08 March 2018

Kari and David's Baja Wedding

28 Feb - 7 March 2018


Kari and David sent us an invitation to their wedding way back in 2017. It sounded like fun and at that time we had just started to enjoy having a monthly VA disability payment added to our income. We had no idea what a big event it was going to be with something close to 200 guests at a resort that deserved its Gran Sueños name.

28 Feb, Wed – I thought I had set the alarm for 2:45 A.M. but somehow I set it for 14:45 instead. Once again C.J. woke up in the nick of time and we were on the road by 0345 which got us to the ParkNJet lot around 0430, a bit late for the standard three-hour cushion for our 0720 flight to Salt Lake and on to San Jose de Cabo (SJD, noted as “Los Cabos” on the airport Departures monitors). Also, the shuttle was slow to pick us up at the parking lot, leaving us waiting in the cold. Still, we got checked in and through security in plenty of time to snooze while we waited to board. We had some clear skies so we could use Flyover Country app to trace our route in Idaho past Burley and over the summit to Promontory and across the Great Salt Lake. We were on the wrong side of the plane to see if anyone was flying at the Point since we went that far south of SLC before turning back to land to the north. We were supposed to have only 54 minutes before our flight but the plane we were supposed to fly had some kind of malfunction, and we had to change gates and then wait another half hour. [On our flight we flew right over many of the natural wonders of the SW – Bryce Canyon, Vermillion Cliffs, Grand Canyon, Sunset Crater NM near Flagstaff. Again, the Flyover Country App helped us identify where we were.] Even so, we were only ten minutes late landing at SJD and we completed the quick and easy immigration/customs checks quickly. The shark tank of timeshare salespeople was nowhere nearly as bad as the one at Cancun. They actually helped us find the Cactus Rental Car rep and we were soon in the shuttle. There was no wait at the car rental counter ($270) and we were on our way at just after 1530, about when we had figured. The drive north through the desert was on a two-lane road and was a bit slow – not like a freeway, for sure. We stopped near Los Barrilles at an OXXO convenience store to grab a sandwich (38.5) since we had had nothing substantial all day – no lunch on the three-hour international flight. I used my phone and Google Maps instead of bringing our GPS along. It worked fine and took us right to the gate of the Palapas La Choya. Jorge came out and was going to show us how the gate worked when I tried to turn around and ran up on a chunk of concrete that was in front of the car, below my sightline. I used the car jack, and Jorge put some boards under the front right tire and I was able to back off the concrete with minimal cosmetic damage. After getting a tour of the palapa, the shared outdoor kitchen and the compound, I paid the remaining balance in USD and we got a recommendation for a place to eat just down the road 1.3 km. There was no sign to mark Las Palmas, but the description Jorge had given us was enough for us to find the unpaved driveway (after passing it the first time). The place was pretty busy, but a friendly North American couple said we could have their table right near the entrance as they were just about ready to leave (in fact, most if not all the customers appeared to be North Americans). As we were looking at the menu, another group came in and one of the guys came over and asked if he knew us (or if we knew him). We didn’t but he introduced himself as Jonathan (or, JK) and said he was here for the wedding. His wife was with him, and so were BriDog and Cookie! So we made room at our table and ordered some drinks. Cookie got a call from Eric Reed who had just arrived with Cherie Sylvera. So they joined us, too, and we moved to a bigger table. C.J. got the Camarones Imperiales (?) and I got a big fillet of sea bass (cabrilla) cooked with garlic to go with our margaritas. On the way back to our lodging, we stopped at a small grocery store to get some milk, bananas, and oatmeal ) so we could make some breakfast before meeting up with some of the 200 people who are here for the wedding.

