Where In The World Is Nellie?

We have had a very busy 2 days visiting the new furniture store in town; the Earth block center; Puerto Escondido; the local stores; and Saturday flea market; as well as enjoying the local restaurants. Deedrie’s highlight was visiting the Agricultural Farm of Ecoscapes. They have come such a long way and it was surprising to see the large expanse of green grass being mowed in the middle of the desert. The rows and rows of lush plants and trees was exciting to see, and we got to thinking of all the different pots that we would need for our rooftop patio. We spent several lazy afternoons at the beach cooling off from the 100 degree temperatures. While I was happy relaxing under a palaypa, Deedrie came up with the great idea of taking her lounge chair into the water and we whiled away many hours immersed at the shore's edge. Peter Spillette from Victoria joined us for a while, and experienced the flying fish jumping literally all around us. Peter thought they were under him, an...

My friends are starting to arrive and I’m very excited to see familiar faces. Janet Rubenstein is a sales associate with Loreto Bay and now living here full time. We went for dinner last night and had a few margaritas at the Posada. Still the best in town! On our way home, we’re going down the highway in the usual fast pace and a Mama Horse and baby just galloped across the highway in front of us. Luckily we saw movement and hit the breaks fast enough to avoid any collision. It would have been heartbreaking to have hit them, and not so good for us either! They were beautiful animals, not the typical skinny lazy cows that come too close to the highway to graze. It is true that everyday something happens here a little out of the ordinary. I was very happy to see my good friend Glen Mickowski arrive to inspect Lot 300. He is one of the very lucky few that have a commercial space in the bottom of his Casa Alta, since he was a very early buyer. We had coffee and he told me about ...

We sustained 10 hours of shopping and 2 hours of driving from La Paz to Cabo, on one Costco hot dog! Having Zero Expectations is really the way to go!! I walked into Dorian’s store which is similar to Sears on a smaller scale and I was absolutely shell shocked. There were fluorescent lights, air conditioning, racks and racks of clothing and accessories … even Perfume and Cosmetic counters. Where was I??? Certainly not in Loreto! Arriving in Cabo, we decided to case out Home Depot. This is where Donella was speechless! Everything that you would expect is there, with lots of variety and comparable pricing to the USA. I wanted to build a house just to have an excuse to keep coming back. Then off to the Plaza Pariso mall and it was heaven. There were marble floors, high ceilings, window displays in glass retail units, food fair, cinemas, good wine store, Harley Davidson shop, Hard Rock café, Sushi, Italian coffee, and a variety of art galleries and jewelry. We spent 3 hours jus...

Getting out of Dodge appeared to be no small task. Donella, Loreto Bay’s Home Turnover Manager, and me packed our bags and headed south for a girls’ shopping weekend in the big city. The weather was the usual bright and sunny, and then it went from us following this truck, to the trees blowing in the wind, and then, where we couldn’t see 3 feet in front of us. All this happened within minutes and disappeared as quickly as it came. Mother Nature is a fickle woman. Going through the mountains, I wondered what it took to be a highway sign maker in Mexico? Are all those squiggly lines truly representative of each unique curve in the road, or are they a series of standard squiggles that are simply close enough? There are endless car games that we play as a child to while away the boredom, and the Baja actually supplies brain teasers such as these to figure out “what the heck does that mean??” Praying squirrels and flying cows are apparently all you need to know. This led me to inquir...

The days meld into one another. I believe that if I don’t live longer here, I will certainly live fuller. I am becoming accustomed to the constant construction noise; flying dust everywhere; 100 degree temperatures with 60% humidity; and setbacks or delays that seem to be a regular occurrence. But these are minor in comparison to the accomplishment I feel being independent in a foreign country. I am comfortable driving anywhere, shopping, and making my way among the locals. They are very kind and patient with my feeble attempts to communicate and I’m sure I sound like a cave man. But they are oh so polite! There are so many subtle differences that we don’t realize. For example, when I call a local Mexican cell number with my US phone, the receiver pays the long distance charges which could be $2 USD a minute. This was shocking as we are so used to unlimited rate plans Coast to Coast. I immediately went out to purchase a local cell phone. The selection was large, the prices fa...

I’m slowly becoming immersed in the lifestyle here. On the weekend I took time out from my errands and chores to go to the beach. Although it was stifling hot on my patio and even near the pool, under a palaypa by the beach was perfect. The warm sea breeze and sounds of the waves gently lapping were enough to relax even the most hard core workaholic for 3 or 4 hours at a time. It was entertaining to watch as many of the locals come down with their car loads of family and food for an all day picnic. They would swim, frolic, and play beach games. The young boys had their spears for fishing, and snorkeling was the thing to do. My days start early as I am anxious to witness the magnificent sunrises. It’s a very pleasant 75 degrees at 6:30 am and I want to enjoy every second as it doesn’t last long. An hour later the humidity kicks in and it’s already gone up to 85. The golf course looks good as they are regularly watering and the goats keep the grass trim. The buses of construct...

Nopolo had a wild wind storm the other night. It just picked up and was blowing everything around for a few hours, there was lightening and thunder, but no rain. I was watching for flying cows or goats. They were probably smarter than I was and sought shelter, rather than standing out in the open waiting to be struck by lightening or a flying patio chair! I took my Pathfinder to the car wash and what a treat! The local car wash was terrific and they spent 2 hours cleaning every detail inside and out. It was dust free for all of 5 minutes, but what a proud 5 minutes they were! I took the opportunity to walk from El Nido to the Mission and take streets that I have never explored before. I met Adalbertor and Jeannine from the El Caballo Blanco book store. They are from New Mexico and have been here for over a year. It’s a terrific selection of used books, some new books, fabric, art supplies, and other odds and ends. Jeannine is now writing for the Gringo Gazette and assured ...

