East Capers Issue 67

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Read the color version online at www.eastcapearts.com

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Festival de Artes

Al anunciar el 21 Festival Anual de Artes que se cele-brará en el hermoso "Hotel Palmas de Cortez," de 10:00 am a 4:00 pm el domingo, 13 de abril, 2014. Este popular evento patrocinado por la Asociación de Artes en el Cabo del Este, que se conoce como el escaparate más im-portante para los artistas lo-cales que exhiben y venden sus obras de arte originales.

"El Corredor de Comida," contará con la famosa Carne Asada Palmas Taco Stand, nuestro propio Smokey's Grill & Cantina, Baja Biscuits y al-gunos nuevos que ofrecerán delicias y sabrosas platillos. Junto con sus bebidas fa-voritas y un bar que está en segundo lugar del mundo. Tenemos una gran línea de entretenimiento, con música en vivo y grupos de danza.

Los fondos del Festival de Artes, son para las activi-dades comunitarias de la Asociación de Artes, que in-cluyen: Artes y suministros educativos para las escuelas del Cabo del Este, el patro-cinio y la participación en los Los Barriles "Cursos de verano" de vacaciones de verano del programa, visitas de estudio y el artista local nuestro siempre popular Sábado Artes y Oficios en el DIF para los niños locales. SEE PAGE 3 FOR MORE FESTIVAL INFORMATION

Free / Gratis



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Advertising in East Capers

Advertising in the East Capers gets the word out about your business AND your ad money supports the 3 week 'Cursos de Verano' summer school, for over 120 local children and provides art supplies for 18 East Cape public schools.

In addition to space in the printed version, your color ad appears in the online version at no addi-tional cost. You can download the 2014/15 Advertis-ing Kit by visit ing our website at: www.eastcapearts.com.

Tax-deductable Contributions to the Asociación de Artes

The Asociación de Artes del Mar de Cortez A.C., Los Barriles, B.C. Sur, Mexico is a legal non-profit Mexican corporation not affiliated with any other or-ganization, association, club or business.

The Asociación is in full compliance with the terms of the NAFTA agreement of January 1, 1994. As such, contributions made to the Asociación de Artes are tax-deductable in the United States, Mexico and Canada. For m o r e i n f o r m a t i o n v i s i t : www.eastcapearts.com or the NAFTA Website at: http://www.ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-agreements/north-american-free-trade-agreement-nafta.

Volunteers Needed!

The Asociación de Artes needs volunteers to help support their programs that bring the arts to the lo-cal communities and the schools. To learn more about these programs, visit: www.eastcapearts.com.

If you would like to volunteer, send an email to: [email protected].

Call for Articles

East Capers is looking for fiction and true stories about our region and items that affect our residents. If you are interested in submitting articles, recipes, stories or your personal experiences in Baja, email your 1 ,000-word or less art ic le to [email protected].

Thank You! This publication is possible with the help of the board members of the Asociación de Artes and members of the community.

East Capers Periódico

Publisher Asociación de Artes del Mar de Cortez A.C.,

Los Barriles, BCS, Mexico

Editor Walter S. Zapotoczny Jr.

Copy Editor Pako Ford

Circulation Brian Cummings

Advertising Kathy Obenshain

Denise Linnet

Contributors Jorge Bergin John David Lionel Brooke Holly Burgin Theresa Comber Christine Courtright Rebecca Cross Camilla Ford Gary Graham

Ann Hazard Connie M. Heinen

JoAnn Hyslop Russ Hyslop

Urmas Kaldveer, PhD Renée Lagloire Pablo Ponce

Fernando Rodriguez Robin Wade

Walter S. Zapotoczny Jr.

Printer Imprenta Ciudad Los Niños,

La Paz, BCS, Mexico To learn about Ciudad Los Niños, visit their website at:

http://ciudadninoslapaz.org/english/home.htm

———————————

The opinions expressed within the articles in East Capers are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Asocia-

ción de Artes del Mar de Cortez A.C.

Fishing Sinners Repent By Jorge Bergin

wasn’t always the hero I am today. A long time ago, in the U.S., (Nevada, Utah, Cali-fornia) I was fishing algae, pond scum. I did break some rules but I never caught more

than my limit of trout and I actually protected trout from my 5th wife who loved to catch em but didn’t want to cook em.

I’ll just give you one example: I never went afield for fish or game without a license. At the beginning of the season I bought the appropri-ate annual license and didn’t mind much the $45 to $50 dollars for the privilege to fish in Ne-vada. But one time when I was short on ready cash, I lost my fishing license.

I went back to the same store where I bought the license and explained to the clerk what had happened. He was very helpful, asked for my driver’s license and within a minute or so I had a replacement. Cost: $1.00. We bid each other a nice day and I began to sing my sweet/cheap song all the way out the door.

You’re way ahead of me aren’t you? Yep. For the next few years my licenses only cost me a buck. Then, one fateful year the jig (as they say) was up. Replacement licenses in Nevada were $45 bucks.

I remember saying to the counter guy at Wal-Mart “Was that me? Did I do that?” But he was already busy with other customers who were looking for Gulp.

Since that day I have been trying valiantly to make up for my sins. Nobody, but nobody gets in my boat without a valid fishing license and I see to it they never exceed the limits or break the rules. I know I’ve switched countries but I don’t care. A sinner makes retribution wherever he can.

~

Baja California Culinary Thumbnail From Gastronomía: Atlas cultural de México

TRADITIONAL DISHES TO LOOK FOR

Gallo Pinto --minced beef with rice, potato and other vegetables served as a hot stew.

Machaca --dried, salted beef that is rehydrated, lightly roasted over fire, soaked in water to re-move the salt and to soften, then pounded to pieces, ideally over a mesquite trunk, by a mes-quite pole. Then it's put in water again to get out more salt, and finally squeezed and fried in a skillet. A salsa is made with onion, chili, tomato and oregano, the salsais mixed into the fried beef and the whole thing is cooked for about five minutes. Most people expect to eat this with wheat tortillas, beans and coffee. In the north-ern Baja there is a machaca made with eggs, machaca con huevo.

Almejada --especially in Loreto, lo-cal clams cooked by piling dry wood over them, then eating them with hot-sauce, cilantro, lemon juice and salt.

SPECIAL CHEESE De Apoyo --a dry cheese especially good for grating, produced mostly during the rainy sea-son.

SPECIAL SWEET Chimangos --wheat-flour fritters topped with honey.



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Festival de Artes

he 21st annual Festival de Artes will be held at the Hotel Palmas de Cortez in Los

Barriles on Sunday, April 13, 2014, from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. This popular event sponsored by

the Asociación de Artes, is known as the premier showcase for local artists who display and sell their original art.

Money raised at the art festivals supports programs for local children. 55,000 pesos from the last two art festivals went to completely fund the three-week Cur-sos de Verano, or summer school program, in July for over 100 kids. Funding included purchasing shirts for the kids and volunteers, supplies for all of the ac-tivities and many other items. In addition, art and school supplies totaling 66,000 pesos were pur-chased for schools on the East Cape stretching from Cardonal and San Bartolo and as far south as Las Cuevas, La Rivera and Campamento.

The art festivals are always the Sunday before Easter and the last four including this year have been at Palmas De Cortez. This has allowed the event to grow to 150 participating artists and over 1,500 at-tendees.

The festival this year includes a food court with sev-eral food vendors including Smokeys, Baja Biscuits and Lighthouse Pizza. Palmas de Cortez will feature carne asada tacos and a full bar complete with eve-rything from margaritas to flavored and infused wa-ters. Great entertainment is always included and this year Bluz Explozion from La Paz will perform along with local dance and singing groups. A fantastic si-lent auction will be conducted. Plenty of shade will be available so that attendees can enjoy the day shop-ping, eating, drinking and enjoying the entertainment with their friends.

If you are a vendor please come by 7:00 am, unload and move your car down past the Palmas de Cortez condos so as to not interfere with the guest parking. Please register before the event at Baja Beach Com-pany at the Plaza in Los Barriles or at the San Jose Market on Saturday with Baja Books and Maps.

Special discounted room rates are available at Hotel Palmas De Cortez or Hotel Playa Del Sol. Call US: 877-777-8862 or MX: 624-141-0044 for reservations.

PET OWNERS: Please leave your pets at home.

For more information email:

[email protected].

History of the Festival In February, 1992, a small group of residents in the East Cape region of Baja California Sur, Mexico formed a committee to organize a spring "Festival de Artes." The purpose of the event was to give lo-cal artists an opportunity to show and sell their origi-nal work and to raise money to support art programs in the schools. Twenty four artists attended with their original work. Two hundred and fifty members of the community came to enjoy the event. At the end of the day, $2,500 pesos had been raised to purchase art supplies for the Los Barriles Elemen-tary School. It was a modest but encouraging begin-ning. The spring "Festival de Artes" grew over the

years, attracting artists and visitors from Los Cabos and La Paz.

By 1998 the number of artists had tripled and the number of visitors had climbed to over 1,500. Funds earned by the event were now able to buy more art supplies for the schools. In 1999 the committee de-cided to form a private Mexican non-profit organiza-tion (an Asociación Civil) and establish a formal Board of Directors. The Asociación de Artes del Mar de Cortez A.C. has been developing programs for the benefit of East Cape communities along the Sea of Cortez ever since.

Buen Provecho is Moving to San Bartolo By Renée Lagloire

Denise Elliott is a Chef and Renée Lagloire is an Anthropologist. Friends since high school, they have camped and traveled together for several dec-ades. Over campfires, they mused about how much fun it would be to bring together their skills and offer cooking lessons that also included the history and cultural context for the ingredients in the recipes. So they founded Buen Provecho, offering authentic Mexican cooking lessons in La Paz. They have

time, and so have their students! It was clear to both of them that they would “eventually” like to grow organic foods, and maybe have a few cabanas for rent. They looked around in various villages, and fell in love with the village of San Bartolo. Unex-pectedly, they found a property and have an-nounced that they will be moving to San Bartolo. While the gardens and other development of the land is part of a longer-range plan, they expect to start Mexican and other specialty cooking classes in January 2015. Renée and Denise can be con-tacted at: [email protected].



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Stinging Things By Camilla Ford

y husband, John just got stung by a scorpion on the bottom of his foot yes-

terday. He didn’t see it in the shower. It made a dark circle on his sole (maybe

on his “soul” too). It hurt for a while, but then today, it is okay. He also got stung by jelly fish or aguas malas yesterday. I did too. I had been running with a friend and we decided to swim after the run. I decided to swim home. Halfway there, I felt a burning strand on my hip. I was way out in the water. I didn’t want to panic. I saw a couple launching their boat and thought I would swim there which was the nearest place to get out. As I swam, I felt another sting on my arm and some “prickles” on my hands. “Keep going. Don’t panic.” I did fine and got out. It wasn’t horrible just a darn shame. I had wanted to glide all the way home. Instead I had to go bipedal and walk.

Later, John and I wondered, “What is the pur-pose of scorpions, aguas malas and mosqui-toes?” Scorpions don’t like anyone else, not even each other. They isolate themselves in darkness. I don’t know how they find a mate. What a date that would be, “Para bing, para sting!” They hurt people and can hurt them again, and again, unlike bees. (By the way, John did kill the one that stung him). Mosqui-toes, John reasoned, are food for some ani-mals: bats, birds, and spiders. I guess that is something to their credit. I could write a book about mosquitoes.

I am a bit obsessed with them since living here. They love me, and I hate them. I think they stalk me. But, now I am stalking them. I learned that in the evenings, they try to leave the house through the screens. They are vampires that need blood when the sun goes down. They are so focused on getting out, that they don’t evade my squishing fits. That is the only time to kill them successfully. There are tons of them in the chapel where I meditate. (I know “meditation” and killing mosquitoes don’t seem compatible. But, I admit, I am still evolving as a human). I close my eyes and listen to the high pitched, “Whoville” screams. They don’t bite then because of the candles, I believe.

But, they make a nerve wracking racket. For a while, John actually sprayed them. I’d get a whiff of the sweet flower smell and inhale deeply, and then remember I was inhaling poi-son, not fresh flowers. I’d get a bit dizzy, and then feel grateful to my fellow mosquito stalker.

Now aguas malas, what good are they? What purpose do they serve? Food for turtles? These

are the little blue ones with the 20 foot long strands that sting even when they are dead or separated from their bodies--like some kind of horror movie monster. My daughter, Heidi, had a really bad set of stings years ago. She screamed and screamed as I rubbed hot sand on her to try to get the stingers out. On her hands, neck, chest, and arms. She cried for at least 30 minutes. Urine is supposed to neutral-ize the sting, so we tried that. “Mom!? Gross!” We put her in a cold shower. She would not get out of it even though she was shivering. It was awhile before she would go in the sea again.

John also had a bad set of stings when we first

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Continued from page 4 moved here. He suffered three days of pain. He said it was like hot oil running through his veins. He had to have a shot at the clinic. Since then, he thinks he has built up immunity. Stings hurt him still, but not like that. These jelly fish can be avoided for the most part. They look like bub-bles, and don’t burst open when you toss water at them. The strands are almost impossible to see, though. It is frustrating because the hotter it gets here, the more jelly fish there seem to be and the more you want to swim. I suppose that is why so many people build pools here.

Even the plants here grab and sting. John got nettle stings last year tramping on our land. Af-ter that, Heidi and I learned to recognize the bad nettles with their green and white leaves. “Back off!” Every surviving thing here has espi-nas (spines) that poke or sting or hook. I think the people here compensate for that. They are warm, accepting, tender, and embracing. The yin and yang. To thrive around stinging things, you have to learn to give and be humble and maneuver and relax and let yourself be directed

by zaps and pinches that make no sense and which you might not understand. Ni modo or “That’s the way it is,” is a very common expres-sion here. What can you do? Just accept and learn to live with it and really appreciate when things aren’t sharp. Perhaps stinging things are here to bring us back to our bodies and this mo-ment and the earth. Without them, we may live like headstrong Icarus flying blindly for the sun, in one direction until we fall. Stinging things re-mind us of our place on the earth. Not to be too proud or hoity toity, or worried about the future. Because, zing, AAAAAHHHH! I just got stung! And we all can get stung at any time and re-peatedly, too. But we still go swimming and hik-ing and enjoy our cold beers or limonadas out-side while watching the sea turn purple be-cause no sting can last forever with the same intensity. And, man! How wonderful those mo-ments are when we are not being stung by creatures or by life.



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SEA SCROLLS By John David Lionel Brooke

Sharp clawed buzzards, web footed boobies alight at ebb.

The haughty sea gulls screech as pompous pelicans preach to sandpiper corps de ballet. Bird feet stamping out essay in cuneiform lines on beach. Feathered footnotes beseech Sandy footnotes command human life is surly damned

Turning tide scrolls out code smothered messages erode. DNA spirals in nautilus tombs

soon returns to oceanic wombs. Crying to our Mother Ocean

home is her amniotic devotion.

Global Warming By Pablo Ponce

y stay in Baja each year usually runs between ninety and one hundred and

ten days. I plan it so as to avoid the cold and windy temperatures of winter and just in case there is a freak cold front in April or May, I also avoid spring. I go down at what many would call the worst possible time of the year, late summer aka hurricane season.

If I head down in mid August I find some stores are still closed for the season. It’s so hot some-times, not even the local watering holes will have a single customer, aside from me. I don’t mind the weather or the peace and quiet but I’ve been told that I’m missing out on winter when town is full. Apparently there are fiestas and gatherings almost every day at this time of the year but for me, it’s just too cold.

Last year as I started to plan my trip I thought I’d try something new. I figured I’d get my feet wet a little by heading to Baja in September and staying into December, just to try it out. When it came time to pack my bags I added jeans, a fleece jacket and several long sleeve t-shirts. I even through in a beanie and gloves just in case and I laugh (hahaha!) as I write this be-cause I ended up not using not one stitch of my cold weather gear.

When I got home I kept watch on my Baja friend’s Facebook posts. I saw them celebrating Christmas and New Years in shorts and flip flops. I was home in Southern California enjoy-ing our warm winter weather while the East Coasters experienced a not so typical cold front

that lasted weeks if not months. All the while my Baja friends posted pictures of marlin and do-rado they had caught that winter day. I kept thinking to myself, Shouldn’t they be cold? What’s going on around here?

These past few months that I’ve been home in the states, I’ve had a chance to go through my notes and I’m beginning to notice some climate changes. It seems as if Baja and So Cal are not getting as cold as they did in the past. That be-ing said, maybe it’s time I rethink my chosen months of stay in Baja when it’s my time to head south. I mean, I had fun this past Decem-ber. Who’s to say I wouldn’t en-joy January or even Feb-ruary?

This whole global warm-ing thing could quite possibly open up a whole new world for me. I could go see the whales on the Pacific side, I could watch a Shakespeare play, I could play in a card tournament and possibly even catch a fashion show. Ok I’m probably getting way ahead of myself. Maybe I’ll just tack on an extra week onto my December departure and see how I do. If I don’t freeze this year you just might see me celebrating Christmas and New Years Baja style by 2016.

