Last Day fishing East Cape and Good-bye

 

...Leavin' on a jet plane, don't know when I'll be back again...

 

 

We had our last day of fishing on Wednesday the 20th aboard Scorpion panga with Captain Jorge.  We have had great days on the water with him over the past 2 months and Wednesday did not disappoint.  The sea was choppy by the hotel so we headed south to La Ribera/Punta Colorado where the water was totally flat.  The morning was slow as we trolled looking for any wahoo, dorado, or tuna who would join us in the panga.  Jorge and Mike decided it was time to move a little after 10 AM so we headed back to the spot that was very good to them the week before.  At exactly 10:30 AM we had 4 lines hit.   First tuna we lost, second I brought in, third Mike brought in and the fourth Mike and I tag teamed with Mike completing the catch.



 

Me with my tuna (sorry about those farmer tan arms but it was really, really hot!!)



 

Once all the excitement was over, we started trolling again but weren't getting any further bites.  As we were heading back to shore and packing up our equipment, we got another hit and Mike brought in our 4th tuna of the morning (literally a volunteer...).  We had stopped to reel in the lines and pack it in... and there he was!  A welcome surprise. 

 

Mike and the volunteer tuna

 



We head home to Texas tomorrow morning (July 30th) so this week has been all about saying good-bye to Los Barriles.  We have eaten at El Gecko and Tio Pablo's in addition to the Bay View downstairs.  Pedro, our building manager, is the beneficiary of our last tuna catch (15 lbs).  We really wanted to ship it to Rick and Carol but neither UPS, FedEx or the Smokehouse would either ship fresh fish nor guarantee it would make it past Mexico City  - so lucky Pedro!!  It has been so nice to spend an extended period of time here and get to know the people just a little better.  We will miss Gabby (head of housekeeping), Pedro, Eve at Tio Pablo's, Rafael at Chapito's Grocery, and Junior at El Gecko.

So after a few days in East Texas, we will be on our way to Keystone in Colorado.  Going from sea level to 9500 feet should be an experience, shouldn't it?? 

Fishin' with Jim and Jack and Kevin

 

This is our week to spend with friends Jim and Jack on the big boat Fin-atic.  ( http://www.finaticsportsfishingbaja.com/home ) . 

 

Jim and Jack brought their nephew Kevin, who will be 12 next month.  He has never been ocean fishing before so we told him he could catch the first fish.  Imagine our surprise when it turned out to be a 385+ pound Blue Marlin.  You can't really tell from the picture how big this fish was although you get some perspective from the orange & yellow lure you see (18 inches long).   He was HUGE and it was very exciting for us as it was our first Blue Marlin - not Jim's.  Took about 1.5 hours to bring him in.  Kevin reeled in the leader 3 times before he finally had to hand off to "The Closer", Uncle Jim.

 

350+ pound Blue Marlin

 

 

While Jim was busy on the stern (back of the boat) with the blue, Mike was heading to the front (bow) catching a shark!  Yep, we had 2 sharks show up while the blue was on the line.  Mike's job was to keep the shark away from the blue so we could bring him in. 

 

Mike's Shark - he was about 7' or 8' long

 

 

Jack caught a dorado for our dinner and then it was Mike's turn at another fish.  His was one of our standard 120 pound striped marlins.  Look how it is 'lit up' (electric blue stripes)!  Never saw that before when we caught one.

 

Mike's Striped Marlin

 

Second day out we were looking for tuna or dorado closer towards shore but nothing was biting.  So we headed out to where we'd caught the marlin on Sunday.  Captain Tony found the porpoises that travel with the tuna eating the bait they drive to the surface.  We were so excited that we'd get tuna for sashimi but that was not to be.  I was set to catch the first tuna when we hooked another Blue Marlin so I handed off to Mike.   The water was getting very rough as there was a hurricane off the mainland Mexico coast pushing wind in our direction.   Mike worked the fish for 30 minutes but his old golf injury (lower back) started acting up so he handed off  to "The Closer" for the final 30 minutes, resulting in an even bigger marlin.  He was over 500 pounds! 

 

As we headed back to shore, we were traveling with the waves and I didn't notice anything out of ordinary before we got close to the dock.  That is when we were told we had to quickly jump off the big boat onto the dock because the waves were dropping up to 6 feet.  I said 'no way' because I don't do quick and Mike stuck up for me (bless him!!!)  Then it got worse because it was too dangerous for our boat to get to the dock because it was too rough. They brought in this little dingy, row boat thing and told us we still had to move quickly from boat to dingy and then again from dingy to dock.  I said I am staying on the boat!  And everyone kept trying to talk me into it.  I should have stood firm and insisted on going back to the marina.  Mike could have come over to pick me up - it is a 45 minute drive.  But NNNNOOOOOOOO!!  Stupid me listened to them.  I almost did a face plant and went overboard getting on the dingy.  Luckily Mike and the guy driving the dingy grabbed me...water is 220 feet deep there and me still not swimming, ya know.  Then we get to the dock after bobbing around on the way, getting soaked by the waves.  I have no balance to speak of, no speed of motion and I'm supposed to stand up in a severely rocking dingy, stand on it's side rail, and pull myself up 6 feet on to the deck!  Ha!  If the big boat's owner, Warner, wasn't standing on the dock, hadn't grabbed my hand, and somehow yanked my hefty ass up very quickly, I would have been squashed between the dock and dingy.  Scared the crap out of me!!

