from the centre of Victoria south to Port Angeles in Washington.  After the ever increasing levels of scrutiny that I have become accustomed to crossing into the US on my regular route, the I found the Immigration and Customs routine for this Ferry crossing, while apparently adequately secure, to be much less intimidating and far more welcoming than my experiences at regular highway crossings further inland.  Perhaps this will become a preferred route in the future, when I can arrange my trip this way again.

Port Angeles Washington is a small harbour community with a mix of commercial and pleasure boat traffic and once I cleared the town I enjoyed a leisurely paced drive east and then south around the Olympic Peninsula through rain forest and never far from the rugged shoreline that separates Seattle from the open Pacific Ocean.  Eventually, I joined I-5, the major Interstate southbound to my next destination, Portland, just across the border into Oregon.

I had been looking forward to visiting Portland for some time, both because of how much I have heard about what a unique and beautiful city it is, and particularly because, for some reason, there are a disproportionate number of Homeowners in Loreto Bay from Portland and the surrounding areas.  I was able to visit with two such couples while I was there, and get a taste of what makes Portland such a special place.  While I was there, I had a recurring sense of familiarity – odd under the circumstances, since, as I said, this was my first visit, but it was later, after I left, that I realized why I felt this way. 

Although I spent most of my time while in Canada living in Calgary, thirty years ago I spent a number of years living in Ottawa, Canada’s capital in eastern Canada.  And it was living there with the century old brick buildings, lush gardens and a sense of history that reminded me of what I saw and felt visiting Portland.  Although I know there is much of Portland that is contemporary and similar to most major modern cities, because most of western Canada was settled long after there were thriving cities established in the western States, I realize that I associate the sense of history I was feeling with the older cities in eastern Canada, and so it was strange to me to find that impression “transplanted” to a very western feeling place like Portland.  I look forward to returning and experiencing more of the unique lifestyle Portlanders obviously enjoy!

One of the highlights of my trip was the next three days.  After leaving Portland I headed west to join the Pacific Coast Highway, the PCH or 101, a deservedly famous road, accurately named, as it skirts much of the coastline through Oregon and California.  However, just before joining the much anticipated 101 I had surprisingly remarkable experience going through the “H. B. VanDuzer Forest State Scenic Corridor”.  At the beginning of this stretch I noticed an advisory sign stating that the next 22 miles was going to be twisty and hilly – sounds like fun, I thought, but 22 MILES, that must be a bit of exaggeration.

It was no exaggeration!  For the next 22 miles I was on what could be best described as an asphalt roller coaster – Wheeeee!  Although I had my eyes firmly on the road and so couldn’t verify this by mileage, but I swear there wasn’t a ¼ mile stretch of straight road in the entire 22 miles, as this well maintained, albeit narrow two lane road corkscrewed through towering rainforest for almost 45 minutes of breathtaking scenery.  If I ever own a motorcycle, however unlikely that may be, I vow that this stretch of road will be near the top of my bucket list to experience! Not that this is a unique idea of mine, far from it, in fact, fully 50% of the traffic I met on this road was of the two wheel variety, and although I couldn’t verify this, I am sure most of the riders had bugs on their teeth from the silly grins from they were wearing.

But this was just the appetizer for the real treat.  Previously I have driven the PCH northbound several times in the past, but the experience of being on the outside lane southbound as this road travels along some of the most breathtaking coastal views was an even greater thrill.  Mile upon mile of crashing surf, wide expanses of open beach, towering rain forests, quaint seaside villages and an almost uninterrupted chain of State Parks and viewing areas, made for one of the highlights of my travels anywhere!             

My day ended in Brookings OR, at the southern end of the state, just north of the California border where I stayed near a large harbour of mixed commercial, fishing and pleasure boating.  The next day was more of the same, until 101 turned inland for about 50 miles south of Eureka before it met the junction with Highway 1, the Seacoast Highway, which is an even narrower, and, if possible, more scenic road, clinging even more precariously along the coastline for another 50 miles or so.  Reluctantly, at that point I made my way east rejoining 101, which was now an inland road that approached San Francisco.

Rather than attempting the Golden Gate Bridge and downtown San Francisco at the end of that day, I diverted towards the east Bay, stopping in the unremarkable Vallejo for the night.  My third day took me back to Interstate 5 where I made the uneventful trip south through central California, east of Los Angeles, and along an almost uninterrupted 150 miles of endless orchards.  My passage through LA went smoothly, never leaving the crowded Interstate, until I approached Orange County, about an hour south, although it is impossible to tell where one place name stops and another starts in this hugely populated area.

