Copied from a post on TripAdvisor in
I have mixed feelings about posting here. Mulege is my favorite place in the Baja and don't want it to change, but that's selfish.
That said, I recommend Las Casitas, the historic inn with great charm. Price was $33US vs. $35 at La Hacienda up the street where we had to move to one night because Las Casitas was full.
Had the pig roast at Serenidad Hotel on Christmas Eve with some Americans we had met in Mulege. Later that night I wanted to see the glorious milky way again so we headed toward the lighthouse. This time we backed up into soft sand and got ourselves dug in to the hubcaps. Within minutes locals started arriving (remember it's Christmas eve) and I began to recognize families I had seen at the Pig Roast. After breaking increasingly stronger ropes, Pancho Villa came back with strong, handmade rope that got us out of the sand.
We invited all to the bar near the lighthouse for drinks. As I explained to the barkeep we had about $1000 pesos ($100 US) and if the cost hit that, alert us. Wasn't a problem as the Mexicans we met were very nice and wouldn't take advantage of 'stupido Americanos', as I called us for getting stuck.
The barmen assembled a big table for about 10 and we had a delightful time. Turns out most at the table were related. There was Pancho Villa, his sister, her young daughter (6 years old?), her older daughter and her daughter's best friend (both 15yo and enjoying a light alcoholic beverage!) and the best friend's parents, the first couple who had stopped. We drank and danced and then the DJ started Jose Feliciano's "Feliz Navidad" which, of course, we could sing along, too!! As the song ended everyone in the bar began to hug and kiss strangers wishing them "Feliz Navidad" and "Merry Christmas." It was midnight!! What a great tradition!!
The bar owners gave us a special sendoff thanking us for bringing in such a big crowd for them--all for about $30.
Tuesday, November 3, 2015
Monday, January 3, 2011
"Christmas Eve in Mulege"
This was copied from a TripAdvisor Post about Mulege, Baja, December 20, 2005
"I have mixed feelings about posting here. Mulege is my favorite place in the Baja and don't want it to change, but that's selfish.
That said, I recommend Las Casitas, the historic inn with great charm. Price was $33US vs. $35 at La Hacienda up the street where we had to move to one night because Las Casitas was full.
Had the pig roast at Serenidad Hotel on Christmas Eve with some Americans we had met in Mulege. Later that night I wanted to see the glorious milky way again so we headed toward the lighthouse. This time we backed up into soft sand and got ourselves dug in to the hubcaps. Within minutes locals started arriving (remember it's Christmas eve) and I began to recognize families I had seen at the Pig Roast. After breaking increasingly stronger ropes, Pancho Villa came back with strong, handmade rope that got us out of the sand.
We invited all to the bar near the lighthouse for drinks. As I explained to the barkeep we had about $1000 pesos ($100 US) and if the cost hit that, alert us. Wasn't a problem as the Mexicans we met were very nice and wouldn't take advantage of 'stupido Americanos', as I called us for getting stuck.
The barmen assembled a big table for about 10 and we had a delightful time. Turns out most at the table were related. There was Pancho Villa, his sister, her young daughter (6 years old?), her older daughter and her daughter's best friend (both 15yo and enjoying a light alcoholic beverage!) and the best friend's parents, the first couple who had stopped. We drank and danced and then the DJ started Jose Feliciano's "Feliz Navidad" which, of course, we could sing along, too!! As the song ended everyone in the bar began to hug and kiss strangers wishing them "Feliz Navidad" and "Merry Christmas." It was midnight!! What a great tradition!!
The bar owners gave us a special sendoff thanking us for bringing in such a big crowd for them--all for about $30."
"I have mixed feelings about posting here. Mulege is my favorite place in the Baja and don't want it to change, but that's selfish.
That said, I recommend Las Casitas, the historic inn with great charm. Price was $33US vs. $35 at La Hacienda up the street where we had to move to one night because Las Casitas was full.
Had the pig roast at Serenidad Hotel on Christmas Eve with some Americans we had met in Mulege. Later that night I wanted to see the glorious milky way again so we headed toward the lighthouse. This time we backed up into soft sand and got ourselves dug in to the hubcaps. Within minutes locals started arriving (remember it's Christmas eve) and I began to recognize families I had seen at the Pig Roast. After breaking increasingly stronger ropes, Pancho Villa came back with strong, handmade rope that got us out of the sand.
