BajaNomad - Just back from Vizcaino

Just back from Vizcaino

surfdoc - 5-20-2011 at 02:25 PM

And 2 observations....

First the Military checkpoint that used to be temporary on the road to Tortuga at the Asuncion turnoff, Now appears to be semi permanent. They built a large sandbagged area in the center of the intersection...
To me this is a great thing! I like having the military around!

Second... while get gas at the Pemex in Vizcaino.. an attractive young lady asked if I wanted tamales... 10p each.
Not only did she speak perfect english
And did I mention she was atractive (but married:no

But these were some of the best Tamales I've had in a while!! Had the carne...the Pina.... both fantastic.. next will try the Pork and Pollo!!

So if Benita asked if you'd like Tamales... and mentions they are very good.. BUY a few, man they were good!

Thats about it............man so ready for this wind to stop.

[Edited on 5-20-2011 by surfdoc]

[Edited on 5-20-2011 by surfdoc]

[Edited on 5-20-2011 by surfdoc]

[Edited on 5-20-2011 by surfdoc]

Iflyfish - 5-20-2011 at 03:20 PM

Good one! I will watch for her. Love the Lion Paw Scallops with raspberry chipotle sauce at the hotel near that corner.

Iflyfish

[Edited on 5-20-2011 by Iflyfish]

Cypress - 5-20-2011 at 03:33 PM

Yep! Those homemade tamales! Makes me hungry just thinking about 'em. :tumble:

BajaGeoff - 5-20-2011 at 03:46 PM

Shoot! I got offered tamales at that same Pemex a few weeks ago and politely declined.....will know for next time....thanks!

DianaT - 5-20-2011 at 03:56 PM

How are the pot holes out of Vizcaino? Have they filled them again, or are they growing?

Would be nice to have a permanent army stop there. Even though most of the drug traffic around there seems to go by sea, so we are told, it could maybe maybe cut down on some of the illegal drugs coming in and out. And it would probably help a lot in deterring some of the other problems that have occurred on that road before. :yes:

Warning, in the middle of the summer that stop is really difficult with dogs---They had a temporary one there one August and when we got out for the inspection, our poor dogs were dancing on the VERY hot pavement. Actually, it stopped the inspection as the guys felt sorry for the dogs and told us to all get back in the vehicle. :lol:

shari - 5-20-2011 at 04:30 PM

the potholes have opened up again....time for a patch up.
This military checkpoint are VERY thorough as they have more time and dont hold up much traffic....they check coolers to try to address the poaching and out of season sale of lobster, abalone etc.

the little old tamale lady who usually sells them at the Pemex in Viz...I will NEVER buy from her again as I got violently ill from her pina ones once...too long in the hot sun there...beware of tamales on hot days!!!!

Bajahowodd - 5-20-2011 at 04:44 PM

So much for a difference of opinion!

As for the tamales, I have often had second thoughts about potential problems regarding freshness and refrigeration. Maybe just a small aside, but just South of Ensenada, not far from the Estro Beach Hotel, we've bought some magnificent tamales. The vendors there do not even materialize until just before dusk. Maybe putting the lunchtime tamales to bed.

As for the military checkpoint, I would certainly defer to the expert, Shari, as far as one on the road toward asuncion. I guess, that in a way, as desperate as the drug runners are, any small hole in the security is something to take advantage of. But, It just seems to me that a checkpoint between Asuncion and Vizcaino is maybe a tad overkill.

So. We now have a huge cargo of illicit drugs that we somehow were able to get ashore in or around Asunion, just how are we then supposed to get that stuff from Vizcaino up to the border undetected?

[Edited on 5-20-2011 by Bajahowodd]

DianaT - 5-20-2011 at 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by shari
the potholes have opened up again....time for a patch up.

Thanks for the info---we were hoping they had been patched --ni modo

shari - 5-20-2011 at 05:20 PM

I thought the random checkpoint there at the junction was a good idea as it gets everybody coming and going to Tortugas as well and they had caught a few drug smugglers and poachers there at times, but now that it has become a permanent fixture, I imagine the bad guys will just take the coast road and come out to the highway a bit further south by the abreojos turnoff....avoid it anyway....seemed more effective when it was random.....but as surfdoc says, it's a good thing and will prevent any holdups on that stretch of road.

tamales can be good....or bad!!!!! I'm sure the cute girl's tamales are better than the other lady...jajajaja

Attractive vendors

Skipjack Joe - 5-20-2011 at 05:33 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by surfdoc

Second... while get gas at the Pemex in Vizcaino.. an attractive young lady asked if I wanted tamales... 10p each.
Not only did she speak perfect english

And did I mention she was atractive (but married:no

Before: "What a tomata!!"

Now: "What a tamale!!"

Marc - 5-20-2011 at 05:33 PM

I think the Tamales gal was, a while back, working at the station pumping gas?? A looker!

surfdoc - 5-20-2011 at 05:47 PM

NoNoNo Not the grandmother........never bought hers because she carries the same ones around til she sells them.....

And not the pump girl............OMG no.............

She takes your order then goes over to her truck and gets them out... I chowed one of the Pinas on the way home.. steaming hot! Of course was washed down properly!

Yep.........those potholes breed like rabbits... As far as the military goes, Another PLUS is it forces people to slow down at the intersection! Many a local has slid off the road there ....

