Issue 70 feb mar 2015 online pdf

Recycle and share with a friend or return to the Eastcapers Rack.

Read the color version online at www.eastcapearts.com

Feb/Mar

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Free / Gratis

Festival de Artes

The 22nd Annual Festi-

val de Artes to be held at the

beautiful "Hotel Palmas de Cor-

tez" from 10:00 am to

4:00 pm on Sunday, March 29, 2015. This

popular event sponsored by the

Asociación de Artes on the East

Cape, is known as the premier

showcase for local artists who

display and sell their original

art.

The FOOD COURT will fea-

ture the famous Palmas Carne

Asada Taco Stand, Baja Bis-

cuits, Seth’s Panaderia, just to

name a few. We will have all of

your favorite cold beverages and

a bar that is second to none.

On the main stage, the great mu-

sic of Bluz Expolsion from La-

Paz. This is a toe tapin‘ dance

inspiring group that are always a

favorite around here. There will

be other great music to entertain

you all day long.

Funds from the Festival de Artes

go to support the community

activities of the Asociación de

Artes which include: Arts and

education supplies for East Cape

schools, Sponsorship and par-

ticipation in the Los Barriles

"Cursos de Verano" summer

Continued on page 3 SEE PAGE 3 FOR MORE FESTIVAL INFORMATION



Feb/Mar

Feb/Mar 2 35

Advertising in East Capers

Advertising in the East Capers gets the word out about your business AND your ad money supports the 3 week 'Cursos de Verano' summer school, for over 120 local children and provides art supplies for 18 East Cape public schools.

In addition to space in the printed version, your color ad appears in the online version at no addi-tional cost. You can download the 2014/15 Advertis-ing Kit by v is it ing our website at: www.eastcapearts.com.

Tax-deductable Contributions to the Asociación de Artes

The Asociación de Artes del Mar de Cortez A.C., Los Barriles, B.C. Sur, Mexico is a legal non-profit Mexican corporation not affiliated with any other or-ganization, association, club or business.

The Asociación is in full compliance with the terms of the NAFTA agreement of January 1, 1994. As such, contributions made to the Asociación de Artes are tax-deductable in the United States, Mexico and Canada. For more information visit: www.eastcapearts.com or the NAFTA Website at: http://www.ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-agreements/north -american-free-trade-agreement-nafta.

Volunteers Needed!

The Asociación de Artes needs volunteers to help support their programs that bring the arts to the lo-cal communities and the schools. To learn more about these programs, visit: www.eastcapearts.com.

If you would like to volunteer, send an email to: [email protected].

Call for Articles

East Capers is looking for fiction and true stories about our region and items that affect our residents. If you are interested in submitting articles, recipes, stories or your personal experiences in Baja, email your 1,000-words or less article to: [email protected]

Thank You! This publication is possible with the help of the board members of the Asociación de Artes and members of the community.

East Capers Periódico

Publisher Asociación de Artes del Mar de Cortez A.C.,

Los Barriles, BCS, Mexico

Editor Christine Kenck-Courtright

Copy Editor Pako Ford

Circulation Brian Cummings

Advertising Kathy Obenshain

Denise Linnet

Contributors

Jerry Justice Pako Ford

Connie M. Heinen Russ Hyslop Sefi Held Chris and Heather Hartridge Ann Hazard Renee Lagloire Emma Nicholson Jorge Bergin

Larry Epstein Holly Burgin

Alexandra Delis-Abrams Chris Courtright Theda Bassett

and Rosalyn Ostler Theresa Comber

Lynn Mirasson

Printer Imprenta Ciudad Los Niños,

La Paz, BCS, Mexico To learn about Ciudad Los Niños, visit their website at:

http://ciudadninoslapaz.org/english/home.htm

———————————

The opinions expressed within the articles in East Capers are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Asocia-

ción de Artes del Mar de Cortez A.C.

Newsletter Email Address [email protected]

WAKE UP with

MAKEUP!

By: Connie M. Heinen

Permanent makeup dates back at least to the start of

the 20th century. The tattooist George Burchett, was a

major developer of the technique when it became fash-

ionable in the 1930s, he described in his memoirs how

beauty salons tattooed many women without their

knowledge, offering it as complexion treatment, inject-

ing dyes underneath the skin.

Permanent Makeup has come a long way since the

1930's. The pigments are safer and more stable, the

machines are better and more efficient and the needles

safer and less painful, the techniques have improved

also.

Permanent makeup has found its way to the main-

stream market and appeals to women of all nationali-

ties from all walks of life. In our hectic, stress-fill

world, permanent makeup provides that ability to

wear a fresh, “always ready” look without the ef-

fort. It’s perfect for those who find themselves in a

hurry every morning and don’t have time for applying

makeup on a daily basis. It's waterproof and won't

smudge or smear, it won’t come off in the shower or

the pool. In fact, it will last for years before you may

need a touch-up. Lips can be made to look fuller, eye-

brows can be even and symmetrical. Eyes can be lined

to add definition and enhancement.

There are several methods of implanting the pigment

into the skin. Some being a rotary, coil, or digital ma-

chine or a hand tool soft tap or the newest and latest

manual method called Microblading or Microstroking.

The Microstroking technique originated in Asia and is

very popular in Europe. This technique is quickly be-

coming the must have beauty treatment for that glam-

orous, tidy brow. Microblade uses a hand tool which

holds several needles to deposit pigment into the epi-

dermis. Because the color is closer to the surface the

strokes appear crisp and very fine, you can hardly dis-

tinguish it from a real hair. These 3D or HD eyebrows

do not appear as a tattoo. The results are natural look-

ing hair strokes, regardless of the amount of hair pre-

sent.

I feel very fortunate that I was able to learn the Micro-

blade technique from one of the leading instructors

from Russia who teaches this method and be on the

cutting edge of the latest techniques in permanent

makeup. In my 16 years as a permanent makeup artist

we have tried to simulate hair strokes with some suc-

cess but nothing compared to this revolutionary micro-

blading technique. The hair strokes are crisp and fine

just like real hair.

I have been performing the art of Permanent Makeup

since 1998 and have had training from some of the

leading instructors in the industry. I use state of the art

digital machine and Organic pigments. I am Master

Certified and hold numerous certificates. If you would

like more information about Permanent Makeup or

other services that I provide please visit my website

www.solutionsdebellesa.com. For an appointment

please call 141-0422 or email: [email protected]

“Seriously, who would want to be energetic for five hours?”

http://www.solutionsdebellesa.com

mailto:[email protected]



Feb/Mar

Feb/Mar 3 34

Los Barriles, How Did it Get

its Name? By: Chris Courtright

With excerpts from Research by Theda Bassett

and Rosalyn Ostler (Printed in Eastcapers Magazine Dec 2002)

I have wondered from the time I first came to Los Barri-

les what the origin of the name was. For some reason it

is important to me: why ‘Los Barriles’? Los Barriles,

meaning ‘the barrels’ has a few stories of the name ori-

gin.

One good one I heard was that in the late 1800’s the

Ranchers would bring their cattle to the shores of what is

now known as Los Barriles, to meet the ships to get their

cattle to market. The ships were anchored off shore, and

since you could not use your row boat to take cattle out to

the ship, they tied barrels to the cows, and they would

float out to the ship. Now, I was impressed with this

idea, you know when there is the will there is a way. I

even like that image of the entire process, but really, it all

sounded pretty tough. So, I have asked many history buffs

who have been around for years, and they say no, that is

not the right story – but they did think it was an

‘imaginative’ story.

Now interesting as the above story may be, it is agreed

that

Festival de Artes Continued from pg 1

vacation program, Local Artist Studio tours and our ever

popular Saturday Arts and Crafts at the DIF for the local

children.

Special discounted room rates are available at Hotel Pal-

mas De Cortez or Hotel Playa Del Sol. Call 624-141-0044

or US 877-777-8862 for reservations.

If you are a vendor please come by 7am, unload and move

your car down past the Palmas de Cortez condos as to not

interfere with the guest parking.

Booth fees are $400 mxn/$30 usd paid in advance or $500

mxn/$35 usd, the day of event from 9am – 1pm.

Pre Pay locations are as follows:

1. Baja Beach Company in Los Barriles at Plaza del

Pueblo. Open Mon -Fri, 9 - 5 and Sat 9 - 3.

2. Baja Books & Maps, San Jose del Cabo, Open Mon-Fri

10-6, Sat at Organic Market, 624-142-5596

For complete vendor information and applications,

go to www.eastcapearts.com

Any questions email:

[email protected]

History of the Festival

In February of 1992, a small group of residents in the

Est Cape region of BCS, Mexico formed a committee

to organize a spring “Festival de Artes.” The pur-

pose of the event was to give local artists an opportu-

nity to show and sell their original work and to raise

money to support art programs in the schools.

Twenty four artists attended with their original work.

Then 250 members of the community came to enjoy

the event. At the end of the day, $2500 pesos had

been raised to purchase art supplies for the Los Barri-

les Elementary School. It was a modest but encour-aging beginning. The spring “Festival de Artes” has

grown over the years, attracting artists and visitors

from Los Cabos , La Paz and beyond

By 1998, the number of artists had tripled and the

number of visitors had climbed to over 1500. Funds

earned by the event were now able to buy more art

supplies for the schools. In 1999 the committee de-

cided to form a private Mexican non-profit organiza-

tion (an Asociacion Civil) and establish a formal

Board of Directors. The Asociacion de Artes del Mar

de Cortez A.C. Has been developing programs for

the benefit of East Cape communities along the Sea of

Cortez ever since.

the name came from the story of the Legend of the Pi-

rate Tree a story which was originally printed in the

Eastcapers Magazine, Dec 2002. One of the most sig-

nificant stories in Los Barriles history is that of visiting

pirates and The Pirate Tree. Most of us have heard the

story of pirate ships that anchored in the Bahia de Pal-

mas in early 1800’s. Legend has it that one time, during

a hurricane, a pirate crew needed to remove excess

weight for the safety off their ship and brought barrels of

gold treasure ashore. They were buried just off shore, to

be retrieved later. This story has special significance

since the original name of the village, Las Palmas, was

later changed to Los Barriles.

To mark the place of the burial, a carving of the pirate’s

ship was made on a sturdy Palo San Juan tree standing

on a beach berm near the water. Martin Verdugo, a

member of one of the founding families of Los Barriles

and owner of Martin Verdugo’s R.V. Park, reports that

the Pirate Tree was situated on the Verdugo family prop-

erty just north of where the R.V. Park stands today. He

heard the story of the pirates and the carving on The Pi-

rate Tree from his grandfather when he was a young

boy. “It is assumed,” Senor Verdugo recalls, “that the

ship was wrecked. Neither the ship nor any of its crew

was ever found”. The barrels are still buried, if the story

is true.

As part of the research regarding the history of Los

Barriles, we inquired about The Pirate Tree. We discov-

ered that it had remained on the lot due north of the R.V.

Park until late 1990’s. We were told by the owners that

it had become diseased and was removed. The section

containing the carving was stored for a while and later

discarded.

Kinda makes you want to set up camp at Verdugo’s

doesn’t it?! Making sure you bring a shovel or two and

maybe a metal detector!

Asociacion de Artes

Happenings By: Chris Courtright

February has been a busy month for Asociacion de Artes.

We started off on the 13th with the Artist Studio Tour,

which showcased 22 local artists at 17 different studios!

Even the date, Friday the 13th or the mean looking clouds

and gusts of wind, could not dampen the great time that

was had by all – and the wind actually kept us all cool as

we walked between studios. The talent displayed that lives

right here in our little community is just amazing. I am

sure I am not the only one that came home with some

really beautiful works of art!

The next day the 14th, Valentines Day, we had our first of

the year “Saturday Crafts” at the concha by the DIF. We

made Valentines Day cards, explaining to the children the

reasoning behind the special day. They had a great time

making cards for their Mom’s or Grandmas – not quite the

group ready for the girl/boy friend yet! The volunteers

also enjoyed themselves working with the kids and seeing

their enthusiasm for learning a new project. If you want to

get involved, try the Saturday Crafts. It is only a 2 hour

commitment, once a month. No ‘crafting’ skill or lan-

guage needed! Just a desire to make a difference!

March brings the Asociacion head on into the Festival de

Artes Show season (see pg 1), and we hope to see all you

out to sell and buy – yes, vendors do buy too! We are also

working on doing a baseball spring training/ Sawyers

Camp for the Los Barriles area kids. We are in the process

of firming up our date. It is tentatively set for the March

21st. Volunteers are greatly needed for the 4 hour camp.

We have found a person to house the equipment and that

person will also continue working with the kids in the LB

area. Watch for details on the LB camp!

Coach Lael, from the fall camp, came back this month and

went down to work with the kids in Campamento. Every

day at 4:15, the kids go to the field, someone goes and gets

the equipment, and they practice. They have even found a

local ‘amateur’ player, and these kids work to collect

money for his gas so he can come and work with them on

their skills. Lael and this young man worked on skills, and

then they split into two teams and played. There is some

talent in the kids! The only thing that stopped them was it

got dark! The way the kids of Campamento have embraced

baseball, gives us great ambition for the game of baseball

in the Baja Sur. Keep up on the details of the camp on our

facebook page – facebook.com/beisbolcampoeneastcape

I will also keep everyone informed with BPE also. See, I

did say I would shamelessly promote the camp, as only the

editor can!!

For more information on either Saturday Crafts

or the baseball camps, contact me at jonand-

[email protected].




Feb/Mar

Feb/Mar 4 33

“Come here, boy”, “Come here, boy”...and it

did! Right up to the boat

A Rare & Awesome Sighting

An ‘Elefante Marino’ or

‘Elephant Seal’ By: Theresa Comber

We never want magical days on the sea to end, yet we

know when Captain Luis gives the nod of the head to

the south and we know that we’d better head back.

And this is when Mother Nature really gave us a rare

treat.

It was Sunday on the sea. Dawn had begun with a te-

quila sunrise morning and clouds coursed the deep,

grenadine sky. The water’s surface was glassy calm,

in large contrast to the excitement of us on board.

“Awesome” & “Too Awesome” had just floated on

Friday after a new motor for “Awesome” and a deep

maintenance massage for “Too Awesome”. Our shake

down day of fun aboard “Awesome” had whales at the

top of the list; any sort of meat fish we might find on a

winter day; and a snorkel at Cardonal’s shallow, abun-

dant reef. “Too Awesome” was also cruising, out

with guests hailing from Saskatchewan in Canada’s

frozen north, clearly folks who were well deserving of

a warm, beautiful day on the Sea of Cortez.

Within ten minutes heading southeast to the area outside

La Ribera, we joined a small group of local boats hand

lining for bottom fish and others trolling for the coveted

yellow tail or a dorado that might be searching for their

own morning breakfast. It was not to be for them or us, as

the Captain’s had been radioing that little luck was hap-

pening.

We pulled up our lines and pulled off with whales on our

minds and all eyes shifted to the horizon. Another short

ten minutes and shouts greeted Captain Luis - there they

are, off to the right! No, there they are, off the left! No,

there they are, off our stern! And of course our keen eyed

Captain & crew had spotted whales dead ahead. Once

again in the Cortez aquarium whales were in sight all

around. A Momma and her baby were closest and the

baby started showing off its jumping abilities. Again and

again the baby flew into the air around its momma,

splashing and frolicking and showing off its new found

skills. Within five minutes in all directions we were

treated to the immense joy and privilege of watching

school-bus-sized humpback whales and their soccer-mom

-van-sized babies breaking the water’s surface. Lulled

from our calm delight, Captain Adan had found an enor-

mous school of bottle nose dolphin to our north. We

headed to them and beyond to Cardonal. The dolphins

stretched for miles, joining along and cruising our bow

wake while dolphins were breaking the surface as far as

we could see.

Continued on Page 5

Motorcycle Cont from page 32

We repaired our third flat of the day and continued riding

the 25 miles on up the cliff ridden road out of Ague

Verde to highway 1 and on to our motel, arriving at 9:30

pm. We had left La Paz at 7:00 am which means we were

on the road fourteen and one half hours that day. Thank-

fully all of the bikes, except mine, had very powerful

lighting systems.

The hotel where we stayed (Villa Del Palma) is a new 4

or 5 star hotel about 20 miles south of Loreto on the Sea

of Cortez. When we arrived to check in, all the staff and

other guests were staring at us like we had the plague or

something. I asked the girl at the counter if she had ever

had customers who looked as tired and dirty as we

looked. She answered “No sir, I haven’t seen anyone like

your group before.” Then she quickly added, “But neither

have I ever seen any other guests that were obviously

having so much fun. Can I go with you?”

On our third day we had another incident that added to

the adventure side of our trip. As we departed San Jose

Comondu, one rider noticed that his rear wheel bearing

had failed rendering his bike un-ride able. We had the

necessary tools and parts to make repairs but lost two

hours of daylight in the process. We were not prepared

for the condition of the 14 mile stretch of road between

San Jose Comondu and San Isidro. The road was totally

washed out during the last hurricane. Once again we were

forced to ride with our headlights and helmet lights on

before arriving very late in La Purisima.

All in all, it was a fantastic trip with no injuries -- that

required medical attention. The beauty was breathtaking,

the mountains were vast and green, miles of riding

through cactus forests or mile after mile of riding along

the crashing waves of the blue Pacific, finding gas at

ranches along the way, not to mention the adrenalin rush

of wicking the throttle and flying down a straight narrow

sandy two track road. . In our 900 miles we actually had

less than 20 miles of roads that were problematic.

I earned the name of “The Flying Fossil” 15 years or so

ago by a riding friend (Jamie Young.) I was 60 years old

at the time. I guess I should change my name to “The

Petrified Fossil.” A lot of my riding companions have

stopped riding, have sold their bikes, or just had to give

up the sport for a variety of reasons. But each year, new

riders find their way down here to the Baja. I have

greatly enjoyed teaching riding skills to younger riders…

now all riders are younger than I am. I enjoy helping

riders pick the right bike for them and I enjoy solving

some of the mechanical issues that we all face. Today,

many of the areas that we have ridden in past years have

been closed off. Fences have gone up, gates installed,

locks put on. Part of that is due to careless riders who

haven’t always respected the local ranchers, or who tear

up roads

or spook the cattle. There is much more riding pressure

now than there was 20 years ago. Back then, I often

would ride into a ranch and the ranchers had never seen

anyone in full riding gear, with heavy boots and full hel-

met. Those ranchers all know me now, and I enjoy inter-

acting with them. Many have given me keys to their

gates.

The back country of Baja is still no place for an inexperi-

enced rider. Never go out riding alone. Always have

plenty of water. Know your gas range and don’t take a

chance of being stranded someplace in the back country.

Luckily, we now have a local experienced motorcycle

tour guide, Kurt Russell. His company, Captain Baja

Tours, is located here in Los Barriles. You can contact

him at [email protected]. You can check

his company out on line as well. This is giving even more

new riders a chance to experience this magnificent penin-

sula from the seat of a motorcycle.

I don’t know how many more years I will get to enjoy

being “The Flying Fossil” down here, but I am very

grateful for every mile I have ridden, for every rider I

have ridden with, and for every day I have been able to

ride with my family and friends. Baja has been very

good to me and my time down here has been greatly en-

riched because I ride.



Feb/Mar

Feb/Mar 5 32

Motorcycle continued from page 31

very strong. The boys often make multiple trips down

during the winter, to get out of the cold north for a few

days and to “turn the throttle” out in the desert sun with

me.

Over the years, with GPS and SPOT Satellite Tracker, I

have expanded my “scouting” trips and ventured farther

north. With a computer, my wife can see where I am and

how I am progressing -- in real time. In December 2014,

with my son Kellsey and a couple of local riders, we did

a 500 mile, 3 day unsupported ride going up to San Ever-

isto, west to Puento Conejo and down the Pacific to To-

dos Santos, and back to Los Barriles. We had a wonder-

ful time and the trip was so much fun, Ronnie Verduego

and I started planning an even bigger adventure.