I have not seen enough of Southern California to express a legitimate opinion, but, regardless -  I think that the area around San Clemente in Orange County epitomizes the ideal SoCal lifestyle – lush manicured lawns, gardens and public spaces, beautiful homes, miles of beaches with surfers on every available wave, charming commercial streets with great stores and restaurants – all in all, an idyllic environment that portrays a popular aspect of the American Dream.  Needless to say, I enjoyed my several days of visiting in this beautiful place, sharing it with good friends who are lucky enough to call this place home!

The day before I was due to enter Mexico I drove the hour and a half to San Diego to meet up with my travelling partner for the final leg into Mexico, who is also a Loreto Bay Homeowner, and we loaded the small amount of remaining space in my Denali with various house wares that were to be transported to Loreto – no space goes unfilled on the southbound trip!  For my last night in America I enjoyed staying in a 5 star Hotel in downtown San Diego, right on the Marina which held the largest flotilla of the most impressive yachts I have ever seen in one place in my life.  There were literally hundreds, perhaps thousands of beautiful boats as far as the eye could see!

That night I went to a SD landmark, the Kansas City BBQ, nearby my Hotel, and enjoyed a rack of “falling off the bone” ribs.  Although this small and very casual restaurant has been here for years, it became part of pop culture when it was used as a location for scenes in the Tom Cruise movie Top Gun almost 20 years ago.  Although this connection was interesting, if trivial, the food was good and it was a fitting end to my journey to date.

The next morning I picked up my passenger in downtown San Diego and we arrived at the Tijuana border by 9:00 am.  As I have mentioned before, crossing borders always entails some uncertainty, but we headed confidently for the “Nothing to Declare” lanes only to be immediately waved over to the secondary inspection.  One look at the obviously capacity load and we were directed to the parking area for a more thorough inspection.

Eventually, we determined that we were expected to remove EVERYTHING from the vehicle before a Customs Agent would look over our load.  Surprisingly, it only took about 15 minutes to “dump” everything around Denny and then I found a likely looking Agent to come and do the inspection.  He poked at a few boxes and asked a few questions and in less than 5 minutes said we were free to go.  Repacking went quickly and even yielded a bit more room than before so we were on our way again 45 minutes after crossing the border.

After a quick stop in Ensenada at the Costco (we didn’t have room to buy much) we carried on south, arriving in Guerrero Negro just as the sun was setting.  There were two extensive construction zones, one south of Ensenada and the other south of Catavina, but I have learned to welcome road construction on Mexico #1 because it means that the next time I pass that way the road will be much improved. 

After an excellent dinner and quiet night at the Malarimo Motel and Restaurant in Guerrero Negro we had a good breakfast and were on the road by 9:00 am, except, because we were now in Baja Sur it was 10:00 am.  But from there it was an easy 4 hour drive across the peninsula and south to Loreto, the last half of which was down the east coast from Santa Rosalia past the breathtaking Bahia Conception, almost deserted in the end of summer heat which reached 104 degrees in the afternoon.

And so ended my extended journey south almost 5,000 km in 3 weeks through some of the most spectacular scenery in the west of North America, broken up with wonderful visits with friends and family along the way – what a perfect way to begin another winter of “Living Loreto”!

P.S.  I have exceeded my normal budget for this first instalment, but considering the ground I covered I hope not to have taxed your patience.  However, if you will indulge me one more thing - I am very excited to announce that I have launched a new personal website at www.LivingLoreto.com where you will be able to find this Blog posted every week along with Real Estate information about the Loreto Bay development and many new features to come this season including photos, video links and much more I hope to add to enrich the experiences I share in “Living Loreto”.  I hope you will bookmark this new link and adopt the habit of going there to find the Blog every weekend.  But rest assured, this blog will continue to be available at  www.livingloreto.blogspot.com in the future, however if you continue to read the Blog there you will not be able to access some of the bonus features I will be adding to the new site this season – so I hope you will switch where you read this and make a habit of visiting www.LivingLoreto.com in the future!     

Travelling North to Canada - ehh?

Greetings from the Great Greyish North! 

Yes, I made it safe and sound back to Calgary this week, the drive was thankfully uneventful and I made it here (almost 4,000 km) in four long days.

