Thoughts on returning to Loreto Bay

After spending a week back in Canada I returned to my home in Loreto Bay a few days ago.  While the trip itself was uneventful, (which I think is the best one can hope for with air travel these days), it gave me some time sitting around in airports waiting for connections, to think about the differences between the life I used to know in a city of over a million people in Western Canada and the life I now lead in a town of about 15,000 in the southern Baja peninsula.

While weather is one of the first things that come to mind, I arrived in Calgary to -5 degrees Celsius (about 30 degrees F.) with a fresh layer of snow from a storm I had just missed, I was lucky that most of the week was unseasonably mild, by whatever passes for normal in these days of weird weather.  The traffic congestion, rush hours, and parking were all issues that I had to re-adapt to – but I don’t think I will ever get used to paying $6.00 an hour to park downtown for an appointment!

Reading a daily newspaper used to be a regular habit when I lived there, but strangely, although I had initially looked forward to getting back into that routine, I found myself only mildly interested in the national and local reporting and eventually wound up feeling somewhat depressed by the mainly bad news that seemed to make up most of the paper’s content.  I did find the coverage of the local NHL Hockey franchise of more interest, but overall I realized that even a former “news junkie” like me had lost my appetite for a daily fix of newsprint journalism.

Although at home in Loreto I have access to the same satellite service I would watch back in Canada, including 24 hour cable news, this visit reminded me how we manage to live our lives in Loreto without the obsessive compulsion about the 24 hour news cycle that seems to pervade the attention of many people in North America.  For example, I think you would have to ask a lot of people on the streets of Loreto before you would get the right answer to what the current price of a barrel of oil is.  Perhaps, in part, because gasoline prices in Mexico are not market driven but controlled by the state run monopoly Pemex and are currently about 60% of the $1.15 per litre I paid last week in Canada (about equal to $4.35 US / gal.).   

Although I didn’t do much shopping during this short visit, I did have a few items on my list including magazines, toiletries, vitamins and over the counter medications, but while I was away I received a few emails from friends in Loreto who requested I bring back some hard to find items like spices and bike parts.  This reminded me of the very definite limits there are on the availability of many everyday products in Loreto, a shortage that one quickly gets used to when living there. 

However, I realized that the easy retail access to almost anything one can imagine, that one takes for granted in a major metropolitan city, comes at a price – and that price includes what appears to an “outsider” to be a preoccupation with shopping, as evidenced by acres of congested parking surrounding gigantic malls and big box centers everywhere you go.  Which got me thinking about what we do in Loreto with all the time we save by NOT shopping, perhaps walking on the beach, playing another round of golf, visiting with friends at the coffee shop or around the pool – more than a fair exchange for the lack of some consumer goods, in my mind!

My visit to Calgary did include a number of meals in restaurants with friends and family, which made clear another big difference between living in Loreto and any big city in North America – the price of eating out is double, or more, the price for a comparable meal in Loreto.  But the comparison goes beyond just eating out – although I did not do much grocery shopping while I was away, I did enough that I was reminded of the “sticker shock” I have experienced in the past when I see basic things like chickens and other grocery staples at more than double the price I am used to in Mexico.  And don’t get me started on buying beer – at more than double the price I pay (gladly!) in Loreto!

 And then I arrived in LAX! 

When I wrote above that my trip was “uneventful”, that was perhaps wishful thinking during the first leg of the journey.  Arriving from Seattle at LAX, I made my way through long tunnels to the baggage claim area just about the time that the luggage started to tumble out onto the carousel, and, as luck would have it (or so I thought) my bag was one of the first ones out.  So far, so good, and I made my way outside the Terminal across several lanes of traffic to an island loading area designated for Hotel Shuttles to wait for a bus to my Hotel, and wait, and wait . . .

After I started seeing several of the shuttles from the same nearby Hotels cruising past for the third time I decided that I needed to contact the Hotel I had reserved at and find out what had happened to theirs.  Using my phone, I searched for a contact number (there wasn´t one on my confirmation form) and finally reached someone at an 800 line who called the Hotel for me and had them dispatch the bus to eventually pick me up.

The less said about the Hotel when I finally arrived the better – and the next morning when I returned to the Terminal for the final leg back to Loreto it was, in a word, “challenging”.  From my arrival at the check in area and serpentining my way through the maze of dozens of other Alaska passengers to drop my bag with one of the THREE agents on duty, and then to be subjected to the latest level of scrutiny by Homeland “Insecurity”, it took over an hour before I reached the relative sanctuary of the shabby, overcrowded, Alaska Airlines departure area.

Once there, the one “decent” restaurant had a long lineup (of course) and when I asked the “hostess” I was informed that at 10:00 am they had stopped serving breakfast and only the lunch menu was available.  So my alternative for breakfast was a greasy burger-chain “croissantwich” of dry sausage and a patty of something resembling egg, chased down with a steaming cup of tasteless watery coffee – yes, they really have managed to eliminate almost all of the pleasures once associated with commercial air travel!  (No wonder the nostalgic fascination with the retro “Pan Am” series now on television, as we pine for the good old days!)

In the interest of being fair and balanced, I will report that several places in the Alaska departure area there were signs announcing that the Airline was going to be moving to Terminal 6 on March 25^th – and while it goes without saying that ANYTHING will be an improvement, it is perhaps fair to assume that they have been letting their current facilities deteriorate in anticipation of this impending move.  So perhaps there are better days to come in the not-so-friendly-skies of Alaska Airlines!

