Bahia De Los Angeles

May 14, 2012 – Our good friends Rob & Terry Little are selling Casa Little, their labour of love in the beautiful Bahia De Los Angeles.  They have recently purchased another home in Mulege and sadly must now say goodbye to this Baja beauty.  They currently lease from Antonio & Bety Resendiz who operate Campo Archelon, also long time friends of ours.  Their neighbour, a fellow Canadian, Al Perrett, is a great guy who owns a motorcycle shop in Kamloops.

Located along the east side of the Baja California Peninsula, in the state of Baja California, Francisco de Ulloa was the first European to discover Bahía de los Ángeles in 1539 which was the last expedition financed by Hernán Cortés. The village has many islands off the coast and is famous for its fabulous fishing. The most popular fish here is yellowtail, a type of sport fish that lives off the shore of California and Mexico. These fish can grow up to 5 feet long and can weigh up to 100 pounds. The bay is also famous for its whale sharks.  A “must see” is the local Museo De Naturaleza Y Cultura museum, this is run by local volunteers and provides an excellent over view of the history of the town and region. Another popular attraction is Misión San Francisco Borja de Adác (aka San Borja Mission) which was established in 1759 by the Jesuit padre Wenceslaus Linck at the Cochimí settlement of Adac, west of Bahía de los Ángeles.

• Lot 2500 sq meters
• House 800 sq ft, includes kitchen, dining room, living room, bedroom and bathroom
• Includes 8′ X 8′ storage room with a complete and fully operational solar system that powers house
• 2 water storage pilas, 5000 litres and 1100 litres on roof, two options, gravity fed into house or powered by pressure by an inline pump
• Well constructed, 16 inch walls including granite feature wall
• Fully walled attractive patio with decorative wrought iron gates including privacy railing
• Furnished with the basics including sheets and dishes
• Garden attractively landscaped with indigenous cactus
• Ocean view, 2 minute stroll from beach
• Asking $59,900 and will consider any reasonable offer
• Lease paid until 2015
• Land may also be purchased from Antonio & Bety Resendiz
• Contact Rob & Terry  – tar685@gmail.com
  

  Casa Little

Inside Casa Little

Benito Juarez lead Mexico to Victory over the French

May 5, 2012 -Cinco de Mayo has its roots in the French occupation of Mexico, which took place in the aftermath of the Mexican-American War of 1846-48, the Mexican Civil War of 1858, and the 1860 Reform Wars.  These wars left the Mexican Treasury in ruins and nearly bankrupt which is why on July 17, 1861, Mexican President Benito Juárez issued a moratorium in which all foreign debt payments were suspended.  As a result, France, Britain, and Spain sent naval forces to Veracruz to demand reimbursement.  Spain and Britain negotiated a resolve with Mexico and withdrew, unfortunately France, at the time ruled by Napoleon III, decided to use the opportunity to establish a Latin empire in Mexico that would favor French interests, the Second Mexican Empire.

The French Invasion

In 1861, a well-armed French fleet stormed Veracruz, landing a large French force and driving President Juárez and his government into retreat.  From Veracruz the French marched towards Mexico City where they encountered heavy resistance from the Mexicans near Puebla, at the Mexican forts of Loreto and Guadalupe.  The 8,000-strong French army attacked the poorly equipped Mexican army of 4,000 and surprisingly on May 5, 1862, the Mexicans managed to decisively crush the French army.  This was a significant victory and made news around the world as France purported to have the best trained and equipped army of the time. In fact this was the first defeat suffered by France in fifty (50) years!

The Mexican Victory

This victory represented a much needed morale boost to the Mexican army and the Mexican people at large.  The History Channel stated: “Although not a major strategic win in the overall war against the French, Zaragoza’s success at Puebla represented a great symbolic victory for the Mexican government and bolstered the resistance movement.”  Time Magazine wrote: “The Puebla victory came to symbolize unity and pride for what seemed like a Mexican David defeating a French Goliath.”  Without question this victory helped establish a much-needed sense of national unity and patriotism.

