Exploring East Cape

Last week we drove down to La Ribera and Santa Cruz just to the south of us.  Los Barriles is at KM 110 on Rt. #1 and the turn off to these two towns is at the KM 93 back towards Cabo.  There is a lot of traffic on both of those roads and we were just one of many.  

You first reach Santa Cruz about 9.5 KM down the alternate road, which is paved.  We like paved as most roads around here are dirt and sand.  Santa Cruz is small but an extremely neat and well cared for town on top of a mesa.  There was an old man working the center of the boulevard, trimming and watering all the flowers and plants between the lanes of traffic.  They have a grammar school and high school and also what looks like a junior college along the boulevard.  To your left and right are wide streets with approximately 10 houses down each side to the end of the mesa.  It does not look "Americanized" yet.

Another 2.5 KM down the road you come to La Ribera which is a larger town  with a population of close to 2,000 - about the size of Shinnston WV.  There are many new vacation/retirement homes on the hillsides.  We drove through town and down towards the beach.  They have a large marina under construction that currently has two houses with large boats docked behind them.  This area has a guard and it was fenced so we didn't go in to explore the area. Back up on the main road, we saw  huge hardware store and plumbing supply store along with the typical tendas (small convenience stores).  We headed further south hoping to get to Punta Colorado but it was off of a soft dirt road and we turned our little Nissan March around at the dump and headed back towards Los Barriles.  We will be taking this trip again.

We found a new place in Los Barriles for breakfast and lunch.  It is call El Viejo.  They have hibiscus tea!  This is a drink we found and enjoyed in Isla Mujeres and were very happy to find it here as well.  Their menu is simple but the food is well prepared and plentiful. 

Mike's chorizo omelet with hash browns

Hibiscus Tea

We have been checking Yelp and Travel Advisor looking for new places to eat in this area.  We did go to check out the menu at the Buena Vista Hotel and Spa and will be heading back there soon.  One of the new restaurants in town is La Casita. While the map shows it downtown next to Caleb's we actually found it on the north side of town just before the wash.  We were heading to El Gecko, which was closed, for an early dinner at 4 PM and Mike decided to stop at La Casita.  

La Casita is an open air restaurant with a mix of tables surrounded by a stick fence.  There are tarps for the roof and lots of fans around to keep the humidity down.  One reviewer said it was nice to have a restaurant in town with stemmed wine glasses.  So we didn't know quite what to expect.  As we didn't want a cocktail, the waitress suggested lemonade.  Mike's was made with sparkling water and mine with plain, purified water.  Both were delicious - quite tart - and served in glass rather than plastic cups.  Mike ordered the grilled tuna salad and a Darrell sushi roll.  I had a small house salad and coconut grilled shrimp.  The food was delicious and well prepared.  My shrimp came with a mango jalapeno sauce along with mashed potatoes and grilled veggies.  I can't wait to go back and try their seared sea bass.  It was my second selection on their menu.

Yesterday I wanted to head north to the mining town we'd seen on our trip to La Paz from 2 years ago.  It looked rustic with cobblestone streets and our driver told us it was good for tourists.  So we checked road conditions at the front desk at Palmas de Cortez and headed towards San Bartolo.

San Bartolo is quite a surprise.  You are driving across dried washes and riverbeds through the desert and look to the west and there is a beautiful green, lush valley.  There are mango trees everywhere and roadside shops selling tree ripened mangoes and guayana (guava), along with fresh produce, baked goods, dried fruits, etc.  We didn't stop but headed north into no man's land, or so it seemed.

After about 5 miles out of San Bartolo, we cut our explorations short.  The farther north we drove, the more Mike and I realized:

1. no one knows where we are going
2. we don't have a valid map
3. we don't have a cell phone
4. we are in a clearly marked rental car

We turned around, stopped in San Bartolo for what I told Mike were key limes.  Turns out they weren't limes at all but guayana.  The girl at the counter offered to let me taste them and we left with a bag full along with a box of mango empanadas.  Guayana fruit are small with a big pit but so very sweet.  Taste is something like a cross between a Granny Smith apple and a ripe pear.  I will buy them again.

