Foodie

John has given me a homework assignment. He wants me to contribute more to the blog. I guess my vacation is over. I spend a lot of time writing in my head but rarely put fingers to keyboard anymore. I've been wanting to write about my special interest in cooking. I have been a "foodie" since I first had a little toy stove at age four. The process of converting raw ingredients into an edible meal has always intrigued me. Even through my feminist phase, when it wasn't cool to admit to any liking for traditional female roles, I kept on cooking.


Cooking in a motorhome presents a special challenge to produce good food, using fresh ingredients, that also doesn't take too many pots to clean afterwards. Of course I have a well-stocked pantry with all the spices, capers, garlic, real butter, olive oil, and baking stuff. Much of what I make has been in a small wok-pan. Stir frying lends itself well to the small kitchen but can be messy. This time, I purchased a two quart crock pot and today I am experimenting with it. I found a recipe for braised pork with lemon and sage and adapted it to my small pot.


So far the major downside of that has been smelling it all day. Made me real hungry so I put together two shrimp salads for our lunch. I had bought a kilo of shrimp from a beach vendor and have now made three meals from it. We had saute of shrimp and garlic with pasta and (heaven help me) canned asparagus the first night. Fresh veggies are hard to obtain so I fall back on canned just to keep some green in the diet. Last night I put a light breading on the rest of the shrimp, fried those and made rice. Today I used the left over shrimp to make salads with the last of the fresh lettuce I brought from stateside.

I am going to microwave a spaghetti squash to go with the pork to round out tonight's meal.

Dinner anyone?

A Mulege day

Kind of a grey, mucky day on the beach. As you can see in the shot of the beach from the road, there are a lot of palapas there. Most are empty, as the owners come and go during the winter. Our major friends are here, or temporarily in La Paz (on vacation). You can just make out the front of Smokey peaking between some palapas. Our favorite spot. We have a wind break, front view of the ocean, and porches on each side to sit or store things.


My major task for the day was to assemble the Portabote. It's really a pretty amazing craft, and I took pictures of its assembly in stages.




This is the bote on the car - it folds to about three inches thick, resembling a surfboard.


Here is the bote with its components ready for assembly.



The bote unfolds like an accordion. It is made of some incredibly durable type of polymer. Having been folded for several months, it is stiff, and needs to be propped open with a stick. The dog is a friendly stray that probably belongs to the beach keepers. She stole one of Mimi's sandals earlier.



On goes the back, then in go the seats, and voila' you have a bote. Care to go for a ride?





This was exhausting work and called for a nap. As I was falling asleep in the motorhome, some friends (Carol and Larry) stopped by to say hello. We met them in Guerrero Negro and had dinner. Larry was a pioneer in setting-up whale watching trips in the lagoons here years ago. Now retired and living near Denver, they are visiting their old haunts.






After they left we decided to take a run into Mulege for lunch. We also needed to pick-up some fresh gas for the outboard motor and drinking water. Mulege is small, but a rather advanced town for the Baja. Most roads are paved, and they even have a bank downtown. The arch in front of the town's entrance is brand new, and the people are very proud of it. Gives it a touch of class!



Our favorite eating spot is Danny's Asadero, a taco spot. Danny and his wife are nice folks, and run a friendly, clean eatery. It's frequented by numerous tourists and locals - being known for good, safe food. Danny is constantly chopping, cooking, and cleaning, taking time to wave to local cars as they pass by. Like a Mexican version of Mayberry RFD.





This is a shot of the street from our table.





Here is lunch - tacos pescados with onions , lime juice, and guacamole . Mimi also had a bowl of bean soup. The tortillas here are thin, chewey and tasty. Unlike those back in the States. (Probably because they use lard)





We also stopped at a local grocery store - Sauls, for some fresh tortillas and a small package of cookies.



An interesting note - as our stay extends here, we tend to have more frequent and vivid dreams at night. We were talking about why that may happen, and came up with the thought that the limited stimulation available is allowing our minds to process recent and past events better than when we are constantly distracted and stimulated back home.. What do you think, Dr. Freud? (or maybe its just all that Mexican food?)



Hasta luego....