Mar 1, Thu – We got up at 0730. I ran the shower for a long time before getting any hot water – it wasn’t hot enough to do anything more than wash my hair (but that was because the weather was cool and windy enough that the palapa wasn’t warm). After that we went out to the shared kitchen and met the couple from Ottawa who were in the other palapa. There was a large carboy of purified water so we wouldn’t have to be using the Steri-pen all the time. C.J. prepared some quinoa and I microwaved up some oatmeal, a little problematical because there were no measuring cups. After breakfast we drove in to town and found the Thursday-morning outdoor farmers market. We ran into several pilots and bought a pineapple, a few tangerines and a loaf of coconut-cranberry banana bread. C.J. also found a carved bear with a fish in its mouth that she got for $15 (a big drop from the original price of $35). On the way back to the palapa we stopped at OXXO so I could buy a SIM card+activation+500GB of data. Back home I installed it and then tried a call. I got a recorded message in Spanish (of course) that I could make nothing of. Jorge helped me; it turned out that I had to send a text to 4848 with the word “alta”, receive another text and then send my email address. After that Jorge was able to call me; I don’t know what I would have done without a Spanish speaker. Now that we had a working phone, we thought we’d go try to find Larry and Tina. All C.J. remembered was that they were located near the end of the road, north of where we were. We drove out passing hotels/resorts, all of which we thought might be the right spot. Finally we came to where the road went steeply down into an arroyo. That seemed like it might be the end of the road. So we went back to the first resort and asked if the Jorgensens were staying there. Not there, but maybe through the gate and down the steep hill We walked down and lucked into spotting Justin and Larry on the porch of their second-story suite. We spent an hour or so visiting and snacking on some tortilla chips and ceviche before heading back up the hill to our car in time to get back to our palapa to change for the wedding. I took a shower, now that the temperature had warmed up (although the wind was still blowing hard from the north). We left around 1430 and were trusting that Google Maps was giving us good directions (Having looked at the Gran Sueño area on Google Earth, I didn’t think that the route that GM had chosen looked like a real road). Sure enough, GM was good until we reached the point on Rte 286 that we were directed to turn right. There was no road. We went on a bit farther and GM then said to take the LEFT fork that went out to Punta Arena and Ensenada del Muertos (an ominous name). At that point I turned around to see if we had missed something. Just a short ways down 286, two big vans passed us: the shuttles! I pulled a quick U-turn and followed them. In less than a km there was a sign for Gran Sueño. After another km we followed the vans through a guarded gate and then drove on a well-graded dirt road to the impressive entrance gate to the resort. After figuring out a place to park, we joined the crowd beneath the palapas and around a shallow infinity pool with a bar. No drinks were being served before the wedding but there was plenty of time to mingle with the other guests, most of whom were dressed up in festive resort attire. C.J. looked right at home with her black crop pants, embroidered blouse and flow-y overdress, a Christmas present from Ginny. At 1630 or so the guests were invited to make their way to the beach where a bunch of chairs were set up facing an arbor with flowers. Eventually David made his entrance over the sand. And then Kari descended a long stone stairway from another part of the resort. The wedding was conducted by David’s adult daughter who called upon the earth, air, fire, water and aether to bless their marriage. [Probably indicative of these times, guests were asked to put away their phones and cameras so that the official photographer could take his pictures without having a sea of phones whenever he pointed at the audience.] After the ceremony there was an open bar and a very nice selection of hors-d’oeurves. An old dinghy was filled with ice and cups of ceviche were placed on the ice, along with bottled beer and plates of ahi sashimi. Of course there were avocado slices and bowls of mashed avocado (strangely, it wasn’t guacamole), and chips. Dinner was a bit later, thankfully after the wind had died down. All the dishes were served family style. There were two kinds of salad, three entrees and a bowl of veggies. When people were finished eating there were a bunch of toasts (that got more maudlin as more drinks were served). Later there was a DJ who played dance music and provided a lightshow. We stayed until around 2200 and we weren’t the first to leave. Fortunately, we managed to leave just behind one of the shuttle vans so the darkness and unfamiliar roads were not a big problem. One of the concerns about driving Baja roads, especially at night, is running into a big, dark-colored steer enjoying the warmth of the asphalt road. We didn’t even see any animals except a couple of dogs in the small towns we passed through. We were home easily by 2300.