One of the compensations of flying back to Loreto is the fact that there are always other Homeowners on the same flight and we tend to meet and greet each other like classmates at a sort of “residential reunion”, among the hundreds of other anonymous Alaska passengers waiting in the departure area.  Once I finally did get on board the 80 passenger turbo-prop that services our destination I was lucky enough to have beside me one of the only two vacant seats on the plane (note to Alaska Airlines – we need bigger planes on this flight!) and I enjoyed the aerial view of the Baja, picking out several landmarks familiar from my drives up and down the peninsula.

The approach to Loreto by air is always a special experience as the flight path from the north passes over the town and out over the Sea of Cortez, before “fish hooking” around for a fly past of the shoreline of the Loreto Bay development before landing, which is why I prefer sitting on the left side of the plane when possible.  Arrival in the still new feeling Terminal in Loreto had a real sense of homecoming and the Immigration and Customs formalities were dispensed with in a reasonably efficient manner, which made the delicious moment of stepping out of the Terminal, into the warm sunny weather, make the past 30 hours of travel trials all of a sudden seem like a fair price to pay for being here!

Once again, this recent trip has proved the truth of the old saying, “absence makes the heart grow fonder”.  I will confess that after a period of time living here, I can sometimes begin to get frustrated with some of the day to day realities of life, but I always return with a renewed appreciation of the beauty of the surroundings and the sense of community that makes this such a special place – and that is why I feel so lucky to be back, “Living Loreto”!              

A Whale of a Tale!

This week finds me back in Canada visiting family and friends, I guess it is sort of my version of Spring Break - in reverse!  But actually my timing has been very fortunate, just a couple of days before I arrived here there was one of the worst storms and cold snaps of this winter and while I arrived to chilly -5 degree temps and a fresh layer of snow, since then things have become quite mild and "spring" like - relatively speaking! 

But I am looking forward to getting back to my home in Loreto later this week and one advantage of this return to a northern climate is a renewed appreciation of how ideal the climate is in the Baja at this time of year as the temperatures start to climb and the winds shift from the north to the south, bringing warmer gentler evenings and early mornings.

Because I am away this weekend it gives me an opportunity to provide you, my loyal readers, with a special Guest Blog, written by a friend and fellow Homeowner who just returned north after a 3 week stay in Loreto Bay.  Speaking with them just before they left, they told me of an amazing experience they had just had whale watching in Magdalena Bay on the west coast of the penninsula.  When I heard their story my reaction was "that would make a great Guest Blog" - and, much to my delight, they agreed that they would put their story down to share with all of you.

So here is a wonderful story about one of the iconic experiences of this magical part of the world - this season has been remarkable for the number and frequency of whale contacts on the west coast in particular, and this story is a great description of a day the author will never forget:

Serendipity is such a cool word, it means "pleasant surprise", or "happy accident" and that is exactly what happened on our latest Loreto adventure.

You hear people talk about whale "watching" a lot, you know, "let's go see the whales" but you don't hear many people say they have "played" with the whales, but that's what fantastically happened to us on our trip to Puerto Lopez Mateo 2 weeks ago.

But first the serendipity part, because that is what led to this unbelievable experience. I wanted an oil change and a check of the other fluids before I drove my family through the mountains to the Magdalena Bay area to see the whales. "No problem señor, 1 hour" I was told. I waited for it; it would only be an hour. Then: "Oh señor, your transmission fluid is very dirty", "its dangerous señor", OK I said, let's change it. "No problem señor." Well there was a problem. It took 3 hours because even though he assured me he had a gasket to replace the one in my transmission pan, he didn't. It took all day to replace the fluid. At one time there must have been 6 guys “working” on my car but that meant a lot of standing around watching one other guy do most of the work.

I knew my brakes were not great because the pedal would go all the way to the floor before grabbing, so I mentioned this to the mechanic as well because I had to drive through the curves in the mountains which would be nuts without decent brakes. He pulled the rear wheels and sure enough the pads we very low, "dangerous señor." OK, can you fix them, I asked naively? You guessed it, "1 hour señor." Well through a series of miscommunications, mistakes, mishaps and general mayhem the car was in the "shop" for 3 days. The lack of a vehicle threatened to scuttle our planned whale "watching" trip.

Frustrated, I made a last minute evening call to Raffa at Vive Loreto to see if he could take the 4 of us on an unscheduled trip in his van to Lopez Mateo. I was anxious to go because our daughter and her boyfriend from Canada were visiting and this was certainly a "must see" for them. Raffa (actually his wife Maria) agreed and off we went at 7 the next morning.

The ride up there was a revelation for me.  I am always behind the wheel when we drive that stretch of road which means that I don't get to look around very much. About the only scenery the driver gets to see are the unnerving roadside shrines and the odd stray cow. That's it! Focus! Focus! But in the van I could look around and take in the fantastic landscape, the rock formations and the striking beauty of the valleys. The way the low cloud plays with the mountain tops. I had not appreciated any of this before.

But we got so lucky when we arrived in Lopez Mateo.

