DarleneTait

Proud to be Cheating

Today I'm a cheater.

I am bringing someone else's work to you and offering nothing more alongside it other than a request for you to reblog yourselves, retweet, visit and subscribe or call your mother and let her know.  Our good friend Jamie Kelly has taken on the preservation of our seas.  Jamie has put together an informative, beautiful and disturbing site on the state of the oceans.  The reason I'm am such a cheerleader is because much of his focus is on the Sea of Cortez, my front yard.  He's serious about this stuff - I know this because his serious diving gear is in my spare room.  Check him out.

 

From Jamie and http:/livingseas.org

livingseas is an eco-blog created to alert people of the marvels and wonders of our oceans and seas.  It will also bring attention to the disastrous practices, poor husbandry and alarming negligence that threaten our oceans. Six of seven of the world’s seas are dying. Political expediency, economic bottom lines and lack of awareness are the chief culprits to the global desecration of this most precious resource. To paraphrase Edmund Burke, the only thing needed for neglect to triumph is that good people do nothing. Hope you both enjoy and are moved by the content on this blog. Pass it on and make your voice heard.

Paella with Community as the Main Ingredient

It was hearwarming.  I go to various events - some in town, some at Loreto Bay but seldom do I see such a blend of people as I did when I arrived at the 3rd Annual Paella Competition.  It was the first thing that hit me as I walked towards the array of tents set up on the grass at the Inn at Loreto Bay - there are folks here from Loreto Bay, there are Loretanos by birth and many other Mexicans, there are residents of Nopolo and there are "townies" (non-Mexicans living in town) and everyone is mingling and having a great time.   Once this registered I figured the paella didn't matter but again (for the second time this year) I'd be wrong.  I wish I could report directly on the quality of the paella but by the time I arrived (I thought I had arrived at the prescribed time and I am known as never-late-Tait) the paella was all but gone so I only got to hear all the raves about it.  Everyone was in a festive and friendly competitive mood (aided in part by wine from Roganto Wineries http://www.roganto.com/intro.html a whole other blog to come before long) and competitors were taking very good natured shots at each other - in short, it was a fun environment.

Participants join in at their own expense for the sheer fun, fame and to partake of an event that aids Loreto (50,000 pesos at this event!).  I can't really think of any better reasons.

There are now a handful of organizers however, the Paella Competition got its start at the behest of Nopolo residents, Sheila and Manfred Aistrich.  You know they've cottoned onto something when, in just three short years, the event has grown to the hundreds that showed up that day under colorful tents with the aroma of a whole lotta' paella wafting on the breezes.  The event is sponsored by by Rogano Wineries and, again, I did not sample the wine on my empty stomach but will try some and blog about it in the future, but suffice it to say, everyone else was complimenting it and their generosity as sponsors.  Check out their website as well (link above) -  a wonderfully romantic, boutique winery in Ensenada, Baja.

I did arrive in time to photograph the winners and here are a few of those shots.  If you are really interested in more details on the event, head over to Drew's blog (http://livingloreto.blogspot.com/) who was there all day ... and I will have to make sure I read next year's event details more carefully so I can actually provide more savory details.

And the winners are:

For Best Presentation:
1ST PLACE TEAM PRIETO-ENSENADA
2ND PLACE TEAM DALI/LORETO PLAYA-LORETO
3RD PLACE TEAM PETIT PAELLA-LORETO

For Best Paella:
1ST TEAM REENCUENTRO-ENSENADA
2ND TEAM PETITE PAELLA-LORETO
3RD TEAM PRIETO-ENSENADA

Loreto Bay and what sets it apart...

This past weekend was a flurry of activity with Loreto Bay's 1st Annual ReDiscovery Weekend.  It was the perfect time of year to hold an event - weather was fabulous, lots of homeowners returning and mid-end of October is the start of "the season".  It was always a question with those of us who organized the event, how many people would actually want to participate in a community event.  Particularly when there are still so many outstanding issues...  Towards the end of the week it was looking like a couple of dozen hardy souls would celebrate the brighter side of life and participate in the event and that would have been just fine.  One thing I have learned about Loreto Bay people however, is their sheer resilience and ability/willingness to find and then wrap themselves in that silver lining.  In the end, 130 people joined in because that is why most of them are here in the first place.  Let's face it...Mexico and Baja have their share of beautiful places with great beaches where the day is almost guaranteed to be sunny, the breezes balmy and the ocean blue and places that are more inexpensive to live in and easier to get to.  So why Loreto or, specifically, Loreto Bay?  In a word - community.  A piece of paradise anywhere is a treat but when combined with a group of people who are there, in large part, to be part of a community where some shared values brought them together in the first place, it is an exquisite combination.

