Originally posted by walters886
Our Baja Adventure – September 2-14, 2011
My wife Nina, our friend Chuck and I (Walt) took a trip south to Mulege a few weeks ago. Except for the road construction delays south of Ensenada the
ride was uneventful – but a lesson was learned. Airstream Willy had emailed me that a lightening storm rolled through two days earlier and had
temporarily knocked out electrical power at Cuesta Real RV Park. But, of course, I didn’t check my email enroute. So we arrived hot, tired and sweaty
to discover we had no electrical power to our travel trailer. Mmmm, no power, Mulege in early September, no AC, not good. The lesson here is to call
your intended destination before you arrive to ensure all is well and ship shape. Luckily, Willy told us that there was a wide open yellowtail bite on
the Pacific side so we headed over to the Baja Bocana B&B.
We had only intended to stay a couple of days at the B&B but we wound up staying for a week! Too many La Bocana highlights to put into a narrative
so here’s the short list:
- Hospitality at Les and Blanca’s was terrific. Our first time at the B&B and we were very impressed. They were very friendly and it was clean,
comfortable and very affordable.
- Fishing was excellent. Jaunchy (our fishing guide and friend) put us on the yellowtail immediately only a few miles from shore. Yellows weren’t too
big but were very plentiful. We limited out in only a few hours of fishing. Ideal conditions every day, the ocean was calm with only a slight
refreshing breeze.
- Nina earned a new nickname: “Capitana Doble”. When she was at the helm, we often had two fish on simultaneously. Lots of excitement, both Chuck and
I were very impressed.
- Dinners at Joaquin’s Baja Cactus were nightly feasts. We met lots of new friends, Vincent and friends played great music and there was spirited
boozy singing by everyone.
- We loved eating at Martin’s restaurant. Martina is a terrific cook. Each meal she prepared for us was a delectable treat. Her fish stew is a
specialty, wonderful spices blended perfectly to bring out the maximum flavor of fresh veggies and fresh fish. Bring a guitar and if you’re lucky the
whole family will sing traditional style Baja music in wonderful four part harmony.
- I’ve always been a do-it-yourself guy but I found out that the co-op will fillet, vac pac and deep freeze your fish quickly and cheaply. You can
pick it up the next day. It’s a great deal and you can also buy ice and canned fish there as well. Smoked bonita from a can? Yep, and you might find
this and other canned fish a very tasty and versatile treat.
We took a break from fishing and decided to take the coastal route up to Bajía Asuncion to see some good friends. We had a great time with Juan Arce
Marron and Shari Bondy and had lunch with our good friend Juanita at her restaurant. On the return trip my GMC Safari van suffered on the washboard
road and I lost a nearly new Michelin radial tire. Grrrrr! But a used tire was found on our return to La Bocana and all was well for the trip home.
Eventually we made our way back to Mulegé. I was going to put some labor into fixing up odds and end on the travel trailer but we detoured over to
Mateo Murillo’s place and asked if anything was going on fish-wise. He said that there were still a few dorado around a few miles from the point and
it would definitely be worth a try. So I put the tools aside and Chuck and I went out with Mateo the next day. We caught three dorado between us – not
too big, but very exciting none the less.
Summarizing, one of the best trips to Baja for us. I’m back at work but dreaming about our next Baja adventure. Oh yeah, you can see some good
time-wasting photos:
http://s257.photobucket.com/albums/hh212/walters886/Baja%202...
Adios (for now) or hasta pronto,
Walt Stolar |