We went whale watching at about this time of year last year; the wind was blowing, it was cold and there were choppy waves to fight through. Our boat chased every sighting of a whale, usually followed by a half dozen other blue boats. Our little flotilla was in the north end of the channel; very near the entrance to the Pacific, because that’s where everyone thought the most whales would be. We came close to some whales and we were thrilled with the outing. Cold but thrilled nonetheless.

But this day was ideal. Warm, sunny, flat water, no wind. Perfect.

Once we were aboard our panga, Raffa and the captain decided to head south and not take the usual route north of the jetty. They thought, correctly, that the water was warmer and calmer than anywhere else. We were alone down there, no other boats on flat water. We quickly spotted a gray whale and sped over there. When we got close we stopped the boat and just bobbed along, and that's when the fun really began.

A mother whale swooped under the boat just inches from us followed by her baby. That was thrilling enough, but then Mom literally lifted the baby whale on her nose out of the water and pushed it toward the boat. She was showing us her baby! That started 20 minutes of unbelievable contact with these wild creatures. The baby would put her body right alongside the boat, we would reach out at touch it, stroke its nose and head, and we even got sprayed by a fishy smelling mist of wet breath as it came alongside. We were in awe at being so close to these magnificent animals.

We drifted away from these two only to encounter another pair right away. This Mom had a different personality, she wouldn't push her calf at us, she waited patiently while her little (!?) one became gradually more confident and cautiously at first approached our boat. Once the baby realized we were friendly, it repeatedly came to our boat. It pushed its head out of the water so we could rub its face and body; it loved the contact and so did we. Over and over this huge gray baby whale played with us. Around and under the boat, poking its head up to our gunwales, allowing us to touch its rubbery skin, while Mom stayed close by. It was eerie that we could look directly into the eye of the whale as it floated next to us.

You had to wonder what it was thinking as it looked at these black eyed (sunglasses) beings that floated on the surface. People travel the world to see iconic species, whether its lions and elephants in Africa or polar bears in the Arctic, but here we were, literally face to face with this ancient species in our own back yard. We were petting wild animals in the sea. We felt humbled by their attention, and absolutely exalted by the once in a lifetime experience. You can see a video of our fun with the whales put together by my daughter’s boyfriend Ashley on YouTube titled “Whale Watching in Mexico.”

I also think we might have invented a new drinking game. Take a swig every time someone in the group says "unbelievable", you won’t stay on your feet for long!

To cap off this incredible day, we beached the boat on the sand of the island and ran barefoot through the warm sand dunes to the top of the ridge. We could see the Pacific across the island, another amazing landscape to add to our mental library of unforgettable sights. 

The drive home was quiet, everyone I’m sure reflecting on the special day and our unique place in this world.

So I guess I have to thank that “no problem senor” mechanic for taking so long with my car, if he hadn't we might not have had a chance to “play” with the whales.

As the van entered cell phone range just outside Nopolo, I noticed a message on my phone. It was from the mechanic.

“Your car is ready senor.”

Hilarious!

You gotta love this place.

Amen to that!  Below is a link to the video that was referred to above, be patient, its over 10 minutes long and takes a little while to load - but I assure you it is well worth it!  Thanks again to Dave, my Guest Blogger, (many are asked, but few deliver!) and his story about how an oil change changed his life - another unexpected aspect of "Living Loreto"!  

Click on this link below to watch an amazing video about this adventure!

Whale Watching In Mexico

A Positively Shocking Addition to Loreto Bay!

During the recent HOA sub-regime Annual General Meetings there was a brief presentation by Marybeth, a Homeowner, regarding a recent purchase by the HOA, funded out of last year´s budget, of an AED, or Automatic External Defibrillator, the Zoll AED Plus.  In layman´s terms, an AED is used in the event of cardiac arrest to guide even non-professional rescuers through an appropriate first-aid response up to, but not necessarily including, delivering a series of defibrillating shocks to the patient.

I was interested in this story and later met with the two Homeowners who Doug, a retired Doctor and Marybeth, a critical care and ER nurse in Washington state.  These two got together over a year ago to talk about their shared concerns regarding emergency medical capabilities here in Loreto. 

As I have written about in these pages before (Loreto´s Maestro Limpio, April 2010) although there is a relatively new Hospital here in Loreto its capabilities are more equivalent to a walk-in clinic in most major centers in North America.  While these facilities are adequate for “first aid” like simple broken bones, cuts, etc. Marybeth and Doug were concerned with what would happen in the event of a life threatening crisis, given the demographics of Loreto Bay and the fact that the longer term residents are retirement age and beyond.

At the top of their priority list was one of these increasingly popular defibrillators that can be used, with a minimum of training, by non-medical personnel.  They then approached Jorge, the HOA Administrator, and determined that there were sufficient funds set aside in the HOA budget for the purchase of such equipment and so now this potentially life-saving technology is available on site here in Loreto Bay.

Plans are still being developed, but several goals have been identified; training and certifying the Security Staff on the operation of the AED equipment and CPR, as well as making hands on training available for Homeowners, ensuring that there is at least one English speaking Security person available 24 hours a day, and establishing an emergency procedure with clear specific information on what to do in the event of Loreto Bay resident experiencing such a medical emergency. 

