Palapa Improvements

Today we put a shade covering on the bathroom....made of bamboo..it does actually make it possible to stand there during the day..the sun can be relentless here....2 Leos trying to build something together can be a challenge!! Allan says its a good thing I am cute! HA!! I tell him the same!

Highest Tide yet!

The Equinox last week brought us our highest tide so far....the water actually came about a foot into the palapa..here it was before we went to bed, in the middle of the night, it came in more.. I had to walk through water to go outside. We also had our highest winds..the roof almost blew off...we were scrambling to wire it down!

Apple Pie

Apple pie comes to Mexico!! We made an apple pie in the Dutch oven with coals from the firepit....Allan cut up the apples and I made a crust from scratch!! We put some rocks on the bottom of the pot (to keep it from burning) and set the pie pan on it...put the cast iron lid on it...loaded it up with coals...then baked it over the coals for 45 minutes....It was pretty as well as delicous.....shared it with Dave and Tina from Oregon!! (they made a cake the night before that was just as good and pretty too but the picture was too dark, sorry guys!)

Couch to Hammocks

Finally it has gotten HOT!!! Couch sitting mostly happens at night now as daytime lazin has moved inside the palapa in hammocks! Yesterday it was 98 degrees in the shade and 112 in the sun. Hace calor!!!!

Breakfast

Beautiful sunrise and papaya!! Doesn't get much better than this!

Playa Inez

This deserted beach is about a 30 minute drive north...different kind of sand and shells...came across some type of shell extrusion or mud left by something digging?? need that marine biologist!! The most lovely thing about this beach was its remoteness!! What a wonderful feeling to just walk naked for miles......

Another sun blanket

Aldolfo brought his son and nephew by to sell blankets, they are in training for their busiest season coming up...Semana Santa (Holy Week). This was the last sun blanket he had so I just had to buy it.

My Daily Walk

Walking has replaced swimming for now as the water is still a bit cold for me to swim in..I am such a sissy when it comes to cold!!....so I go for a 6 mile walk every morning....since the beaches are not continuous...one can´t go for the long beach walks like I was doing in Puerto.....but I do get a taste of many ecosystems on my walks. I watch the sunrise from the palapa, then I set off walking around to the next cove....its easier walking around the cliff when the tide is low, which is every morning. Lots of sea life hangs out there...a lone blue heron greets me faithfully....then I pass a small mangrove....right after that there is a dirt road that leads into the desert...opening onto an old airstrip....not used much anymore but I have been told it was used a lot for illegal purposes before the highway was opened (1973). Actually it is a great walking surface leading to a valley of cactus and an old ranch. Today I encountered a large covey of quail that came out of nowhere, taking me by complete surprise....dove are a common sight! It´s a great way to start the day!

Not exactly THE red tide

OK, I have been told that the red stuff that is now a common occurence is in fact NOT the red tide that is harmful to humans...it is red and it does luminesce as I described before...it is just some other type of plankton...any marine biologists out there???
I had some left over beet juice and thought it might be pretty mixed in with the red stuff.....our pet seagull was checking it out.....we named him Cacahuate (peanut) as one time Allan fed him a cracker with peanut butter on it and some of it stuck to his beak for a few minutes...he stayed there wanting more....he is very territorial of our palapa and is waiting for us when we arise in the morning! He is a Mexican seagull as tortillas seem to be his favorite!

Caves for different purposes

We took another road trip last week into the desert...ran across several caves...this one I think used to be a bat roost with all the dark staining on the ceiling.....What do you think Flor de Maria? The Mexicans are so resourceful....even a small niche in a roadside cliff can be a shrine.

Town of Mulege

Mulege is a town of about 3000 people founded in 1705 when a Jesuit monk came and developed and founded the mission. It´s an oasis for sure....LOTS of Date palms and lush tropical plants....the Mulege river winds through town and then runs to the Sea of Cortez.

Food Supply

This is the desert but the food is abundant....local and not so local produce is brought to the beach almost daily.....its a little bit more pricey than buying them in town but its always fresher than what you get in the many little grocery stores. We eat papaya, yoghurt and granola every morning....there is one store in Mulege that carries 100 % natural yoghurt without sugar!! Seafood of some sort completes our diet.....Shrimp are really HUGE and sweet that come from Bahia Concepcion.....Halibut (flounder) fillets are a common dinner thanks to Marcos, an avid fisherman that comes here for 4 months from New Jersey.

Red tide

As you can see we had some red tide (algae bloom).....you can always count on a gorgeous display of bioluminescence in the water on the following night....these phytoplankton GLOW in the dark anytime they are disturbed....so as the waves are breaking on the beach or fish jumping or boats moving there is a magnificent glow...like zillions of fireflys! ..I will try to get some photos next time it happens.....Allan just so happen to choose that day to clean some rocks from the beach!

Blanket Mafia

Allan has a collection of Sun blankets that he has acquired over the years....each year there is a new sun design....Adolfo, a Zapotecan, is the head of the blanket mafia in the Baja...he has a shop in town and a lovely family...he comes to the beach everyday hocking his blankets...."How many? What color? Almost Free!" Quite a character!

Aerial view of PalapaLand

As you can see we are not the only ones in PalapaLand....there are others....you could be one too! Our palapa is the largest and most decadent...definently the only one with a couch! Most of the visitors are from Canada......several have been from Germany and Switzerland too...always makes for interesting people interactions if we choose...yesterday a man from Grand Canyon, Arizona brought me a dozen or so cajun music CD´s.....leze bon ton roulle.....my spanish is better than my french..ha

Another typical sunrise....

Firepit renovation

The firepit was in need of more repair so I decided to just renovate the thing....using all local materials from the beach.

Palapa living at its finest

OK, here it is!...the inside scoop to palapa living! HA! Really its glorified camping.....kitchen has the basic propane stove, tent has a 4 inch foam mattress, lots of shelf space, desk, table, sunblankets galore for carpets, beach towels etc! Home sweet home for now!!

Water supply

I mentioned before that we get our water delivered....Homero comes in his truck...he supplies the 55 gallon drum and fills it for $10....we use it for everything except drinking...we buy 5 gallon garafons of reverse osmosis water from Muleje for that purpose...those solar distillation water cones would be perfect for this place.
http://www.watercone.com/product.html

Birds of many feathers

We have lots of bird visitors....the seagulls and pelicans are the most predominant and Allan just LOVES to feed them. We also have a pair of Hooded Orioles that frequent our palapa....here the male is using his fine sharp beak to drink from the hummingbird feeder.

Home Sweet Home

Returned to Playa Escondida...its left center, that beautiful white pristine looking beach....I like it much better here than the COLD Pacific!