~



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Seas and Hyperbole By Jorge Bergin

can’t tell you what it is, I can only tell you how I see it.

I know the Pacific Ocean. That is, I know the top of it from Hong Kong to Eureka, from

Acapulco to Honolulu, Guam to Taiwan. I know the Gulf of California in the same way. Three years of my life aboard a U.S. Navy ship in the Pacific Theater, 40 years of fishing the Sea of Cortez in much smaller craft.

I’m a writer and one might think I’m equipped to do it honor in my prose. Not yet. I think we are looking at it through all too human lenses. Time is in the way – painters hire models, not mara-thon runners or gymnasts. The ocean surface is always on the move and won’t slow down to be explained and dissected. We can take pictures, then describe what’s in each shot; best we can do.

Meanwhile the seas are being pulled every which way --- the moon and sun want the water closer, gravity wants to hold it close to the earth’s crust while Newton and company want it to seek its own level. Great weather cells and the powerful jet stream push and pull while the lid to all that wet sloshy stuff rents, second by second, colors and moods from the sky and land; wuthering gloom moves to a brave Gaug-

uin oil, a celebration of colors and themes as a squall passes where you float or surf or fish.

All the things that break the surface, the mirror, even for a second, get our attention, hold us as long as they will stay. We marvel at all the life that abounds in the top several millimeters of tenuous tissue that separates the biomes. When the next meter or two below seems to be swarming with jel-lyfish my Mexican fishermen friends say the water is cochi, dirty. I sup-pose they would argue that if you can’t eat it, it’s in the way, trash.

Our eyes are often all wrong for the job. I’ve come home up the bluff after a long swim in a sea with a small chop

that seemed still beyond the tiny wavelets. Through my binoculars I can see great inshore currents rushing the sea this way or that, de-pending on the day --- it all disappears up close or in the water by the shore.

The sheer power and scope of the Pacific runs the best of us right off the hyperbole list. We’ll have to be satisfied that we pay homage to the sea and to those who “Go down to the sea in ships”. If we can do that, it should be easy to also give small honor to those of us who “Go down to the sea in chairs.”

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flattened so there is no offset. A short piece (say 10-12 cm) of 22 or 24 gauge wire is bent around the bend of the circle hook and fixed by several twists, making sure the resulting loop around the circle hook is small enough to prevent the wire from slip-ping over the flattened barb. A downward hole is then made through the snout and into the mouth of the bait using a large J-hook (7/0 or 8/0) with a flat-tened barb. The wire on the circle hook is inserted downward through this hole, into the mouth of the bait, and the end of the wire pulled until the circle hook is snug against the top of the bait. The wire is doubled back and a few twists are made around the earlier wraps next to the bend. The tag end is trimmed and the bait is ready for the troll. Hook the ladyfish through the upper lip with the hook pointed downward, leaving the 7/0 circle floating free in front of the ladyfish’s nose. When the bite comes, no hook set is required…it just comes tight.

With that final piece of the puzzle, our catch rate went from zip, nada and zilch, to a remarkable 75% and the circle hook allows an easy release.

Bubba-Class Rooster Caught by Bill Mathias Using the ‘Ladyfish Technique

~



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Bubba Loves a Lady: Big Ladyfish, Big Roosterfish? By Gary Graham

f you spend any time at all on Baja beaches you are going to see some incredibly large shadows cruising along the shoreline in shallow water. It is only when the shadow finds ‘something to eat’ that the shape suddenly mate-

rializes into a fish with vivid gunmetal grey stripes and a comb-like dorsal as it appears above the sur-face of the sparkling Sea of Cortez.

When this happens, you will have just been intro-duced to some of the largest roosterfish found in Baja. Nicknamed “Bubba” by many, these big shoul-dered, unusual looking fish with the attitude of a red neck at a Saturday night bar fight are one of the toughest fish to get to bite, let alone catch in Baja.

Years ago, my wife, Yvonne, and I were enjoying a fun morning catching ladyfish from the beach. Lady-fish are a small tarpon like fish that can be any-where from 12” – 24” inches and are a sucker for small chrome spoons. Their acrobatics as they leap into the air are spectacular. As she was reeling in a ladyfish, “Bubba” came streaking toward her and snatched her fish like a dog grabbing a bone, and headed straight for the deep water. Of course Yvonne never got a hook in the monster, but it was fun to watch, and my brain was spinning with how to put what we had just seen to good use.

Later that year over a cocktail or two, Don Sloan, a fishing buddy and I, hatched this elaborate scheme to catch “Bubba”. In those days, we fished the East Cape beaches astride ATV’s equipped with rod holders, tackle boxes, etc. For this adventure, we added aerators to our coolers to make live bait tanks

and wore headsets to communicate. Our plan was simplicity itself. We would catch ladyfish in the morning until the sun was well overhead. Then we would cruise in opposite directions looking for “Bubba.”

The first half of the plan worked flawlessly. When the sun was high overhead, it didn’t take long to spot our first rooster.

As I cruised high on the beach following the fish, Don baited up a ladyfish down the beach and waited. Closer, closer Bubba came. As soon as it was within casting distance, Don cast the 18” lady-fish out in front of the cruising rooster. Keep in mind that ladyfish are a tough cast at any distance.

The Sea erupted as Bubba pursued his lunch a short distance back toward Don. Don was doing the Baja two-step with a frightened ladyfish and a hun-gry rooster darting straight between his legs. Fi-nally, with the hapless ladyfish hanging out of each side of its mouth, the roosterfish headed for deep-water.

Up to this point our plan had worked perfectly, but we never did close the deal. Using big hooks or two hooks, letting the rooster run a long time or setting the hook right away, nothing worked! We never landed one!

Sometime later I told my good friend and Baja au-thor, Gene Kira, my “Bubba” story and he told me about “one of the best roosterfish anglers that ever lived” , Bill Mathias, from Tucson, AZ who used ladyfish for bait!

Here is Bill’s set up: A 7/0 Eagle Claw (#2004) cir-cle hook, with the barb crimped flat and the hook




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The Intimate and True Adven-tures of "El Ballenero" Episode 5: Becoming a Part of The Mexi-can Whale Research "TEAM" By: Urmas Kaldveer, PhD

n my previous article I related an experience I had kayaking near Loreto ending in a very inti-mate encounter with a large blue whale. That encounter, and a very fortuitous meeting with Richard Sears while there - one of Canada's

leading blue whale researchers - got me back on the trail of an elusive and almost forgotten quest of mine to "see into the eye of the whale". The encoun-ter took place in 2004 after I had already been studying blue and humpback whales in northern and southern California as well as Hawaii since 1992. "Seeing into the eye of the whale" was my way of referring to a dream I had for years of one day being up close and personal with 'The Whale People" - that is in the water with them, in their element, eye-ball to eyeball. Up until this time I had not been able to fulfill that dream.

When Richard asked me if I would photo ID any blue whales passing through my area of the east cape the following year, I was m o r e t h a n enthusiastic to comply. I Re-turned in June of 2004 to Cali-fornia to teach summer school and fall semester at Mendocino C o l l e g e a n d b e g a n raising money for my effort while looking for some student volunteers who would work as my interns. Two delightful yo u n g l a d i e s ( L e n e e Goselin and Kristin Paiva) from my Environmental Science class signed on for a month in March of 2005 and I was ready to find some blue whales I had also talked to one of the pescadores (Vicente Lucero) in El Cardonal and enlisted him as my "piloto" for the following season. That first season in 2005 was in many ways exceptional. Lenee and Kristin turned out to be personable, hardworking and en-thusiastic companions. They also brightened Vicente's day with their youth and natural beauty, both being very attractive young ladies. In a short time we became a team and were able to obtain

over 40 IDs.

However - we did not see even one blue whale - they were all humpback whales! After the first few times out in our grid with no success finding blue whales I de-cided to ID the h um p b a ck s since I knew that someone would be in-terested in the pictures - and after all they were in my grid in sub-stantial num-bers. I felt bad for Richard (Sears) be-cause it was to aid in his research that I had put this project together in the first place. My research grid consisted of approximately 100 square miles and took me as far as La Ribera South and Boca del Alamo North, and two miles from shore to ten miles from shore. This was an area that could be covered in six hours depending on number of whales and

successful photographic en- counters.

A successful" photographic en-counter results when one spots a whale, is able to get within 100 or so feet of it and is then able to obtain a picture of the ventral (underside) of the flukes as the whale dives after it's third or fourth blow. This "photo op" moment is usually less than three seconds and is more often only one or one half seconds if you want a really world-class photo ID.

The photo needs to be in focus and show as much of the un-derside as possible so that the markings are clearly identifiable

by another researcher if "recaptured" (photographed again in another season and/or in another location). A data sheet is also kept for each whale, recording pertinent information. That first season we did not "recapture" any of the whales we saw during the



two months that I was active, but six of my whales were seen by other researchers in different loca-tions in Mexican waters during that time. Although my "deeper" quest was to understand these crea-tures in a more intimate and spiritual context, I found that my scientific training and my personal feelings of obligatory professionalism in the field dominated my activities and I therefore pursued the work with "scientific" focus. Having few shots for Richard I contacted Dr. Jorge Urban Ramirez at The University in La Paz (Universidad Autonoma Baja California Sur, (UABCS) and asked if he could use the shots. Dr. Urban replied immediately and en-couraged me to keep up the work the following (2006) season. He also asked if I would like to join his "team".

What I did not know was that being included on Jorge's "team" meant that I had become a member of Mexico's contingent of contributors in the largest whale study ever attempted… SPLASH (Structure of Populations, Levels of Abundance and Status of the humpbacks). It would still be necessary for me to raise all my own funds but I was now involved in a project that could significantly al-ter our way of thinking regarding The Humpback Whales of the ent ire North Pacif ic Ocean. For me that implied that there was a tangi-ble scientific goal to my personal and spiritual inter- est in "The Whale People".

Regardless of my immersion into the science of whale lore that first season of 2005, it also had it's non-academic moments that cont inued to inspire my personal quest to know these crea-tures more intimately. During that first season we obtained twenty three "World Class ID's", had a mother bring her calf right alongside our panga

for an intro, had a male "singer" directly under our b o a t c a u s i n g t h e d e c k t o vibrate, saw intense male combat, incredible breaches and all the other amazing behaviors that humpbacks are known for.

Needless to say - I was hooked again!



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Apr/May 9 28

How to Tie a Swiss Seat Rappel Harness From Climbing Magazine

any of us like to explore the local area on our quads. We may come across a feature

that we would like to rappel down but we only have a rope with us. A Swiss seat rap-

pel harness is a simple harness made from a piece of rope or webbing. It is good for those who need to make a harness on the fly, or for those who don't want to buy a commercially made harness.

Things You'll Need: Rope. Approx 6-10 ft (182-304 cm) length depending on your size. Most ropes used for Swiss seats are braided hemp, 550 paracord, or other natural fiber rope. The rope should be clean and new, and rated to support at least two times your body weight, pref-erably more. Diameter should be approx 12-16mm. Another length for the rappel rope.

Carabiner. This should be rated and approved for climbing and supporting a human's body weight. Must have a lockable gate.

Leather gloves. Although this is not a lesson in climb-ing you must protect your hands when rappelling; there will be a lot of friction, heat, and the possibility of particles in the rope as it passes through your hands. Or, you can use a pair of mechanic's gloves.

Steps: 1. Find the center of the rope by folding it in half and going to the fold. Place the fold in the centre of your lower back, ends out to either side of your body so that you're holding an equal length in each hand. Cross the halves in front of you so that it wraps around your waist. Twist the rope at least four times.

2. Pull one side under the other to make a half hitch. Repeat so that the rope turns twice around itself. This will eventually be where the cara-biner is placed and it keeps the rope from pinching down on your testicles (if you have them). Drop both of the free ends so that they dangle in front of you (probably touching the ground).

3. Reach around the outside of your legs with both hands and pull the free ends behind you through your legs. Pass each free end up through the portion of the rope wrapped around your waist. The free ends

should now be between your body and your 'belt'. Place the free ends over your shoulders so that the ends are dangling down in front of your chest, one on each side.

4. Pull down on these as you squat. This is an im-portant step as this is what will tighten your har-ness. Stand up and squat several times while pull-ing on the free ends. You should feel it squeeze you between your legs – make sure key parts are not between the rope and your leg.

5. For both sides, maintaining tension on the free end, drop it behind your back and pass it behind the length of rope that cups your bum, from back to front. This binds the seat in place. Pull the free end towards your front, along your hips.

6. Connect the two ends together using a square knot off-centre to your body. Most right-handed people will place the square knot by their front left hip.

7. Make a half hitch with each free end as a keeper knot. Note that the half hitch must pass around both 'belts' of rope that now exist.

8. Place any excess rope out of the way in a deep left pocket (cargo pants are an asset) if you have one, and if your knot is on the left. Make sure that the rope is in a place that it won't interfere with your carabiner during a rappel.

9. Your harness is done. Now attach your carabiner and rappel rope. Happy rappelling.

Warning: Always test your harness before using at any height. Pull up on the carabiner until your whole weight is supported. Or, have your friend lift you up by the carabiner and shake. Your harness should not be too loose, pinch your manly parts, or slip.

For more information on rappelling, visit: http://www. climbing.com/.

~



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Apr/May 10 27

Aramburo who, with his brother, had recently come to El Triunfo from Guadalajara on mainland Mexico to develop a group of general stores on the penin-sula. It wasn’t long before Francisca became as aware of Carlos as he was with her and they mar-ried soon after.

Marriage and motherhood did not diminish Francisca’s love for music. She began teaching pi-ano to a growing number of enthusiastic young students who came from the most prominent families in the area. Since these families were pros-pering from the mining operations, the parents be-gan purchasing pianos for their own homes. Before long there were more pianos per capita in El Triunfo than anywhere else in Mexico!

When the mining operation in El Triunfo shut down in 1918, the Aramburo family moved to La Paz to establish their first “La Popular” market on Calle Madero. The large cow on top of the market still marks its location. In La Paz, Francisca continued to teach piano. She also helped establish the Es-cuela de Musica in La Paz.

Francesca’s legend continues to live on in El Tri-unfo at the Museo del Piano located in the center of town on Highway #1. Her cream-colored piano is prominently displayed on risers in the front room. The public is invited to visit Monday through Sunday from 9AM to 6PM.

There is no admission fee but, donations are gener-ously accepted.

El Triunfo: A Musical Mining Town By JoAnn Hyslop

s El Triunfo entered the 20th century, it was at the zenith of its heyday as one of the most prosperous mining towns in the Sierra de Laguna Mountains on the southern half

of the Baja peninsula. The population grew with El Triunfo’s Gold and Silver mines bringing riches to approximately 10,000 inhabitants. The officials of the Progresso Mining Company that ran the mining operations came from Europe and the United States. Many of them loved classical music and brought their pianos with them. Over the years mu-sic was almost as important as mining in El Triunfo.

One young woman, Francisca Mendoza, who was born in El Triunfo in 1868, grew up listening to the strains of music written by List, Brahms and Tchaikovsky wafting from open windows. Francisca began taking piano lessons when she was very young. Her first piano teacher, Maestro Paredes, was impressed with her innate musical ability. He then introduced Francisca to another teacher, Maestro Tardkli, who encouraged her to attend classes in San Francisco where she was introduced to the world of concerts, and met notable musicians.

When Francisca returned to El Triunfo near the turn of the century, she was not only an accomplished pianist but also a strikingly beautiful woman. As she began to play her first concerto at her local de-but, she was unaware of the presence of a tall handsome young man in the audience who couldn’t take his eyes off of her. The young man was Carlos

A Unique Gem By Fernando Rodriguez

ne of the unique, unknown gems, that opened this past winter in Los Barri-

les, is Captain Nemo's Landing; a dis-tinct Southern Baja California, Native-American tee-pee, compound and hostel. Captain Nemo's is located less than a mile from the quaint Los Barriles central downtown district, and was a sold-out affordable accommodation favorite of competitors who arrived after for the 4th Annual Lord of the Wind Kiteboarding and Windsurfing Tournament January 22-26, 2014. Captain Nemo's Landing spacious grounds offers guests staying in any of the Native-American Tee Pees, a community dining area with refrig-erator, stove, hot showers, and is located a short walk from the beach. A white, stucco Mexican police sub-station at the entrance gates assures visitors of enjoying a tranquil, safe, and happy stay.

An upstairs two bed penthouse casita/villa, in the corner of Nemo's compound, with ocean views, has a nice red tile patio above the similar cozy two bed villa, downstairs. Nemo's provides

free wifi and parking within the gated Native-American cultural inn. The newly constructed Captain Nemo's Landing ushered in the New Year with its grand opening early January. ''It's a great place with a very reasonable price,'' said trip advisor commentator, E. Rowe of Nanaimo, Canada. ''It was very close to the beach and had a shared kitchen which saved having to go to a restaurant in town.''

