Sunday, November 13, 2011
Picked up Chet
I am back in Oregon to be with my elderly dog Chet. He was not eating well at the boarding facility, so I came back and now have him with me. His caretaker did a wonderful job caring for him and gave him special attention and food to try and keep him eating. Chet greeted me with a big smile and a wagging tail. We will head toward the beach near Newport, Oregon and camp there for awhile.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Instant coffees
Before coming to Baja I experimented with instant coffees to find something good and easy to make when I drive down in January. I tried Starbucks, Fred Meyer and Folgers singles, instant Espresso and Nescafe. The instant Espresso and Starbucks were my favorites. Tho expensive I especially like Starbucks Italian Roast. Second was Espresso in a jar. Third were the singles that you use like a tea bag. I said "bleahhhh!" with the Nescafe. Did not like it at all.
Well, the reason I am bothering to mention all this is because of the Nescafe. My little store on the corner sells a Nescafe Clasico (made in Mexico) that actually tastes like good coffee.
Well, the reason I am bothering to mention all this is because of the Nescafe. My little store on the corner sells a Nescafe Clasico (made in Mexico) that actually tastes like good coffee.
Fashion and art show
Last evening there was a local art opening and fashion show in the Plaza. There were 4 judges for the fashion show who choose the best outfit and also the best accessory. It was fun. My friends from Loreto Bay showed up and we all went to dinner after. Loreto Bay is 5 miles south of town.
The local artist E. Davis was showing his paintings of wildlife and local places. My favorite was a painting of two breaching humpback whales. Reminds me of home, but different background. I loved the water splashes in the painting.
Today was market day. The market is a 20 minute walk from my house and located in the dry riverbed. Maybe someday I will be here when there is water in the arroyo....don't know if that will be a good or bad thing to see. There has been no rain here for 2 years now.
I bought dates, asparagus, avocados, kiwis, apples, red onions, garlic. There are still vegetables from last week in my fridge. The asparagus was a surprise. Had not seen that before at the market. Aspargus was 15 pesos for a 3 inch diameter bunch. Dates were 40 pesos a kilo. Did not pay attention to other prices.
Yesterday, I cooked the remainder of fish with onions and garlic and for the first time I cooked tomatillos. The tomatillos were cut into chunks and cooked with onion, garlic, black pepper and mushrooms to make a chunky salsa verde. It tastes good and I will eat it with the remaining fish. Was surprised to see the tomatillos cook a bit slimy like okra, but the slimyness was gone by the time all was browned and moisture reduced. Tomatillos will become a part of my kitchen.
Dee was at the market. We visited and stood quietly for a bit watching the mountains. Lolita, a pointed triangular mountain, is my landmark to the west and lies in the Sierra de la Gigante. The morning light was showing the mountains as I had never seen them with all their valleys and wrinkles. It was beautiful! The changes seen as the light moves during the day amazes me and I hope never to lose the wonder of that as I hope never to lose the wonder of Alaska.
I am reading "Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas" by James Patterson.
The local artist E. Davis was showing his paintings of wildlife and local places. My favorite was a painting of two breaching humpback whales. Reminds me of home, but different background. I loved the water splashes in the painting.
Today was market day. The market is a 20 minute walk from my house and located in the dry riverbed. Maybe someday I will be here when there is water in the arroyo....don't know if that will be a good or bad thing to see. There has been no rain here for 2 years now.
I bought dates, asparagus, avocados, kiwis, apples, red onions, garlic. There are still vegetables from last week in my fridge. The asparagus was a surprise. Had not seen that before at the market. Aspargus was 15 pesos for a 3 inch diameter bunch. Dates were 40 pesos a kilo. Did not pay attention to other prices.
Yesterday, I cooked the remainder of fish with onions and garlic and for the first time I cooked tomatillos. The tomatillos were cut into chunks and cooked with onion, garlic, black pepper and mushrooms to make a chunky salsa verde. It tastes good and I will eat it with the remaining fish. Was surprised to see the tomatillos cook a bit slimy like okra, but the slimyness was gone by the time all was browned and moisture reduced. Tomatillos will become a part of my kitchen.
Dee was at the market. We visited and stood quietly for a bit watching the mountains. Lolita, a pointed triangular mountain, is my landmark to the west and lies in the Sierra de la Gigante. The morning light was showing the mountains as I had never seen them with all their valleys and wrinkles. It was beautiful! The changes seen as the light moves during the day amazes me and I hope never to lose the wonder of that as I hope never to lose the wonder of Alaska.
I am reading "Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas" by James Patterson.