 

Needless to say, I did not go fishing on Wednesday but did go back out on Thursday.  Again we found porpoises but no tuna were biting.  Captain Tony was sick so the boat's owner, Warner, was our captain for this final day.  We thought we hadn't caught anything but did hook a nice striped marlin in the final hour.  I should say Jack started reeling it in but Kevin was the one who actually landed it and brought it into the boat, this time without any help from either Mike or Jim.  He did a great job and had it all under control.  It was fun to watch this kid go from novice to experienced in a week. 

 

So Jim and Jack and Kevin have headed home to California and we are in our last 3 weeks at Los Barriles.  We are off of the big boat and back to our half day panga trips.  Next scheduled outing is  going out on Wednesday morning (July 13th) with Jorge.



Foodie Alert in Los Barriles!!

So I haven't written in a while.  Been busy?  Not really, just enjoying the peace and quiet and watching the fishing fleet come in every afternoon.

We have been eating quite well.  First, we are making our own burritos to take fishing.  Just marinate chicken or beef in ranchero sauce, fry up some bell pepper, onion, tomatoes with the saucy meat, add juice of 3 or 4 very small limes and wrap in a tortilla.  Yummy!  So we have been cooking more at home and only going out every other night.  I have found rice packets at the local tienda that are 1 Cup so it is perfect for us for  2 meals.  And last week Joe's Deli staff told us about a green grocer next door so we've shopped there twice.  They have fresh broccoli, peppers, onions, fruits, etc.  I did buy some "Safee" product to spray the produce, just in case, but it is much nicer and a larger selection than the local tienda (supermarket) has. 

 

This is how I mostly fish on the panga, looking for bait balls and marlin fins.

 

 

This year we have tried many new restaurants in the area.  I still want to go to LaRibera for 'linner' one afternoon before we leave but Los Barriles has everything we need. 

 

1.  Best tacos in town are at El Viejo.  Hands down the best.  Fresh, fresh, fresh!  They have a toppings bar where you decide what you want to add to your breakfast omelet or your tacos - things like fresh chopped salsa, pickled jalapenos, onion, cheese, etc.  Simple menu and you can choose grilled vs. fried on your tacos for N$2 extra (N$ peso = about 17 cents US) and well worth the cost.  Grilled shrimp and grilled scallops were just amazing.

 

2.  Herman used to be the fishing boat scheduler to see here at Palmas de Cortez.  About 3 years ago he left and opened a small family restaurant above street level on the "main drag" called Terrazzo de German (Herman's Terrace).  They have an open air kitchen and a very large wood grill.  Special is grilled fish which is very good.  Mike had his with cilantro sauce and mine was just grilled with lime on the side.  We buy the same tortillas they use at the grocery store, piping hot and fresh.  The tortillas have replaced bread in our diet...why by Oroweat 12-grain bread when you can have fresh maize (corn) tortillas?

 

3.  We went to La Casita, a very small patio totally surrounded by a stick, privacy fence.  They have actual stemmed wine glasses and cloth napkins, which is HUGE for this area.  The menu is very upscale and different from most every other dining option in town.  Can't wait to go back and try the grilled sea bass.  And you'd never know it could be this amazing when you see the small house beside the road.  In fact, we drove past it for almost 2 weeks before we realized it was the restaurant we'd been looking for...the map locator on Trip Advisor was WAY OFF!  This restaurant also has sushi!  We had salads, Mike had sushi roll, and I had coconut shrimp in a mango/jalapeño sauce.  And the best lemonade - fresh squeezed into mineral water (agua con gas).  That has become a new addiction and is so refreshing!!  We order it everywhere now.

 

 

Mike says I look happy.  I think I look goofy but the salad was soooooo tasty and fresh!

 

 

Mike's sushi roll

 

 

 

My coconut shrimp with mashed potatoes and veggies - delish!

 

4.  There are signs all over town about El Gecko.  We aren't telling our friend Jackie it is down a dirt road past a trailer park on the beach until she's here.  Our greeter was a very well groomed French poodle named Tiki...I'm usually very good remembering dog names, it's the people names I never remember!  So I got puppy kisses before dinner.  They had Don Julio anejo tequila and made guacamole at our table side (extra spicy, of course)

 

 

Yep, made table side!

 

And El Gecko had molcajete bowls!!!!!!!!!  Molcajete is generally used to grind up seeds or nuts, made out of lava rock.  These bowls have a red or green sauce (mine was green) with meat, cactus, green onions, & white cheese served with rice, beans and tortillas.  Mine was the grilled skirt steak bowl but could also have had pork, chicken or shrimp.  The bowls are heated thru so everything in them stays nice and hot throughout your meal. 



 

 

My happy face with my molcajete bowl

 

5.  Our old stand-by is Tio Pablo's.  It has been here since the 1990's.  They have great waitresses and  good, consistent quality, Americanized food.  Daily specials include:

 

• Thursday - Reuben sandwich & fries
• Friday - fish & chips
• Saturday - 50% off pork dishes on menu (and you have to have the pork filet medallions)
• Sunday - Angus beef Prime Rib. 

 

That Prime Rib is at least a pound of meat so we always split it and order an extra salad and potato.  It is our go to spot when we don't know what we want to eat. 

 

So we've gotten through our first month here.  I'm anxious to see what the second 30 days will bring. And I'll keep you posted on that!