Baja 2/7/10

Yesterday the Petersons, Roger and I took a drive to the little town of Santiago, south of Los Barriles. We were going to look for a waterfall there that we've heard about. Danny also knew the local best-food place, the Palomar Hotel. We also wanted to check out a couple of rv parks that are in the area..... always checking to see if we might prefer another park to the one where we are staying. We never did find the waterfall, but we did verify that we are in the BEST rv park (for us anyway) in the area. We are totally sold on our beach front sites, and the little town of Los Barriles. I've included a photo of the 4 of us at lunch... oh yummy! There is also a photo of a closed up building just on the town square. You can see the original bricks peeking through the plaster. The photo of the ladders propped on the sea wall is just south of our park. Some of these sites are very fancy, and some are just a site with a steel framed palapa to park someone's rig under. I wondered how folks got down to the beach and today the answer showed up in the form of these ladders. February must be the THE tourist month down here, similar to how it is in AZ. This area is not an rv park, these are individual sites - they may be units for rent or owned by someone. The last photo is of an 'estate' (or whatever you call it) that juts out onto the beach to the south of us. I think this would make a great painting with the sea wall and tall palms. I'd like to add here a comment about eating in a resturant here in Baja. It takes awhile to get your meal. Chips (often home made) and condiments are served while you wait. We took photos at the Palomar while we waited. We were out doors, and there were coconuts high in a palm near us and a wonderful little casa with big banana palms in front. So your meal is served, maybe in courses if you've ordered a complete meal. You have to ask for the bill; no one would be rude enough to present the bill and give you the impression not to linger as long as you like. Our dinner at the Palomar probably took over an hour for our lunch..., the weather was perfect, the service great, the food wonderful. Meals are not fast food here, even at the taco stands or outdoor palapa counters. It is a wonderful way to enjoy your food and company. We will have to make another trip back to this area to visit the world heritage park which is perserving the only living coral reef in this part of the world. We might even find that waterfall. Tomorrow we may have some rain showers and Wed. is supposed to be pretty wet. Roger can't wait to drive the Jeep out to the arroyos to check out the run-off.... needless to say, I do not think this is a great idea..... Happy trails....