Coming back into Los Barriles, we decided to have lunch at La Viejo.  The tacos are 24 to 26 pesos each.  I had one grilled shrimp taco and one grilled scallop taco.  Mike had 2 fish tacos and one scallop taco.  There is a condiment bar where you can add just about anything to your order including grilled onion, roasted jalapenos, radishes, lettuce, cheese, fresh chopped salsa and some killer habanero cooked salsa (my lips tingled for about an hour after having that on my tacos!!).  Lunch cost us about $9 with our tea.

Last night we ate the last of Mike's tuna he caught on Wednesday with steamed rice and a mango salsa I made when we got home.  I think this weekend we will drive north along the cliffs where the ex-pat Americans and Canadians are building their vacation and retirement homes.  Sadly, this area is growing super fast and now about 70% of the residents here are from North America.  It is becoming more populated and losing the charm of a small Mexican fishing village.

East Cape Fishing 6-8-2016

Wednesday we went fishing on a panga named Scorpion.  Our Captain was Jorge who we have met on previous trips.  And we had a great day on the water!! 

There was a panga tournament, of which we were not a part.  We were one of the first boats away from the dock (the first panga too!) and ran north towards the shark buoys.  We did not end up that far up the coast and stopped about Ensenada del Muertos.  Mike hooked a  3 to 3.5 foot, 30 lb wahoo and had it on board by 7:30 AM.  We kept seeing bait balls disturbing the water so we know there were other large fish in the area.  No one was catching anything so we moved a little farther from shore.

Mike's Wahoo

Eventually around 9 AM, with some trolling, we hooked a small female dorado which I caught.  When we saw her size, we chose to release her back.  This year there is a new conservation direction on what size fish you and keep and exactly how many.  We believe this is a great idea.  During the past few years, there have not been strict guidelines and the area may be getting over-fished.  Better to throw her back, let her spawn, and then catch her next month when she's 20+ pounds.

While we continued to troll, nothing was biting.  We decided to head to port about 10:45 but continue to troll on the trip back.  That is when Mike got to catch his striped marlin - all 175 pounds of him (the fish, not Mike).  It took him between 35 and 40 minutes to bring this bad boy to the boat!  He  put up a VERY good fight.  We released him after this photo.  He was as tired out as Mike at this point.

Mike's Marlin

We took 1/2 of the wahoo and gave the second half to Jorge.  Our 8 wahoo filets were prepared by Tio Pablo's Wednesday night -  half garlic & capers and half Veracruz (tomatoes, onions, peppers & olives).  The cost of our meal was $8 each and included our fish with rice, beans and tortillas.  Can't beat that.  We took the leftover Veracruz home and had burritos on Thursday.  Friday night the other 8 filets made it to Tio's as well for more Veracruz.  Their prep is AMAZING!!!  More burritos on Saturday.  Maybe tonight dinner will be beef. 

Next week we will be bottom fishing for snapper and grouper and maybe try for another wahoo.  I will have gills by the time we make it back to Texas!!

 

 

Los Barriles

Well, we are in Mexico now at Los Barriles on the Sea of Cortez.   We have stayed in 5 different units here at Villas de Cortez over the years and have had amazing experiences in all but the one we will be staying in for the next 8 weeks. I am sure that most people who rent this unit stay anywhere from 3 to 7 days on the hotel fishing plan and eat at the Café downstairs and main buffet restaurant for breakfast before fishing.  When you are planning an 8 week stay, your expectations are higher and your needs a little more defined than a place to sleep.   I am disappointed but we will muddle through.  We will purchase what we need as we go.  So far that has been a Melita coffee filter system, a set of glasses, and an ceramic water dispenser for large bottles of purified water. 

The owner was here last week and left us a handwritten note on a scrap of paper saying to "enjoy the liquor and beer we left for you"  which was a 1.75 liter bottle of Kirkland Plata tequila and 2 six packs of Corona Lite beer.  Everyone who knows us knows that we don't drink beer and would never touch a plata tequila but it was a nice thought.  However, with the owner being here the week before we arrived, you'd think some of these issues might have  been addressed, wouldn't you?  The key, in my opinion,  is that you really need to put money into your investment to keep it current and cutting edge when asking top rental dollar but that doesn't seem to be the case for Villa 1209.  They will not  be getting a favorable review on www.VRBo.com!