On February 8th of this year, five of us left Los Barriles

to do a 900 mile, 5 day unsupported ride. The group in-

cluded Ronnie Verdugo, Jason Russ, David Thornton,

my son Ken and myself. Our planned route was to use

back roads and stay off the pavement as much as possi-

ble. We again went north of La Paz, up the Sea of Cortez

to the end of the road near San Evaristo, then west

through the mountain ranges to Constitution and then

east to Agua Verde. From there we headed north to the

Mission San Javier, continuing north west to the

Comondus and La Purisima before starting south to To-

dos Santos and then home. The trip was relatively prob-

lem free, and it was a true adventure with amazing scen-

ery, great companionship, and the thrill of facing the

unknown, the unexpected, and sometimes, the im-

possible. In my 20 years of riding in Baja I don’t

remember the mountains ever being so green and

beautiful.

On our ride we had three flat tires and one wheel

bearing failure, which, for a ride like this and with

five bikes, was only a minor inconvenience. We

had everything necessary to make repairs and get

back on the trail. With the current day GPS systems

it is easy to navigate and stay on the route. With-

out good maps and a GPS route it would be almost

impossible to find your way, and the desert can be

a very hostile environment to those who enter un-

prepared.

The biggest adventure part of our trip came about

on the 2nd day. Severe hurricane damage had taken

place in a couple of the most critical sections of our

route. The first big challenge was the 1000 foot, 2

mile decent into Agua Verde. We had been told by

a person we believed to be reliable (who lives at the

top of the mountain) that the road was passable by

motorcycle. We arrived at the top of the pass, after

already riding over 200 miles that day, only to find

treacherous vertical drops and huge water erosion

with boulders strewn about everywhere. One of our

sayings is “How hard can it really be?” After all, it

was only a thousand feet downhill. less than 20

miles of roads that were problematic. Since all 5 of

us were experienced riders we felt confident that

we should be able to get to the

bottom, one way or another. We

did make it, but that 2 miles took

us close to 2 hours. That tells you

something!! In some places we

were helping each other push our

bikes through the rocks. About

1/3 of the way down I had the

thought “what if we get almost to

the bottom and there is a 100 foot

sheer cliff?” I knew we couldn’t

ride our bikes back to the top. By

now the sun had gone down. I was

finally able to find my way

through to the bottom. Eventually

everyone made it safely down. By

then it was getting really dark and

one bike had a flat rear tire.

Continued on page 33

Continued from page 4

Splashing in to snorkel at Cardonal, the water was

warming and clear. The fish were plentiful, big, and

abundant coral heads appeared to have been power

washed clean during Hurricane Odile and their colors

clear and striking. As a shallow reef, sadly some of the

coral had been completely uprooted and knocked over

during the havoc of the storm, with much coral debris

now gathering on the sea floor.

Having gotten the nod from Captain Luis and facing the

day’s end, we were underway. We were just off Las

Tinas north of Punta Pescadero when we spotted some-

thing floating on the surface that was…bizarre, other

worldly. Sticking about three feet from the water, it

looked like the top of a craggy, miniature, vanilla cov-

ered iceberg. Captain Luis began shouting ‘Elefante

Marino, Elefante Marino’! He was awestruck as he

powered down, careful not to disturb the top of the ice-

berg. Closing in, the iceberg opened up…

Known in Spanish as the ‘Marin Elephant’ and in Eng-

lish as the ‘Elephant Seal’, Captain Luis was exclaim-

ing what a rare site it was; he’d only seen one before in

his 30 years on the water; Deckhand Joel, in his 15

years, also only one. And then Luis, as if somehow con-

nected to this marine mammal, started calling to it – in

English nonetheless – “Come here, boy”, “Come here,

boy”...and it did! Right up to the boat. The site of it in

the water is beyond belief. So beguilingly ugly, and yet

the eyes are sweet and its actions doglike. We tossed it

bait fish and it was even more engaging. Measuring half

the size of the boat, through the clear water we could

see that it was at least 15 feet long and with a huge girth,

weighing thousands of pounds. At one point it had us all

on the bow and as if to show off, it turned over and swam

off with the smooth ease of a mermaid! Then right back

for more fish. It was a good model as we snapped count-

less pictures. We couldn’t take our eyes off it.

The Elephant Seal was hunted to near extinction in the

early part of the 19th Century. Since then, their populations

have grown to approximately 150,000 worldwide, and

they are found throughout the globe. The species are sepa-

rated into ‘Northern’ and ‘Southern’, and the big bulls can

weigh more than 5,000 pounds. Like turtles, they navigate

the oceans until they reach maturity after 5 - 6 years. Some

big males have been known to travel as many as 13,000

miles a year, exceeding even the Gray Whale's migration.

The Sea of Cortez is slightly beyond their normal scope,

although they come to sandy sides on the Pacific side

twice a year to breed and to molt.

The bizarre snout is a sort of ‘rebreather’, making a lot of

noise when it dips in and out of the water but plays an es-

sential role in hydrating the animal when it is out of the

water. Males can live up to 14 years and females up to 22

years. Similar to the Sperm whale, Elephant seals attain

incredibly deep dives – up to 7,500 feet down and can

hold their breath for more than 100 minutes while they are

searching for their favorite foods – rays, squid, eels, octo-

pus, small sharks and big fish.

We were concerned about our new friend’s right eye,

which seemed milky blue. It must have been an old injury

and it was obviously blind in that eye, but faring well in

life. A new friend, right here in the fathomless deep blue

sea, and for more than 30 minutes we hung out together.

What an awesome gift, what a once-in-a-lifetime chance

and it was ours to share!

“Come here, boy, Come here boy!”



Feb/Mar

Feb/Mar 6 31

The Fun of Motorcycle

Riding in Baja By Jerry Justus

Riding off-road dirt bikes in Baja is an adventure enjoyed

by many riders who come to Baja to enjoy the warm win-

ter months. I am one of those riders. To date, I have rid-

den well over 30,000 miles in Baja with almost all of that

on unpaved, backcountry roads and trails.

20 years ago I was introduced to the Baja peninsula by

Malcolm Smith, a famous dirt bike racer - won the Baja

1000 race 6 times and the Baja 500 race 4 times. In 1995

Malcolm invited me to join him and a small group to ride

from Ensenada to Cabo San Lucas, riding mostly on the

Baja 1000 race course. My youngest son and I did that

ride, being the first time I had ever been south of San

Diego. It was a trip that impressed me so much that it

wasn’t long before my wife and I made a trip down the

Baja peninsula in our motor home, ending up at Ver-

dugo’s RV Park. That same spring we bought a small

place on the beach, here in Los Barriles.

Motorcycle riding soon became one of my favorite activi-

ties down here. My wife and I had a Jeep and we started

exploring the southern tip of Baja, plotting out routes that

would be fun to do on the bikes- long before the GPS.

We had a lot of success and soon I had a nice list of

places to ride. It wasn’t long and I had a good sized

group of riders who wanted to ride with me. It was not

unusual for a group of us to ride two or three days a

week. I was a wind surfer (kite surfing now) so the

wind often kept us close to the water, but windless

days or any time it rained, we could be found out in the

back country, enjoying the freedom of riding in the

Baja.

My interest in riding in Baja has continued to grow and

several years ago, I started leading groups of riders on

excursions across the peninsula. I would get a group of

people together, with similar riding skills, my wife

would drive a support vehicle, and we would ride from

Los Barriles over to Todos Santos and spend the night.

The riders would arrive at the hotel where their bags

were in their rooms and snacks and cold drinks would

be waiting,, I have a great wife! After a rest, story

sharing, a hot shower, and clean clothes we would go

out to dinner. Then the next morning the riders would

suit up and enjoy riding back across the mountains on a

completely different route, making our way back

home.

My two sons, a son in law and a grandson, all love to

ride motorcycles, so I always keep an extra motorcycle

or two ready for them. During these past 20 years I

have really enjoyed having them come down and ride

with me. The bond we have because of the riding is Continued on pg 32

On Whale Watch

By: Alexandra Delis-Abrams

A whale, I hear as many abandon their serious sun-

basking for binoculars.

Exuberance cannot be contained as I plead, my turn, and vie for the glasses that will bring this miracle closer

to view.

Nature at its best! I’m in gratitude to be in the right spot

at the right time.

But then, aren’t we always, I muse.

A life lesson taught before our very eyes.

Mama humpback is teaching her student what her spe-

cies has done for eons.

Could the force of mama’s tail be saying... this is how

it’s done?

A splash dispersing an enormous amount of water is the

result.

It’s powerfully staggering.

Pay attention now...let’s practice...watch me…

Over and over and over again, her tail slams down on

the surface of the sea.

Moments after baby replicates the behavior.

Like this? I'm getting the idea.

But what does it mean,

I ponder as each cell of my being overflows with sheer

joy.

Who really cares, I hear.

Does knowing deepen the awe you feel of this moment

of Now?

In the midst of the class baby thrusts her mega body

straight up out of the water,

like the Apollo spaceship.

Maybe in an expression of pure exhilara-

tion...and...maybe not.

Cheers are spontaneously heard from those who feel Our

magnificent planet is school for those who are conscious

of the lessons offered.

The ebb and flow of the sea, like the in and outflow of

breath, giving and receiving.

The precise cycle of the moon, offering the gift of Di-

vine timing versus forcing life.

The wisdom of the salmon following its smell to its

birthplace, natural knowing.

The miraculous moment has passed, mama and baby are on their way.

Briefly my heart goes heavy, legs weaken, and tears

dampen my eyes.

When will we stop destroying our planet? I scream.

I choose to send light to the captured baby elephants,

imprisoned as they await their destiny to a zoo in China

and Thailand.

I choose to drench my beloved wolves in a loving en-

ergy as the monsters rip them from protection.

I choose to stay receptive to my next course of activism

I trust

I trust

I trust

The lesson offered: let go of grasping, struggle, resis-

tance.

Although often challenging, I choose to focus on that

which choreographs my life and conspires for my high-

est good.

It is my true north.

The anchor I cling to

My lifeline.

Off they go. Thank you for the

gift my friends, as the aborigines

say, I love you and

support you on your journey.



Feb/Mar

Feb/Mar 7 30

THE EARTH UNDER

OUR FEET BY RUSS HYSLOP

Let’s talk about volcanos…

The humans have lived and died and have been disrupted

by volcanoes throughout history. In ancient times the

natural phenomenon merged with myth, drawing its name

from a Roman God, Vulcan, ruler of fire, forge and

hearth.

The first well-recorded eruption was that of Vesuvius in

A.D. 79. It buried the Roman towns of Pompeii and Her-

culaneum on the Bay of Naples, killing 16,000 people.

The deadliest in historic times appears to have been Tam-

bora in Indonesia: its 1815 eruption claimed 92,000 lives.

Twelve thousand died in the blast; the remainder, their

crops and livestock destroyed, starved to death. Tam-

bora’s aerosol cloud lowered temperatures so much that

snow fell in the United States in June, July and August of

the following year; it is remembered as “the year without

a summer”.

Other notable killers:

Krakatoa, 1883, the Sunda Strait between Java and

Sumatra . Created a tsunami a hundred feet high that

drowned 36,000 people. The detonation was heard 3,000

miles away.

Pelee, 1902, Martinique. Sent a hurricane of hot gases

into the town of St. Pierre, killing 30,000. Only two in-

habitants survived – One of whom was safely imprisoned

in a thick walled jail cell!

Nevado Del Ruiz, 1905, Colombia. A Tidal wave of mud

swept down from the volcano, smothering and crushing

23,000 people.

There are some 550 known active volcanos on earth and

some 500 million people living close to them. A dozen or

two of these volcanos can be erupting at any moment.

We have on the Baja Peninsula 12 known volcano sites.

The most prominent, Tres Virgenes, which we pass while

traveling Mexico 1 between Santa Rosalia and San Igna-

cio. The last eruption of this volcano, according to the

Jesuits, occurred in the 1600’s.

This area remains active as it supports a thermal/electric

facility that utilizes heated waters located under the

ground surface around this volcano.

Next Issue: I will discuss the other volcanic areas of our

beautiful Peninsula.

Tattooed Man

by Renée Lagloire

Javier, my neighbor’s twenty year old nephew

came to the gate of the property the other day. He’d been

working and wasn’t wearing a shirt. I noticed that he had

what looked like a sentence tattooed across his chest, or

maybe more like a title? There were three words, written

in an ornate Gothic font, with each word capitalized.

Because I find the permanence of tattoos intimi-

dating, I am fascinated by them. So naturally, I ap-

proached, saying: “Let’s see what you’ve got here,” point-

ing to his chest.

I read each scrolled letter, saying the words as I

deciphered them: “Te … Amo …. Esmeralda” (I love you

Esmeralda).

I looked into his eyes, and teasingly asked: “Ex-

girlfriend?”

He looked away, saying: “Yeah.”

“So”, I said, “you still like the tattoo?”

“No, not anymore,” he answered.

“Hmm,” I said, “any options?”

“Not really, I have no money, and that’s what

it would take to make it into a different design, or to

have it removed.”

I thought about it, and suggested, “Or, you

can look for a girlfriend named Esmeralda. You can

put the word out that only Esmeraldas will be consid-

ered!”

“Yes,” he answered, “but Maria would have

been better. There are more girls named Maria than

Esmeralda.”

We looked at each other for a brief instant,

and nodded our heads in silent agreement. Indeed,

Maria might have been better.

Bits of Early History of the California Baja

Before the Spaniards arrived, the peninsula of Baja California was inhabited by three major ethnic groups: the

Cochimí in the north, the Guaycura in the central section and the Pericú on the southern cape. Archaeological arti-

facts suggest that these tribes inhabited the peninsula and Cedros Island as early as 9,000-10,000 years ago. The

Cochimí, who lived on the mainland, were hunters and gatherers, but an isolated group of Cochimí living on Cedros

Island developed a fairly complex agricultural system. The Guaycura and the Pericú lived by hunting, gathering and

fishing. Their descendants still live in Baja California, primarily on the northernmost part of the peninsula. From the History Channel web site.

http://www.history.com/topics/us-states/california



Feb/Mar

Feb/Mar 8 29

When was Back in the Day? By: Jorge Bergin

My fishin’ buddy in the states, Tony, is a verifiable ata-

vist, born 100 years (or more) too late. We had some

wild fireside differences about the subject behind some

limes and Gusano Rojo mescal.

He described the wild western part of the U.S. like a

hunter’s heaven, a fishermen’s Nirvana. He kept drag-

ging me back to the 1600 and 1700s to show me the

grandeur, the empty majesty of a place yet untouched.

He wasn’t talking to the Princess of New York City be-

cause I was drinking out of hoof prints and eating trout

on a stick at times myself so, it wasn’t city boy against

country boy.

So, I had to nudge him, between shots, back to reality

when his picture got too Bambi-like and on we went. I

think I would enjoy such chats with some Nomads out

there who, like Tony, would be willing to endure some

discomfort for real adventure, a life worth living.

I reminded him that beyond the Great Basin to the west

at that time, he was more likely to have the full time job

of just staying alive. Not much opportunity to travel –

the Western Amerindians moved south and east at the

rate of 100 miles per generation (30 years). I have to

leave out the boat people because they could travel

much farther and faster by water but it was more ardu-

ous and dangerous than most land travel by foot. So

unless he painted himself into a picture with a horse, the

majesty, the grandeur he would enjoy would just be

mostly his valley, the foothills and the mountains

around him. He, like many new to the life of the west,

might live out his life and not travel over a hundred

miles from his brush hut.

In one of our fireside sessions I suggested it might be a

“How you gonna keep em down on the farm after they’ve

seen Paree” kinda thing. Something about knowing what

the west looks like in the movies, TV, google earth or visit-

ing the Tetons, Yellowstone and Yosemite in modern times

by bike or car or bus seems as easy as planning the trip,

jumping in the van and you’re there. That’s now. You

wanna go back, it’s a very big deal.

How about a trip from California to what is now Baja before

there were cars? Try doing the pilgrim thing from north to

south in your mind (apologies to Graham and Mike, The Burro

Man).

In a pinch, unless I was too drunk to make an argument, I

would bring up some trade-offs:

Tony would make a face when I told him I would live now,

give up some personal freedom for the Beach Boys. Trade

off the gift of solitude for some things like toilet paper, den-

tists, bug spray, a new jeep, my 6mm Remington, cold Bud,

a passport and a credit card and the time to use them.

We were both born in the 1930s and had all the freedom

that era could give us and we lived it to the hilt. As a kid I

roamed the Everglades of south Florida while Tony walked

the mounds of the famous Mississippians at Cahokia but, he

is very hard to convince – he says he’d rather be a loner, a

hunter-gatherer than do his life over in these times.

Must be just our dreams, his of his first bison kill with a

spear, mine of memory of my first vanilla milk shake, the

hum of the engine in my 49 Chevy and Surfin’ U.S.A. in the

background. In the main, wouldn’t trade a minute of it.

Maybe all those talks led me down the path to be a writer, to

preserve, for a while, the ideal opportunity to live in the

here and now, let my mind and my pen wander all over the

universe being amazed at what each era held for one with a

different kind of free and easy travel pass.

Two Bajas By: Jorge Bergin

Writing is a great hobby for me because when I write

things down I often find out just how I feel about them.

In my last little think piece about Baja, “Why Wait”, I

learned that there are two kinds of Bajas; one for vaca-

tioners, one for settlers.

On a week’s vacation here or anywhere in the tropics

near a beach, we want clear water, white sand, no people

and tranquility. After a couple of days camped on this

wonderful strand we want food and showers and hospi-

tals and auto repair places and dentists and air-

conditioning and big box stores and TV and lobster

bisque. Then, after six months we need more and better

hospitals, cadres of doctors, quick, cheap access to our

far-flung friends and family, special food stores, opera

theaters and bowling alleys, skating rinks and raves.

We want what we want when we want it. The point is we

wouldn’t have been happy very long as settlers on that

first deserted beach. We know it won’t stay that way for-

ever but we can’t stand it there for very long anyway; it

will turn into a quaint and quiet development for a while

to give the campers creature comforts for a price. We

should view those special places as our private free wa-

terparks which we hope will stay pristine and free.

It turns out that your “Wants Lists” might be a lot closer

to most other Bajaphiles and your worries get scrunched

down a bit when you see that you can’t really live where

you play. It’s the reason I’ve said that if I had it to do all

over again after the last 20 years I would have bought a

nice little Mexican house in a small village I liked and

followed the motto “Live in our world, play in yours.”.

It’s the very old cry of suburbia all over this lovely planet

and is truer here than most places I’ve been. It works.

You can live in Orlando but it is always packed with peo-

ple who get in your way. You can live in La Purisima but

you will miss your kids and be miserable when you run

out of your special meds.

So, in the real world the saying should not be “I just

adore Rome but I wouldn’t want to live there.” More like

“I love living near Rome and don’t mind the trips there

where we go to get everything else we need.”

In Baja you can have your cake and eat it too but you

have to have a car, money for gas, good planning and a

laid back attitude. The timeshare sales people will not

agree. They have other plans for you and your hard

earned yankee dollars but, the great glowing irony is that

their credo is exactly the same as mine.



Feb/Mar

Feb/Mar 9 28

Do dogs wag their tail only when they are happy?

Dogs wag their tail for many reasons and the most common occurrence is that they are either happy or nervous. Learning to

read what your dog is telling you, whether they are large or small, will go a long way in helping build your relation-

ship!

Los Barriles Dog Show

Would you like to see how Badger got on with his agil-

ity training? Then come along to The Los Barriles Dog

Show on Sunday March 15th at the Hotel Palmas de

Cortez in the center of Los Barriles. Badger and his four-

legged friends will be demonstrating just how much they

learnt in six weeks as they strut their stuff around the

agility course. You can also see other events on the day

including best looking dog (over & under 40 lbs), best

costume, cutest pair and best trick or skill. The doors

open at 10.30am, and if you’re coming to watch, please

bring a chair, picnic rug or something to sit on, and some

shade such as an umbrella. There will be music, face

painting, 50/50 raffle, a bar and food vendors including

Lighthouse Pizza, La Fogata and Carmen’s Smoothies.