Friday, November 4, 2011
Just a day in Loreto
Began my day before sunrise. Linda and I walked over to the marina for coffee and to sit and watch the sunrise. Light begins about 6:30, but the sun doesn't show above Carmen Island until after 7 this time of year. Then we walked the length of the Malecon (sidewalk along the shore) and back thru down for breakfast at Orlando's when they opened at 8.
The rest of my day was lazy except for doing some laundry and hanging it out to dry. I love the smell of laundry that has been dried outdoors. Caught up on my emails, phone calls with Skype and reading. Am reading John Grisham's "The Associate".
Had Pinto, another sea bass similar to Cabrilla, for dinner last night. The 'Davis' Pescadoria is just a half block from my house. The family cleans and processes the day's catch behind their home and that is where you go to buy fresh fish. There are several family locations in Loreto and the Davis Pescadoria is recommended as the best for cleanliness and fresh fish.
Pinto was selling for 70 pesos a kilo and Cabrilla for 110 pesos a kilo. Current exchange rate is 12-13 pesos/dollar.
I coated the fish with oil, seasonings and bread crumbs and fried and served with sauteed broccoli, squash, tomato, onion, orange pepper and sliced avocado.
After dinner, I took a walk to the town plaza and over to the Malecon in the cooler evening breeze. Also did a bit of shopping for household stuff as more stores are open late. Saw Joani and her neighbors at Orlando's. Stopped by the shoe store around the corner (where I drop off clothes to be washed) and was given a gift of pretty shells. Not sure why the gift, but it is fun getting to know the people at the shop.
Watched "Second Hand Lions" before falling asleep about midnight. Am slowly working my way thru a 2 foot high stack of vhs tapes of movies I have never seen and some I want to see again.
Life is slow, warm and easy here.
The rest of my day was lazy except for doing some laundry and hanging it out to dry. I love the smell of laundry that has been dried outdoors. Caught up on my emails, phone calls with Skype and reading. Am reading John Grisham's "The Associate".
Had Pinto, another sea bass similar to Cabrilla, for dinner last night. The 'Davis' Pescadoria is just a half block from my house. The family cleans and processes the day's catch behind their home and that is where you go to buy fresh fish. There are several family locations in Loreto and the Davis Pescadoria is recommended as the best for cleanliness and fresh fish.
Pinto was selling for 70 pesos a kilo and Cabrilla for 110 pesos a kilo. Current exchange rate is 12-13 pesos/dollar.
I coated the fish with oil, seasonings and bread crumbs and fried and served with sauteed broccoli, squash, tomato, onion, orange pepper and sliced avocado.
After dinner, I took a walk to the town plaza and over to the Malecon in the cooler evening breeze. Also did a bit of shopping for household stuff as more stores are open late. Saw Joani and her neighbors at Orlando's. Stopped by the shoe store around the corner (where I drop off clothes to be washed) and was given a gift of pretty shells. Not sure why the gift, but it is fun getting to know the people at the shop.
Watched "Second Hand Lions" before falling asleep about midnight. Am slowly working my way thru a 2 foot high stack of vhs tapes of movies I have never seen and some I want to see again.
Life is slow, warm and easy here.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
carmen and coronado
Turns out we went snorkeling yesterday instead of Sunday. Sunday cancelled with a scheduling conflict and wind. Water was mirror calm yesterday when we left the harbor. Went to north-eastern shore of Carmen to some caves. The caves were fascinating to see, but not many fish for good snorkeling. Caves might have lobster at night tho.
Went to a couple other reefs on Carmen and saw a variety of colorful fish. While we snorkeled our guide Chava fished. He caught some nice Cabrilla to take home for dinner.
About noon, we headed for Coronado to find turtles. During the rest of the day we saw a lot of turtles from the boat, but not while swimming. I quit counting turtles when I had seen 12 and there were many more. Chava took us to a spot where they often come to spend the night.
We lunched on Coronado and then snorkeled. Saw many colorful fish there also and the beach has a palapa for shade...........and it is a much shorter ride from town than going over to Carmen. Had a few small jelly stings. The jellies were scattered and did not have them everywhere we swam. A thin allbody layer over your skin helps.
The water is already beginning to seem cooler than last week, but still bathtub warm for me.
Went to a couple other reefs on Carmen and saw a variety of colorful fish. While we snorkeled our guide Chava fished. He caught some nice Cabrilla to take home for dinner.
About noon, we headed for Coronado to find turtles. During the rest of the day we saw a lot of turtles from the boat, but not while swimming. I quit counting turtles when I had seen 12 and there were many more. Chava took us to a spot where they often come to spend the night.