Since its grand opening, owner Jeff Niemi, has been recognized as a great host for his friendly assistance providing information about Los Barriles and its friendly East Cape community. ''Jeff was very helpful and even gave us a ride from the bus station to his place,'' added E. Row. Another visitor from Vancouver, Canada, who stayed at Nemo's for an entire month, re-marked how clean the new spot is. "The folks that stayed there were pretty friendly. We shared some meals on the barbecue and shared a few stories around the bonfire."

Los Barriles is a hotbed for fishing, kiteboarding & surfing, and the newest lodging attraction is Captain Nemo's Landing.

~



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Plate Tectonics By Russ Hyslop

n understanding of plate tectonics is nec-essary in order to describe the geology of Baja California. In its simplest terms, the

theory of plate tectonics states that the surface of the earth is covered with giant lithospheric plates some 90 km in thickness. These plates are geologi-cally sliding laterally, separating, converging, and overlapping each other.

The coastline of California Alta and the entire Baja California peninsula ride on the eastern rim of the Pacific plate. The Mexican mainland, the remainder of California, and the rest of the United States are located on the North American plate. The San An-dreas fault marks the active boundary between these two plates. The Pacific plate on the west side of the fault moves northwest with respect to the North American plate. This Pacific plate edge of California Alta is still sliding laterally, neither con-verging nor diverging in relation to the North Ameri-can plate. Earthquakes in both California and the peninsula are caused by this movement of 2.5 to 3.5 cm annually.

From the Imperial Valley to Puerto Vallarta, the northwest movement on the fault has an additional divergent component that has torn the crust of the earth open to form a complicated series of basins that we now call the Gulf of California. The detailed history of the opening of the Gulf of California is not fully understood. Much of the evidence lies buried beneath younger sediments or the waters of the Sea of Cortez. The oldest rocks that can be posi-tively correlated with the Gulf are about 15 million years of age.

During the middle Miocene 15 million years ago, the Gulf of California did not exist. Baja California was still attached to mainland Mexico much farther south. The peninsula sat mostly under the ocean, with the exception of northeastern Baja California, the Vizcaino region including Isla Cedros, and the Cape Region. San Andreas fault movement created the Gulf. As the basins opened sea water poured in, but often only to evaporate and leave behind depos-its of gypsum and salt. By about 5 million years ago, the sea had invaded as far north as Palm Springs, California Alta. These northern basins have been partially filled and cut off from the sea by the delta of the Colorado River, which has built a large “dam” at the head of the present Gulf through sedimentation.

References: Minch Roadside Geology Baja Peninsula, Roberts Baja Plants and field guide.

~

The Sea of Cortez is the World’s Aquarium: In Heaven with a Humpback By Theresa Comber

t's like diving into a morning sky. Clear, blue, endless. Yet with an incongruous difference. The sun's rays in the morning sky shoot up, away from the horizon in an endless fan. In the bottomless blue sea, the sun's rays are oppo-

site, beaming through the water and coming to-gether to a focal point far below. So many hundreds of feet down that no matter how hard you dive in, it elusively recedes.

For me, diving far offshore into the deep blue Sea of Cortez, with thousands of empty feet below, is like diving into heaven. It must be akin to a sky diver's feeling, weightless, free. This season, with so many whales visiting for their winter sojourn, I dove into it to swim for the first time with a humpback whale and her baby.

We were out for a day of fishing and noonish we had the requisite six dorado on board; three were released earlier so they could grow up to help us win July's Dorado Shoot Out. Always with my snor-

kel gear at the ready, it was my turn with a whale, had been spouting and surfacing and breaching around us all day. After wanting and waiting for years, now the immense and distinctive back of one school-bus sized whale appeared with her mini-me baby protectively nestled at her flank. They were coasting along the surface, not far off port. I readied my simple gear, slipped on my long, beloved dive fins, smeared a bead of Johnson's Baby Shampoo into my mask - the world's best anti - fogger and watched as Captain Adan, without posing any threat, cozy 'Too Awesome’ close to the Momma whale and her baby. He gave me the thumbs up "Brinca – Jump!" and I splashed off the swim plat-form. The whales were to our starboard side now and he was pointing that direction, but the engines were still running and he was motoring away from me. Whoa baby! I motioned to him with the 'shut-them-off-and-don't-leave-me' double switch action to turn off the motors. Done. The boat was quiet and slowing and the jerk of adrenaline calmed down. I was remembering times when whales had breached unusually close to the boat and I kicked forward so that I had a sense of nearness and shelter.



Now where were they? Adan motioned they were behind the boat, closer, but no one aboard could see them. I kicked hard straight up out of the water, doing my own version of a whale's spy hop, hoping to see any surface change. Nothing. Then I took a long, gentle breath and dove mermaid style straight down. Straight down ten feet when I realized the light beams weren't extending any further; they were coming to rest on the enormous whale that was just twenty feet directly below me. She was RIGHT THERE BELOW ME! Electricity shot through me like I was in a pool of it. I remember my arms and fin-gers flying out like I was doing a backflip. And then, she rolled over on her left side, looking straight up at me with her huge eye; me looking straight down at her –we were sharing this crazy moment of shock and awe. She wondering what type of blondepur-pleyellow fish I was, me shouting inside myself that my long awaited swim with a humpback was at hand.

I could faintly see that her baby was on the other side of her and she ever so slowly moved her body forward and then away. I sprung to the surface shouting and laughing and asking if they could see that she had been right below me. They were laugh-ing too as they saw first by my reaction and then the large shadow below that the whale had been RIGHT THERE BELOW ME!

Again Adan, Again! He said she was still here, close, so I started singing into my snorkel. I don't know why, humming, singing, calling, hoping she would be able to hear me. That her astute sense of hearing might be coupled with her curiosity and she'd come back. "They're circling around and com-ing back!" I heard from the boat. I started singing louder. Adan wanted to know if I could hear them. No, not like when I'm overboard with a pod of loud, squeaky bottle-nose dolphin. But I kept singing into my snorkel. They were coming closer and everyone on board was in awe too that they seemed to be engaged with us. But their circling didn't bring them close enough and I got back in the boat. I was joy- filled high and in tears.

Years I'd waited for the opportunity. With this whale season now abundant with mommas and their ba-bies, I'm patiently penning this while fishing on 'Awesome'. Of course, they are looking for fish; I'm looking for another whale.



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Apr/May 12 25


begun to overtake much of the building and graffiti covers the inside walls. Crumbling brick litters the tile floors of this once majestic structure. Many of the square wooden plugs that held the window frames in place are still in the walls. I imaged what it would have been like if the hospital had become operational. I could envision the patient’s rooms and the surgery area, the storage rooms, nurses’ sta-tions and the bathrooms. From the roof, we could

see the Sea of Cortez in the distance.

I thought what a beautiful place this would have been to recuperate. We both commented on the lack of any sound. It was eerie in a way. I sat on the roof for a while thinking about the history of the place...

Baja California Sur Governor Agustin Olachea Avilés began the construction of the hospital in 1956. Many of the people in Santiago call the pro-ject the Elefante Blanco (White Elephant). They claim the hospital was embroiled in politics -- one administration started it and when the next admini-stration came into power, they stopped the con-struction. However, I read that the government was concerned over the number of cases of tuberculosis in La Paz during the worldwide tuberculosis epi-demic in the 1950s. In his book The Magical Moun-tain, Thomas Mann wrote that tuberculosis patients healed or at least they improved when they went into a mountainous sanatorium. The health commu-nity knew that the tuberculosis patients improved with the mountain air, but no one knew the cause exactly. The Olachea government decided to build the hospital at about 1,400 feet on the side of the Sierra de la Laguna Mountain Range outside of Santiago. By 1957 however, deaths from tuberculo-sis were down significantly. The discovery of antibi-otic drugs that kill bacteria was a turning point in tu-berculosis control. It was unnecessary to segregate

patients since tuberculosis could be cured with well-supervised antibiotic treatment at home. As a result, the Santiago hospital was never finished. Today it is a ruin with stone arches and entries invaded by weeds.

Northeast and up the mountain about 350 feet from

the hospital building is the Director’s House. David and I decided to hike up to it. Most of the winding road, that was once capable of vehicle traffic, is over-grown or washed away. It is passable on foot only. The road takes about twenty-minutes to hike. There are plenty of places to rest and enjoy the scenery. Once we arrived, I was struck by the view. We could see the Sea of Cortez and the cattle ranches below. The dirt roads that connected the ranches looked like small strings placed on a map. I kept thinking that this would be an awesome villa. Both stories had a room with curved windows overlooking the distant sea. Ornate tile floors decorated the entire structure and several patios protruded from the structure. It would need a lot of work to make it habitable again. It was definitely worth the climb.

It was a great opportunity to visit this beautiful iso-lated spot and to learn more of the history of Baja California Sur. The hospital is an easy day-trip from Los Barriles. You can contact David Cross at [email protected] or call from the states (541-201-2679) about a trip to the hospital or about other Southern Baja quad tours. Be sure to stop at the Palomar Restaurant on your way and ask for Sergio. You will not regret it. He has many pic-tures of his famous visitors. You can contact him at [email protected].

Walter S. Zapotoczny Jr. is an award-winning writer, historian and editor, with over 25 years experience pro-ducing many different types of copy. He is the author of over 150 published articles and three books. You can

read some of his writing at www. wzaponline.com.

Adventures in the East Cape: The Hospital That Never Was By Walter S. Zapotoczny Jr.

his adventure took me to Santiago, about 12 miles (19 kilometers) south of Los

Barriles on Highway 1. We were in search of the abandoned tuberculosis hospital located

high in the mountains. I heard about this place from my friend Kirbe Luna, who grows organic mangos on his farm near Santiago. Some of the locals call it El hospital que nunca existió (The hospital that never was). I have heard that the building is so big that it can be seen from space. I had to see this place for myself and learn some of its history! With no idea how to find it, I contacted David Cross, who

has been guiding quad tours around Southern Baja for many years. He had been to the hospital site several times and agreed to take me.

We started our adventure in La Ribera. After fueling

the quads, stocking up on drinks and snacks, and a safety briefing, we drove to the start point, two miles north of town along the dirt road to Los Barriles. We turned southwest into the Santiago arroyo traveling about six miles until we came across a large rock formation on the left. We pulled off and found a large cave with a pond inside. The pond had fish in it. As soon as we shut off the quads, I could hear a loud buzz. David explained that the buzzing was from the bees that have built hives in the cave. As we walked into the cave, the sound increased due to the walls of the cave amplifying the sound. With the bees flying around their hives, Dave and I tried not to make any noise. We did not want a million bees chasing us.

After a short break, we continued southwest, went under Mexico Highway 1 and to the bridge into Santiago that crosses the arroyo. We made our way into town, went around the picturesque square with its old buildings and followed the road to the left down the hill one block to the Palomar Restaurant. I had arranged for Kirbe to meet us there and in-troduce me to his friend Sergio Gómez Cota, the

owner of the restaurant and local historian. As we enjoyed lunch in the garden, Sergio explained much of the history of the hospital and of the Palomar Restaurant. Sergio told us that John Wayne, Bing Crosby and President Eisenhower used to fly into a nearby airstrip and stay at the Palomar while hunt-ing doves in the area. I now have something in com-mon with John Wayne, Bing Crosby, President Ei-senhower, and more recently, Jennifer Aniston and Susan Sarandon; we all enjoyed lunch and conver-sation at the Palomar. With fresh fish arriving daily, plenty of Corona and Sergio’s stories, it is no won-der that the Palomar is a popular spot. It is a good place to rally before visiting the hospital.

We left the Palomar turning right, went up the hill, around the square and down the hill to the arroyo. We traveled northwest almost three miles to a trail on the left that would take us west toward the moun-tains and the hospital. After two left turns and about eight miles, we found the road on the right that starts up the side of the mountain and to the hospi-tal. I am glad we were on quads since the road was partially washed out. After another four miles and a couple more left turns, we arrived at the hospital. I can see why people say you can see it from space.

This place is huge! The red brick and concrete building is two-levels, built in the form of a cross. One wing is approximately 200 feet long and the other is about 150 feet long. Both are about forty feet wide. The building probably has 30,000 or more

square feet of inside space, not including the roof. All of the plumbing, windows and doors are gone but the building is intact.

We went from room to room and from level to level exploring the property. Trees and shrubs have




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Apr/May 13 24

Here, There and Now I’m Back Again By Ann Hazard

used to be a neighbor of yours. I lived in Buena Vista and then La Paz from 2003 to 2009. Then life catapulted me back to the States, where I spent the next four plus

years. I never expected to move back, but I did. Here is the story of how it just sort of hap-pened….

Every journey starts somewhere. This particular one had an unlikely beginning. It was a doctor's recommendation that I move to a one story house to preserve the life of my knees. To say it shook me up is an understatement. I full-on freaked out. But I knew he was right, so I took action. Putting my house in San Diego on the market and looking for another was a second shock. There was nothing in my price range that was comparable ... that had an awesome view and a pool. I back pedaled. I took the house off the market, determined to make it work. I'd just take as few trips up and down t h o s e s t a i r s a s p o s s i b l e . . . .

A week or so later I awoke with a burning need to go to Baja, most specifically Todos Santos. Now I have a lot of friends on Facebook in BCS from the six years I lived here. Their posts were sucking me south like a giant vacuum. I missed it. Big time. So I called my best friend Deb and asked her if she was up for an impromptu trip. She was up for it, and she was in. Five days later we landed in Cabo. Recent reading mate-rial had me geared up for an adventure. I'd just finished Following Atticus, an inspirational story about a man and his mini Schnauzer who climbed mountains together, both real and metaphorical. I loved it. I now "follow" them on Facebook, and they continue to warm my heart and encourage me to think outside the box. Be-fore we left, I downloaded Living with Gusto by Todos Santos resident Elizabeth Day. This book revolutionized my attitude and gave me a major infusion of courage.

Bottom line. I found my one story house here, in Todos Santos that week in early November. Could I do this move alone? When I lived here before I was part of a couple. Was this the craz-

iest decision ever ... or the sanest?! Likely both. But I'd just turned 61 and dammit ... I was bored! Bored! Bored! The predictability of my days was soothingly mind numbing. Bottom line. I could put off living, really living, until I was what? Seventy? No! I couldn't. So I jumped.

I sold my house in San Diego, my house in Idaho and swapped cars with my daughter, Gayle. My closest friend, Deb and I took five days to drive down and I was able to share many of my favorite places with her.

Now I'm here. If it was crazy, then I love being crazy, because I have never felt so alive. So happy. So free. So thankful, especially for my own two mini Schnauzers, Rokko and Romo, who are joyous adventurers in their own right. They are my partners ... and worthy ones at that.

~

FLOP FLIPPING By John David Lionel Brooke

flip flop sandals on my feet flip flopping along the beach

flipping sharp sand at my seat flip flop flip flop feel the beat

flip flopping flipping I run flipping tripping having fun

flop flipping in Baja sun flip flopping 'till day is done I've flipped until I've flopped

The Whale Show By Rebecca Cross

id you miss the whale show this Feb-ruary? For those of us that paid the

ticket price of looking out at the Sea of Cortez, it was an amazing constant display of humpback whales breaching. They were spout-ing, they were slapping their fins, and they were coming completely out of the water. They were doing it on their own and they were doing it with a buddy. From the town chatter and many pic-tures posted on Facebook, this whale show was amazing to all. The big question on everyone's mind: Why are these enormous creatures doing what they are doing?

After much research, the answer is: We do not know.

Scientists do not know exactly why whales breach, but there are many theories. The one I grew up with is that they are trying to shake barnacles or parasites off of their skin. The im-pact of the animal hitting the water would be similar to a dog rubbing itself against a tree to try to scratch fleas off of its back.

Another theory is that breaching allows them to communicate with each other; it is possible that the sound the animal makes as it breaches may signal something to others. In fact, according to the UCSB Scienceline, in some cases hump-back whales may breach more frequently in rough seas, when their songs will be harder for other whales to hear. By generating a large splash and a loud noise, they could also be communicating to others, "Hey! I'm over here!"

In the Australian Geographic, Dr Chandra Salgado Kent, whale expert, adds there are many other theories about why whales breach. They could breach as a competitive display be-tween males. The behavior could also be a warning for perceived threats, such as preda-tors, or even unwanted attention from vessels. She even suggests that it may be a technique to stun or scare prey, ultimately helping them feed.

Here's some other fun theories I found about why whales breach:

- They may breach simply to have a look

at what is going on above the water.

- To scratch an itch.

- To scare off an intruder.

- While mating, to display aggression towards an unwanted suitor.

- Babies sending a signal to their mothers and/or mothers sending signals to their babies.

- Finally, the breach may be the end of some complicated underwater behavior that we can't see from the surface.

