Sr.vienes
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Posts: 151
Registered: 7-23-2017
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Ricardo's
OK, this is not an unbiased posting. Started traveling Baja two or three times a year about thirty years ago, about twenty years ago kids and dogs
started going and my one night on the road from Kingman Az to the east cape turned into two nights.This made San Ignacio a good spot to stop, pulled
into the Rice an Beans got a great Margarita and a friendly greeting from Ricardo and didn't give a crap where I slept. I know accommodations have
improved in Baja from what we called camping with doorknobs to towel Swans on the beds (Tersal) and we still travel with some throw away sleeping bags
in case you get stuck in one of them wrist slasher motels in the outback.
Ricardo has been trying to bring his game up to today's standards and when we stayed there a few weeks ago all three of the rooms we stayed in had
been nicely remodeled (2,3,4) they were clean and quite nice with cold AC. Two years ago we were there when they had all the palms on fire and he made
150 to go dinners for the fire fighters and still thought he should make diner for us. We gave all our water snacks and first aid kits to the police
who passed them on the the crews.
Anyway he has always treated us like family and we feel like we like we have got home when we get there to his place.
Have driven in to the new place and they also seem very friendly and it is nice to have a choice.
PS. Try Ricardo's chicken soup, my youngest son ate a bowl when he was six and it is all he has eaten there since then.
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baja Steve
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Posts: 469
Registered: 8-31-2003
Location: Bend, or
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I AGREE. He has helped so many people out over the years and still does. He might not be perfect but he is trying and I don't think any of us are
either.
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64476
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Mood: Have Baja Fever
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First stayed at Ricardo's motel in 2001. New, nice, clean. Recommended it like you did here.
Ate at his Rice and Beans many times and always liked my food and mango margaritas or cold cervezas.
Last stayed there in July 2015, what a disappointment for the price or for any price. Maybe Ricardo was away or something allowed it to become the way
it was. Too bad. Please encourage him to not let things slip or at least price it fairly instead of charging 'off road racing rates' all year.
I like to promote good businesses in Baja. I hope my experience last time was the rare exception and not the new norm.
Thank you for sharing about his good soul. That should be rewarded!
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TMW
Select Nomad
Posts: 10659
Registered: 9-1-2003
Location: Bakersfield, CA
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Has he added wifi into the rooms instead of just the restaurant? That would be an improvement.
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Sr.vienes
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Posts: 151
Registered: 7-23-2017
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Actually I wish the WiFi was in the rooms and not the restaurant so all of us Baja travelers would share some cervezas and play top my story.
Sometimes you feel like your intruding on people taking care of the things they went to Baja to get away from.
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PaulW
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Posts: 3005
Registered: 5-21-2013
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Remodel will encourage more people to go there. However there are a lot worse places to stay in Baja, and we always make do. Tacos and drinks have
always been very good and we usually find friends there by coincidence.
My trip on the "No Wimps" trail came about when Ricardo bought property along that track. He gave us some sketchy directions and we drove from San
Ignacio up the coast until we got to half tank of fuel remaining then returned. We called that track "Ricardo". Time to do the thing in the
conventional way when we return to Baja for the winter season.
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shari
Select Nomad
Posts: 13033
Registered: 3-10-2006
Location: bahia asuncion, baja sur
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Mood: there is no reality except the one contained within us "Herman Hesse"
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I have stayed there once and vowed never to return...but my motto is Never Say Never. I would go back to try it again if the rooms were remodeled and
had wifi in them.
But having said that...I KNOW how hard it is to upgrade when there is no money coming in. Building is expensive and most locals just have enough to
get by....times are tough and the economy is just as bad.
I wish them prosperity with the remodeled rooms....modem extenders arent that expensive anymore....but it would slow their internet in the restaurant
waaaaaay down....so maybe that's why they dont have it in the rooms?
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bajario
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Posts: 260
Registered: 1-7-2008
Location: Cardiff
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I've stayed there a few times. For me it was really just the bar/relaxing thing after long drive with kids but realize there's other places I can do
this in town.
Showed up with two other families once just to eat and stay elsewhere but he showed us the new clean/cool rooms by the bar. We were sold on those and
booked rooms and then he gave us the keys for the old sleep in your clothes rooms down across the dirt lot on the back of the property. Said something
to the effect they weren't clean or something?
Lesson learned. Just stop for the ambiance at the bar. After you driven from the border to San Ignacio with kids in one day you feel like one of the
tired Baja 1000 racers that plaster the wall.
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Sr.vienes
Nomad
Posts: 151
Registered: 7-23-2017
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The rooms across the dirt lot are the ones just recently remodeled. We stay in these when we have our dog herd with us so they can wander a bit
outside the room without trying to mooch food in the restaurant. I have no idea if all of the rooms in that area have been redone or not.
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