We lunched on Coronado and then snorkeled. Saw many colorful fish there also and the beach has a palapa for shade...........and it is a much shorter ride from town than going over to Carmen. Had a few small jelly stings. The jellies were scattered and did not have them everywhere we swam. A thin allbody layer over your skin helps.
The water is already beginning to seem cooler than last week, but still bathtub warm for me.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Snorkeling Oct 30
A preview:
Will go snorkeling Sunday with 4 friends. We have rented a boat and guide to take us over to Carmen Island (another Island in the National Marine Park) for snorkeling and then over to Coronado Island (3rd Island in the group) to see if we can see tortugas.
I am sitting outside a coffe shop near the town plaza with free wi-fi. It is a fine place for people watching, checking email and drinking frappes.
Will go snorkeling Sunday with 4 friends. We have rented a boat and guide to take us over to Carmen Island (another Island in the National Marine Park) for snorkeling and then over to Coronado Island (3rd Island in the group) to see if we can see tortugas.
I am sitting outside a coffe shop near the town plaza with free wi-fi. It is a fine place for people watching, checking email and drinking frappes.
Sea Kayaking Oct 24-28
Trudi was in the pickup with me on the way to the wedding. She does kayak and mule trips locally. She had a kayak trip leaving Monday Oct 24 so I decided to go along and she fit me in at the last minute for a kayak trip with four others and a couple guides. We drove south of town to a beach near Puerto Escondido and launched our kayaks there. Group decided to leave tents behind so we camped under the stars. It was a 5 day and 4 night trip. The first day we paddled over to Danzante Island and unloaded our gear at one of the beaches on the south end of the island and then paddled back north along the shore to Honeymoon Beach for snorkeling, then back to our campsite for the night. I shared a double kayak with Adrian, one of the guides, and he was helpful getting me in and out of the kayak without tipping over.
I loved sleeping under the stars. Orion was nearly overhead about sunrise and I saw several meteors. Will "google" to see when to watch for the November meteor show. If I awakened and Orion was still low in the sky, I would go back to sleep until just before dawn. The sunrises and sunsets here are colorful.
Danzante Island is one of 5 Islands in the National Marine Park here at Loreto.
After the first day, we paddled over to the mainland of Baja and paddled south camping along the way at two different beaches. We spent two nights at our last camping beach and did a lot of snorkeling, swimming, beach combing, and hiking up into a canyon. This last beachg had hundreds of hermit crabs crawling about. The snorkeling was nice with a lot of different fish..............ones I cannot name.
This morning we paddled to a beach near Agua Verde for our haulout. Just as we were approaching the beach, a van pulled up to pick us up along with all our gear (including the kayaks.) We had two double kayaks and 3 singles.
It was hot,but I could cool off in the water so that was just fine.
Once the gear was packed for our return to Loreto, we stopped at a ranch for lunch and then drove up the hill to Highway 1 and back to Loreto. The road to Agua Verde leaves Highway 1 about 30 miles from Loreto. The dirt/boulder road is a slow 20 kilometer drive to the first ranch at sea level and then another 20 kilometers to Agua Verde. Takes a long time, but is worth the drive, especially if you can camp a few days while there. There are hot springs nearby that are accessible only at low tide. I have not seen the hot springs yet.
Again, if/when I have pictures to post, I will.
I loved sleeping under the stars. Orion was nearly overhead about sunrise and I saw several meteors. Will "google" to see when to watch for the November meteor show. If I awakened and Orion was still low in the sky, I would go back to sleep until just before dawn. The sunrises and sunsets here are colorful.
Danzante Island is one of 5 Islands in the National Marine Park here at Loreto.
After the first day, we paddled over to the mainland of Baja and paddled south camping along the way at two different beaches. We spent two nights at our last camping beach and did a lot of snorkeling, swimming, beach combing, and hiking up into a canyon. This last beachg had hundreds of hermit crabs crawling about. The snorkeling was nice with a lot of different fish..............ones I cannot name.
This morning we paddled to a beach near Agua Verde for our haulout. Just as we were approaching the beach, a van pulled up to pick us up along with all our gear (including the kayaks.) We had two double kayaks and 3 singles.
It was hot,but I could cool off in the water so that was just fine.
Once the gear was packed for our return to Loreto, we stopped at a ranch for lunch and then drove up the hill to Highway 1 and back to Loreto. The road to Agua Verde leaves Highway 1 about 30 miles from Loreto. The dirt/boulder road is a slow 20 kilometer drive to the first ranch at sea level and then another 20 kilometers to Agua Verde. Takes a long time, but is worth the drive, especially if you can camp a few days while there. There are hot springs nearby that are accessible only at low tide. I have not seen the hot springs yet.
Again, if/when I have pictures to post, I will.
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