This information will be distributed in some convenient form, possibly a fridge magnet or card that will be distributed to each home in the development, and can be easily referred to if necessary.  Although all of the details have yet to be worked out, the general idea will be that we can call Security in an emergency and they will contact the Bomberos, or Ambulance service in Loreto, and co-ordinate with them the directions to locate where the patient is.  Meanwhile, Security staff will bring the AED to the resident´s home and will be trained to perform CPR, and, if necessary, defibrillation until the Ambulance and EMT arrives.         

Once the patient has been transported to the local Hospital stabilization and further assessment become the priority, which brings us to the next item on the wish list.  Currently there is a very basic “three lead” EKG machine at the Hospital, but for a useful assessment a “twelve lead” machine is required and fund raising is already underway for the purchase of one to loan to the Hospital.

One obvious benefit of being able to conduct a more thorough assessment of this kind is to be able to make better decisions about what the next best course of action is for a patient, either transfer by Ambulance to larger Hospitals in Constitution (1 ½ hours) or La Paz (3 ½ hours) or the option of air medi-vac back to the US or Canada, which can be covered by specific insurance policies.

In my conversation with Marybeth she also had some common sense suggestions which will probably be included in a future information package that is also in the planning stages.  First of all, it is a good idea for us all to consider what we would do in an emergency situation, who we would call and what we would do – an emergency plan for the house.  She also suggested that we could independently arrange a sort of “buddy” system so we would have a “medical advocate” who could accompany us and would be looking out for our best interests in the event we were unable to.

She also stressed the advantage of knowing someone who was fluent in Spanish, who could be called upon to assist if we were admitted for care, because, while some Doctors can speak English the rest of the medical staff will likely not.  Along these lines, another piece of equipment that is a high priority is a Spanish/English medical translation device, similar to a cell phone that you can speak into in English and it will talk back in Spanish, and vice versa – and I thought Star Trek was sci-fi!

Another excellent piece of advice, particularly for those of us who are spending extended stays here, is to have a conversation with your regular physician at home about the fact that you spend this period of time in a remote location with relatively few medical resources, so as to better understand the possible implications that could have, given your particular medical history – what risk factors to watch for and danger signs to be aware of.  Ideally, to set up a relationship with your established medical contacts at home so that, in the event of a change or other circumstance occurring while you are here, you can call upon them for advice or a second opinion, so as to be better able to make the appropriate decisions.

The topic of this Blog is of a more serious nature than most of my postings, and I must emphasize my absolute lack of qualifications to offer ANY sort of medical advice, but I think that these sort of discussions are, and will become increasingly important, as our community grows – and ages.  So I thought that it was appropriate to recognize the efforts of two of our Homeowners, Marybeth and Doug, in making the first steps toward establishing these priorities, and our Administrator Jorge, in beginning to develop a Community emergency plan.

As I write this, I am struck by how much more remains to be done in this area, and also how important it is that a beginning has been made!  I know that there are a significant number of Health Professionals who are members of our community, and there are obviously opportunities for more people to get involved as this vital process evolves.  As a first step, I would direct anyone who is interested in contacting Jorge at the Associa Office to find out how they can volunteer or make a contribution to health and welfare of our Community.

Seeing members of our Community stepping forward to begin to develop an emergency response plan for all of us, is a sign that we are moving together from the early stage of Loreto Bay as a paradise get-away, to the reality of life here on a long term basis – and what could be more important to any of us than that - when “Living Loreto”!          

Links:

Find out more about the new AED equipment including a training video:

http://www.zoll.com/medical-products/automated-external-defibrillators/aed-plus/

Contact Jorge at Associa for more information on how you can get involved:

Associa Mexico, Loreto Bay: jmacias@associamexico.com

Mardi Gras in Loreto Bay

It´s been a while since I´ve written about a party in these pages – not that there haven´t been a few “unreported” events during that time, but this week there was an occasion that demands to be reported!

Mardi Gras – Fat Tuesday – Carnival – the last chance “blow out” before the beginning of Lent goes by many names, but this past marked the date for a celebration that has set a new standard for “Fiesta” here in Loreto Bay!  Last year I had missed the first such Mardi Gras Party that was held at a private home in the Nopolo neighborhood that surrounds our development.  That party was organized by Shelia and Manfred, the same couple that has been the driving force behind the very successful Paella events that I have written about several times previously.

This year Shelia had much more ambitious plans for a celebration.  First of all she was able to secure the Golf Course Clubhouse as the venue, with the generous co-operation and support of Homex and the Inn at Loreto Bay.  Relying on a small core group of volunteers, mainly drawn from the recently formed Nopolo Property Owners Association, extensive planning and preparations were undertaken to organize a much bigger event this year with the proceeds to be divided between their Association and CARITAS, a local charity that assists the most disadvantaged in and around Loreto. 

The inner courtyard of the Clubhouse was beautifully decorated with lights and banners to make an ideal dance floor and tents were erected around the outside of the building where tables and chairs were arranged for the partiers and a service bar was set up in the snack bar area that was kept busy all evening serving wine and beer and the special cocktail of the evening, Hurricanes, the signature drink of New Orleans.  On the west side of the Clubhouse, food tents were set up where the appetizers, jambalaya, salads and desserts would be served.

Starting a few weeks in advance, posters were printed and wristbands were available for sale at various locations around the development – 250 pesos in advance, 300 at the door, and as the date got closer the buzz began to build as people made plans for masks and costumes to wear, which were encouraged, but not required.