LIVING AREA

Upside in the living area is the couch is comfortable.  There is a nice table and 4 chairs (original to the unit) and the Murphy bed is firm.  On the downside, an old 23" Olevia TV is not hooked up to anything but an older Sony DVD player - no cable, no Dish, no antenna.  Can you imagine me without a TV for 2  months??

Owner states in his welcome letter (not provided until the final rent check is received):  "The Wi-Fi instructions should be in the unit.  We have a nice Home Theater system but do not have satellite (so not many US channels).  Bring your favorite DVD's...We have a pretty good selection down there...you will find maps, restaurant info, brochures for the area etc."

Our response:

1. There is no Wi-Fi.  The building manager was gracious enough to provide us with Wi-Fi from the hotel.
2. When I asked the owner about TV viewing/connections he said they only use it to watch DVDs so we tried that.  You only hear the sound but no picture ever makes it to the TV.   No big loss as their "good selection" of DVDs identified by the owner has in it exactly 9 movies, the newest movie is Madagascar from 2007.   Sony DVD player will not accept BluRay disks.
3. The only information in the unit about the local area is a 1998 copy of Cabo Handbook by Joe Cummings.  Luckily we've been here before and know where to go for food and services.
4. There is no phone service, not even local to the front desk for emergencies and our Verizon cell service doesn't work on the AT&T cell network here.  We can buy a burner phone but so far we don't see any need for one.

 KITCHEN

1. There is one stainless steel pot.  All other pots and pans have Teflon coating which is peeling, making them unusable.
2. Missing cutlery - there are 2 teaspoons and 2 forks (and there are just 2 of us)
3. Rusty and dull knife set
4. No glassware - just a few horribly stained/discolored plastic items
5. Coffee maker doesn't work - only releases 1/2 of water sent through filter
6. Dishwasher latch is "iffy" at best.
7. No food staples such as salt, pepper, and oil that every other VRBO rental has provided.    Unit does has: unrefrigerated, open bottles of red wine vinegar & salsa picante, salt with 4/15/15 expiration date,  powdered chocolate creamer in a small Mason jar that's one solid lump, ancient box of Sleepy Time tea that expired in January 2010, and 1/2 box of Sweet & Low

BATHROOM

While this unit is listed as handicapped accessible, the shower door opens about 18" inward and 12" outward.   Even I can't squeeze thru the 12" opening with the sink countertop in the way.  In all fairness the shower is very nice with good water pressure and ample hot water.


You never know what you will find at a VRBO rental.  We hope for the best but are flexible enough to handle what is thrown at us wherever we travel.  The staff here are the Villas are very easy to work with.  Gabby did our laundry on Tuesday for $10 - about what I pay in the hotels as we travel.  Pedro, the manager, gave us free Wi-Fi and an 8 gallon bottle of purified water until we could buy our own.  He also hooked us up with Thrifty Car Rental for a very nice deal on a 2 month rental of a Nissan March.  We will have a great time here and go with the flow.

 

May 2016

May started out great with a visit to my sister Liz in NC.  She has bought a beautiful house and moved from DC the end of last year.  Mike came down with a cold and was in bed for about 3 days while we were in Hendersonville.  Nelson and Olivia made me Carne Asada for dinner one night with fresh pico de gallo and black beans.  It was wonderful!  Liz also made stuffed peppers for dinner before we left.  Due to Mike's cold, we didn't get out much but did manage to enjoy a morning exploring in downtown Hendersonville. 

We left NC and headed back to Ohio.  Mike had to have his new crown "installed".  It was a quick overnight trip and then we were off to eastern PA to visit with cousins Terry & Dave, Al & Karen and Marion and Jay.  We had a very nice time just kicking back and enjoying some home cooked food.  Thanks Tair!!  And no stop is complete without breakfast at the Hellertown Diner - twice! 

After PA we were planning a trip to the Eastern Shore of Maryland then meandering down to Kiawah Island SC but that got tabled when I received a call from my niece Emma telling us my sister Becky was hospitalized.  Needless to say we were back in WV shortly.  I couldn't do much but stare at her while she lay in her hospital bed and will her to get better.  Since the doctors never did discover what caused her illness, I'm thinking my staring might have made everything better - HA!  She says I'm the bossy one but I think that it is the duty of the oldest child to be exactly that when necessary.  Oh, and as oldest, I get to also decide when it is necessary.  Rank has its privileges.  So once Becky was discharged, we drove her down to Liz's for some R&R.  She will be in NC gaining strength and fattening up for a couple of weeks or so. 