We invited all to the bar near the lighthouse for drinks. As I explained to the barkeep we had about $1000 pesos ($100 US) and if the cost hit that, alert us. Wasn't a problem as the Mexicans we met were very nice and wouldn't take advantage of 'stupido Americanos', as I called us for getting stuck.
The barmen assembled a big table for about 10 and we had a delightful time. Turns out most at the table were related. There was Pancho Villa, his sister, her young daughter (6 years old?), her older daughter and her daughter's best friend (both 15yo and enjoying a light alcoholic beverage!) and the best friend's parents, the first couple who had stopped. We drank and danced and then the DJ started Jose Feliciano's "Feliz Navidad" which, of course, we could sing along, too!! As the song ended everyone in the bar began to hug and kiss strangers wishing them "Feliz Navidad" and "Merry Christmas." It was midnight!! What a great tradition!!
The bar owners gave us a special sendoff thanking us for bringing in such a big crowd for them--all for about $30."
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Ecuador: The Galapagos Islands, Andean Highland and Amazonia
On September 26 we left for Quito to begin almost 4 weeks in Ecuador to visit the Galapagos and Amazon basin. Because of the exact tours we wanted, it was necessary to spend an extra week with no itinerary between the Galapagos and Amazon portions. That extra week was the connection that made our trip to Ecuador complete. It's an amazing country that we knew little about before we left. In that one tiny country you can find virtually every climate on the planet. Quito, the capital, is almost 10,000 feet high and the highlands are even higher. (For comparison, Lhasa is about 12,000 feet). The altitude is noticeable and we were often out of breath walking up the jetway unless we had prepared with Diamox pills before our flight. We compromised by taking our time and not doing any difficult hiking in the highlands.
We began our trip in Quito for a few days and explored the old town section. We stayed at a delightfully elegant boutique hotel, Plaza Sucre Hotel. During our first morning walk to the town square after breakfast we saw President and Mrs. Correa.
[NOTE: This post was abandoned and not finished. It turned out that the sighting of the President was fortuitous because within a day or so he was deposed by a police overthrow but regained power before we were aware of the problems. We had already flown into Baltros on the Galapagos and started our cruise aboard the May Anne.]
I won't complete this but just know that it was a wonderful vacation from the Galapagos, Guayaquil, Quito, Otavalo, Cotopaxi, El Provenir and Amazonia aboard the Manatee Amazon Explorer.
We began our trip in Quito for a few days and explored the old town section. We stayed at a delightfully elegant boutique hotel, Plaza Sucre Hotel. During our first morning walk to the town square after breakfast we saw President and Mrs. Correa.
[NOTE: This post was abandoned and not finished. It turned out that the sighting of the President was fortuitous because within a day or so he was deposed by a police overthrow but regained power before we were aware of the problems. We had already flown into Baltros on the Galapagos and started our cruise aboard the May Anne.]
I won't complete this but just know that it was a wonderful vacation from the Galapagos, Guayaquil, Quito, Otavalo, Cotopaxi, El Provenir and Amazonia aboard the Manatee Amazon Explorer.
Fall giving way to Winter, 2010
It's early November and the weather in DC has finally turned cool. We were in Ecuador for most of October but the weather when we returned was beautiful.
Traveling from DC to SF in December 2010
It was not our best planning.
We thought we could take the shortest route, DC to SF, which was listed on Google Maps as 1 day 21 hours. The shortest route is, unfortunately, the NORTHERN route and we were getting further and further into December. Checking the weather maps it appeared we 'might' be able to sneak through between two cold fronts. Another problem was that the route was already snow-covered (though with cleared roads) through the area we couldn't alter once we committed, across the upper Rockies from Nebraska to Wyoming and Utah. We couldn't just drop south to get out of it if we missed our windows.
We started off taking the most northern of two northern routes and got almost to Cleveland the first night. It was obvious as we slid on black ice in WV that we might have chosen poorly. When we also were slipping on ice in the parking lot of the motel, we realized we needed to rethink. Because of the original route we had taken ourselves way up north and had essentially just wasted the first day's drive as we made a beeline diagonally from Ohio to St Louis, to Jopin, MO, and then Oklahoma City. Day three took us to Albuquerque; day four was to Albuquerque and our last night was near 29 Palms. Hopefully we can do the northern route in March when we return to DC. We haven't been that route in a long time and are anxious to see that part of the country again.