Now, in a town the size of Loreto, which has more than adequate shopping options for the basics; food, liquor, simple hardware etc. – but when it comes to something like a mask, let alone a costume for Mardi Gras – well, suffice to say, I tried several of the toy and gift stores without any luck and I was wandering along the main tourist shopping street, wondering what to do, when all of a sudden the solution was staring me in the face – literally!

There, in front of one of the tourist shops was a display of “Luchador” (wrestler) masks, the unique full head masks traditionally worn by professional wrestlers in the “Lucha Libre” (free wrestling) events, popular throughout Mexico.  The small sizes in the display that caught my eye were obviously intended for children, but when I inquired inside the store, the proprietor quickly found a large plastic bag full of dozens of adult sized masks and I started looking for my Mardi Gras identity.

Although there were many colorful and elaborate masks to choose from, I had a clear idea of what I was looking for, now that I had a plan.  As unlikely as it sounds, in my wardrobe here I happened to have a Chinese “proletarian” suit I had picked up years ago on a visit to Chinatown in San Francisco – big baggy drawstring pants with a high collared jacket closed with fabric “frogs”, all black, trimmed in white at the collar and cuffs.  So when I found a black mask trimmed in white my costume was complete!

I had invited a couple of friends to meet at my place before the party, as I live nearby the Clubhouse, and when they arrived I asked one of them to braid my ponytail so it would stick out through the laced opening up the back of the mask.  After a fortifying cocktail we all headed across to the Clubhouse to join in the festivities which were well underway by that time.

The courtyard was decked out in lots of strings of lights and hanging paper lanterns with a small “L” shaped stage in one corner.  I was impressed to see that about half of the almost 250 people in attendance were in the spirit of the celebration and wearing some sort of mask and/or costume – ranging from sublime to the improvisational.  Some of these costumes had obviously been brought down specifically for this occasion, others had been made up on the spot from bits and pieces that were accessible, but whether it was a simple eye mask and a few strings of purple and gold beads, or an elaborate custom made costume, the spirit of Carnival was in the air.  Even those who did not participate by dressing up played an important role in the evening  – they made up the appreciative audience for those who were in disguise.

During the evening I was struck by how many of the crowd had made the effort at some sort of costume or disguise, and in addition to the familiar (or, depending on the mask and costume, not so familiar) group of Homeowners in attendance, it pleased me very much to see a larger number of Mexicans than I have seen attending previous social events here in Loreto Bay, and many of them were in family groups, with young children, often wearing masks and costumes and very much participating in the evening´s celebrations.

Soon after we arrived Los Beach Dogs took to the stage and the main entertainment began, but for this event the regular trio of Rich, Steve and George were complimented by the addition of “stray dog” Tony, who is also a Homeowner here, but not in residence fulltime, so he only adds his percussion skills to the group when his occasional visits coincide with their gigs – and this was one of those nights!  During breaks in the music there was additional entertainment, including a folkloric dance demonstration by a group of youngsters from town and a dramatic fire dance performed after dark on the putting green on the south side of the Clubhouse.

When word spread that the food was being served a line quickly formed at the food tent where plates were filled with savory rice jambalaya, a green salad and fresh coleslaw followed by homemade pastries and deserts – delicious! 

After the meal had been consumed it was time to award prizes in several categories including best couple and  all of the winners received gift baskets that had been generously donated by local businesses including Dali Deli and the Oasis Hotel in town and many of the new shops that have opened in Loreto Bay: Jovina´s Spa, the Fresh Market, the Wine Cellar, El Corazon and Machiatos Café.  Finally, the King and Queen of Mardi Gras were crowned; George, who made a very striking Zorro and Paulette (who owns a pie shop that recently opened in town) in an incredible “Queen of Pies” costume.

The dancing and festivities went on until almost 10:00 pm, or Baja midnight as we call it here, and that night the revelers on the Paseo made an unusually colorful procession as they found their way home to their Casas.  While it may have been my imagination, I could swear that I heard “Laissez les bons temps rouler” faintly echoing through our community that night – and whether or not it is Mardi Gras, that is definitely part of Living Loreto!

El Corazon - the new heart of Loreto Bay

This is another posting in the series about new businesses that have opened this season along the Paseo here in Loreto Bay.  When I returned at the end of September, renovation work had begun on the large storefront across the street from my small Real Estate office. For more than the next two months a busy crew of workmen labored away inside the building, first of all adding several French Doors along the north wall to match the four sets along the street front.

But most of their efforts were concentrated on the interior.  Then, in late November, a full size tractor trailer was parked in front of the building and for most of that day box after box, bundle after bundle – all of the furniture and fixtures - were unloaded inside until the 50 foot trailer was empty.  This was followed by another couple of weeks of finishing work; including flag stoning and planting a small patio area across the front separating the French Doors from the sidewalk, repainting the front façade and generally tidying up the outside appearance.

Finally, in early December, just before my trip back to Calgary for Christmas, El Corazon opened its doors to the public!  During the renovation period the resident population in Loreto Bay had gradually increased in number to its pre-Christmas Holiday level and with it, the curiosity had built steadily as the work progressed – everyone was anxious to see what the finished product was going to look like – and we were not to be disappointed!

