Big Sweet Tooth

Carlitos - Pescadero, Baja - Top 10 in World?

What a lofty ass statement. 

To proclaim that Carlito's, a fish shack of a joint down a parched dirt road leading to nowhere in the wilds of Baja is one of THE TOP TEN bites of my life....well, sars to letcha - but its true. 

It's so hard for me to spill the beans here, but I feel like peeps are so scared of Mexico and the Baja as a whole, nobody will ever make it down that way, so I'm safe as a goose.  But, if you do...if you man up and  develop the cojones to head down to really good surf, amazing sun and light, immense freedom and just one of the coolest spots on earth - don't miss Carlito's. 

Yah - it's a shack - one with a real bathroom though.  Yah, it closes early - but not if you bring in special La Bufadora orange and raisin infused tequila to entice the owners to stay open late.  Yah, it's a secret and 100% off grid - but not to those who are deep foodies.  It's a gift from the Gods, this food, this vibe, this place.

I've never had sushi so fresh.  At first bite, it's like gravity changes.  I've never craved mango margaritas like these - fresh off the tree and loaded with mad alcohol.  The pup Kong makes my heart soar.  The music pulsing in the background transports, just like the sunset does.  I just want it all day, every day. 

Flight from LA to Cabo.  Car rental.  Drive to Pescadero.  Check into Rancho Pescadero.  Kill a mojito.  Spitfire down the way to Carlito's.  Stuff face and throw a billion back.  Sleep til ya can sleep no more.  Surf with my buddy Carlos at Cerritos.  Almost die time and time again.  Drink and drink some more.  Lunch at Carlito's again.  Drive to 'port.  Abandon car (they'll find it).  Flight home.  All in less than 48.  Perfection.

In 2 more weeks, I'm the F outta Jesery, back home and everything in the entire world is coming up mangos!!!

 

Things That Catch My Eye

See, now...these pix would make me hit the road pronto.

I think it's a mix of the rawness, the simplicity and the "do you see what I see" factor that makes me snap the pix I do.  Landscapes are ok.  I never got Ansel Adams and B & W.  Nor do I care to.  It all seems so cold and lonely.  I like shocks of brightness.  Blasts of color.  Images that transport for a second. 

I think you should be able to blink and witness an entire lifetime take place in that tiny fraction of a second.  Try it.  Maybe that's just me though.  What a harsh judge I am.  Scary.

Again...Rancho Pescadero Slays Me

Hide in a bit of luxe...

At the end of a billion mile trek thru Baja, there is really no finer place to check into than Rancho Pescadero.  It's on the Pacific side of the peninsula - and really just a perfect patch of heaven.  Very quiet, chill music spread evenly poolside, incredible design, thoughtful touches (cowboy hats and plush peach towels by the pool; homemade soaps and lotions cultivated from desert plants; welcome 1st drink on them; free bikes to troll about on; very close proximity to Carlitos - home of best food in Baja), and a killer view anywhere you look.

They have these comfy little day beds out on the beach where you can plop into, draw back the curtains, read a spy thriller and watch the whales cruising by on their way to lay some babies.  Super private.  A set of binoculars are in each room and you can get very close to seeing their heads poppin up every morning.  Watching whales spew water is definitely something to witness in this lifetime.

The yellowtail coming out of the kitchen is mega-fresh.  Just caught and grilled.  And, with a chilly margarita alongside, it's really difficult to leave the joint.  There are reading nooks everywhere - on your front porch, by the sparkly pool, down on the beach, upstairs in the dining area.  Just a haven for all who want to escape and not have anyone bother you.

The list goes on and on about this place and next time I'm down there, I might not go anywhere else.  Just there.  Hidden among the palm trees and tucked into a good book.  Watching stars by night and getting tan by day.  Sipping the hours away.

Baja Beauty - A Perfect Snowbird Location

Between Mulege and Loreto is this insane view...

Every time I go to Baja, I take the same dang photo.  There's a point when travelling on the Sea of Cortez side of the peninsula that this vista appears.  It's slam-on-the breaks beauty, like a full mirage.  Especially after hauling across a torn-up desert. 

So quiet, so peaceful.  Beyond special. 

I can't believe I didn't kayak this trip around - how did that happen?  It all just went down so quickly in a tequila haze.  Guess I have the rest of my life for it, though.

How do you pick the next adventure?  It's like I want to explore all the new spots I've not been to yet, and at the same time, spend so much more time in my fave places round-the-world.  The never ending quest for permenant freedom.  I love the decisions).