Post Puebla Battle

Unfortunately the Mexican victory was short-lived.  A year later and the assignment of an additional thirty thousand (30,000) troops, the French were able to depose the Mexican army, capture Mexico City, and establish Emperor Maximilian I as ruler of Mexico.  Fortunately, the French victory was also short-lived, lasting only 3 years, from 1864 to 1867.  With the U.S. Civil War over in 1865, the U.S. was able to provide more assistance to Mexico to expel the French, after which Maximilian I was executed by the Mexicans, along with his Mexican generals Miramón and Mejía, in the Cerro de las Campanas, Querétaro and President Benito Juárez returned to govern from Mexico City.

                                                   Viva Mexico! Viva Cinco de Mayo 

Benito Juárez (1806-1872) La Reforma

We always feel safe on Baja!

“12 Murdered, Millions Weren’t.”

Bet you haven’t seen that headline anywhere. According to many of the news reports, all of Mexico is in flames. According to the statistics, it is not.  We were in Zihuatanejo last year where we had a typical sun, sand, cerveza and siesta vacation. The scariest part was the driving and the young shotgun toting kid timidly guarding the armoured cars servicing the local supermarket.  Otherwise, it was a wonderful vacation and we didn’t feel unsafe. We are not sure we would have gone if we had just paid attention to the news before we went. Instead, we did our research.

The fact is that there are drug wars in full swing in the U.S., Thailand, and dozens of other regions. Although the numbers differ in each report, stats compiled by a variety of agencies show that Mexico as a whole is not at the top of the list of dangerous vacation spots.  Just as a little comparison, while searching for stats, one of the maps that scared us the most showed murders in Washington, DC. We have relatives who live in the area so we go out at night to some great restaurants. If we had seen the map showing the clusters of murders just off the Mall and the White House lawns (See: Gun violence in the United States), we are not sure we would have gone to the Smithsonian Museums, much less to dinner.  If you want to be extra safe from drug violence in Mexico, check out the map and article (See: BBC World-Mexico’s Drug Related Violence). There are plenty of tourist destinations that are still normal for tourist. When compared to Washington, DC, Cancun and other tourist hot spots seem to be pretty safe.

Also, follow these 3 simple common sense rules.

• No. 1, don’t deal in drugs or associate with those who do.
• Don’t hang out in bars where everyone is armed.
• Don’t accept invitations to mansions far out in the desert.

Update on Alberta RVers Lyle & Marie McCann

Travis Vader, 40, was charged Friday, April 20, 2012 with two counts of first-degree murder in the slayings of deaths the elderly St. Albert, Alta., couple Lyle and Marie McCann.  Vader was first identified as a “person of interest” soon after Lyle, 78, and Marie, 77, disappeared in July 2010, and was later upgraded to the status of “suspect.” Vader was arrested at the Edmonton Remand Centre, where he had been held on unrelated charges. His first court appearance is slated for May 15, 2012 in Edson, Alberta.

The McCanns left St. Albert the morning of July 3, 2010, on a leisurely trip to meet their daughter in Abbotsford, B.C. Their burnt-out motorhome was found two days later, in an isolated area near the Minnow Lake campground, about 150 kilometres west of Edmonton. Though RCMP immediately were able to identify the McCanns as the vehicle’s owners, they didn’t realize a serious crime had been committed until the couple was reported missing by family July 10. At that point, the case quickly became a double homicide investigation.  The SUV the couple had been towing was found in a remote wooded area nearby, six days later.  Though the McCanns’ remains have never been found, they were declared legally dead last summer.

Happy Hour in Cabo is always popular!

In our travels so far we took our trailer to Pacific Coachworks and had some warranty work done, they were very friendly and did great work, we are very happy with our Tango, performed well for the entire season which included 4 complete tours of Baja, almost 15,000 km!

We are having fun, can you tell?

Our last tour is now well behind us, the March group were also lots of fun and enjoyed the best weather of all, lots of time in the pool and in the ocean. For sure wonderful memories that will last a lifetime and many are keen to return on their own next season, Baja can’t wait!  We had a great season overall with terrific RVers from across Canada and the United States.  We had tons of fun, lots of laughs met many interesting RVers from across the world and everyone really enjoyed their Baja experience.

Blaine & Lorrraine enjoyed Baja!

