It’s been about a month and a half so far in Rosarito.  We are having fun exploring the area. Here are a few stories.

Popotla

There’s a small bay and fishing village just half a mile north of us called Popotla. After all the years that Mark has surfed in Baja, it’s pretty amazing that he never discovered Popotla until now.  I imagine this is what Puerto Nuevo, the lobster town further south, was like 30 years ago.  The road off the highway is not marked, but as you drive down it you discover about 40 different businesses all squeezed onto a tiny road that spills onto the sand. Don’t let the sand stop you–everyone just drives right on the sand and parks their cars there.  It’s the closest beachfront parking space we’ve ever seen.  Along the sand and the little road before the sand are taco shops, fish vendors, and seafood restaurants, all offering fish caught that day (probably that hour).  The boats drive right up on the sand to drop off their catches, and then the fisherman jumps out of the boat and runs over to his truck to pull the boat out of the water for the day.  It’s such a simple,  low-food miles, authentic little village. Very Steinbeck-esque.

Yesterday Mark and I spent the afternoon there. This week is Easter Week, known as Semana Santa, and Popotla, like the rest of Rosarito, is bustling with tourists.  Not your typical spring breakers, though. The tourists are all Mexican families from inland cities like Tecate.  The beach was packed with extra vendors selling anything from belts to cotton candy to garlic, and kids were being guided around on the backs of sheltand ponies.  Guys on mopeds would drive up and down the beach selling pizza, too.  And a couple of horse riders would cruise by from time to time.

Mark paddled out for a surf, and even though the beach was packed, not one surfer was out (these tourists don’t surf much).  I had planned to bask in the sun and read my book, but didn’t read a word because the people watching was so interesting!

Here’s a video of us driving out of Popotla.

La Sala Tinta Theatre

I read about a concert in Ensenada, and convinced Mark to check it out with me last Saturday night. We’re both so glad we did.  It was in the Santo Tomas Bodega de Vinos, which is an old wine warehouse in the middle of downtown Ensenada.  The old brick building was huge and full of giant wine barrels, old-fashioned tools and wine making apparati.

The theatre inside the warehouse was beautiful, and we perched at the front of the balcony to enjoy the vocalists, two of which were world class opera singers, born and raised in Tijuana.  During the intermission yummy wine, cheese, and desserts were served. The whole night was beautiful and not at all what we expected to find as part of our stay in Baja California!

Here’s a video of the choir singing the title song, Noche de Ronda:

Pancha

And we are very excited about our new family member, Pancha. After a year without a constant companion (except of course for our foster dog Isha), we were both ready for a new pup, and now that we got our overseas travelling out of our system for a while, it seemed to be the right time. We were looking for a dog that could match our lifestyle, which Diego did so well, so of course we were looking for someone like him.

We found Pancha after about a month of looking at shelters and rescue groups. She is a two year old Pomeranian mix that was given up at a shelter in Orange County.  She’s pretty adorable, and has adapted quickly to our life.  She is already very attached to us, and follows us around the house faithfully.  She is a snugglebug and loves to cuddle.  As we get to know her she is showing that she is playful and energetic at times, too.  Unfortunately, we took her to visit some of our canine friends yesterday and she doesn’t seem to be too friendly with other dogs, so that’s a big issue we need to work on.  She still has a lot to learn, as I guess so do we!

She has a beautiful multi-colored fox-like coat, but we shaved her just to see if she could pull off the shaved look. We think she’s pretty cute both ways.

Pancha el natural

Pancha’s summer cut

Catching up with Friends and Family

We are loving being close enough to hop up to San Diego for a night, and have had fun seeing our family and friends.  We got to celebrate Mark’s mom’s birthday last month, and have been slowly making the rounds on all of our friends.

That’s all for now. Thanks for stopping by!