 

Whales, Margaritas and Dirt Roads

The largest animal migration in the world...

One of the main reasons to go to Baja in January is to witness the epic whale migration.  For real - just the most insane thing ever.  Right now is right about the time when the mama whales give birth to their babies and they spend time flip-flopping around the San Ignacio lagoon, teaching these newly born pre-historic beasts how to swim, breathe, live on their own (they weigh 3 tons when born). 

I camped out right on the beach at a very remote spot about 2 hours down a dirt road from the date tree filled village of San Ignacio (best date pie ever).   Here's how it's done.  Basically, you make a reservation with the eco-outfitter in town for a tent spot (or a cabin spot).  You then drive down the ROUGH road not seeing a soul for almost 2 hours, swilling sake the whole way.  You pop up a tent once on the beach and then join the other folks who dared pop down that way for dinner in the cozy dining room.  Fish or meat, only.  And hard-core, heavy duty margaritas.  Where they get ice, lord knows.  But, they have lots of it.  After a mega-buzz hits, take a shower in the no-lights, but crazy clean shower hut and hit the hay.  The next morning you wake up at the crack, slam some eggs and tortillas and roll out to see mega whales, their babies and chirping dolphins. They come up super close to the boats and want to be petted. Can you imagine?  They're called "the friendlies."

Just a bloody miracle. 

Back on shore after about 3 hours and bam!  Back on the road to points north or south.  One more killer margarita down, first, of course.  Heading out of there, you're surrounded by all these eerie red pools and lakes.   Coulda been Mars.  Alone again.  Nice.

The Best Tequila in the World Found in La Bufadora

Regular tequila no mas.

La Bufadora, Baja is famous for being the home of an enormous blowhole that spits water hundreds of feet up in the air.  

On this latest trip down the peninsula I wanted to see places I've never been so, I went trekked down the curvy, mountainous road to check it out.   How I ended up swilling the most delicious house-made tequila I've ever had instead of seeing a world famous blow hole is beyond me, but who cares.  So some water shoots up in the air; MY GOD, did you even know tequila like this existed? 

I  wasn't even on a tequila quest at that point in the trip.  Hell, La Bufadora is just barely south of the border, but once the old dude sitting alone with a beer told me I had to try the tequila cause it was the best he ever had...well, that's all she wrote.  

I bought a big bottle of it ($50 for half bottle) thinking I'd haul it home to add to my liquor cabinet, but dontcha know I drank the whole beast before I even hit the southern tip of Baja.  Never has a sipping tequila gone down so good.  I could make mucho dinero off this tequila here - they infuse it for weeks with raisins, lemon and orange peels.  The color is so bright and fresh.  The legs just rich.  The taste is unreal.  

I wish my computer could squirt out scents.  This tequila would bowl you over.  Find it at the restaurant at the top of the hill just before you park and head down to the blowhole.  Trust me, buy the whole bottle.  Half will be gone before you even hit Guerro Negro.

Baja Roadkill vs Desert Tequila - Both Pull Ya Over

I like me a long lens

The swooping buzzards signal the road kill.  Carcasses picked to the bitter bone.  Every few hundred miles or so - dogs, cows, horses.  Matters not.  The desert always grabs you and spits you back out.  Birds scream and scatter. Dust whips all around.  Semi trucks shriek by.  Clouds float past.  You can always see the buzzards creeping their way back in the rearview as you tear away down HWY 1 toward the next cold beverage.

Margaritas are always inviting you in every door - and no matter the establishment - somehow there is always a blender in house ready to whip up a fresh batch of booze heavy refreshments.  I'd say 4 a day is the norm.  Pending on the potency, could be right in a row like slugs of wheatgrass at the farmers market.  It's inched its way up to 6/7 at times.  Eeeeee!  Nary a day passes without one slipping thru the lips. 

Baja is just good like that.

Baja, Mexico - As It Stands - 2011

Baja - Believe Nothing You Have Heard on the News

Just got back from driving the entire beast of Highway 1 in always-dusty Baja - 2 weeks of some real rough stuff.  Some highlights....

Stayed at a Tuscan villa in wine country, just East of Ensenada.  Couple bottles of fruity red wine, lush grounds, amazing food.  Perfect place to host a real life murder mystery!

Discovered best tequila in the world in small bar in La Bufadora.  Riddled with orange peels, raisins and was only $100 per house-made bottle.  Drank the whole thing before I hit the end of Hwy 1.  Typical.