Over the years I have learned many ways in which the physical design of a place can contribute to or get in the way of building community however, in the end, it is up to the souls that inhabit a place and the degree to which they participate.  There are a lot of physical elements at Loreto Bay still to be completed  but the community, the people that reside there and determine the quality of this Loreto Baja experience, are outstanding.  Delightfully, warmly, outstanding.

Below, I will post just a few pictures of our big Saturday night event at the Inn of Loreto Bay.  And if you haven't already read my buddy Drew's Sunday blog (and bookmark or subscribe) at http://livingloreto.blogspot.com/ he has his own, uniquely-Drew perspective on all things Loreto Bay.  I was the first person at Loreto Bay that Drew ever spoke to and I'm guessing I said a few right things because he got here and is still here; a poster boy (poster man?) for resilience and community and, always, always, always has an interesting perspective on the goings-on.  If you don't already, get to know him - he has become an integral part of the Loreto Bay experience.

el Papagayo Cantando Loreto

Lee and Carol Boyd are now the official "restaurante baróns de Loreto" with their third locale;  el Papagayo (the parrot).  This spot is well situated and easily found immediately off Plaza Juarez at the top of the main concourse (sounds rather citified, si?) coming up from the malecon.  It is a place built from some very artistic strands of DNA - the spot is the former gallery of notable artist, John Ramos.  They have built on this artisitic heritage; a feature that is delightfully apparent as you enter.  There was a lot of attention paid to creating little visual visitas (a place to rest your eyes - I just made this up) throughout.  It is a garden adorned with little intimacies - every table is part of the larger restaurant yet bears sufficent elements that manage to create intimacy at the same time (a table nestled in a corner with some flowering plants around or a table in it's own garden are or one sheltered under a softly illuminated tree) that manages to be delightful and entirely Mexican.

We were early guests one day and only managed to partake of Happy Hour (3-6) so I cannot speak to the dinner menu but we all enjoyed our well-presented appetizers (guacamole done right as in chunkyand one guest had a brisket burrito) and the atmosphere.  They also feature tapas which we haven't tried yet but we will - and we will definitely return for dinner to try their mesquite grill and the evening ambience which is wonderfully romantic.  They are closed on Thursdays and chances are good you can walk right in but, if its an important occasion, call for a reservation 135-2216.

(download)

Click here to download:

el-papagayo-cantando-loreto-gFBngbatceCluzwasJuj.zip (12.31 MB)

 

Tapas Menu

Paella de mariscos

Smoked salmon tosdada 

Panini italiano

Relleno papagayo

Texas Spicy Chili

Crab Cakes

Dinner Selections 

Pescado Papagayo
 

Pollo Papagayo

RibEye with Texas Butter

BabyBack Ribs

Fajitas al Mezquite

Pescado Adobado o Al Ajo en Hojas de Maiz

Loreto Bay Margarita Sunset Party

I confess – I was a tad worried about last night’s Margarita Sunset Event at Loreto Bay.  The registrations on the website were ... well they were ... ummm... lukewarm; at least in terms of numbers.  Regardless the numbers involved, the work still had to be done so I got busy putting music playlists together, making fresh margarita’s (hubby squeezed the hell outta’ those little limes for an hour) and shopping for other beverages and setting up some kind of bar-on-wheels and off we went expecting to have a nice time with 15-20 homeowners.  Diane (homeowner with a tremendous pool-front home) was on hand to make us feel welcome.  Weather – perfect. Set up the bar – check.  Sample the margaritas – check.  Get the music going – check.  Sample one more margarita – check.  First guests arrive – ecstatic check! Sample last margarita – check.  More guests arriving – now in small groups and all looking to be in a party (or at least – highly social) mood.  And now more groups – we are now, officially, AN EVENT!!