2 Mar, Fri – We got up around 0800 since we were in no rush to get to the beach party at Gran Sueño. We had breakfast, and then packed up our water toys and drove over around 1100. The trip was much less scary since we knew about the topes (speed bumps) and the two sections of washed out pavement at dry fords. Also we knew to disregard the Google Map directions and continue along Rte 286 until we came to the gate for the resort (actually, we didn’t use the map on the phone at all). Apparently most people arrived earlier because we had to park along the road past the traffic circle. On the other hand, lots of folks arrived after we did. The wind was not as strong, and it was nice and sunny. We could see people in the bay, snorkeling and swimming. But, when we stuck a hand in the water, it seemed pretty cold, especially to us who had just returned from the equatorial Galapagos Islands. So we just hung out and visited, mostly with HG and PG pilots that we knew. Lunch was around 1400 and consisted of freshly cooked beef and chicken with all the fixings for making soft tacos. Earlier, the caterers were manning an open bar with margaritas in a big Igloo cooler and other mixed drinks as well as beer. After lunch, Kari broke out what was left of her and David’s wedding cake, a multi-layered base with several different fillings. I missed seeing the dolphins that were leaping not too far offshore, and C.J. and I missed our turn when we weren’t quick enough to grab the one tandem sit-on-top kayak before someone took it out to where the dolphins were spotted. But we got to paddle later, going toward the west and skirting some rocks with the beach becoming a sand dune. On the way back, even though the wind was sort of quartering on our backs, the kayak wanted to slew to the right toward the shore. I was glad to give it up to Kari and the next people who wanted to take it out. With that much wind, we got pretty splashed up and needed to change out of our wet stuff into dry clothes. As five-o-clock approached, the party was winding down and the temperature was dropping (not like the previous day when I wore my fleece pullover most of the day). After hanging out with a group that was watching and listening to Julie play on her singing bowls (crystal cylinders) for a while, we finally packed up and headed back to the car. We gave Gary and his wife a ride, so they didn’t have to wait a long time for the shuttle they had arrived in to fill up. On the way out, we stopped near the guardhouse to take some photos of the forest of saguaro cacti in the late afternoon sunshine. We got back to El Sargento around 1800 and got our salty stuff rinsed out then caught up with our journals.

3 Mar, Sat – Up at 0800. We decided to go to La Paz about 0930 and left around 1000. It took about an hour to reach the city and then a while to negotiate the traffic and find a place to park (Serdan and Reforma, not far from the cathedral). [On the way in we drove through a wash that had once been crossed by a bridge. It appeared to have been recently washed out.] [We came in on Blvd Forjadores, bore right on Isabel la Catolica, and then may have gone north on Brava, passing the big permanent market] We found the small farmers market (Mercadito Madero ) between the cathedral and the beach. It was really small and many of the merchants were getting ready to close up at noon. We walked down to the Malecon and found an ice cream shop that also had a restroom available to their patrons (usually 10p for the general public). We took our ice cream across the street to the “Kiosko Malecon” and climbed up to the observation platform for the view of the bay and the waterfront. After walking a ways west on the Malecon, we headed back to the Cathedral. A quick peek inside did not inspire us to explore further, anyway there was a baptism in process. Back at the car we convinced the Google Maps app to give us directions to the beaches to the NE of the city. The route, once we left the city itself, was scenic passing along a cliff that was eroded into shapes that reminded me of whale bones. We passed the big ferry terminal at Pichilingue and the beach at Tesoro. At Playa Balandra we left the highway and drove the short distance (0.6 km) to the parking lot where we found the last available spot. The beach was nice and sandy and there were more than a dozen umbrella-shaped palapas that were free to use. Of course they were all occupied by what we assume to be local residents who were enjoying the beach on a warm, sunny Saturday. We walked around the bay to the north; the tide was low enough that we could round the first rocky point and walk along beneath the dunes to the far point where the iconic rock formation, the mushroom, was located. The water in the bay was so shallow that C.J. could walk across the bay to the point while I walked along the shore. On the way back we stopped at the back of a truck to buy a cup of sliced fruit – mangoes, watermelon, pineapple, jicama and cucumber(!) – which we ate while sitting on the wall overlooking the beach. From there we drove the mile or so to Tecolote, the beach at the fathest north tip of the peninsula that extends from La Paz and points at Espiritu Santo Island. The ambience was very different as Tecolote was mostly about rundown beach bars. We walked the length of the beach to the west until we reached a cliff which prevented further exploration. Back at the car we headed south retracing our route until we got to the “Libramiento La Paz” which was a bypass to the east of the city through the desert hills. We came out at the same washed-out bridge and followed Rte 284 back to the turnoff for La Ventana. We stopped at Star Market and bought some queso fresco, a bag of tostadas and a small bunch of bananas (84). On the way home we thought that getting some ceviche for snacking would be a good idea so we tried to find it in the other mini-mart we had shopped in on our first day here (Ultamarino Oscarito) but they said that wasn’t something they carried and we should try a restaurant. Back at home we hung out doing journals and checking in with Larry and Tina before heading out for dinner. We went back to Las Palmas and had their fruit margaritas, steak arrachera and a filet mignon. Everything was delicious and we cleaned our plates, probably because we had not had a real lunch today. We also ordered a meal of shrimp ceviche to go (para llevar) for eating with our tostadas or serving to guests. We were back by 1930 and found out that Tom and Kim had been at the same restaurant but were upstairs.