Ate lobster galore at KM 56 (La Fonda) and Mama Espinozas.  La Fonda was sweeter, richer, better than Mama E's.  That said, I'd hit Mama's again in a minute.

Stopped for coconut shrimp on the beach in Bahia Concepcion.  Moon lookin' like a moon pie.  Tequila flowing.

Loreto had buckets of tequila for me.  Did the place up like it was Spain - tapas at Cava, mango margaritas at Posada de las Flores, more tapas at the turtle joint just off the square.  Body weight in margaritas.

Onward to Prana del Mar, just south of Todos Santos.  Solar hot tub bubbling.  Stars galore whilst sweating in the chilly night.  Heaping plates of healthy food.  Yoga in the early am. 

Sashimi madness at Carlitos in Pescadero (stayed at the AMAZING Ranch Pescadero).  This palapa joint could serve the best food in all of the Baja.  And, they had sake.  I shared mine too :)

Surfing with my bud Carlos in Cerritos.  Giant waves (to me at least).  Dripping in margaritas between sessions. 

Baja Bentleys madcap night of sleep and fish tacos in Todos.  Love that village.

Over to East Cape and Las Ventanas.  Kiting season and windy like mad.  Bright skies, RV's and campers everywhere the eye looked.  Could stay a long, long spell here.

Best breakfast ever in old gold-mining town of El Triunfo.  Played with new camera the whole meal.  Love the light.  Really adore the long lens.  See pix attached to this entry.

Friendly mega drug deal happening in seafood shack in Loreto.  Or it could have been an all cash "real estate" deal.  Nice to see and somehow feel a part of while slurping 'ritas.  Hazy at best. 

Date pie and margaritas around the town square in San Ignacio before heading 2 hours down a real bang-up dirt road to camp on beach and see the whales and their new babies in the lagoon.  Biggest mammel migration in the world and I was smack in the middle of it.   NUTS and beyond fantastic.

One more night at Baja Cactus in El Rosario.  Dead beat.  Sleepy and ready to pass out before the mad rush back to LA and another season out in NJ.

I love, love, love that Baja.  Those that have been will know my emotions inside and out.  Those who have not?  Well...you poor, poor sod.

 

 

The Best Fish Sandwich in the World

Fish Sandwich Nirvana

The roof is made from weeds, the chairs are plastic, the parking lot is gravel...and the fish sandwich is quite possibly the best in the world.  Carlito's Place in the tiny pitstop of Pescadero, Baja is at the top of my list of killer meals needed again ASAP. 

Soft toasted bun, creamy slaw, crispy battered fish (probably caught that day).  My god, the JOY.

I'm finally leaving Jersey today - headed back to LA and my boat and my life.  And, you know what's just a hundred + miles away?  Baja...

 

 

 

Dirt Floors, Palapa Roof, Plastic Chairs = Best Seafood in Baja

Little known secret -

Sometimes I like to be led.

I maybe would have found this place on my own, but from the minute I got to Todos Santos, my surf instructor was prattling on and on about a place with a dirt floor that had the best ceviche in the world.  Ah...but they are closed certain days, only open certain hours and you just really have to catch them at the right time (meaning go early) if you want crab or octopus ceviche.  So, we surfed...and we waited.

Most days, we ended up at Carlitos Tacos multiple times over, dropping hundreds of dollars on some of the best drinks, seafood & sunsets of my life, but finally the day had come to go to Chavas Ceviche. 

The vibe was low key when we tore up the dirt road and I let Carlos do the ordering first (he eats there 4x a week, mind you).   I wandered about gazing at other ceviche plates on strangers-no-more tables (they always offer up bites of their food when I pop over all wild-eyed, with a camera).  Shredded crab ceviche, fish/shrimp ceviche, bright purple pulpo ceviche, huge chocolate clam ceviche - all mixed up with a myriad of sauces, hot peppers, mayo, ketchup...and tossed onto salty chips or tostados.

B and I said it again and again - Baja has the best seafood we've ever had in our lives.  Carlos would scoop up my foodie obsessed imagination and weave me tales about how fresh seafood is caught and delivered down in Baja.  Where to find the track down oysters.  Which village high in the mountains leading to nowhere has an old woman who hand slaps the most delicious tamale you've ever inhaled.  I salivated...and ate...and ate.

I guess if I could do anything with my life, I'd be going on food adventures and showing/telling people how to do the same.  Maybe that is next up.  My body temperature just rises when I start talking/writing about it and that must mean something in the grand scheme, no?