The first time I met Cynthia, she was sure she already knew me. We were sitting in the pizza restaurant in San Juanico, and while she sure seemed like someone I ought to know, I couldn’t find a memory to connect us.  We chatted back and forth, and voila – she was from Sun Valley, where my sister, Claudia lives.. a sister with whom I share a facial likeness.  Voila!  What I don’t think that either of us knew then, was what good friends we would become.  With shared optimistic outlooks, Baja grit in between our teeth, and wide open hearts — it’s been a grand gift of a later in life friendship.

Cynthia in her Garden

Cynthia lives full time in San Juanico in a beautiful home that she and her very clever, very talented, very crafty husband, Cal, have built on the slope of a hillside.  The upstairs palapa has a killer view of the town to the sea, and the newly completed casita even sports an outdoor bathtub!

An organic garden compliments Cynthia’s kitchen magic – a real chef – a master with whatever ingredients are in the fridge, the bowl, or on the shelf.

In fact, she’s even got a new blog : BajaLuna – which incorporates her stories of living in a small fishing/surf village with tasty recipes and ideas for combining ingredients.

Cal watering the garden