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gnukid
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In years ahead Loreto will be cut out as the road is paved along the pacific making the east cape once again far off the path of tourists, it will be
two hours of driving or more to get to Loreto from the Main Highway on the Pacific and there will be many new developments with fantastic claims. For
Loreto Bay it's over, there is no more money, no extra cash to solve their unfinished business or big revenue opportunities on the course either, the
course is not part of the HO profits. The project will be forever a poorly executed business without opportunity, with a flawed design mess which
hopefully serve as a warning of what to watch out for in future developmental claims. LB is Greenwashing at its finest example.
On the other hand if you recall the torment caused to many of us by the project you can imagine how upset we will will be by the scars they are laying
down the pacific with D9 tractors for only one purpose, highly promotional tourism development along a windy rough remote coast. For most of us, we
have taken the look the other way approach because when you see the destruction of pristine remote lands for no purpose other than big development
quick profits, the deal-making nonsense which makes these coastal plots available for mere pesos to connected wealth, the whole thing is
overwhelmingly stupid. So we look at the ocean or the other way and let these things pass as they will forever it seems. The only solace is knowing
that many will fail for their lack of efficiency in design and execution. What kind of solace is that?
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vandenberg
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| Quote: | Originally posted by MitchMan
Loreto is truly unique because of its tranquility and small town-ness. The other thing that really sets Loreto apart is the fact that it has a
beautiful island just six miles off the beach, Isla Carmen. Also, the low lying mountain ranges that surround Loreto on three sides. Think about it.
Where in the Baja can you go for that beautiful setting? And, there aren't that many places in the world with those specific attributes. AND IT'S
DRIVABLE FROM SAN DIEGO, and it has an international airport 2 miles away, and it's close to Mulege, and it has magnificent fishing and diving, and it
has the oldest Mission.
[Edited on 4-21-2009 by MitchMan] |
Mitchman will you quit singing Loreto's praises.
We got enough Jokels as it is.
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wilderone
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"For most of us, we have taken the look the other way approach"
SHAME ON YOU - with what you are able to do, and yet you do nothing, you are part of the problem.
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Paula
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| Quote: | Originally posted by wilderone
"For most of us, we have taken the look the other way approach"
SHAME ON YOU - with what you are able to do, and yet you do nothing, you are part of the problem. |
Wilderone, is this directed specifically to gnukid? Or do you know of something we can all do to stop these developments? If so, please advise us!
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wilderone
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I believe Gnukid lives in La Paz - not the USA, so he's "in country" and speaks Spanish for starters. Like most citizens who want something done by
their muncipal and federal governments, they can write to the many Mexican environmental entities; present their opinions at local organizations and
band together to take some action. Just speaking out and calling attention to the detrimental effects to their communities may spur some action by
the local mayor. If there are true violations of law, then they shouldn't be ignored when brought to the attention - incessantly - to the entity who
should enforce the law. Call on ProPeninsula, ICF, Sierra Club, Friends of Loreto, Eco Alianza, Nature Conservancy, Oceans Foundations (yeh - you-
Spalding) - any organization whose mission is to help protect the environment from these destructive practices, for their help. Contact organizations
that purchase land for protection in perpetuity and ask how they manage to raise funds to do this (Keep Tahoe Blue; Tahoe Conservancy - there must be
hundreds.) There was a demonstration opposing the San Jose marina. I believe there were some modifications made to preserve more of the estuary and
do more studies on the saltwater intrusion issue because of the public outcry. Demand muncipal planning so that development is balanced and sensible,
leaving ample open space and adequate provisions for waste. Todos Santos should be able to advise in this regard, as they have had several public
meetings to discuss their city planning. Post online; send photos to newspapers. Educating outsiders (potential buyers and guests) about the
egregious and needless environmental destruction may keep them away - many people do take the moral high ground when they're made aware. Magazines
like Baja Life - if they've got the cajones to publish the truth (may lose some advertising revenue - but what's more important??) - should publish
what is really going on. There is plenty of information out there - but it's scattered, so people don't realize the Big Picture. Pressure on
Marriott, Villa Group, etc. - do it right or we'll boycott. There have been conferences In Mexico about sustainable development - picket at these
conferences - it's all Bullsh_ if it's just talk and the coastal development continues unabated. Are all these individual people just talking,
talking, talking at conferences to get a free vacation or are they going to SHOW UP and put their money where their mouth is. You can find all kinds
of conferences of architects, water management people, sustainable living, etc., blah, blah - tell them to get their burros to Baja CA and change
things. I get emails from League of Conservation Voters almost weekly about various environmental issues. They always have a letter pre-addressed
to some Congressman - all I have to do is edit the letter or add my comments and it can be sent within that email. In that way, our voice is heard -
one by one - but heard. If you don't speak out - how will anyone be able to listen? How will anything change? And I've found too, that once you
start doing something, it steamrolls. I made a bunch of posters (8x11 color copies) showing cows wallowing and pooping in the middle of a streambed
where they were outside of their alloted public grazing lands, and we taped them on storefront windows in order to publicize the problem and get the
cattle grazing stopped. That was part of a grassroots campaign to stop the grazing. You'll think of something - just do it.