Highlights include Rafeal and Helen dancing on the tables at Ray’s Place in Mulege, Brook and the geyser at site #13 in Rancho Verde in Baja Sur, the January Dog tour that include 2 cats,  our visiting Scorpion also at Rancho Verde, our many, many great meals at so many places, the fantastic whale watching in Guerrero Negro, fishing with Marcos in Bahia de los Angeles, swimming with Sea Lions at Tecolote, Carnival in La Paz  and who could forget Hector the Collector! And so much more.

Irene liked the pool!

Wow, hard to believe we shared all this with so many RVers, thank you!

Ray's Place is always a hit!

Time is marching on and everyone keeps building great Baja memories. We left for Ray’s after a short tour in downtown Mulege, a stop for purified water and a short visit to friends in the Orchard.  When we arrived at Ray’s we had a tour Rob & Terri’s new house, very impressive for sure, we are confident they will be happy in there new wonderful local.  Mulege has so much more to offer than Bahia De Los Angeles for those staying for many months.

We were very fortunate that Ray opened just for our group of Baja Amigos, the dinner was fabulous, a seafood platter like none of the group had ever seen before.  This was truly a memorable evening, great food, great people, great atmosphere.  Who could ask for more!

Got to like a swim up bar eh?

Today we had a tour to the Mulege lighthouse, the Loma Linda Hotel, the newly completed Malecon, the former prison and now Museum and finally the Santa Rosalia Mission.  We also made time for some serious pool side leisure at the Hotel Serenidad our favourite place to stay when we stay in Mulege.

Tomorrow off we go again northward bound for the last time this season, we are heading home.

Ted & Dan are making friends on the beach!

The next day we were off to Pescadero and a stop at the Factory of Mexican Blankets, aka the Blanket Factory, Efren Parada and his Mom were both there and the group were really impressed with the quantity, quality and diversity of the selection available.  Efren even gave a short demonstration on the rug loom he has set up in the store.

When we arrived at the campground in Pescadero Bobby, the owner, was there watering the newly planted palms and was very happy to see us.  Within a couple of hours everyone was on the beach and some in the water.  The surf was not too intense and we got in a couple of good runs with the Boogey Board.  Later Bobby joined us at Happy Hour and shared some of his experiences and thoughts about Baja after 14 years as a resident, he is an interesting and colourful guy for sure!

The next day we were off to La Paz that included a stop in Todos Santos and lunch at George’s Taco Stand which we host.  We had great parking for everyone which makes our visit so much easier, the little town was just waking up and everyone enjoyed the walkabout and visit to the many shops including the iconic Hotel California.

Basket Weaver in Todos Santos

The rest of our travels to La Paz were uneventful until we made the turn at Home Depot towards our RV Park, Campestre Maranatha.  Only 4 of us made the light, which is not unusual, however we were stopped by another light just around the corner and we are connected by radios.  Suddenly we hear from the back that a Motorcycle Cop is telling the last 2 rigs to pull over as they went through a red light.  I told everyone to be calm and head for the Wallmart parking lot to sort things out.  Once we all gathered and talked to everyone I determined no one had done anything wrong and this Policeman was just looking for some easy money from some Gringo Turistas.  I diplomatically, but passionately, told him he was mistaken, asked him to call his Captain, then requested his name and badge number, plus I took a photo of him.  Although he did pull out the cuffs, in the end he warned us not to do it again and left empty handed.

La Paz means the Peace right?

Our excursion later into La Paz was much calmer however very enjoyable that included a visit to Ibarra’s Pottery and our favorite Hot Dog & Hamburger Stand.

Today we are off for an extended excursion to the downtown core of old La Paz that will include the Juarez Public Market, the historic Catherdral and we finish with a dinner at the Los Magueyes Restaurant, good Mexican food, at an reasonable price and a wonderful ambiance to boot, what could be better?

Playa Tecolote is always a favourite stop!

The last few days have been fun filled and full of adventure for sure.  The group really enjoyed their stay at Playa Tecolote that included a boat trip to Isla Espiritu Santo for snorkeling and swimming with Sea Lions, a relaxing afternoon by the beach and a great Potluck dinner.  After a couple of days we headed off southbound for our overnight scheduled stop at Rancho Verde.  As it turns out our walking tour of El Triunfo on route to Rancho Verde occurred during an Art Festival and 100 year celebration of the town, what a busy place and great experience for all.