Back to our question: Why are these enormous creatures doing what they are doing? After The Whale Show of February 2014, I think we can all agree on the answer. They are simply happy humpbacks expressing their joy of living in the beautiful and serene Sea of Cortez!

After 20 years living in Alaska, Rebecca Cross started

her journey for the sun. Stopping in Washington and Oregon, she skipped California and in 2005 jumped into the full-time warmth of Los Barriles. A former inner-city educator and administrator, she holds all sorts of

degrees and licenses that are of zero usage as she plays on the beach and tends to her gardens. Rebecca is an avid fisherwoman, quad-rider, actor, painter, writer, cooker, tech-junky and all-around Baja nut!



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Apr/May 14 23

24/7 Cosmetics

By Connie M. Heinen

magine waking up in the morning and not having to apply makeup. Imagine the con-venience of exercising or even swimming without your makeup smearing or wearing

off. If you have sparse or no brow hair, or failing eyesight and just can't see to apply your eye makeup. If you have had breast reconstruction following a mastectomy and need areola re- pigmentation, then permanent makeup could be the answer.

For nearly 10,000 years man has been implant-ing color into the skin. No one knows exactly where or when tattooing started but it is histori-cally believed to have been first widely prac-ticed for fashion in ancient Egypt. Tattoos and makeup around the eyes were very popular with those of high status. The manner in which the pigments were applied were by scratching or pricking the skin with sharpened bone, or bamboo, thorns, knives and needles.

Whether you call the process permanent makeup or permanent cosmetic tattooing or use the more technical terms of micro-pigmentation, or derma-pigmentation, the procedure involves depositing pigments through the epidermis and into the dermis. Permanent makeup has many advantages over traditional makeup. Obviously it is more convenient. It is perfect with those in-dividuals with active lifestyles. For those who have arthritis or other physical disabilities that could hinder them for effectively applying makeup themselves.

Eyebrows frame the face and are the most im-portant part of a person's expression and ap-pearance. Brows can be created for a person who has none, or just filled in to enhance a sparse brow to look natural. Eyeliner - a person with sparse eyelashes can have a soft, natural liner to create a fuller lash appearance. Full lip color can be applied and is some cases the lip can be made a little fuller or even out a crooked lip line. The color choices are endless-- for ex-ample, soft, natural shades, as well as dark reds and plums, are available for the lips. Any color can be made to compliment a person's coloring.

Areola re-pigmentation--women who have had a mastectomy or breast reconstruction have two options when it comes to reconstructing the areola, or nipple. The first is a skin graft, which entails a second surgery. The second is to cos-metically simulate the areola with permanent makeup. In this process, color and shape are matched to the intact side. Otherwise, a new color and shape are selected for both breasts. These procedures are extremely re-warding for me as I lost my younger sister to breast cancer.

In my practice I find each and every client a new and exciting challenge. I am devoted to getting the desired results for each client. Noth-ing is more rewarding to me than to make someone feel better about themselves. I feel honored and blessed to be able to apply my ar-tistic talents to this rewarding field.

For a private consultation or more information about

cosmetic tattooing or therapeutic skin treatments see ad below or email permsoltions@ aol.com www. solu-tionsdebelleza.com.



Apr/May

Apr/May 15 22

Baja Magic By Christine Courtright

f you are a 9 year old boy, “Ducky” and 10 year old girl, “Roe,” where do you want to go after months of a long, cold and snowy winter? Well, if you have an aunt and uncle that winter on the Sea of Cortez, it is right here in LB. As

the Aunt, my goal was to make this the most magi-cal trip for these two kids. But how to ensure it is perfect?...that depended on Baja Magic.

This magical trip started at 4am in a snowy airport ending up with Roe, singing as she dances up the gateway in San Jose, “I can’t believe it is really true!” For the next 45 minutes, the “how much longer” was about every 10 minutes. We make it, they jump out of the car, look around the house, see their bedroom and “where is the beach?” So, off to the beach they run and that is when the magic started. Right there at 5pm was a school of dolphins putting on a show, as a huge pod of Manta rays tap dance on the flat sea. I had been coming down for years before I saw my first dolphin in front of our neighborhood! Ok, the Baja magic is starting off good.

The next day, after our morning school time, we did our first ‘field trip’ to hang out at the beach and go kayaking. You would have thought they were pro’s on the kayaks and every shell, crab body, rock or dog was a site to behold. Even dinner time was exciting as you cooked outside!

There was their fort behind our house, playing with all the neighborhood dogs, playing with and naming all the dogs on the beach….every dog not attached by a leash to another person was properly named and desired to adopt. There were the 7am beach walks to collect shells, the excitement of walking a block to the local store to get soda or gum, with just a walkie-talkie and their own pesos! The quad ride up the arroyo to the waterfalls or down the beach to Buena Vista and the camp fires at night under the miles of stars with limitless marshmallows with new friends kept the excitement level high.

Then it was the day for the trip to Lopez Mateo for the whale watching. Adult nerves were running high….could we adults make it? Would the iPods hold the attention so we did not have to go through numerous “are we there yets” & “how much longer”? Our whale watching trip was scheduled for 8am the next morning; a morning that had dense fog! Our captain suggested we waited an hour for the fog to lift, well one hour to comb the beach for treasures! The fog lifted a little, and off we went. Right away, we could see whales a ways off, but too far off. We cruised around, with the whales always just a little ways off. Then, right there on the side of the boat a baby popped up! For the next 30 minutes, this pair,




Apr/May

Apr/May 16 21

Dia del Niño Tournament - Ensuring the Future of the East Cape’s Sportfishing By Wade in the Water

BUENA VISTA — Each year on the last Sunday of the month of April the East Cape Sportfishing Club (Club de Pesca Deportiva Cabo del Este) hosts its annual Dia del Niño Tournament for the children of the East Cape, including El Cardonal, Los Barriles, Buenavista and La Ribera. While both Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are celebrated in the United States, here in Mexico they also honor their children with a special day on April 30.

One of the Club’s many goals is to educate and in-spire a sense of urgency within the community the need to change some of its “business as usual” fish-ing practices of old. Long proven to be unsustain-able and depleting our fisheries, old habits die hard. By providing a friendly competition for the kids, it provides an outreach and education opportunity within the community through this free fishing oppor-tunity for today’s youth.

Members in the Club include an equal number of gringos as well as locals. Uniting both with the com-mon cause of helping to improve local fishing oppor-tunities both now and in the future; this event is very

well attended. Last year about 75 youngsters at-tended – this year 100 are anticipated to attend.

As you can imagine, we have many sportfishing en-thusiasts within the East Cape’s community, which has a long history of fishing. The East Cape still lives and thrives in part because of its fishing based tourism. Interested in building a sense of pride and promote sportfishing through ethical principles and sustainable models; one of their goals is to also pro-vide outreach and education to locals and our next generation of anglers. Many of the families that have fished these waters for generations are no longer able do so. Reconnecting the next generation to the sport has become a major part of what this club does.

This first event of the season for the Club is of course, everyone’s favorite and geared towards one of our most valuable resources - local youth. Most of our local captains are third and fourth generation fishermen. But with the cost of gas going up it be-comes harder each year for them to be able to af-ford to take their kids out. Some children will not able to follow in their family’s footsteps and many other families within the community have never even



been fishing or on a boat. Providing a Dia del Niño (Special Children’s Day) Tournament, held on Sun-day April 27 this year, will allow children to experi-ence what generations before them have – fishing on the Sea of Cortez.

Believe me; no words can express how it feels to provide someone’s child; such as your house-keeper’s son, a neighbor’s daughter or maybe your gardener’s children a chance to enjoy this experi-ence. These kids will all have the opportunity to be on a boat, be on the water, hopefully catch a fish and also have a chance to win some incredible prizes.

As of press time prizes included a laptop computer, a prize that will surely be cherished with the addition of the new Computer Center in town, a Tablet which can also be used to access Internet in town, a bicy-cle, a camera, fishing equipment and more. But more donations of toys and other award items ap-propriate for children for this year’s third annual Dia del Niño Tournament are needed. Please consider dropping off yours to the Front Desk at (Spa) Bue-navista Beach Resort. Lunch and juices as well as t-shirts and caps will be provided by the Club as well as prizes. Donations of toys, sporting equipment and

other award items are greatly needed as the num-ber of kids grows. Club members have also volun-teered to repair any donated used surf fishing rods and reels. Please consider joining this great event! Everyone knows someone with a child worthy of this experience and opportunity. So grab a kid and come on down!

Rent a boat or bring your own; sign-ups, the $50.00 registration fee and team t-shirts pickup will be at the Palapa Buenavista on Saturday, April 26 from 3 to 6 p.m. Children need not attend but are very wel-come to come along - as the excitement of the event builds. Sunday April 27 will be the day every-one has waited for; with fishing hours from 7 to noon and weigh-ins to follow along with Awards and lunch at the Palapa Buenavista. Even if you don’t fish you can still sponsor a child. Also consider stopping by to watch and support this great event and check out the smiles on everyone’s proud faces! This year a Chili Cook-off has also been added!

To find out more about this non-profit organization, to find out how to join, participate or donate toys; go to following links. Email: c l ub d e p e s ca c a bo d e le s t e@ ho tm a i l . c o m . F a c e b o ok : h t t p : / / ww w. f a c e b o o k . c o m /clubdepescacabodeleste.



Apr/May

Apr/May 20 17


a Momma and baby, hung out with our boat for two totally thrilled kids and two amazed adults! This was beyond our wildest dreams and almost surreal. The giants of the sea, right there for us to touch and pet and look into each others eyes. It was like the baby was just as amazed with this blond girl and red headed little boy as they were with him! The thrill continued even as two other boats came up to our boat to try to catch our bounty yet, the baby still hung out with our kids – even showering ‘spit’ into Ducky’s face! The thrill of his day!...Again, the Baja magic continues. We could barely talk during the ride home, we were so thrilled with our day.

Our next big trip was to Cabo to do the “Cabo thing.” It was a wonderful glass bottom boat ride, with more fish to see than I have seen in my many trips as the tour guide here in the Baja. We found the iguana man and got to hold the iguana and get the picture proof and even had a soda in Cabo Wabo (a thrill for two kids who know the rocker Sammy Hagar), and as the good tour guides that we are, hit lunch at Costco for a hotdog!

Our time was quickly running out, and we better get to Punta Pescadero for snorkeling. The wind report was not favorable, but we could at least shell. We take the coastal route on the quads, which is breath-taking itself, and come to the beach, and the water is calm & perfect for snorkeling. The kids only ex-perience was at a pool, but they get in and off they went. Once again, like two pro’s, they come to shore only to give reports of what they saw and maybe to warm up a little I have not been there in years where the water was so calm. Again, thank you Baja magic.

Bocce ball around the neighborhood, playing on the beach, learning to drive the quad on the beach,

catching a gecko, trips to the store, quad rides, cookies at the neighbors and hours of shelling, all a dream trip for a kid!

But as all good things, this trip must come to an end, school could only be missed for two weeks. We reviewed our trip and all the exciting things we saw and did, and the things we will do next time….which they figure should be this fall to see the turtles. Hearts were heavy those last two days, trying to get in everything that we had to get in and visit our new friends one last time.

Our last day began with a special breakfast. Then we packed the lunch for the plane, picked up tortil-las to take home, and were off to the airport. Even the plane ride home was exciting as the two kids were the last ones on the plane as ‘minors traveling alone’ (thank you Alaska airlines for this special ser-vice) and the special things that go with that. Ex-citement was high as Dad picked them up at the airport, talking was a mile a minute and it was late when they got home, as snow was lightly falling….. leaving in snow, returning in snow.

What is wrong with this picture??!!.....the two freez-ing kids wondered! Luckily they had their tans to keep them warm along with the memories of their perfect magical vacation in the Baja! They did take the time to change the Disneyland fund jar to read Mexican Baja before they cuddled up in front of the wood stove for their first cold night at home. Yes, there is something to this Baja Magic legend, and we have the proof!



Apr/May

Apr/May 18 19

The Mexican Kitchen: An Adventure In Vibrant Flavors And Rich Tradition By Holly Burgin

n The Mexican Kitchen we have been explor-ing fresh and dried chiles, how to identify the varieties, their flavors and “spice.” In this article I share with you what I learned about transform-ing shriveled and wrinkled dried chile pods into

nuanced sauces with deep rich and complex flavors.

Whether you are making a complex mole or a sim-ple red sauce, the simple steps described below are important and well worth the effort in developing the subtle flavors of a tasty chile sauce. These steps are similar for most chile sauce recipes. Variations in recipes occur at the point that seasoning is added. There are infinite variations with each chile sauce. Once you know the basics, you will be able to adapt and create your own recipes.

SELECTING DRIED CHILES The first step is selecting dried chiles for your recipe that have a rich, uniform color with unbroken skins and have some flexibility. Some dried chiles may be dusty, depending on how they were dried, but should never be brittle or blemished. Choose dried

chiles from the bulk bins, rather than packaged chiles, so you can select the best.

TOASTING Toasting isn’t an exact science. Some cooks prefer to toast whole chiles, turning them frequently, until fragrant and slightly browned in spots. Then they break off the stem and shake out the seeds. Chef and cookbook writer Rick Bayles uses this method for small chiles, but for large chiles, such as ancho, pasilla, guajillo, etc, he opens up the chiles length-wise with kitchen shears and removes the stems, seeds and any light-colored veins inside the chiles (reserve the seeds if you want to increase the heat of the finished sauce). Then he flattens the chiles against the hot surface with a spatula.

The actual time on the griddle will be only a few sec-onds. With a medium heat under your griddle, you will hear a pop or crackle when the chile is pressed flat with the skin side up. After a few seconds you will smell the delicious aroma of the toasting chile. Flip the chile over and notice the chile has changed to a mottled tan. Press down to toast the other side and remove from the griddle. CAUTION – do not over toast, chiles will burn fast and add an unpleas-ant acrid flavor to your chile sauce.



SOAKING TO RE-HYDRATE Put chiles is a bowl and cover with enough hot tap water (no need to boil) so that the chiles float freely. Keep them submerged and stir occasionally. Soak the chiles only long enough to make them pliable, about 15-20 minutes. Soaking removes the brash flavor of the toasted chile, but soaking longer than 30 minutes will leach out the flavor that we are working so hard to capture in our sauce.

PUREE Discard the soaking liquid, as it may have a bitter taste. Using a molcajete and metlapil (mortar and pestle) or a blender or food processor, add water or broth to the re-hydrated chiles, together with sea-soning called for in your recipe, and blend into a medium smooth, thick puree, scraping and stirring every few seconds. Use only enough liquid to keep the blades of the blender or food processor moving the mixture, but keeping the mixture as thick as pos-sible.

FRYING THE SAUCE Rick Bayles considers this step the key to the best Mexican sauces, melding the elements of the sauce and cooking out the raw flavor of the chiles, making a more complex and richer sauce with all the flavors in harmony.

Heat a medium deep pot over a medium high heat for a few minutes. Add a film of lard or oil to the pot, which will immediately become very hot. Drop a ¼ teaspoon of the puree in the oil. If it sizzles, the oil is ready. Add all the puree to the pot at once. It will crackle and splatter (be prepared with the pot lid). The puree should boil almost instantly and remain bubbling as you stir constantly (with a wooden spoon or spatula) all corners of the pot, until the pu-ree has darkened, reduced and thickened, about 5 minutes. Nothing should burn or scorch. Into this concentrated base, stir in enough broth to give it a “saucy” consistency and simmer for a few minutes to blend the flavors.

After simmering, adjust the sauce. Add salt if the sauce is bland, or reserved chile seed if you want a little more heat. Add honey or sugar if the sauce is too bitter. As there are variations in flavor and heat even among the same variety of chile pepper, follow your recipe for seasoning guidelines; but you should adjust the seasoning to your taste.

STRAIN AND STORE To make the sauce more appealing, strain it through a 1/8th inch strainer to remove pieces of the leathery

skin from the seasoned pulp. If you are worried you strained out too much, put the strained out matter back in the blender or processor, add a little more liquid, re-blend and restrain.

Use your freshly made chile sauce immediately or store in an airtight container in the freezer, for up to

three months when the flavors will begin to fade.

These simple steps unlock the mystery of making a wonderful chile sauce. Enjoy the process as you become familiar with these shriveled and wrinkled pods. Relish the flavors and the wonderful aromas that will make your Mexican cooking experience even richer. Buen Provecho!

Even the mildest chiles can be irritating to eyes and skin so, avoid direct contact with the chiles by wear-ing disposable gloves or putting your hands in food grade plastic bags when handling fresh or dried chiles.

See earlier articles to learn more about the history and scientific information about chiles:

The chile heat index and other characteristics of fresh chiles - http://issuu.com/losbarriles/docs/issue_65_dec-jan_2013_color_final_

and

The flavors and characteristics of dried chiles - http://issuu.com/losbarriles/docs/issue_66_feb-mar_2014_color



Apr/May

Apr/May 18 19

The Mexican Kitchen: An Adventure In Vibrant Flavors And Rich Tradition By Holly Burgin

n The Mexican Kitchen we have been explor-ing fresh and dried chiles, how to identify the varieties, their flavors and “spice.” In this article I share with you what I learned about transform-ing shriveled and wrinkled dried chile pods into

nuanced sauces with deep rich and complex flavors.