I left Loreto last Sunday morning and drove to San Quintin, about 850 km, in about 10 hours the first day, staying again at La Villa de la San Qunitin, which I have described in previous travelblogs.  The only unusual event on that day was just north of San Ignacio, where there was a Federal Police vehicle pulled off to the right and an Officer standing in the middle of the road flagging me down.  When I stopped, wondering if this was some sort of different inspection, I was greeted by a very cheerful smiling Cop who spoke excellent English.  He proceeded to ask me where I was going, and when I said Tecate he asked if I would be willing to drive the other Police Officer, who I hadn’t noticed standing over by their car, to Guerrero Negro about 150 km down the road.

It took me a minute to process this unusual request, travelling on Mexico #1 one has to be prepared for just about anything but transporting Police had not been on my list, previously.  I asked if the other Officer (who was quite young, probably in his 20’s) spoke English, to which he replied, yes, “Charlie” spoke a little.  I decided on the spot that these two guys in uniform (and armed, of course) represented more protection than a threat, and I was probably safer travelling with him than saying no, and the young passenger-to-be looked like a nice guy, so I said sure, I’d take him.

While he was putting a small duffle bag in the back of the car and getting settled in the passenger seat, I half jokingly asked the other Officer if taking this passenger meant that I would have to abide by the speed limit – to which he laughed, and said No!, with a Cop in the car I could go as fast as I wanted and no one would bother me!  And so we were off.  I quickly became aware that “Charlie” (whose real name was Carlos) spoke about as much English as I did Spanish so communication was quite limited, albeit very earnest and well meaning.  He noticed the small English/Spanish dictionary I keep on the console and I was amused by the fact that he was using it the opposite way that I did – with about the same results.

As we both recognized the limits of our conversational skills and had driven some distance in relative silence, I decided to try listening to the Sirius satellite radio, but realized that my usual preference for Talk Radio was not appropriate, so I handed him the list of 150+ channels so he could choose something.  Not surprisingly, this didn’t have much effect on him – I don’t think he understood what I was suggesting, or could understand what was on the list anyway – so I decided to try the all Elvis station, thinking (it turned out, correctly) that the King of Rock & Roll was universal!  And so we carried on, for the next hour and a half or so, rocking our way across the Baja Peninsula – a twenty-something Police rookie, and yours truly, a barely sixty survivor of the sixties – sharing the music the The King who died more than 10 years before my passenger was born!

I dropped Carlos off at the Police Station in GN, but before I could leave he had to show me his patrol car, inside and under the hood, which he was obviously proud of, and after taking his picture I gave him my card with this Blog address, and perhaps he is reading these words with you now, with the assistance of Google Translate – if so “Hola, Carlos, Bienvenidos!”

Leaving Guerrero Negro about 2:30 pm, and refuelling after travelling 440 km from Loreto, I began the second leg of the first day’s travel.  The rest of the afternoon passed uneventfully, with two more inspection stops, one about 60 km north of GN and the other just north of El Rosario, before I arrived in San Quintin about 7:00 pm – 6:00 local time, as I was now in Baja Norte and the Pacific time zone.  I stopped again at Villa San Quintin, 450 pesos for a comfortable single room and had an adequate shrimp dinner at the adjoining restaurant before calling it an early night.

The next morning, I had a quick breakfast in the room, although their restaurant was open, and was on the road refuelling before I left town at 8:30 (Loreto time).  As I was reaching the north end of town, I noticed a brand new Hotel on the east side of the road called La Mission, which I had heard about recently, and, from the fleeting glimpse I had driving past, it looked very nice – I will probably try staying there if I stop here again on my return trip.

About 100 km north of San Quintin and 100 km south of Ensenada, I went through the fifth Inspection stop, a very temporary looking one at the side of the highway that was new since my last trip south.  This was explained a few kilometres further north, when I passed a new multi-lane roofed structure built on the southbound lane of the highway that appeared to be an almost completed permanent “new design” Inspection station that looked similar to a toll booth plaza.  Perhaps this is the state-of-the-art-to-be for future Federal Inspection facilities, I will watch out for this on my return trip.

After a quick pit-stop at Costco in Ensenada (the nicest public washrooms on the Highway), I continued through to the turn-off for Highway 3 to Tecate, a road that has been under construction for the past several years.  However, it is now in good condition, with long stretches of new wide pavement and only a few construction zones, none of which caused any delays on this trip.  I have expressed the opinion in previous Blogs, that I think the plan is to develop this route to relieve some of the tremendous traffic pressure, particularly northbound, from the Tijuana crossing, the busiest border crossing in the World! 