Local veterinarians will be available to offer advice, and

Cristobal will be giving free rabies shots. Other vendors

include Copper River Designs (jewelry), The Baja Ken-

nel Club stand and ALMA’s stand. All monies raised go

towards spaying and neutering locally. For further infor-

mation, please seewww.bajakennelclub.com.

Thank you to all of our sponsors without who this would

never have happened: Annex Brands, Van Wormer Re-

sorts, Quad Man, NuEra, Copper River Designs, EPB,

Baja’s Awesome Sportfishing, Bahia Real Estate, Salon

de Cortez, The supPOCKET, LB Property Services,

Playa Norte RV Park, Seven Seas Property Management,

Joe’s Deli, Hill’s Science Diet and Lighthouse Pizza.

Thank you for having the faith in us!!

http://www.hillspet.com/large-breed-dogs/shower-your-dog-with-love.html

http://www.hillspet.com/small-and-toy-breed/five-ways-to-pamper.html

http://www.bajakennelclub.com



Feb/Mar

Feb/Mar 10 27

A Different Day in the

life of Badger, the dog

By: Emma Nicholson

My normal morning goes something like this…

Wake up and stare at my parents until they sense my gaze

and start to stir.

Thump my tail furiously to ensure they are fully woken,

lick their feet/hands or whatever part of them is sticking

out of the comforter, and then do an exaggerated loud

yawn coupled with a vigorous shake. This is guaranteed

to ensure they don’t fall back to sleep.

A five minute pee break is always followed by my morn-

ing snack, and then a wonderful hour-long romp down

the arroyo with my fairly annoying sister Honey. (She

got the looks and I got the brains in the family). But this

morning, Wednesday 4th February to be exact, was differ-

ent. Following my snack, my sister Honey and I were

separated and I was led from the house ON A LEASH….

I say that with a fairly shouty voice because a leash is

only for times when we’re in a town, on a sidewalk or in

a foreign country. In my mind, a leash attaches my

Daddy to me. This therefore gives me the right to pull

him wherever I want to go (rather than where he wants to

go).

Anyway, we set off in our car – I like to sit in the middle

where I can be helpful navigating. My parents can some-

times be slow when it comes to directions. But today, we

didn’t go towards the arroyo; we went in the other direc-

tion. I furiously licked my Daddy to let him know about

his mistake, but we drove on.

After five minutes, we arrived at what I can only de-

scribe as heaven on earth…. A field of real green grass

that stretched for miles and miles… what a treat! I be-

lieve, (or so I hear) that it’s the same experience as par-

ents have when they roll around in silk sheets.

There on the grass were other dogs on leashes with their

parents. Having spotted a good friend of mine Peso, I

was desperate to get out of car to join the gang and find

out what the jeepers was going on. Hauling Daddy by his

leash, I joined the throng and we discussed quite loudly

what was happening. No-one had a clue. All we could

see was a bunch of plastic gate things, a hill made out of

wood, and some tunnel-like contraption that looked great

for peeing on. A more sensible mature dog called Kiwi

thought we might be at something called ‘agility training’

but she wasn’t sure.

Then we were moving. Daddy and I were directed to

what looked like a gate. And that’s where the fun be-

gan…. Daddy produced from nowhere a bag of my

favorite Barkery liver treats. Oh yes! This was starting

to get good! I have to admit that I was a little confused to

start with, and wasn’t quite sure why I couldn’t just walk

through the gate thing, or spend my time sniffing inside

the tunnel. But once I realized that I could get a treat if I

simply jumped over it, or speeded up slightly; I was sold!

Before I knew it, I was leaping over those gates, running

up the wooden hill and dashing through the black tunnel-

thing. Granted, there were a couple of moments I had to

stifle an inward laugh. The first was when Peso ran so

fast through the tunnel that he knocked his parent over.

(That’s because Peso doesn’t know his own strength).

The second was when a young pup called Amy ran

through the tunnel-thing and then carried on running out

of the field and towards her home. Hilarious.

Seriously? Could this get any better? A morning spent

with some of my best four-legged friends, eating as many

treats as I could get my paws on, and hanging out with

my Daddy doing fun, jumping and running stuff. Just as

I was beginning to perfect my run up the wooden hill,

Daddy shouted a chorus of goodbyes, and we were head-

ing back to the car. I was getting a little tired by now, but

I had had a fantastic time.

On arrival back at home, I was met by my quite stupid

sister Honey. Honestly, you would have thought I had

been away for months judging by her reaction to my arri-

val. After calming her down, by basically ignoring her

for a few minutes, I told her about my experience that

morning. How I had achieved things I had never done

before, how Daddy and I had worked closely together,

and how I had had tons of fun! At one point I realized

she was feigning interest as I could see her eying up an

old almond stuck under a chair leg. I didn’t care. I was

the star of the house today. I wasn’t going to lose that

great feeling. So with that, I took myself off to my bed

and reflected on the day’s achievements. I can’t wait until

the next training session in a week’s time, and tomorrow,

I’m going to tell the story all over again to my best friend

Vonnie. Soon I started to nod off with the fading sounds

of ‘weave Badger, weave Badger’ drifting into my con-

sciousness…..zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Badger showing of his skill and new talents!

SEARCHING OUT EXOTIC

MARGARITAS By Ann Hazard

In 2006 I discovered an unlikely place called Art &

Beer on the far end of Cerritos Beach, about 20 min-

utes south of Todos Santos. I say unlikely because I

was expecting a hippie art gallery serving beer. I got

the art gallery right. I got the hippie part right. I was

charmed by the rustic décor and all the living, breath-

ing art and sculptures. It was magical. But the surprise

was their signature—and my first—Exotic Margarita.

It was called a Citrus Margarita. Served in a frosty beer

mug, it was made of fresh—as in squeezed in front of

my eyes— orange, grapefruit, tangerine and limon

juices, tequila, Controy, an array of garnishes and a

paper umbrella. It was incredible. I came back to

Buena Vista after that trip and made them for all my

friends.

On recent trips to Todos Santos I began noticing a

trend. Every restaurant has at least one signature, ex-

otic Margarita. I talked (it didn’t take much talking)

my friends Colleen and Deb into doing a three day

Margarita Crawl—including Cerritos, Pescadero and

Todos Santos. I’m certain there are fancy Margaritas

all over Los Cabos, but I wanted to search out the cool,

slightly offbeat places. We took three days and we vis-

ited six restaurants. We weren’t just there for the

drinking. We were there for the ambience, and as al-

ways on Baja’s South Pacific Coast, the amazing food.

Thursday: Our first stop of the day was Tequila Sun-

rise, across the street from Hotel California in Todos

Santos.

It is always our favorite stop for lunch when we roll

into town. Deb always orders the Shrimp Chile Relle-

nos. I never order anything but the Beef Chimichangas.

The food is organic, beautifully prepared and ridicu-

lously addicting. Owner Manuel Valdez (brother of

Chuy who owns Hotel Buena Vista here) is charming.

He welcomes every guest at every table. His traditional

Margaritas are spectacular and he will show you how

they’re made when you visit. But we fell in love with

the Mango version. Garnished with a slice of limon

and sprig of mint, these are the best we‘ve found. The

recipes for both versions are on the wall, so bring a

camera or cell phone.

Colleen met up with us at our second stop, the Hotel

California. Deb and I fell in love with the Jamaica-

Jalapeno Margarita a few months ago. Juan, the bar-

tender showed me how it was made this time and I

took notes. (I have all the recipes, actually.) I love the

spicy edginess of the jalapeno, complementing the tang

of the Jamaica. Colleen hadn’t ever tried one before,

and her eyes lit up as she took her first sip. Another

winner.

Next door, Chef Dany Lamote, Hotel California’s ex-

ecutive chef, has a boutique restaurant called Santo

Vino. His most divine, decadent Margarita is a White

Chocolate Margarita, made with Mezcal. As a dessert

drink it’s unbeatable.

Friday: It rained early on, so we got a late start, stop-

ping in for lunch at Hierbabuena Hortaliza, a farm to

table restaurant I frequent every single time I’m on the

west coast. Located in Pescadero just down the road by

the Pemex Station, the dining area is an open air pavil-

ion in the middle of an organic farm. To the east are

the towering Sierra de la Laguna .

Continued pg 11



Feb/Mar

Feb/Mar 11 26

Continued from Pg 10

To the west is the Pacific. Sitting there, we were sur-

rounded by fields, palm groves and the farm. I am al-

ways in awe when I go there. The food, again, was

phenomenal. Owner/Chef Marcos made us a trio of

exotic Margaritas. I chose the Pomegranate Margarita,

made with mescal and fresh pomegranate juice from

the garden. Deb had a Mango Margarita and Colleen

had a Baja Sunrise, with house made Jamaica liqueur,

lime, fresh orange juice and tequila. Craving Italian

food, I had Eggplant Parmesan for lunch. The others

shared hummus and fresh veggies along with Roasted

Squash Soup. To-die-for.

We had planned to visit Rancho Pescadero, a world

class boutique resort closer to the beach, but it was

closed for a private event. I’ve been there before and I

will attest that their Pineapple-Cilantro Margarita is

excellent, as is there chile-rimmed Mango Margarita.

Saturday: Our first stop was Art & Beer, the place that

started it all for me nine years ago. Instead of just one

Exotic Margarita, there was now an entire chalk board

filled with them. Deb ordered a Kiwi Margarita. Col-

leen ordered a Mixed Berry Margarita and I went with

my old favorite, the Citrus Margarita. While we were

waiting for them to be made, we wandered around the

property and took photos. There was far more art and

sculptures than on my previous visit, and the backdrop

of Cerritos Beach and the Pacific was beautiful. All

three Margaritas were delicious and beautifully gar-

nished. As we drank them, we discussed but decided

against having another round. Instead we put the paper

umbrellas behind our ears and headed north to our next

destination.

Hacienda Cerritos is a spectacular Mexican Hacienda

perched dramatically on the cliffs at the north end of

Cerritos Beach. Its oceanfront bar is open to the public,

and a must see for all visitors. Their signature drink is

the Basil Margarita. Deb and Colleen had theirs on the

rocks and I had mine blended. We agreed mine was

better. I am a huge fan of basil, and this drink rocks my

world. The view isn’t bad either and we spotted plenty

of whales in the short time we were there.

Because we could, we made out last stop Hierbabuena

Hortaliza again. This time, Marcos made Deb his ver-

sion of the Basil Margarita with muddled basil from

his garden, white tequila, limon and Controy. It was

shaken like and served with a salted rim. Colleen tried

his Watermelon Margarita and I had a Pineapple-

Cilantro Margarita. Every one delicious.

So … is anyone up for an Exotic Margarita Party? Ole!

.

Citrus Margarea and board— Art and Beer (above)

Basil Margareta—Hacienda Cerritos (left)

Exotic Margaritas - Hierbabuena Hortaliza



Feb/Mar

Feb/Mar 12

recycled into a wonderful building block with out-standing insulating properties. There are several homes in Los Barriles built from this EF Block. Thank you for recycling, supporting environmental education in our schools, and preserving our beautiful marine-centered community!

HELP

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magazine, if you don’t plan on saving it in

your collection of great reads and have no

one to pass it on to, then return it to the East-

capers Rack where you found it! Not only

will this allow more people

to enjoy the Eastcapers, but

this will help us stretch and

recycle it in

the very best way!!!

25

RECYCLING

ANNOUNCEMENT

By: Lynn Mirasson

East Cape Recycling Baja must announce that we

are no longer able to recycle any glass until further notice. Several creative people have come forward with projects that utilize glass bottles, such as build-ing them into walls and other decorative ideas, but the vast remainder end up going to the landfill. Until we can again find a receptive organization, please try to reduce the number of bottles you buy (beer in cans?) and toss in the garbage, and put on your thinking cap regarding creative ways to reuse what you do produce. ECRB continues to recycle many other materials on the first Thursday of each month. Please consult our website: www.eastcaperecyclingbaja.com for dates and a complete list of what we accept. We are particularly trying to save EPS (expanded polystyrene) from landing in the landfill. This is the white "styrofoam" packing material that comes around your new TVs and appliances. We collect this material and it is

Dirt continued from page 24 This should get your garden started; but if you want to go

to the extra effort (you reap what you sow), I add worm

castings. Worm castings are one of the world richest

fertilizers. Worm castings are worm “poop” and occur

naturally in soil that has earthworms. Not surprisingly,

the soil in Baja is so sandy and rocky that I have never

seen an earthworm in my natural garden. Unlike animal

manure and artificial fertilizers, it is absorbed easily and

immediately by plants. Lucky for us, Maurico Acle, the

owner of Organicos Baja Sur, in La Paz (near the La Paz

airport), http://www.organicosbajasur.com (use Google

Chrome and it will automatically translate websites from

Spanish to English) has a worm farm and sells 50-kilo

bags of worm castings for approximately $200 pesos per

bag. I add about 5% worm castings to my raised beds

each year.

Raised garden beds require rotating your crops and extra

effort each year to keep your soil rich and vital. It does

take a little extra work, and some added cost, but the

payoff is HUGE. Except as discussed above, I rarely fer-

tilize my vegetable garden; and every year I have a

bumper crop. If you start with rich organic soil, you will

have a wonderful garden. If the ground in which you

plant your seeds is weak and lacking nutrients, your

plants will be weak, small and will not have the strength

to deal with insect infestations and other blights. We can-

not eat all that I grow in

my garden and so my

friends and neighbors

become the beneficiaries

of my great garden soil.

It’s the dirt!!! Happy

gardening!

http://www.eastcaperecyclingbaja.com/

http://www.organicosbajasur.com



Feb/Mar

Feb/Mar 13 24

IT’S THE DIRT By: Holly Burgin

I planted the seeds for my vegetable garden in December

before we left for the US for the holidays. When I re-

turned a month later, the garden had gone crazy. Not only

had all the seeds come up and the plants had grown tall,

but I also had a crop of weeds and volunteers. After a few

days of weeding, it was clear I had an over-abundance of

tomatoes and other vegies. So, I put the word out on the

BPE and people as far away Cabo Pulmo came for veggie

starts for their gardens. I shared about 70 of my tomato

“children” with my fellow gardeners.

Tomato lovers brought their own pots; and we dug up my

extra seedlings, as well as the volunteers. Of course, with

the volunteers, it is always a surprise as to which variety

it will be; but I think most were a small cherry variety

(really about the size of currants) called Matt’s Wild

Cherry that I first planted in 2011. They are tiny sweet

morsels that just keep coming back, year after year. I

figure, now that I have shared so many volunteers, all of

Los Barriles will be eating Matt’s Wild Cherry tomatoes.

One question I was asked, over and over, as the garden

people arrived to claim their tomatoes was “Where do you

get your dirt?” Well, there is not a simple answer to this

question. But one answer might be -- “Not here.” I do not

consider the terra firma that is around my house to be

“dirt.” Up here on the hill, north of town, it must be de-

composed granite, because only the hardiest of the local

flora can survive in this inhospitable terrain. I have raised

beds for my vegetable garden and every year I consider

new ways I can amend the soil that has, little by little, im-

proved to become a beautiful, rich, organic “tierra”.

So, how did I do it? Well, it took a while, but I think with

all the rain this year, anyone starting a garden has some

advantages that are not always available. So, take advan-

tage of this moment.

First, dig out all the crappy dirt; and I am using the term

“dirt” loosely (although not the word “crappy”)

that is in your garden plot. Unless you live in an

arroyo, assume your “dirt” is as above described.

Head to La Riberia and when you get to the place

where the road to La Ribera crosses an arroyo,

pull over and start digging. The loamy soil that

has washed down the arroyo is the perfect base

for building your garden soil. Take as much as

you need for 80% of your pots or garden plot. But

this is just the beginning.

Home Depot is my source of instant organic mat-

ter. If you do not have a compost pile, peat moss

will provide most of the needed organic material

you will need to help build great garden soil. I

add about 10 - 15% peat moss to my raised beds

each year. If you are just starting a garden, use as

much as you can afford. I have read that peat

moss retains up to 20 times its weight in mois-

ture, and releases water slowly as plants need it;

allows for proper root growth by loosening and

aerating soils; adds body to sandy soil; reduces

leaching of nutrients in or added to the soil

(which saves on fertilizer); protects soil from

hardening; and is environmentally friendly and

free of insects, weeds, seeds, salts and chemicals,

and represents good economic value. Or course,

if you have a compost pile, use your own com-

post to amend the soil. BTW, Buen Provecho in

San Bartolo (our fabulous Mexican cooking

school) will be selling compost from their huerta

next season, replete with seasoned goat, cow and

horse manure. It should be amazing!

Continued on pg 25



Feb/Mar

Feb/Mar 14 23

A Letter of Introduction from

Caffe’ Encinalito

Three years from now we may be friends. In two years

perhaps you’ll know us. Next year you might be regu-

lars. And right now you have no idea who we

are. Caffe’ Encinalito is our name and espresso is our

business. We are Jacqueline and Sasha Landis, your en-

thusiastic local baristas. You may have seen us last year

selling our coffee beans at the Community Market. Or

perhaps you’ve driven by our storefront on Calle Costa

Brava on your way to the beach. These days we spend

most of our time here at our cafecito where we roast cof-

fee, sling espresso, and bake little yummies. While it’s

tempting to use this space to wax poetic about our or-

ganic, fairly traded wares, let’s instead quench any lin-

gering curiosity and tell you a bit about how this caffe

came to be.

It wasn’t the wind that we chased down to Los Barriles,

but family. Though Sasha hails from Alaska, and I my-

self am a native of California, we met in the middle: Port

Townsend, Washington. Sasha’s father, Scott, has been

living here in Southern Baja for the better part of twenty

years, so Sasha himself has been visiting for equally as

long. I entered the Landis family picture about five years

ago and, with Sasha, have yearly been swooping down

from Washington ever since. After ever-lengthening va-

cations to the area, in 2013 we were married in the hills at

the beautiful Rancho La Venta. Soon thereafter we began

scheming on how to spend more time in Mex-

ico. Promptly, a little business plan was hatched for what

we saw as a much-needed commodity: coffee. And be-

fore we knew it, thanks to the massive support of our

families, the dream of a caffe’ was realized. The result is

here for you to see!

Caffe’ Encinalito, which means â little oak grove, gets

its name from Sasha’s father’s rancho in the sierra. Our

menu is a simple one, based in the authentic Italian ritual

of espresso. We use a traditional piston machine made

by Rancilio, meaning our shots are hand-pulled, ulti-

mately giving us more control over our espresso. In all

our machine’s nuances we were trained by Andrea Spella

of Spella Caffe in Portland, Oregon (named best espresso

in Portland by the New York Times).Â As far as our aes-

thetic: it follows our menu in its simplicity, marrying the

calm of Baja with the clean, cool shade of our palms. We

are open five days a week, Wednesday through Sunday,

from 8 am to 3 in the afternoon. Come say hello and

share your own story. We would love to know you.

“We are a Family Company working in

the Eastcape area since 1998…”

Jorge Ayala, Jr Architect since 2006

Prof Lic # 5832089

Cell Ph # (624) 348-5607

[email protected]

Jorge Ayala, Sr Civil Engineer since 1984

Prof Lic # 1356247

Cell Ph (612) 348-8417

[email protected]

We can provide you the following services:

Architecture from the Concepts to the Final Drawings in

Cad system, including the services in 3D renderings.

Civil, Structural & Mechanical Engineering.

Construction of any type of Building Systems such as

Foam Panels, Cement Blocks, Post and Beams, Con-

crete Insulated Forms, Rammed Earth, Etc…

Our Main Office is located in downtown Los Barriles on

the main drag, next to La Fayla’s Supermarket.

