BajaLuna
Senior Nomad
Posts: 581
Registered: 12-5-2012
Location: Pacific Northwest/Bahia Asuncion
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Mood: groovy
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WA to Bahia Asuncion
We have spent a lot of time in Rosarito and Ensenada, and also flown into Loreto and driven from there over to Bahia Asuncion but this was the first
time that we have driven down the Baja from the border to Central Baja. It was a trip full of discovery and wonder of the beauty of Baja and it's
people! Stopped at Discover Baja and got our Temp visa. And with our Ford truck packed full like the Clampett's, we got lucky and slid right through
at Otay, whewww! But then missed the exit/turn for Highway 2000, so a bit of confusion there but managed to get back where we needed to be! Not sure
what we did wrong or how to avoid this mistake next time...I think the exit/turn off for that highway was just so soon after going through the border?
Anyways, we stopped at La Toya's Café in Ensenada, and picked up Sirena and Izaak. You must try the croissant sandwiches and great espressos too, and
convenient location right on the highway! Buzzing from those latte's, we drove pretty much straight through with a stop in Jesus Maria for dinner at
Taqueria Kassandra's, next door to the Pemex station, I highly recommend this place, GREAT good, GREAT people! Ok so after reading these boards for a
year about the truckers, the cows in the road, the narrow roads etc etc, it is ALL true, wow do those trucks haul buns on skinny roads! And cows
everywhere at night! The drive down took a lot longer than we thought (typical for a road trip for us), but we finally arrived about 10 that night. As
a food grower and hobby farmer myself, I really enjoyed seeing all the farming that is going on in Baja, of course a lot of it I'm sure is BIG
Agri-Corp and probably from U.S. companies, but there sure is a lot going on there! And I was glad to see food at least being grown on the same
continent so we don't have to buy from China (political rant)! And then coming through the area I named "Bedrock" because it reminded me of the
Flintstones, was so breathtakingly beautiful too. And everywhere we went the people were so nice and very helpful and our limited Spanish wasn't too
much of a problem, we found that when we tried to speak in our broken Spanish, they met us half way, and were really patient! This trip for us was
more of a working vacation, trying to get our new house set up, and taking care of business, and we did do a lot of work, but kept a good balance of
fun and exploration too! We met many of our neighbors who were so gracious and so welcoming and so helpful out of the goodness of their hearts and who
walked us through a lot of things that us as newbies needed to know! Such as how do we get to the dump, how and where do we recycle, where do we go to
pay the bills, where do we buy propane etc. So many people played an integral part of making our transition more smooth. Baja is not only about fun
and sun, and exploring, it is also very much about people, it is about relationships, sharing with each other, helping one another, it is about
connecting with neighbors, friends and fellow travelers! We love being a part of a "WE" village as it meshes with our belief system of community, and
Bahia Asuncion hands down is a WE village! People are helpful and heart-centered! We were so grateful for the help we received, it can be a bit
overwhelming and challenging at times when you move to a new place and trying to get aquainted with their systems, and being that we are new there we
needed some guidance and the welcome wagon greeted us! I was excited to take a tour of Jean and Ed's Bahia Asuncion B&B, I have been seeing it up
the hill from our house and have been in awe of the beauty of it, and what an awesome chef Ed is, we are still talking about the awesome dinner he
made for us! It was so cool, people would stop by our place for a visit and introduce themselves and ask "how can we help"! Viva Baja!!! And we're
really excited there will be/is a community garden and so many other great programs going on there! We didn't see any whales there, although I was
watching for them as several people told us they had already seen a few come through last week!! We will be there next month for Christmas, so
hopefully we will see some! So being the dummies we are, we forgot all about the Baja1000 going on when we picked the dates to go to Baja, this posed
some challenges for us, but also was very fun. We decided driving straight through to Bahia Asuncion was just wayyy too much, so on the way back we
decided to stop half way. Except that most all the hotels were booked, yikes! Luckily the night before we left, our neighbors in BA gave us a list of
hotels and good directions how to get to them, thank goodness for community!!! It was fun stopping at some eateries and running into the Baja
pre-runners, and every Pemex station was full of them! And of course seeing all the eye-candy of those vehicles! We are "live in the moment" type of
people and our mantra is "don't sweat it it will all work out", but no vacancy just about everywhere we tried, we were now tossing around the idea of
sleeping in our truck somewhere on the beach, no problemo we were both game! It's now approaching dusk, and all of a sudden our truck light goes on,
"low tire pressure" we have a dang flat tire, but I guess if ya gotta get one San Quintin is a good place, eh! We had a spare, we had an air pump,
tire repair kit...we read all the boards on these forums on what ya need when ya travel Baja (thanks be to all of you), but I wasn't willing to travel
the rest of the way without a spare that's for sure! We pump up the tire, and head on to the next hotel but after being sent to other hotels by hotels
who were full, 2 of them didn't take a dog, but we finally found an awesome pet-friendly hotel "la Villa" on the main boulevard there! I highly
recommend this place, a little pricey vs other hotels in the area, but they have 2 buildings, one for those with pets, and one for those without pets,
and the hotel is practically brand new. I will mention though, it was a 200.00 USD pet deposit, OUCH! The owner is a very nice man who tends beautiful
gardens there, fruits, vegetables too, and such a friendly guy! His son runs the restaurant in front of the hotel "La Villa restaurant", and the food
is very good, lots of pasta dishes, be sure and order the potato pablano soup it is to die for! We were really tired after going from hotel to hotel,
so we checked in to the hotel and parked and just then the tire started going flat again and we both said "manana". Got the tire fixed across the
street the next morning and headed out. Decided to meander through downtown Ensenada on our way, OH BOY what a cluster F%&* (yes we're crazy!)
