The Muralist

A beat-up Ford Aerostar pulled up below the house and honked. A man in his 70s got out and started up the steep dirt driveway. “Hello” he called out without seeing anyone. I stuck my head over the second floor railing; “hola” I replied. He was tall and thin and wore a wide-brimmed straw hat, tan shorts and a well-worn, long-sleeve dress shirt buttoned in three places. He was clean shaven except for a neatly-trimmed pencil mustache and he leaned slightly forward as he climbed the rutted driveway confidently, if slowly, in his flip flops. “I’m David, John’s caretaker. I lived in this house until last week and I left a few things behind. Do you mind if I get them?”

David at the house of faces

Three Hikes

Baja has many opportunities for hiking – the challenge sometimes is finding them. If you have limited time, go with a guide (link); most tourist hotels can find one for you. This is a good plan for extended hikes because hiking trails can be confused with cattle trails. If you want to do it yourself, you can find trails on maps and blog posts and by word-of-mouth.

This post highlights three recent hikes. Hike #1 – Sol de Mayo – appears on low-resolution maps of the Sierra La Laguna Biosphere Reserve. The maps can’t be used for navigation. We learned about hike #2 – Arroyo Palmillas – on the Baja Pony Express (link), an English-language website with news, information and announcements for the gringo community. We learned about hike #3 – Sendero sin Nombre – by word of mouth.

Sol de Mayo

Located near the town of Santiago (KM 85 on the Transpeninsular Highway) on the east side of the Sierra La Laguna Biosphere Reserve, Cañon de la Zorra (Fox Canyon) is best known for its waterfall (cascada). Rancho Ecológico Sol de Mayo and has an entry fee of USD $6. Hike upstream from the waterfall (elevation about 275 m) and you'll find pools and wetlands and a beautiful canyon.

Entrance to Rancho Ecológico Sol de Mayo

Feliz Navidad

Houses in Gringolandia

November is the beginning of the return migration of Americans and Canadians to Gringolandia. Most spend the scorching Baja summer in other parts of North America and have second homes on the East Cape. The return of the gringos marks the start of the real estate season with for sale signs popping up all over the place. The houses are generally large and fully furnished; some even come with vehicles and other toys (ATVs, kayaks, etc.). This is largely a market for gringos.

Having bought, remodeled and sold a number of houses, Rande and I have an interest in real estate. And having discussed living outside the US, we've’ve visited several nearby open houses to learn about housing and the real estate market.

If you’re wondering what your dollars can buy in Mexico, here are some pictures from a lovely East Cape house on the Sea of Cortez that’s listed for US$1,100,000.

Sea of Cortez

We left northern Colorado early on September 28; it seemed fitting that the temperature was below freezing and there was ice on the truck. We arrived in Topolobampo, Mexico the afternoon of September 30 to catch the ferry across the Sea of Cortez to La Paz on the Baja peninsula. We were early, so I walked around the commercial fishing docks. Most of the boats were rigged with paired-trawls for shrimping.

Commercial fishing docks in Topolobampo

The ferry (California Star) sailed around midnight and arrived in La Paz about 7 AM on October 1. It took an hour to get the truck off the boat (we were almost the last vehicle loaded and the last to get off) and two hours to get through federal customs (even though we left from mainland Mexico). I drove the truck through a large "gamma ray" scanner and it was inspected cursorily by two young officers searching for contraband. 

California Star (from: Baja Ferries)

We arrived in Los Barriles ("The Barrels") on the East Cape in early afternoon. In all, it took us 3.5 days, 1,580 driving miles consuming 85 gallons of gas and a 7-hour ferry ride.

Arriving in Los Barriles