Whether you are making a complex mole or a sim-ple red sauce, the simple steps described below are important and well worth the effort in developing the subtle flavors of a tasty chile sauce. These steps are similar for most chile sauce recipes. Variations in recipes occur at the point that seasoning is added. There are infinite variations with each chile sauce. Once you know the basics, you will be able to adapt and create your own recipes.

SELECTING DRIED CHILES The first step is selecting dried chiles for your recipe that have a rich, uniform color with unbroken skins and have some flexibility. Some dried chiles may be dusty, depending on how they were dried, but should never be brittle or blemished. Choose dried

chiles from the bulk bins, rather than packaged chiles, so you can select the best.

TOASTING Toasting isn’t an exact science. Some cooks prefer to toast whole chiles, turning them frequently, until fragrant and slightly browned in spots. Then they break off the stem and shake out the seeds. Chef and cookbook writer Rick Bayles uses this method for small chiles, but for large chiles, such as ancho, pasilla, guajillo, etc, he opens up the chiles length-wise with kitchen shears and removes the stems, seeds and any light-colored veins inside the chiles (reserve the seeds if you want to increase the heat of the finished sauce). Then he flattens the chiles against the hot surface with a spatula.

The actual time on the griddle will be only a few sec-onds. With a medium heat under your griddle, you will hear a pop or crackle when the chile is pressed flat with the skin side up. After a few seconds you will smell the delicious aroma of the toasting chile. Flip the chile over and notice the chile has changed to a mottled tan. Press down to toast the other side and remove from the griddle. CAUTION – do not over toast, chiles will burn fast and add an unpleas-ant acrid flavor to your chile sauce.



SOAKING TO RE-HYDRATE Put chiles is a bowl and cover with enough hot tap water (no need to boil) so that the chiles float freely. Keep them submerged and stir occasionally. Soak the chiles only long enough to make them pliable, about 15-20 minutes. Soaking removes the brash flavor of the toasted chile, but soaking longer than 30 minutes will leach out the flavor that we are working so hard to capture in our sauce.

PUREE Discard the soaking liquid, as it may have a bitter taste. Using a molcajete and metlapil (mortar and pestle) or a blender or food processor, add water or broth to the re-hydrated chiles, together with sea-soning called for in your recipe, and blend into a medium smooth, thick puree, scraping and stirring every few seconds. Use only enough liquid to keep the blades of the blender or food processor moving the mixture, but keeping the mixture as thick as pos-sible.

FRYING THE SAUCE Rick Bayles considers this step the key to the best Mexican sauces, melding the elements of the sauce and cooking out the raw flavor of the chiles, making a more complex and richer sauce with all the flavors in harmony.

Heat a medium deep pot over a medium high heat for a few minutes. Add a film of lard or oil to the pot, which will immediately become very hot. Drop a ¼ teaspoon of the puree in the oil. If it sizzles, the oil is ready. Add all the puree to the pot at once. It will crackle and splatter (be prepared with the pot lid). The puree should boil almost instantly and remain bubbling as you stir constantly (with a wooden spoon or spatula) all corners of the pot, until the pu-ree has darkened, reduced and thickened, about 5 minutes. Nothing should burn or scorch. Into this concentrated base, stir in enough broth to give it a “saucy” consistency and simmer for a few minutes to blend the flavors.

After simmering, adjust the sauce. Add salt if the sauce is bland, or reserved chile seed if you want a little more heat. Add honey or sugar if the sauce is too bitter. As there are variations in flavor and heat even among the same variety of chile pepper, follow your recipe for seasoning guidelines; but you should adjust the seasoning to your taste.

STRAIN AND STORE To make the sauce more appealing, strain it through a 1/8th inch strainer to remove pieces of the leathery

skin from the seasoned pulp. If you are worried you strained out too much, put the strained out matter back in the blender or processor, add a little more liquid, re-blend and restrain.

Use your freshly made chile sauce immediately or store in an airtight container in the freezer, for up to

three months when the flavors will begin to fade.

These simple steps unlock the mystery of making a wonderful chile sauce. Enjoy the process as you become familiar with these shriveled and wrinkled pods. Relish the flavors and the wonderful aromas that will make your Mexican cooking experience even richer. Buen Provecho!

Even the mildest chiles can be irritating to eyes and skin so, avoid direct contact with the chiles by wear-ing disposable gloves or putting your hands in food grade plastic bags when handling fresh or dried chiles.

See earlier articles to learn more about the history and scientific information about chiles:

The chile heat index and other characteristics of fresh chiles - http://issuu.com/losbarriles/docs/issue_65_dec-jan_2013_color_final_

and

The flavors and characteristics of dried chiles - http://issuu.com/losbarriles/docs/issue_66_feb-mar_2014_color



Apr/May

Apr/May 20 17


a Momma and baby, hung out with our boat for two totally thrilled kids and two amazed adults! This was beyond our wildest dreams and almost surreal. The giants of the sea, right there for us to touch and pet and look into each others eyes. It was like the baby was just as amazed with this blond girl and red headed little boy as they were with him! The thrill continued even as two other boats came up to our boat to try to catch our bounty yet, the baby still hung out with our kids – even showering ‘spit’ into Ducky’s face! The thrill of his day!...Again, the Baja magic continues. We could barely talk during the ride home, we were so thrilled with our day.

Our next big trip was to Cabo to do the “Cabo thing.” It was a wonderful glass bottom boat ride, with more fish to see than I have seen in my many trips as the tour guide here in the Baja. We found the iguana man and got to hold the iguana and get the picture proof and even had a soda in Cabo Wabo (a thrill for two kids who know the rocker Sammy Hagar), and as the good tour guides that we are, hit lunch at Costco for a hotdog!

Our time was quickly running out, and we better get to Punta Pescadero for snorkeling. The wind report was not favorable, but we could at least shell. We take the coastal route on the quads, which is breath-taking itself, and come to the beach, and the water is calm & perfect for snorkeling. The kids only ex-perience was at a pool, but they get in and off they went. Once again, like two pro’s, they come to shore only to give reports of what they saw and maybe to warm up a little I have not been there in years where the water was so calm. Again, thank you Baja magic.

Bocce ball around the neighborhood, playing on the beach, learning to drive the quad on the beach,

catching a gecko, trips to the store, quad rides, cookies at the neighbors and hours of shelling, all a dream trip for a kid!

But as all good things, this trip must come to an end, school could only be missed for two weeks. We reviewed our trip and all the exciting things we saw and did, and the things we will do next time….which they figure should be this fall to see the turtles. Hearts were heavy those last two days, trying to get in everything that we had to get in and visit our new friends one last time.

Our last day began with a special breakfast. Then we packed the lunch for the plane, picked up tortil-las to take home, and were off to the airport. Even the plane ride home was exciting as the two kids were the last ones on the plane as ‘minors traveling alone’ (thank you Alaska airlines for this special ser-vice) and the special things that go with that. Ex-citement was high as Dad picked them up at the airport, talking was a mile a minute and it was late when they got home, as snow was lightly falling….. leaving in snow, returning in snow.

What is wrong with this picture??!!.....the two freez-ing kids wondered! Luckily they had their tans to keep them warm along with the memories of their perfect magical vacation in the Baja! They did take the time to change the Disneyland fund jar to read Mexican Baja before they cuddled up in front of the wood stove for their first cold night at home. Yes, there is something to this Baja Magic legend, and we have the proof!



Apr/May

Apr/May 16 21

Dia del Niño Tournament - Ensuring the Future of the East Cape’s Sportfishing By Wade in the Water

BUENA VISTA — Each year on the last Sunday of the month of April the East Cape Sportfishing Club (Club de Pesca Deportiva Cabo del Este) hosts its annual Dia del Niño Tournament for the children of the East Cape, including El Cardonal, Los Barriles, Buenavista and La Ribera. While both Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are celebrated in the United States, here in Mexico they also honor their children with a special day on April 30.

One of the Club’s many goals is to educate and in-spire a sense of urgency within the community the need to change some of its “business as usual” fish-ing practices of old. Long proven to be unsustain-able and depleting our fisheries, old habits die hard. By providing a friendly competition for the kids, it provides an outreach and education opportunity within the community through this free fishing oppor-tunity for today’s youth.

Members in the Club include an equal number of gringos as well as locals. Uniting both with the com-mon cause of helping to improve local fishing oppor-tunities both now and in the future; this event is very

well attended. Last year about 75 youngsters at-tended – this year 100 are anticipated to attend.

As you can imagine, we have many sportfishing en-thusiasts within the East Cape’s community, which has a long history of fishing. The East Cape still lives and thrives in part because of its fishing based tourism. Interested in building a sense of pride and promote sportfishing through ethical principles and sustainable models; one of their goals is to also pro-vide outreach and education to locals and our next generation of anglers. Many of the families that have fished these waters for generations are no longer able do so. Reconnecting the next generation to the sport has become a major part of what this club does.

This first event of the season for the Club is of course, everyone’s favorite and geared towards one of our most valuable resources - local youth. Most of our local captains are third and fourth generation fishermen. But with the cost of gas going up it be-comes harder each year for them to be able to af-ford to take their kids out. Some children will not able to follow in their family’s footsteps and many other families within the community have never even



been fishing or on a boat. Providing a Dia del Niño (Special Children’s Day) Tournament, held on Sun-day April 27 this year, will allow children to experi-ence what generations before them have – fishing on the Sea of Cortez.

Believe me; no words can express how it feels to provide someone’s child; such as your house-keeper’s son, a neighbor’s daughter or maybe your gardener’s children a chance to enjoy this experi-ence. These kids will all have the opportunity to be on a boat, be on the water, hopefully catch a fish and also have a chance to win some incredible prizes.

As of press time prizes included a laptop computer, a prize that will surely be cherished with the addition of the new Computer Center in town, a Tablet which can also be used to access Internet in town, a bicy-cle, a camera, fishing equipment and more. But more donations of toys and other award items ap-propriate for children for this year’s third annual Dia del Niño Tournament are needed. Please consider dropping off yours to the Front Desk at (Spa) Bue-navista Beach Resort. Lunch and juices as well as t-shirts and caps will be provided by the Club as well as prizes. Donations of toys, sporting equipment and

other award items are greatly needed as the num-ber of kids grows. Club members have also volun-teered to repair any donated used surf fishing rods and reels. Please consider joining this great event! Everyone knows someone with a child worthy of this experience and opportunity. So grab a kid and come on down!

Rent a boat or bring your own; sign-ups, the $50.00 registration fee and team t-shirts pickup will be at the Palapa Buenavista on Saturday, April 26 from 3 to 6 p.m. Children need not attend but are very wel-come to come along - as the excitement of the event builds. Sunday April 27 will be the day every-one has waited for; with fishing hours from 7 to noon and weigh-ins to follow along with Awards and lunch at the Palapa Buenavista. Even if you don’t fish you can still sponsor a child. Also consider stopping by to watch and support this great event and check out the smiles on everyone’s proud faces! This year a Chili Cook-off has also been added!

To find out more about this non-profit organization, to find out how to join, participate or donate toys; go to following links. Email: c l ub d e p e s ca c a bo d e le s t e@ ho tm a i l . c o m . F a c e b o ok : h t t p : / / ww w. f a c e b o o k . c o m /clubdepescacabodeleste.



Apr/May

Apr/May 15 22

Baja Magic By Christine Courtright

f you are a 9 year old boy, “Ducky” and 10 year old girl, “Roe,” where do you want to go after months of a long, cold and snowy winter? Well, if you have an aunt and uncle that winter on the Sea of Cortez, it is right here in LB. As

the Aunt, my goal was to make this the most magi-cal trip for these two kids. But how to ensure it is perfect?...that depended on Baja Magic.

This magical trip started at 4am in a snowy airport ending up with Roe, singing as she dances up the gateway in San Jose, “I can’t believe it is really true!” For the next 45 minutes, the “how much longer” was about every 10 minutes. We make it, they jump out of the car, look around the house, see their bedroom and “where is the beach?” So, off to the beach they run and that is when the magic started. Right there at 5pm was a school of dolphins putting on a show, as a huge pod of Manta rays tap dance on the flat sea. I had been coming down for years before I saw my first dolphin in front of our neighborhood! Ok, the Baja magic is starting off good.

The next day, after our morning school time, we did our first ‘field trip’ to hang out at the beach and go kayaking. You would have thought they were pro’s on the kayaks and every shell, crab body, rock or dog was a site to behold. Even dinner time was exciting as you cooked outside!

There was their fort behind our house, playing with all the neighborhood dogs, playing with and naming all the dogs on the beach….every dog not attached by a leash to another person was properly named and desired to adopt. There were the 7am beach walks to collect shells, the excitement of walking a block to the local store to get soda or gum, with just a walkie-talkie and their own pesos! The quad ride up the arroyo to the waterfalls or down the beach to Buena Vista and the camp fires at night under the miles of stars with limitless marshmallows with new friends kept the excitement level high.

Then it was the day for the trip to Lopez Mateo for the whale watching. Adult nerves were running high….could we adults make it? Would the iPods hold the attention so we did not have to go through numerous “are we there yets” & “how much longer”? Our whale watching trip was scheduled for 8am the next morning; a morning that had dense fog! Our captain suggested we waited an hour for the fog to lift, well one hour to comb the beach for treasures! The fog lifted a little, and off we went. Right away, we could see whales a ways off, but too far off. We cruised around, with the whales always just a little ways off. Then, right there on the side of the boat a baby popped up! For the next 30 minutes, this pair,




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Apr/May 14 23

24/7 Cosmetics

By Connie M. Heinen

magine waking up in the morning and not having to apply makeup. Imagine the con-venience of exercising or even swimming without your makeup smearing or wearing

off. If you have sparse or no brow hair, or failing eyesight and just can't see to apply your eye makeup. If you have had breast reconstruction following a mastectomy and need areola re- pigmentation, then permanent makeup could be the answer.

For nearly 10,000 years man has been implant-ing color into the skin. No one knows exactly where or when tattooing started but it is histori-cally believed to have been first widely prac-ticed for fashion in ancient Egypt. Tattoos and makeup around the eyes were very popular with those of high status. The manner in which the pigments were applied were by scratching or pricking the skin with sharpened bone, or bamboo, thorns, knives and needles.

Whether you call the process permanent makeup or permanent cosmetic tattooing or use the more technical terms of micro-pigmentation, or derma-pigmentation, the procedure involves depositing pigments through the epidermis and into the dermis. Permanent makeup has many advantages over traditional makeup. Obviously it is more convenient. It is perfect with those in-dividuals with active lifestyles. For those who have arthritis or other physical disabilities that could hinder them for effectively applying makeup themselves.

Eyebrows frame the face and are the most im-portant part of a person's expression and ap-pearance. Brows can be created for a person who has none, or just filled in to enhance a sparse brow to look natural. Eyeliner - a person with sparse eyelashes can have a soft, natural liner to create a fuller lash appearance. Full lip color can be applied and is some cases the lip can be made a little fuller or even out a crooked lip line. The color choices are endless-- for ex-ample, soft, natural shades, as well as dark reds and plums, are available for the lips. Any color can be made to compliment a person's coloring.

Areola re-pigmentation--women who have had a mastectomy or breast reconstruction have two options when it comes to reconstructing the areola, or nipple. The first is a skin graft, which entails a second surgery. The second is to cos-metically simulate the areola with permanent makeup. In this process, color and shape are matched to the intact side. Otherwise, a new color and shape are selected for both breasts. These procedures are extremely re-warding for me as I lost my younger sister to breast cancer.

In my practice I find each and every client a new and exciting challenge. I am devoted to getting the desired results for each client. Noth-ing is more rewarding to me than to make someone feel better about themselves. I feel honored and blessed to be able to apply my ar-tistic talents to this rewarding field.

For a private consultation or more information about

cosmetic tattooing or therapeutic skin treatments see ad below or email permsoltions@ aol.com www. solu-tionsdebelleza.com.



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Apr/May 13 24

Here, There and Now I’m Back Again By Ann Hazard

used to be a neighbor of yours. I lived in Buena Vista and then La Paz from 2003 to 2009. Then life catapulted me back to the States, where I spent the next four plus

years. I never expected to move back, but I did. Here is the story of how it just sort of hap-pened….

Every journey starts somewhere. This particular one had an unlikely beginning. It was a doctor's recommendation that I move to a one story house to preserve the life of my knees. To say it shook me up is an understatement. I full-on freaked out. But I knew he was right, so I took action. Putting my house in San Diego on the market and looking for another was a second shock. There was nothing in my price range that was comparable ... that had an awesome view and a pool. I back pedaled. I took the house off the market, determined to make it work. I'd just take as few trips up and down t h o s e s t a i r s a s p o s s i b l e . . . .