Inside the doors was a beautiful barista-style café, with an arrangement of tables and chairs, a counter bar with a view out onto the Paseo and in the back an inviting conversation corner with leather couches and chairs around a coffee table scattered with current glossy magazines.  Filling the other corner and far wall was an enclosed kitchen\prep room separated by swinging louvered half doors and a sleek counter area, anchored by a refrigerated glass food display cabinet, cashier area and the all important espresso machine (custom made in Italy and finished in gleaming Ferrari red). 

Along the wall behind the counter was more food storage and a preparation counter with all the tools of the trade; blenders for “smoothies” and shelves of glassware and mugs along with the bottles of flavoring and a small selection of liqueurs. In short, this long dark room (formerly a furniture storage and display space) had been transformed into a world class café that would not be out of place on the boulevards of any major city – and here it was, in Loreto Bay!

As you might expect, there is a story behind this transformation – and so, a couple of weeks ago I sat down on the sunny patio with the Owner, Jennifer, and asked her how she had come to create such a wonderful space here in our community.

Jennifer has been a Homeowner in Loreto Bay for almost four years, but due to the demands of a busy professional life in media businesses in Vancouver, Canada, her home here had sat empty and unfurnished for almost two years before she brought a trailer load of furniture and household effects down in May of 2010.  After finally getting her home set up over several trips that winter, she was beginning to feel settled and started to meet more people in her new winter home.  Soon she struck up a friendship with Paola, who was working in another business in Loreto Bay at the time, and as they got to know each other, these two entrepreneurial women spent time talking about business opportunities here in the development.

After considering several possibilities they settled on the idea of a café\bakery and in the late spring of last year they began the research and planning of what has become El Corazon.  Coincidentally, during the summer a new Property Manager was appointed for the commercial spaces along the Paseo, with the mandate to fully lease the available storefronts, and so in early August Jennifer and Paola, who was now the General Manager and partner in the venture, selected the space that was ideal for what they had in mind and began planning the necessary renovations.

While Jennifer, back in Canada, sourced the equipment and furnishings and planned the logistics of building a North American style café, Paola, who is a Mexican citizen and perfectly fluent in both languages, went about setting up a Mexican Corporation and securing all the necessary permits and licenses to operate the business here.  During the summer, Paola also went to Portland and took a one week crash course, training her in the necessary barista skills, while Jennifer, for whom food has been a long time passion, began to test and collect recipes for the baking and light meals that would be offered from their kitchen.  They also sourced the finest fair trade Mexican coffee beans and arranged to have them fresh roasted and delivered from the Mainland weekly.

But their business plan went beyond coffee and the food that goes with it, they saw El Corazon as a gathering place for the community, a cultural hub that will offer film, art, music and other special events including kid´s matinee movies, performances by Los Beach Dogs as well as using the space for exhibits and other things that will add to the quality of life here for all Homeowners and Visitors.  There is another symbol of the thought and “soul” that has gone into this enterprise, tucked away in the back corner stands an elegantly mirrored corner table with two small black and white photos – pictures of Jennifer & Paola´s mothers, to whom they have dedicated their venture.

To accomplish these ambitious goals, not to mention run a thriving business, requires a small but dedicated team.  Key to that team is a professional barista, Ryan, who was recruited from Vancouver where he had an impressive career operating and managing coffee based hospitality businesses large and small.  As well as bringing his expertise to the espresso machine, he is also in charge of training the other staff and getting the day to day operations right.  That staff includes Lupita, who is in charge of the kitchen and has quickly become locally famous for her cinnamon buns and other tasty specialties like their pulled pork sandwiches, and Christina who prepares the menu of snacks and sandwiches and keeps the premises impeccably clean and tidy, dealing with the steady stream of cups and dishes that their patrons use.

From the outset, Jennifer and Paola have had a bicultural vision for their business, and they are rightly proud of the acceptance that El Corazon has found with both their local and foreign clientele, Homeowners, vacationing Visitors, workers and other businesspeople from the neighborhood all of whom are regular customers in the busy café.  This cultural sensitivity extends even to the name and logo of the shop, incorporating a familiar folk art rendition of the heart – “El Corazon” – an historic symbol from the Mexican lottery tradition, that is often seen over cafes in all parts of Mexico.

While there have been many challenges and lessons learned in the complex process of creating a business that would be at home in any major city in the world, here outside a small town in the Baja, Jennifer and Paola have been uncompromising in their vision and the results bear witness to her success so far.  El Corazon has quickly become a focal point within the community – not just for great coffee and delicious food – but for the realization of a goal - to become the “heart” of Living Loreto!           

Herzon comes to Hoyo 19

We now have several restaurant choices here in Loreto Bay, but one of the first to open over a year ago was Hoyo 19, or the 19^th Hole, located in the Golf Course Clubhouse.  Naturally enough in the beginning, they catered to the Golfers, serving breakfasts and lunches in a small snack bar off the courtyard of the Clubhouse, with patio seating overlooking the putting range and central lake dividing the 10^th and 18^th fairways.

The restaurant was opened by Juan Carlos, who owns and operates Mita Gourmet, one of the most popular dining places in the town of Loreto, located on the edge of the town square, but, from the beginning, Hoyo 19 was managed by his daughter Mita, (who his restaurant was named after) and her husband, Carlos (same name as her father – are you getting confused yet?).