4 Mar, Sun – Neither of us slept well and we got up around 0800, had breakfast and just kind of lazed around until after 1100 when we headed out to Punta Arena, near Bahia de los Sueños, formerly known as Ensenada Muertos (Cove of the Dead). The guard at the entrance waved us in and we drove on the sandy washboard of a road until we passed a dilapidated palapa entrance where the road passed into a salt flat. There the road looked like we were driving on old ice, but it wasn’t slippery. As we got closer to the beach, we could see salt evaporation trenches and basins, some of which looked ready for harvest. Once we passed a building that may have been for the salt workers, we were back on sand and above the beach. We parked at the red and white striped lighthouse. Next to it was the wreck of the old lighthouse, but there was still an open spiral staircase that reached the top – no thanks. We walked east on the beach all the way to the farthest point and there we could see Gran Sueños resort. Along the way we met the couple who are staying at Palapas La Choya; they were leaving to get some lunch. We walked east past the entrance where we found a turtle-shaped sign with information about the nesting area. Since it was too windy (and a bit chilly, a long sleeve shirt felt comfortable) we returned to the car and drove to Bahia de los Sueños to find a place out of the worst of the wind for lunch. We passed on the resort restaurant (which we later found out was "Restaurant 1535") and walked down the public beach past the boat ramp and found a spot with a good view of the bay. After lunch we returned to El Sargento with a stop for gas on Rte 284 at a Pemex Station (36L, 700p). We also stopped at the Ultramarino grocery store for some yogurt, more cheese and a couple bottles of Modelo. Back at the Palapa shortly after 1500, C.J. rinsed off all the shells she had collected on the beach and set them out to dry. Hopefully she is going to winnow down the number of shells that she wants to put in her suitcase. BTW, I finally got nwlink.com (iinet.com) to delete all my old deleted email. There were over 11,000 of them and nwlink was charging me for using way more storage than I was paying for. Since nwlink couldn’t delete just one folder, I had to request that all files be removed from all my folders. This only affected messages that had not been downloaded to our computers on Thunderbird.] C.J. thought that we’d have the ceviche we got as takeout last night for dinner, but she got a message from Tina that a group was meeting at Marlin Azul so we went down there around 1745. Tina and Larry with Sierra were there, as well as Kari and David, David’s daughter, Cherie, BriDog and Cookie, Judy Hildebrant, the Austrian guy who tore his achilles tendon and a few more. We had a pina colada and a margarita tamarindo, quesadillas with shrimp and tacos arrachera. Service was really slow but that may have been because it was a Sunday evening. We heard all about the group trip to swim with the whale sharks out of La Paz. When we got home we tried to text Kari at her US number but never got a reply, same lack of success with email and FB Messenger. Maybe we’re in a communications black hole.