because of the race, so shopping was out, parking was a joke, but a lot of hoopla going on there and it was fun to see all the trucks and buggies! I
don't care what people say about Ensenada, or the bad rap it sometimes get, I LOVE Ensenada! All in all it was a great trip, no bummers until Southern
Oregon when we had to take off our shorts and flip-flops and put on pants and socks, UGH! We learned a lot on our first trip down the Baja, it's best
to do the trip down to Bahia Asuncion in 2 days, what's the rush, Baja is about stopping along the way and taking in the beauty, talking to people
along the way, supporting the local businesses, and enjoying the journey not just the destination! Next month we fly into San Diego and drive down
from there, and I already have hotel reservations in San Quintin LOL! It was so nice doing the trip up the Baja in 2 days, we made many stops along
the way and were really able to take in the Baja magic of slow down and take in the moment! I would like to add that we diligently searched for Gary
Patton in our travels, and saw a flyer in El Rosario and Catavina in the store there. I will post later on that forum! Thanks to everyone on these
boards who share such valuable info, and thanks to the people in BA who were such a big help! And thanks to Diane and John for leaving the house full
of great stuff we can use and for being so helpful!! And a special thanks to Sirena for being our tour guide down the Baja, and Izaak at 3 years old
is a good Spanish teacher too! If you're on the fence about Baja, if you're on the fence about buying or renting there, if you're on the fence about
making a change for the better, JUST DO IT!!!!! Baja is magical!! So if you're ever in Bahia Asuncion when we are there, stop by, we love visitors, mi
casa es su casa!!! This was the craziest thing we ever did buy a house in Baja in a place we had never been to before we bought this house, but
sometimes you just gotta go with your gut feeling and take the leap...and thankfully the stars aligned as it is by far the best thing we ever did! For
us being in Baja also allows a great base place for us to explore the SOC side too, and other parts of Mexico, Guatemala, Panama etc. Let the
adventures begin!!!!
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mulegemichael
Super Nomad
Posts: 2310
Registered: 12-24-2007
Location: sequim,wa. and mulege
Member Is Offline
Mood: up on step
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luna...where in washington do you live?....we live in sequim when we aren't down south in mulege....mike and roz.
dyslexia is never having to say you\'re yrros.
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shari
Select Nomad
Posts: 13048
Registered: 3-10-2006
Location: bahia asuncion, baja sur
Member Is Offline
Mood: there is no reality except the one contained within us "Herman Hesse"
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great report Ms.Luna and we are so glad you had a great experience on your first time in your new home. We look forward to spending the holidays
together.
...one tiny suggestion is that you break your posts up into shorter paragraphs so it's easier to read...it makes a huge difference.
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BajaLuna
Senior Nomad
Posts: 581
Registered: 12-5-2012
Location: Pacific Northwest/Bahia Asuncion
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Mood: groovy
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Mike, we are in Snohomish County!
Hope to visit with you one of these days when we come to Mulege!!!!
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DianaT
Select Nomad
Posts: 10020
Registered: 12-17-2004
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Really good to hear that everything went so well. We hope our lists were understandable and helpful. The only furniture we miss are the tables
that Jamie built. Enjoy them. 
And we have heard so much about the new community garden, we are really looking forward to seeing it. That group is doing so much that is good.
Besides, the garden is located behind a very special home.
