July 13
Full day of walking around Tijuana. First stop was the Cultural Center(s?), where we got the pleasure of three art exhibits and the Museo de Californias. One artist was a photographer from the 70’s, another artist was a cubist who just passed away this year, and the third was an abstract painter, Margarita M..something (all three were Mexican). Ernie and I both had the same favorite piece of the day, which was a painting by Margarita and titled “Instante de Fuego” (see photo on our map*). The museo was really well done and very educational. It was great to connect some dots about things we had seen while driving through Baja, and it was a nice overview/crash course in Baja California history. There were many similarities to the justices and injustices done to other parts of the world… It was also interesting (and refreshing) to hear about a conflict with the US from a non-US point of view (e.g., the Mexican-American War).
*I think I fixed the bug on our map/Google map. It should be larger/full size and you should be able to see all the pics??? Tonya let me know :) And Bonnie - can you see the mile long scorpion now? (Not tarantula but we knew what you meant!)
Our afternoon wanderings took us to this very strange mall, where we sat in the shade and people-watched over some cold Coke’s and mexi-snacks. And then to a beautiful mercado! Mostly fruits, vegetables, herbs, chiles, etc. but also a colorful collection of pinantas and anything one might need for a ten year old’s birthday party. There was another chicharron maker at this mercado… this one even more awesome and disturbing than the last one we saw at the grocery store a week or so ago. You can actually see how the chicarron was made from the skin of half a pig and put into a fryer… whole (or half?). The sight of it brought up so many questions… most of which I don’t actually want to know the answer to...
Last stop before going back to the hotel was Tacos de Gordo! We read about them (“famous” tacos in Tijuana) and looked for them yesterday but they weren’t at the address we found on the internet. Turns out they moved about six months ago and just randomly we stumbled upon them today during our wandering. Outstanding pastor. And seemingly the only place in Tijuana not looking to hustle tourists and just sell them good tacos.
July 14
Back to La Paz! 6 am taxi for an 8 am flight. Our taxi driver, “Ghost”, was quite the character. He was called (personally) by the concierge, and we can only imagine their history and stories. Ghost got his name from his skin pigment disorder, my guess is vitiligo (sp?) and not albinism as he had brown hair and brown eyes and is proudly Mexican. Despite it being 6 am he was wide awake and Chatty Patty. Told us all about all the things he knows and can show us or take us - from where to have the best tacos to where to get the cheapest Viagra. Ernie finally got a word in and asked about the vendors - the vendors we both remember from the mid 80’s when we were here with our families. To Ghost this was seemingly a natural segway to some do’s and don’ts and where-to and where-to-not engage with prostitutes. Hmm… ok. Don’t touch the tables. No small rooms. Got it. (Ernie is laughing as we are remembering this and writing our notes of the day). He is wondering why Ghost thought we were the kind of couple looking for that kind of action - at 6 am on our way to the airport. Do we look like we have been up sniffing coke all night? Are our Keene’s, head-to-toe quick-dry Patagonia clothes and orange stuff-sacks as carry-on luggage code for something we should relay to our fellow outdoor enthusiasts when we return home???
As soon as we got back to the hotel in La Paz we got our paperwork in order and headed back to the ferry for tickets and vehicle permits. Took a while, and we got helped by the same wonderful woman that helped us a few days ago, but at the end we successfully got our moto permits for the ferry! We weren’t able to buy our tickets, so we decided (when we got back to the hotel again) to walk to the Baja Ferry office in downtown La Paz. During all of this fuss and hot and humid walk and taxis we talked through it and 1) learned there was a ferry tomorrow/Saturday and 2) lets do it. We were going to head south and explore the very tip of Baja until Tuesday (which was when we thought the next ferry left), but to heck with it! We are both ready to stop spending money in Baja and get to mainland Mexico. So while we don’t yet have tickets, we think we have everything we need to head to and actually board the ferry tomorrow. Hopefully we will depart at 8 pm and arrive in Mazatlan Sunday morning (no idea what time). Yes!!! We are both excited and happy about the change of plans. Hopefully mainland Mexico down Hwy 200 proves as spectacular as we imagine...