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wilderone
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Facts, names, organizations, academics, methods - so much information
http://mikesnotes.wordpress.com/2009/03/31/ceres-conference-...
http://www.conferencealerts.com/sustain.htm
http://www.wessex.ac.uk/10-conferences/sustainable-tourism-2...
http://www.yorku.ca/dkproj/string/rohr/articles.htm
http://www.ceakumal.org/pew_oceans_commission_-_press_confer...
http://mexidata.info/id2035.html
http://www.dgukenvis.nic.in/upevents.htm
http://convention2.allacademic.com/meta/p_mla_apa_research_c...
http://www.gulfbase.org/event/view.php?eid=6asgccdsc
http://www.avina.net/web/siteavina.nsf/SeccionesAlleng/0FFC1...
http://web.dcp.ufl.edu/kuenstle/shoreline0905.pdf
http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.3375/0885-8608(2006)26%5B117:CLFBTD%5D2.0.CO%3B2
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wilderone
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And this just in - the LB fiasco has lead to 37 homes being confiscated because of the failure to pay layed off employees their wages per law.
Gringo developers who don't know Mexican law or think they can get away with flouting the law, will eventually become accountable:
http://www.radarpolitico.com/2009/03/23/embargan-37-casas-a-...
Wouldn't it be nice if the employees were deeded the units in lieu of pay? LB would start to become an authentic Mexican town as promised.
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David K
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| Quote: | Originally posted by wilderone
And this just in - the LB fiasco has lead to 37 homes being confiscated because of the failure to pay layed off employees their wages per law.
Gringo developers who don't know Mexican law or think they can get away with flouting the law, will eventually become accountable:
http://www.radarpolitico.com/2009/03/23/embargan-37-casas-a-...
Wouldn't it be nice if the employees were deeded the units in lieu of pay? LB would start to become an authentic Mexican town as promised.
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By "Gringo" you mean foreign and not necessarily American, right? I recall Loreto Bay was a Canadian owned development, verdad?
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wilderone
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My understanding of the word Gringo (from Wikipedaea), and I meant to include North American, non-native Mexicans, to include Canadians:
"Gringo (feminine, gringa) is a Spanish and Portuguese word used in Latin America to generally denote people from the United States, but in some cases
it is also used to denote foreign non-native speakers of Spanish (physical appearance i.e. race often plays a role), usually from northern Europe or
Canada--especially English-speakers."
PS: Many on staff at LB, not from Canada, were advisors, planners, and should have known, and probably did know, what they should be doing and the
repurcussions of halting construction and laying off workers. The early "team" - Grogan, Jack Heller, Jim Ruzicka were not from Canada. And they even
had the Hon. Al Zapanta as an advisor, the CEO of the US-Mex Chamber of Commerce. And Alfonso Garcia Cacho, a lawyer, leading the "Mexico consultancy
team with the Fed. Govt and FONATUR" ; and Jack Heller, an advisor re legal and tax matters. What was he getting paid to do? Were all these people
were incompetent or not actually acting in these capacities? Evidently, the choice to walk away and put the LB project and their homes in jeopardy
was a purposeful choice, and given that the project was poorly managed and so much money squandered, it does raise some questions about the competency
and intentions of the "team".
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gnukid
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If the policy of the current government is to sell land to certain constituents for a few pesos per meter and approve absurd developments like LB and
Mogote for example its unlikely that civilian efforts will halt their deals.
Though being informed, communicating and organizing can help its not likely that it will stop the political pilaging of the land that is occurring at
a fast pace in Baja.
My current approach is to inform potential buyers to use common sense and perhaps we can discourage the buyers from investing in absurd projects.
For example, in Baja you need a garage! If you live want to be on the coast consider the wind and waves, can you live in the face of high winds and
sand blasting? Can you take the heat? Can you access the ocean or are there dangerous currents and winds which restrict your access? All of these
things tend to make some locations more suitable than others.
It seems that these large developments are more likely to encounter problems than small developments. For example, continued construction over time
which is costly and difficult to sustain not to mention construction noise is unpleasant when it continues for years on end.
From what we have seen over the years investing in large condo or townhouse development in Mexico is not a great investment whereas living remotely
off the grid is more and more becoming an excellent option and a sustainable way to live and retire. Its quiet and pleasant, affordable and less
aggravation.
I often try to learn from Mexicans who are succeeding and learn how they live conservatively, how they make use of the resources they have and use the
plants that exist for food and homeopathic care. thankfully I have had the chance this year to see, visit and live on many remote ranchitos and see
how people build their own huertas and live very very well self-sustained.