After a successful start-up last year, the restaurant survived a quiet summer season, when the heat and the resulting small numbers of golfers was a challenge.  But this Fall renovations were completed to reclaim and decorate the Clubhouse Dining Room that was located several steps above the courtyard area.  There is a central room which contains most of the tables, with a smaller annex on one side offering more intimate seating, and a wide patio for dining “al fresco” with beautiful views through archways to the back nine and the Sierra de la Gigante mountains beyond.

The opening of this tastefully decorated room, with its white tablecloths and comfortable furniture, created a new option for fine dining right here in Loreto Bay.  For those of us who live here, this takes on even more significance because it gives us an alternative to driving the 30 km round trip into town when we feel like enjoying a nice evening meal in a restaurant.  Not to mention avoiding the potential hazard of an unexpected nocturnal encounter with stray livestock on the highway.

Recently, Mita and Carlos have added a new feature that has proved to be a very popular attraction to their evening clientele – Herzon, a local guitar virtuoso, now plays his blend of Jazz and Blues styling´s in the Dining Room on Thursday evenings.  Herzon has been a popular fixture at the downtown restaurant for several years, entertaining on the open air patio of Mita Gourmet, and now, here in Loreto Bay, we can also enjoy the pleasure of being entertained by one of the best local musicians while we taste fresh local seafood in a convenient neighborhood setting.

This past week I suggested having dinner there to a couple of friends who were making a return visit to Loreto Bay after over a year´s absence.  Jackie and Cliff had been involved in the sales department with the original Developer, and had lived in Loreto during the early years of the project, so they were very interested in seeing the many improvements and new services that have been developed since their last visit. 

I had invited them for a pre-dinner drink at my home, and so we arrived at Hoyo 19 a bit later than our 7:00 o´clock reservation, which I was very glad I had made, since all the tables in the restaurant were taken, except the one they were holding for us closest to the corner where Herzon was set up.  As we waited to be seated and I looked around the dining room I was struck by one of those “only in Loreto” moments – I knew most of the people there!  How many other places can you walk into a restaurant filled with over 50 people and know, or at least have a nodding acquaintance with almost all of them – only in Loreto!

When we were seated, we immediately relaxed and started to enjoy Herzon´s music and then ordered a bottle of wine.  Simplicity of life here extends even to the wine selection, no list, just the first obvious choice – red or white, and then several varietals; we chose one of two Argentine Merlots and toasted the evening. 

I gathered that most of the other patrons must have arrived just before we had, as the staff were kept very busy taking orders, serving drinks, and first courses, so, since we were thoroughly enjoying the company, the music and the wine, we were in no rush to place our dinner order – for a while – but at the point that I thought that we might have been overlooked, I caught Mita´s eye and soon we had our menus.

The selection here is straightforward, but more than adequate, with several salads and soups to start with, a few chicken and meat dishes along with a good variety of pasta preparations and a choice of noodles, but not surprisingly the specialty of the house is seafood.  Grilled filets of the catch of the day (often sea bass at this time of year) are served with half a dozen sauces including ingredients like; chipotle, garlic, lemon and cilantro with butter cream and olive oil.  Many of the same preparations are offered with shrimp and both are served on vegetable rice with a medley steamed veggies.

We started with a Caesar salad for three which was served on a large platter, full leaf style with one of the best house-made creamy dressings I have had in a long time, generously garnished with freshly grated parmesan and studded with large toasted croutons – delicious!  After our salad plates were cleared we settled back to continue to enjoy Herzon and await our mains. Due to a late lunch, Cliff and Jackie had opted to split a serving of fish with the cilantro sauce and I also ordered fish with butter and garlic.

Herzon plays an amplified acoustic guitar with a synthesizer providing rhythm & percussion and he has a strong repertoire of classic Jazz and Blues that he performs with flair and panache.  He had apparently started playing a couple of hours before we arrived and when we left about 10:00 he had not stopped or taken a break throughout our dinner – truly the hardest working musician in town!

Mita returned to our table shortly after we had ordered and informed us that due to the large crowd they had served that evening she was sorry to tell us that they had run out of fish filets.  What can I tell you – you know it has been a busy evening when a seafood restaurant runs out of fish! But she suggested substituting their shrimp for the filets and keep our choice of sauce and preparations the same.  We agreed and a few minutes later our main courses appeared – we were not disappointed!

After a delicious meal with fantastic music, we made the short trip back to casa mia, where we continued the evening by playing the Herzon CD that Cliff had purchased from him as we were leaving the restaurant. Eventually, when it was time for my Guests to leave I made sure to loan them a flashlight to help them find their way back to where they were staying – an essential piece of equipment for safe navigation of the odd dark spots when walking through the neighborhood at night.

As I tidied up after an evening of good friends, good food and good music, I couldn´t help remembering how far we had come over the past few years in making life in this community a rich and rewarding experience.  Thinking about how recently the idea of having an evening like this, here in Loreto Bay, was beyond what many of us expected in the foreseeable future, made me really appreciate how far we have come, Living Loreto!        

Of Computers - Old & New

This week I experienced one of the apocryphal events of the modern world – the ´´motherboard´´ of my laptop computer had a meltdown.


While I had heard about this sort of disaster happening to others – whispered tales of woe shared behind closed doors – I had previously never experienced the life-as-we-know-it threatening consequences myself – until Monday afternoon.