At our pre-departure meeting yesterday morning we were joined by a very large Scorpion who just dropped in to say hi on behalf of the critters at Rancho Verde.  After lots of photos we made sure he was safely out of the way before we left for Los Cabos. Our scenic drive to San Jose and Cabo included trying out a new propane stop along the way at about km 52 on Hwy 1, a CaliGas plant, this worked well for all and will now be a regular stop on our future tours.

I am the Birhday Girl!

We rounded out our day celebrating Colleen’s birthday at the Vagabundos Restaurant, as usual Joe & Peter did not disappoint, great food, good music and lots of fun.

Dinner was great!

Mike & Bertha at Palapa 206 are great folks!

After our planned shopping stop at the Super Ley in Constitucion we arrived at Mike & Bertha’s RV & Motel, Palapa 206 where we spend one (1) night and they host our Margarita Happy Hour.

Nigel is keen to show his driving skills!

As usual, we had a great time and many of the RVers took the opportunity to take a spin on a short track set out back of the campground with Nigel, Mike & Bertha’s oldest son.

The Birthday girl is good to go!

Nigel has been driving for over a year including participating in some local races with his VW Baja Buggy and is very skillful indeed, he really provides a a thrilling ride for sure.

Nigel is always calm, cool & confident with his passengers!

One can only imagine what the future holds for Nigel in racing as he gains more experience and grows, in October of this year Nigel will turn 12.

Baja is always full of surprises!

Irene on the Margarita Bike!

Later the group toured along the market walkway that includes the 1st Jesuit Mission in this former California Capital and many other historical buildings.

In the evening we all attended our Baja Fiesta dinner, for the first time hosted by Yolanda at the RV Park Restaurant.

Now this couple could dance!

The food was great, the music fantastic and fun was had by all, a very enjoyable evening for sure, the outdoor patio was a real hit.

Must be Baja Amigos!

Plenty of dancing and memories that will last for many years to come.

Who said they did not dance?

This morning we leave for the community of San Javier that includes it’s namesake Mission.  Later many will join us at Del Burracho, (The Drunk), Mike’s Texas Saloon for lunch, I for one can hardly wait to taste the ice cold draft Negro Modelo.

Baja adventure is about to begin!

Well can you believe we are already on Day 5 of our last tour of the season, times sure fly’s when your having fun and enjoying the sun on Baja! We just said goodbye to our last group last Saturday morning on a very warm and bright morning on the US side of the Tecate border crossing, they were a great group for sure and really enjoyed their experience in Mexico’s frontier.  Lisa’s Mom Sylvia returned with us after spending a month in Cabo San Lucas at the RV Park, after traveling down with us on our January Tour.

We expect many from this group will be returning in years to come for sure. Our tasting and tour of the Casa Pedro Domecq Winery for the first time was a big hit and everyone thoroughly enjoyed it. We have already made our reservations for our March tour and are confident they will also be impressed.  The tour and tasting at both LA Cetto and Casa Pedro Domecq provide our tours with a strong finish and a complete Baja experience.

Today our group heads out to see the Grey Whales, lots of mothers and calves, well over a thousand (1000) whales in the lagoon.  This will be an experience they remember  for sometime, the wind is down and the forecast calls for sunny skies and warm temperatures, a high of 26C predicted today.

This is the definition of Team Work!

Speaking of winds, wow did we get some over the past two (2) days! It was quite windy when we arrived at Fidel’s on Day 2, however that died right off as usual in the evening. The next day as we drove to Catavina, the wind really picked up and our drive was scenic and slow. Around midnight we experienced gale force winds which woke everyone up and rocked the RVs.  In the morning the wind seemed to have abated but soon returned with a vengeance once we hit the road  as we headed for Guerrero Negro.  As we approached El Pedregoso awnings on slides of the A Class Motorhomes started to unfurl and we had to make a quick stop to rectify the situation, luckily we were able to find a place to pull over and made the repairs necessary to continue on. Everyone was very relieved to reach our body break stop at the Bahia de los Angeles Junction and the winds had finally calmed down.  Baja is always and adventure!