We didn't get to do a lot on the trip...mostly driving. We were able to visit my cousin Norma Jo Goodwin and her daughter Jane and her husband Chris for pizza in Alburquerque. We also went a little out of the way to visit the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert for just a few hours. Other than that, we were just driving. Unfortunatel we were driving on interstates the whole time. Oh, we did divert on Oklahoma City to hit a bit of the old Route 66 and have lunch at a real old diner.
We thought we could take the shortest route, DC to SF, which was listed on Google Maps as 1 day 21 hours. The shortest route is, unfortunately, the NORTHERN route and we were getting further and further into December. Checking the weather maps it appeared we 'might' be able to sneak through between two cold fronts. Another problem was that the route was already snow-covered (though with cleared roads) through the area we couldn't alter once we committed, across the upper Rockies from Nebraska to Wyoming and Utah. We couldn't just drop south to get out of it if we missed our windows.
We started off taking the most northern of two northern routes and got almost to Cleveland the first night. It was obvious as we slid on black ice in WV that we might have chosen poorly. When we also were slipping on ice in the parking lot of the motel, we realized we needed to rethink. Because of the original route we had taken ourselves way up north and had essentially just wasted the first day's drive as we made a beeline diagonally from Ohio to St Louis, to Jopin, MO, and then Oklahoma City. Day three took us to Albuquerque; day four was to Albuquerque and our last night was near 29 Palms. Hopefully we can do the northern route in March when we return to DC. We haven't been that route in a long time and are anxious to see that part of the country again.
We didn't get to do a lot on the trip...mostly driving. We were able to visit my cousin Norma Jo Goodwin and her daughter Jane and her husband Chris for pizza in Alburquerque. We also went a little out of the way to visit the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert for just a few hours. Other than that, we were just driving. Unfortunatel we were driving on interstates the whole time. Oh, we did divert on Oklahoma City to hit a bit of the old Route 66 and have lunch at a real old diner.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
AFTER Ecuador heading to San Fracisco
Didn't do a very good job of keeping this journal so instead of trashing it completely, I'll add what I can when I can.
The trip to Ecuador was great. Despite all the reading (primarily The Beak of the Finch and travel sites online) and research on how to get there, get around and what to see, Ecuador was a bit of a surprise. It appeared to be more advanced than Peru and, perhaps, even Chile (though we were there 10 years ago.) There were many people in traditional dress, but also the general feel was of a reasonably dynamic country.
The trip to Ecuador was great. Despite all the reading (primarily The Beak of the Finch and travel sites online) and research on how to get there, get around and what to see, Ecuador was a bit of a surprise. It appeared to be more advanced than Peru and, perhaps, even Chile (though we were there 10 years ago.) There were many people in traditional dress, but also the general feel was of a reasonably dynamic country.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Getting to the Galapagos
This isn't easy.
First of all I finally found the Galapagos venue--a beautiful square-rigged brigantine named Mary Anne. Of course it's a big motor-sailer but if we get the sails up jus on a passage or two, it'll be worth it.
Now I have the ship so I have to coordinate a trip to the Amazon basin. Looks like that will come after the Galapagos. Being the cheapskate that I am, I can get the flight from Quito, Ecuador to the Galapagos airport but the return flight takes 24 hours!! Seems that the Ecuadorean military operates the flights and squeeze everyone else out of the flight times. LAN is starting up service but their return trip (about 3 hours) starts before the Mary Anne gets to the airport. Oh well, I'll keep on lookin'.
First of all I finally found the Galapagos venue--a beautiful square-rigged brigantine named Mary Anne. Of course it's a big motor-sailer but if we get the sails up jus on a passage or two, it'll be worth it.
Now I have the ship so I have to coordinate a trip to the Amazon basin. Looks like that will come after the Galapagos. Being the cheapskate that I am, I can get the flight from Quito, Ecuador to the Galapagos airport but the return flight takes 24 hours!! Seems that the Ecuadorean military operates the flights and squeeze everyone else out of the flight times. LAN is starting up service but their return trip (about 3 hours) starts before the Mary Anne gets to the airport. Oh well, I'll keep on lookin'.
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