I was in the Office watching a short video on a website, which I had noticed was taking a long time to ´´buffer´´ when, without further warning, the screen went blank white with hundreds of multi-colored dashes arranged diagonally. Being unable to escape this, I eventually powered the computer down by unplugging and pulling the battery, but when I tried to restart it my trusty HP laptop would not re-boot.

To say that I saw my life flash before my eyes would be perhaps a bit of an exaggeration, but I definitely did have a ´´this can´t be happening to me´´ moment as the magnitude of all of a sudden being deprived of such a central part of so many aspects of my life was hard to grasp! Now I realize that all of you now reading this have your own relationship with the devices you are reading it on, but a computer, and particularly internet access through that computer, takes on an even more important role in our lives here in this remote part of the Baja.

In addition to our contact with friends and family, and the rest of the world, through email and other services like Skype which allow us to phone and video conference at little or no cost, there is, of course, the World Wide Web – providing news, entertainment, and access to the collective wisdom of the planet . . . not to mention Spider Solitaire! In my case, add to that running my Real Estate business, and of course, the small matter of this Blog.

To put this crisis into even clearer perspective, as I think I have confessed on previous occasions, I consider myself only barely computer literate. Like a well trained dog I know how to do what I do on a regular basis, but, get me out of my comfort zone and into any of the vast uncharted wilderness surrounding the small well trampled paths that I am familiar with in my day to day routine, and I am lost and afraid – very afraid.

(Being largely self taught, I have often told the story, as an example of my lack of my savvy with computers, of being on the phone with a Help Desk [years ago!] with an apparently young and highly skilled techy Nerd who was attempting to explain some esoteric programming details to me. I was feeling completely LOST so I interrupted him and said: ´´Excuse me, but before we go any further I think there is something you need to know – I saw the Beatles live on Ed Sullivan!´´ Following which there was a long pause on the other end of the phone, and then the Nerd slowly and patiently began again with the explanation on a suitably ´´primary´´ level of complexity!)

So when I was faced with this obviously serious – potentially fatal – crisis I sought out advice from the neighborhood IT specialists, Evan and Fox, who also conveniently run the local grocery store here in Loreto Bay. When I described my problem their initial prognosis was not good – Fox said that it sounded like the motherboard was ´´fried´´ but he would not be able to say for sure until he could take the computer apart and it would be a couple of days before he would be able to do that.

Later in the day, I was telling my sad tale to a neighbor and they suggested calling Francisco Medina, who had a computer service business in town that they had had good experiences with in the past, and see if he had any advice. I called him right away (he spoke excellent English) and made arrangements to bring my ´´dead´´ laptop to him the next morning and he assured me that he would have a diagnosis for me by noon.

I found Francisco´s shop located behind a medical lab near the Police Station and returned a couple of hours later to be told that in fact it was the power converter circuit on the motherboard, and while he could possibly order a new board it was probably advisable to replace the computer, considering it was 3 ½ years old and had reached the end of its reliable life.

Through this process, I have come to understand that most popularly priced laptops, in particular, have an expected lifespan of about 8,000 hours, beyond which they are on borrowed time and can have a fatal failure at any time. Considering my daily usage of up to 12 hours, my computer was well beyond that limit and so I was prepared for this judgment and asked Francisco to quote me on an upgraded replacement that I had been advised was a more ´´rugged´´ model that used better components and would presumably have a longer service life than the standard model I had been using all these years.

In the meantime, I had been doing some research online and knew what the retail price in Canada was for the new computer, but I also had determined that it would have to be ordered from the manufacturer, as I could not find this higher end product available in stock for sale at any of the regular retailers. The next day when Francisco quoted me a price it was about 25% higher than I would have paid in Canada, which was accounted for by the duty Mexico charges on goods from China, but the surprisingly good news was, that if I ordered it that day (Wednesday) he thought he could have it delivered here in Loreto from his Supplier in Mexico City by this Friday!

Having no immediate alternative plan, and not knowing who I knew that would be coming down here in the near future that could be imposed upon to bring a computer with them from Canada, I decided to go ahead and order it from Francisco. After passing a couple of very unusual days without access to a computer, I became very aware of how many ways I had become dependent on it for a large part of my life routines. I was conscious of how my presence in the online world was shut off and my ´´footprint´´ in cyberspace was gone – my unthinking (bad) habits of checking for email dozens of times a day and regularly visiting various websites were stopped ´´cold turkey´´. Snippets from the song: ´´You don´t know what you´ve got ´till it´s gone´´ played over and over in my now strangely quiet brain.

So, to make a short story long, it all worked out! The new computer did arrive on Friday and Francisco transferred all of my files from old to new and then delivered it to my home that evening. A few adjustments were required that he did on a return visit Saturday morning at my Office and now I am the proud owner of a beautiful new Toshiba Tecra 850 – twice as fast, 3 times deeper memory and pristine. One minor and unexpected adjustment is that, since it was purchased here in Mexico, it has a Spanish keyboard (of course) with a few unique features like Ñ, and ¨, and ¿, among others that I´m sure I will eventually find.

But, more importantly, I´m BAAAACK! And through this experience I have come to appreciate how different life would be here if computers were not such an indispensible part of ´´Living Loreto´´!