I also had to tell Mike that I was so very, very tired of hotels after 8 weeks on the road.  Thank goodness we were able to rent a beautiful cabin on top of a mountain in Bat Cave NC.  This picture below shows what most of our mornings looked like.  We loved sitting in the two rocking chairs and watching the mountains.  Two days we had rain and were totally surrounded by clouds.  It felt there was no one else on Earth but the two of us.  There was enough moisture in the air to cause condensation on the leaves of the trees so it sounded as if it was raining when the water fell from leaf to leaf.  My favorite observation was 'watching the breeze'.  Yep, we could watch the wind move the tree tops down the mountain before the breeze ever reached our porch.  The peace and quiet was absolutely what I needed.

View from our Cabin on top of the mountains

Our first night here was just scrambling to find the cabin and then getting food shopping and dinner.  We had a wonderful dinner on the deck at La Strada overlooking Lake Lure.  Great Italian food but those portions were HUGE.  We had our leftovers for linner (lunch/dinner) the next two days.  Mostly we just stayed in the cabin and had Becky and Liz over for lunch one day.

In case you don't know, Lake Lure NC is next to Chimney Rock NC.  Dirty Dancing was filmed at Lake Lure and the Lake Lure Inn and Spa has two suites named for Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze.  There is a current sequel being filmed nearby.  One of the dancer's is Jennifer Lopez's boyfriend Cesar so she was in Hendersonville about 2 weeks before we got there.  Also, Last of the Mohicans with Daniel Day Lewis was partially filmed in the Chimney Rock area.  The cost is $15 per person to go up onto Chimney Rock so we snapped this pic from downtown Chimney Rock.  I'd rather spend that $15 on wine, tequila or good food.

 

Chimney Rock - Rather unimpressive

 

Next adventure will be heading back to Texas so that we can fly off to Los Barriles BCS Mexico on June 1st.

April 2016

Well, we had a fun week with tests and doctors in Columbus.  We each have new medicines to take, all tests came back in good order, and we are on our way to West Virginia and then Washington DC.  We were able to see a few old friends while in town but not everyone we wanted to see.  I swear we spent the whole 10 days here in doctor's offices.  It's what happens with medical doctors, dentists,  optometrists.  Now except for a quick October visit to the anti-coagulation clinic & my GP, we are finished for the next 12 months!!

When we left WV, we considered going over Route 50 but opted for I-68 instead.  Every time I drive over Keyser Ridge and Big Savage Mountain, I expect to see snow - even on the 4th of July.  We lucked out and got over both mountains without one snowflake.  And we stopped in Frederick Maryland for a day.  I had not been back there since 1997 and there are many changes.  It has built up so very much since I worked there.  Farms have become shops and restaurants.  We spent a nice afternoon in Emmetsburg antique-ing and didn't buy a single item.

Then it was on to Washington DC.  The trip from Frederick was uneventful, if very wet, until we reached the beltway.  The beltway was backed up and Connecticut  Avenue was horrid with traffic.  Luckily the GPS was feeling helpful and we made it to our hotel safely, if not quickly.  It was beautiful in Washington for the 4 days we were there.  We ended up exploring a little, meeting up with Jim & Rhonda for Katie & Niall's wedding. 

Our first day in town we walked from our hotel at 10th NW and K St NW down to the Vietnam Memorial.  I thought my feet were going to fall off and that new medicine from Dr. Albers was kicking my hind end!!  Seemed we had to stop every 2 blocks so I could sit down and rest.  Thank goodness there are many, many benches along the National Mall.  Some observations:

• The FBI building has great security, especially for their parking garage
• Never leave a Nationals' game in the 7th inning.  That baseball game lasted 16 innings!
• Ford's Theatre had lines around the block.  Why do people want to see where a president was murdered? 
• The last of the cherry blossoms were still very pretty
• Why did they have to change the Smithsonian so much?  And where was my Hope Diamond?
• My main complaint about the Smithsonian is the number of unruly school kids running wild through the exhibits.  They weren't enjoying the experience, just trying to fill out the questionnaire's their teachers had given them.  Ruined the experience for us, that's for sure.

