BajaNomad

Cielito Lindo update

Santiago - 10-21-2012 at 05:00 PM

Last week SWMBO and I took another couple with us, the wife was a Baja rookie, on a week's trip covering the wine country and down to our place at Camp Gecko in BOLA.
I had planned the trip meticulously, including all the overnights, etc.
First night at the Pyramid (penthouse suite!) - Keri was very accommodating. Kudos for that special upgrade.
2nd night at the Hotel Guadalupe after a day's winetasting.
3rd night at the Mision Sta Maria in San Quintin. Monday night. Parking lot empty. No problemo. Walk up to the desk and ask for 2 rooms and get the "do you have reservations?" with raised eyebrows. Huh??? on a Monday??? Turns out the entire hotel was book for "an event". Uh-ho, everyone, including SWMBO is giving me the 'now what' and I suggest we go old school and head down to Cielito Lindo.
So, off we go, me a little apprehensive as I haven't been in 2 or 3 years and have heard some bad stuff.
1 car in parking lot and I walk in to the bar and ask to see the rooms. The manager shows us rooms 1 and 2, clean and the mattresses are new, I think. We go for it ($300 pesos per night). Signs of work being done and rooms being refurbished are about.
At ala quatro we head to the patio for drinks and we don't get seated but who walks in but non other than Beach Bob and friend. For the next hour it's just like old times at CL, as Bob and I regale out friends with exactly what happened where with whom at BBBB#1, etc.
We have two orders of the Mexican appetizer plate and two bottles of wine from our Guadalupe forays - the center piece of the appetizer platters is the crab claws so we got the newbies properly indoctrinated.
Generator starts at 4ish, off at 9:00pm so our electric coffee pot we travel with is of no use here.
Somethings have not changed and probably never will: shower/bath water is iffy for the squeamish but the grounds seemed clean and raked. Obvious signs of work on the well pumps.
Sheets, linens and pillows, at least in units 1 and 2, were acceptable if you were raised in Bakersfield as we were. Not a roach to be found, and we looked.
On a Monday, we were the only folks in the rooms, a camper or two out back.
All in all, I say try it again if you haven't in a while. The manager and staff seemed to be trying hard to give a good impression; that counts for something in my book.

SANTIAGO

captkw - 10-21-2012 at 05:14 PM

HOLA, thanks for the info !! I would hate to lose that crab platter on the way down !! when I was there in mid jan. the place was abit shaky !! sounds like they are trying to bring it back !! on another note: how many hrs on the merc ?? and do feel confident it will hold up !! ya,,I know ,,thats a loaded ?---Had to ask so.. and welcome back !! K&T:cool:

Paulina - 10-21-2012 at 07:05 PM

Thanks for the report. Mission Sta Maria was booked for a reason, to get you down to C.L. Nothing shows the new baja recruits a good time other than running into someone out of the blue. Baja is a small place, sometimes.

P>*)))>{

BornFisher - 10-21-2012 at 09:00 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Paulina
Baja is a small place, sometimes.

P>*)))>{


Thanks for the update. I`m surprised they work off a generator, been there several times and never noticed the lights went out at ten!
And Baja does seem like a small peninsula when you run into friends when it`s so random.

willardguy - 10-21-2012 at 10:12 PM

and unless things have changed in the last few months, the camping area is in ruins. less than heavenly:no:

sc-surfer - 10-22-2012 at 12:09 AM

Sounds like nothing has changes since our last stay in 2010.

BajaBlanca - 10-22-2012 at 06:34 AM

hope you had one of their famous margaritas !

new mattresses were most definitely in order.

David K - 10-22-2012 at 08:45 AM

M's big fiestas BBBB-1 http://vivabaja.com/van1 (2001)
and BBBB-4 http://vivabaja.com/bbbb4 (2002)
were both at Cielito Lindo....

BajaDixon - 10-22-2012 at 02:48 PM

I heard yesterday that Carlos, the guy who owned El Faro restaurant, is now cooking at Cielito Lindo. His salsa and mushroom soup is the best I've ever had. I was bummed when he closed his place. Did you happen to hear if he was working there? He shelled his crab claws before serving them!

David K - 10-22-2012 at 10:58 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by BajaDixon
...He shelled his crab claws before serving them!


That would be worth a return trip... the blood and paprika finger stains really are a turnoff eating the 'World Famous Cracked Crabs at Cielito Lindo'.

Famous margaritas...