In all, 60+ people showed up and, in my mind, it was an event about nothing and an event about everything.  Nothing in that, there was no structural reason for the event.  And yet, it was about everything that matters; in the end, it was a gathering of people just chatting, meeting and learning about their neighbours, swapping stories, sharing a lot of laughs and making plans for later that night, next week and next year.  I’ve seen this phenomenon elsewhere...it’s most often referred to as “community”.  Community – a game the whole neighbourhood can play!!

Tonight – folks are doing their own thing – having dinner around town mostly.  We’ve arranged some specials and some discounts so, hopefully, the restaurants will be busy.  Saturday night is the big Beach Party event and the first round of tickets have sold out so it looks like its going to be quite the partay!  Make sure you’re there!

(download)

Click here to download:

loreto-bay-margarita-sunset-party-aBBsmx5Sg4rew6yPvjAU.zip (14.46 MB)

If you want to look at the entire selection of photos (the best ones are here already) then please visit http://www.dropshots.com/darlenet8#albums/Loreto Bay Event

World Vets in Action (graphic - mature audiences only por favor)

WOW. OMG. WTF.  They all apply...

I'm not a city slicker and I'm not a farm girl - in this realm I suppose I'd be tagged as an aging suburbanite.  In my younger years (think "waaay younger years...") I used to do a lot of horseback riding (18 hours a day during my youthful summers); I was an instructor and rodeo competitor (barrel racing) so I've been around big farm animals before.  I spent one day visiting ranches in the Loreto, Baja area with a group from the World Vets and realized how little I had really been exposed to waaay back when and how soft I have become since.  All of the vet participants on the ranch visits were women.  It was some kind of vision to see all these caballeros standing by and watching while these women wrassled, injected, manouvered, cut and twisted their way through most animals you'll find on a ranch and yet, I could tell none would have looked out of place in a gown and pearls.  Horses, cows, goats, pigs (including one po'd 350 pound hog), dogs and cats - all were treated, operated on, inspected and generally cared for by this able team (the hills are now harbouring lots of disconnected "huevos").  And the appreciation of the various ranch owners was evident - all of this care (including some necessary medicines left for later administration) was done free of charge and, it was clear, this is work that wouldn't have gotten done had this team not come together and ventured out led by our local, Dr. Liz Bracken.  The ranches and their animals are better off for volunteer services of Dr. Liz and the visit of the World Vets.

I confess - at the piglet/hog, huevo severing portion of the trip I had to go hide.  Even with the animals privates frozen, these pigs could sqeal your eardrums right into insanity and (I did say I had gotten soft?) it...well, it was heartbreaking.  I've become a wuss.  I was likely the only wuss out there.  I'm glad the World Vets doesn't (seemingly) have a wuss among them otherwise some important work wouldn't be getting done.  I'm glad there are some rambo broads out there who can do the heavy, bloody, dirty work of caring for farm animals - I feel a reality series coming on....

Caution: there are a couple of graphic images in this grouping - use discretion:  if you are actually interested in a graphic portrayal of the work that was done on the hog, there is a youtube video being uploaded currently.  I'll update this with the link when it is done...

Cheeseburger in Paradise

"I like mine with lettuce and tomato,
Heinz Fifty-seven and French fried potatoes.
Big kosher pickle and a cold draft beer.
Well, good God Almighty, which way do I steer
For my cheeseburger in paradise."

                                          - Jimmy Buffet

I'm going to let the picture do most of the talking here (you MUST click to enlarge).  This is a bacon cheeseburger from a restaurant 2 doors down from our house on Calle Salvatierra called La Cascada (owned and operated by Mama Lucia and family).  It is a fabulous burger and, if I do say so myself, the picture almost does it justice.  How would you like to live 2 doors down from this?  We paid under $5CAD for it.  There is only one thing left to do and my work here will be done...

 

Tres Tequila Fearless

 Yesterday was the quintessential Loreto day – out on the water, around the Islands, some snorkeling and fishing in aquamarine waters and lazing about on postcard, white sand beaches.