Office Ph # (624) 141-0155

Email: [email protected]

www.losbarrilesdesigns.com

TALK IS CHEAP or is it??? By: Sefi Held,

Talking is something that is very unique to us humans,

yet it still remains a mystery. Noam Chomsky, was an

intellectual prodigy who went on to earn a PhD in lin-

guistics at the University of Pennsylvania and is deemed

to be the godfather of linguistics, and was the first to sug-

gest that our ability to talk is innate. Noam Chomsky’s

best-known book on linguistics is called, “Syntactic

Structures”. We barely notice that we are doing it, yet it

takes thousands of decisions and thousands of thoughts

each time that we use language. Just the physical action

of pushing air through our mouths, we take a thought in

our heads, and release it as the spoken word. Amazing!

Other animals also make sounds to communicate, but

speech and language distinguishes us from all the other

species. It really is miraculous how our brain does it and

how we learn to talk remains an even deeper mystery.

And, then, you take into consideration the fact that we

speak in so many different languages that it makes talk-

ing even more amazing!

Are we losing this fine art of speech? Of conversation?

AND Of Talking? 88% of North Americans are on line

daily! Take a look around you the next time you are at

the airport, in a restaurant or on the beach and you’ll see

whole families checking email, reading from an e-reader,

chatting online, Twittering, etc. during the entire time

that they are together to spend “some quality time” with

each other. Apparently IPhone are allowed into school

classrooms now! What happened to talk? To looking at

people directly and making eye contact with them and to

just listening to the person or persons you are with? This

may also have something to do with our very short-

attention span and the need for immediate results. Yes,

we are truly a changing society and what has taken us

eons to evolve, is being lost.

The throat is a particularly important area of the body as

it is associated with our respiratory system, our digestive

system and it, is one of the higher levels of our energetic

system. The given name is Visshuddha in Sanskrit.

Vishuddi or throat chakra is the fifth primary chakra ac-

cording to the Hindu tradition. Vishuddha Chakra

unleashes an unlimited feeling of happiness and freedom

that allows our abilities and skills to blossom. Along

with this stage of development there is a clear voice, a

talent for singing and speech, as well as balanced and

calm thoughts. When we give voice to our thoughts,

many times the chatter in our heads which appears as

“thoughts”, are made clear. Until this Chakra is fully de-

veloped, certain difficulties may be experienced. Block-

age of the Vishuddhi Chakra produces feelings of

.

anxiety, lack of freedom, restriction, thyroid and throat

problems. There may be physically unfounded manifes-

tations of swallowing problems and speech impediments.

An open Throat Chakra allows us to express ourselves

and communicate with others. Are you in need of a com-

munication tune-up? Visit us at the Sukhasan Yoga and

Pilates Studio: we talk, we listen and we welcome you.

Think about the next time that you choose email, Twitter

or Facebook over the phone, or better yet, face-to- face

contact, Re-think, Re-feel and choose talk!! Also, listen

to what is not being said. Just Listen.

The key is finding that balance in whatever we do in life.

After all, it is up to us individually to recognize when we

need to detox digitally. So many things that we think are

of extreme importance don’t really matter very much at

all. There is no secret to life and no magic path. Every

experience we share is golden and every experience in-

forms who we are and who we will become. Make your

experiences count.

“For millions of years, mankind lived just like the ani-

mals. Then something happened which unleashed the

power of our imagination. We learned to talk and we

learned to listen. Speech has allowed the communication

of ideas, enabling human beings to work together to build

the impossible. Mankind's greatest achievements have

come about by talking, and its greatest failures by not

talking. It doesn't have to be like this. Our greatest hopes

could become reality in the future. With the technology

at our disposal, the possibilities are unbounded. All we

need to do is make sure we keep talking.”

Stephen Hawking

Sefi Held, A.C.E., CanfitPro certified Personal Trainer, Fit-

ness, Yoga, Pilates and Older Adult Fitness Specialist Instruc-

tor, Resist-A-Ball and Zumba certified teaching at the Suk-

hasana Yoga and Pilates Studio located within the Healing

Winds Holistic Center, Los Barriles, BCS.

.




http://www.losbarrilesdesigns.com



Feb/Mar

Feb/Mar 15 22

Biking continued from pg 21

we're happy to say she's on the mend thanks to East

Cape's Charlene Wenger and Dr. Toledo along with

Dr. Cardenas at CIFO in San Jose del Cabo.

Heather is on the mend and we're happy we found

this oasis. Serendipity played a role in this story

too. On a rainy morning in Cannon Beach Oregon,

we met a lady named Chris. She was fascinated by

our tour and asked where we were going. Our origi-

nal plans had us riding as far south as Nicaragua,

through Baja, and not really going any farther south

than the La Paz/Mazatlan ferry. We had no idea

how lucky we were when she told us about the little

town of Los Barriles.

Follow our blog:

www.crazyguyonabike.com/quesnelbikers2014

Making Friends

with the Chayote

By: Renée Lagloire and Denise Elliott

Buen Provecho Baja

Chayote is your friend! When Hurricane Odile hit

the East Cape area and few fresh vegetables were

available for purchase, there it was … the chayote,

green, hard to the touch, and shaped like a pear. It

finds its way into most Mexican kitchens, and is

therefore almost always available in small and

large grocery stores. Chayote is inexpensive, read-

ily available, and can be very tasty! If you don’t

know it, you might want to become acquainted!

It is thought that chayote is native to Central Amer-

ica and Mexico. It was a staple in ancient Mexico,

where it was first domesticated. In the Aztecs’ Na-

huatl language, it was called chayotl, but it was

known thousands of years before among the Maya

of the Yucatan Peninsula where its fruit, its ten-

drils, flowers and roots were part of the cuisine.

Chayote is now grown all over Latin America, and

worldwide under various names, among others,

vegetable pear, chocho, mirliton, or christophine.

A perennial vine, chayote (Sechium edule) is in the

gourd family, but is unusual in that it has a single,

edible seed which is considered the most delicious

part of the vegetable. Chayote is simple to grow,

simply bury a whole chayote halfway in the ground

horizontally near a fence where it can climb, and

water regularly. You will soon have a vigorous tall

vine that will produce numerous chayote.

While the taste of chayote is relatively neutral, its

ability to soak in added flavors makes it a welcome

addition to any meal. Only the larger chayotes need

to be peeled to be eaten. It is cubed or sliced, de-

pending on its use. It should be treated much like

you would a zucchini or other squash, but it needs

to cook longer. Chayote is wonderful on the grill

with a mojo de ajo, or cubed in stews and stir-fries,

but you might make lifelong friends with it by try-

ing this simple grilled chayote recipe from one of

our Buen Provecho Mexican cooking and culture

classes.

Lime and Herb Grilled Chayote - Chayote a la Plancha con Limon y Hierbas

4 chayotes

2 Tbsp. olive oil

Juice of 2 limes

2 Tbsp. chopped cilantro

2 Tbsp. chopped parsley

(Other herbs of choice if desired)

Salt and pepper

1. Make sure the grill is turned on.

2. If the chayotes are large and the skin is tough or spikey, peel them. Otherwise, no need to peel. Do not remove the seed, it is considered a delicacy!

3. Slice the chayotes about 1⁄4 inch thick. Place in a shal-low bowl and toss with the remaining ingredients.

4. Grill the marinated chayote slices until very tender and serve. Make sure they are cooked until they are soft and darkly golden.

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/quesnelbikers2014



Feb/Mar

Feb/Mar 16 21

trying to get as far off as we could. What happened

next amazed us. The truck coming from behind would

stop... and wait for the other lane to be free so he could

pull out and around us. And he'd wave as he went

by! This happened dozens of times!

Riding through the incredible landscape of Baja has

been an experience we won't soon forget. Being sur-

rounded by the raw and rugged beauty of places like

the Reserva de la Biosfera de El Viscaino and the

Catavina Boulder Field were quite remarkable and

humbling experiences. Essentially you just can't be-

lieve you're actually riding a bicycle through such

places. And it continued... further south there was the

mind blowing beauty of the Bahia de Concepcion. On

a bicycle one has the time to let the beauty of these

places make an imprint on your soul.

As we progressed into Baja Sur, we slowed our pace

down to enjoy it all. We had an extended stay in Lo-

reto, partly because it's a pretty cool little town, but

mainly because we had to. Unfortunately, Heather was

bitten by a dog and we needed to make sure the injury

was OK before we moved on. We were lucky to have

a doctor and two nurses staying in the RV park where

we were camped so we chose not to access local

care. By this time, we had made reservations at a hotel

in Los Barriles for Christmas and we were behind

schedule. Good Samaritans from BC and Germany

gave us rides that got us all the way to La Paz.

Just before Christmas, we rode from La Paz to Los

Barriles. We were happy to be finally settling into the

Hotel Los Barriles - our comfortable home for the holi-

days. It was at that point we realized Los Barriles

might be "that place" we had thought about at the start

of our tour. For us it was a perfect fit. What more

could one want? January 1st we moved into a rented

palapa in Juanita's Garden and celebrated our achieve-

ment of cycling over 5000 kilometers only to arrive at

such a beautiful place. We had also met our goal - to

miss the Canadian winter! And we got here under our

own steam!

Los Barriles has become a place of refuge as well. On

January 5th, Heather's brush with the dog in Loreto

came back to haunt us. We made sure to have all our

immunizations before we left including Rabies and

Tetanus but it was different than either of those

things. We started with a visit to the wonderful East

Cape Urgent Care Clinic and the even more wonderful

Dr. Toledo. After receiving some exemplary care,

Continued on Pg 22

Quesnel Bikers cycle

to Baja Sur

By: Chris and Heather Hartridge,

Every year for the past nine years we've taken the time

to do what we love - self supported bicycle tour-

ing. Tours have taken us around the Pacific Northwest

as far south as Utah. We typically leave from our

doorstep to cycle south and our current trip is no ex-

c e p t i o n .

Having just retired, we left home in Quesnel BC on

July 26th with a goal to get as far south as we could in

9 months. We made it known that if we found a nice

place to spend time away from the blowing snow back

home, we'd stay there. Through the summer and fall

we followed a route that included the Chilcotin Plateau

in BC, Vancouver Island, the Olympic Peninsula in

Washington and the Hood Canal. As we rolled south,

we came to Astoria Oregon and stayed with the amaz-

ing Pacific Coast roads all the way to San Diego. We

had no desire to ride our bikes through busy LA so we

took the Amtrak from San Luis Obispo to San Diego

where we prepared for the crossing in to Mexico.

At the border, if you're on a bicycle you shuffle along

with the pedestrians up to the now famous revolving

gate under the MEXICO sign. No turning back now!

We got our precious tarjetas touristicas and we headed

down the ramp out of the office with the hundreds of

other walkers headed out into the melee. There's no

question, riding on bicycles through Tijuana in the

middle of a busy afternoon is not for the faint of

heart. Like most people who haven't visited Baja, our

family and friends were really concerned for our

safety. Not long after crossing the border we realized

there were more people waving, smiling and asking if

we needed help than we'd EVER see in Canada.

For the next seven weeks we meandered down the

length of Baja sticking to Hwy. # 1 most of the

time. We met so many wonderfully friendly people

along the way the daily stresses of cycling melted

away. Oh, and how WAS the cycling? There's no

question that the road is not an easy one to ride and it's

not for novices. However, it was made possible and

even comfortable by courteous drivers. Imagine a

place on the highway with no shoulder, just a drop

off. Yes, there's plenty of them! Now imagine a semi-

truck coming towards you and one coming up behind

you. We made it a point to always pull over and stop,



Feb/Mar

Feb/Mar 20 17

and donations. So money for food and things like this is

very helpful,” says Adam Greenberg, advocate for New

Creations.

Well back to my visit with Rexe to share my

idea. Within a few minutes she said, “honey, anything for

the kids.” And a week later, I had commitments and promises

of over 30 items...from hand made earrings, to overnight at the

Palmas De Cortez to an all-day fishing trip. The generosity

from this little community is deeply electrifying. The universe

just continues to open one door after another…..A good indica-

tion that I’m on the right path.

I invite you to take a few moments while basking in the

surrounding beauty, applying a touch of sunscreen to

your face and sipping your negro modelo to ponder the

idea of what life would be like living in an orphanage...no

parents, no actual bedroom to call your own, no play-

dates. Instead, being with others like yourself who have

become “family” due to similar circumstances. Would

you tout a stellar positive attitude most of the

time? Would you dream big for your future? Would you

hustle about to secure jobs to grow your very own bank

account? Would you believe in yourself? A support

team is essential for all of the above. We can each make

a difference in their lives by first of all listening--how can

I provide encouragement, emotionally? How can I offer

my skills to help rebuild structures or improve the land-

scape? How can I inspire these kids to believe in them-

selves and to see their own unique inner goodness,

worth, and power? How can I give financially to enrich

their lifestyle?

Save the date: March 15, 4 pm - ??

Lazy Days. Looks like we’ll have a huge

musical surprise that will take this event off

the charts. So come one come all, and bring

your open hearts to the festivities.

PS: (Meetings will be held every Tuesday for the next 3

weeks at Lazy Daze at 2 pm--all are welcome)

5K Beach Bash Footrace on the beach at Buena Vista Beach Resort

Adult, Masters and Student age categories

1K Kids Fun Run Kids to age 12 Free

Date: March 15, 2015 Time: Kids K 8:30 am

5 K 9:00 am

Beneficiary: Los Barriles Cabo Este Rotary Club for community projects

Major sponsors: Snell Real Estate

Buena Vista Beach Resort

Fees: Kids K 0-12 YEARS FREE

5K 0-18 YEARS $50 PESOS

19 AND OLDER $150 PESOS

The 3rd Annual Eastcape Beach Bash is coming to a beach near you on Sunday, March 15. You can run the

5 kilometer course in your favorite sneakers or barefoot, whichever is better for the sandy, maybe wet race course!

This unique race was the brainstorm of Ironman Triathlete and Los Barriles resident, Bonnie Herter and Duke City

Marathon (Albuquerque, NM) Race Director and RV visitor Tico Navarro. The first race was in 2013 and Roadrunner

Café owner Bob Farmer and Buena Vista Beach Resort’s Felipe Valdez signed on as title sponsors. The sponsorship

funds and registration fees from the 60 participants were then donated to the Eastcape Guild’s scholarship program.

Last year, with the additional marketing and timing expertise of Sportvision Race Systems of La Paz, the race grew to

150 participants. The male and female winners of the 5K race were awarded free entry and expenses (airfare not in-

cluded) to the October 2014 Duke City Marathon in Albuquerque, NM. where

Beach Bash female winner Delia De La Toba of La Paz finished second in her age group, and male winner Luis Garcia

Rangel of San José finished an astonishing 10 th overall, and qualified to enter the 2015 Boston Marathon. What an

amazing accomplishment for both of these runners!

This year, the race will feature the same course and awards, which include

laptop computers to the winners in two student categories. There will be a

special Kids one kilometer Race, free for children up to 12 years, as a

warm-up to the main 5K event.

Registration for the 2015 Eastcape Beach Bash is available at the Snell

Real Estate offices in Plaza del Pueblo, Los Barriles, and Plaza Eres in La

Ribera. Registration is also available at Innasports stores in La Paz & Los

Cabos .

For complete information in Spanish or English: [email protected]

"Orphanage"

Are your passing thoughts

wanting action? By: Alexandra Delis-Abrams

It is said that we have 60,000 thoughts a day (mas o

menos). Some are sabotaging, demeaning and down right

nasty. While others are elevating, supporting and inspir-

ing. Which do you choose? Chocolate or va-

nilla? Which do you choose?

After returning to LB from the Todos Santos art tour and

learning about an annual auction to support their local

orphanage, I had a thought….an idea!!! Why couldn’t we

do that for the orphanage in LaPaz? “We can,” was the

next message I heard from the powerful inner voice.

OK...the universe sent the message, I got it and took ac-

tion. To give the idea energy, the next day, I went to

Lazy Daze, business establishment of the infamous

Rexe. Rexe is the lady who, along with her crew, raised

15K pesos to help improve the lives of young people on

the East Cape. We can thank Lord Of The Winds for

choosing Los Barrlles as the location for their kiteboard-

ing event and offering proceeds to various community

projects. Recently, at a Rotary meeting held at Lazy

Daze, the club gave a check to Roberto, the man who runs

the orphanage, for half that amount. Rexe and her crew

were also honored for originating this successful and lu-

crative event for the kids. So awesome!

That check will go a long way, but not long enough to

rebuild the working mechanism of the carpentry shop

which was destroyed during the hurricane. The structure

that now stands in its place is made of concrete, however,

it is vacant. No windows, doors or necessities to restore

this space into a working facility to once again, make

items that are sold for their sustenance. “For example it

costs about $10,000 pesos per week to provide the 30

children with food, water, school, dwelling, electricity,

fuel etc and they only receive money from selling things



Feb/Mar

Feb/Mar 18 19

WAIT… SHAKESPEARE

DIDN’T WRITE “ROBIN

HOOD,” DID HE?!

By: Larry Epstein

We all know the legend of Robin Hood: robbed from

the rich, gave to the poor, and, with his band of Merry

Men, battled the evil Prince John and his Sheriff in

the forests of medieval England.

In 2015 BAJA SHAKESPEARE will reveal the

source of the legend: WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE,

who stars in this original script! Come watch as

Shakespeare befriends Robin Hood and persuades

him to take up the cause of the oppressed peasants of

Stratford-upon-Avon. Fall in love with the fair Maid

Marian, Shakespeare’s niece and muse. After all, both

the hero Robin Hood and the evil Prince John fall in

love with her, too. Join Marian in the dungeon after

she rejects Prince John, and he leaves her in the

clutches of a couple of musical dungeon keepers.

Watch as the ladies of Stratford-upon-Avon and a hi-

larious court jester soften Marian’s hard time. Quaff

a cup of mead with Friar Tuck, Little John, Will Scar-

lett and the quaint townsfolk of Stratford-upon-Avon.

And see Marian’s “Uncle William” and Robin’s

Merry Men and Women save her and the Kingdom

with a little help from their friends and the true King

of England.

So join Shakespeare, his niece and our heroes, villains

and townsfolk as they ride through the English forest

--- with breaks for drinks, songs and humor --- to a

thrilling conclusion.

This year a lively band --- the Merry Minstrels, under

the baton of Jeanette Grittani --- will accompany our

actors as they sing and dance their way into your

hearts.

This year’s production is directed by long-time Baja

Shakespearean Camilla Ford and choreographed by

Robin Jackman.

Our family-friendly script was penned by Larry Ep-

stein, who also wrote last year’s play, and co-writer

Jill Broussard. They have woven some 90 quotes

from works by the Bard into their thoroughly modern

script to help make this SHAKESPEARE’S Robin

Hood.

For the second year, the show will be performed at

the air conditioned Buena Vista Beach Resort in Spa

Buena Vista. The resort will offer audience members

special deals. For room and meal reservations, contact

[email protected] or phone 624-142-0099.

Performances will be held on Friday March 20, Sat-

urday March 21st, Thursday March 26th, Friday

March 27th, and Saturday March 28th, 2015. The

curtain will rise promptly at 7:00 PM. For those with

early bed times, there also will be a matinée perform-

ance at 1:30 PM on Sunday March 22nd, 2015.

Tickets are only $20 or 300 pesos. They will be

available in Los Barriles at Galeria Los Angeles and

at Baja Homes and Land. For “Will Call” tickets,

contact [email protected] or phone 624-141

-0593. And to secure seats in the front rows, join

Friends of Baja Shakespeare, our support group.

Contact Anne at [email protected].

Do not miss it! And do not wait. We expect another

sell-out crowd this year at every performance! Buy

your tickets today. Seats are limited.