The wedding was held April 26th at 6 PM in the Senate Park beside the Capitol Building.  It was a beautiful venue with all of the azaleas blooming.  One of Katie's friends officiated and Ryan's daughters were flower girls.  After the ceremony, we went off to an Irish pub for the celebration. 

Only one more Witz  niece to marry off now.

Kentucky

After we left West Virginia, we headed west to Rick and Carol's for a few days of catching up and relaxing with them.  It was great to reconnect.  I think all of us will be on diets after this visit as they fed us so very well with salmon, tri tip and homemade navy bean soup plus many lunches and dinners we had around their neighborhood.

On April 1st, we decided to try a couple of distilleries on the Bourbon Trail in central Kentucky.  It is a very pretty drive down to Lexington and we headed first to Wild Turkey.  You drive through a beautiful old town of Lawrenceburg then follow a winding road, cross a rickety bridge, and climb a hill to arrive at Wild Turkey Distillery.  There are so many 4 and 5 story warehouses on both sides of the road and signs leading us to the Visitor Center.  I listened to their retired master distiller talk to different groups shopping in the gift area - he signed hat, t-shirts and bottles.

One factoid about Wild Turkey's Kentucky location is this company also owns Sky Vodka.  While the vodka is made up north, it is shipped into Lawrenceburg for bottling.  We were not taken on a tour of the vodka bottling operation...now that I really would have liked to sample!  HA!  We took a tour of the bourbon distillery and had tastings in the main building.  Their Honey Wild Turkey was good but I still prefer tequila.

Mike and I during the Wild Turkey Distillery Tour

One of the visitor's displays

 

 

After Wild Turkey, we stopped for lunch in Lawrenceburg and then drove on to Woodford Distillery.  Their visitor center is beautiful and sits up on a hill.  From the porch you look down upon their old 1800's warehouses.   We chose not to tour this distillery but enjoyed a tasting.  Yes, the picture below is my empty tasting glasses.  I preferred the Distiller's Select but only with the dark chocolate truffle....and those of you that know me know, since my last rounds of chemo, I can't stand the taste of milk and dark chocolate.  Woodford Reserve Select made me a chocolate eater again!



Endings

The past few weeks have been difficult.  On March 13th my mother entered into hospice care.  She had lived with my sister Liz for the past 2 years and was slowly fading away.  She passed on March 23, 2016.  Mike and I started preparing that day to leave Texas and pre-packed all of our belongings, except for daily clothes by the 20th. (There was also the final trip to Goodwill for all the things we discovered we no longer needed to carry with us!)  So when the call came, it took us just the final day to load everything into our truck and head north.

Of course any trip with the two of us is not without some drama.  The morning of March 24th we stopped in Livingston to pick up accumulated mail and found a jury summons for Mike.  He was supposed to have reported on March 21st!  I was sure that he had a "failure to report" subpoena sworn out against him and would be arrested at any minute, being the hardened criminal he is.  Needless to say we went to the courthouse right away to correct this error.  And happily Livingston is used to dealing with Escapees like us, who travel full time.  The clerk just said "OK, when do you want to serve?"  So we will be back in Texas on September 26th for Mike to serve jury duty.  And I cancelled the last 2 weeks of our Colorado trip.

The trip to West Virginia was good as the roads were clear but the orange barrels are EVERYWHERE!!!  I know they are the state flower of PA, but seriously?????  Anyway, with all the rain in Arkansas, it looked like the whole state is just one huge swamp.  There was water standing on both sides of the roads in fields.  I don't think it is because AR is growing all of the world's rice, it just looked like it.

So we finally got to WV and had a very nice funeral for mother.  Liz's son-in-law Nelson officiated at the ceremony.  As with all funerals, we saw many friends and family and, for me, quite a few unknown people who knew mother over the years and came to pay their respects.  She is now laid to rest beside Daddy and Bruce.

Edith's Shinnston High School Senior Picture

L to R:  me, Liz, mother, Becky