We miss our home there, and even more, we miss our friends, so it is wonderful to hear that someone else is going to love that little house and become
friends with our friends and understand why.
We also never intended to buy a home in Baja and it turned out to be six great years and we left there with friends who will be with us always.
ENJOY
[Edited on 11-29-2013 by DianaT]
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BajaLuna
Senior Nomad
Posts: 581
Registered: 12-5-2012
Location: Pacific Northwest/Bahia Asuncion
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Mood: groovy
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thanks Shari! Now if I could only figure out how to live there fulltime now rather than later, then everything would be peachy!
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BajaLuna
Senior Nomad
Posts: 581
Registered: 12-5-2012
Location: Pacific Northwest/Bahia Asuncion
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Mood: groovy
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I love to cook too, but boy oh boy I need to up my game to keep up with Ed and Jean's cooking talents!!
Oh yes, your lists were most helpful, and I printed out everything you emailed us on the how-tos about the house and took it down with us and we were
so glad we did!
Jaime IS a very talented woodworker and he is currently building upper kitchen cabinets for us!
Being a food gardener myself, I am realllllly looking forward to contributing to the community garden, I have been involved in one here where I live
up here in the PNW and find it so much fun!! I also grow for the food bank here, plant a row for the hungry program. I'm very passionate about
community gardens, so this is right up my alley! I have a lot to learn about growing food in Baja though! Bringing some heirloom seeds with me in Dec.
I had never seen a fig tree before except of course in pictures, and as soon as someone identified for me that the one in the side yard was indeed a
fig tree, we picked 3 figs and ate them and they were delicious! Can't wait to have enough to make jam!
Oh yes Diane, we love the house, it will be well taken care of, well loved and enjoyed to the fullest!
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BajaBlanca
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Posts: 13197
Registered: 10-28-2008
Location: La Bocana, BCS
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wow, how fun to hear of dreams coming true!
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DianaT
Select Nomad
Posts: 10020
Registered: 12-17-2004
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That fig tree really struggled, but it great to hear it is finally producing some fruit! Salty wind is not the friend of many plants.
Glad the lists worked --- I live by lists and without them I am lost. 
It is a great community, but like in all communities, there are a few who will take from you over and over and use you until they can't get anymore
out of you, but you will figure that out and learn to say no.
And I like you nickname for Cataviña --- Bedrock.
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BajaLuna
Senior Nomad
Posts: 581
Registered: 12-5-2012
Location: Pacific Northwest/Bahia Asuncion
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Mood: groovy
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Thanks Blanca! We look forward to taking the drive down to your place one of these days!
Yes, dreams do come true!
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BajaLuna
Senior Nomad
Posts: 581
Registered: 12-5-2012
Location: Pacific Northwest/Bahia Asuncion
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Mood: groovy
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Diane....I'm not sure about fruit trees in Baja, but it is my experience with the fruit trees I have here that they don't get up to full speed in
maturity to produce fruit for 3 years. I'll give it a good dose of compost! How old is that fig tree? And the other tree close to it, is some kind of
citrus tree? Key Lime? It has thorns on it.
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DianaT
Select Nomad
Posts: 10020
Registered: 12-17-2004
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| Quote: | Originally posted by BajaLuna
Diane....I'm not sure about fruit trees in Baja, but it is my experience with the fruit trees I have here that they don't get up to full speed in
maturity to produce fruit for 3 years. I'll give it a good dose of compost! How old is that fig tree? And the other tree close to it, is some kind of
citrus tree? Key Lime? It has thorns on it. |
The fig was planted in 2007 and has been moved twice to get it more out of the wind --- lots of Mesquite dirt was used, but maybe it is now happy. I
have no idea what the citrus tree is. I know we planted a lime and the it did not work as the salty wind killed it, so we replaced it and I think
that is a struggling lemon.
We had great luck with tomatoes in several places, but not much with other veggies. Then again, we never built any wind breaks.
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BajaLuna
Senior Nomad
Posts: 581
Registered: 12-5-2012
Location: Pacific Northwest/Bahia Asuncion
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Mood: groovy
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Oops, I forgot Elide told me it was a lemon tree. I was confused when I saw it and that's why I asked her what kind of tree it was because it had long
thorns on it, and I had never seen a lemon tree with thorns on it. I just googled that and apparently lemon trees DO have thorns to protect themselves
from predators but loose them as they get older, Hmmm I guess I've only seen old lemon trees. Well that's good to know they loose the thorns because
those were some wicked long thorns! The lemon tree appears to be doing very well, not struggling at all!
Thanks for your help!
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