The Adventures of Familia Bajaboy

 Yesterday we went to a neighbor’s birthday party.  It was a fun afternoon of laughter, food, and of course lots of cold beer.  My neighbor, Tarraya, was busy cleaning a crate of radishes, or rábanos in Spanish.  I asked him where he got them and why would anyone want a crate of them.  He began to tell me a story that only seems normal for here. He said he got a call from a ship’s captain.   The ship was headed for Hawaii but was sidelined due to a hurricane or poor weather, I don’t exactly recall which.   The ship was full of produce that was spoiling and the captain asked Tarraya if they wanted to make a trade.   I’m not exactly sure of the details but it involved cases of beer in exchange for the produce and diesel fuel.   I guess late at night the exchange was made.   I noticed about five crates of produce in the back of Tarraya’s truck.   It was spoiled and he was going to take it to the dump.   I suggested I would take it off his hands.   He agreed in disbelief.   This morni

 We have been pretty consistent with our daily workouts.  Most days we hike, run, or mountain bike.  And now, most afternoons we boogie board and get in some swimming, too.  Today we drove out to the mostly abandoned fishing village of San Roque for our hike.  The loop starts with a climb of about a mile before the trail heads west to a small house used by the vigilancia.  Our town has two fishing cooperatives.   Each one has people who patrol the coast looking for potential poachers and to keep an eye on their fishing grounds.   There are fishing cooperatives up and down the coast of Baja and Baja Sur.   It’s reassuring knowing someone is around especially when in the middle of nowhere.   If you come across one of the vigilancia, I recommend saying hola and maybe offering up something cold to drink.   I have been rewarded more than once over the years with a bit of kindness. Once at the house, the trail loops back to the village.   The coast here is so beautiful and reminds me a l

In the 14+ years of owning our casa, we have longed to have a thriving garden.  We have had mixed success, though, primarily due to inconsistent watering and harsh, windy weather.  Now that we live here full time, we are up the challenge. Good dirt is really difficult to come by and is definitely one of our biggest challenges here.    In order to get decent dirt, we drive out to the desert and up an arroyo looking for a mesquite tree.   Normally, the dirt underneath has nutrients although the dirt can still be sandy or full of clay.   We bring the dirt back and place it in our “dirt” planter.   We mix in seaweed, pieces of torn up paper, compost, spent grains and hops, and worm tea from our worm composter.   We water and mix up the dirt a few times per week.   Trust me, this is very time consuming but so far is paying off. This morning, I planted some seedlings into one of our new planters.     We have a variety of tomatoes, orange butternut squash, and lemon drop melons.   We also

 

We recently went to one of our favorite little markets in town, Escondido.   They have a great selection of meat so we decided to pick up some hamburger on a friend’s suggestion.   The young man went back to a freezer and pulled out some cardboard patties.   We were dumbfounded.                 We reached out to our friend to confirm we were at the correct market.   She said yes but the meat we wanted is called carne molido.   We  went back and this time asked for a kilo of carne molido.   The young man pulled out some lean meat and threw it into a meat grinder.   The meat came out very fine and had no fat.   It definitely was not what I was expecting.  It also did not have the expensive price tag of a US meat market.                 After a few days of contemplation, I came up with a game plan for the meat.   I cut up an Italian sausage to add some fat to the meat.   I also added bread crumbs along with my standard seasonings.    The meat now had a consistency a bit closer to wh

One thing that is certain is that nothing is certain here.   I used to get so frustrated coming from a very structured life north of the border only to find everything is a moving target here.   It’s okay to make plans but do not get upset if things don’t go as planned because most times they won’t.   I learned early on, to take things as they come and keep my expectations low.   Yesterday was another great reminder…. We went to bed planning on going for an early morning hike.   I woke up early, made some coffee, and checked my email.   I decided to go out to the brew room and assemble my new electric Brewzilla and slowly prep for our first brew day.   I went back in the house to grab another cup of coffee and noticed the electricity was out.   I didn’t think much about it until later when I talked with our neighbor, Tarraya.   I asked him about the electricity and he said the power was on in the village.   The alarms in my head went off and I knew our plans for the day were change.

 Someone recently asked me this question and here is my response. My grandfather used to take my dad down to Baja. I fondly recall my dad telling me stories of them camping in Ensenada as a kid. Then my dad eventually started exploring Baja as a young man. He drove to Cabo San Lucas before the road was completed. He spent a month or so there before returning. As far as I know, my first time in Baja I was only months old. We camped all over Baja as a kid. I can remember many birthday parties sitting around campfires. My grandparents bought a place next to the old Fox Studios. I used to collect mussels at low tide and fish the rocky areas around there. My first drink was at the Rosarito Hotel...I think I was about 14. I always thought I would inherit my grandparents' place. Sadly my grandfather died of a massive stroke when I was 17 or 18. I went on my pilgrimage to Baja when I was 27 or so. My buddy and I drove my 1993 Tacoma down to Cabo and back fishing, camping, and living the li

 I love exploring YouTube videos.  Today I came across this great video of some of the beaches south of our village.  One of the great things about Bahia Asuncion is the variety of beaches.  To the north, the beaches remind me of the coast south of Monterey, California.  In town and to the south, the beaches are very similar to Southern California beaches with wide open sandy beaches.  I hope you enjoy the video!

My amigo Daniel Powell had a great piece about Bahia Asuncion published in the San Diego Reader a few years ago.  It's a great read.   Link to the story

After many years of dreaming about making a move, we have finally decided to commit.  We are selling our beautiful house in Spring Valley and moving to our place in Bahia Asuncion to live full time beginning in July, 2021. Our kids will be attending the local schools here and we will supplement their education as well.  As for Tracy and myself, we have started a new business venture, Johnston Family Tutoring .  Our goal is to tutor and teach small groups of students remotely.  We should be open for business in fall of 2021. We have started construction on a garage/fun room where we can play ping pong, watch movies, brew beer, do arts and crafts, sing karaoke, BBQ, and store the surf boards and mountain bikes.  Above will be a new master bedroom and office space for our tutoring business.  This will allow us to double the size of our kitchen space as well.   We are super excited with this addition! We are also excited to pursue another long term goal of starting a big garden here.  Sinc

 The Adventures of Bajaboy and Family are back in business!  Our next adventure is going to be bigger than ever.  Before we share more, it's time to eat some breakfast.  What is your go to for breakfast?

My first trip to Elias Calles was in 1997.  I met a couple who were from the tiny little village about 40 miles north of Cabo San Lucas.  Very few people actually even know it exists but I had a connection.  Over the years, I have gotten to know it quite well.  In fact, my wife and I celebrated our wedding on the beach there in 2004. We now have a number of friends who live in the area including our good friends Jack and Harriet. We decided to take a vacation from our vacation and head down to visit them for a few days of fun. They have a beautiful house which sits right on the Pacific Ocean.  We always enjoy our time relaxing, story telling, and just hanging out with them. After a day of playing in the waves at Cerritos Beach, we decided to have a feast.  Abuela Rosemary made chile verde from scratch, hand made flour tortillas, and rice.  Lidia, whose family sold the land to Jack and Harriet, made some outrageously delicious frijoles.  We had the makings of a feast!