For more information, go to

www.facebook.com/pages/Baja-

Shakespeare/220397878011557

or contact our producer Kim at

[email protected].



http://www.facebook.com/pages/Baja-Shakespeare/220397878011557





Feb/Mar

Feb/Mar 18 19

WAIT… SHAKESPEARE

DIDN’T WRITE “ROBIN

HOOD,” DID HE?!

By: Larry Epstein

We all know the legend of Robin Hood: robbed from

the rich, gave to the poor, and, with his band of Merry

Men, battled the evil Prince John and his Sheriff in

the forests of medieval England.

In 2015 BAJA SHAKESPEARE will reveal the

source of the legend: WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE,

who stars in this original script! Come watch as

Shakespeare befriends Robin Hood and persuades

him to take up the cause of the oppressed peasants of

Stratford-upon-Avon. Fall in love with the fair Maid

Marian, Shakespeare’s niece and muse. After all, both

the hero Robin Hood and the evil Prince John fall in

love with her, too. Join Marian in the dungeon after

she rejects Prince John, and he leaves her in the

clutches of a couple of musical dungeon keepers.

Watch as the ladies of Stratford-upon-Avon and a hi-

larious court jester soften Marian’s hard time. Quaff

a cup of mead with Friar Tuck, Little John, Will Scar-

lett and the quaint townsfolk of Stratford-upon-Avon.

And see Marian’s “Uncle William” and Robin’s

Merry Men and Women save her and the Kingdom

with a little help from their friends and the true King

of England.

So join Shakespeare, his niece and our heroes, villains

and townsfolk as they ride through the English forest

--- with breaks for drinks, songs and humor --- to a

thrilling conclusion.

This year a lively band --- the Merry Minstrels, under

the baton of Jeanette Grittani --- will accompany our

actors as they sing and dance their way into your

hearts.

This year’s production is directed by long-time Baja

Shakespearean Camilla Ford and choreographed by

Robin Jackman.

Our family-friendly script was penned by Larry Ep-

stein, who also wrote last year’s play, and co-writer

Jill Broussard. They have woven some 90 quotes

from works by the Bard into their thoroughly modern

script to help make this SHAKESPEARE’S Robin

Hood.

For the second year, the show will be performed at

the air conditioned Buena Vista Beach Resort in Spa

Buena Vista. The resort will offer audience members

special deals. For room and meal reservations, contact

[email protected] or phone 624-142-0099.

Performances will be held on Friday March 20, Sat-

urday March 21st, Thursday March 26th, Friday

March 27th, and Saturday March 28th, 2015. The

curtain will rise promptly at 7:00 PM. For those with

early bed times, there also will be a matinée perform-

ance at 1:30 PM on Sunday March 22nd, 2015.

Tickets are only $20 or 300 pesos. They will be

available in Los Barriles at Galeria Los Angeles and

at Baja Homes and Land. For “Will Call” tickets,

contact [email protected] or phone 624-141

-0593. And to secure seats in the front rows, join

Friends of Baja Shakespeare, our support group.

Contact Anne at [email protected].

Do not miss it! And do not wait. We expect another

sell-out crowd this year at every performance! Buy

your tickets today. Seats are limited.

For more information, go to

www.facebook.com/pages/Baja-

Shakespeare/220397878011557

or contact our producer Kim at

[email protected].








Feb/Mar

Feb/Mar 20 17

and donations. So money for food and things like this is

very helpful,” says Adam Greenberg, advocate for New

Creations.

Well back to my visit with Rexe to share my

idea. Within a few minutes she said, “honey, anything for

the kids.” And a week later, I had commitments and promises

of over 30 items...from hand made earrings, to overnight at the

Palmas De Cortez to an all-day fishing trip. The generosity

from this little community is deeply electrifying. The universe

just continues to open one door after another…..A good indica-

tion that I’m on the right path.

I invite you to take a few moments while basking in the

surrounding beauty, applying a touch of sunscreen to

your face and sipping your negro modelo to ponder the

idea of what life would be like living in an orphanage...no

parents, no actual bedroom to call your own, no play-

dates. Instead, being with others like yourself who have

become “family” due to similar circumstances. Would

you tout a stellar positive attitude most of the

time? Would you dream big for your future? Would you

hustle about to secure jobs to grow your very own bank

account? Would you believe in yourself? A support

team is essential for all of the above. We can each make

a difference in their lives by first of all listening--how can

I provide encouragement, emotionally? How can I offer

my skills to help rebuild structures or improve the land-

scape? How can I inspire these kids to believe in them-

selves and to see their own unique inner goodness,

worth, and power? How can I give financially to enrich

their lifestyle?

Save the date: March 15, 4 pm - ??

Lazy Days. Looks like we’ll have a huge

musical surprise that will take this event off

the charts. So come one come all, and bring

your open hearts to the festivities.

PS: (Meetings will be held every Tuesday for the next 3

weeks at Lazy Daze at 2 pm--all are welcome)

5K Beach Bash Footrace on the beach at Buena Vista Beach Resort

Adult, Masters and Student age categories

1K Kids Fun Run Kids to age 12 Free

Date: March 15, 2015 Time: Kids K 8:30 am

5 K 9:00 am

Beneficiary: Los Barriles Cabo Este Rotary Club for community projects

Major sponsors: Snell Real Estate

Buena Vista Beach Resort

Fees: Kids K 0-12 YEARS FREE

5K 0-18 YEARS $50 PESOS

19 AND OLDER $150 PESOS

The 3rd Annual Eastcape Beach Bash is coming to a beach near you on Sunday, March 15. You can run the

5 kilometer course in your favorite sneakers or barefoot, whichever is better for the sandy, maybe wet race course!

This unique race was the brainstorm of Ironman Triathlete and Los Barriles resident, Bonnie Herter and Duke City

Marathon (Albuquerque, NM) Race Director and RV visitor Tico Navarro. The first race was in 2013 and Roadrunner

Café owner Bob Farmer and Buena Vista Beach Resort’s Felipe Valdez signed on as title sponsors. The sponsorship

funds and registration fees from the 60 participants were then donated to the Eastcape Guild’s scholarship program.

Last year, with the additional marketing and timing expertise of Sportvision Race Systems of La Paz, the race grew to

150 participants. The male and female winners of the 5K race were awarded free entry and expenses (airfare not in-

cluded) to the October 2014 Duke City Marathon in Albuquerque, NM. where

Beach Bash female winner Delia De La Toba of La Paz finished second in her age group, and male winner Luis Garcia

Rangel of San José finished an astonishing 10 th overall, and qualified to enter the 2015 Boston Marathon. What an

amazing accomplishment for both of these runners!

This year, the race will feature the same course and awards, which include

laptop computers to the winners in two student categories. There will be a

special Kids one kilometer Race, free for children up to 12 years, as a

warm-up to the main 5K event.

Registration for the 2015 Eastcape Beach Bash is available at the Snell

Real Estate offices in Plaza del Pueblo, Los Barriles, and Plaza Eres in La

Ribera. Registration is also available at Innasports stores in La Paz & Los

Cabos .

For complete information in Spanish or English: [email protected]

"Orphanage"

Are your passing thoughts

wanting action? By: Alexandra Delis-Abrams

It is said that we have 60,000 thoughts a day (mas o

menos). Some are sabotaging, demeaning and down right

nasty. While others are elevating, supporting and inspir-

ing. Which do you choose? Chocolate or va-

nilla? Which do you choose?

After returning to LB from the Todos Santos art tour and

learning about an annual auction to support their local

orphanage, I had a thought….an idea!!! Why couldn’t we

do that for the orphanage in LaPaz? “We can,” was the

next message I heard from the powerful inner voice.

OK...the universe sent the message, I got it and took ac-

tion. To give the idea energy, the next day, I went to

Lazy Daze, business establishment of the infamous

Rexe. Rexe is the lady who, along with her crew, raised

15K pesos to help improve the lives of young people on

the East Cape. We can thank Lord Of The Winds for

choosing Los Barrlles as the location for their kiteboard-

ing event and offering proceeds to various community

projects. Recently, at a Rotary meeting held at Lazy

Daze, the club gave a check to Roberto, the man who runs

the orphanage, for half that amount. Rexe and her crew

were also honored for originating this successful and lu-

crative event for the kids. So awesome!

That check will go a long way, but not long enough to

rebuild the working mechanism of the carpentry shop

which was destroyed during the hurricane. The structure

that now stands in its place is made of concrete, however,

it is vacant. No windows, doors or necessities to restore

this space into a working facility to once again, make

items that are sold for their sustenance. “For example it

costs about $10,000 pesos per week to provide the 30

children with food, water, school, dwelling, electricity,

fuel etc and they only receive money from selling things



Feb/Mar

Feb/Mar 16 21

trying to get as far off as we could. What happened

next amazed us. The truck coming from behind would

stop... and wait for the other lane to be free so he could

pull out and around us. And he'd wave as he went

by! This happened dozens of times!

Riding through the incredible landscape of Baja has

been an experience we won't soon forget. Being sur-

rounded by the raw and rugged beauty of places like

the Reserva de la Biosfera de El Viscaino and the

Catavina Boulder Field were quite remarkable and

humbling experiences. Essentially you just can't be-

lieve you're actually riding a bicycle through such

places. And it continued... further south there was the

mind blowing beauty of the Bahia de Concepcion. On

a bicycle one has the time to let the beauty of these

places make an imprint on your soul.

As we progressed into Baja Sur, we slowed our pace

down to enjoy it all. We had an extended stay in Lo-

reto, partly because it's a pretty cool little town, but

mainly because we had to. Unfortunately, Heather was

bitten by a dog and we needed to make sure the injury

was OK before we moved on. We were lucky to have

a doctor and two nurses staying in the RV park where

we were camped so we chose not to access local

care. By this time, we had made reservations at a hotel

in Los Barriles for Christmas and we were behind

schedule. Good Samaritans from BC and Germany

gave us rides that got us all the way to La Paz.

Just before Christmas, we rode from La Paz to Los

Barriles. We were happy to be finally settling into the

Hotel Los Barriles - our comfortable home for the holi-

days. It was at that point we realized Los Barriles

might be "that place" we had thought about at the start

of our tour. For us it was a perfect fit. What more

could one want? January 1st we moved into a rented

palapa in Juanita's Garden and celebrated our achieve-

ment of cycling over 5000 kilometers only to arrive at

such a beautiful place. We had also met our goal - to

miss the Canadian winter! And we got here under our

own steam!

Los Barriles has become a place of refuge as well. On

January 5th, Heather's brush with the dog in Loreto

came back to haunt us. We made sure to have all our

immunizations before we left including Rabies and

Tetanus but it was different than either of those

things. We started with a visit to the wonderful East

Cape Urgent Care Clinic and the even more wonderful

Dr. Toledo. After receiving some exemplary care,

Continued on Pg 22

Quesnel Bikers cycle

to Baja Sur

By: Chris and Heather Hartridge,

Every year for the past nine years we've taken the time

to do what we love - self supported bicycle tour-

ing. Tours have taken us around the Pacific Northwest

as far south as Utah. We typically leave from our

doorstep to cycle south and our current trip is no ex-

c e p t i o n .

Having just retired, we left home in Quesnel BC on

July 26th with a goal to get as far south as we could in

9 months. We made it known that if we found a nice

place to spend time away from the blowing snow back

home, we'd stay there. Through the summer and fall

we followed a route that included the Chilcotin Plateau

in BC, Vancouver Island, the Olympic Peninsula in

Washington and the Hood Canal. As we rolled south,

we came to Astoria Oregon and stayed with the amaz-

ing Pacific Coast roads all the way to San Diego. We

had no desire to ride our bikes through busy LA so we

took the Amtrak from San Luis Obispo to San Diego

where we prepared for the crossing in to Mexico.

At the border, if you're on a bicycle you shuffle along

with the pedestrians up to the now famous revolving

gate under the MEXICO sign. No turning back now!

We got our precious tarjetas touristicas and we headed

down the ramp out of the office with the hundreds of

other walkers headed out into the melee. There's no

question, riding on bicycles through Tijuana in the

middle of a busy afternoon is not for the faint of

heart. Like most people who haven't visited Baja, our

family and friends were really concerned for our

safety. Not long after crossing the border we realized

there were more people waving, smiling and asking if

we needed help than we'd EVER see in Canada.

For the next seven weeks we meandered down the

length of Baja sticking to Hwy. # 1 most of the

time. We met so many wonderfully friendly people

along the way the daily stresses of cycling melted

away. Oh, and how WAS the cycling? There's no

question that the road is not an easy one to ride and it's

not for novices. However, it was made possible and

even comfortable by courteous drivers. Imagine a

place on the highway with no shoulder, just a drop

off. Yes, there's plenty of them! Now imagine a semi-

truck coming towards you and one coming up behind

you. We made it a point to always pull over and stop,



Feb/Mar

Feb/Mar 15 22

Biking continued from pg 21

we're happy to say she's on the mend thanks to East

Cape's Charlene Wenger and Dr. Toledo along with

Dr. Cardenas at CIFO in San Jose del Cabo.

Heather is on the mend and we're happy we found

this oasis. Serendipity played a role in this story

too. On a rainy morning in Cannon Beach Oregon,

we met a lady named Chris. She was fascinated by

our tour and asked where we were going. Our origi-

nal plans had us riding as far south as Nicaragua,

through Baja, and not really going any farther south

than the La Paz/Mazatlan ferry. We had no idea

how lucky we were when she told us about the little

town of Los Barriles.

Follow our blog:

www.crazyguyonabike.com/quesnelbikers2014

Making Friends

with the Chayote

By: Renée Lagloire and Denise Elliott

Buen Provecho Baja

Chayote is your friend! When Hurricane Odile hit

the East Cape area and few fresh vegetables were

available for purchase, there it was … the chayote,

green, hard to the touch, and shaped like a pear. It

finds its way into most Mexican kitchens, and is

therefore almost always available in small and

large grocery stores. Chayote is inexpensive, read-

ily available, and can be very tasty! If you don’t

know it, you might want to become acquainted!

It is thought that chayote is native to Central Amer-

ica and Mexico. It was a staple in ancient Mexico,

where it was first domesticated. In the Aztecs’ Na-

huatl language, it was called chayotl, but it was

known thousands of years before among the Maya

of the Yucatan Peninsula where its fruit, its ten-

drils, flowers and roots were part of the cuisine.

Chayote is now grown all over Latin America, and

worldwide under various names, among others,

vegetable pear, chocho, mirliton, or christophine.

A perennial vine, chayote (Sechium edule) is in the

gourd family, but is unusual in that it has a single,

edible seed which is considered the most delicious

part of the vegetable. Chayote is simple to grow,

simply bury a whole chayote halfway in the ground

horizontally near a fence where it can climb, and

water regularly. You will soon have a vigorous tall

vine that will produce numerous chayote.

While the taste of chayote is relatively neutral, its

ability to soak in added flavors makes it a welcome

addition to any meal. Only the larger chayotes need

to be peeled to be eaten. It is cubed or sliced, de-

pending on its use. It should be treated much like

you would a zucchini or other squash, but it needs

to cook longer. Chayote is wonderful on the grill

with a mojo de ajo, or cubed in stews and stir-fries,

but you might make lifelong friends with it by try-

ing this simple grilled chayote recipe from one of

our Buen Provecho Mexican cooking and culture

classes.

Lime and Herb Grilled Chayote - Chayote a la Plancha con Limon y Hierbas

4 chayotes

2 Tbsp. olive oil

Juice of 2 limes

2 Tbsp. chopped cilantro

2 Tbsp. chopped parsley

(Other herbs of choice if desired)

Salt and pepper

1. Make sure the grill is turned on.

2. If the chayotes are large and the skin is tough or spikey, peel them. Otherwise, no need to peel. Do not remove the seed, it is considered a delicacy!

3. Slice the chayotes about 1⁄4 inch thick. Place in a shal-low bowl and toss with the remaining ingredients.

4. Grill the marinated chayote slices until very tender and serve. Make sure they are cooked until they are soft and darkly golden.

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/quesnelbikers2014



Feb/Mar

Feb/Mar 14 23

A Letter of Introduction from

Caffe’ Encinalito

Three years from now we may be friends. In two years

perhaps you’ll know us. Next year you might be regu-

lars. And right now you have no idea who we

are. Caffe’ Encinalito is our name and espresso is our

business. We are Jacqueline and Sasha Landis, your en-

thusiastic local baristas. You may have seen us last year

selling our coffee beans at the Community Market. Or

perhaps you’ve driven by our storefront on Calle Costa

Brava on your way to the beach. These days we spend

most of our time here at our cafecito where we roast cof-

fee, sling espresso, and bake little yummies. While it’s

tempting to use this space to wax poetic about our or-

ganic, fairly traded wares, let’s instead quench any lin-

gering curiosity and tell you a bit about how this caffe

came to be.

It wasn’t the wind that we chased down to Los Barriles,

but family. Though Sasha hails from Alaska, and I my-

self am a native of California, we met in the middle: Port

Townsend, Washington. Sasha’s father, Scott, has been

living here in Southern Baja for the better part of twenty

years, so Sasha himself has been visiting for equally as

long. I entered the Landis family picture about five years

ago and, with Sasha, have yearly been swooping down

from Washington ever since. After ever-lengthening va-

cations to the area, in 2013 we were married in the hills at

the beautiful Rancho La Venta. Soon thereafter we began

scheming on how to spend more time in Mex-

ico. Promptly, a little business plan was hatched for what

we saw as a much-needed commodity: coffee. And be-

fore we knew it, thanks to the massive support of our

families, the dream of a caffe’ was realized. The result is

here for you to see!

Caffe’ Encinalito, which means â little oak grove, gets

its name from Sasha’s father’s rancho in the sierra. Our

menu is a simple one, based in the authentic Italian ritual

of espresso. We use a traditional piston machine made

by Rancilio, meaning our shots are hand-pulled, ulti-

mately giving us more control over our espresso. In all

our machine’s nuances we were trained by Andrea Spella

of Spella Caffe in Portland, Oregon (named best espresso

in Portland by the New York Times).Â As far as our aes-

thetic: it follows our menu in its simplicity, marrying the

calm of Baja with the clean, cool shade of our palms. We

are open five days a week, Wednesday through Sunday,

from 8 am to 3 in the afternoon. Come say hello and

share your own story. We would love to know you.

“We are a Family Company working in

the Eastcape area since 1998…”

Jorge Ayala, Jr Architect since 2006

Prof Lic # 5832089

Cell Ph # (624) 348-5607

[email protected]

Jorge Ayala, Sr Civil Engineer since 1984

Prof Lic # 1356247

Cell Ph (612) 348-8417

[email protected]

We can provide you the following services:

Architecture from the Concepts to the Final Drawings in

Cad system, including the services in 3D renderings.

Civil, Structural & Mechanical Engineering.

Construction of any type of Building Systems such as

Foam Panels, Cement Blocks, Post and Beams, Con-

crete Insulated Forms, Rammed Earth, Etc…

Our Main Office is located in downtown Los Barriles on

the main drag, next to La Fayla’s Supermarket.

Office Ph # (624) 141-0155

Email: [email protected]

www.losbarrilesdesigns.com

TALK IS CHEAP or is it??? By: Sefi Held,

Talking is something that is very unique to us humans,

yet it still remains a mystery. Noam Chomsky, was an

intellectual prodigy who went on to earn a PhD in lin-

guistics at the University of Pennsylvania and is deemed

to be the godfather of linguistics, and was the first to sug-

gest that our ability to talk is innate. Noam Chomsky’s

best-known book on linguistics is called, “Syntactic

Structures”. We barely notice that we are doing it, yet it

takes thousands of decisions and thousands of thoughts

each time that we use language. Just the physical action

of pushing air through our mouths, we take a thought in

our heads, and release it as the spoken word. Amazing!

Other animals also make sounds to communicate, but

speech and language distinguishes us from all the other

species. It really is miraculous how our brain does it and

how we learn to talk remains an even deeper mystery.

And, then, you take into consideration the fact that we

speak in so many different languages that it makes talk-

ing even more amazing!

Are we losing this fine art of speech? Of conversation?