5 Mar, Mon – Up around 0730. Later we drove over to where Larry and Tina are staying, parked at the top of the hill again and walked down. We visited until almost noon when they had to get going to meet their plane in Los Cabos. We walked back up through the wash just to check it out if we wanted to drive down to go to the hot springs [only good at low tide because they are right on the shoreline. Low tide today is around 1630]. We had lunch at home – the takeout shrimp ceviche, chips and tostadas. Around 1430 or so we set off to explore a bit more of La Ventana and maybe walk along the beach from Playa Central. We turned uphill at Las Palmas and followed a sandy road that went straight up into the mountains. We turned around at an informal landfill (a dump) having gone up far enough to be out of the town and into the desert. We paralleled the main (paved) road about two blocks up for long enough that we came down at the ice cream shop, once again closed. When we got to Playa Central C.J. was not enthusiastic about walking along the beach in the wind. By then it was approaching the time for low tide so we drove back to the end of the power lines and descended into a large wash/arroyo. Around the point we found another bay with some umbrella palapas, and beyond that, the location of the hot springs. We spotted it because we could see someone digging and using a big blue tarp to line a depression. When we stopped to talk to him, he was down in a hole that must have been at least five feet deep and the sand/gravel he was throwing out was actually hot to the touch. He was using a battery-powered pump to move the hot water up to the tarp-lined depression where a girl was soaking. Along the beach, and still being inundated by the not-quite-low-tide, there were rock enclosures in which the water was noticeably warmer than the seawater. After wading in the pools (only one guy was trying to stay warm in the mixed water), we returned to the car and drove easily back up the steep, sandy road. We stopped to check if Kari and David were at home (just downhill from the Downwinder Inn) but their gate was closed, and both their cars were gone. We returned home to wash the sand/gravel off our feet. Later we got a text and a FB message inviting us to join a group for dinner at Restaurant 1535, which turned out to be the one we saw yesterday at Bahia de los Sueños. We drove out around 1745 for the 1830 meeting. It was a mixed group; the only folks we knew besides David and Kari was Cherie Silvera. George and Cindy, Dave and ?, Anneka from Slovenia and ?, and ? a PG instructor in Santa Barbara. We had margaritas, a mixed kabob and shrimp fajitas. We were the only diners in the large, open palapa. Driving home in the dark was tense since we had seen some cattle alongside the road on the way out to the restaurant. But we made it back without incident getting back around 2130.

6 Mar, Tue – Up at 0800, no wind. We could have gone for a kayak paddle along the shore. Obviously, we are no longer (OK, I never was, Dave) morning people; besides, the straight, sandy shore looks pretty boring. Anyway, we had breakfast and hung around doing some photo downloading (or uploading - whichever it is when you move them from your phone to your computer. Later Kari sent a Whatsapp message that they were going down to Rasta Beach to kite(surf) (just south of the street that the Downwinder Inn is on). So, we drove the rental car down the sandy wash/road to where a bunch of cars were parked. Kari and Cherie were suiting up and we got to watch them launch their 9m and 8m wings respectively into what felt like a howling gale but was probably only 20 mph. They made the launch and shredding look easy, even the occasional jump. After standing around in the wind, sun and blowing sand for way too long, we returned to the palapa to eat lunch. No problem getting back up the road. Afterward we drove downtown to see if the ice cream shop was open. It wasn’t, again, so we went back home to pack and check in for our flight tomorrow. Since we hadn’t heard from anyone about dinner plans we decided to go to Mariscos el Cone and C.J. sent a Messenger text to Kari. When we got to the restaurant sometime after 1800, we settled in for a dinner by ourselves, something we had done only once before on this trip. But shortly thereafter my phone buzzed with a Whatsapp message from Kari saying that they were going to meet at Mariscos and why not drop by and join them. So we had unwittingly picked the right place. Shortly Kari and David arrived, then Jim and Alinka, Cherie, and later, the Germans. Kari had gone XC, a downwinder, to La Ventana; Alinka had her kite crash, got her lines tangled and then lost her board and was drifting until Kari came back from her downwinder and jumped back in with her gear to tow Alinka to the shore; Rosie and the Germans had driven 300 km (?) up the coast to (    ) for a great whale watching experience. At a place named “Mariscos” we had to have fish so C.J. had tuna mojo (cooked with butter and garlic) while I had a pescado empanadero which was a big flat piece of breaded and fried fish nicely seasoned. We also had margaritas just to keep up the Mexican tradition.

7 Mar, Wed – Up at 0715 or so. C.J. finished up the yogurt and the pineapple and bananas, and I polished off the milk. That left just a bit of oatmeal and the spaghetti that Tom left for us, plus a beer. We took the tostada and cheese for lunch along with the last tangerine. (Writing this in late May, after I noticed that I had not put anything about Kari and David’s wedding in my printed journal.) The trip back to Los Cabos airport went smoothly and the car return went much better than I had expected: a quick check and then we got back in while a driver took us to the international departure terminal. The airport was busy but we got our bag checked and went to wait at our gate. The flight to SLC was uneventful and we had some views before the clouds closed in. We went through customs and immigration at SLC, turned our bag back in and continued on to Seattle where it was cold and rainy. We may have stopped for burgers in Issaquah at Five Guys, but I’m not sure if it was on this trip or not. The house was chilly but a fire warmed us up long enough to get unpacked and warm the bed up. Quite a change from the weather in windy, but mostly warm La Ventana. Thanks for inviting us to share your wedding celebration, Kari and David!

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