If the connection between these heavily promoted huge developments and the poorly educated foreign buyer is broken then the nonsense developments will
come to an end because buyers will be looking at other more sustainable options and the development money will be gone. Options include renting,
camping, building your own place, long term rentals, buying a traditional or new single home.
I think the more that we talk about what does work and what doesn't work well and share our experiences the more we can indirectly affect development.
There are so many homes in Baja that are empty and so options for a simple home and simple palapa on the terrace it hardly make sense to buy a 500k
condo in an unfinished and poorly managed development?
Caveat: for those that are happy living in LB and Magote great! just pointing out other possibilities.
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tripledigitken
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Gnukid,
Excellent post. I couldn't agree with you more. All the folks I know that live and have property in Baja are happy with their homes and their life
there.
The one commonality................they don't live in huge developments, but single homes built one at a time, bought from a local not a corporation.
Ken
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wilderone
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Yes, gnukid, you're on the right track - educate the foreign buyer as to alternatives. Could you post about what you've learned from these remote
ranchitos? I have always admired their lifestyle - even children are so self-sufficient and know how to butcher a goat, herd cattle, etc.
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gnukid
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A bit off topic but to answer your question, in the ranchos everything is considered valuable, all organic material is composted in a composting table
seeded with red runner worms, the compost is made up of goat manure or any manure and organics and is ready in about 30-60 days they call worm
castings.
Scrap wood and found wood can be used to make furniture, chairs tables, or for firewood. Found wood are among the great treasures of Baja. Scrap wood
is very valuable and some ranches survive collecting cardon and mesquite wood only. Stones are also very valuable, you can build homes, walls, roads
etc... some ranches survive collecting and selling stones! Stones are among Baja fine resources and many locations exist to collect stone.
Trees are very valuable, as are seeds of local native trees such as orange, lime, mango, palms etc... So planting a tree is an important task. IF you
plant a tree and care for it in a few years it will produce and you canuse the produce or sell it, 5 year old palms are worth 3000 pesos.
To have greater success one should choose a place low level or in the path of water, many successful huertas exist in surprising low points. In and
near arroyos. Whenever you see a palm you know you have water nearby. There is water all over Baja pouring out of the ground into oasises.
The garden is seeded in a traditional sloped style with water entering and leaving through a canal. They typically use a two shovel length dig to put
organic material and hay in the soil below the canal and leave mounds between for the seeded beds. The seeding is done in a complimentary manner with
items like lechuga, cale, mustard, beans etc together so when you harvest you only bend down in one spot to harvest the whole meal.
They often drink tea of canela and cilantro with miel and azucar or cafe which is terrific.
There are fresh eggs daily and the eggs are never refrigerated. Most hen houses have one gallo in addition to the gallenas. They say it helps them lay
eggs more reliably but also you should have a male in order to raise more chicks.
Goats are very helpful for a variety of reasons from clean-up to cheese. Cows are nice to have but also a burden and a risk, Horses are needed for
just about everything and they are great friends.
I found ranches in Santa Maria with Orange trees that are 70 years old and producing nicely. In La Purisima they have many orange groves and tons of
veggies. In San Juanico there is an organic farming movement and many many people have lechuga and veggies in beds covered with a light material which
is weighted with bamboo on the ends to keep them on the ground and cut out snails and bugs.
The ranchers enjoy the things they have and they enjoy sharing them exactly as you would like them so personal taste is a common subject, Te gusta?
Mucho? Poquito? Como? Que tanto sal? Mucho? Poquito? Children are allowed to do whatever they want as long as they help. Most families live in common
quarters with many people in the same room. There is a lot of work to do so everyone has to choose a basic area to work in and do it, laundry,
harvest, tire repair, cooking, gardening, collecting wood or stone etc... Its hard work that starts early but at slow and steady pace and in general
the work day ends at about 3-4pm.
[Edited on 4-23-2009 by gnukid]
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Paula
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Nice pictures, Gnukid, especially the oranges. And interesting info about composting and using what's at hand. I don't see it as being off the
subject of this thread, but as counterpoint to the wastefulness and destruction of LB and other beach developments.
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wilderone
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Now, I'm sorry, this is a hijack - but reading gnukid's post gave me an idea: small groups touring 3-4 ranchos, helping out, donating needed supplies
(maybe a tree, seeds, fertilizer, hose), camping nearby, for a fee. Say, $200 for 5 days - $50 for each rancho. A unique experience for sure. I'd
do it.
and "tea of canela and cilantro with miel?" hmmmm - I'll try that.
thanks so much for your wonderful post.
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Udo
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When my friends ask about Loreto, I tell them to skip it and head to Mulege, San Ignacio, or Santa Rosalia. An then there is Bahia Asuncion...our
secret...especially with Shari & Juan there. Now, there is Mexico's best...unless you count Osprey's house as a destination!
Udo
Youth is wasted on the young!
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