A week or so later I awoke with a burning need to go to Baja, most specifically Todos Santos. Now I have a lot of friends on Facebook in BCS from the six years I lived here. Their posts were sucking me south like a giant vacuum. I missed it. Big time. So I called my best friend Deb and asked her if she was up for an impromptu trip. She was up for it, and she was in. Five days later we landed in Cabo. Recent reading mate-rial had me geared up for an adventure. I'd just finished Following Atticus, an inspirational story about a man and his mini Schnauzer who climbed mountains together, both real and metaphorical. I loved it. I now "follow" them on Facebook, and they continue to warm my heart and encourage me to think outside the box. Be-fore we left, I downloaded Living with Gusto by Todos Santos resident Elizabeth Day. This book revolutionized my attitude and gave me a major infusion of courage.

Bottom line. I found my one story house here, in Todos Santos that week in early November. Could I do this move alone? When I lived here before I was part of a couple. Was this the craz-

iest decision ever ... or the sanest?! Likely both. But I'd just turned 61 and dammit ... I was bored! Bored! Bored! The predictability of my days was soothingly mind numbing. Bottom line. I could put off living, really living, until I was what? Seventy? No! I couldn't. So I jumped.

I sold my house in San Diego, my house in Idaho and swapped cars with my daughter, Gayle. My closest friend, Deb and I took five days to drive down and I was able to share many of my favorite places with her.

Now I'm here. If it was crazy, then I love being crazy, because I have never felt so alive. So happy. So free. So thankful, especially for my own two mini Schnauzers, Rokko and Romo, who are joyous adventurers in their own right. They are my partners ... and worthy ones at that.

~

FLOP FLIPPING By John David Lionel Brooke

flip flop sandals on my feet flip flopping along the beach

flipping sharp sand at my seat flip flop flip flop feel the beat

flip flopping flipping I run flipping tripping having fun

flop flipping in Baja sun flip flopping 'till day is done I've flipped until I've flopped

The Whale Show By Rebecca Cross

id you miss the whale show this Feb-ruary? For those of us that paid the

ticket price of looking out at the Sea of Cortez, it was an amazing constant display of humpback whales breaching. They were spout-ing, they were slapping their fins, and they were coming completely out of the water. They were doing it on their own and they were doing it with a buddy. From the town chatter and many pic-tures posted on Facebook, this whale show was amazing to all. The big question on everyone's mind: Why are these enormous creatures doing what they are doing?

After much research, the answer is: We do not know.

Scientists do not know exactly why whales breach, but there are many theories. The one I grew up with is that they are trying to shake barnacles or parasites off of their skin. The im-pact of the animal hitting the water would be similar to a dog rubbing itself against a tree to try to scratch fleas off of its back.

Another theory is that breaching allows them to communicate with each other; it is possible that the sound the animal makes as it breaches may signal something to others. In fact, according to the UCSB Scienceline, in some cases hump-back whales may breach more frequently in rough seas, when their songs will be harder for other whales to hear. By generating a large splash and a loud noise, they could also be communicating to others, "Hey! I'm over here!"

In the Australian Geographic, Dr Chandra Salgado Kent, whale expert, adds there are many other theories about why whales breach. They could breach as a competitive display be-tween males. The behavior could also be a warning for perceived threats, such as preda-tors, or even unwanted attention from vessels. She even suggests that it may be a technique to stun or scare prey, ultimately helping them feed.

Here's some other fun theories I found about why whales breach:

- They may breach simply to have a look

at what is going on above the water.

- To scratch an itch.

- To scare off an intruder.

- While mating, to display aggression towards an unwanted suitor.

- Babies sending a signal to their mothers and/or mothers sending signals to their babies.

- Finally, the breach may be the end of some complicated underwater behavior that we can't see from the surface.

Back to our question: Why are these enormous creatures doing what they are doing? After The Whale Show of February 2014, I think we can all agree on the answer. They are simply happy humpbacks expressing their joy of living in the beautiful and serene Sea of Cortez!

After 20 years living in Alaska, Rebecca Cross started

her journey for the sun. Stopping in Washington and Oregon, she skipped California and in 2005 jumped into the full-time warmth of Los Barriles. A former inner-city educator and administrator, she holds all sorts of

degrees and licenses that are of zero usage as she plays on the beach and tends to her gardens. Rebecca is an avid fisherwoman, quad-rider, actor, painter, writer, cooker, tech-junky and all-around Baja nut!



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begun to overtake much of the building and graffiti covers the inside walls. Crumbling brick litters the tile floors of this once majestic structure. Many of the square wooden plugs that held the window frames in place are still in the walls. I imaged what it would have been like if the hospital had become operational. I could envision the patient’s rooms and the surgery area, the storage rooms, nurses’ sta-tions and the bathrooms. From the roof, we could

see the Sea of Cortez in the distance.

I thought what a beautiful place this would have been to recuperate. We both commented on the lack of any sound. It was eerie in a way. I sat on the roof for a while thinking about the history of the place...

Baja California Sur Governor Agustin Olachea Avilés began the construction of the hospital in 1956. Many of the people in Santiago call the pro-ject the Elefante Blanco (White Elephant). They claim the hospital was embroiled in politics -- one administration started it and when the next admini-stration came into power, they stopped the con-struction. However, I read that the government was concerned over the number of cases of tuberculosis in La Paz during the worldwide tuberculosis epi-demic in the 1950s. In his book The Magical Moun-tain, Thomas Mann wrote that tuberculosis patients healed or at least they improved when they went into a mountainous sanatorium. The health commu-nity knew that the tuberculosis patients improved with the mountain air, but no one knew the cause exactly. The Olachea government decided to build the hospital at about 1,400 feet on the side of the Sierra de la Laguna Mountain Range outside of Santiago. By 1957 however, deaths from tuberculo-sis were down significantly. The discovery of antibi-otic drugs that kill bacteria was a turning point in tu-berculosis control. It was unnecessary to segregate

patients since tuberculosis could be cured with well-supervised antibiotic treatment at home. As a result, the Santiago hospital was never finished. Today it is a ruin with stone arches and entries invaded by weeds.

Northeast and up the mountain about 350 feet from

the hospital building is the Director’s House. David and I decided to hike up to it. Most of the winding road, that was once capable of vehicle traffic, is over-grown or washed away. It is passable on foot only. The road takes about twenty-minutes to hike. There are plenty of places to rest and enjoy the scenery. Once we arrived, I was struck by the view. We could see the Sea of Cortez and the cattle ranches below. The dirt roads that connected the ranches looked like small strings placed on a map. I kept thinking that this would be an awesome villa. Both stories had a room with curved windows overlooking the distant sea. Ornate tile floors decorated the entire structure and several patios protruded from the structure. It would need a lot of work to make it habitable again. It was definitely worth the climb.

It was a great opportunity to visit this beautiful iso-lated spot and to learn more of the history of Baja California Sur. The hospital is an easy day-trip from Los Barriles. You can contact David Cross at [email protected] or call from the states (541-201-2679) about a trip to the hospital or about other Southern Baja quad tours. Be sure to stop at the Palomar Restaurant on your way and ask for Sergio. You will not regret it. He has many pic-tures of his famous visitors. You can contact him at [email protected].

Walter S. Zapotoczny Jr. is an award-winning writer, historian and editor, with over 25 years experience pro-ducing many different types of copy. He is the author of over 150 published articles and three books. You can

read some of his writing at www. wzaponline.com.

Adventures in the East Cape: The Hospital That Never Was By Walter S. Zapotoczny Jr.

his adventure took me to Santiago, about 12 miles (19 kilometers) south of Los

Barriles on Highway 1. We were in search of the abandoned tuberculosis hospital located

high in the mountains. I heard about this place from my friend Kirbe Luna, who grows organic mangos on his farm near Santiago. Some of the locals call it El hospital que nunca existió (The hospital that never was). I have heard that the building is so big that it can be seen from space. I had to see this place for myself and learn some of its history! With no idea how to find it, I contacted David Cross, who

has been guiding quad tours around Southern Baja for many years. He had been to the hospital site several times and agreed to take me.

We started our adventure in La Ribera. After fueling

the quads, stocking up on drinks and snacks, and a safety briefing, we drove to the start point, two miles north of town along the dirt road to Los Barriles. We turned southwest into the Santiago arroyo traveling about six miles until we came across a large rock formation on the left. We pulled off and found a large cave with a pond inside. The pond had fish in it. As soon as we shut off the quads, I could hear a loud buzz. David explained that the buzzing was from the bees that have built hives in the cave. As we walked into the cave, the sound increased due to the walls of the cave amplifying the sound. With the bees flying around their hives, Dave and I tried not to make any noise. We did not want a million bees chasing us.

After a short break, we continued southwest, went under Mexico Highway 1 and to the bridge into Santiago that crosses the arroyo. We made our way into town, went around the picturesque square with its old buildings and followed the road to the left down the hill one block to the Palomar Restaurant. I had arranged for Kirbe to meet us there and in-troduce me to his friend Sergio Gómez Cota, the

owner of the restaurant and local historian. As we enjoyed lunch in the garden, Sergio explained much of the history of the hospital and of the Palomar Restaurant. Sergio told us that John Wayne, Bing Crosby and President Eisenhower used to fly into a nearby airstrip and stay at the Palomar while hunt-ing doves in the area. I now have something in com-mon with John Wayne, Bing Crosby, President Ei-senhower, and more recently, Jennifer Aniston and Susan Sarandon; we all enjoyed lunch and conver-sation at the Palomar. With fresh fish arriving daily, plenty of Corona and Sergio’s stories, it is no won-der that the Palomar is a popular spot. It is a good place to rally before visiting the hospital.

We left the Palomar turning right, went up the hill, around the square and down the hill to the arroyo. We traveled northwest almost three miles to a trail on the left that would take us west toward the moun-tains and the hospital. After two left turns and about eight miles, we found the road on the right that starts up the side of the mountain and to the hospi-tal. I am glad we were on quads since the road was partially washed out. After another four miles and a couple more left turns, we arrived at the hospital. I can see why people say you can see it from space.

This place is huge! The red brick and concrete building is two-levels, built in the form of a cross. One wing is approximately 200 feet long and the other is about 150 feet long. Both are about forty feet wide. The building probably has 30,000 or more

square feet of inside space, not including the roof. All of the plumbing, windows and doors are gone but the building is intact.

We went from room to room and from level to level exploring the property. Trees and shrubs have




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Plate Tectonics By Russ Hyslop

n understanding of plate tectonics is nec-essary in order to describe the geology of Baja California. In its simplest terms, the

theory of plate tectonics states that the surface of the earth is covered with giant lithospheric plates some 90 km in thickness. These plates are geologi-cally sliding laterally, separating, converging, and overlapping each other.

The coastline of California Alta and the entire Baja California peninsula ride on the eastern rim of the Pacific plate. The Mexican mainland, the remainder of California, and the rest of the United States are located on the North American plate. The San An-dreas fault marks the active boundary between these two plates. The Pacific plate on the west side of the fault moves northwest with respect to the North American plate. This Pacific plate edge of California Alta is still sliding laterally, neither con-verging nor diverging in relation to the North Ameri-can plate. Earthquakes in both California and the peninsula are caused by this movement of 2.5 to 3.5 cm annually.

From the Imperial Valley to Puerto Vallarta, the northwest movement on the fault has an additional divergent component that has torn the crust of the earth open to form a complicated series of basins that we now call the Gulf of California. The detailed history of the opening of the Gulf of California is not fully understood. Much of the evidence lies buried beneath younger sediments or the waters of the Sea of Cortez. The oldest rocks that can be posi-tively correlated with the Gulf are about 15 million years of age.

During the middle Miocene 15 million years ago, the Gulf of California did not exist. Baja California was still attached to mainland Mexico much farther south. The peninsula sat mostly under the ocean, with the exception of northeastern Baja California, the Vizcaino region including Isla Cedros, and the Cape Region. San Andreas fault movement created the Gulf. As the basins opened sea water poured in, but often only to evaporate and leave behind depos-its of gypsum and salt. By about 5 million years ago, the sea had invaded as far north as Palm Springs, California Alta. These northern basins have been partially filled and cut off from the sea by the delta of the Colorado River, which has built a large “dam” at the head of the present Gulf through sedimentation.

References: Minch Roadside Geology Baja Peninsula, Roberts Baja Plants and field guide.

~

The Sea of Cortez is the World’s Aquarium: In Heaven with a Humpback By Theresa Comber

t's like diving into a morning sky. Clear, blue, endless. Yet with an incongruous difference. The sun's rays in the morning sky shoot up, away from the horizon in an endless fan. In the bottomless blue sea, the sun's rays are oppo-

site, beaming through the water and coming to-gether to a focal point far below. So many hundreds of feet down that no matter how hard you dive in, it elusively recedes.

For me, diving far offshore into the deep blue Sea of Cortez, with thousands of empty feet below, is like diving into heaven. It must be akin to a sky diver's feeling, weightless, free. This season, with so many whales visiting for their winter sojourn, I dove into it to swim for the first time with a humpback whale and her baby.

We were out for a day of fishing and noonish we had the requisite six dorado on board; three were released earlier so they could grow up to help us win July's Dorado Shoot Out. Always with my snor-

kel gear at the ready, it was my turn with a whale, had been spouting and surfacing and breaching around us all day. After wanting and waiting for years, now the immense and distinctive back of one school-bus sized whale appeared with her mini-me baby protectively nestled at her flank. They were coasting along the surface, not far off port. I readied my simple gear, slipped on my long, beloved dive fins, smeared a bead of Johnson's Baby Shampoo into my mask - the world's best anti - fogger and watched as Captain Adan, without posing any threat, cozy 'Too Awesome’ close to the Momma whale and her baby. He gave me the thumbs up "Brinca – Jump!" and I splashed off the swim plat-form. The whales were to our starboard side now and he was pointing that direction, but the engines were still running and he was motoring away from me. Whoa baby! I motioned to him with the 'shut-them-off-and-don't-leave-me' double switch action to turn off the motors. Done. The boat was quiet and slowing and the jerk of adrenaline calmed down. I was remembering times when whales had breached unusually close to the boat and I kicked forward so that I had a sense of nearness and shelter.



Now where were they? Adan motioned they were behind the boat, closer, but no one aboard could see them. I kicked hard straight up out of the water, doing my own version of a whale's spy hop, hoping to see any surface change. Nothing. Then I took a long, gentle breath and dove mermaid style straight down. Straight down ten feet when I realized the light beams weren't extending any further; they were coming to rest on the enormous whale that was just twenty feet directly below me. She was RIGHT THERE BELOW ME! Electricity shot through me like I was in a pool of it. I remember my arms and fin-gers flying out like I was doing a backflip. And then, she rolled over on her left side, looking straight up at me with her huge eye; me looking straight down at her –we were sharing this crazy moment of shock and awe. She wondering what type of blondepur-pleyellow fish I was, me shouting inside myself that my long awaited swim with a humpback was at hand.

I could faintly see that her baby was on the other side of her and she ever so slowly moved her body forward and then away. I sprung to the surface shouting and laughing and asking if they could see that she had been right below me. They were laugh-ing too as they saw first by my reaction and then the large shadow below that the whale had been RIGHT THERE BELOW ME!

Again Adan, Again! He said she was still here, close, so I started singing into my snorkel. I don't know why, humming, singing, calling, hoping she would be able to hear me. That her astute sense of hearing might be coupled with her curiosity and she'd come back. "They're circling around and com-ing back!" I heard from the boat. I started singing louder. Adan wanted to know if I could hear them. No, not like when I'm overboard with a pod of loud, squeaky bottle-nose dolphin. But I kept singing into my snorkel. They were coming closer and everyone on board was in awe too that they seemed to be engaged with us. But their circling didn't bring them close enough and I got back in the boat. I was joy- filled high and in tears.

Years I'd waited for the opportunity. With this whale season now abundant with mommas and their ba-bies, I'm patiently penning this while fishing on 'Awesome'. Of course, they are looking for fish; I'm looking for another whale.



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Apr/May 10 27

Aramburo who, with his brother, had recently come to El Triunfo from Guadalajara on mainland Mexico to develop a group of general stores on the penin-sula. It wasn’t long before Francisca became as aware of Carlos as he was with her and they mar-ried soon after.

Marriage and motherhood did not diminish Francisca’s love for music. She began teaching pi-ano to a growing number of enthusiastic young students who came from the most prominent families in the area. Since these families were pros-pering from the mining operations, the parents be-gan purchasing pianos for their own homes. Before long there were more pianos per capita in El Triunfo than anywhere else in Mexico!

When the mining operation in El Triunfo shut down in 1918, the Aramburo family moved to La Paz to establish their first “La Popular” market on Calle Madero. The large cow on top of the market still marks its location. In La Paz, Francisca continued to teach piano. She also helped establish the Es-cuela de Musica in La Paz.

