Casitas de San Juanico
Baja has always been one stroke of change followed by another. Friends, Kristin & John Gerde, have recently opened a small motel in San Juanico – a beautiful retreat after a day of fishing, surfing or simply beachcombing. Hot showers, a soon-to-be-completed communal kitchen, an outdoor bar/eating area, 100% cotton sheets on comfy beds, ample off-street parking, and reasonable prices. To find out more : http://www.casitassanjuanico.com
Dropping down the face of a perfect wave
Swells hit the points in the sleepy Mexican village – at least that’s what my girlfriend, Cynthia emails to me. My mind drifts to turquoise waters and waves that wrap around the points across the open bays. Some of my most fun surfing – ever- happens here. For the most part, everyone in the water is friendly, no one is too agro about sharing waves, and the energies of the sea, the sky and the desert all come together to make surfing bliss.
When I’m stuck in the states, my heart wanders… to the waves, the friends that are shared.
Last trip I met the “La Ventana” Group .. Irene & Ron, Norm, Kento & Jeff .. all who camped above second point and spent their hours on the water on their SUPs – Stand Up Paddle Boards. The boards are a new addition to the SJ waters – and not loved by all. What they can do is surf during the tides that are not conducive to normal surf. Waves that are too slow .. or don’t ever really get around to breaking.
As with all journeys, there were high points and low points. Good times at John Fields house ..of Juan & Juan .. I’ve never met the other Juan, but John and his wife, Carol are the sweetest folks. He started with a garage, expanded it to several, and it makes up his ‘play box’. With a prime location overlooking the surf, parties at John’s house are always fun. He cooks a mean hamburger – but watch out for his margaritas – or so I’ve been told.
Donn Stein – who had first loaned me a surfboard a year ago and sent me down my re-surfing passage – was already in town with his girlfriend and her daughter when I arrived. Ran into them at Pizza Friday – and then again in the water. Donn always wears a big smile.
Spent some time in the water with Dennis Choate. Fun to surf with him both north and south of the border. Still waiting for that promised surfboard 🙂
The waves came up .. the waves went down. George Granger had been in town with his to-be-inlaws – his daughter is marrying a sweetheart, and when the party-goers left, George stayed to surf for a few days. I gave him a ride back to Loreto and the airport. It was a nice chance to get to know him better. He spent a lot of time in Laguna when he was growing up – and we were able to share stories about old times, old houses, and old surf 🙂
Now .. three weeks later, I’m jonesing for some SJ surf. Coming up! I’ve got a trip planned for the end of the month … Going to celebrate my birthday -and with good luck, the wave gods will be with us, and all the folks who said they’d show up will actually make it down and over.
Yep .. San Juanico dreaming ……………
I think that Picazone is my favorite lunch spot in all the world. Set apart from the city by five miles of dirt roads, the remarkable home/restaurant built by Alejandro & Imelda Igartua sits directly on the shoreline of the Sea of Cortez. They opened five/six years ago with a two burner propane stove and small bar. Now several tables fill an expansive dining area, a wonderful home has risen on top of an expanded kitchen and cozy seating area. As if the location and the furnishings weren’t grand enough, the food is – to die for. My favorite are the tacones – wraps filled with a diner’s choice of fish, scallops, shrimp or vegetables. Mix and match. “Para serverle” is the guiding principal of Alejandro’s personal and magnificent service. His goal : to make each of his guests feel as if they are at home. He and his wife succeed every time.
Picazone is open Tuesday/Saturday- Noon – Sunset. Head north of town on Calle Davis ..and when the pavement runs out .. just keep going. When you find the two-story yellow ochre colored home with palapa roof near the end of the road, you’ve arrived. Bring a suit on a warm sunny day and treat yourself to a swim.
Catharine Cleaning Up!
“There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground…” – Rumi
40 years ago 20 million Americans pooled their energies and created the first Earth Day. As envisioned by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson, the day was to be filled with educational teach-ins.
Thousands of colleges and universities organized protests against the deterioration of the environment. Isolated groups that had been struggling against issues such as oil spills, polluting factories, raw sewage, pesticides, loss of wilderness and extinction of wildlife suddenly realized they shared common values.
The most impressive thing about the beginnings of the movement was its grassroots organization. “Earth Day” had no central governing body and simply grew on it’s own. The event is now celebrated in more than 175 countries.
Earth Day in Loreto, BCS, Mexico, – “Loreto Pride in Action” – was celebrated on Sunday, April 18th. Fueled by the relentless dream of the local environmental awareness group and sponsor, Eco-Alianzia, this year’s event had over 200 participants from all walks of the community, with the greatest number being youths from Loreto.
A location was selected that had become a dumping ground of local trash and garbage. Arroyo Candeleria is the second largest arroyo in Loreto and during the summer storm season, becomes a raging torrent, sweeping anything within its banks into the Sea of Cortez. To clean this dry river bed not only benefits the current environment by ridding it of trash and toxic chemicals carelessly left behind, but protects the waters and its inhabitants in the upcoming months.
The event began with sign-ins at 7:30 in the morning. Participants were given name tags, t-shirts displaying the Pride Campaign logo of the Chocolate Clam, the Bay of Loreto National Park, Eco-Alianza and the Waterkeeper Alliance – and a handful of heavy-duty black trash bags. A short walk to the arroyo was the last easy task of the morning hours.
While not quite a dump, the arroyo had more than its share of disposed diapers, fish heads, empty plastic bottles, tires, paint cans, spent or broken building supplies, broken roof tiles, clothing, discarded shoes, beer and wine bottles, along with molded reeking garbage. At times a gagging reflex interfered with collecting the waste.