So yeah… All was only a four day hiccup, and the time in the AC with our feet up (and clean) was nice, but we are ready to get back to it and hopefully this is our last night in hotel and tourist town for a while. Tourist towns are nice and safe, and the WiFi is nice to have for communication with y’all, but they are expensive and the food is terrible. I suppose we have ended our visit to La Paz with the highest note possible - “Top Gun” en espanol! The volleyball scene in spanish ha ha!
Side note: Ernie and I just had a talk about how, from the feminista perspective, this movie was something new and exciting as it portrayed men as eye candy for women and so much/all of Hollywood until this movie was just women as eye candy for men. Without even a brief pause, Ernie said “This movie wasn’t eye candy for women. It was eye candy for gay men.”
(Pause)
Gracias por todo Baja! Since we will be leaving you tomorrow, here are our favorite things about Baja:
* It is rough around the edges
* The birds of prey
* Everything is always “abierto” (open). Even things that haven’t been abierto since 1952…
* Most buildings either have some sort of addition planned and started or some sort of addition that fell off or never got finished.
* The state has successfully trained us not to throw our TP in the toilet (as we think we will probably be using garbage cans until we are back in OR?!?)
* The cars… beat to crap! And the tires! Why are the tires so bad? Why are there so many tire shops? Why does everyone carry tires? Whey do they need more than one extra tire? Even the motorcyclist we talked to, he had two tires strapped to the back…
* The people! Outside of Tijuana and the one gas station guy, every person we interacted with was honest and friendly.
“Ernie, what is one of your biggest take aways from Baja?”
“The state of businesses… even after its obvious its been closed for a long time there is still an “abierto” sign or post somewhere. They ran it for as long as they could and then walked away. It is like there is no optimism or pessimism - there just “is”.
Full day of walking around Tijuana. First stop was the Cultural Center(s?), where we got the pleasure of three art exhibits and the Museo de Californias. One artist was a photographer from the 70’s, another artist was a cubist who just passed away this year, and the third was an abstract painter, Margarita M..something (all three were Mexican). Ernie and I both had the same favorite piece of the day, which was a painting by Margarita and titled “Instante de Fuego” (see photo on our map*). The museo was really well done and very educational. It was great to connect some dots about things we had seen while driving through Baja, and it was a nice overview/crash course in Baja California history. There were many similarities to the justices and injustices done to other parts of the world… It was also interesting (and refreshing) to hear about a conflict with the US from a non-US point of view (e.g., the Mexican-American War).
*I think I fixed the bug on our map/Google map. It should be larger/full size and you should be able to see all the pics??? Tonya let me know :) And Bonnie - can you see the mile long scorpion now? (Not tarantula but we knew what you meant!)
Our afternoon wanderings took us to this very strange mall, where we sat in the shade and people-watched over some cold Coke’s and mexi-snacks. And then to a beautiful mercado! Mostly fruits, vegetables, herbs, chiles, etc. but also a colorful collection of pinantas and anything one might need for a ten year old’s birthday party. There was another chicharron maker at this mercado… this one even more awesome and disturbing than the last one we saw at the grocery store a week or so ago. You can actually see how the chicarron was made from the skin of half a pig and put into a fryer… whole (or half?). The sight of it brought up so many questions… most of which I don’t actually want to know the answer to...
Last stop before going back to the hotel was Tacos de Gordo! We read about them (“famous” tacos in Tijuana) and looked for them yesterday but they weren’t at the address we found on the internet. Turns out they moved about six months ago and just randomly we stumbled upon them today during our wandering. Outstanding pastor. And seemingly the only place in Tijuana not looking to hustle tourists and just sell them good tacos.