Settling in

The morning started with the sun streaming in the windshield. Perfect for removing the chill in the motorhome from the evening. Calm seas, light breeze. There were several boats moored in the harbor. Armani loves to sunbathe on the dash - after having breakfast first, of course.

Today will consist of doing those things to make our stay comfortable. The folding chairs and table went to the patio on the left. I removed the tire pressure sensors to preserve the batteries for future road trips, and angled the solar panels to make best use of the sun. Later we will put out the barbeque and attach an auxiliary propane bottle. We use a refillable bottle so that we don't have to take the motorhome back to Santa Rosalia to refill the big one.

A fisherman came by this morning selling kilo bags of shrimp and scallops from the Sea of Cortez. We bought some for dinner. Mimi has a miniature crock pot that she wants to try - making seafood gumbo at some point. Also several friends stopped by when we were on the patio having coffee. Caught-up on more news. Several folks have been here since September or October, and are planning on going back north soon. I think they have forgotten how lousy the weather still is up north, especially in Canada. I told them not to forget their snow shovel.

Aloha Mulege

Left Guerrero Negro this morning. It was cold and windy again, and we decided to postpone the whale watching for the trip back. I checked the "whale schedule" on the internet, and the babies should be more independent from their mothers and socializing with each other in about a month, when we are returning. Also, Mimi and I haven't been feeling real great - achy and lethargic - possibly accumulated stress or a mild bug.

We left Guerrero Negro with only a half tank of gas. Their highway gas station had completely run out of gas. There were long lines in town, and I didn't want to vie with the townies for their limited gas. The next station was about 50 miles down the highway, at a small town. If they were out, there was another station about 90 miles out, Plan C was Santa Rosalia, about 140 miles down the road. And if they were out, we would stay in Santa Rosalia until a delivery came. Welcome to Baja driving.

It turned out that the first gas station did have gas, and the rest of the trip was uneventful. As we crossed the Baja from west to east, the wind dropped and temperature rose. The Sea of Cortez on the east coast of the Baja was a welcome sight. Stopped at Santa Rosalia for lunch and a quick nap, using the Pemex station as a place to rest.

Arrived at Burro Beach in the late afternoon, immediately looking-up our friends Ted, Bobbe, Mary, and Bob & Diane. Great to see them again. We have our usual camping spot, between two unused palapas. This provides a fantastic view of the little bay, but privacy and a wind break from the sides. Being about fifteen feet from the water, we can listen to the waves lapping up on the beach. We can also use the patios on each side of us for sitting out. Feels like we're home !!!

Mimi whipped up a great meal - chicken French style, on a bed of pasta and as side of asparagas. Doesn't get any better than this!

Stay in Guerrero Negro

We had a restful nite. But driving down here takes a lot out of you, and we are both fatigued. We awoke to a sunny day with a light breeze. I was hoping to fill the gas tank at the Pemex just outside of town yesterday. For some reason the pump (only one working) kept stopping. We should have been able to put 2000 pesos worth in, but only got 400 in before giving up. There are two more gas stations in Guerrero Negro itself, which we will scout today.

Gas is a special issue in the Baja. There are few Pemex stations available, some several hundred miles apart. This number is reduced further by availability - sometimes they are out of gas. Then there are some stations that it is almost impossible to get a large motorhome into. Lastly, some stations are notorious for overcharging people, and need to be avoided. They can get 100 gallons into a 70 gallon tank. Neat trick!

Guerrero Negro is one of the newest towns in the Baja, and it's a company town. Founded in 1955, the town owes its existence to the Exportadora de Sal (salt works). Large flats near the down are flooded with seawater, which quickly evaporates, leaving salt. This is gathered up using heavy equipment and shipped out on barges. The lagoon itself is a favorite for whales as a nursery. The pregnant females stay in the inner lagoon, with the males guarding the entrance against sharks, etc. The inner lagoon is shallow and highly saline, so that the baby whales have an easier time learning to swim and surfacing to breathe when they are born.

While exploring the town, we came across a strip of land designated as a bird refuge. An interesting phenomena in such a barren area. It was compliments of the local salt works and was obviously for the purpose of making them look environmentally aware. (They were thwarted recently in expanding the salt works, which would have endangered the whale nursery).