Mulegena - 5-20-2011 at 06:39 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by surfdoc
I chowed one of the Pinas on the way home.. Of course was washed down properly!

With a proper amount of "Road Soda" of course!

Yep......... Many a local has slid off the road there ....

quite possibly because they were washing down tamales from Vizcaino
with a proper amount of "Road Soda", of course!

surfdoc - 5-20-2011 at 08:05 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Mulegena

Quote:

Originally posted by surfdoc
I chowed one of the Pinas on the way home.. Of course was washed down properly!

With a proper amount of "Road Soda" of course!

Yep......... Many a local has slid off the road there ....

quite possibly because they were washing down tamales from Vizcaino
with a proper amount of "Road Soda", of course!

HEY NOW........... :lol:

BTW.........forgot to mention the reason for my visit... I'm now the OFICIAL Owner my My Panga the "MOJAC" !!!! WhooooHOOOOO!

Thanks Juan and Shari! Next stop Port Capt in Santa Roselia!

BajaNomad - 5-20-2011 at 08:12 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by shari
tamales can be good....or bad!!!!!

'

I'm with Shari on this one. Haven't gotten sick, but have had tamales here that were some of the best I've had - and keeping that in mind another time, and looking forward to approaching that experience again, have had some here that were then some of the worst I've ever had as well.

Caveat emptor.

briantroy - 5-21-2011 at 02:32 AM

In Pavlovian dog style, my mouth waters. In Kerouacian beatnik spirit, my soul wanders. Either way, I am going to need Baja cuisine soon!

Bajaboy - 5-21-2011 at 05:31 AM

Congrats Stan on the new lady.

wilderone - 5-21-2011 at 08:03 AM

"Lion Paw Scallops with raspberry chipotle sauce at the hotel near that corner."
On "The List" now! Sounds fantastic. Wondering though, seeing literally small hills of lion paw scallop shells, where do they harvest them? I hope this is not a species headed for extinction. What else accounts for the huge scallop shell dumps? I saw 12 ft high and wide hills of them just south of Guerrero Negro.

shari - 5-21-2011 at 09:13 AM

excellent question and observation wilderone...currently this is a very hot topic here as the Mano de Leon fishery is vital to the fishing economy in GN as they are found there in OJo de Liebre. There has been excessive poaching there for many many years of this valuable resource and they are nearly fished out now.

The season was closed for the stocks to recover but opened again a couple weeks ago...when the whales leave...and they found that there just werent enough scallops of legal size to harvest...so they closed it again which is really sad for the fishermen...however we dont feel too sorry for them because most of the poachers are fishermen themselves...big problema these days.

So when the season is closed and the restaurant is offering fresh mano de leon...one should really decline to eat there....where do you begin to address out of season goodies???

here is a link to the article
http://colectivopericu.wordpress.com/2011/05/18/se-detiene-c...

[Edited on 5-21-2011 by shari]

Lauriboats - 5-21-2011 at 11:31 AM

We bought some of the tamales on the way in to B.A., pineapple, corn and beef, all good.

wilderone - 5-22-2011 at 07:34 AM

Thank you Shari for the status on the scallops. Gotta learn from the past - for the fishermens' own good.

woody with a view - 5-22-2011 at 08:31 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by shari
excellent question and observation wilderone...currently this is a very hot topic here as the Mano de Leon fishery is vital to the fishing economy in GN as they are found there in OJo de Liebre. There has been excessive poaching there for many many years of this valuable resource and they are nearly fished out now.

The season was closed for the stocks to recover but opened again a couple weeks ago...when the whales leave...and they found that there just werent enough scallops of legal size to harvest...so they closed it again which is really sad for the fishermen...however we dont feel too sorry for them because most of the poachers are fishermen themselves...big problema these days.

So when the season is closed and the restaurant is offering fresh mano de leon...one should really decline to eat there....where do you begin to address out of season goodies???

here is a link to the article
http://colectivopericu.wordpress.com/2011/05/18/se-detiene-c...

[Edited on 5-21-2011 by shari]

in peru they eat their scallops with the huevera (orange egg sack) still attached. it is considered a delicacy that way. we have searched high and low to find them in baja and california, to no avail. when the fisherman clean the scallops they really CLEAN them. we've even tried to order them from the pagueros and they always come back cleaned.

i realize there is so much wrong with eating the a scallop while it is trying to procreate, but lacking seasons that are in place for that purpose (lobster season is closed in the warm months due to their trying to pro-create) what is a person to do? it seems that the Ojo closure is based on growth rates, not when the scallops are trying to mass produce the next generation.

might be something to bring up at the next meeting of the co-operativa?

Bajatripper - 5-22-2011 at 11:19 AM

On military checkpoints (I haven't sampled the tamales that way), we lost what had looked like a permanent check point at Cadeje, just north of the San Juanico on the Pacific side. On our last trip through, the camp was abandoned, so perhaps they've moved them up north. I'd guess they keep moving them around to keep the traffickers guessing. We also appear to have lost the "permanent" military check point just outside of La Paz.

shari - 5-23-2011 at 08:34 AM

woody...scallops do have a closed season during the reproductive time...they are very observant of the reproductive cycles of all the species here and close the fishing during them.

woody with a view - 5-23-2011 at 12:15 PM

good.

i guess that's why we never have been able to get them with the huevera....