Francesca’s legend continues to live on in El Tri-unfo at the Museo del Piano located in the center of town on Highway #1. Her cream-colored piano is prominently displayed on risers in the front room. The public is invited to visit Monday through Sunday from 9AM to 6PM.

There is no admission fee but, donations are gener-ously accepted.

El Triunfo: A Musical Mining Town By JoAnn Hyslop

s El Triunfo entered the 20th century, it was at the zenith of its heyday as one of the most prosperous mining towns in the Sierra de Laguna Mountains on the southern half

of the Baja peninsula. The population grew with El Triunfo’s Gold and Silver mines bringing riches to approximately 10,000 inhabitants. The officials of the Progresso Mining Company that ran the mining operations came from Europe and the United States. Many of them loved classical music and brought their pianos with them. Over the years mu-sic was almost as important as mining in El Triunfo.

One young woman, Francisca Mendoza, who was born in El Triunfo in 1868, grew up listening to the strains of music written by List, Brahms and Tchaikovsky wafting from open windows. Francisca began taking piano lessons when she was very young. Her first piano teacher, Maestro Paredes, was impressed with her innate musical ability. He then introduced Francisca to another teacher, Maestro Tardkli, who encouraged her to attend classes in San Francisco where she was introduced to the world of concerts, and met notable musicians.

When Francisca returned to El Triunfo near the turn of the century, she was not only an accomplished pianist but also a strikingly beautiful woman. As she began to play her first concerto at her local de-but, she was unaware of the presence of a tall handsome young man in the audience who couldn’t take his eyes off of her. The young man was Carlos

A Unique Gem By Fernando Rodriguez

ne of the unique, unknown gems, that opened this past winter in Los Barri-

les, is Captain Nemo's Landing; a dis-tinct Southern Baja California, Native-American tee-pee, compound and hostel. Captain Nemo's is located less than a mile from the quaint Los Barriles central downtown district, and was a sold-out affordable accommodation favorite of competitors who arrived after for the 4th Annual Lord of the Wind Kiteboarding and Windsurfing Tournament January 22-26, 2014. Captain Nemo's Landing spacious grounds offers guests staying in any of the Native-American Tee Pees, a community dining area with refrig-erator, stove, hot showers, and is located a short walk from the beach. A white, stucco Mexican police sub-station at the entrance gates assures visitors of enjoying a tranquil, safe, and happy stay.

An upstairs two bed penthouse casita/villa, in the corner of Nemo's compound, with ocean views, has a nice red tile patio above the similar cozy two bed villa, downstairs. Nemo's provides

free wifi and parking within the gated Native-American cultural inn. The newly constructed Captain Nemo's Landing ushered in the New Year with its grand opening early January. ''It's a great place with a very reasonable price,'' said trip advisor commentator, E. Rowe of Nanaimo, Canada. ''It was very close to the beach and had a shared kitchen which saved having to go to a restaurant in town.''

Since its grand opening, owner Jeff Niemi, has been recognized as a great host for his friendly assistance providing information about Los Barriles and its friendly East Cape community. ''Jeff was very helpful and even gave us a ride from the bus station to his place,'' added E. Row. Another visitor from Vancouver, Canada, who stayed at Nemo's for an entire month, re-marked how clean the new spot is. "The folks that stayed there were pretty friendly. We shared some meals on the barbecue and shared a few stories around the bonfire."

Los Barriles is a hotbed for fishing, kiteboarding & surfing, and the newest lodging attraction is Captain Nemo's Landing.

~



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Apr/May 9 28

How to Tie a Swiss Seat Rappel Harness From Climbing Magazine

any of us like to explore the local area on our quads. We may come across a feature

that we would like to rappel down but we only have a rope with us. A Swiss seat rap-

pel harness is a simple harness made from a piece of rope or webbing. It is good for those who need to make a harness on the fly, or for those who don't want to buy a commercially made harness.

Things You'll Need: Rope. Approx 6-10 ft (182-304 cm) length depending on your size. Most ropes used for Swiss seats are braided hemp, 550 paracord, or other natural fiber rope. The rope should be clean and new, and rated to support at least two times your body weight, pref-erably more. Diameter should be approx 12-16mm. Another length for the rappel rope.

Carabiner. This should be rated and approved for climbing and supporting a human's body weight. Must have a lockable gate.

Leather gloves. Although this is not a lesson in climb-ing you must protect your hands when rappelling; there will be a lot of friction, heat, and the possibility of particles in the rope as it passes through your hands. Or, you can use a pair of mechanic's gloves.

Steps: 1. Find the center of the rope by folding it in half and going to the fold. Place the fold in the centre of your lower back, ends out to either side of your body so that you're holding an equal length in each hand. Cross the halves in front of you so that it wraps around your waist. Twist the rope at least four times.

2. Pull one side under the other to make a half hitch. Repeat so that the rope turns twice around itself. This will eventually be where the cara-biner is placed and it keeps the rope from pinching down on your testicles (if you have them). Drop both of the free ends so that they dangle in front of you (probably touching the ground).

3. Reach around the outside of your legs with both hands and pull the free ends behind you through your legs. Pass each free end up through the portion of the rope wrapped around your waist. The free ends

should now be between your body and your 'belt'. Place the free ends over your shoulders so that the ends are dangling down in front of your chest, one on each side.

4. Pull down on these as you squat. This is an im-portant step as this is what will tighten your har-ness. Stand up and squat several times while pull-ing on the free ends. You should feel it squeeze you between your legs – make sure key parts are not between the rope and your leg.

5. For both sides, maintaining tension on the free end, drop it behind your back and pass it behind the length of rope that cups your bum, from back to front. This binds the seat in place. Pull the free end towards your front, along your hips.

6. Connect the two ends together using a square knot off-centre to your body. Most right-handed people will place the square knot by their front left hip.

7. Make a half hitch with each free end as a keeper knot. Note that the half hitch must pass around both 'belts' of rope that now exist.

8. Place any excess rope out of the way in a deep left pocket (cargo pants are an asset) if you have one, and if your knot is on the left. Make sure that the rope is in a place that it won't interfere with your carabiner during a rappel.

9. Your harness is done. Now attach your carabiner and rappel rope. Happy rappelling.

Warning: Always test your harness before using at any height. Pull up on the carabiner until your whole weight is supported. Or, have your friend lift you up by the carabiner and shake. Your harness should not be too loose, pinch your manly parts, or slip.

For more information on rappelling, visit: http://www. climbing.com/.

~



Apr/May

Apr/May 8 29

The Intimate and True Adven-tures of "El Ballenero" Episode 5: Becoming a Part of The Mexi-can Whale Research "TEAM" By: Urmas Kaldveer, PhD

n my previous article I related an experience I had kayaking near Loreto ending in a very inti-mate encounter with a large blue whale. That encounter, and a very fortuitous meeting with Richard Sears while there - one of Canada's

leading blue whale researchers - got me back on the trail of an elusive and almost forgotten quest of mine to "see into the eye of the whale". The encoun-ter took place in 2004 after I had already been studying blue and humpback whales in northern and southern California as well as Hawaii since 1992. "Seeing into the eye of the whale" was my way of referring to a dream I had for years of one day being up close and personal with 'The Whale People" - that is in the water with them, in their element, eye-ball to eyeball. Up until this time I had not been able to fulfill that dream.

When Richard asked me if I would photo ID any blue whales passing through my area of the east cape the following year, I was m o r e t h a n enthusiastic to comply. I Re-turned in June of 2004 to Cali-fornia to teach summer school and fall semester at Mendocino C o l l e g e a n d b e g a n raising money for my effort while looking for some student volunteers who would work as my interns. Two delightful yo u n g l a d i e s ( L e n e e Goselin and Kristin Paiva) from my Environmental Science class signed on for a month in March of 2005 and I was ready to find some blue whales I had also talked to one of the pescadores (Vicente Lucero) in El Cardonal and enlisted him as my "piloto" for the following season. That first season in 2005 was in many ways exceptional. Lenee and Kristin turned out to be personable, hardworking and en-thusiastic companions. They also brightened Vicente's day with their youth and natural beauty, both being very attractive young ladies. In a short time we became a team and were able to obtain

over 40 IDs.

However - we did not see even one blue whale - they were all humpback whales! After the first few times out in our grid with no success finding blue whales I de-cided to ID the h um p b a ck s since I knew that someone would be in-terested in the pictures - and after all they were in my grid in sub-stantial num-bers. I felt bad for Richard (Sears) be-cause it was to aid in his research that I had put this project together in the first place. My research grid consisted of approximately 100 square miles and took me as far as La Ribera South and Boca del Alamo North, and two miles from shore to ten miles from shore. This was an area that could be covered in six hours depending on number of whales and

successful photographic en- counters.

A successful" photographic en-counter results when one spots a whale, is able to get within 100 or so feet of it and is then able to obtain a picture of the ventral (underside) of the flukes as the whale dives after it's third or fourth blow. This "photo op" moment is usually less than three seconds and is more often only one or one half seconds if you want a really world-class photo ID.

The photo needs to be in focus and show as much of the un-derside as possible so that the markings are clearly identifiable

by another researcher if "recaptured" (photographed again in another season and/or in another location). A data sheet is also kept for each whale, recording pertinent information. That first season we did not "recapture" any of the whales we saw during the



two months that I was active, but six of my whales were seen by other researchers in different loca-tions in Mexican waters during that time. Although my "deeper" quest was to understand these crea-tures in a more intimate and spiritual context, I found that my scientific training and my personal feelings of obligatory professionalism in the field dominated my activities and I therefore pursued the work with "scientific" focus. Having few shots for Richard I contacted Dr. Jorge Urban Ramirez at The University in La Paz (Universidad Autonoma Baja California Sur, (UABCS) and asked if he could use the shots. Dr. Urban replied immediately and en-couraged me to keep up the work the following (2006) season. He also asked if I would like to join his "team".

What I did not know was that being included on Jorge's "team" meant that I had become a member of Mexico's contingent of contributors in the largest whale study ever attempted… SPLASH (Structure of Populations, Levels of Abundance and Status of the humpbacks). It would still be necessary for me to raise all my own funds but I was now involved in a project that could significantly al-ter our way of thinking regarding The Humpback Whales of the ent ire North Pacif ic Ocean. For me that implied that there was a tangi-ble scientific goal to my personal and spiritual inter- est in "The Whale People".

Regardless of my immersion into the science of whale lore that first season of 2005, it also had it's non-academic moments that cont inued to inspire my personal quest to know these crea-tures more intimately. During that first season we obtained twenty three "World Class ID's", had a mother bring her calf right alongside our panga

for an intro, had a male "singer" directly under our b o a t c a u s i n g t h e d e c k t o vibrate, saw intense male combat, incredible breaches and all the other amazing behaviors that humpbacks are known for.

Needless to say - I was hooked again!



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Apr/May 7 30

Bubba Loves a Lady: Big Ladyfish, Big Roosterfish? By Gary Graham

f you spend any time at all on Baja beaches you are going to see some incredibly large shadows cruising along the shoreline in shallow water. It is only when the shadow finds ‘something to eat’ that the shape suddenly mate-

rializes into a fish with vivid gunmetal grey stripes and a comb-like dorsal as it appears above the sur-face of the sparkling Sea of Cortez.

When this happens, you will have just been intro-duced to some of the largest roosterfish found in Baja. Nicknamed “Bubba” by many, these big shoul-dered, unusual looking fish with the attitude of a red neck at a Saturday night bar fight are one of the toughest fish to get to bite, let alone catch in Baja.

Years ago, my wife, Yvonne, and I were enjoying a fun morning catching ladyfish from the beach. Lady-fish are a small tarpon like fish that can be any-where from 12” – 24” inches and are a sucker for small chrome spoons. Their acrobatics as they leap into the air are spectacular. As she was reeling in a ladyfish, “Bubba” came streaking toward her and snatched her fish like a dog grabbing a bone, and headed straight for the deep water. Of course Yvonne never got a hook in the monster, but it was fun to watch, and my brain was spinning with how to put what we had just seen to good use.

Later that year over a cocktail or two, Don Sloan, a fishing buddy and I, hatched this elaborate scheme to catch “Bubba”. In those days, we fished the East Cape beaches astride ATV’s equipped with rod holders, tackle boxes, etc. For this adventure, we added aerators to our coolers to make live bait tanks

and wore headsets to communicate. Our plan was simplicity itself. We would catch ladyfish in the morning until the sun was well overhead. Then we would cruise in opposite directions looking for “Bubba.”

The first half of the plan worked flawlessly. When the sun was high overhead, it didn’t take long to spot our first rooster.

As I cruised high on the beach following the fish, Don baited up a ladyfish down the beach and waited. Closer, closer Bubba came. As soon as it was within casting distance, Don cast the 18” lady-fish out in front of the cruising rooster. Keep in mind that ladyfish are a tough cast at any distance.

The Sea erupted as Bubba pursued his lunch a short distance back toward Don. Don was doing the Baja two-step with a frightened ladyfish and a hun-gry rooster darting straight between his legs. Fi-nally, with the hapless ladyfish hanging out of each side of its mouth, the roosterfish headed for deep-water.

Up to this point our plan had worked perfectly, but we never did close the deal. Using big hooks or two hooks, letting the rooster run a long time or setting the hook right away, nothing worked! We never landed one!

Sometime later I told my good friend and Baja au-thor, Gene Kira, my “Bubba” story and he told me about “one of the best roosterfish anglers that ever lived” , Bill Mathias, from Tucson, AZ who used ladyfish for bait!

Here is Bill’s set up: A 7/0 Eagle Claw (#2004) cir-cle hook, with the barb crimped flat and the hook




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Apr/May 6 31

Seas and Hyperbole By Jorge Bergin

can’t tell you what it is, I can only tell you how I see it.

I know the Pacific Ocean. That is, I know the top of it from Hong Kong to Eureka, from

Acapulco to Honolulu, Guam to Taiwan. I know the Gulf of California in the same way. Three years of my life aboard a U.S. Navy ship in the Pacific Theater, 40 years of fishing the Sea of Cortez in much smaller craft.

I’m a writer and one might think I’m equipped to do it honor in my prose. Not yet. I think we are looking at it through all too human lenses. Time is in the way – painters hire models, not mara-thon runners or gymnasts. The ocean surface is always on the move and won’t slow down to be explained and dissected. We can take pictures, then describe what’s in each shot; best we can do.

Meanwhile the seas are being pulled every which way --- the moon and sun want the water closer, gravity wants to hold it close to the earth’s crust while Newton and company want it to seek its own level. Great weather cells and the powerful jet stream push and pull while the lid to all that wet sloshy stuff rents, second by second, colors and moods from the sky and land; wuthering gloom moves to a brave Gaug-

uin oil, a celebration of colors and themes as a squall passes where you float or surf or fish.

All the things that break the surface, the mirror, even for a second, get our attention, hold us as long as they will stay. We marvel at all the life that abounds in the top several millimeters of tenuous tissue that separates the biomes. When the next meter or two below seems to be swarming with jel-lyfish my Mexican fishermen friends say the water is cochi, dirty. I sup-pose they would argue that if you can’t eat it, it’s in the way, trash.

Our eyes are often all wrong for the job. I’ve come home up the bluff after a long swim in a sea with a small chop

that seemed still beyond the tiny wavelets. Through my binoculars I can see great inshore currents rushing the sea this way or that, de-pending on the day --- it all disappears up close or in the water by the shore.

The sheer power and scope of the Pacific runs the best of us right off the hyperbole list. We’ll have to be satisfied that we pay homage to the sea and to those who “Go down to the sea in ships”. If we can do that, it should be easy to also give small honor to those of us who “Go down to the sea in chairs.”


flattened so there is no offset. A short piece (say 10-12 cm) of 22 or 24 gauge wire is bent around the bend of the circle hook and fixed by several twists, making sure the resulting loop around the circle hook is small enough to prevent the wire from slip-ping over the flattened barb. A downward hole is then made through the snout and into the mouth of the bait using a large J-hook (7/0 or 8/0) with a flat-tened barb. The wire on the circle hook is inserted downward through this hole, into the mouth of the bait, and the end of the wire pulled until the circle hook is snug against the top of the bait. The wire is doubled back and a few twists are made around the earlier wraps next to the bend. The tag end is trimmed and the bait is ready for the troll. Hook the ladyfish through the upper lip with the hook pointed downward, leaving the 7/0 circle floating free in front of the ladyfish’s nose. When the bite comes, no hook set is required…it just comes tight.

With that final piece of the puzzle, our catch rate went from zip, nada and zilch, to a remarkable 75% and the circle hook allows an easy release.

Bubba-Class Rooster Caught by Bill Mathias Using the ‘Ladyfish Technique

~



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Apr/May 5 32

SEA SCROLLS By John David Lionel Brooke

Sharp clawed buzzards, web footed boobies alight at ebb.