The day was organized by our good friend, Dr. Liz whom, I’ve decided, is “Tres Tequila” fearless - stuff that Liz does is stuff I would likely only contemplate doing with at least 3 tequila’s under my belt, like jumping off a boat midstream to swim with hundreds of leaping dolphins or playing toesies with a poisonous, stone scorpion fish to name a couple (the most notable difference here is that Liz actually knows what she’s doing and, with 3 tequilas, I’d just be a mildly lubricated, fearless idiot – its an important distinction).  I think it is more Liz’s fearless bearing I’m in awe of – she moves through the outdoors and particularly the water like she was the one to be feared (there is a photo of Liz and her boat about 3 posts below).  As a bit of an outdoor pansy-ass I only dream of being that comfortable in the great outdoors.  Strangely though, give me a stage and a microphone and an audience of 1,000 - public speaking? Piece o’ cake.  But the ocean? With stuff, like swimming around and touching me? Absolutely, frequently recurring seizures.  Go figure.

Seizures and all, it was a great day.  I actually started to relax into some snorkeling but faulty equipment (great - another thing to fear in the water) threw a mild panic into me (did I mention the water was only thigh deep?) and  I retreated to the relative safety of some stone seats in about 6 inches of water where I could safely play toesies with some tiny baby fish. I popped the top on my lite beer and dreamt of the swimming pool we’ll have in our beachfront home.  Swimming pools - I can be fearless in a swimming pool.

Liz is also a great photographer and has sent me a handful of some of the amazing shots she took.  They were taken October 15^th, 2010 and were taken by Tres Tequila Liz – please do not re-use without her permission lizinloreto@gmail.com.  Thanks, Liz – Jose Cuervo says hi...

 

 

 

 

 

Pan Oli - Almacen de Exquisiteces

Now that Dali's has re-opened for the season, I headed in with a touch of glee, to see what was new and delectable and, right next door, is a new shop - Pan Oli (Store of Delights).  It was an omen to be greeted with what will, hopefully, become a healthy, herb garden enroute to the front door - it is a humble start but sends the right message to arriving customers. As does their sign/display about the hours they are open - it is wonderful to see the thought and care and an awareness of their market, all combined as ingredients in this simple display sign.

Once inside this little shop of potential, I was disappointed in the lack of items, however the owner, Fabian, appeared to have had a busy day before I arrived.  There was not much on the bakery racks but a few buns and baguettes - what was there however, was very good.  With so much on-the-mark attention paid to other details, a few items to buy that reflect that same consciousness, will be a welcome addition to this little town.

The most wonderful thing about stores such as these -  to me they are signs that Loreto is becoming just a little more open and welcoming.  On our recent trip to La Paz, colorful, crisp, fresh, bright, clean, (am I overdoing it yet?) and abundant produce awaited in so many stores.  Loreto is still the place where you have to hit most of the stores on different days during the week to gather reasonably fresh, only threatening to wilt, produce (I'm not complaining, I recall when we had to travel to Constitucion for that experience in past years).  I feel like I've won the lottery when I walk into a store here and see brand new, still crispy, thoughtfully-displayed and cool produce.  I look forward to the day when the experience of discovering fresh produce in this town doesn't threaten to edge out the joy surrounding the birth of my children...and we are getting there.  That will be very welcoming indeed.

I shouldn't sign off without giving mention to the Sunday Market - it is still the best bet for some fresh produce and what you get there is usually pretty great.  I don't generally go during the hottest summer months but now that things are cooling off I am looking forward to returning.  In a not-quite-perfect-but-close world, I would be able to buy fresh produce every couple of days.  By the time one whole week is up, my Sunday Market produce doesn't look as appealing as it did when I bought it.  On the other hand, produce has never held such delight for me as it does now ... so I shall be content in the delights of the day.

Dar

The Villages of Loreto Bay

I was recently asked to prepare a brief summary/pictorial on the the development Ed and I used to work on, The Villages of Loreto Bay.  The company was considering bringing a significant business to Loreto and wanted to get a 'look' at the town before considering it further.  It made it past the first round at the Board of Directors and I am now preparing something much more extensive.  For those of you unfamiliar with Loreto, this will give you a small glimpse into this town...for those who are familiar, it may simply be a brief stroll back in time.

It's such a  lovely place...