Since I was travelling on the Monday of the Memorial Day weekend, I expected heavier than usual traffic volume at the US Border, and I was right – I stopped just about a kilometre from the Border on the access road in two lanes of bumper-to-bumper vehicles and it took me just over an hour to make my way to the Border Guard station.  Previously, not on Holiday long weekends, the longest I have had to wait here is 20 minutes, with 5 to 10 minutes being more normal – however, I consoled myself that if it was an hour’s wait at Tecate it could have been six or eight at TJ!

After crossing the Border, I made my way west to the Interstate corridor and joined I-15 north of San Diego and continued north past San Bernardino to Barstow, 640 km from San Quintin and 330 from Tecate, where I stopped for the night.  The luxury of a new American Hotel, with a great bed, nice linens, a granite bathroom, flat panel TV and a chain-style restaurant across the parking lot where I got a meal of ribs, fries and a salad was a wonderful way to celebrate my return to North America!  The next morning, as I packed up again, I also appreciated the fact that day I would not be subject to random inspections of my vehicle by well armed soldiers at the side of the road.

The final two days were long, 1,200 km each, stopping in Pocatello Idaho the next night and arriving in Calgary Wednesday about 6:00 pm.  But divided Interstate highways are designed for fast travel, although what they gain in efficiency they lose somewhat in interesting stories.  I did video record bits and pieces of the drive on this trip with my small handy-cam mounted on a mono-pod attached to the dash and, as one of my projects this summer, I will edit these recordings into some sort of a travelogue of highlights from the drive (God save us from Vacation Movies).  I also plan to re-start my Spanish lessons from the Rosetta Stone program with the goal of increasing my facility in the language on my return to Loreto in the Fall.

This year I expect to head back to Loreto earlier than in previous years, probably mid to late September, and I will plan to re-launch Living Loreto again early in October for my fourth year of Blogging, so please check back at that time!  In closing I would like to express my sincere appreciation for the loyal and growing readership that your visits here represent.  As I conclude this year’s Blog season I am more than gratified to have reached a total of almost 55,000 of your visits over the past three years of my writing these posts – almost 25,000 of them in the past year alone!        

Having said that, I will admit some relief to take a hiatus from writing over the summer - much as I enjoy the process, finding subjects for each week’s topics becomes a daunting exercise.  For that reason, I would like to take this opportunity to invite you, my loyal readers, to email me with suggestions or ideas for future Blogs – what would you be interested in reading about Living Loreto in future instalments?  Just look at the top right of the Blog where you will find my email address and drop me a note with your suggestions – I promise I will reply to every one of your emails and compile a file of your ideas for future reference, however I cannot guarantee that I will necessarily be willing or able to write a post on any and all of your ideas. 

Thank you again for your continued interest in these offerings, I trust you have a safe and happy Summer and we will meet again here in the Fall – because saying good-bye for the Summer and looking forward to getting together again in the Fall is also part of ``Living Loreto``!

Adios!  

Thoughts about comings and goings

This will be the last posting from here in Loreto for this winter season, however I plan to write one more about my drive back to Canada after I arrive there in early June, so please check back again for the final posting of this season.

Over the past couple of weeks I have seen a steady exodus of friends and neighbours leaving for wherever they spend their summer months, culminating a trend that began back in April when the numbers of people leaving started to exceed those arriving.  By the time I leave next weekend there will probably be fewest people here since after I arrived back in mid-October.

Although I am looking forward to seeing family and friends on my return north, and I will appreciate some of the conveniences of the North American urban lifestyle that are taken for granted when you live there, the more time I spend here, the deeper my connection has become with this place.  One of the biggest changes for me will be returning to an English language culture where I am once again in the linguistic majority.  While my comprehension of Spanish has improved this winter, and I am determined, once again this summer, to re-do the Rosetta Stone language program that I studied last summer, being surrounded by a foreign language on a day to day basis creates a low level of stress that only becomes apparent when it disappears.

In spite of all of these positives awaiting me north of the border, there is definitely a melancholy associated with seeing the vibrant and thriving community that has been the center of my life here for the past eight months shrinking house by house, neighbour by neighbour.  The somewhat depressing, but now familiar, process of shutting down my home for the summer and deciding what things I am going to be bringing with me and what I’m leaving behind is one of the last steps remaining before I start the long drive north.