There are several reasons for the refuse. The primary is lack of education and an understanding of the relationship of the arroyo to the health of the sea. This year’s Pride Campaign logo – “Por un mar lleno do vida” – “For a sea full of life!” – was designed to increase awareness.
The second and third reasons have to do with garbage collection. While there is a service, not everyone has garbage cans, and the pickup is only once a week. With fisherman, the catch – and resultant fish heads and remains – are often a daily occurrence. Most of them have no automobiles or trucks with which to transport the fish refuse to the city dump, and to put them in cans next to their house is to invite a fly fest and stench of unimaginable proportions.
The fourth reason is based on habit – with a hint of laziness. It’s always been dumped that way. There hasn’t been demonstrated sufficient reason to change.
Which takes the arguments full cycle back to the involvement of the youth in the clean-up process. Always, it is through the youth that real change is born and instituted. They may not be able to alter the behaviors of their parents, but they are learning for themselves the interrelationship of land to sea.
For myself, I was fascinated that as I cleaned one area, there were layer upon layer of trash to be removed. Lifting up a bag of garbage revealed another layer of bottles. Picking up the bottles revealed another layer of tattered clothing. Lifting up the clothing revealed another layer of garbage and plastic.
Bags of trash and broken furniture were loaded into pickup trucks and trailers headed to the dump. At last, the dusty, tired cadre of clean-up crew reached the end of the arroyo at the highway. Behind us – a pristine environment – the efforts of our labor clearly visible to all.
A barbeque luncheon on the beach at Rancho El Jaral was hosted by Eco-Alianzia for all the participants. A quick dip in the turquoise blue waters provided the perfect antidote for the dusty cleanup.
“Loreto Pride Campaign” pooled the energies of several local groups, including Rare Conservation’s Director of the Fisheries Fellow Program, Cynthia Mayoral, The Bay of Loreto National Park, the “Pride” Campaign Manager, Perla Lozano Angulo and her colleagues, and Edna Peralta, program coordinator for children’s education and outreach programs of Eco-Alianza.
The ultimate goal of Earth Day is that every day becomes a celebration of the planet we call home. Again, it’s our job to protect her, to nurture her and increasingly commit ourselves to living within a sustainable envelope. We all win – the earth and us – when we make conscious choices about our food, water, consumables and waste. Be thoughtful. Be careful. Envelop the planet with the same love with which you shower your children and friends.
Catharine Cooper loves – cleans – and supports wild places. She can be reached at ccooper@cooperdesign.net.
Dinner with Cynthia and Cal in their lovely home. Palapa rooftop vista of town and the sea. Good friends from La Ventana : Ron, Irene & Norm. From Santa Inez Valley : George. From Hood River, Oregon : Kristine.
Yum food. Good fun. Lots of laughter. Yes. Life can be bliss!
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
Picazone!
YUM YUM YUM .. and what a setting! No trip to Loreto is complete without a stop at the tony beachfront restaurant owned by Alejandro and Imelda Igartua.
Relaxing at Picazone
The food is amazing – or did I say that? My favorite are the tacones – wraps with fish, shrimp, chicken or veggies.
The two came from Cabo 10+ years ago looking for a better place to raise their two sons – Alex Jr and Diego. They found some property way to the north of town down a long dusty dirt road. Starting with a tiny 2 burner propane camp stove and a few tables, they have grown the property to include upstairs living quarters, as well as an expanded restaurant. Alejandra has a full bar, is the most gracious of hosts, and makes each visitor feel completely at home.
Boaters drop passengers, then anchor just offshore. Schools of fish add snorkeling opportunities, and Alejandro offers windsurfing lessons in his spare time!
A must stopover. Ask anyone in town for directions ..
"Chef-tess" Cynthia Wagstaff
I got lucky. I haven’t been able to get south for a while – business and personal stuff have my ankles shackled to the motherland …. But in the midst, my friend from San Juanico, Cynthia Wagstaff, came north to visit her daughter and stay with me for a few days in Laguna. We walked the beaches, watched the sunset from the Rooftop at k’ya, filled our tummies with delights from Micheal Kang’s 5′ Restaurant, and wrote, talked, laughed and enjoyed being friends and women.
Before she left, she volunteered to cook for a party we threw together for her to meet some of our friends. Fish tacos was the menu of choice – what else for Baja devotees? Along with the amazing tacos, she prepared salsa fresca, a yummy guacamole with pomegranate seeds, and a special sauce for the tacos. We ate like kings! Guests included Racheal & Brett who own a home in Cabo and are moving south for a couple of months, Carlos & his girlfriend Sara from Florida, Michael and Janet, and Cathy.
Good friends. Good food. Good conversation. Sunset from the deck. A perfect southern California evening.
Hard Day at the Office
It’s a challenge, but somebody’s got to do it! Love seeing my neighbors gather on the sand spit, revealed only during lunar dragged low tides. All it takes is a beach chair, a cool drink and a gathering of friends .. and voila! A new version of the office water cooler.
We should all find ways to spend more time like this. It feeds the soul, the heart, the mind .. and rejuvenates our energies for other challenges.
Cynthia Wagstaff works magic. Everything she touches in her environment is changed in an artful, soulful, fun and simultaneously spiritual way. Her surroundings are a delight for the eyes and a wakeup to the heart.
Dancing Margaritas - Painted wall by Cynthia Wagstaff
Baja Dreaming 
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