AND Of Talking? 88% of North Americans are on line

daily! Take a look around you the next time you are at

the airport, in a restaurant or on the beach and you’ll see

whole families checking email, reading from an e-reader,

chatting online, Twittering, etc. during the entire time

that they are together to spend “some quality time” with

each other. Apparently IPhone are allowed into school

classrooms now! What happened to talk? To looking at

people directly and making eye contact with them and to

just listening to the person or persons you are with? This

may also have something to do with our very short-

attention span and the need for immediate results. Yes,

we are truly a changing society and what has taken us

eons to evolve, is being lost.

The throat is a particularly important area of the body as

it is associated with our respiratory system, our digestive

system and it, is one of the higher levels of our energetic

system. The given name is Visshuddha in Sanskrit.

Vishuddi or throat chakra is the fifth primary chakra ac-

cording to the Hindu tradition. Vishuddha Chakra

unleashes an unlimited feeling of happiness and freedom

that allows our abilities and skills to blossom. Along

with this stage of development there is a clear voice, a

talent for singing and speech, as well as balanced and

calm thoughts. When we give voice to our thoughts,

many times the chatter in our heads which appears as

“thoughts”, are made clear. Until this Chakra is fully de-

veloped, certain difficulties may be experienced. Block-

age of the Vishuddhi Chakra produces feelings of

.

anxiety, lack of freedom, restriction, thyroid and throat

problems. There may be physically unfounded manifes-

tations of swallowing problems and speech impediments.

An open Throat Chakra allows us to express ourselves

and communicate with others. Are you in need of a com-

munication tune-up? Visit us at the Sukhasan Yoga and

Pilates Studio: we talk, we listen and we welcome you.

Think about the next time that you choose email, Twitter

or Facebook over the phone, or better yet, face-to- face

contact, Re-think, Re-feel and choose talk!! Also, listen

to what is not being said. Just Listen.

The key is finding that balance in whatever we do in life.

After all, it is up to us individually to recognize when we

need to detox digitally. So many things that we think are

of extreme importance don’t really matter very much at

all. There is no secret to life and no magic path. Every

experience we share is golden and every experience in-

forms who we are and who we will become. Make your

experiences count.

“For millions of years, mankind lived just like the ani-

mals. Then something happened which unleashed the

power of our imagination. We learned to talk and we

learned to listen. Speech has allowed the communication

of ideas, enabling human beings to work together to build

the impossible. Mankind's greatest achievements have

come about by talking, and its greatest failures by not

talking. It doesn't have to be like this. Our greatest hopes

could become reality in the future. With the technology

at our disposal, the possibilities are unbounded. All we

need to do is make sure we keep talking.”

Stephen Hawking

Sefi Held, A.C.E., CanfitPro certified Personal Trainer, Fit-

ness, Yoga, Pilates and Older Adult Fitness Specialist Instruc-

tor, Resist-A-Ball and Zumba certified teaching at the Suk-

hasana Yoga and Pilates Studio located within the Healing

Winds Holistic Center, Los Barriles, BCS.

.




http://www.losbarrilesdesigns.com



Feb/Mar

Feb/Mar 13 24

IT’S THE DIRT By: Holly Burgin

I planted the seeds for my vegetable garden in December

before we left for the US for the holidays. When I re-

turned a month later, the garden had gone crazy. Not only

had all the seeds come up and the plants had grown tall,

but I also had a crop of weeds and volunteers. After a few

days of weeding, it was clear I had an over-abundance of

tomatoes and other vegies. So, I put the word out on the

BPE and people as far away Cabo Pulmo came for veggie

starts for their gardens. I shared about 70 of my tomato

“children” with my fellow gardeners.

Tomato lovers brought their own pots; and we dug up my

extra seedlings, as well as the volunteers. Of course, with

the volunteers, it is always a surprise as to which variety

it will be; but I think most were a small cherry variety

(really about the size of currants) called Matt’s Wild

Cherry that I first planted in 2011. They are tiny sweet

morsels that just keep coming back, year after year. I

figure, now that I have shared so many volunteers, all of

Los Barriles will be eating Matt’s Wild Cherry tomatoes.

One question I was asked, over and over, as the garden

people arrived to claim their tomatoes was “Where do you

get your dirt?” Well, there is not a simple answer to this

question. But one answer might be -- “Not here.” I do not

consider the terra firma that is around my house to be

“dirt.” Up here on the hill, north of town, it must be de-

composed granite, because only the hardiest of the local

flora can survive in this inhospitable terrain. I have raised

beds for my vegetable garden and every year I consider

new ways I can amend the soil that has, little by little, im-

proved to become a beautiful, rich, organic “tierra”.

So, how did I do it? Well, it took a while, but I think with

all the rain this year, anyone starting a garden has some

advantages that are not always available. So, take advan-

tage of this moment.

First, dig out all the crappy dirt; and I am using the term

“dirt” loosely (although not the word “crappy”)

that is in your garden plot. Unless you live in an

arroyo, assume your “dirt” is as above described.

Head to La Riberia and when you get to the place

where the road to La Ribera crosses an arroyo,

pull over and start digging. The loamy soil that

has washed down the arroyo is the perfect base

for building your garden soil. Take as much as

you need for 80% of your pots or garden plot. But

this is just the beginning.

Home Depot is my source of instant organic mat-

ter. If you do not have a compost pile, peat moss

will provide most of the needed organic material

you will need to help build great garden soil. I

add about 10 - 15% peat moss to my raised beds

each year. If you are just starting a garden, use as

much as you can afford. I have read that peat

moss retains up to 20 times its weight in mois-

ture, and releases water slowly as plants need it;

allows for proper root growth by loosening and

aerating soils; adds body to sandy soil; reduces

leaching of nutrients in or added to the soil

(which saves on fertilizer); protects soil from

hardening; and is environmentally friendly and

free of insects, weeds, seeds, salts and chemicals,

and represents good economic value. Or course,

if you have a compost pile, use your own com-

post to amend the soil. BTW, Buen Provecho in

San Bartolo (our fabulous Mexican cooking

school) will be selling compost from their huerta

next season, replete with seasoned goat, cow and

horse manure. It should be amazing!

Continued on pg 25



Feb/Mar

Feb/Mar 12

recycled into a wonderful building block with out-standing insulating properties. There are several homes in Los Barriles built from this EF Block. Thank you for recycling, supporting environmental education in our schools, and preserving our beautiful marine-centered community!

HELP

STRETC

H OUR CIRCULATION OF

EASTCAPERS MAGAZINE!

When you are done reading the Eastcapers

magazine, if you don’t plan on saving it in

your collection of great reads and have no

one to pass it on to, then return it to the East-

capers Rack where you found it! Not only

will this allow more people

to enjoy the Eastcapers, but

this will help us stretch and

recycle it in

the very best way!!!

25

RECYCLING

ANNOUNCEMENT

By: Lynn Mirasson

East Cape Recycling Baja must announce that we

are no longer able to recycle any glass until further notice. Several creative people have come forward with projects that utilize glass bottles, such as build-ing them into walls and other decorative ideas, but the vast remainder end up going to the landfill. Until we can again find a receptive organization, please try to reduce the number of bottles you buy (beer in cans?) and toss in the garbage, and put on your thinking cap regarding creative ways to reuse what you do produce. ECRB continues to recycle many other materials on the first Thursday of each month. Please consult our website: www.eastcaperecyclingbaja.com for dates and a complete list of what we accept. We are particularly trying to save EPS (expanded polystyrene) from landing in the landfill. This is the white "styrofoam" packing material that comes around your new TVs and appliances. We collect this material and it is

Dirt continued from page 24 This should get your garden started; but if you want to go

to the extra effort (you reap what you sow), I add worm

castings. Worm castings are one of the world richest

fertilizers. Worm castings are worm “poop” and occur

naturally in soil that has earthworms. Not surprisingly,

the soil in Baja is so sandy and rocky that I have never

seen an earthworm in my natural garden. Unlike animal

manure and artificial fertilizers, it is absorbed easily and

immediately by plants. Lucky for us, Maurico Acle, the

owner of Organicos Baja Sur, in La Paz (near the La Paz

airport), http://www.organicosbajasur.com (use Google

Chrome and it will automatically translate websites from

Spanish to English) has a worm farm and sells 50-kilo

bags of worm castings for approximately $200 pesos per

bag. I add about 5% worm castings to my raised beds

each year.

Raised garden beds require rotating your crops and extra

effort each year to keep your soil rich and vital. It does

take a little extra work, and some added cost, but the

payoff is HUGE. Except as discussed above, I rarely fer-

tilize my vegetable garden; and every year I have a

bumper crop. If you start with rich organic soil, you will

have a wonderful garden. If the ground in which you

plant your seeds is weak and lacking nutrients, your

plants will be weak, small and will not have the strength

to deal with insect infestations and other blights. We can-

not eat all that I grow in

my garden and so my

friends and neighbors

become the beneficiaries

of my great garden soil.

It’s the dirt!!! Happy

gardening!

http://www.eastcaperecyclingbaja.com/

http://www.organicosbajasur.com



Feb/Mar

Feb/Mar 11 26

Continued from Pg 10

To the west is the Pacific. Sitting there, we were sur-

rounded by fields, palm groves and the farm. I am al-

ways in awe when I go there. The food, again, was

phenomenal. Owner/Chef Marcos made us a trio of

exotic Margaritas. I chose the Pomegranate Margarita,

made with mescal and fresh pomegranate juice from

the garden. Deb had a Mango Margarita and Colleen

had a Baja Sunrise, with house made Jamaica liqueur,

lime, fresh orange juice and tequila. Craving Italian

food, I had Eggplant Parmesan for lunch. The others

shared hummus and fresh veggies along with Roasted

Squash Soup. To-die-for.

We had planned to visit Rancho Pescadero, a world

class boutique resort closer to the beach, but it was

closed for a private event. I’ve been there before and I

will attest that their Pineapple-Cilantro Margarita is

excellent, as is there chile-rimmed Mango Margarita.

Saturday: Our first stop was Art & Beer, the place that

started it all for me nine years ago. Instead of just one

Exotic Margarita, there was now an entire chalk board

filled with them. Deb ordered a Kiwi Margarita. Col-

leen ordered a Mixed Berry Margarita and I went with

my old favorite, the Citrus Margarita. While we were

waiting for them to be made, we wandered around the

property and took photos. There was far more art and

sculptures than on my previous visit, and the backdrop

of Cerritos Beach and the Pacific was beautiful. All

three Margaritas were delicious and beautifully gar-

nished. As we drank them, we discussed but decided

against having another round. Instead we put the paper

umbrellas behind our ears and headed north to our next

destination.

Hacienda Cerritos is a spectacular Mexican Hacienda

perched dramatically on the cliffs at the north end of

Cerritos Beach. Its oceanfront bar is open to the public,

and a must see for all visitors. Their signature drink is

the Basil Margarita. Deb and Colleen had theirs on the

rocks and I had mine blended. We agreed mine was

better. I am a huge fan of basil, and this drink rocks my

world. The view isn’t bad either and we spotted plenty

of whales in the short time we were there.

Because we could, we made out last stop Hierbabuena

Hortaliza again. This time, Marcos made Deb his ver-

sion of the Basil Margarita with muddled basil from

his garden, white tequila, limon and Controy. It was

shaken like and served with a salted rim. Colleen tried

his Watermelon Margarita and I had a Pineapple-

Cilantro Margarita. Every one delicious.

So … is anyone up for an Exotic Margarita Party? Ole!

.

Citrus Margarea and board— Art and Beer (above)

Basil Margareta—Hacienda Cerritos (left)

Exotic Margaritas - Hierbabuena Hortaliza



Feb/Mar

Feb/Mar 10 27

A Different Day in the

life of Badger, the dog

By: Emma Nicholson

My normal morning goes something like this…

Wake up and stare at my parents until they sense my gaze

and start to stir.

Thump my tail furiously to ensure they are fully woken,

lick their feet/hands or whatever part of them is sticking

out of the comforter, and then do an exaggerated loud

yawn coupled with a vigorous shake. This is guaranteed

to ensure they don’t fall back to sleep.

A five minute pee break is always followed by my morn-

ing snack, and then a wonderful hour-long romp down

the arroyo with my fairly annoying sister Honey. (She

got the looks and I got the brains in the family). But this

morning, Wednesday 4th February to be exact, was differ-

ent. Following my snack, my sister Honey and I were

separated and I was led from the house ON A LEASH….

I say that with a fairly shouty voice because a leash is

only for times when we’re in a town, on a sidewalk or in

a foreign country. In my mind, a leash attaches my

Daddy to me. This therefore gives me the right to pull

him wherever I want to go (rather than where he wants to

go).

Anyway, we set off in our car – I like to sit in the middle

where I can be helpful navigating. My parents can some-

times be slow when it comes to directions. But today, we

didn’t go towards the arroyo; we went in the other direc-

tion. I furiously licked my Daddy to let him know about

his mistake, but we drove on.

After five minutes, we arrived at what I can only de-

scribe as heaven on earth…. A field of real green grass

that stretched for miles and miles… what a treat! I be-

lieve, (or so I hear) that it’s the same experience as par-

ents have when they roll around in silk sheets.

There on the grass were other dogs on leashes with their

parents. Having spotted a good friend of mine Peso, I

was desperate to get out of car to join the gang and find

out what the jeepers was going on. Hauling Daddy by his

leash, I joined the throng and we discussed quite loudly

what was happening. No-one had a clue. All we could

see was a bunch of plastic gate things, a hill made out of

wood, and some tunnel-like contraption that looked great

for peeing on. A more sensible mature dog called Kiwi

thought we might be at something called ‘agility training’

but she wasn’t sure.

Then we were moving. Daddy and I were directed to

what looked like a gate. And that’s where the fun be-

gan…. Daddy produced from nowhere a bag of my

favorite Barkery liver treats. Oh yes! This was starting

to get good! I have to admit that I was a little confused to

start with, and wasn’t quite sure why I couldn’t just walk

through the gate thing, or spend my time sniffing inside

the tunnel. But once I realized that I could get a treat if I

simply jumped over it, or speeded up slightly; I was sold!

Before I knew it, I was leaping over those gates, running

up the wooden hill and dashing through the black tunnel-

thing. Granted, there were a couple of moments I had to

stifle an inward laugh. The first was when Peso ran so

fast through the tunnel that he knocked his parent over.

(That’s because Peso doesn’t know his own strength).

The second was when a young pup called Amy ran

through the tunnel-thing and then carried on running out

of the field and towards her home. Hilarious.

Seriously? Could this get any better? A morning spent

with some of my best four-legged friends, eating as many

treats as I could get my paws on, and hanging out with

my Daddy doing fun, jumping and running stuff. Just as

I was beginning to perfect my run up the wooden hill,

Daddy shouted a chorus of goodbyes, and we were head-

ing back to the car. I was getting a little tired by now, but

I had had a fantastic time.

On arrival back at home, I was met by my quite stupid

sister Honey. Honestly, you would have thought I had

been away for months judging by her reaction to my arri-

val. After calming her down, by basically ignoring her

for a few minutes, I told her about my experience that

morning. How I had achieved things I had never done

before, how Daddy and I had worked closely together,

and how I had had tons of fun! At one point I realized

she was feigning interest as I could see her eying up an

old almond stuck under a chair leg. I didn’t care. I was

the star of the house today. I wasn’t going to lose that

great feeling. So with that, I took myself off to my bed

and reflected on the day’s achievements. I can’t wait until

the next training session in a week’s time, and tomorrow,

I’m going to tell the story all over again to my best friend

Vonnie. Soon I started to nod off with the fading sounds

of ‘weave Badger, weave Badger’ drifting into my con-

sciousness…..zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Badger showing of his skill and new talents!

SEARCHING OUT EXOTIC

MARGARITAS By Ann Hazard

In 2006 I discovered an unlikely place called Art &

Beer on the far end of Cerritos Beach, about 20 min-

utes south of Todos Santos. I say unlikely because I

was expecting a hippie art gallery serving beer. I got

the art gallery right. I got the hippie part right. I was

charmed by the rustic décor and all the living, breath-

ing art and sculptures. It was magical. But the surprise

was their signature—and my first—Exotic Margarita.

It was called a Citrus Margarita. Served in a frosty beer

mug, it was made of fresh—as in squeezed in front of

my eyes— orange, grapefruit, tangerine and limon

juices, tequila, Controy, an array of garnishes and a

paper umbrella. It was incredible. I came back to

Buena Vista after that trip and made them for all my

friends.

On recent trips to Todos Santos I began noticing a

trend. Every restaurant has at least one signature, ex-

otic Margarita. I talked (it didn’t take much talking)

my friends Colleen and Deb into doing a three day

Margarita Crawl—including Cerritos, Pescadero and

Todos Santos. I’m certain there are fancy Margaritas

all over Los Cabos, but I wanted to search out the cool,

slightly offbeat places. We took three days and we vis-

ited six restaurants. We weren’t just there for the

drinking. We were there for the ambience, and as al-

ways on Baja’s South Pacific Coast, the amazing food.

Thursday: Our first stop of the day was Tequila Sun-

rise, across the street from Hotel California in Todos

Santos.

It is always our favorite stop for lunch when we roll

into town. Deb always orders the Shrimp Chile Relle-

nos. I never order anything but the Beef Chimichangas.

The food is organic, beautifully prepared and ridicu-

lously addicting. Owner Manuel Valdez (brother of

Chuy who owns Hotel Buena Vista here) is charming.

He welcomes every guest at every table. His traditional

Margaritas are spectacular and he will show you how

they’re made when you visit. But we fell in love with

the Mango version. Garnished with a slice of limon

and sprig of mint, these are the best we‘ve found. The

recipes for both versions are on the wall, so bring a

camera or cell phone.

Colleen met up with us at our second stop, the Hotel

California. Deb and I fell in love with the Jamaica-

Jalapeno Margarita a few months ago. Juan, the bar-

tender showed me how it was made this time and I

took notes. (I have all the recipes, actually.) I love the

spicy edginess of the jalapeno, complementing the tang

of the Jamaica. Colleen hadn’t ever tried one before,

and her eyes lit up as she took her first sip. Another

winner.

Next door, Chef Dany Lamote, Hotel California’s ex-

ecutive chef, has a boutique restaurant called Santo

Vino. His most divine, decadent Margarita is a White

Chocolate Margarita, made with Mezcal. As a dessert

drink it’s unbeatable.

Friday: It rained early on, so we got a late start, stop-

ping in for lunch at Hierbabuena Hortaliza, a farm to

table restaurant I frequent every single time I’m on the

west coast. Located in Pescadero just down the road by

the Pemex Station, the dining area is an open air pavil-

ion in the middle of an organic farm. To the east are

the towering Sierra de la Laguna .

Continued pg 11



Feb/Mar

Feb/Mar 9 28

Do dogs wag their tail only when they are happy?

Dogs wag their tail for many reasons and the most common occurrence is that they are either happy or nervous. Learning to

read what your dog is telling you, whether they are large or small, will go a long way in helping build your relation-

ship!

Los Barriles Dog Show

Would you like to see how Badger got on with his agil-

ity training? Then come along to The Los Barriles Dog

Show on Sunday March 15th at the Hotel Palmas de

Cortez in the center of Los Barriles. Badger and his four-

legged friends will be demonstrating just how much they

learnt in six weeks as they strut their stuff around the

agility course. You can also see other events on the day

including best looking dog (over & under 40 lbs), best

costume, cutest pair and best trick or skill. The doors

open at 10.30am, and if you’re coming to watch, please

bring a chair, picnic rug or something to sit on, and some

shade such as an umbrella. There will be music, face

painting, 50/50 raffle, a bar and food vendors including

Lighthouse Pizza, La Fogata and Carmen’s Smoothies.