More of Mex. 1

The route we take to Mulege is Mex. 1. It's one of the few paved highways in the Baja, and meanders between the east and west coasts of the peninsula. Virtually all civilization is clustered around the highway. Driving through towns is especially challenging. Cars and people are constantly entering and crossing the highway. There are topes, or large speed bumps to keep traffic slow. While going through Camalu yesterday, we were following a troop transport loaded with soldiers. A drunken Mexican had a large stick, and was staggering backwards down the highway, pretending to shoot at the soldiers. He didn't see us, and almost walked into the motorhome. By then I had stopped. Guess who would have been at fault if he was hurt? That's why we carry excellent liability insurance while down here.

The nite at El Pabelleon was very enjoyable and peaceful. We are about 200 miles south of TJ, and shooting for Guerrero Negro by the end of today. The scenery changes dramatically south of San Quintin as the road turns inland. The highway is generally very narrow with drop-offs on the side. Passing trucks and buses have only a few inches of clearance, making driving an intense affair. Mimi declines driving down here, thinking that each passing truck will hit us. On the other hand, sitting in the passenger seat involves the perception of hanging over the edge of the road. Both of us stay very much awake.

Lunch in the town of Catavina. An interesting place with lots of unusual cactus, including the boojum tree, cardon, and some yucca. Also giant boulders scattered around. Sometimes we stay overnight here, but having arrived so early we decided to keep on driving. The Catavina police department has increased from one to two cars. The speed trap business must be very good to them.

The sky was clear and sunny, with temperatures in the 70's in the desert. As the road turned towards the Pacific and Guerrero Negro, the weather became cloudy and windy again. Unless there is a drastic improvement in the weather, we will have to postpone whale watching until our return trip.

Free at Last .......

Well, after an eight month hiatus, we are on the road again. Those of you who are familiar with our family know that Mimi has been tied up with taking care of her father. It was during the trip to New Mexico that we received news from her sister, Emily, that their dad was deteriorating at an alarming rate. Since then, we took Marinus in and provided hospice until his demise on Nov. 11th.
It was quite an experience! And precluded our being able to travel. Following his demise, a service was planned for January (after the holidays) and disposition of the estate was initiated. For those of you who haven't been involved in those activities, consider yourselves lucky. Just be sure to have your own affairs in order and in a trust. In addition, Marinus' condo needed to be cleared out and rehabbed for rent. Who says retirement is easy. We worked harder than a real job to get things in order - but thankfully it is done!



We have wanted to visit our friends in Mulege for some time. So that's were we are starting. Mulege is about 600 miles south of San Diego. There are some beaches there - particularly Burro Beach, where we hang out and have some good friends. Parking the motorhome just so that high tide doesn't reach us, popping a cervaza, and watching the waves. That's living!

The challenge is getting there! It is a long, arduous drive. Baja is a poor state of Mexico, and there is a lot of poverty to be seen on the way down. Also, the bureaucracy has to have it's say. We crossed the Mexican border at 11 this morning. First stop was Immigracion, immediately over the border in T.J. We had prepaid visas obtained at a local Baja travel club. Of course the Immigracion officer found some problems. The amounts paid differed from what his rate sheet indicated. Also, we needed photocopies of the receipts. I think they love to hassle Americans trying to get into Mexico. Mimi pointed out that adding two figures on the receipts reached the total money he was looking for. In my infinite wisdom, I brought along a computer printer that had copy capability. Back to the motorhome for some quick copies, and the immigration officer was forced to stamp our visas - reluctantly.

Next stop, Ensanada. The toll road from TJ to Ensanada costs about $18. It is deteriorating, and has many potholes and lanes closed for repair. There were more than the usual number of soldiers on the road and at check points - trying to combat the thriving drug trade in the area.

The road between Ensanada and San Quintin is both beautiful and incredibly ugly. The beauty is in the countryside, with green fields and rolling hills. Interspersed are sprawling, dusty, ugly towns where the people live. Most are farm hands who have come here to work at the megafarms which supply produce to the U.S.

We finally landed at an ocean side campsite just south of San Quintin - at about 5 pm. Both of us are tired, and enjoy just listening to the Pacific surf rolling in about 200 feet in front of us.

Tomorrow - the Cativina Desert and Guerrero Negro.