Mexray - 10-22-2012 at 11:01 PM

...I can 'almost' remember a half dozen or so years back, wife & I stopped on the way south at CL for the night...we had a great dinner with each of us washing it down with one of those 'famous margaritas', in a fish bowl sized glass...

After dinner, we decided that those 'famous margaritas' went down so good, that we'd have another before retiring to Rm#2...

By the time the fish bowls were empty, the genny had been turned off, and we stumbled our way to our room...once inside, I discovered I'd left the flash light in the Bronco...

As you can imagine, it was the blind leading the blind after those 'famous margaritas' as we groped around in the dark to find the bed and crashed until dawn... :O

We still laugh about trying to find the bathroom in the back of those rooms with the slick floors in the pitch blackness...hampered of course with the effects of those 'famous margaritas'....

Imbiber beware!:lol:

David K - 10-23-2012 at 12:34 AM

Good story Ray and Pat!:bounce:

I remember (barely) Bedman (Steve) 'feeding me not only a Cielito Lindo Margarita, but a 'Bedman's Special' Margarita... it had me wondering if the Space Shuttle was missing any fuel!:bounce::lol:

Debra - 10-25-2012 at 05:44 PM

My OH My..............Seems you can't miss Beach Bob at CL, neither zigging or zagging, he always seems to be there. But, that is one of the reasons I most ofthen stayed there, there is always a friend.

Also, it used to be a great place to let pets and kids have a day to play and be safe doing so on the long drive from near Seattle.

Things changed a few yrs.ago though............I got room 1 or 2 (can't remember for sure which) , parked my 4Runner out front, close, didn't see anyone else around in the hotel, parked right next to the "office" close to my room, next morning I get up and find everything gone from my roof rack

I was going down to Bahia for a 3 month stay, so, it was alot of stuff. I mention it to someone, can't remember who for sure, and figure, oh, well, live and learn. I go into the cafe to get coffee and breakfast and several people asked me what had happened, at first I didn't know what they were refering to, I at first thought they were talking about a 'no name here' had tried to kiss me on the lips, I laughed and said "no problem" soon it was apparent that they were talking about the theift, I was told that that never happens here, next I was told I should have parked my rig in the back. HUH? Never happens here? Should have parked my rig in the back?

I have'nt stayed there since, and I have to say I miss it and the memories of good friends it reminds me of the old program "Cheers"

And Yes, Warning: Stay away from Bedman Magis DAVID K! LOL!

HUH ?? MORE INFO>>>>PLEASE,,,soon

captkw - 10-25-2012 at 07:42 PM

Another CL memory...

Mexray - 10-25-2012 at 10:46 PM

...On one trip North, we stayed at CL, next morning before heading out, we drove out to the beach and north toward the bay...

While walking on the beach, we discovered it was 'salted' with hundreds (1,000s maybe) of sand dollar shells...

We collected a whole bunch in a plastic bucket to bring home...

At home, I soaked em' with a bleach solution for a few days, rinsed, and set em' out to dry...

We had a big 'painting' party one weekend for the kids & grandkids (& me too!) to decorate the Sand Dollars with acrylics...

We made up all kinds of designs, animals, sayings, symbols, etc...the ones that didn't get carted away, were hot glued to a spot on our backyard fence where they reside today, many years later...

We found that by coating the entire exposed surface with a bright white acrylic first & allowing to dry before decorating made the designs bright & bold...

Great fun for all...thanks all you CL Sand dollars...!

David K - 10-25-2012 at 11:43 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Mexray
...On one trip North, we stayed at CL, next morning before heading out, we drove out to the beach and north toward the bay...

While walking on the beach, we discovered it was 'salted' with hundreds (1,000s maybe) of sand dollar shells...

We collected a whole bunch in a plastic bucket to bring home...

At home, I soaked em' with a bleach solution for a few days, rinsed, and set em' out to dry...

We had a big 'painting' party one weekend for the kids & grandkids (& me too!) to decorate the Sand Dollars with acrylics...

We made up all kinds of designs, animals, sayings, symbols, etc...the ones that didn't get carted away, were hot glued to a spot on our backyard fence where they reside today, many years later...

We found that by coating the entire exposed surface with a bright white acrylic first & allowing to dry before decorating made the designs bright & bold...

Great fun for all...thanks all you CL Sand dollars...!


Thanks for that story Ray!

Very same experience, at the same place... up the beach from where Gypsy's Wet Buzzard used to be... This was in 2005:





We just picked up a couple of the Pacific sand dollars... not so easy to string up as they don't have a holes like the Gulf sand dollars!