Local veterinarians will be available to offer advice, and

Cristobal will be giving free rabies shots. Other vendors

include Copper River Designs (jewelry), The Baja Ken-

nel Club stand and ALMA’s stand. All monies raised go

towards spaying and neutering locally. For further infor-

mation, please seewww.bajakennelclub.com.

Thank you to all of our sponsors without who this would

never have happened: Annex Brands, Van Wormer Re-

sorts, Quad Man, NuEra, Copper River Designs, EPB,

Baja’s Awesome Sportfishing, Bahia Real Estate, Salon

de Cortez, The supPOCKET, LB Property Services,

Playa Norte RV Park, Seven Seas Property Management,

Joe’s Deli, Hill’s Science Diet and Lighthouse Pizza.

Thank you for having the faith in us!!

http://www.hillspet.com/large-breed-dogs/shower-your-dog-with-love.html

http://www.hillspet.com/small-and-toy-breed/five-ways-to-pamper.html

http://www.bajakennelclub.com



Feb/Mar

Feb/Mar 8 29

When was Back in the Day? By: Jorge Bergin

My fishin’ buddy in the states, Tony, is a verifiable ata-

vist, born 100 years (or more) too late. We had some

wild fireside differences about the subject behind some

limes and Gusano Rojo mescal.

He described the wild western part of the U.S. like a

hunter’s heaven, a fishermen’s Nirvana. He kept drag-

ging me back to the 1600 and 1700s to show me the

grandeur, the empty majesty of a place yet untouched.

He wasn’t talking to the Princess of New York City be-

cause I was drinking out of hoof prints and eating trout

on a stick at times myself so, it wasn’t city boy against

country boy.

So, I had to nudge him, between shots, back to reality

when his picture got too Bambi-like and on we went. I

think I would enjoy such chats with some Nomads out

there who, like Tony, would be willing to endure some

discomfort for real adventure, a life worth living.

I reminded him that beyond the Great Basin to the west

at that time, he was more likely to have the full time job

of just staying alive. Not much opportunity to travel –

the Western Amerindians moved south and east at the

rate of 100 miles per generation (30 years). I have to

leave out the boat people because they could travel

much farther and faster by water but it was more ardu-

ous and dangerous than most land travel by foot. So

unless he painted himself into a picture with a horse, the

majesty, the grandeur he would enjoy would just be

mostly his valley, the foothills and the mountains

around him. He, like many new to the life of the west,

might live out his life and not travel over a hundred

miles from his brush hut.

In one of our fireside sessions I suggested it might be a

“How you gonna keep em down on the farm after they’ve

seen Paree” kinda thing. Something about knowing what

the west looks like in the movies, TV, google earth or visit-

ing the Tetons, Yellowstone and Yosemite in modern times

by bike or car or bus seems as easy as planning the trip,

jumping in the van and you’re there. That’s now. You

wanna go back, it’s a very big deal.

How about a trip from California to what is now Baja before

there were cars? Try doing the pilgrim thing from north to

south in your mind (apologies to Graham and Mike, The Burro

Man).

In a pinch, unless I was too drunk to make an argument, I

would bring up some trade-offs:

Tony would make a face when I told him I would live now,

give up some personal freedom for the Beach Boys. Trade

off the gift of solitude for some things like toilet paper, den-

tists, bug spray, a new jeep, my 6mm Remington, cold Bud,

a passport and a credit card and the time to use them.

We were both born in the 1930s and had all the freedom

that era could give us and we lived it to the hilt. As a kid I

roamed the Everglades of south Florida while Tony walked

the mounds of the famous Mississippians at Cahokia but, he

is very hard to convince – he says he’d rather be a loner, a

hunter-gatherer than do his life over in these times.

Must be just our dreams, his of his first bison kill with a

spear, mine of memory of my first vanilla milk shake, the

hum of the engine in my 49 Chevy and Surfin’ U.S.A. in the

background. In the main, wouldn’t trade a minute of it.

Maybe all those talks led me down the path to be a writer, to

preserve, for a while, the ideal opportunity to live in the

here and now, let my mind and my pen wander all over the

universe being amazed at what each era held for one with a

different kind of free and easy travel pass.

Two Bajas By: Jorge Bergin

Writing is a great hobby for me because when I write

things down I often find out just how I feel about them.

In my last little think piece about Baja, “Why Wait”, I

learned that there are two kinds of Bajas; one for vaca-

tioners, one for settlers.

On a week’s vacation here or anywhere in the tropics

near a beach, we want clear water, white sand, no people

and tranquility. After a couple of days camped on this

wonderful strand we want food and showers and hospi-

tals and auto repair places and dentists and air-

conditioning and big box stores and TV and lobster

bisque. Then, after six months we need more and better

hospitals, cadres of doctors, quick, cheap access to our

far-flung friends and family, special food stores, opera

theaters and bowling alleys, skating rinks and raves.

We want what we want when we want it. The point is we

wouldn’t have been happy very long as settlers on that

first deserted beach. We know it won’t stay that way for-

ever but we can’t stand it there for very long anyway; it

will turn into a quaint and quiet development for a while

to give the campers creature comforts for a price. We

should view those special places as our private free wa-

terparks which we hope will stay pristine and free.

It turns out that your “Wants Lists” might be a lot closer

to most other Bajaphiles and your worries get scrunched

down a bit when you see that you can’t really live where

you play. It’s the reason I’ve said that if I had it to do all

over again after the last 20 years I would have bought a

nice little Mexican house in a small village I liked and

followed the motto “Live in our world, play in yours.”.

It’s the very old cry of suburbia all over this lovely planet

and is truer here than most places I’ve been. It works.

You can live in Orlando but it is always packed with peo-

ple who get in your way. You can live in La Purisima but

you will miss your kids and be miserable when you run

out of your special meds.

So, in the real world the saying should not be “I just

adore Rome but I wouldn’t want to live there.” More like

“I love living near Rome and don’t mind the trips there

where we go to get everything else we need.”

In Baja you can have your cake and eat it too but you

have to have a car, money for gas, good planning and a

laid back attitude. The timeshare sales people will not

agree. They have other plans for you and your hard

earned yankee dollars but, the great glowing irony is that

their credo is exactly the same as mine.



Feb/Mar

Feb/Mar 7 30

THE EARTH UNDER

OUR FEET BY RUSS HYSLOP

Let’s talk about volcanos…

The humans have lived and died and have been disrupted

by volcanoes throughout history. In ancient times the

natural phenomenon merged with myth, drawing its name

from a Roman God, Vulcan, ruler of fire, forge and

hearth.

The first well-recorded eruption was that of Vesuvius in

A.D. 79. It buried the Roman towns of Pompeii and Her-

culaneum on the Bay of Naples, killing 16,000 people.

The deadliest in historic times appears to have been Tam-

bora in Indonesia: its 1815 eruption claimed 92,000 lives.

Twelve thousand died in the blast; the remainder, their

crops and livestock destroyed, starved to death. Tam-

bora’s aerosol cloud lowered temperatures so much that

snow fell in the United States in June, July and August of

the following year; it is remembered as “the year without

a summer”.

Other notable killers:

Krakatoa, 1883, the Sunda Strait between Java and

Sumatra . Created a tsunami a hundred feet high that

drowned 36,000 people. The detonation was heard 3,000

miles away.

Pelee, 1902, Martinique. Sent a hurricane of hot gases

into the town of St. Pierre, killing 30,000. Only two in-

habitants survived – One of whom was safely imprisoned

in a thick walled jail cell!

Nevado Del Ruiz, 1905, Colombia. A Tidal wave of mud

swept down from the volcano, smothering and crushing

23,000 people.

There are some 550 known active volcanos on earth and

some 500 million people living close to them. A dozen or

two of these volcanos can be erupting at any moment.

We have on the Baja Peninsula 12 known volcano sites.

The most prominent, Tres Virgenes, which we pass while

traveling Mexico 1 between Santa Rosalia and San Igna-

cio. The last eruption of this volcano, according to the

Jesuits, occurred in the 1600’s.

This area remains active as it supports a thermal/electric

facility that utilizes heated waters located under the

ground surface around this volcano.

Next Issue: I will discuss the other volcanic areas of our

beautiful Peninsula.

Tattooed Man

by Renée Lagloire

Javier, my neighbor’s twenty year old nephew

came to the gate of the property the other day. He’d been

working and wasn’t wearing a shirt. I noticed that he had

what looked like a sentence tattooed across his chest, or

maybe more like a title? There were three words, written

in an ornate Gothic font, with each word capitalized.

Because I find the permanence of tattoos intimi-

dating, I am fascinated by them. So naturally, I ap-

proached, saying: “Let’s see what you’ve got here,” point-

ing to his chest.

I read each scrolled letter, saying the words as I

deciphered them: “Te … Amo …. Esmeralda” (I love you

Esmeralda).

I looked into his eyes, and teasingly asked: “Ex-

girlfriend?”

He looked away, saying: “Yeah.”

“So”, I said, “you still like the tattoo?”

“No, not anymore,” he answered.

“Hmm,” I said, “any options?”

“Not really, I have no money, and that’s what

it would take to make it into a different design, or to

have it removed.”

I thought about it, and suggested, “Or, you

can look for a girlfriend named Esmeralda. You can

put the word out that only Esmeraldas will be consid-

ered!”

“Yes,” he answered, “but Maria would have

been better. There are more girls named Maria than

Esmeralda.”

We looked at each other for a brief instant,

and nodded our heads in silent agreement. Indeed,

Maria might have been better.

Bits of Early History of the California Baja

Before the Spaniards arrived, the peninsula of Baja California was inhabited by three major ethnic groups: the

Cochimí in the north, the Guaycura in the central section and the Pericú on the southern cape. Archaeological arti-

facts suggest that these tribes inhabited the peninsula and Cedros Island as early as 9,000-10,000 years ago. The

Cochimí, who lived on the mainland, were hunters and gatherers, but an isolated group of Cochimí living on Cedros

Island developed a fairly complex agricultural system. The Guaycura and the Pericú lived by hunting, gathering and

fishing. Their descendants still live in Baja California, primarily on the northernmost part of the peninsula. From the History Channel web site.

http://www.history.com/topics/us-states/california



Feb/Mar

Feb/Mar 6 31

The Fun of Motorcycle

Riding in Baja By Jerry Justus

Riding off-road dirt bikes in Baja is an adventure enjoyed

by many riders who come to Baja to enjoy the warm win-

ter months. I am one of those riders. To date, I have rid-

den well over 30,000 miles in Baja with almost all of that

on unpaved, backcountry roads and trails.

20 years ago I was introduced to the Baja peninsula by

Malcolm Smith, a famous dirt bike racer - won the Baja

1000 race 6 times and the Baja 500 race 4 times. In 1995

Malcolm invited me to join him and a small group to ride

from Ensenada to Cabo San Lucas, riding mostly on the

Baja 1000 race course. My youngest son and I did that

ride, being the first time I had ever been south of San

Diego. It was a trip that impressed me so much that it

wasn’t long before my wife and I made a trip down the

Baja peninsula in our motor home, ending up at Ver-

dugo’s RV Park. That same spring we bought a small

place on the beach, here in Los Barriles.

Motorcycle riding soon became one of my favorite activi-

ties down here. My wife and I had a Jeep and we started

exploring the southern tip of Baja, plotting out routes that

would be fun to do on the bikes- long before the GPS.

We had a lot of success and soon I had a nice list of

places to ride. It wasn’t long and I had a good sized

group of riders who wanted to ride with me. It was not

unusual for a group of us to ride two or three days a

week. I was a wind surfer (kite surfing now) so the

wind often kept us close to the water, but windless

days or any time it rained, we could be found out in the

back country, enjoying the freedom of riding in the

Baja.

My interest in riding in Baja has continued to grow and

several years ago, I started leading groups of riders on

excursions across the peninsula. I would get a group of

people together, with similar riding skills, my wife

would drive a support vehicle, and we would ride from

Los Barriles over to Todos Santos and spend the night.

The riders would arrive at the hotel where their bags

were in their rooms and snacks and cold drinks would

be waiting,, I have a great wife! After a rest, story

sharing, a hot shower, and clean clothes we would go

out to dinner. Then the next morning the riders would

suit up and enjoy riding back across the mountains on a

completely different route, making our way back

home.

My two sons, a son in law and a grandson, all love to

ride motorcycles, so I always keep an extra motorcycle

or two ready for them. During these past 20 years I

have really enjoyed having them come down and ride

with me. The bond we have because of the riding is Continued on pg 32

On Whale Watch

By: Alexandra Delis-Abrams

A whale, I hear as many abandon their serious sun-

basking for binoculars.

Exuberance cannot be contained as I plead, my turn, and vie for the glasses that will bring this miracle closer

to view.

Nature at its best! I’m in gratitude to be in the right spot

at the right time.

But then, aren’t we always, I muse.

A life lesson taught before our very eyes.

Mama humpback is teaching her student what her spe-

cies has done for eons.

Could the force of mama’s tail be saying... this is how

it’s done?

A splash dispersing an enormous amount of water is the

result.

It’s powerfully staggering.

Pay attention now...let’s practice...watch me…

Over and over and over again, her tail slams down on

the surface of the sea.

Moments after baby replicates the behavior.

Like this? I'm getting the idea.

But what does it mean,

I ponder as each cell of my being overflows with sheer

joy.

Who really cares, I hear.

Does knowing deepen the awe you feel of this moment

of Now?

In the midst of the class baby thrusts her mega body

straight up out of the water,

like the Apollo spaceship.

Maybe in an expression of pure exhilara-

tion...and...maybe not.

Cheers are spontaneously heard from those who feel Our

magnificent planet is school for those who are conscious

of the lessons offered.

The ebb and flow of the sea, like the in and outflow of

breath, giving and receiving.

The precise cycle of the moon, offering the gift of Di-

vine timing versus forcing life.

The wisdom of the salmon following its smell to its

birthplace, natural knowing.

The miraculous moment has passed, mama and baby are on their way.

Briefly my heart goes heavy, legs weaken, and tears

dampen my eyes.

When will we stop destroying our planet? I scream.

I choose to send light to the captured baby elephants,

imprisoned as they await their destiny to a zoo in China

and Thailand.

I choose to drench my beloved wolves in a loving en-

ergy as the monsters rip them from protection.

I choose to stay receptive to my next course of activism

I trust

I trust

I trust

The lesson offered: let go of grasping, struggle, resis-

tance.

Although often challenging, I choose to focus on that

which choreographs my life and conspires for my high-

est good.

It is my true north.

The anchor I cling to

My lifeline.

Off they go. Thank you for the

gift my friends, as the aborigines

say, I love you and

support you on your journey.



Feb/Mar

Feb/Mar 5 32

Motorcycle continued from page 31

very strong. The boys often make multiple trips down

during the winter, to get out of the cold north for a few

days and to “turn the throttle” out in the desert sun with

me.

Over the years, with GPS and SPOT Satellite Tracker, I

have expanded my “scouting” trips and ventured farther

north. With a computer, my wife can see where I am and

how I am progressing -- in real time. In December 2014,

with my son Kellsey and a couple of local riders, we did

a 500 mile, 3 day unsupported ride going up to San Ever-

isto, west to Puento Conejo and down the Pacific to To-

dos Santos, and back to Los Barriles. We had a wonder-

ful time and the trip was so much fun, Ronnie Verduego

and I started planning an even bigger adventure.

On February 8th of this year, five of us left Los Barriles

to do a 900 mile, 5 day unsupported ride. The group in-

cluded Ronnie Verdugo, Jason Russ, David Thornton,

my son Ken and myself. Our planned route was to use

back roads and stay off the pavement as much as possi-

ble. We again went north of La Paz, up the Sea of Cortez

to the end of the road near San Evaristo, then west

through the mountain ranges to Constitution and then

east to Agua Verde. From there we headed north to the

Mission San Javier, continuing north west to the

Comondus and La Purisima before starting south to To-

dos Santos and then home. The trip was relatively prob-

lem free, and it was a true adventure with amazing scen-

ery, great companionship, and the thrill of facing the

unknown, the unexpected, and sometimes, the im-

possible. In my 20 years of riding in Baja I don’t

remember the mountains ever being so green and

beautiful.

On our ride we had three flat tires and one wheel

bearing failure, which, for a ride like this and with

five bikes, was only a minor inconvenience. We

had everything necessary to make repairs and get

back on the trail. With the current day GPS systems

it is easy to navigate and stay on the route. With-

out good maps and a GPS route it would be almost

impossible to find your way, and the desert can be

a very hostile environment to those who enter un-

prepared.

The biggest adventure part of our trip came about

on the 2nd day. Severe hurricane damage had taken

place in a couple of the most critical sections of our

route. The first big challenge was the 1000 foot, 2

mile decent into Agua Verde. We had been told by

a person we believed to be reliable (who lives at the

top of the mountain) that the road was passable by

motorcycle. We arrived at the top of the pass, after

already riding over 200 miles that day, only to find

treacherous vertical drops and huge water erosion

with boulders strewn about everywhere. One of our

sayings is “How hard can it really be?” After all, it

was only a thousand feet downhill. less than 20

miles of roads that were problematic. Since all 5 of

us were experienced riders we felt confident that

we should be able to get to the

bottom, one way or another. We

did make it, but that 2 miles took

us close to 2 hours. That tells you

something!! In some places we

were helping each other push our

bikes through the rocks. About

1/3 of the way down I had the

thought “what if we get almost to

the bottom and there is a 100 foot

sheer cliff?” I knew we couldn’t

ride our bikes back to the top. By

now the sun had gone down. I was

finally able to find my way

through to the bottom. Eventually

everyone made it safely down. By

then it was getting really dark and

one bike had a flat rear tire.

Continued on page 33

Continued from page 4

Splashing in to snorkel at Cardonal, the water was

warming and clear. The fish were plentiful, big, and

abundant coral heads appeared to have been power

washed clean during Hurricane Odile and their colors

clear and striking. As a shallow reef, sadly some of the

coral had been completely uprooted and knocked over

during the havoc of the storm, with much coral debris

now gathering on the sea floor.

Having gotten the nod from Captain Luis and facing the

day’s end, we were underway. We were just off Las

Tinas north of Punta Pescadero when we spotted some-

thing floating on the surface that was…bizarre, other

worldly. Sticking about three feet from the water, it

looked like the top of a craggy, miniature, vanilla cov-

ered iceberg. Captain Luis began shouting ‘Elefante

Marino, Elefante Marino’! He was awestruck as he

powered down, careful not to disturb the top of the ice-

berg. Closing in, the iceberg opened up…

Known in Spanish as the ‘Marin Elephant’ and in Eng-

lish as the ‘Elephant Seal’, Captain Luis was exclaim-

ing what a rare site it was; he’d only seen one before in

his 30 years on the water; Deckhand Joel, in his 15

years, also only one. And then Luis, as if somehow con-

nected to this marine mammal, started calling to it – in

English nonetheless – “Come here, boy”, “Come here,

boy”...and it did! Right up to the boat. The site of it in

the water is beyond belief. So beguilingly ugly, and yet

the eyes are sweet and its actions doglike. We tossed it

bait fish and it was even more engaging. Measuring half

the size of the boat, through the clear water we could

see that it was at least 15 feet long and with a huge girth,

weighing thousands of pounds. At one point it had us all

on the bow and as if to show off, it turned over and swam

off with the smooth ease of a mermaid! Then right back

for more fish. It was a good model as we snapped count-

less pictures. We couldn’t take our eyes off it.

The Elephant Seal was hunted to near extinction in the

early part of the 19th Century. Since then, their populations

have grown to approximately 150,000 worldwide, and

they are found throughout the globe. The species are sepa-

rated into ‘Northern’ and ‘Southern’, and the big bulls can

weigh more than 5,000 pounds. Like turtles, they navigate

the oceans until they reach maturity after 5 - 6 years. Some

big males have been known to travel as many as 13,000

miles a year, exceeding even the Gray Whale's migration.

The Sea of Cortez is slightly beyond their normal scope,

although they come to sandy sides on the Pacific side

twice a year to breed and to molt.