July 14
Back to La Paz! 6 am taxi for an 8 am flight. Our taxi driver, “Ghost”, was quite the character. He was called (personally) by the concierge, and we can only imagine their history and stories. Ghost got his name from his skin pigment disorder, my guess is vitiligo (sp?) and not albinism as he had brown hair and brown eyes and is proudly Mexican. Despite it being 6 am he was wide awake and Chatty Patty. Told us all about all the things he knows and can show us or take us - from where to have the best tacos to where to get the cheapest Viagra. Ernie finally got a word in and asked about the vendors - the vendors we both remember from the mid 80’s when we were here with our families. To Ghost this was seemingly a natural segway to some do’s and don’ts and where-to and where-to-not engage with prostitutes. Hmm… ok. Don’t touch the tables. No small rooms. Got it. (Ernie is laughing as we are remembering this and writing our notes of the day). He is wondering why Ghost thought we were the kind of couple looking for that kind of action - at 6 am on our way to the airport. Do we look like we have been up sniffing coke all night? Are our Keene’s, head-to-toe quick-dry Patagonia clothes and orange stuff-sacks as carry-on luggage code for something we should relay to our fellow outdoor enthusiasts when we return home???
As soon as we got back to the hotel in La Paz we got our paperwork in order and headed back to the ferry for tickets and vehicle permits. Took a while, and we got helped by the same wonderful woman that helped us a few days ago, but at the end we successfully got our moto permits for the ferry! We weren’t able to buy our tickets, so we decided (when we got back to the hotel again) to walk to the Baja Ferry office in downtown La Paz. During all of this fuss and hot and humid walk and taxis we talked through it and 1) learned there was a ferry tomorrow/Saturday and 2) lets do it. We were going to head south and explore the very tip of Baja until Tuesday (which was when we thought the next ferry left), but to heck with it! We are both ready to stop spending money in Baja and get to mainland Mexico. So while we don’t yet have tickets, we think we have everything we need to head to and actually board the ferry tomorrow. Hopefully we will depart at 8 pm and arrive in Mazatlan Sunday morning (no idea what time). Yes!!! We are both excited and happy about the change of plans. Hopefully mainland Mexico down Hwy 200 proves as spectacular as we imagine...
So yeah… All was only a four day hiccup, and the time in the AC with our feet up (and clean) was nice, but we are ready to get back to it and hopefully this is our last night in hotel and tourist town for a while. Tourist towns are nice and safe, and the WiFi is nice to have for communication with y’all, but they are expensive and the food is terrible. I suppose we have ended our visit to La Paz with the highest note possible - “Top Gun” en espanol! The volleyball scene in spanish ha ha!
Side note: Ernie and I just had a talk about how, from the feminista perspective, this movie was something new and exciting as it portrayed men as eye candy for women and so much/all of Hollywood until this movie was just women as eye candy for men. Without even a brief pause, Ernie said “This movie wasn’t eye candy for women. It was eye candy for gay men.”
(Pause)
Gracias por todo Baja! Since we will be leaving you tomorrow, here are our favorite things about Baja:
* It is rough around the edges
* The birds of prey
* Everything is always “abierto” (open). Even things that haven’t been abierto since 1952…
* Most buildings either have some sort of addition planned and started or some sort of addition that fell off or never got finished.
* The state has successfully trained us not to throw our TP in the toilet (as we think we will probably be using garbage cans until we are back in OR?!?)
* The cars… beat to crap! And the tires! Why are the tires so bad? Why are there so many tire shops? Why does everyone carry tires? Whey do they need more than one extra tire? Even the motorcyclist we talked to, he had two tires strapped to the back…
* The people! Outside of Tijuana and the one gas station guy, every person we interacted with was honest and friendly.
“Ernie, what is one of your biggest take aways from Baja?”
“The state of businesses… even after its obvious its been closed for a long time there is still an “abierto” sign or post somewhere. They ran it for as long as they could and then walked away. It is like there is no optimism or pessimism - there just “is”.