The drive itself (this next one will complete my 8^th round trip since buying my home here) continues to be both a challenge and an adventure.  Travelling solo 4,000 km, likely over a four day period, requires both physical and mental stamina, and with luck, more or less equal amounts of both exhilaration and tedium.  For this later reason, a very important accessory on the trip is my satellite radio, which, if all goes well, should provide me with continuous reception of almost 150 stations covering every conceivable taste in music, talk and audio entertainment.

Also on this trip I am planning on adding a new “wrinkle” to the journey – I am going to video record highlights of the drive with the goal of putting together a personal travelogue.  I think I am now familiar enough with the drive to anticipate some of the most interesting stretches so as to be able to have my video camera running to capture them.  For those of you who are trying to “picture” how I am going to manage driving my vehicle “Denny” over narrow (and at times treacherous) Mexican roads or busy eight lane US Freeways while shooting video – relax!  I have secured a “mono-pod” to my dashboard to mount the camera on, and I will be able to control the recording on and off and even rotate the camera to focus on yours truly for commentary with a simple flip of the hand; or that’s the plan, anyway!      

Getting back to the travel to and from Loreto at this time of year, I don’t want to give the impression that the travel is just one way, as each inbound flight (now down to four per week from LAX) still brings visitors and Homeowners, but I think that most of these arrivals now are going to be for shorter term stays, while most of us who have been here for the winter will have left by the end of this month.  The irony about the fact that so many people have gone is that in terms of the weather, this is one of the most perfect times of the year – temperatures are in the mid-80’s and generally calm conditions with cooling breezes picking up in the later afternoon.  However, from this point on, temperatures will rise, followed by the humidity, and the rhythm of day to day life here will gradually slow down as people adapt to the changing climate.

Of course, not everyone leaves for the summer, there are a few hardy souls among the ex-pats who live here year round, considerably more in the town of Loreto than here in Loreto Bay.  But even for those who consider this their year-round home, there are often plans for a “vacation” north to more temperate climates for a break from the extremes of heat and humidity during the summer.

But with the heat come the fish, or more accurately, as the water temperature rises different species are attracted to these waters, Dorado being particularly prized as a sport fish here during the summer.  This of course brings with it fishers from far and wide to test themselves in one of the most prized sport fishing environments in the world.  Noticeable at the airport, are the (mainly) men arriving on every flight with large coolers to pack the product of their adventures in these prolific waters back home to enjoy, no doubt served along with stories of “the big one that got away!” 

The late summer and early Fall is also the time of year that inclement weather can occur in this part of the world.  We have not had a serious storm here in over a year and a half, when Hurricane Jimena passed within 200 km and dumped up to a foot of rain with winds up to 100 kmph.  I have heard talk that this may be a La Nina year and if so there may be more storm activity than usual, whatever usual is!  But after over a year and a half without significant rainfall in this area, the possibility of replenishing rain is welcome, particularly among those who depend on raising free range cattle for their livelihood. 

While I have never been here during a “storm event” up until now, I am planning to return before the end of September, the earliest that I have been here in the Fall, which is prime time within the mid-August through mid-October “window” that is the Hurricane Season here.  So I will be watching the weather closely, as I get ready for the trip south, to hopefully time my travel back through the Baja and avoid being on the road during any heavy weather.

So as I prepare to leave Loreto for another summer, and return to where I used to call home for so many years before finding my place in the sun, it is a time for me to reflect on how this place has changed over the years since I first came here, and also to realize how I have been changed by it.  While this annual exodus is bittersweet, looking forward to seeing the people I miss, but missing the people and place that I now call home, leaving and looking forward to my return is another part of “Living Loreto” – Vaja con Dios!  

Fishing, Cooling and Cleaning

As the countdown continues to my departure from Loreto to return to Canada in a couple of weeks, I am trying to knock things off my “bucket” list to wrap up this season’s Blog topics.  So last weekend I decided to go fishing for the first time this season.

While sport-fishing from a panga boat is the “normal” way to fish here, I enjoy being able to cast from the shoreline around Punta Nopolo, the rocky outcrop at the south end of the development, that gives it’s name to the district around Loreto Bay.  This spot is ideal for me, first because it is a 15 minute walk from my home and it gives me access to deeper water than the shallow shoreline that makes up the rest of the Bay.

You will note that my reasons for this preference did NOT include the results that I have had on previous occasions when I have fished from this location.  That is because it is important for you to understand the criteria on which I base my success, when it comes to fishing.  For me, it’s all about the journey and not the destination – in other words, actually catching fish is not the object of the exercise.