The bizarre snout is a sort of ‘rebreather’, making a lot of

noise when it dips in and out of the water but plays an es-

sential role in hydrating the animal when it is out of the

water. Males can live up to 14 years and females up to 22

years. Similar to the Sperm whale, Elephant seals attain

incredibly deep dives – up to 7,500 feet down and can

hold their breath for more than 100 minutes while they are

searching for their favorite foods – rays, squid, eels, octo-

pus, small sharks and big fish.

We were concerned about our new friend’s right eye,

which seemed milky blue. It must have been an old injury

and it was obviously blind in that eye, but faring well in

life. A new friend, right here in the fathomless deep blue

sea, and for more than 30 minutes we hung out together.

What an awesome gift, what a once-in-a-lifetime chance

and it was ours to share!

“Come here, boy, Come here boy!”



Feb/Mar

Feb/Mar 4 33

“Come here, boy”, “Come here, boy”...and it

did! Right up to the boat

A Rare & Awesome Sighting

An ‘Elefante Marino’ or

‘Elephant Seal’ By: Theresa Comber

We never want magical days on the sea to end, yet we

know when Captain Luis gives the nod of the head to

the south and we know that we’d better head back.

And this is when Mother Nature really gave us a rare

treat.

It was Sunday on the sea. Dawn had begun with a te-

quila sunrise morning and clouds coursed the deep,

grenadine sky. The water’s surface was glassy calm,

in large contrast to the excitement of us on board.

“Awesome” & “Too Awesome” had just floated on

Friday after a new motor for “Awesome” and a deep

maintenance massage for “Too Awesome”. Our shake

down day of fun aboard “Awesome” had whales at the

top of the list; any sort of meat fish we might find on a

winter day; and a snorkel at Cardonal’s shallow, abun-

dant reef. “Too Awesome” was also cruising, out

with guests hailing from Saskatchewan in Canada’s

frozen north, clearly folks who were well deserving of

a warm, beautiful day on the Sea of Cortez.

Within ten minutes heading southeast to the area outside

La Ribera, we joined a small group of local boats hand

lining for bottom fish and others trolling for the coveted

yellow tail or a dorado that might be searching for their

own morning breakfast. It was not to be for them or us, as

the Captain’s had been radioing that little luck was hap-

pening.

We pulled up our lines and pulled off with whales on our

minds and all eyes shifted to the horizon. Another short

ten minutes and shouts greeted Captain Luis - there they

are, off to the right! No, there they are, off the left! No,

there they are, off our stern! And of course our keen eyed

Captain & crew had spotted whales dead ahead. Once

again in the Cortez aquarium whales were in sight all

around. A Momma and her baby were closest and the

baby started showing off its jumping abilities. Again and

again the baby flew into the air around its momma,

splashing and frolicking and showing off its new found

skills. Within five minutes in all directions we were

treated to the immense joy and privilege of watching

school-bus-sized humpback whales and their soccer-mom

-van-sized babies breaking the water’s surface. Lulled

from our calm delight, Captain Adan had found an enor-

mous school of bottle nose dolphin to our north. We

headed to them and beyond to Cardonal. The dolphins

stretched for miles, joining along and cruising our bow

wake while dolphins were breaking the surface as far as

we could see.

Continued on Page 5

Motorcycle Cont from page 32

We repaired our third flat of the day and continued riding

the 25 miles on up the cliff ridden road out of Ague

Verde to highway 1 and on to our motel, arriving at 9:30

pm. We had left La Paz at 7:00 am which means we were

on the road fourteen and one half hours that day. Thank-

fully all of the bikes, except mine, had very powerful

lighting systems.

The hotel where we stayed (Villa Del Palma) is a new 4

or 5 star hotel about 20 miles south of Loreto on the Sea

of Cortez. When we arrived to check in, all the staff and

other guests were staring at us like we had the plague or

something. I asked the girl at the counter if she had ever

had customers who looked as tired and dirty as we

looked. She answered “No sir, I haven’t seen anyone like

your group before.” Then she quickly added, “But neither

have I ever seen any other guests that were obviously

having so much fun. Can I go with you?”

On our third day we had another incident that added to

the adventure side of our trip. As we departed San Jose

Comondu, one rider noticed that his rear wheel bearing

had failed rendering his bike un-ride able. We had the

necessary tools and parts to make repairs but lost two

hours of daylight in the process. We were not prepared

for the condition of the 14 mile stretch of road between

San Jose Comondu and San Isidro. The road was totally

washed out during the last hurricane. Once again we were

forced to ride with our headlights and helmet lights on

before arriving very late in La Purisima.

All in all, it was a fantastic trip with no injuries -- that

required medical attention. The beauty was breathtaking,

the mountains were vast and green, miles of riding

through cactus forests or mile after mile of riding along

the crashing waves of the blue Pacific, finding gas at

ranches along the way, not to mention the adrenalin rush

of wicking the throttle and flying down a straight narrow

sandy two track road. . In our 900 miles we actually had

less than 20 miles of roads that were problematic.

I earned the name of “The Flying Fossil” 15 years or so

ago by a riding friend (Jamie Young.) I was 60 years old

at the time. I guess I should change my name to “The

Petrified Fossil.” A lot of my riding companions have

stopped riding, have sold their bikes, or just had to give

up the sport for a variety of reasons. But each year, new

riders find their way down here to the Baja. I have

greatly enjoyed teaching riding skills to younger riders…

now all riders are younger than I am. I enjoy helping

riders pick the right bike for them and I enjoy solving

some of the mechanical issues that we all face. Today,

many of the areas that we have ridden in past years have

been closed off. Fences have gone up, gates installed,

locks put on. Part of that is due to careless riders who

haven’t always respected the local ranchers, or who tear

up roads

or spook the cattle. There is much more riding pressure

now than there was 20 years ago. Back then, I often

would ride into a ranch and the ranchers had never seen

anyone in full riding gear, with heavy boots and full hel-

met. Those ranchers all know me now, and I enjoy inter-

acting with them. Many have given me keys to their

gates.

The back country of Baja is still no place for an inexperi-

enced rider. Never go out riding alone. Always have

plenty of water. Know your gas range and don’t take a

chance of being stranded someplace in the back country.

Luckily, we now have a local experienced motorcycle

tour guide, Kurt Russell. His company, Captain Baja

Tours, is located here in Los Barriles. You can contact

him at [email protected]. You can check

his company out on line as well. This is giving even more

new riders a chance to experience this magnificent penin-

sula from the seat of a motorcycle.

I don’t know how many more years I will get to enjoy

being “The Flying Fossil” down here, but I am very

grateful for every mile I have ridden, for every rider I

have ridden with, and for every day I have been able to

ride with my family and friends. Baja has been very

good to me and my time down here has been greatly en-

riched because I ride.



Feb/Mar

Feb/Mar 3 34

Los Barriles, How Did it Get

its Name? By: Chris Courtright

With excerpts from Research by Theda Bassett

and Rosalyn Ostler (Printed in Eastcapers Magazine Dec 2002)

I have wondered from the time I first came to Los Barri-

les what the origin of the name was. For some reason it

is important to me: why ‘Los Barriles’? Los Barriles,

meaning ‘the barrels’ has a few stories of the name ori-

gin.

One good one I heard was that in the late 1800’s the

Ranchers would bring their cattle to the shores of what is

now known as Los Barriles, to meet the ships to get their

cattle to market. The ships were anchored off shore, and

since you could not use your row boat to take cattle out to

the ship, they tied barrels to the cows, and they would

float out to the ship. Now, I was impressed with this

idea, you know when there is the will there is a way. I

even like that image of the entire process, but really, it all

sounded pretty tough. So, I have asked many history buffs

who have been around for years, and they say no, that is

not the right story – but they did think it was an

‘imaginative’ story.

Now interesting as the above story may be, it is agreed

that

Festival de Artes Continued from pg 1

vacation program, Local Artist Studio tours and our ever

popular Saturday Arts and Crafts at the DIF for the local

children.

Special discounted room rates are available at Hotel Pal-

mas De Cortez or Hotel Playa Del Sol. Call 624-141-0044

or US 877-777-8862 for reservations.

If you are a vendor please come by 7am, unload and move

your car down past the Palmas de Cortez condos as to not

interfere with the guest parking.

Booth fees are $400 mxn/$30 usd paid in advance or $500

mxn/$35 usd, the day of event from 9am – 1pm.

Pre Pay locations are as follows:

1. Baja Beach Company in Los Barriles at Plaza del

Pueblo. Open Mon -Fri, 9 - 5 and Sat 9 - 3.

2. Baja Books & Maps, San Jose del Cabo, Open Mon-Fri

10-6, Sat at Organic Market, 624-142-5596

For complete vendor information and applications,

go to www.eastcapearts.com

Any questions email:

[email protected]

History of the Festival

In February of 1992, a small group of residents in the

Est Cape region of BCS, Mexico formed a committee

to organize a spring “Festival de Artes.” The pur-

pose of the event was to give local artists an opportu-

nity to show and sell their original work and to raise

money to support art programs in the schools.

Twenty four artists attended with their original work.

Then 250 members of the community came to enjoy

the event. At the end of the day, $2500 pesos had

been raised to purchase art supplies for the Los Barri-

les Elementary School. It was a modest but encour-aging beginning. The spring “Festival de Artes” has

grown over the years, attracting artists and visitors

from Los Cabos , La Paz and beyond

By 1998, the number of artists had tripled and the

number of visitors had climbed to over 1500. Funds

earned by the event were now able to buy more art

supplies for the schools. In 1999 the committee de-

cided to form a private Mexican non-profit organiza-

tion (an Asociacion Civil) and establish a formal

Board of Directors. The Asociacion de Artes del Mar

de Cortez A.C. Has been developing programs for

the benefit of East Cape communities along the Sea of

Cortez ever since.

the name came from the story of the Legend of the Pi-

rate Tree a story which was originally printed in the

Eastcapers Magazine, Dec 2002. One of the most sig-

nificant stories in Los Barriles history is that of visiting

pirates and The Pirate Tree. Most of us have heard the

story of pirate ships that anchored in the Bahia de Pal-

mas in early 1800’s. Legend has it that one time, during

a hurricane, a pirate crew needed to remove excess

weight for the safety off their ship and brought barrels of

gold treasure ashore. They were buried just off shore, to

be retrieved later. This story has special significance

since the original name of the village, Las Palmas, was

later changed to Los Barriles.

To mark the place of the burial, a carving of the pirate’s

ship was made on a sturdy Palo San Juan tree standing

on a beach berm near the water. Martin Verdugo, a

member of one of the founding families of Los Barriles

and owner of Martin Verdugo’s R.V. Park, reports that

the Pirate Tree was situated on the Verdugo family prop-

erty just north of where the R.V. Park stands today. He

heard the story of the pirates and the carving on The Pi-

rate Tree from his grandfather when he was a young

boy. “It is assumed,” Senor Verdugo recalls, “that the

ship was wrecked. Neither the ship nor any of its crew

was ever found”. The barrels are still buried, if the story

is true.

As part of the research regarding the history of Los

Barriles, we inquired about The Pirate Tree. We discov-

ered that it had remained on the lot due north of the R.V.

Park until late 1990’s. We were told by the owners that

it had become diseased and was removed. The section

containing the carving was stored for a while and later

discarded.

Kinda makes you want to set up camp at Verdugo’s

doesn’t it?! Making sure you bring a shovel or two and

maybe a metal detector!

Asociacion de Artes

Happenings By: Chris Courtright

February has been a busy month for Asociacion de Artes.

We started off on the 13th with the Artist Studio Tour,

which showcased 22 local artists at 17 different studios!

Even the date, Friday the 13th or the mean looking clouds

and gusts of wind, could not dampen the great time that

was had by all – and the wind actually kept us all cool as

we walked between studios. The talent displayed that lives

right here in our little community is just amazing. I am

sure I am not the only one that came home with some

really beautiful works of art!

The next day the 14th, Valentines Day, we had our first of

the year “Saturday Crafts” at the concha by the DIF. We

made Valentines Day cards, explaining to the children the

reasoning behind the special day. They had a great time

making cards for their Mom’s or Grandmas – not quite the

group ready for the girl/boy friend yet! The volunteers

also enjoyed themselves working with the kids and seeing

their enthusiasm for learning a new project. If you want to

get involved, try the Saturday Crafts. It is only a 2 hour

commitment, once a month. No ‘crafting’ skill or lan-

guage needed! Just a desire to make a difference!

March brings the Asociacion head on into the Festival de

Artes Show season (see pg 1), and we hope to see all you

out to sell and buy – yes, vendors do buy too! We are also

working on doing a baseball spring training/ Sawyers

Camp for the Los Barriles area kids. We are in the process

of firming up our date. It is tentatively set for the March

21st. Volunteers are greatly needed for the 4 hour camp.

We have found a person to house the equipment and that

person will also continue working with the kids in the LB

area. Watch for details on the LB camp!

Coach Lael, from the fall camp, came back this month and

went down to work with the kids in Campamento. Every

day at 4:15, the kids go to the field, someone goes and gets

the equipment, and they practice. They have even found a

local ‘amateur’ player, and these kids work to collect

money for his gas so he can come and work with them on

their skills. Lael and this young man worked on skills, and

then they split into two teams and played. There is some

talent in the kids! The only thing that stopped them was it

got dark! The way the kids of Campamento have embraced

baseball, gives us great ambition for the game of baseball

in the Baja Sur. Keep up on the details of the camp on our

facebook page – facebook.com/beisbolcampoeneastcape

I will also keep everyone informed with BPE also. See, I

did say I would shamelessly promote the camp, as only the

editor can!!

For more information on either Saturday Crafts

or the baseball camps, contact me at jonand-

[email protected].




Feb/Mar

Feb/Mar 2 35

Advertising in East Capers

Advertising in the East Capers gets the word out about your business AND your ad money supports the 3 week 'Cursos de Verano' summer school, for over 120 local children and provides art supplies for 18 East Cape public schools.

In addition to space in the printed version, your color ad appears in the online version at no addi-tional cost. You can download the 2014/15 Advertis-ing Kit by v is it ing our website at: www.eastcapearts.com.

Tax-deductable Contributions to the Asociación de Artes

The Asociación de Artes del Mar de Cortez A.C., Los Barriles, B.C. Sur, Mexico is a legal non-profit Mexican corporation not affiliated with any other or-ganization, association, club or business.

The Asociación is in full compliance with the terms of the NAFTA agreement of January 1, 1994. As such, contributions made to the Asociación de Artes are tax-deductable in the United States, Mexico and Canada. For more information visit: www.eastcapearts.com or the NAFTA Website at: http://www.ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-agreements/north -american-free-trade-agreement-nafta.

Volunteers Needed!

The Asociación de Artes needs volunteers to help support their programs that bring the arts to the lo-cal communities and the schools. To learn more about these programs, visit: www.eastcapearts.com.

If you would like to volunteer, send an email to: [email protected].

Call for Articles

East Capers is looking for fiction and true stories about our region and items that affect our residents. If you are interested in submitting articles, recipes, stories or your personal experiences in Baja, email your 1,000-words or less article to: [email protected]

Thank You! This publication is possible with the help of the board members of the Asociación de Artes and members of the community.

East Capers Periódico

Publisher Asociación de Artes del Mar de Cortez A.C.,

Los Barriles, BCS, Mexico

Editor Christine Kenck-Courtright

Copy Editor Pako Ford

Circulation Brian Cummings

Advertising Kathy Obenshain

Denise Linnet

Contributors

Jerry Justice Pako Ford

Connie M. Heinen Russ Hyslop Sefi Held Chris and Heather Hartridge Ann Hazard Renee Lagloire Emma Nicholson Jorge Bergin

Larry Epstein Holly Burgin

Alexandra Delis-Abrams Chris Courtright Theda Bassett

and Rosalyn Ostler Theresa Comber

Lynn Mirasson

Printer Imprenta Ciudad Los Niños,

La Paz, BCS, Mexico To learn about Ciudad Los Niños, visit their website at:

http://ciudadninoslapaz.org/english/home.htm

———————————

The opinions expressed within the articles in East Capers are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Asocia-

ción de Artes del Mar de Cortez A.C.

Newsletter Email Address [email protected]

WAKE UP with

MAKEUP!

By: Connie M. Heinen

Permanent makeup dates back at least to the start of

the 20th century. The tattooist George Burchett, was a

major developer of the technique when it became fash-

ionable in the 1930s, he described in his memoirs how

beauty salons tattooed many women without their

knowledge, offering it as complexion treatment, inject-

ing dyes underneath the skin.

Permanent Makeup has come a long way since the

1930's. The pigments are safer and more stable, the

machines are better and more efficient and the needles

safer and less painful, the techniques have improved

also.

Permanent makeup has found its way to the main-

stream market and appeals to women of all nationali-

ties from all walks of life. In our hectic, stress-fill

world, permanent makeup provides that ability to

wear a fresh, “always ready” look without the ef-

fort. It’s perfect for those who find themselves in a

hurry every morning and don’t have time for applying

makeup on a daily basis. It's waterproof and won't

smudge or smear, it won’t come off in the shower or

the pool. In fact, it will last for years before you may

need a touch-up. Lips can be made to look fuller, eye-

brows can be even and symmetrical. Eyes can be lined

to add definition and enhancement.

There are several methods of implanting the pigment

into the skin. Some being a rotary, coil, or digital ma-

chine or a hand tool soft tap or the newest and latest

manual method called Microblading or Microstroking.

The Microstroking technique originated in Asia and is

very popular in Europe. This technique is quickly be-

coming the must have beauty treatment for that glam-

orous, tidy brow. Microblade uses a hand tool which

holds several needles to deposit pigment into the epi-

dermis. Because the color is closer to the surface the

strokes appear crisp and very fine, you can hardly dis-

tinguish it from a real hair. These 3D or HD eyebrows

do not appear as a tattoo. The results are natural look-

ing hair strokes, regardless of the amount of hair pre-

sent.

I feel very fortunate that I was able to learn the Micro-

blade technique from one of the leading instructors

from Russia who teaches this method and be on the

cutting edge of the latest techniques in permanent

makeup. In my 16 years as a permanent makeup artist

we have tried to simulate hair strokes with some suc-

cess but nothing compared to this revolutionary micro-

blading technique. The hair strokes are crisp and fine

just like real hair.

I have been performing the art of Permanent Makeup

since 1998 and have had training from some of the

leading instructors in the industry. I use state of the art

digital machine and Organic pigments. I am Master

Certified and hold numerous certificates. If you would

like more information about Permanent Makeup or

other services that I provide please visit my website

www.solutionsdebellesa.com. For an appointment

please call 141-0422 or email: [email protected]

“Seriously, who would want to be energetic for five hours?”

http://www.solutionsdebellesa.com




Feb/Mar

Feb/Mar

36

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eb

/ M

ar

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5

Issu

e N

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70

Free / Gratis

Festival de Artes

The 22nd Annual Festi-

val de Artes to be held at the

beautiful "Hotel Palmas de Cor-

tez" from 10:00 am to

4:00 pm on Sunday, March 29, 2015. This

popular event sponsored by the

Asociación de Artes on the East

Cape, is known as the premier

showcase for local artists who

display and sell their original

art.

The FOOD COURT will fea-

ture the famous Palmas Carne

Asada Taco Stand, Baja Bis-

cuits, Seth’s Panaderia, just to

name a few. We will have all of

your favorite cold beverages and

a bar that is second to none.

On the main stage, the great mu-

sic of Bluz Expolsion from La-

Paz. This is a toe tapin‘ dance

inspiring group that are always a

favorite around here. There will

be other great music to entertain

you all day long.

Funds from the Festival de Artes

go to support the community

activities of the Asociación de

Artes which include: Arts and

education supplies for East Cape

schools, Sponsorship and par-

ticipation in the Los Barriles

"Cursos de Verano" summer

Continued on page 3 SEE PAGE 3 FOR MORE FESTIVAL INFORMATION

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