Beauty and the beast

Baja California Sur is full of surprises.  The landscape is rugged, unforgiving and beautiful at the same time.  During our time here we have experienced

• Tropical Storm Raymond (12 inches of rain in 18 hours), 25% of it dripping into our casita
• a 6.7 magnitude earthquake that was centered in the middle of the Sea of Cortez, prompted a new app on my Ipad QuakeFeed
• jellyfish stings
• 3 day mosquito plague from Raymond's standing water
• a 6 inch scorpion in our path from the casita to our car, I checked all sheets and shoes after I saw this guy

And 

• the most incredible hue of blue sky I have ever seen
• an amazing pod of dolphins

• a plethora fish in crystal clear water while snorkeling from the white sand crescent beach of Cornado Island
• a sea lion colony
• great local seafood and mexican specialties
• gracious and friendly locals
• exceptional 80 degree sunny days and 70 degree breezy nights
• too many beautiful hummingbirds and butterflies to count

On balance, the challenges have not overshadowed the beauty and enjoyable experience of life in Baja Mexico. Es una hermosa tierra.

La Noche de la Conquista - Evento Gastronomico 2013

We were fortunate enough to be in Loreto for it's annual fund raising event, this year, benefiting it's local firefighters. The little town square, near the 112 year old mission is transformed for a night of food, wine, music and philanthropy.  It was promoted by all the restaurants in the weeks leading up to the event which resulted in a sold out affair.  We heard there were approximately 300 attendees.

We arrived to a beautiful setting of linen tablecloths and candlelit tables on cobblestone streets at around 6PM.  Eighteen local restaurants were represented and wine flowed freely. Several variations of chocolate clams (chocolate colored shells), the local specialty were presented.  Grilled fish, pork and beef were also plentiful, well prepared and delicious.  Luckily we left a little room for the yummy desserts and pastries also available.

The weather was perfect, the mosquitos were at bay.  The lovely evening was further enhanced by local live music, a raffle (we did not win :-() and a traditional clam bake demonstration, complete with a loin-clothed clam cocinero.


It was a fun night and an enjoyable kick-off for our friends from Seattle who had arrived earlier in the day for a week's stay with us.  The organizers seemed pleased with the amount of money raised by the evening toward a good cause.