Home In Loreto Bay I had my home inspection for Monday morning, and like most home owners, I had mixed feelings. After over 2 ½ years of wishful thinking, planning and having Loreto curse thru my veins, was it going to be finished? Will it live up to my expectations? Do I know what those really are? Buying in Loreto Bay for most of us is much more about dreams and the quest for community and lifestyle than it is about bricks and mortar. This little adobe hut will change my life … and I can’t wait. How Bizarre?! Donella was terrific and the house was near perfect. I couldn’t wait to get the keys, shut the door, and sleep off the exhaustion. I am excited to furnish it and make it “home”. The next day I drove to Super Ley’s in Constitution which is great store. It’s a very easy drive and takes about an hour each way. Being Asian, I was thrilled to see chicken feet, fresh fish on ice, ox tails, and lychee are readily available. The selection was much better than I have seen i...

Day 3 Baja Trip Had a lazy morning and took a detour to the world’s biggest producing open sky salt mine … meaning the largest pile of margarita rim mix that you could ever imagine! It was really awesome to drive down the peninsula and feel like you were heading into the ocean. The large salt deposits sitting on the water were like plentiful clumps of foam. I can now understand how buoyant the water is when the huge grey whales pop out their little tons of joy and they immediately float. There is enough salt in this water that the birds and almost everyone else could walk on it with no miracle required. Headed inland at a cool 74 degrees with cloudy skies. By 1 pm, it was back to a comfortable 92 degrees. Lots and lots of winding roads up and down mountains and going through forests of cactus, hundreds of acres of flat desert, and usually always surrounded somewhere by mountain ranges. No orchards or wineries or fat cows in southern baja! Finally reached Sta. Rosilia and it w...

Day 2 Baja trip Tracy is my friend from Canada and working on a new high end condo project in Rio del Mar, just 30 minutes from San Diego. It’s an exciting new development right on the Pacific ocean, starting from $400,000 USD for full ownership. Here's pictures of Tracy, and me in their show home. It's going to be a stunning project and great for people that want to drive down for a get-a-way from Southern California. Sales are not starting until September 2006, but if anyone is interested, please let me know and I would be happy to get you more information so you can get in early. Nik and I continued on our journey and headed down to Escenada, about 30 minutes from Rio del Mar. What a pretty place! Mexicans love their giant flags, and it was the biggest one we had every seen! Walked down and saw the cruise ships and boats docked. This is a picture of the fish market…. I wish they had this in Loreto!! We stopped at a taco stand and had the freshest shrimp tacos ever ...

July 7, 2006 - Day 1 Baja Trip I do believe in Heroes. My buddy Nik from Loreto Bay came to my rescue and agreed to drive from Phoenix to Loreto with me. This is us and my “new” car starting our trip. While I was loading up the car, I somehow lost my watch. This was a definite sign that I should no longer have a need for it … hmmm…. Anyone want to place bets on how long I will last before replacing it?? Phoenix has been over 110 degrees in the past few weeks, but as we are leaving we encounter a gale force winds that imprisoned us in a dust storm outside of Gila Bend. Following which there torrential rains for not the usual 5 minutes, but a whole 35 minutes. The skies were black and I thought I was in the Pacific Northwest! Then the sun came out and things heated back up to the normal 109 degrees as we approached Yuma. Being the ultimate organizer and traveler that I am … I decided that a map wasn’t necessary since there are only 2 roads to Loreto … Hwy 2 West and Hwy 1 South...

Happy 4th of July to all my American friends!! I'm busy packing up and clearing out. I wanted to share what living in Arizona in the summer is like ... May 30: Just moved to Arizona. Now this is a state that knows how to live!! Beautiful sunny days and warm balmy evenings. What a place! It is beautiful. I've finally found my home. I love it here. June 14: Really heating up. Got to 100 today. Not a problem. Live in an air-conditioned home, drive an air-conditioned car. What a pleasure to see the sun everyday like this. I'm turning into a sun worshipper. June 30: Had the backyard landscaped with western plants today. Lots of cactus and rocks. What a breeze to maintain. No more mowing lawns for me. Another scorcher today, but I love it here. July 10: The temperature hasn't been below 100 all week. How do people get used to this kind of heat? At least its kind of windy though. But getting used to the heat is taking longer than I expected. July 15: F...

Happy Canada Day!! I'm celebrating my independence as this is the first day of the rest of my life. I started my adventure over 2 years ago, when I decided with my daughter, to pack up and move from Victoria, BC CANADA to Scottsdale, Arizona. I sold my waterfront home on one of the best beaches in Victoria, filed non residency, and left with what fit in my small car (including my daughter) to start a new life in the USA. I had a tremendous experience with Loreto Bay Company and the team achieved unfathomable success in 3 short years. Now that chapter is closed for me as I move on to new challenges and focus my energy to the future. I think I will go to Mexico, specifically southern Baja California. This time its much more difficult as I do not yet speak the language, have no immediate prospects of work, and left to my own resources in terms of visas, permits and simply finding my way. I have bought a '97 Nissan Pathfinder and will be driving down to Loreto next week. Ho...