The haughty sea gulls screech as pompous pelicans preach to sandpiper corps de ballet. Bird feet stamping out essay in cuneiform lines on beach. Feathered footnotes beseech Sandy footnotes command human life is surly damned

Turning tide scrolls out code smothered messages erode. DNA spirals in nautilus tombs

soon returns to oceanic wombs. Crying to our Mother Ocean

home is her amniotic devotion.

Global Warming By Pablo Ponce

y stay in Baja each year usually runs between ninety and one hundred and

ten days. I plan it so as to avoid the cold and windy temperatures of winter and just in case there is a freak cold front in April or May, I also avoid spring. I go down at what many would call the worst possible time of the year, late summer aka hurricane season.

If I head down in mid August I find some stores are still closed for the season. It’s so hot some-times, not even the local watering holes will have a single customer, aside from me. I don’t mind the weather or the peace and quiet but I’ve been told that I’m missing out on winter when town is full. Apparently there are fiestas and gatherings almost every day at this time of the year but for me, it’s just too cold.

Last year as I started to plan my trip I thought I’d try something new. I figured I’d get my feet wet a little by heading to Baja in September and staying into December, just to try it out. When it came time to pack my bags I added jeans, a fleece jacket and several long sleeve t-shirts. I even through in a beanie and gloves just in case and I laugh (hahaha!) as I write this be-cause I ended up not using not one stitch of my cold weather gear.

When I got home I kept watch on my Baja friend’s Facebook posts. I saw them celebrating Christmas and New Years in shorts and flip flops. I was home in Southern California enjoy-ing our warm winter weather while the East Coasters experienced a not so typical cold front

that lasted weeks if not months. All the while my Baja friends posted pictures of marlin and do-rado they had caught that winter day. I kept thinking to myself, Shouldn’t they be cold? What’s going on around here?

These past few months that I’ve been home in the states, I’ve had a chance to go through my notes and I’m beginning to notice some climate changes. It seems as if Baja and So Cal are not getting as cold as they did in the past. That be-ing said, maybe it’s time I rethink my chosen months of stay in Baja when it’s my time to head south. I mean, I had fun this past Decem-ber. Who’s to say I wouldn’t en-joy January or even Feb-ruary?

This whole global warm-ing thing could quite possibly open up a whole new world for me. I could go see the whales on the Pacific side, I could watch a Shakespeare play, I could play in a card tournament and possibly even catch a fashion show. Ok I’m probably getting way ahead of myself. Maybe I’ll just tack on an extra week onto my December departure and see how I do. If I don’t freeze this year you just might see me celebrating Christmas and New Years Baja style by 2016.

~



Apr/May

Apr/May 4 33

Stinging Things By Camilla Ford

y husband, John just got stung by a scorpion on the bottom of his foot yes-

terday. He didn’t see it in the shower. It made a dark circle on his sole (maybe

on his “soul” too). It hurt for a while, but then today, it is okay. He also got stung by jelly fish or aguas malas yesterday. I did too. I had been running with a friend and we decided to swim after the run. I decided to swim home. Halfway there, I felt a burning strand on my hip. I was way out in the water. I didn’t want to panic. I saw a couple launching their boat and thought I would swim there which was the nearest place to get out. As I swam, I felt another sting on my arm and some “prickles” on my hands. “Keep going. Don’t panic.” I did fine and got out. It wasn’t horrible just a darn shame. I had wanted to glide all the way home. Instead I had to go bipedal and walk.

Later, John and I wondered, “What is the pur-pose of scorpions, aguas malas and mosqui-toes?” Scorpions don’t like anyone else, not even each other. They isolate themselves in darkness. I don’t know how they find a mate. What a date that would be, “Para bing, para sting!” They hurt people and can hurt them again, and again, unlike bees. (By the way, John did kill the one that stung him). Mosqui-toes, John reasoned, are food for some ani-mals: bats, birds, and spiders. I guess that is something to their credit. I could write a book about mosquitoes.

I am a bit obsessed with them since living here. They love me, and I hate them. I think they stalk me. But, now I am stalking them. I learned that in the evenings, they try to leave the house through the screens. They are vampires that need blood when the sun goes down. They are so focused on getting out, that they don’t evade my squishing fits. That is the only time to kill them successfully. There are tons of them in the chapel where I meditate. (I know “meditation” and killing mosquitoes don’t seem compatible. But, I admit, I am still evolving as a human). I close my eyes and listen to the high pitched, “Whoville” screams. They don’t bite then because of the candles, I believe.

But, they make a nerve wracking racket. For a while, John actually sprayed them. I’d get a whiff of the sweet flower smell and inhale deeply, and then remember I was inhaling poi-son, not fresh flowers. I’d get a bit dizzy, and then feel grateful to my fellow mosquito stalker.

Now aguas malas, what good are they? What purpose do they serve? Food for turtles? These

are the little blue ones with the 20 foot long strands that sting even when they are dead or separated from their bodies--like some kind of horror movie monster. My daughter, Heidi, had a really bad set of stings years ago. She screamed and screamed as I rubbed hot sand on her to try to get the stingers out. On her hands, neck, chest, and arms. She cried for at least 30 minutes. Urine is supposed to neutral-ize the sting, so we tried that. “Mom!? Gross!” We put her in a cold shower. She would not get out of it even though she was shivering. It was awhile before she would go in the sea again.

John also had a bad set of stings when we first


Continued from page 4 moved here. He suffered three days of pain. He said it was like hot oil running through his veins. He had to have a shot at the clinic. Since then, he thinks he has built up immunity. Stings hurt him still, but not like that. These jelly fish can be avoided for the most part. They look like bub-bles, and don’t burst open when you toss water at them. The strands are almost impossible to see, though. It is frustrating because the hotter it gets here, the more jelly fish there seem to be and the more you want to swim. I suppose that is why so many people build pools here.

Even the plants here grab and sting. John got nettle stings last year tramping on our land. Af-ter that, Heidi and I learned to recognize the bad nettles with their green and white leaves. “Back off!” Every surviving thing here has espi-nas (spines) that poke or sting or hook. I think the people here compensate for that. They are warm, accepting, tender, and embracing. The yin and yang. To thrive around stinging things, you have to learn to give and be humble and maneuver and relax and let yourself be directed

by zaps and pinches that make no sense and which you might not understand. Ni modo or “That’s the way it is,” is a very common expres-sion here. What can you do? Just accept and learn to live with it and really appreciate when things aren’t sharp. Perhaps stinging things are here to bring us back to our bodies and this mo-ment and the earth. Without them, we may live like headstrong Icarus flying blindly for the sun, in one direction until we fall. Stinging things re-mind us of our place on the earth. Not to be too proud or hoity toity, or worried about the future. Because, zing, AAAAAHHHH! I just got stung! And we all can get stung at any time and re-peatedly, too. But we still go swimming and hik-ing and enjoy our cold beers or limonadas out-side while watching the sea turn purple be-cause no sting can last forever with the same intensity. And, man! How wonderful those mo-ments are when we are not being stung by creatures or by life.



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Apr/May 3 34

Festival de Artes

he 21st annual Festival de Artes will be held at the Hotel Palmas de Cortez in Los

Barriles on Sunday, April 13, 2014, from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. This popular event sponsored by

the Asociación de Artes, is known as the premier showcase for local artists who display and sell their original art.

Money raised at the art festivals supports programs for local children. 55,000 pesos from the last two art festivals went to completely fund the three-week Cur-sos de Verano, or summer school program, in July for over 100 kids. Funding included purchasing shirts for the kids and volunteers, supplies for all of the ac-tivities and many other items. In addition, art and school supplies totaling 66,000 pesos were pur-chased for schools on the East Cape stretching from Cardonal and San Bartolo and as far south as Las Cuevas, La Rivera and Campamento.

The art festivals are always the Sunday before Easter and the last four including this year have been at Palmas De Cortez. This has allowed the event to grow to 150 participating artists and over 1,500 at-tendees.

The festival this year includes a food court with sev-eral food vendors including Smokeys, Baja Biscuits and Lighthouse Pizza. Palmas de Cortez will feature carne asada tacos and a full bar complete with eve-rything from margaritas to flavored and infused wa-ters. Great entertainment is always included and this year Bluz Explozion from La Paz will perform along with local dance and singing groups. A fantastic si-lent auction will be conducted. Plenty of shade will be available so that attendees can enjoy the day shop-ping, eating, drinking and enjoying the entertainment with their friends.

If you are a vendor please come by 7:00 am, unload and move your car down past the Palmas de Cortez condos so as to not interfere with the guest parking. Please register before the event at Baja Beach Com-pany at the Plaza in Los Barriles or at the San Jose Market on Saturday with Baja Books and Maps.

Special discounted room rates are available at Hotel Palmas De Cortez or Hotel Playa Del Sol. Call US: 877-777-8862 or MX: 624-141-0044 for reservations.

PET OWNERS: Please leave your pets at home.

For more information email:

[email protected].

History of the Festival In February, 1992, a small group of residents in the East Cape region of Baja California Sur, Mexico formed a committee to organize a spring "Festival de Artes." The purpose of the event was to give lo-cal artists an opportunity to show and sell their origi-nal work and to raise money to support art programs in the schools. Twenty four artists attended with their original work. Two hundred and fifty members of the community came to enjoy the event. At the end of the day, $2,500 pesos had been raised to purchase art supplies for the Los Barriles Elemen-tary School. It was a modest but encouraging begin-ning. The spring "Festival de Artes" grew over the

years, attracting artists and visitors from Los Cabos and La Paz.

By 1998 the number of artists had tripled and the number of visitors had climbed to over 1,500. Funds earned by the event were now able to buy more art supplies for the schools. In 1999 the committee de-cided to form a private Mexican non-profit organiza-tion (an Asociación Civil) and establish a formal Board of Directors. The Asociación de Artes del Mar de Cortez A.C. has been developing programs for the benefit of East Cape communities along the Sea of Cortez ever since.

Buen Provecho is Moving to San Bartolo By Renée Lagloire

Denise Elliott is a Chef and Renée Lagloire is an Anthropologist. Friends since high school, they have camped and traveled together for several dec-ades. Over campfires, they mused about how much fun it would be to bring together their skills and offer cooking lessons that also included the history and cultural context for the ingredients in the recipes. So they founded Buen Provecho, offering authentic Mexican cooking lessons in La Paz. They have

time, and so have their students! It was clear to both of them that they would “eventually” like to grow organic foods, and maybe have a few cabanas for rent. They looked around in various villages, and fell in love with the village of San Bartolo. Unex-pectedly, they found a property and have an-nounced that they will be moving to San Bartolo. While the gardens and other development of the land is part of a longer-range plan, they expect to start Mexican and other specialty cooking classes in January 2015. Renée and Denise can be con-tacted at: [email protected].



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Apr/May 2 35

Advertising in East Capers

Advertising in the East Capers gets the word out about your business AND your ad money supports the 3 week 'Cursos de Verano' summer school, for over 120 local children and provides art supplies for 18 East Cape public schools.

In addition to space in the printed version, your color ad appears in the online version at no addi-tional cost. You can download the 2014/15 Advertis-ing Kit by visit ing our website at: www.eastcapearts.com.

Tax-deductable Contributions to the Asociación de Artes

The Asociación de Artes del Mar de Cortez A.C., Los Barriles, B.C. Sur, Mexico is a legal non-profit Mexican corporation not affiliated with any other or-ganization, association, club or business.

The Asociación is in full compliance with the terms of the NAFTA agreement of January 1, 1994. As such, contributions made to the Asociación de Artes are tax-deductable in the United States, Mexico and Canada. For m o r e i n f o r m a t i o n v i s i t : www.eastcapearts.com or the NAFTA Website at: http://www.ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-agreements/north-american-free-trade-agreement-nafta.

Volunteers Needed!

The Asociación de Artes needs volunteers to help support their programs that bring the arts to the lo-cal communities and the schools. To learn more about these programs, visit: www.eastcapearts.com.

If you would like to volunteer, send an email to: [email protected].

Call for Articles

East Capers is looking for fiction and true stories about our region and items that affect our residents. If you are interested in submitting articles, recipes, stories or your personal experiences in Baja, email your 1 ,000-word or less art ic le to [email protected].

Thank You! This publication is possible with the help of the board members of the Asociación de Artes and members of the community.

East Capers Periódico

Publisher Asociación de Artes del Mar de Cortez A.C.,

Los Barriles, BCS, Mexico

Editor Walter S. Zapotoczny Jr.

Copy Editor Pako Ford

Circulation Brian Cummings

Advertising Kathy Obenshain

Denise Linnet

Contributors Jorge Bergin John David Lionel Brooke Holly Burgin Theresa Comber Christine Courtright Rebecca Cross Camilla Ford Gary Graham

Ann Hazard Connie M. Heinen

JoAnn Hyslop Russ Hyslop

Urmas Kaldveer, PhD Renée Lagloire Pablo Ponce

Fernando Rodriguez Robin Wade

Walter S. Zapotoczny Jr.

Printer Imprenta Ciudad Los Niños,

La Paz, BCS, Mexico To learn about Ciudad Los Niños, visit their website at:

http://ciudadninoslapaz.org/english/home.htm

———————————

The opinions expressed within the articles in East Capers are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Asocia-

ción de Artes del Mar de Cortez A.C.

Fishing Sinners Repent By Jorge Bergin

wasn’t always the hero I am today. A long time ago, in the U.S., (Nevada, Utah, Cali-fornia) I was fishing algae, pond scum. I did break some rules but I never caught more

than my limit of trout and I actually protected trout from my 5th wife who loved to catch em but didn’t want to cook em.

I’ll just give you one example: I never went afield for fish or game without a license. At the beginning of the season I bought the appropri-ate annual license and didn’t mind much the $45 to $50 dollars for the privilege to fish in Ne-vada. But one time when I was short on ready cash, I lost my fishing license.

I went back to the same store where I bought the license and explained to the clerk what had happened. He was very helpful, asked for my driver’s license and within a minute or so I had a replacement. Cost: $1.00. We bid each other a nice day and I began to sing my sweet/cheap song all the way out the door.

You’re way ahead of me aren’t you? Yep. For the next few years my licenses only cost me a buck. Then, one fateful year the jig (as they say) was up. Replacement licenses in Nevada were $45 bucks.

I remember saying to the counter guy at Wal-Mart “Was that me? Did I do that?” But he was already busy with other customers who were looking for Gulp.

Since that day I have been trying valiantly to make up for my sins. Nobody, but nobody gets in my boat without a valid fishing license and I see to it they never exceed the limits or break the rules. I know I’ve switched countries but I don’t care. A sinner makes retribution wherever he can.

~

Baja California Culinary Thumbnail From Gastronomía: Atlas cultural de México

TRADITIONAL DISHES TO LOOK FOR

Gallo Pinto --minced beef with rice, potato and other vegetables served as a hot stew.

Machaca --dried, salted beef that is rehydrated, lightly roasted over fire, soaked in water to re-move the salt and to soften, then pounded to pieces, ideally over a mesquite trunk, by a mes-quite pole. Then it's put in water again to get out more salt, and finally squeezed and fried in a skillet. A salsa is made with onion, chili, tomato and oregano, the salsais mixed into the fried beef and the whole thing is cooked for about five minutes. Most people expect to eat this with wheat tortillas, beans and coffee. In the north-ern Baja there is a machaca made with eggs, machaca con huevo.

Almejada --especially in Loreto, lo-cal clams cooked by piling dry wood over them, then eating them with hot-sauce, cilantro, lemon juice and salt.

SPECIAL CHEESE De Apoyo --a dry cheese especially good for grating, produced mostly during the rainy sea-son.

SPECIAL SWEET Chimangos --wheat-flour fritters topped with honey.



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Festival de Artes

Al anunciar el 21 Festival Anual de Artes que se cele-brará en el hermoso "Hotel Palmas de Cortez," de 10:00 am a 4:00 pm el domingo, 13 de abril, 2014. Este popular evento patrocinado por la Asociación de Artes en el Cabo del Este, que se conoce como el escaparate más im-portante para los artistas lo-cales que exhiben y venden sus obras de arte originales.

"El Corredor de Comida," contará con la famosa Carne Asada Palmas Taco Stand, nuestro propio Smokey's Grill & Cantina, Baja Biscuits y al-gunos nuevos que ofrecerán delicias y sabrosas platillos. Junto con sus bebidas fa-voritas y un bar que está en segundo lugar del mundo. Tenemos una gran línea de entretenimiento, con música en vivo y grupos de danza.

Los fondos del Festival de Artes, son para las activi-dades comunitarias de la Asociación de Artes, que in-cluyen: Artes y suministros educativos para las escuelas del Cabo del Este, el patro-cinio y la participación en los Los Barriles "Cursos de verano" de vacaciones de verano del programa, visitas de estudio y el artista local nuestro siempre popular Sábado Artes y Oficios en el DIF para los niños locales. SEE PAGE 3 FOR MORE FESTIVAL INFORMATION

Free / Gratis

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East Capers Issue 67