Rather, it’s an admirable excuse for taking a nice walk along the beach and occupying a couple of hours at the water’s edge; watching the waves, the tropical fish darting among the rocks, and enjoying the views  of sea, sky, and shore stretching all around me.  Based on my past experience, my measure of success when fishing is not gauged by what I catch – but how little I lose, lures and tackle, etc.

So with that that perspective in mind, I collected my tackle bag, fishing rod, a bucket with other accessories and my camera and I headed out.  When I first reached the beach the water was calm and there was only a slight breeze, so far so good.  It was also low tide, which means that the apron of rock around the base of Punta Nopolo where I like to stand and cast from would be exposed and accessible.  As I continued along the shore I noticed rolls of dried seaweed scattered along the beach where it had been stranded by the receding water of the low tide.

The significance of this seaweed eluded me at the time, and I carried on to the end of the beach and started out around the shelf of rock surrounding Punta Nopolo to my first casting spot.  As I reached the large rocks at the edge of the water I saw that they were covered underwater with a huge bloom of thick seaweed that I had seen the tell-tale traces of on the shore.  There would be no fishing from shore today – any lure I used would become hopelessly tangled in the thick weeds when I retrieved it after casting.

The presence of seaweed is not a common occurrence in these waters, most of the year the water is clear of vegetation.  But, like many other natural elements in this environment, things come in and out of season and run in cycles – and this is the “season” for seaweed.  As I have described in the past; every bug has it’s season, but that season is limited – by another bug, and so the cycle continues.

There I was, halfway around Punta Nopolo, carrying all my fishing equipment, but not able to fish.  So, I continued around the base of Punta Nopolo, enjoying the views, watching kayaks, snorkelers, and birds.  Scrambling up and over boulders relaying the fishing equipment from one resting spot to another, taking several rest stops in shady spots until I made it all the way around and reached the beach at the entrance to the estuary on the far side.

Standing on the beach in a few inches of water was a majestic grey heron, still as a sculpture, fishing for lunch.  I gradually approached to get closer pictures, with the full knowledge of the bird, which checked my progress with each advance, even though I never got closer than 50 feet away.  Finally, however, I broke through some invisible “heron barrier” and with a guttural squawk it was airborne, clearing the estuary bay with a few powerful strokes of it’s massive wingspan.

While a sighting of this kind of bird is uncommon, it is not unheard of – but for me, it holds a special significance.  Many years ago I did a soul retrieval with a Shaman in western Canada following which, he told me that my Power Animal was a Grey Heron, not quite the Lion or Tiger I had wished for, but as I learned more about the characteristics of this creature the more I came to appreciate my newly discovered relationship.  It is for this reason that I take particular comfort from these occasional sightings – it is important to me that I live somewhere that my Power Animal calls home.

With the departure of the Heron it was time for me to head back along the beach to my home, still carrying my unused fishing equipment, but I was not returning empty handed, in fact, the catch of the day turned out to be far more than the few “nibbles” I had expected at the outset.  Adapting to the change of plans, scrambling up and over the boulders, enjoying the peace, beauty and solitude as I paused to rest, and culminating with my Heron encounter – this simple exercise of going for a walk had taken on a spiritual significance.

On a more mundane level, I have been making other pre-departure preparations this past week.  Recently the air conditioning quit in my car, and with a long hot drive ahead of me in a couple of weeks fixing it was definitely a priority.  I got a referral from another Homeowner to someone in town who services both home and car A/C systems.  After locating their home and place of business in the Zaragosa district of town, I managed to communicate the problem and understand the solution (lubricating the compressor and recharging the Freon coolant) and agree on the charge of 750 pesos, about $65.00. 

However, before the work could begin he managed to explain that he needed to buy the lubricant at an electrical supply shop downtown and so I drove him to the store and then gave him the cash to purchase the $25 spray can of lubricant.  After we returned, the servicing only took about half an hour and then I paid the balance of what I owed (plus a small “propina” for the quick and cheerful service) and I was on my way again “chilling” in my once again cool vehicle.

Among the other departure details I have renewed my visa for another year, upgrading it to an FM2 from the FM3 I have had for the past five years, and had my annual teeth cleaning appointment with Dr. Ramos (Maestro Limpio, April, 2010) at the bargain rate of 500 pesos ($45), during which appointment I also conveniently had my car washed nearby!  

So a week that began with an attempted fishing trip (which became a reminder of a spiritual journey) and included oral and auto maintenance (at bargain Mexican prices) was a fitting example of how the exceptional and commonplace combine for the unique experience that is “Living Loreto”.